Chapter 14

Darren understood that choosing different moves to answer the questions would lead to different results. If he used the same process to explain his answers, choosing the Shadow Ball move would surely result in higher scores than the Double Team move. However, after careful consideration, Darren decided to choose Thunderbolt, which he believed was more certain but not too easy. He wrote down all the answers he could think of one by one until 45 minutes had passed, which was only halfway through the 90-minute exam, and he had finished all the questions.

After checking his answers again for five minutes to make sure there were no mistakes, Darren raised his head. At the same time, Willow also raised her head. Obviously, they had both finished the exam and smiled at each other before raising their hands together.

Since they had finished and were confident they would pass, they applied to submit their papers early. So, midst the surprise and doubt of others, Darren and Willow walked out of the 303 exam room.

The exam lasted for 90 minutes, but it had only been 50 minutes so far.

Other candidates were amazed at Darren and Willow's speed in answering the questions. Some were skeptical because they looked too young to be that fast.

Meanwhile, exam supervisor Ling, who was in charge of monitoring the exam, covered the papers and returned to the platform. She carefully checked their information again and smiled, feeling a little curious.

"Done already?" Their speed in answering the questions was within the expectations of master Shozo, who wasn't surprised when he saw them come out early.

"It was relatively easy," Willow replied.

"What do you think your grades will be? Let's make a bet. If you both rank in the top five among all the candidates this time, I'll give each of you a special reward. Otherwise, there won't be any reward," master Shozo said with a smile, whether in jest or seriousness.

A reward from a Master Breeder? Darren didn't have to think twice to know it must be something good, and even if they didn't meet the conditions set by master Shozo, it seemed like there wouldn't be any loss.

Darren didn't know how the overall results of this batch of candidates would turn out, but it didn't matter since their performance wasn't judged by age. Even if he thought he could take first place, it was impossible. At least, facing Willow, he wasn't sure if he could score higher than her.

Although the answering process went smoothly, he didn't know if there were any flaws in the answers he believed to be correct. Moreover, even if he was confident in his debate topic, it was impossible to get full marks.

"We accept the bet." Neither Willow nor Darren had a reason to refuse master Shozo's offer, and even master Shozo himself had probably already planned to give them the reward.

"Okay, then let's look forward to the results of the next assessment." The passing score for the first assessment was 60 points, and the maximum number of allowed candidates was 100. If there were more than 100, the lowest scores would be eliminated until the number reached 100. Then, the second assessment would be carried out.

As for the number of people who finally pass the Junior Breeder Exam, it's usually around 10 or fewer each year. Sometimes, there are just over 10, and other times, there are only 4 or 5.

However, Darren and the others didn't seem as nervous as the other candidates during the exam.

The exam ended at 9:30, and the grading would continue until the afternoon. At 2:00 pm, the results of all candidates would be announced, followed by the announcement of the next assessment by the exam supervisors.

Several hours passed by in the blink of an eye. Darren and the others stayed in the room the whole time, discussing the written exam questions. After hearing master Shozo's explanation of some questions, Darren realized that there were people outside of his own current abilities, and some answers he thought were correct actually had loopholes or traps.

Next, master Shozo helped Willow and Darren analyze the debate topics in detail, which made them both feel satisfied. As expected of a top master, his ideas were rigorous and interconnected. The analysis was fascinating and made Darren deeply fascinated, wishing to hear more similar topics.

"Oh, it's almost time for the results. Let's go... let's go check them out together!" master Shozo looked at the time and said.

"Okay, let's go." Willow smiled and stood up, then walked out the door.

Darren was also looking forward to it. He estimated his own score and wanted to verify if there were any errors.

After listening to master Shozo's explanations, he also realized that there were some loopholes in his answers due to his limited experience, which was his weakness compared to Willow.

On the other hand, other candidates were discussing among themselves: "I wonder who got first place in the written exam... generally speaking, the top five in the written exam have already passed the assessment, right?"

"Most likely. Unless something unexpected happens."

"I think I did pretty well. I hope I can pass the written exam. The second practical assessment is my strong suit."

As they chatted, most of the candidates and their families had gathered around the large screen where the results would be announced. The square could accommodate a lot of people, and there was enough room even for the number of candidates this time.

"Quick... look! I'm 46th... I passed the written exam for the first time! Looks like I'm one step closer to becoming a Junior Breeder!"

"Look at me! 75 points, 15th place!"

"That's me... 10th place, 78 points!"

Everyone was looking at the electronic screen, and one by one, the names and scores of the examiners flashed on it, starting from the 88th place. In the first written test, only the top 100 examiners were selected, and if there were not enough, those who scored above the passing grade of 60 points would be counted. Obviously, there were not enough examiners who reached the passing line of 60 points this time.

Among the hundreds of examiners, dozens stood out, although they did not yet reach the level of a junior breeder in terms of their skills, they were already much stronger than most trainers in terms of knowledge. After all, being a breeder is a special profession.

Looking at the examiners around them who were either happy or sad, Darren and Willow didn't pay attention to them. They stared at the screen seriously, afraid of missing their names. Now, their names had not yet appeared even when it reached the tenth place, which naturally meant that their scores had already been ranked in the top ten.

As for the specifics, they had to keep watching.

Ninth, eighth...

Seventh... Until the sixth place, when their names still hadn't appeared, they breathed a sigh of relief, at least they had won half of their bet with master Shozo...

Then came the fifth place, but it still wasn't their names. Finally, the big screen displayed Darren's name, in fourth place with 85 points, which was excellent. Next, in third place with 86 points, at the same time, a young man in his twenties cheered and jumped up, then came second place, Willow got 88 points. But the first place's score was a whole 10 points higher than Willow's, with 98 points, Wallace.