There was something interesting about this… Melrose smiled on the surface, but she secretly sized up Xiliya.
Melrose was quite curious. She had never had any interactions with the young lady of the Camberlan Family before, so why did Xiliya harbor such strong malice toward her?
Melrose knew that not long ago, the royals had sent people to Border City to resolve the issue of the Camberlan Family’s heir. Now, Xiliya was no longer just the young lady of the Camberlan Family—she was the family head.
However, Melrose had no idea what exactly had happened in Border City. She only knew that the royals had dispatched imperial troops to garrison the area, and not long ago, Queen Roland had held a lengthy meeting with the council.
The matter of the Northern Border Beastmen was still under discussion among the royal higher-ups, so it hadn’t been publicly announced yet.
Logically speaking, Xiliya hadn’t been stripped of her status as family heir, so there was no reason for her to be so angry at a royal like Melrose.
But Xiliya had guessed right. Due to her status, Melrose had no intention of doing anything to her. She just…
Melrose glanced at Ximo, who sat beside Xiliya. The more Xiliya didn’t want her to interact with Ximo, the more curious she became about her.
Before long, the food they had ordered arrived. The familiar and nostalgic taste temporarily calmed Xiliya’s mood.
In her previous life, after graduating from the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, she had never returned here or had the chance to taste this flavor again.
After tasting a few bites, Ximo heard the system notification in her mind announcing the task’s completion and let out a sigh of relief.
At that moment, a short message alert sounded. Almost reflexively, Ximo reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone… no, her Student Terminal.
Tch drip, though she knew it definitely ran on Magic Crystals, the familiar shape, feel, and notification sound made it hard for Ximo not to treat it like a phone.
Who would have thought that habits from her previous life as a modern person would still come in handy now?
Xiliya had been thinking that Ximo might not be familiar with the Student Terminal and was about to help her operate it when she saw Ximo already skillfully open the inbox.
“Entrance Test?”
Ximo tilted her head. The message on the Student Terminal was from the academic affairs office, instructing new students to gather tomorrow morning for the Entrance Test.
A bad premonition rose in Ximo’s heart. Oh no, there’s an Entrance Test too? If they test magic knowledge, I’ll really score zero!
“Don’t worry, Ximo. The Entrance Test isn’t as troublesome as you think.”
Xiliya, who was also checking her Student Terminal, looked up. The message had been sent to all new students.
“The Entrance Test just checks students’ magic levels upon enrollment. There’s no additional testing.”
“By the way, this is a good chance to explain job classifications to you. Do you remember this, Ximo?”
Ximo shook her head honestly. She had thought the Imperial Capital Magic Academy only taught magic to students.
“Alright then… Let me think. I’ll start from the level divisions.”
Xiliya used her fork to split a french fry on her plate into three pieces.
“You already know about the mage level system—it’s divided into low, intermediate, and high levels, with each level having three sub-levels, right?”
Ximo nodded. She remembered that Xiliya was currently an intermediate low-level mage, though she had no idea what that meant in the context of the Imperial Capital Magic Academy.
“Of course, this level system applies to all professions, not just mages…”
Xiliya slowly explained all the relevant content. Only then did Ximo understand that this school wasn’t just for training mages.
The job classifications in this world were mainly divided into two major directions: those who cultivated magic and those who cultivated physical techniques. Generally, people without magic talent could only pursue physical technique-related professions.
For example, knights, warriors—and even Ximo’s assassin identity—fell under this category.
Magic also had branches during cultivation. Besides orthodox mages, there were professions like priests who specialized in healing magic.
Of course, there were professions that cultivated both physical techniques and magic, such as Holy Knights, though they carried a heavier cultivation burden. Regardless of the profession, the level divisions were the same.
“But generally speaking, at the same level, magic-cultivating professions are stronger than physical technique ones… That’s unavoidable since magic is inherently convenient and powerful.”
“Therefore, only students with extremely poor magic talent are forced to learn physical technique skills. After this Entrance Test, new students should decide their major direction. More specific divisions come later in higher years.”
Xiliya looked at Ximo with some concern. Back at the Camberlan Family, Ximo had been tested and seemed to be the type with zero magic talent who had never learned magic.
Xiliya was still curious how Ximo had managed to never learn any magic… After all, the empire now had universal nine-year compulsory education. Even children in villages and towns learned basic magic from a young age.
Cases like Ximo’s were colloquially known as “fish that slipped through the net of nine-year compulsory education.”
“It’s fine, Ximo. With your current strength, even if you pursue physical techniques, you won’t fall behind.”
Ximo shrugged but didn’t tell Xiliya that she actually planned to cultivate magic. Though she had been clueless about it before, the System’s task rewards during this time had always been “enhance magic talent,” right?
Even though she hadn’t felt anything special after claiming them, Ximo was now curious to see what her magic talent would test at after retesting.
“Check, please—”
While chatting, they had unknowingly finished all the food on the table. Xiliya waved her hand, and as expected, Melrose approached again.
“Since we have such fate, how about I treat you to this meal? Consider it a senior sister’s welcome gift.”
Melrose remained amiable, as if she had completely forgotten Xiliya’s cold glare earlier. Yet her demeanor gave no one the impression that she was easy to bully.
“No need for Senior Sister to trouble yourself—we can pay ourselves.”
Xiliya immediately pulled out her wallet and paid, showing not the slightest intention of accepting Melrose’s kindness.
Xiliya remembered now: in her previous life, the first time she came to this shop after enrolling, not only did Melrose eat with her, but she also paid the bill.
At that time, Xiliya had just left the Camberlan Family, a place that had broken her heart, so Melrose’s actions had undoubtedly warmed her… But now, she realized it was just bait to lure someone into a trap.
