"Cleverness Spell"
The information provided by the Larkspur did indeed prove useful on the second day of the written test.
During the first exam on the second day, namely <Aberrant Beast Analysis>, some magical girls with problems were quickly identified through the deliberate screening by the proctors.
Dozens of magical girls were caught using Spell Formula during the exam. Although this represents a small percentage of the thousands of test takers, it is still a number that cannot be ignored.
These magical girls did indeed use Spell Formula called "Confusion Spell" during the assessment process, which can subtly affect someone's memory and decision-making without their knowledge. Because of its weak effect and the inability to be amplified by higher magical output, this Spell Formula is of little value in actual combat. Furthermore, its high learning Spell Formula has made it an extremely rare spell; normally, no magical girl would bother practicing it.
These magical girls who were caught were undoubtedly all quite young, the oldest being seventeen and the youngest fourteen. Under the stern questioning of the proctors, they quickly and tremblingly revealed the truth:
A month before the exam, graduating students had already spontaneously formed many online communities to discuss the exam. In these communities, some people were selling "Cleverness Spell" as a gimmick, telling students that there was a niche Spell Formula that could make users instantly sharpen their minds, speed up their thinking, activate their memory, and make them a hundred times smarter.
Most magical girls would naturally dismiss such outlandish advertising slogans as jokes or scams, but there are always a few naive girls who actually believe the claims, pay the money, and receive this so-called "Cleverness Spell."
In the subsequent research on the Spell Formula, some of the magical girls who bought the "Cleverness Spell" gave up halfway because the learning cost was too high, while others did not feel that it was effective after learning it. Therefore, they regarded the merchants as scammers, posted the merchants' IDs in the community and cursed them, thus helping later test takers avoid the pitfall.
However, there were so many magical girls who came to the Kingdom to participate in the assessment this time, and among them were some "chosen ones". These girls not only mastered the Spell Formula, but also, perhaps due to the psychological placebo effect, actually believed that they had become smarter.
Yes, this "Cleverness Spell" naturally doesn't make anyone smarter, because it's actually just a "Confusion Spell."
Thus, these highly intelligent individuals, who had mastered the Confusion Spell and believed they could become smarter, confidently stepped into the examination hall. Then, relying on the Spell Formula's inherently weak magical fluctuations, they used it during the examination.
There were naturally no problems on the first day, because neither the other examinees nor the invigilators expected anyone to do something so harmful and self-defeating in the examination room. Even if dozens of people used this Spell Formula at the same time, the passing score probably wouldn't drop by even one point. Apart from harming the magical girls affected by the Spell Formula, it wouldn't have any other effect.
However, the next day, it wasn't just Fangting City's team that discovered the problem. In fact, most of the candidates affected by the Spell Formula noticed something was amiss. Among them were team leaders who were knowledgeable enough to recognize the Confusion Spell and report it to the Examination Institute.
Thus, this exam on "Aberrant Beast Analysis" could be described as a "cat and mouse game".
Unaware of the true nature of the situation, ordinary test-takers are unknowingly affected by the Confusion Spell in the first half of the exam, causing them to write incorrect answers. In the second half, they witness the test-takers next to them being led away by the invigilators, and then, in a moment of panic, they unexpectedly find that their minds have returned to normal, allowing them to complete the exam normally.
As for those "cheating candidates" who were caught, since the consequences of their actions were undoubtedly quite severe, they were all judged to be failing, had a large amount of their contribution deducted, and were banned from participating in qualification certification assessments for three years.
Since a significant number of the magical girls involved did not intentionally intend to harm anyone, were first-time offenders, and were even instigated and tricked by bad actors, the Examination Institute did not impose harsh punishments. If these magical girls complete more missions and contribute more to protecting the city, returning their contributions to normal levels, they can still participate in the qualification assessment three years later. However, if they dare to cheat again, these magical girls, who have already been flagged, will likely face imprisonment.
Of course, the process doesn't end there. Because the scores of those candidates affected by the Spell Formula were genuinely lowered, and many who would have passed the written exam may now face elimination. In contrast, previous qualification certification exams did not involve retakes.
To solve this problem, Larkspur went to the Magic Affairs Branch as soon as she finished her exam that morning. Under her initiative, the Green Faction quickly mobilized their connections and implemented an unprecedented decision at a speed that was almost unbelievable for the Magic Affairs Institute. That was to take care of the candidates who were affected by the exam, the Magic Affairs Institute arranged a unified make-up exam: any candidate who felt that they had not performed well in the first day's exam could participate. The exam questions would be changed, but the difficulty would remain the same, and only the make-up exam score would be counted.
In other words, if a magical girl chooses to take a makeup exam in order to improve her score, but gets a lower score than her first attempt, her official grade will be the lower score from the makeup exam. This prevents other students from taking the opportunity to artificially inflate their scores.
Thus, the rewards and punishments for this matter were settled. However, the matter was only half completed, because a more important issue was placed before the Magic Affairs Institute and the others:
Who exactly is this person selling "Confusion Spell" in the test-taker community, or rather, who are they?
Those candidates caught using magic in the examination hall were undoubtedly just pawns, tools used as pawns, and did not participate in the planning itself. Those who attempted to spread Confusion Spell and disrupt the examination order are the true targets of the Magic Affairs Institute and the Research Institute's investigation.
In fact, this is one of the reasons why the Green Faction's "make-up exam" strategy was unanimously approved, because another faction showed a more proactive attitude on this matter than the Green Faction.
That was the Crown Faction.
The written exam for the certification only lasts two days, followed by a one-day break before the main event of the assessment – the practical component.
Only then will the Queen actually come to the assessment site to observe the ceremony, accompanied by a large number of palace officials. For these Crown Faction magical girls, maintaining Her Majesty's viewing experience and eliminating any troublemakers is their duty.
In exchange for helping the Green Faction, they requested to take over the interrogation of the cheating students—they promised not to use violence or torture, and to ensure the personal safety of these magical girls, but they were determined to extract all the information from them.
The second day of the written exam ended in such a serious and tense atmosphere.
Of course, there were also some happy people, namely some candidates who received news of a make-up exam after taking the "Kingdom Law and Mission Conduct" exam.
"Great, that means I should be able to rank among the top in the written exam!"
As for that magical girl who was lamenting the passing of spring in the Rainbow Cloud Wetlands one second, and then saw the Examination Institute notice the next, and was shouting with her hands on her hips as if she had been given a shot of adrenaline...
"I'll show you my skills, and then I can get noticed by the Queen and become a shining star player!"
Well, to be honest, although both Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan were giving Lin Xiaolu a look that said, "Here she comes again," Larkspur herself, who had been busy all day dealing with this matter, was still somewhat gratified to see her daughter's renewed spirits.
I've had a bit of a cold these past couple of days, and I've been working on refining the outline for page 2 of Volume 2, adding a lot of details, which has taken up my writing time and resulted in generally late updates.
It should be adjusted soon, so there's no need to worry.