Thanks to Hope's unconventional teaching method, I blew through the general knowledge paper in barely half of the allotted time and then started the academy entrance portion. These questions were more specific and also needed longer answers, so it took me nearly the entire three hours to complete it.

I was still done almost two hours before the time limit and signed my name to each of the papers and not just the top one, then I numbered them. It was a habit I had picked up while practising re-writing potion recipes to keep them straight and in order after writing in the substitutions. The regeneration potion alone took fifteen pages of notes and procedures to convert and I definitely didn't want to mess that order up.

I stood with the papers in my hands, careful to not let anyone peek at my answers, and walked behind the other two people in the row to get to the aisle. I walked all the way down the steps to the bottom of the amphitheatre and the woman there glared at me the entire time.

“I'm finished.” I said and held the papers out to her.

“Are you really?” She asked.

“I answered every question correctly, so yes.” I said.

She squinted her eyes at me for almost ten seconds, then she took the stack of papers. She used a small machine of some kind to puncture a small hole in the top corner of the sheets and tied it with a string. After that, she picked up her pencil and wrote a big '65' on the front of the test papers without even reading them, then dropped it on the side of the desk. It was my turn to squint my eyes at her and her glare intensified.

“I was ordered... ordered... to pass you.” She said, her voice angered. “65 is a passing grade.”

“I want you to grade it properly.” I said.

“It is graded properly.” She said and her glare didn't soften as she smiled. “It doesn't matter what you wrote on it, because you automatically passed. Why would I waste my time grading something when I obviously don't have to?”

I stood there and heard several mutters behind me, because they had confirmed that the rumor I couldn't fail was true. “I want it returned.”

“You don't need...” She started to say.

“Now.” I said and cut her off. “It is my right to receive it back after it's graded. I would get it back when I registered at the main office anyway, because it's supposed to take time to grade all of the papers. Since you've already graded it, mark it in your ledger and hand it back.”

The woman frowned at me and looked like she wasn't going to comply, then she marked the number 65 beside my name on the list. She picked up my exam papers and handed them to me.

“If you're one of my teachers, you might as well add that to whatever tests and reports you're going to assign me for the rest of my stay here, since you're too lazy to do your work and don't care if I know what I'm doing.”

“How dare you accuse...”

“Do any of the other teachers care if someone is learning what they are teaching?” I asked her and her frown became a scowl. “If not, please inform them of what I said.” I turned towards the amphitheatre and waved my completed test in front of the other potential students. “I would have come here years ago if I'd known that it was so easy to pass tests in what is supposed to be the most difficult mage academy in the kingdom.”

“That's enough!” The woman exclaimed and stood. “I will not have you defame this academy!”

“I don't have to do that. You're doing a great job of it for me.” I said without looking at her. “Since I've already passed, would anyone like to look at my answers?”

A few people put up their hands, even the interested girl from before.

“I said that's enough!” The woman spat from behind me.

“I think I just had a better idea.” I said and flipped to the last page of the exam. “I've got about two hours before I need to change and report to the registrar's office. Why don't I just read what I wrote, starting with the last page?”

“You can't do that!” The woman nearly yelled.

“I've finished my exam and I am not under your authority anymore.” I said and started reading.

Every single student flipped to the last page of their exams, even the guy that had told them about me. The woman behind me started spitting and sputtering as I recited what I wrote, especially when I urged the students to rewrite it in their own words, so they wouldn't be accused of cheating. That made a few of them laugh and the interested girl gave me the same 'I want it' look she had given me before.

I stayed there for the entire time and worked backwards through the exam questions. By the time the bell rang and the exam time had expired, we were completely done of the admittance part. I closed my exam paper and tucked it into my suit coat under my bandoleer, then I turned to look at the woman's red angry face.

“I think there's going to be a huge influx of new students this year, don't you?” I asked and she was swamped by students trying to turn in their papers. I walked down the hallway to leave the building and heard a few people try to holler to get my attention. I ignored them and went outside to see that the groups of students wearing academy uniforms were still there, or had come back.

“That's him!” A girl said and pointed. She had been the one to gasp when I cast Dispel.

“Hey, how did you do?” A guy near her asked. His hair was pitch black and impeccably styled.

“Did you get high marks? I bet you got high marks!” The girl said, a bit excitedly.

“I'm sure I passed.” I said, which was the truth.

The guy huffed as if he had expected it and the girl looked disappointed.

I walked on and no one else said anything to me. I assumed because they heard my words and misunderstood what I meant, which was what I wanted. I didn't want to be recruited by them or join whatever groups they represented. I was sure they were from powerful families and were scouting for new talent.

Since I was already taken and would become a Henrietta when I graduated, joining anything would be a waste of time and effort. I had much more important things to do, so I walked all the way back to the front gate and Hope was already there with the carriage.

“Please tell me you aced it!” Hope said loudly out the side window as the large gates opened to admit her and several other coaches and carts.

“I passed with a 65.” I said as the carriage stopped to let me on.

“No! That's the bare minimum! How could it happen? You knew it all...”

“They have to pass me.” I said as an explanation and she understood right away.

“Oh, those mage bastards!” Hope gasped as we rode over to the main administration building. “If I could, I'd strangle each and every one of them for doing this to you!”

I touched her arm to stop her tirade and she sighed.

“Let's get you changed.” Hope said and got to work.

I was quickly changed from my suit into the academy uniform that consisted of black pants, a beige coat with the academy emblem on the front pocket, an ornate shirt that people in rural areas would laugh at if worn without the coat, and uncomfortable shoes that I had modified with number ten potion to fit properly.

Helena had the suit tailored for my bandoleer, just like she had my other suit. It sat properly on my shoulders and didn't let anyone know what I was actually wearing underneath it. My sheath and knife tucked inside as well and was quite hidden, despite being easily accessed.

We stepped out of the carriage and there were already a few people there waiting in line. I heard a few people asking why it was taking so long and I whispered to Hope what I had done in the amphitheatre. She had to cover her mouth to stop her laugh.

“David, that was brilliant.” Hope whispered back. “No wonder it's taking so long if they have to mark all of those papers and pass them all.” She gave me a pleased smile. “I bet they've never had this many students be accepted in a single year before.”

“We would have to go to one of the lesser academies in another city.” One of the guys nearby said without turning around. “I hope you don't think I owe you anything for what you did.”

“I didn't do it for you.” I responded. “If they aren't going to treat me fairly, I won't treat them fairly, either.”

The guy started to turn and then stopped to face forward again. He whispered to his maid and she turned to look at me.

“What do you mean?” His maid asked.

“If they won't teach me properly, what better way to get back at them than to force them to teach hundreds of other students instead?”

His maid looked surprised for a moment, then she smiled at me and turned back to face forward.

More people joined the line as the carriages and coaches gathered around the area. A lot of them were talking about how easy the entrance exam was. Not surprisingly, almost no one mentioned my hand in that, because they had taken my caught cheating comment to heart and were covering up my involvement.

The doors eventually opened and the man at the top of the stairs looked down at us. “I'm so very glad to have so many students pass the entrance exams. I've never seen such brilliance in so many people before... except for one of you.” His eyes fell on me. “Just because we have to pass you, I can't believe you didn't even bother submitting an exam paper.”

“So, she's a liar as well as lazy?” I asked and a lot of people took in sharp breaths. “I wrote the exam. She marked it with a 65 and I asked for it back, as is my right.” I said and held up the small bundle of papers and showed him. “Just in case it mysteriously disappeared or was lost before it came here to the main office.”

The man looked angry. “Are you accusing a mage of this academy...”

“Yes.” I said and a few of the girls gasped, especially the maids.

“I will have you know that...”

“...you're all biased against me and will try your best to force me to quit? You're wasting my time telling me something I already know.” I interrupted him and nearly everyone turned to look at me with surprise on their faces. “Is there anything else obvious that you need to point out?”

The man frowned at me and his glare wasn't as good as the woman in the amphitheatre. “Your insubordination is not going to win you any friends among the...”

“I'm not here to make friends. I was forced to attend the mage academy by a man who's afraid I'll kill his son for the son's insults to me.” I let them all digest those words for a moment. “I don't want to be here any more than you want me to be here. However, I will keep my word to my fiance, because she deserves to be treated better than the way her father and brother have treated her.”

Everyone was quiet and no one seemed to want to move or speak.

The man's frown disappeared and he waved at the doors. “The first five students, go to the desks on the left. The next five go to the right. I'll be back out to send more of you in.”

I was the eighth person, so I went in with the others to the right with Hope waiting outside. I sat down at the middle desk and the woman there looked like she had been sucking on a sour fruit.

“Name.”

“David Drake.” I said.

The woman looked at her list and put a mark by my name. “You didn't fill out an exam, so we can't pinpoint your specialties.”

I handed her the papers I still had in my hand. “I did complete it and it was marked already.”

Her sour expression didn't leave her face as she took the papers. “Only a 65? That's pathetic.”

“Are you going to be lazy and ignore reading it, too?” I asked her.

She gave me a stern expression and then sighed. “Give me a few minutes.”

I nodded and she started to read it.