Ch 17: Exam Prep - Part 1

Layla's words created an awkwardness in the air she was unaware of. She could feel the older female looking at her in interest.

"You are right. Overconfidence can get one killed. I will keep young Miss's words in mind in the future."

Even though Mary's lips formed the words, her eyes betrayed the insincerity. They were hollow, devoid of genuine emotion, making it clear that she was merely appeasing Layla.

They finally reached home, and no one questioned Layla about where she had been.

But there was one noticeable difference between Layla's life before and now, and that was the special 'attention' Henry continued to give her.

Layla could find the older male looking in her direction multiple times, and she was sure this would cause her trouble sooner or later.

Henry's unwanted attention caused other kids to pay attention to Layla. It was getting overwhelming for her.

But despite all this, Layla neither acknowledged the situation nor tried to resolve it. She let it all flow as it had been and returned to working on her magic.

...

Before Layla knew it, six months had passed, and her beginner's core had finished forming. It was the same time her basic classes came to an end.

During this time, neither The 'first class' Great Wizard Rodric Burnance nor the faker came to talk to Layla.

They had shown interest in Layla initially, but her lack of anything grand made the pair lose interest in her…or so Layla thought.

But during the last class of the year, Layla was greeted by the system notifications.

[The 'first class' Great Wizard Rodric Burnance looks at you and wonders where you will rank during the practical exam.]

[The 'first class' Great Wizard Rodric Burnance is thinking of increasing the difficulty of the practical exam to test you.]

These messages were sudden and took Layla by surprise. She tried hard to pay attention to the faker, who was explaining more about the practical exam, but the system's alarm made her focus falter.

"-will be all. The test will be held the day after tomorrow, so ensure you are prepared. Those who show good aptitude during the test and rank in the top 3 will be selected for a personal internship with the master of their choice."

[The 'first class' Great Wizard Rodric Burnance wonders if Layla would choose him. He says he will burn any other apprentice Layla will choose.]

'Ugh, this is a headache. Just what does this man want from me? There is no way he thinks I will rank in the top 3. I am currently fourth in the rankings.'

This was a sore spot for Layla, and her conscience pricked every time she saw her score. 

However, her current score was not because she did not work hard enough.

But no matter how fast Layla absorbed information, her lack of basic knowledge made writing many papers awkward.

She also had trouble controlling her spells while her core was in the development stages, which made many of her practices messy.

Layla could instinctively tell she was better than most students, even without a stable core, but the fundamentals needed time to be covered.

"You all can head back now. I will see you all the day after."

The faker's eyes lasted on Layla just a bit longer than she would like, and then he was gone.

Layla had yet to hear a single word of what the teacher said. Her only source of information was Mary.

"Young Miss, would you like to head out and buy a tent for camping? The test will last two days in the forest, where you must survive alone. Ah, if you think it is too much for you, you can back down and retake this class next year."

Mary spoke of retaking this class too easily.

Had Layla been any other child, this would have to be the action to take. 

However, as someone sponsored by Duke Lockhart, she could not afford to be held back.

She might be six, but even she knew the Duke would show her no mercy.

"It's fine! I will take this test as intended. Let's go and buy all the necessities. Is there a limit to what we can take?"

Layla asked, and Mary smiled at her question.

"No! There is no limit to what you can take. It is only a matter of how much you can store in your pocket dimension. I never asked you how much you can store in your inventory, young miss."

Mary asked, and Layla suddenly felt her back go cold.

Because she had a system as an inventory, Layla never had to worry about the pocket dimension to store goods.

However, someone of her age and skills should not even be capable of creating a pocket dimension.

'Shit! I never worried about this before. But maybe I should have bought something to hide the fact that I could use the inventory. No, it is not too late.'

"Thank you for reminding me about this, Mary. I need to buy a spatial tool that will allow me to store items and then them during tests. I completely forgot about that."

Layla kept an eye on Mary's face when she spoke. But as expected, the older showed no crack in her mask.

"It is my pleasure, miss! If you tell me what kind of storage item you want, I will see if I can get you something that matches."

Layla had to think about it. She was not sure what would be good for her.

A ring and a necklace were two things that came to her mind. But they were too easy to swipe. 

Also, her body was still developing, so those things would need to be changed soon.

The same would be with the bracelet or any other jewelry…

"I would like to get my ears pierced. I think I want a small earring as a storage device for now. It will also be a good investment for social season, right?"

It was customary for children to get their ears pierced at around ten, but it was not compulsory.

No one would care if Layla got hers pierced a little early.