"Which Bastard Is Screwing Me Over?"

The moment Ashley finished speaking, Ansu felt his vision blur.

A faint buzzing sounded in his ears.

A sheet of paper woven from light slowly drifted down before him and landed in Ansu's hand on its own.

The paper was as thin as a cicada's wing and utterly weightless. It was an exam notice, as well as an exam commitment form.

Dear Mr. Ansu Morningstar, hello. Your candidate number is 061, and your examination location is the Sixth Church of the Alchemy and Mechanical Holy See.

The subject of this assessment is "Allocation and Use of Spell Slots and Mana Points."

Exam weight: 30%.

Exam Instructions: Under the restrictions of the Alchemy Array, you may and may only use four Memory Slots. You may freely choose Magic Books for temporary equipping and allocate ten Magic Points for use.

You may not carry any support-type magical items. God-Bestowed Titles are prohibited. Candidates must not have any debuffs before entering the examination area.

To ensure complete fairness, through the authorized Alchemy Array, the examiner will perfectly replicate all of your conditions upon entering the examination area, including appearance, equipment, physical condition, the Magic Books in your four spell slots, and ten Magic Points.

Assessment criteria: Your score will be determined by your specific performance. Defeating the examiner earns a perfect score.

Perseverance, courage, wisdom—this is not merely an assessment, but a trial to surpass yourself.

The only criterion for a perfect score is defeating yourself.

As Ansu read through the exam commitment form, an intrigued smile curled at the corner of his lips. He thought this exam was rather interesting.

This commitment form was drafted by the Alchemy and Mechanical Holy See.

Please confirm that you have finished reading. By signing this exam commitment form, you authorize the rights stated above.

In short, he only had four spell slots and ten Magic Points, while titles were banned.

And the examiner would fight him under completely identical conditions.

Absolute fairness.

But Priestess Ashley was a genuine magic expert, far more experienced than they were. Even with the same magic and identical conditions, she could achieve better results than ordinary people.

To pass this exam, the key was how to choose the four spells.

It was like a game of chess. The four Memory Slots were chess pieces, while the ten Magic Points were the number of moves.

Among the pieces he selected, he had to conceal a sequence that could defeat his opponent—and hide it well enough that she would not see through it.

Because his opponent possessed the same four pieces and could make the same moves.

In fact, based on the four pieces he chose, she could devise an even better combination and play an even stronger line.

Normal people should have begun pondering which Magic Books to choose by now.

That was the orthodox and correct approach.

—but Ansu was a Heretical Player.

Compared with playing chess, he preferred flipping the board.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Ansu stared at Miss Ashley on the platform, already forming a plan in his mind.

Ashley seemed to have perceived Ansu's gaze—she was a woman with highly attuned instincts—and slightly furrowed her brows as she turned around.

Ansu showed her a bright, sunny smile, one that looked genuinely innocent and flawless.

Tomorrow's Exam Rules had been explained. There was nothing else to do today, so the candidates dispersed where they stood.

After leaving the Alchemy Holy See, Ansu saw Miss Enya.

She was sitting on a bench in the courtyard.

Sunlight streamed through the transparent dome and spilled inside through countless refractions in the glass.

Because the courtyard was filled with layers upon layers of lush greenery, the scorching sunlight had lost some of its heat and resembled cool moonlight instead.

She wore a Lolita dress, its hem patterned with delicate wisteria motifs, exquisite and luxurious. The silhouette of the Wutong Tree outside the window half-veiled her profile.

She held a lunchbox in her hands, her toes lightly touching the ground. A red cord was tied around her ankle, making her seem light and translucent, as though she might melt into that pool of light.

Miss Enya saw Ansu as well. Tilting her head, she said, "I brought you lunch."

Why did this feel so much like a parent bringing food to an exam candidate?

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Ansu accepted the lunchbox and opened it. The ingredients inside were plentiful: fried fish cakes, neatly sliced meat cutlets, and a bottom layer of salad and cherry tomatoes, all arranged tidily in separate compartments.

"Your unicorn was delivered today as well. I arranged for the inn to look after it for you." Miss Enya had everything in perfect order. Judging by appearances alone, she truly was a flawless Maid.

"Forget that for now. Where's my staff?" Ansu took a bite of the fried fish cake and found it delicious.

He might need it tomorrow.

"What staff?" Miss Enya tilted her head.

"The staff with the holy light attribute—the one Luojia gave me."

"Mm-hm." Miss Enya still wore a smile as she blinked her amber eyes. "I don't remember."

She was like a shameless cat.

"Where is it?"

"—That was a staff?" She put on an expression of sudden realization. "It was so ugly, I thought it was a clothesline pole."

"So you used it to hang clothes?"

Ansu's mouth twitched slightly.

If the Little Saintess found out, she would absolutely lose her temper!

"I'm joking. It doesn't actually look like a clothesline pole." Enya smiled. "And I couldn't possibly use it to hang clothes."

That was good. Ansu relaxed slightly.

"With such a strange and ugly shape," Enya said calmly, "I thought it was Your Excellency Luojia's Purple Myrtle Stick, so I used it for that sort of thing."

?

That was the saintess's staff.

What kind of ultimate humiliation was that?

What filth was she spouting now?

This was sacred ground of the Holy See.

Ansu smacked the back of her head with the lunchbox. Miss Maid shrank her neck, let out a pained whimper, and covered the spot where she had been hit.

"Stop joking around."

Ansu could tell that this trashy Maid was simply making things up and spreading obscene rumors. "Give it to me—I might need it tomorrow."

Miss Maid covered her head and stuck out her tongue.

Ansu took the staff, then paused. After a while, he finally said, "Lunch was delicious—thank you for bringing it to me."

"Please don't speak so gently."

Miss Enya froze for a moment, tilting her head as her smooth long hair fell over one shoulder. "Otherwise, you'll become even tastier seasoning for me tonight."

"Trashy woman,"

Ansu said.

After finishing his lunch, Ansu saw Enya off and returned to the dormitory.

The moment he returned to the dormitory and opened the door, he heard the sound of someone's heart shattering.

The Radiant Lion Cub, Mr. Arthur Sunny, was trembling as he held a copy of the Imperial Capital Morning Post. He read the words printed on it in disbelief, as though his entire worldview had collapsed.

#The First Candidate to Leave the Examination Hall! Arthur Sunny of the Sun Family Gives an Interview!#

"Arthur Sunny personally stated that the final question on this exam was quite simple, so it was not worth remembering—only idiots could fail to solve it."

He blinked his bewildered eyes.

—Where was my flawless plan?

And wasn't I the second person to leave the examination hall?

And who the hell said all this nonsense?!

"Some bastard is screwing me over!"

Liszt pushed the door open. "Arthur, you have a telegram—it's from your Father."

Arthur's handsome face trembled as he took the telegram. The moment he opened it, his pupils contracted.

In the telegram, his Father lavishly praised him and loudly spread word of his accomplishments throughout noble circles.

He had even declared a holiday throughout the territory, hung banners everywhere, and celebrated "Young Master Arthur winning the crown of the liberal arts and returning home in glory."

Arthur could only think about one thing now: what would happen if he went home after failing the exam, and what posture he should use to beg for mercy.

The bragging had already been done, and his Father cared most about saving face.

Besides, his Father was a Demigod-tier knight!

Could he even survive the beating? Arthur swallowed hard.

Liszt took the morning paper from Arthur and looked closely. His brows furrowed—when had this humble person handed in his paper second?

"Some bastard is screwing me over!"

This humble person was so modest. How could he possibly hand in his paper second?

I was supposed to be in third place forever!

Liszt had the most pathological obsessive-compulsive disorder. All he wanted was the middle position: Third place.

His OCD made him feel as though ants were crawling all over his body. He felt uncomfortable everywhere, miserable enough to die.

How could his flawless plan have gone wrong?

Seeing their ugly expressions, Ansu curiously took the morning paper as well. His brows rose even higher, and his first reaction was even more outrageous—

Had Calvin crawled out of his grave to search for family?

"Abandoned by a heartless man while pregnant with twins, I became a red-clad ghost and traveled thousands of miles to find him"?

"Some bastard is screwing me over!"

Please give me some monthly votes.

Also, tomorrow's two chapters will be released together at midnight.