Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 243: Class Distribution

The next morning, at the center of the administration building of the Elizabeth Academy of Magic, in one of the discussion rooms, Charlotte walked in with a cup of tea and waited for the Dean to arrive to start the morning meeting.

The placement exam was a tradition of the Elizabeth Academy of Magic, and its importance was self-evident.

With the results out, the creation of different classes for different students was something that every professor at the academy had to carefully consider.

"Good morning, Charlotte," said Elowen, who was cleaning her glasses next to her.

"Good morning," replied Charlotte, flipping through the results booklet on the table.

She was about to look for Astrid’s name, but it was already at the top of the first row.

Astrid Calliste, Elemental Affinity Results: Six Excellents, One Superior, One Exception...

Looking at the results on the paper, Charlotte took a sip of her hot tea and gradually relaxed.

The administration had recognized her judgment that Astrid had an exceptionally high affinity for the ice element.

The "Exception" grade was a test level that had never been seen since the founding of the academy, and it was enough to attract the attention of the academy director and the professors.

It seemed that today’s discussion would focus on the emperor’s goddaughter, the empire’s third princess, Astrid.

Looking further down, Astrid’s theoretical magic results were only 80 points, which was quite low compared to the general trend of high talent and high theoretical scores.

Was Astrid doing this on purpose?

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. She had seen the exam paper yesterday, and the overall difficulty was moderate. Based on her understanding of Astrid, the latter was unlikely to make such basic mistakes.

As for the practical exam, seeing the time data that started with a single digit, Charlotte fell into a brief silence, then sighed helplessly.

Astrid had exceptional talent and a good understanding of the basics, but there was a serious deficiency in her mental reserve, which was directly related to her soul and was difficult to replenish.

After reading Astrid’s results, Charlotte looked at the subsequent explanations for this situation. Based on the weight of the scores, Astrid was the most talented new student of this year and should be placed in Class S.

Class S... It didn’t seem quite suitable either...

Although Astrid’s theoretical magic wasn’t bad, her mental reserve was a hard limit. It wasn’t good to let her keep up with the pace of the top class too early.

While thinking, a young man in a dark brown robe sat at the head of the discussion table. Fario Gestaro, the Dean of the Elizabeth Academy of Magic, looked around and gently began, "Everyone, the 814th placement meeting of the Elizabeth Academy of Magic officially begins."

"Please put aside your personal feelings and make the most objective and fair evaluation for the sake of the progress of magic for all mankind, especially for those students with special circumstances."

After saying that, the man took out a few crystals engraved with the recording magic circle and said in a calm tone:

"Let’s start with the last student. This is his practical exam record."

Hearing this, Charlotte flipped to the second page of the file and began a comprehensive evaluation based on the video and results.

...

"Your Highness Astrid, is this the place where we will practice magic in the future?" After breakfast, Lyra and Astrid walked in an open square, feeling the slightly cold wind on their faces. The girl gently smoothed her skirt and spoke softly.

"It feels much bigger than the place where we had the practical exam yesterday. Is it for the convenience of the classes to practice together?"

Astrid nodded in agreement with Lyra’s words.

"Pretty much. Generally, two classes with similar results will have a practice session every once in a while. The higher-ups want to use this method to stimulate the students’ desire to win and thus improve their learning efficiency."

Most of the students who could enter the Elizabeth Academy of Magic were nobles with some ambition. At this age, their desire to win was not as strong as when they were fourteen or fifteen, but they were far from the end of their journey. Therefore, every practice session carried a hint of tension.

In the original novel, Lyra’s class often practiced with another bottom-ranked class. Due to the class atmosphere, neither side took the results too seriously.

But Lyra was the chosen heroine, and it wouldn’t be good for her to develop without obstacles. After learning that this pink-haired girl had entered the Elizabeth Academy of Magic, the evil forces around Astrid began to act.

First, they used very contemptuous words to provoke Lyra’s classmates, forcing them to challenge her, and then they severely injured them during the practice session.

Their purpose was to make Lyra realize that it was her presence that caused harm to these innocent classmates, that she was the one who affected others.

It was not through physical harm, but through psychological pressure that they tried to crush Lyra. This was one of the favorite games of the nobles.

Even if Lyra wanted to defeat them with her own strength, it would be impossible.

A first-year student at the academy trying to compete with these privately educated noble ladies was simply a fairy tale.

As for the ending, it was the same as most novels. As the protagonist, Lyra worked hard to turn these external factors that couldn’t kill her into the motivation and opportunity to become stronger.

In the end, she defeated all the challengers in the academy competition the next year and became an unexpected dark horse.

"...Your Highness Astrid?" Feeling that the person next to her had been standing still for a long time, Lyra tilted her head and looked at her. Her soft pink hair fell over her ears, casting a faint shadow on the grass.

Hearing the voice, Astrid came back to her senses and looked at the youthful pink-haired girl in front of her. A faint smile appeared in her bright red eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

"Let’s go to the next place," Astrid said.

Hearing this, Lyra smiled softly and replied.

"Okay!"

After saying that, the girl placed her hands on the hem of her skirt, and her white silk legs lightly crossed.

Her shiny little shoes stepped on the shadows of the branches in the spring breeze, and her figure was as light as a butterfly.

It seemed that without her, the jealous villainess, the chosen heroine’s life could be much easier.

Looking at Lyra’s back, Astrid suddenly remembered the small goal she had set when she first transmigrated into the book.

Get close to the protagonist of the book, Lyra, and try to whitewash herself to avoid the inevitable destruction ending.

Now she had basically achieved the first half, and the second half would depend on whether Amalia would follow the original plot.

Following Lyra, her high heels clicked. Feeling the light spots from the tree shadows slightly shaking her eyes, Astrid tightened her pink lips, and her silver-white hair fluttered in the wind.

Unknowingly, the originally clear plot line had become blurred.

But this was the story she had started.

A story different from the original, where knights, princesses, and emperors no longer hated each other, a completely new plot line.

...

"It seems that everyone’s opinions are quite consistent. I also think this student should be placed in Class B." Fario gently marked the textbook with his pen and said in a low voice.

"The next student is Lyra Beckett, the only one in this year’s class to defeat the examiner in the practical exam."

Hearing a name she was familiar with, Charlotte looked up and quietly observed the content projected by the recording magic circle.

Seeing the pink-haired girl burst out at the start of the exam, Charlotte’s eyes showed a hint of surprise, and her expression became more serious.

"Undoubtedly, from the physical strength and mental power Lyra has shown, her knight training has reached the level of a peak knight. Her skilled spell chanting and relatively fast spell casting also prove that she has the level of a peak apprentice in magic."

"As for the theoretical magic exam, she has the highest score in this year’s class, and her learning attitude is beyond doubt."

The Elizabeth Academy of Magic was not short of nobles who came to polish their reputation, but people as hardworking as Lyra were rare.

"The only pity is that Lyra’s elemental affinity doesn’t fully match her efforts."

"Two poor, one excellent, and four good. The poor ones are the two advanced elements, light and dark."

It was slightly difficult to enter the top class with just one excellent, especially when two elemental affinities didn’t even reach the average level. If Lyra could have three or four excellents or one outstanding, her future achievements would be immeasurable.

Looking at the projection where a wooden sword pierced through the steam and the pink-haired girl surrounded by mist, Charlotte gently tapped her quill.

Dorry’s combat skills were not inferior to Lyra’s... It was too obvious to aim for this...

As she expected, a blue light flashed on Dorry’s body, and the magic counterattack worked. Lyra was like being hit by a hammer and could only rely on her will to retreat hastily.

She had little experience in fighting against mages, but her fighting will was extremely strong. It seemed that Elise had trained her a lot.

While watching the projection and listening to Fario’s explanation of Lyra’s detailed information, the battle quickly entered the final stage.

Charlotte saw a strong light from Dorry’s wand, and almost everyone expected Lyra to lose in the next second.

But a miracle happened. Lyra did not seem to be blinded by the strong light. After the projection flickered briefly, the wooden sword was pressed against the examiner’s left chest faster than the wand.

Seeing this, the other professors exchanged glances, with a hint of confusion in their eyes.

Had she chanted a spell in this short second? Or had she calculated it in advance and prepared early?

In either case, it showed that Lyra’s combat skills were very strong, far surpassing those of her peers.

Having seen Lyra’s elemental affinity test up close, Charlotte’s eyelids twitched.

Remembering the fluctuation of light elements at the scene, a crazy thought flashed through her mind.

Could Lyra’s light element affinity also have reached the exceptional level like Astrid’s, or even be stronger than hers?

Similar thoughts flashed through Charlotte’s mind, but she didn’t delve deeper.

Astrid’s strong ice affinity might have come from her father, the "Frostfall Knight of Crimson Blood" Hughes Calliste.

From the information, Lyra’s background was not special, and it was unrealistic for her to have an elemental affinity stronger than Astrid’s.

Unless she was the heroine in the bards’ travelogues.

After much discussion, Lyra was placed in Class A, just below Class S.

"The last one is the focus of this meeting."

"The distinguished third princess, Astrid Calliste, has an elemental affinity of multiple excellents and one superior. Her super strong ice affinity is unique in history."

"Such a person would undoubtedly become an Arcanist in the future. Originally, I wanted to directly place her in Class S, but after discussing with Dorry about Princess Astrid’s practical exam, I think it is necessary to reconsider."

After saying that, Fario looked at Charlotte and said in a low voice.

"Princess Astrid’s spell chanting speed is very fast, and the power of her spells has reached the level of a peak apprentice."

"But..." the man paused and continued, "She doesn’t seem to want to enter Class S."

Normally, if the magic power was sufficient, it meant that the mental reserve was abundant. People like Astrid were rare, so Fario naturally thought that this imperial princess had deliberately lowered her score in the two aspects that could be artificially controlled.

"Professor Charlotte, you are an old friend of Astrid, what do you think?" Hearing Fario’s words, Charlotte was silent for a moment, then replied softly.

"Astrid has talked to me about these issues."

The theoretical exam paper was not fully completed by Astrid, and during the practical exam, Charlotte was more inclined to think that she had exhausted her mental reserve.

"She is still a bit unfamiliar with the conversion of mental power to magic and needs some time to consolidate."

Although Astrid’s mental reserve deficiency was easy to see, since she didn’t want to expose it, Charlotte didn’t plan to reveal it for her. She simply found an external reason to temporarily cover it.

"So, Professor Charlotte, what do you mean?" Fario asked.

If it was the same as she thought, Astrid didn’t complete the exam to control the score, then she was trying to send a signal.

After some thought, Charlotte said in a low voice, "Based on the principle of letting students find the learning rhythm that best suits them, I suggest that Astrid Calliste be placed in Class A."

She hoped that she and Astrid had the same idea.

But Little Astr... Why didn’t you tell me during dinner last night?

Fario pondered for a moment after hearing this, then asked.

"Is this the result of Professor Charlotte’s conversation with Princess Astrid?"

"No, but I am very familiar with Astrid and know where she is lacking."

The fast-paced learning of Class S was not suitable for Astrid, who had a weak foundation, Class A was barely acceptable.

"..."

After a long pause, Fario said in a low voice.

"A gem should be carefully carved."

"Then according to Professor Charlotte’s opinion, place Astrid in Class A."

"If she feels that the learning efficiency is slow, she can apply to transfer to Class S."