The Boy Who Walks Beyond The End-Chapter 78: Writing Exam

The Grand Hall of the Arcanist's Academy was no longer an arena of clashing spells or dueling blades—it was now a place of true fear: the written exam.

Hundreds of desks stretched across the polished stone floor, scrolls laid open with ink pots beside them like little black puddles of doom. Students from the Royal, Aetherion, and Verdant classes were mixed together, tension high and eye contact minimal.

Zen sat quietly in the middle row, feather pen motionless in hand. To his right sat Arisella, pristine and poised, her wind magic forming a tiny breeze to dry her ink. To his left—

BAM!

"Your future top scorer has arrived!" Kleez dropped into his seat with enough flair to knock over the ink pot behind him. He wore round glasses for no reason, a huge grin, and robes that looked like they'd been patched with love spells.

Zen didn't even look. "You're late."

"I was getting my brain polished," Kleez whispered, winking at a confused Verdant girl across the row.

Across the room, Lyra looked up from organizing her quills. Her blue hair was tied back neatly, and her golden eyes flicked toward Zen with a soft, supportive look. She was calm, collected—until Kleez blew her a KISS across the hall.

Zen cracked the quill tip clean in half.

[System: Jealousy Detected. Activating Threat Analysis Mode.]

The instructor's voice echoed. "Begin!"

And just like that, the scratching of pens and the quiet curses of despair filled the air.

The questions were brutal:

"Explain the Sevenfold Circle of Aether Convergence in application with hybrid-class mana flow."

"Differentiate Electrofield Regeneration from Naturic Pulse Healing."

"Define and counter-argue the concept of Magical Conscious Drift."

Zen stared at the scroll.

"...System."

[System: Finally! I was withering in silence.]

"Can you help?"

[System: Do you even need to ask? Dramatic mode: Engaged.]

With a pulse of light only Zen could see, glowing runes began forming behind his eyes. Definitions. Equations. Complex diagrams. It was like having a magical cheat sheet—except snarky and full of flair.

[System: Sevenfold Circle is essentially a mana feedback loop layered in recursion. Imagine mana doing cartwheels. Got it? Good.]

Zen's pen moved rapidly. His eyes flicked with unnatural sharpness, and his writing seemed to almost hum with energy.

[System: You're welcome. Don't forget to cite your imaginary source—me.]

Meanwhile, Kleez was chewing the feather end of his quill and scribbling "love is the truest form of elemental fusion" across the essay page.

Lyra? Already halfway through. Her wrist moved with effortless grace, static light occasionally flickering beneath her palm.

Sylvia tapped her sword's pommel rhythmically while pretending to think. Fiora sketched little lightning bolts into the margins between answers. Elvren... was composing his essay like it was a tragic romance novel.

And then—

BOOM!

Kleez's desk burst into a puff of pink smoke.

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"Kleez!!" the instructor barked.

"What? My inkpot just exploded from passion!"

[System: ...I'm both horrified and impressed.]

Lyra barely suppressed a giggle.

Zen didn't. He just glared.

Kleez gave him a thumbs-up. "When you love learning hard enough... it blows up."

[System: You should blow him up.]

After two grueling hours, the exam ended. Scrolls were collected. Sanity was lost.

Kleez casually slung an arm around Zen's shoulder. "So... study buddies next time?"

"No."

"Okay, but what if I—"

"No."

"—bring snacks?"

Zen walked faster.

Lyra waited at the exit, hands clasped behind her back. She smiled gently at Zen.

"How was it?"

"Survivable," Zen said.

Kleez leaned between them. "I EXPLODED."

Zen stepped on his foot. Accidentally.

[System: Foot Stomp of Spite – 1d4 emotional damage dealt.]