With a snap of Lionel's fingers, countless guards suddenly entered the scene, each holding a table in their hands. They pushed past the Ghost Hunters and laid the tables down on the ground, in a neat and organized fashion. Then, they placed a package of paper down on each table, along with writing utensils. It was clear what the first portion of this entrance exam was, and the young Hunters each took a spot behind a table accordingly.
Finn and Iris ended up next to each other, of course, but there was just one problem—namely, Finn's blindness.
"Um, Finn…" Iris began, but Finn acted quicker, raising his hand high up into the air. As a university student before all of this happened, he was used to asking questions in class and whatnot.
"… Yes, you in the black armor there?" Lionel asked, eyeing Finn, who had his entire Voidheart armor on with the exception of his helmet.
"I am blind," Finn said with utmost confidence, not hesitating whatsoever. It was as if he was declaring this as one of his strengths rather than weaknesses, but obviously, the other Ghost Hunters present didn't think of it that way.
"… He's blind? Then why is he even here…"
"Ha! If even a blind person can make it into this academy, then everyone can!"
"Not trying to be discriminative or anything, but… being blind is a horrible disadvantage in battle… how has he even survived until now?"
"Isn't that obvious? He hasn't been on a single proper mission," another voice cut in with a grin, belonging to a haughty-looking blonde man a short distance away. At this, Iris frowned a bit, but Finn ignored him completely and continued.
"I cannot read the test. Is there an alternative?"
Lionel stared at Finn for a short while, then smirked slightly.
"Find one yourself."
"… I see."
Then, turning to Iris, Finn continued.
"… Could you read the questions to me?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, of course," Iris hurriedly said, surprised that this was even being allowed. The other Ghost Hunters were shocked as well, since they had all assumed this was going to be an individual thing, but since Commander Lionel wasn't saying anything, they didn't either.
*****
About an hour later, the written portion of the exam was complete. The questions were quite unlike what Finn and Iris had been expecting. Rather than testing knowledge on how to defeat certain archetypes of Ghosts and the like, the questions on the test paper were brain teaser-like questions that made the young Hunters think outside the box. There was always a simple, straight-forward answer to all the questions, but at the same time, there was also a deeper, hidden answer.
Iris and Finn, of course, always chose the hidden answer. Both were deep and clever thinkers who looked beyond just the surface, thus giving them the quick wits and strategy-making skills they have in battle.
The time limit on this test was an hour, and once those 60 minutes were over, the same guards from before came back once more and took all the tables away, collecting the papers along with them. In the matter of a few seconds, the entire courtyard of the main campus building had been emptied, and Commander Lionel returned to the scene.
"I am sure you are all surprised after taking that test," he began, stating what couldn't be more true. "You may think it was useless, or even completely off-topic."
The crowd stirred a bit, murmuring in agreement.
"However," he continued sternly, narrowing his eyes. "Those of you who think that way… have no right to enter this academy. Those of you who answered those questions at face-value, thinking it easy and simple, all failed. Knowledge can be taught, but certain traits are intrinsic and cannot be trained in the little time we have here at this academy before calamity befalls us all. Those of you who have those traits have the potential to enroll at this academy. Those of you who don't… well. The results will be clear soon enough."
Snapping his fingers again, Lionel made the same guards from before prepare the next exam. The men gathered and dragged out four massive black obelisks, lining them up side-by-side in front of Lionel, who stepped past them and emerged in the middle.
"Next, is a simple strength exam. Even if you have the traits necessary to become a legendary Ghost Hunter, if you are not physically strong enough, that is nothing but a distant dream. The rules are simple—form four lines, one in front of each obelisk, and attack it one-by-one with all of your strength. You may use your Angelica, your weapons, anything you wish. Remember, you must pass all three exams to enroll here, so do not slack off thinking the written exam will save you. And as for those who believe you have already failed the written exam… hmph. You may leave."
Given his words from earlier, many of the currently listening Ghost Hunters were shaking. They were the same ones who had confidently answered all of the questions on the written exam and taken them at face-value, thinking this was going to be a breeze. Some outright left through the teleporters behind them, and others decided to stay because what if they passed?
Of course, that was nothing but desperate, false hope.
By now, only about 90% of the original number of people here remained, and the results hadn't even been announced yet. Perhaps this was part of the test too—those who weren't confident enough in their abilities and chose to simply leave because someone told them to weren't worthy of studying at this prestigious academy anyway.
The remaining Ghost Hunters who were either confident enough to stay or simply too desperate to leave formed into four lines just as instructed, each behind one of the massively tall black obelisks. For whatever reason, people rushed to be as close to the front as possible, likely because they were afraid someone in front of them would set some sort of nasty trap on the obelisk that somehow screwed over the power grading. Considering how people tended to want to limit competition as much as possible, that was perfectly plausible.
As such, Finn and Iris were pushed to the back of their line, with Finn being dead last. It was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done now.
All they could do, was wait until it was their turn.
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