Reality had shown these boys and girls just how cruel it could be.

At the exam site where Clay was, only two Mages managed to summon familiars by the very end—and that was still a pretty good result. At some sites, not a single person managed it.

Little by little, the square emptied. Many students had already returned to their dorms to pack their things.

The poorer students simply gave up, while those with a little more money and the noble students chose to attend magic academies in other cities.

Even without a familiar, anyone who eventually reached Fourth Tier as a Mage would be considered equal in status to a noble, and the state would pay them a monthly salary.

“It’s almost our turn. How many of the three of us do you think will pass?” a red-haired girl asked her two companions. She was only fourteen, but her figure was already startlingly mature. She stood five foot five, with curves that made people in the queue mistake her for an older girl there to guide them.

“I don’t know… But I’ve memorized the incantations inside and out.” A white-haired girl adjusted her glasses, her eyes fixed on the little booklet in her hands. It was full of explanations, information, and precautions about the summoning spells their teachers had taught them since they started school. But her hands were trembling slightly.

The girl at the back of the trio kept her head lowered and her eyes squeezed shut. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she bit her lower lip with her front teeth, looking as though she was about to cry. Her waist-length golden hair shook along with her body.

“Eve, don’t be scared.” The red-haired girl pulled her into a tight hug. Eve’s face was squashed against her chest, making it hard to breathe. She tried to struggle, but the red-haired girl held her fast.

“It’s just an exam. It’s only a small part of your life. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Look at Alice and me—we’re not nervous at all…” She turned to Alice. “Alice, stop shaking! At least play along!”

“But I’m nervous…” Alice pouted, looking wronged. She’d always been an excellent student, and her family had held her up as an example ever since she was little.

But this was different. It was an exam to summon a familiar, nothing like the exams she’d taken before. Those had all been written tests, and most of them had clear-cut answers.

The familiar exam was different. Everyone got only one chance, with no opportunity to practice beforehand. And the familiar each person received depended on them; there was no standard answer to be found in a book. It left Alice terribly anxious.

“What’s there to be scared of? My family and Alice’s are both doing pretty well. Even if we fail, then…” The red-haired girl realized she’d said the wrong thing and hurriedly apologized to Eve. “I’m sorry, Eve.”

“It’s okay, Big Sister Lina.” Eve shook her head gently, only for Lina’s chest to bump her in the face.

The three girls had shared a dorm room before this. Lina, the eldest, came from a noble family. A Seventh Tier Mage had once emerged from her family, earning them a baron’s title. With Lina’s circumstances, even if she failed this exam and went to another school, her family could give her some support. She could reach Fourth Tier without even training seriously—she really had nothing to worry about.

Alice, the second eldest, came from a family of merchants. Their trading company had branches in several cities and was fairly well known in Camille Province. She was more or less in the same position: there wasn’t much for her to worry about.

But Eve, the youngest, was different. Her parents had died when she was little, and she’d been raised by several elderly villagers. She’d come to enroll at the school for that one slim chance. If she could pass the legendary familiar exam, she’d be able to work in the Imperial Capital after graduating and slowly repay them.

But the miserably low pass rate had terrified Eve. The money the elderly villagers had saved for her was already gone, spent on enrollment and learning summoning magic. If she failed, she couldn’t afford the steep tuition at a magic academy in another city. She’d have no choice but to return to her village—and how could Eve face them after failing?

“Sigh…” Lina held Eve close and sighed. She and Alice wanted to help Eve, but their families would never waste money on a commoner who couldn’t pass. And if Lina and Alice failed the test, they wouldn’t have much say at home or be able to access much money. After all, neither of them was an only child.

“That’s the last three. What terrible luck…” The examining teacher looked at the three girls and sighed. His exam site was one of the unluckiest ones. Not a single person there had managed to summon a familiar yet.

These three didn’t look like they had a chance, either.