The Demon Lord Is An Angel-Chapter 511: Practicum

"Hi Grandma..." Arc’s face burned with embarrassment.

"Look at you! It’s been, what, three months? And now you’re all ready to take the exam and-"

"Do we have to do this here?" Arc was grateful Snow had gone before her, because otherwise she’d be dying of embarrassment... not that she wasn’t about to do that anyway.

In short order, Grandma Brigit took Arc off the hands of the students and led her to an observation deck that overlooked the testing area, where a couple of professors were watching the test-takers from the sidelines.

"Welcome back, Professor Gale," a dwarven male said as soon as she arrived. "Who’s this?"

"This is my granddaughter, Arcine. She’s trying for the Academy this year. Arc, this is Professor Goldreg."

"Any particular reason you’ve brought her here?" A birdkin female who resembled a secretarybird asked. "I’m Professor Ti." She offered a clawed hand that Arc shook lightly.

"Apparently, the measurement tool couldn’t measure Arc’s output. I was hoping to use the spare."

Arc numbly waited as they sorted out another measuring plate, an older model with a needle instead of a numeric display. Three times they tested the device on each other before having her repeat it. The result was the same.

"Very interesting..." Professor Goldreg said. "A negligible output isn’t a problem, unless it lasts past the first year, but I’ve never seen zero. You said you’re a maven, young Arc?"

"I think so... all I can do is move dust around..." Arc wanted to die. To wither away like the dust she could manipulate and be gone with the wind. She hadn’t heard about any "one-year" rule, but there was no way anyone could become a Dragon Knight with only one year of training. She needed to have full mastery of some form of magic just to apply to train for the role.

"Would you mind demonstrating for us?" Professor Ti asked, already swirling her hand to collect a small cloud of dust from the air, which hovered in a sphere about a quarter meter in diameter.

"Keep one hand on the measuring tool, please," Professor Goldreg said when Arc was about to remove her hands.

Arc suppressed a sigh and pulled on her magic. She took a breath, visualizing the dust in the ball, which was easy because it was right in front of her. The little particles were settling, protected from the wind by Professor Ti’s magic. Arc could feel something reaching out as she awkwardly made the dust swirl again, something that didn’t quite feel like the mana in her body, but as soon as she did, the feeling was gone and the dust started to settle again.

"I can usually do more..." she mumbled.

"Remarkable! The needle didn’t move at all!" Professor Goldreg said. "This is quite the anomaly you have."

Stars, just kill me already.

"Think we should bring this to the Chancellor?" Grandma Brigit asked.

"You are the senior mage here, Professor Gale, but I would advise it," Professor Ti said. "We’ve had a few mundane students in the past, with special permission, of course. But they at least had readings..."

"I don’t want to attend as a mundane!" Arc panicked, noticing some of the other students glancing her way at the outcry. Mundane people had no ability with magic and tended not even to feel mana, even though they had it. She had magic, she knew it! But why she couldn’t control it was just...

Grandma Brigit put a hand on her shoulder. "Arc, no one’s saying you have to attend as a mundane. We have a class for people with special types of magic, so that you can figure out how magic works for you."

"So, what, I’m going to be separated from everyone?" Arc felt her panic still.

"Not at all. You’ll still have the standard curriculum. That should get you through your first year." Her eyes were reassuring, but there was something else there. Not disappointment or outright pity, but something close. "Come, I’ll take you back to the field while I sort some things out."

Realizing things were out of her hands, Arc let herself be led to the tiered benches where many of her peers were chatting excitedly as the testing line continued to dwindle. Grandma Brigit had a short word with the nearest professor, briefly pointing at Arc, before she gave her granddaughter a smile and walked towards the main building, talking into the communication ring on her forefinger.

"Arc!" Snow’s call caught her just as she started catastrophizing. "Did you see me out there? I was all ’Bam!’ and then I split the rock..."

"Y-yeah, uh... that’s great..." Arc stammered out a quick lie.

"Did you already do your test?"

"Something like that..." Arc blushed and looked away, only to lock eyes with Raven Black, who was staring daggers at her, having clearly finished her own test. Was that dark stain blood under her eyes or runny makeup? If she were a blood mage like her father, then there was no way Arc could withstand whatever Raven threatened to "make her strong" with.

"I can’t wait to find out what our results are. They’re going to announce them at lunch!"

Arc didn’t feel all that hungry, but the schedule did call for a slightly late lunch around halfway through the afternoon. She wound up following Snow to the dining hall, only half-trying to listen as she looked around for any signs of her family.

All the parents had clearly already eaten, and they were socializing with each other, having been excluded from watching any of the tests. Or so she thought until she saw an illusion caster with images of the mostly depopulated field. She watched for a moment as a surly-looking angel, or perhaps angelkin, disintegrated a target without any fanfare. Given how prominent his white wings were, she was surprised she hadn’t noticed him in the crowd, since as far as she understood, angels were a relative rarity at the Academy.

She tore her eyes away as she saw a familiar mane of blue hair that was her Dad’s. Next to him was Cassiel, one of her moms, and Ferro, her other dad. A part of her grew sad as she realised her Father wasn’t amongst them, though Grandma Darlae cut an imposing figure as she boisterously compared biceps with a male oxkin.

There didn’t seem to be anything holding them back, but Arc found herself grateful the adults were sticking to the periphery of the room.

There were menus on the table, and Arc only ordered a fruit smoothie, immediately forgetting what type as she took in the massive dining hall that was only half full if one included the adults.

"I hear they’ve finally started applying new spatial magic formulas! So all the dorm rooms are bigger on the inside!"

"Huh? Y-yeah. Imagine what it’ll be like when everyone can get that..." Arc had missed the start of whatever conversation Snow was having with her, but the pangolkin was clearly excited. In truth, spatially expanded rooms were the norm in her house, which was why the manor had such a small profile compared to the inside. She hadn’t noticed if any of the classrooms had been expanded, being too busy worrying over her tests.

She appreciated Snow’s exuberance, but shortly after she joined the conversation, they were interrupted by a male voice. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

It was the surly, white-winged angel from the illucaster. He was wearing a scowl on his face as he waited for the student sitting across from Arc to answer. That student wound up shifting one seat forward as the angel took a seat, stowing his wings in what had to be a dimensional storage the moment they brushed the table.

Arc jumped a little when he suddenly turned, looking right at her. The angel had fair skin and purple eyes, along with blonde hair and a look that said he’d rather be anywhere but here.

"Hi! I’m Snow!" Arc’s companion practically stood on her seat to reach across the table.

"I’m, uh, Rikael," the angel replied, shaking her hand quickly.

"This is Arc!" Snow didn’t wait to introduce her. "We just met, but I can tell we’re going to get along!"

"N-nice to meet you," Arc offered a hand that Rikael shook limply before withdrawing his hands under the table. Even though the menu was right next to him, he waved off the server, content to wait without food as the test-takers began to be served.

She quickly turned away from the prickly angel and sipped at her smoothie. The illucaster in the center of the room had gone from footage in the field to a list of names along with unfilled slots next to each. A hush fell over the students as they looked up, except for Rikael who was staring at Arc’s family, or so she thought, seeing him in her peripheral vision. She searched the board for her name, finding it relatively close to the center of the screen.

At the back of the room, an elven woman in robes drew Arc’s attention, and she realized that the Chancellor of the Academy had arrived... along with the moment of truth.

The slots began to fill. C for Common-level curriculum. A for Advanced. Only a handful would be marked S for Special Student status. Snow, whose last name was Asterid, was utterly surprised when she got an S next to her name.

"Oh beans... Oh beans. Mom is going to be so happy!" The little pangolkin rattled her scales with joy. Arc gave Snow a smile, genuinely happy for the girl, before returning her eyes to the board as the screen cycled towards her name.

When her letter appeared next to it, her jaw dropped.