Two more chapters at 5 am (GMT+8). There are only two days before power ranking get reset, so please support my work with power stones.
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The Time passed quickly, months passed in a flash, soon students welcome their Magic junior high exam, outside the school on the day of the exam, pople were filled with worry, waiting for theire kids to come out.
The atmosphere outside the school gates was thick with a mix of stifling heat and parental anxiety. Hundreds of people stood behind the barricades, their necks craned, eyes searching for any sign of a familiar face among the sea of uniforms.
Then, the bell rang—a sharp, mechanical chime that signaled the end of the Magic Junior High Exam and, for many, the beginning of their fate.
Students began to swarm out of the heavy doors like a dam breaking. Some were laughing, tracing complex magical sigils in the air with their fingers to explain an answer; others were deathly silent, staring at their hands as if they'd failed them.
I stepped out into the blinding sunlight, squinting against the glare. Beside me, Mo Fan looked like he had just gone ten rounds with a magical beast and lost. His face was pale, his eyes slightly glazed, and he was staring into middle distance with a look of profound, existential confusion.
For Mo Fan, this wasn't just a bad test day—it was a nightmare of physics-defying proportions. While everyone else had been studying Elementary Magic Theory and the History of the Magic Awakening, he had spent his life thinking the world was governed by science.
Expectation: Solve for x in a quadratic equation.
Reality: Calculate the mana consumption of a basic Fire Burst under humid conditions.
"You okay?" I asked, though the answer was written all over his slumped shoulders.
Mo Fan let out a long, ragged sigh, his voice barely a whisper. "I didn't know a single answer. Not one. I thought 'Magic' was some kind of metaphor... I didn't realize they were actually going to ask me about the properties of Stardust."
In this world, the Magic High School Entrance Exam is the dividing line.
Pass: You get to awaken your magical element and become a Mage.
Fail: You live a mundane life, forever at the mercy of a world filled with monsters you can't fight.
As we walked toward the gates, the crowd of parents began to surge forward. Mo Fan looked at the hopeful faces and winced. He knew that for a "transmigrator" who had just arrived in a world where science was replaced by sorcery, he had just failed the most important test of his new life.
"I'm cooked," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Unless there's a miracle, I'm never getting into a Magic High School."
I patted him on the back, feeling the weight of the situation. He wasn't just a student who hadn't studied; he was a man who had lost his entire reality, and the "new" reality was currently laughing at his blank exam paper.
Just as we reached the perimeter, a sharp, mocking laugh cut through the noise.
Zhao Kunsan, a loud-mouthed lackey for the Mu Bai, was standing with a group of cronies. He had spotted Mo Fan's hollow expression and wasn't about to let the opportunity pass.
"Look at that! If it isn't the 'Great' Mo Fan," Zhao Kunsan sneered, loud enough for the surrounding parents to hear. "Judging by that face, he probably couldn't even distinguish a Fire Star from a hole in the ground. Why even show up? You're just a driver's son; you should have saved the ink."
Mu Bai, on the other hand, just looked at Zhao Kunsan like he was looking at an idiot. 'Damn this idiot.'
"Fatty, are you reaching for a beating?" I said as I looked at him, and Mu Bai immediately shut his mouth. Only then did he realize the situation.
At present, the Li family had already made great progress; with a total of ten Super-level mages, the family's progress had gone quite smoothly. This fact was well known in Bo City. So, while Zhao Kunsan might bark at Mo Fan, he didn't dare do so in front of me.
"I... I was just joking, Li Yuzi," Zhao Kunsan stammered, his bravado vanishing as he retreated a few steps. He looked toward Mu Bai for support, but Mu Bai turned his head away, staring intently at a distant cloud as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
'This brainless pig... of all the people to provoke, he does it right in front of Li Yuzi. Does he want to get us all beaten?'
"Then keep your jokes to yourself," I said coldly. "Unless you want to see if your 'Magic Theory' can help you from pain of a broken jaw."
As Mu Bai and the others left, Monkey, for whom we were waiting, also came out. "Brother Yuzi, Brother Fan..." He stopped midway as he looked at Mo Fan's sad face.
"Ah, Brother Mo Fan, sorry about... well." Monkey looked at Mo Fan, trying to find some words of comfort, but in the end, he couldn't.
"Fine, both of you, now stop being sad. It's not like he can't attend high school; I will help you out this time." Looking at them like this, I couldn't help but make the promise.
Anyway, I didn't want Uncle Mo to get humiliated by that bastard Mu He. I would have to pull some strings for Mo Fan.
"Yuzi, can you do that? Good—from now on, I will be your son." And here he was, the same old shameless Mo Fan. Monkey looked at Mo Fan like he was an idiot, not knowing what to say about his behavior.
(Mo Jiaxing: If he is your father, then who am I?)
"Stop disgusting me or you will get beaten up," I said as we walked. Soon Monkey left on his own, and I spotted Brother Zhu, who was chatting happily with Uncle Mo.
Mo Jiaxing was dressed in his simple driver's uniform, looking every bit the hardworking father, his face etched with a mixture of hope and trepidation. Standing beside him was Brother Zhu, who seemed to be keeping him company, the two of them engaged in a low-toned conversation.
"Uncle Mo!" I called out, raising a hand.
Mo Jiaxing's head snapped toward us, a wide, nervous smile breaking across his weathered face. "Ah, Yuzi! Fan-er! You're finally out. How was it? How was the exam?"
The question hit Mo Fan like a Physical System spell to the gut. He opened his mouth, but for once, the legendary glibness of the Great Mo Fan failed him. He looked at his father—the man who had worked double shifts and sacrificed everything just to give him a shot at this exam—and the words died in his throat.
"It was... it was an experience, Dad," Mo Fan managed to choke out, his eyes downcast.
Mo Jiaxing's smile faltered just a fraction, his parental intuition picking up on the heavy atmosphere radiating off his son.
To Be Continue....
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