Chapter 9: Harpist Academy (8)
As soon as Edith stepped through the testing ground’s entrance, she could feel the atmosphere was anything but ordinary.
The judges sat stiffly, completely silent, which was expected.
Being teachers from the school and authorities in their fields, even if the students rated higher than them, their vast experience ensured they maintained their positions at the academy.
Thus, a strict teaching style had become the norm for the academy’s teachers.
Students who had lived here for seven or eight years seemed to have developed a bone-deep habit of fearing and respecting their teachers.
Even Edith was no exception, treating her teachers with utmost deference, not daring to step out of line.
However, when her gaze swept across the audience, she didn’t sense the usual cheers and excitement typical in other testing grounds.
Sure, she ranked in the top three for looks and figure among the graduates, but the audience here looked like puppets, draining any sense of passion and exuberance.
Forget it, no need to overthink.
Let’s just pretend they’re part of the background, since in the end, all she needed was to publicly defeat Trissa, not just collect cheers from the audience.
Konglif, on the other hand, keenly noticed that most of the audience’s gazes were fixated on one person—the masked woman whom Trissa called a friend.
Yes, he recalled—she introduced herself as Lin Nan, a typical human name.
The audience indeed seemed to consist of various social strata from the empire, with the first row filled with young nobles displaying their family coats of arms prominently on their left chests, and the subsequent rows featuring a mix of merchants, itinerant vendors, and craftspeople in assorted attire.
But why did their eyes hold a hint of dread, as if the foreign woman possessed extraordinary magic, sapping the vibrancy from the eager citizens who normally cheered with joy on academy open days?
Perhaps something had happened earlier.
Yet, from his years serving in the border guard, it was evident that no bloody incidents had transpired—otherwise, his keen nose would never have let a whiff of bl**d escape.
This unique ability had saved his skin more than once.
Since no abnormality had come to light for the moment, Konglif cast a brief glance at Lin Nan before shifting his focus back to Trissa.
“Three teachers, Edith is here for the test. Here’s my application form,” Trissa chimed, not wanting to be outdone as she followed closely behind Edith.
“Let’s proceed in order. Edith, you go first,” said the head judge.
“Okay!”
Edith flashed a sweet smile.
“You’re still as good as ever at playing cute in front of everyone,” Trissa retorted with a smirk.
Edith whispered back, “You could use some charm too. Don’t be jealous just because you can’t pull it off.”
After a few years away from school, Trissa, though still full of respect for the academy, had lost all desire to win favor with the teachers—all she needed was to prove herself through sheer strength.
Standing on the testing ground facing a wall twenty meters away, Edith was ready.
According to the rules, three white balls could potentially sh**t out from any position on that wall towards her as the target.
Generally speaking, the further away from the wall the destroyed white balls were, the faster her reaction speed, resulting in a higher rating.
Having practiced in this venue for years, Edith wasn’t nervous at all; she simply had to rely on muscle memory.
Even if she couldn’t snag an SS rating, an S rating was absolutely within her grasp.
How dare a washed-up harpist, who long ago left her peak behind, challenge her? She’d wipe the floor with that woman.
“Ready, set, three, two, one!”
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The instant the countdown ended, three holes opened up randomly in the wall, and three white balls shot toward Edith from different directions.
Edith’s eyes sharpened, and almost instinctively, she summoned her handy four-stringed harp.
“Ding ding dong…”
With a swift pluck of the strings, three invisible sound waves shot forth, striking the center of the flying white balls with precision.
“Bang bang bang!”
The three white balls detonated almost simultaneously with a crisp sound, showering the area in white smoke that took a while to disperse under the gentle breeze.
The explosion point was exactly two-thirds of the way from Edith to the wall—absolute “SS” rating, no objections allowed.
The judges couldn’t help but smile, even throwing an encouraging glance at Lin Nan, as if to say, “Even though you just pulled off those mind-blowing harp tricks, we still have students who can reach your level with a four-stringed harp.”
Lin Nan’s expressionless face seemed to bolster the judges’ confidence even more.
Too bad the highest rating the academy could bestow was “SS”; they had no power for anything above that.
When the three white boards lit up with “SS” ratings, the audience, who had been silent for a while, finally erupted into thunderous cheers.
“That’s amazing! A genius! She must be a genius!”
“Don’t you know? She’s the strongest harpist genius of this batch—way better than that previous whatever-her-name-was… just way better!”
“She kicked off with an SS rating; cheering for the winner can’t be wrong, right?”
“Yeah, she’s just been standing there cold as ice, it made me hesitant to even speak.”
“Whatever! This genius beauty is bound to get at least an S rating; isn’t she supposed to have our backs? Come on, cheer for her, guys!”
Edith was reveling in the audience’s applause.
Countless times, she’d practiced alone, imagining the scenario of acing the test and earning an SS rating.
And today, that scene finally came to life.
This wasn’t just luck or a dream; it was the well-deserved reward for her years of hard work.
“Congratulations!”
Konglif approached, surprised at how fiercely Edith performed, with the judges proclaiming SS without a moment’s hesitation.
In front of everyone, Edith leaped into his arms.
This move instantly crushed the hopes of several eager little nobles nearby.
Edith was an SS-rated harpist; for those little nobles, even imagining reaching her level was impossible.
They should probably aim for B or C-rated girls instead; at least they still bore the title of harpist, making for decent introductions.
Trissa observed silently.
Konglif felt his heart skip a beat as he loosened his grip on Edith.
d*mn it, if Edith performed so well, how could Trissa possibly outdo her?
