Chapter 11: The Draft (I)

Joan withdrew his hand awkwardly, looking around for something to use as a stepping stool.

"Good-natured wizard sir, use this!"

A plump woman who looked like the head cook of a wealthy household smiled and stood up. She emptied the tomatoes, asparagus, onions, and a dejected, fat wild duck with bound feet from her vegetable basket onto the seat. Then, she turned the empty basket upside down on the ground, signaling Joan to step on it.

The wicker vegetable basket was both sturdy and resilient. After expressing his gratitude, Joan stepped onto it and was able to comfortably cast a spell to repair the crack overhead. Looking back, Thomas had already mended the other cracks and walked over, extending his right hand to him.

Supported by Thomas, Joan jumped down from the basket, took out a handkerchief to wipe the basket clean, and returned it to the kind-hearted aunt.

"Joan, you are really thin. You're as light as a little ballerina. Do you usually pick and choose what you eat?" Thomas asked casually.

Joan shook his head, feeling a bit awkward.

He was not picky about food; it was simply due to long-term thriftiness, malnutrition, and being constantly too busy to eat. It would be a wonder if his body weren't skinny.

It was difficult for him to explain these things to Master Chapman, who had never known hunger since birth. Fortunately, the bell signaling the arrival of the carriage rang just in time, diverting Thomas's attention. He glanced out the window and said excitedly to Joan, "Layton College has arrived, let's get off!"

The carriage slowly came to a halt. Joan followed Thomas out of the door and indeed saw the east gate of Layton College right across the platform. Countless youthful faces came into view, giving him a sense of comfort, as if he had found a certain sense of belonging among the young crowd.

Thomas waved his walking stick, parted the crowd, and walked ahead with his head held high.

Joan followed closely behind him, moving with the stream of people until they reached the auditorium where he had taken his entrance test.

There was a group of senior students at the entrance of the auditorium, specifically responsible for welcoming new students from various majors. The greeter from the School of Arcane Magic was the most eye-catching; she directly cast a "Prestidigitation" spell, producing a sound as loud as a choir, calling out in an aria for the first-year rookies to follow her.

Joan and Thomas mingled with the crowd, following the senior female student around the auditorium and into the campus area belonging to the School of Arcane Magic.

The first thing that came into Joan's vision was a rather archaic castle-like building, which reminded him of the military camp garrisoned by Major George Vasa.

This castle served as the main teaching building and library for the School of Arcane Magic, while the slightly shorter two-story buildings surrounding it were the students' dormitories.

In front of the castle was a wide plaza, now decorated with colorful ribbons. An "Air Elemental" driven by magic dragged a long banner floating back and forth in the air, displaying rainbow-colored glowing text welcoming the new students!

The rookies were deeply shocked and obediently lined up in the plaza, waiting with mixed feelings of anticipation and anxiety for the instructors to arrive for the "draft."

That's right, according to the tradition of the School of Arcane Magic, freshmen had to attend a public interview on their first day of enrollment that would determine the fate of their next five years—the so-called "Draft Day."

While waiting for the instructors to arrive, Thomas introduced the interview rules of the School of Arcane Magic to Joan:

"First, all freshmen participate in a draw to determine the interview order by drawing lots. When it's someone's turn, they walk to the center of the plaza to introduce their name, birthplace, and family background. Next, they must demonstrate a spell they excel at in public. The twelve instructors acting as examiners will review and score them, and the total score will be the candidate's final score."

"When all candidates have completed their interviews, the instructor panel will announce the interview scores. Then, the instructors will take turns in order to select freshmen and take them under their wing. Students with outstanding scores are usually chosen first—this is what they call the draft."

"Instructors with higher draft picks usually choose better students, but the influence of nepotism cannot be ruled out. This is an open secret at the draft assembly." Noticing Joan's blank expression, Thomas asked him, "Do you understand what nepotism means?"

"I don't understand." The endless fashionable words used by city folks always puzzled and confused Joan.

"Actually, it's very simple. I'll give you an example so you'll understand. For instance, a freshman has terrible entrance scores, and logically speaking, it's unlikely they would be chosen by a top-ranked instructor. However, this student's family is very wealthy, and his father wants to arrange an outstanding instructor for his son. Through social connections, he contacts that instructor and voluntarily provides a large donation to Layton College and the laboratory managed by the instructor himself. Nominally, it's to support education, but actually, it's disguised bribery. Both the school and the instructor pocket a large sum of money, so naturally, they treat the sponsor's son differently. Therefore, you will see a freshman whose scores are far inferior to yours suddenly winning the favor of an instructor at the draft assembly and being chosen before you. Wouldn't you find it baffling, or even a bit aggrieved? In fact, this is just a backstage deal—what I just mentioned as nepotism. There's no help for it; social morals are like this nowadays, and the academy is no longer a pure land!"

Thomas shook his head and sighed with an air of profound knowledge.

"Thomas, you know so much!" Joan deeply felt that there was a huge gap in perspective between himself, a poor child from the countryside, and the young master from the city.

Seeing the look of admiration in his eyes, Thomas felt even more pride than being invited to dance by a high-society young lady at a ball, and he couldn't help but curve the corners of his mouth.

"Actually, it's nothing. I just heard about it when listening to my elders chat. I don't completely understand all these messy things myself!"

After hearing Thomas's explanation, Joan gained a deeper understanding of the draft assembly and also developed a new confusion.

"It makes sense to rank freshmen by interview scores, but based on what criteria do the instructors determine the order of their draft picks?" Joan asked Thomas.

"Oh, that's a great question!" Thomas rubbed his nose. "Actually, not only do students have rankings, but instructors also have clear levels and seniority indicators. First of all, only teachers who have attained the titles of associate professor and professor and received tenure are qualified to participate in the draft. The title of full professor is only granted to 9th-level or higher wizards, and to obtain the title of associate professor, one must be at least a 7th-level wizard. Instructors who fail to meet this standard are merely teaching assistants and do not have draft picks."

"There are only twelve full and associate professors in total in our school's School of Arcane Magic, and these respectable gentlemen serve as interview examiners responsible for scoring the new students. These twelve instructors are all outstanding figures, but there are also tiers among them. Professors naturally hold higher draft priority than associate professors and have the right to choose students with better grades first."