Arthur Sunny, a second-rank Holy Light caster, with fighting as his minor.
He had been born into a grand duke's family.
He had entered the world bearing everyone's expectations.
Radiant Lion Cub was the title the Goddess had bestowed upon him on the day of his birth.
The grand duke's family of the borderlands had a long history. Generals and marshals had emerged from its ranks, and the family was rich in martial virtue, but lacked culture. It had never produced a pope of the Radiant Holy See, and a pope naturally had to cultivate Radiant Magic.
Thus, Arthur had been raised as the family's future. From a young age, he had studied the knowledge of Holy Light's magic. Under the constant influence of the family elders and the instruction of famous teachers, he had lived up to expectations by completely going off the rails.
Compared to magic, he preferred picking up a greatsword and cutting people down.
It was cool.
'Knights are better than mages' had always been his creed.
Ansu did not want to agree to Arthur's request, seeing as he was already overwhelmed by wealth.
Besides, as Brother Xian Zong, a man of fine character who had cast off lowbrow interests, a genuine top student, what Ansu hated most was cheating.
Mainly when other people cheated.
For tomorrow's written exam, not only would he refuse to help anyone cheat.
He would even ruthlessly mess with the other candidates' mindsets.
This line of thought actually shared something in common with Miss Enya's kill-them-all approach. It was simply more conservative.
As long as his competitors did poorly, Ansu would be first place.
"Arthur, don't get worked up."
At that moment, a calm and elegant voice interrupted their conversation.
"Don't lose a noble's dignity."
This was their second roommate.
The man was truly elegant. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and a snow-white robe. His long, fair hand held a pot of black tea, while his bearing was aloof and proud. He looked extraordinarily refined.
Moonlight of the Goddess was his title.
Liszt Moon, a second-rank Holy Light caster who minored in water magic, was also from the borderlands.
He was the eldest son of the Moon Family, the second-oldest great family in the borderlands.
At the same time, he ranked second on the Seaside Morning Post's list of saints people most wanted to date, having made the list due to his clear, detached temperament.
"We must compete fairly. We cannot cheat." Liszt savored a sip of tea. "This is precisely a saint's elegance and honesty, the noblest of qualities."
What Liszt valued most in life was noble restraint and saintly honor. At every moment, he paid attention to the style and artistry of his words and actions.
'One must have style when doing things.' This was the lesson his father had taught him.
He was a man who had dedicated his entire life to elegance.
"So, did you study?" Arthur asked him.
"No." Liszt answered elegantly, but with complete frankness. There was even a trace of pride in his voice. "This humble person did not read a single word."
"What are you proud of?" Arthur said.
"If I had read the books, then when I saw the questions, the answers from those books would already be in my head."
Liszt explained calmly, "I would copy the answers hidden in my mind onto the paper. Wouldn't that count as copying answers and cheating?"
"That would be unfair to the other candidates, which is why I chose not to read a single word.
It is not because I am lazy or incapable of understanding them, but because the pride deep within my soul cannot permit it. My proud soul cannot allow such despicable behavior as 'studying from books.'"
"As an honest and fair saint, I cannot accept any form of cheating."
"Then what will you do during the exam?" Arthur asked again.
"The Goddess will favor those who are honest and noble."
Liszt elegantly took another sip of tea. His words remained impressively lofty. "And my heart will respect the Goddess's guidance and choose the correct path."
"I see." After hearing this, Arthur actually seemed thoughtful. "Brother Liszt, what you said makes a lot of sense!"
Wasn't that just guessing?
Watching the two converse, Ansu sighed softly.
At that moment, he inexplicably began to miss Calvin. They were both following the script of spoiled young nobles from aristocratic families, yet Calvin had somehow managed to act fairly human.
"Why were the three of us assigned together?" Ansu asked.
"It was divided by district, Boss Ansu."
Arthur had already started calling him "boss." "The three of us are all from the Border City, and we all study Radiant Magic, so naturally we were assigned together."
Such a tiny Border City had somehow produced three talents like us.
Ansu thought to himself.
Then Arthur added,
"There should originally have been four of us. Do not know why Calvin didn't come."
It seemed the Holy See had kept the news tightly sealed.
"He took a leave of absence." Ansu answered.
He added silently: Maternity leave.
"Haha, I see. Did he take sick leave?" Arthur laughed.
"You could say that."
Maternity leave counted as sick leave too.
"Then when will his leave end?"
"Usually ten months, but he was faster."
"That long? Didn't he receive Holy Light's blessing and healing?" Arthur asked.
"He did, so he was faster."
Ansu added silently: He was faster at dying from a difficult birth.
The night passed without incident, and the entrance examination finally began.
Order Church Branch District, First Tower, third floor. This was also the site of the written examination.
Only by walking through the imperial capital's church district during the day could one truly appreciate its grandeur and immensity.
Brilliant gold sunlight streamed through the stained-glass dome, scattering dancing flecks of light across the ancient marble pillars.
Scales and rulers were carved upon the pillars. These were the symbols of the Order Holy See among the Seven Gods' Faith.
The Order Holy See's full name was the Order and Law Holy See, and its deity was the Order Goddess, who presided over justice.
Due to the characteristics of this Holy See, its branch district was often used as the main examination site.
Its opposing heresy was the Chaos Holy See, whose full name was the Chaos and Ladder Heresy, and whose deity was the Chaos Mother Goddess.
Radiant Saint Third Exam Venue, Room 301.
Ansu observed the expressions of the other candidates. There were around sixty people in the examination hall. Their faces were tense; some kept tapping their feet, some even pulled out books to review, while most remained silent and anxiously waited for the exam to begin.
Time ticked away, and steady footsteps sounded in the corridor.
The newcomer wore a snow-white priest's robe, with the emblem of the Order Holy See embroidered on his chest. The holy mark on his left shoulder indicated his position: priest.
Holding the exam papers, he entered the hall with proper bearing.
"The examination is about to begin. Please put away all items unrelated to the exam. Any cheating will result in immediate deprivation of candidate qualifications. I am the proctor for this examination. You may call me Priest Percy."
"Exam time is two and a half hours. Please answer carefully."
This Order Priest cut open the seal on the papers, while another assistant helped distribute them.
Question twenty-one: Discuss Druid Pea's Magical Hybridization Experiment.
Ansu received his paper and flipped to the final question. He knew he had this in the bag.
'Mother and child.' 'Hybridization.' 'Modification.' 'Dismemberment.'
That series of taboo keywords resurfaced in Ansu's mind, linking together his memories.
Thank you, dear Miss Enya!
Ansu had reviewed all the knowledge tested in the remaining questions as well. Luojia's top-student notes were extremely comprehensive.
Meanwhile, the surrounding candidates all wore constipated expressions. Clearly, they had also flipped to the final question.
Their eyes revealed pure bewilderment and helplessness.
The Radiant Holy See's exam questions were not particularly broad, and they even provided an exam syllabus. Most were humanities-style comprehensive questions on the Radiant Holy See's politics, history, policy essays, spellcasting theory, and the like.
Except for the last question.
The final question was set by the Chief Examiner. It was always entirely outside the syllabus, wildly off-topic, directly testing material from other faiths, and was worth a great many points.
For example, in last year's Radiant Holy See examination, the final question had been: There are four types of threaded connections, namely bolt connections and stud connections. Please explain them using alchemical principles.
That had crossed straight into the territory of the Alchemy and Mechanical Holy See!
What appeared in the final question depended entirely on luck.
According to the Chief Examiner, this was meant to cultivate well-rounded talents and select those most favored by the Goddess.
Those with good luck might happen to have learned similar material before and pass.
Those with bad luck were simply not favored by the Goddess, so they would not be accepted.
To some extent, Brother Moon's theory was actually correct.
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