English Test - 641

Although this seemed like a good place to end for the day, class had only just begun. After a moment, the Imperial Scholar spoke again.

"One intelligence point to Skymender." He said.

Skymender nodded. With this, he had three. Although it didn't give him access to anything he had not already had access to, it was a starting point. Plus, as of now, he had more intelligence points than everyone else.

"If you want more intelligence points, then you should answer questions when I ask them." The Imperial Scholar said. Everyone nodded their heads.

The Imperial Scholar started with his lecture, continuing to talk about the English language.

This lecture ended earlier than the previous one. Skymender returned to his house, went out to eat, and fell asleep. The next day, the Imperial Scholar came on time as usual.

Noticeably, the leaderboard had names on it. Skymender was at the top, with a three next to his name. It seemed that intelligence points would determine the positions of the ranking.

"Over these last few days, I have talked about the English language. Today, I have brought numerous scholars from the Imperial Capital to test your knowledge. I hope that none of you disappoint me. Good performances will be rewarded with Intelligence points."

As he finished speaking, sixteen scholars entered the room. They were not like the scholars that had brought them and guided them a bit such as Scholar Ming, but were clearly more refined and more scholarly.

They all bowed to the Imperial Scholar before lining up and looking at the students.

The Imperial Scholar spoke. "Everyone, come and choose someone to test your abilities. Not everyone will test you equally. It is up to your luck, or perhaps your identification skill, whether who you pick is lenient or very strict."

Everyone stood up rather quickly as he finished speaking.

Many people analyzed it, but Skymender didn't. He understood that the Imperial Scholar wouldn't make it easy to guess who was who. 

There would be many twists and turns to guess who was who. Skymender did not think that he could win against the Imperial Scholars' intelligence.

He looked across the stage. People would probably put on false fronts to make them seem nicer, though they may be strict, but as he had said, the Imperial Scholar could have designed this. Maybe it was a double false front. Those who looked nice were actually nice, while those who looked mean were actually mean.

As Skymender had said, it was impossible for him to figure out.

It seemed like most of the students would waste their time and energy thinking about how to pick, but a few, such as Skymender, would save all of their time and energy for the test.

How did Skymender choose? He simply went up to the first person from the left.

The scholar he chose spoke. "Bold choice, young one." 

Skymender nodded. "No point in wasting time."

"So be it. Don't regret it." The scholar said.

"I never regret my decisions."

Skymender was the first to choose, and he waited for others to do so.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Scholar wrote another ranking list numbered one through sixteen. The big one was for the overall Imperial Scholar Camp ranking, while the one he was creating was for just this test.

After a few minutes, everyone had selected someone.

"Alright. Disperse."

The various scholars began to walk away, the students that had selected them following.

Skymender's chosen scholar actually stayed in the room with him. This would be their testing location.

Skymender sat in a front row seat while the scholar sat on the stage in front of him, thought not at the Imperial Scholars desk. 

He simply began to talk.

"So, what is your name?"

"My name is Skymender."

"Nice to meet you Skymender, you can call me Scholar Tie."

"Nice to meet you too, Scholar Tie."

Skymender's throat was already starting to hurt from all the talking, but this was part of his test. He couldn't simply ignore it. He was just at a disadvantage from the start.

"I can see that you wear a mask as well as a glove. What happened? Or is it just a fashion choice?"

Skymender responded. "I accidentally inhaled some poison. I can never breathe the same."

Scholar Tie nodded with sympathy. "I see. I can tell that even this is starting to get to you. I apologise in advance. So, why do you wear a glove?"

"I accidentally touched some poison. It is scarred, never to recover."

"I see. What is another word for putting yourself above others?"

"Arrogance."

"What is it called to enjoy others suffering?"

"Schadenfreude."

"That word doesn't conform to typical English. Where did that word come from?"

"It is considered to have come from an eastern dialect mispronouncing words. However, it is just a theory."

"What is…?"

"Scoliosis."

"What is…?"

"Mend."

"One who does that is called?"

"Mender."

"What is blue and above our heads?"

"Sky."

"What is one who mends the sky, theoretically, called?"

"A Skymender."

"Haha." The Scholar laughed.

Skymender barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

"What is…?"

"Tungsten."

"What about…?"

"Armadillo."

"And…?"

"Mellifluous."

"What is…?"

"Quintessence."

…

Finally after over an hour, the Scholar asked one last question.

"What is it known as when you experience an unexpected delightful moment?"

"Serendipity?"

Skymender began to violently cough.

"That concludes it. You'll hear your results from the Imperial Scholar. You can wait here."

The Scholar left. As he opened the door, three other students entered. They had been waiting outside.

Two of them seemed normal, but one had an unsightly look on his face.

Skymender waited for another hour, and everyone had entered the room.

As the Imperial Scholar entered, Skymender was barely able to hold in his coughs.

He did not say a word, stepping on the movable ladder and starting from the bottom of the board.

Skymender watched, not recognizing most of the names, until finally, his was written.

Fourth place, Skymender.

Considering how distracted he had been by his throat, it was a miracle he had reached that high.