Xie De nodded, noting down the doctor’s words regarding the appraisal of the Rhad cards.
In truth, he hadn't really expected the cards in his possession to be genuine. Although, judging by the former detective’s behavior before his death, the man was certainly a fanatical Rhad card enthusiast, he was ultimately just an ordinary person with a barely middle-class income; it was unlikely he would possess such precious items.
As for the museum the detective mentioned before he died, it was likely a black market or a distribution center for counterfeit Rhad cards. Therefore, Xie De decided that when he had time, he would first go to the Divination Association for an appraisal, and only after he was completely at ease would he consider visiting the museum.
Once it was confirmed that he would borrow money from the group to solve the tuition problem, the enrollment process officially began.
Xie De had assumed the academy would send someone over, but the entire process was handled by the doctor
"Remember, we are correspondence Ring-術士 (Ring-術士). The academy provides us with knowledge, and we must satisfy the required credits through study and examinations, and earn practical credits through academy missions. That is the relationship between us and the academy—somewhat similar to a special employment system. There is no need to pay too much attention to the academy, at least not until you climb the glaciers of the Far North with us and enter the academy itself."
The doctor waved his hand, while Miss Writer believed that Xie De would deeply understand this point in a few weeks.
The two official Ring-術士 needed to notify the academy that a new correspondence Ring-術士 was enrolling, and the way to contact Saint Byrons Comprehensive Academy was through the measurement object of a Poet-level [Relic], "Poet Cohen’s Manuscript."
Poet Cohen had also been a student at Saint Byrons Comprehensive Academy, but that was in the previous Epoch. Although the Fifth Epoch only had female spellcasters, the academy still recruited a small number of male students for certain research that did not require extraordinary power.
His relic manuscript had over three digits of pages, and each page could transmit information and small items to the manuscript's cover.
This was the primary way Saint Byrons Comprehensive Academy communicated with correspondence Ring-術士, as well as how textbooks were distributed and assignments were submitted. Among them, the manuscript pages for Doctor Schneider’s group were kept by the doctor, who was the highest-ranking member of the group.
It was a parchment scroll, but quite large, about the size of an unfolded book. It was currently blank and looked very old; one could even see loose threads fraying on the pages.
"First, your basic information and the tuition."
The doctor had Xie De use a blue fountain pen to briefly write down information such as his address, age, occupation, and past experience on a piece of letter paper, then placed the envelope containing the stack of banknotes onto the manuscript page.
As a light flickered, both the envelope containing the pounds and the paper with his information vanished.
After several dozen seconds, a receipt emerged from the manuscript page. On the receipt, written in both Deraerion and Kassenrik—the two languages currently common in the Old Continent—was the amount received, along with the academy’s official seal.
"Truly professional."
The receipt was temporarily kept by the doctor; Xie De would get it back once he repaid the money.
"Next is the trust test. The academy needs to test whether an enrolling correspondence Ring-術士 is a cultist or someone hiding ulterior motives from their past. The academy has its own secrets that cannot be easily known by outsiders."
The doctor said this quite casually.
"How is this tested?"
Xie De was a bit worried. He didn't need to worry about the original owner's poor memory, but he was concerned about his identity as a transmigrator.
Before the doctor could answer Xie De’s question, Miss Dorothy Louisa spoke up first, a smile on her face
"How nostalgic. This is already the standard procedure—please write an essay of no less than eight hundred words regarding your thoughts on good and evil, order and chaos."
"Huh?"
Xie De thought he had misheard.
"This step is also to confirm that the enrollee is literate. The academy does not accept illiterate students. Xie De, I know you aren't very literate, so you can just write something simple."
The doctor said kindly.
"But why write an essay? I thought it would be a lie-detector style Q&A."
Just having to write an essay made Xie De breathe a sigh of relief; what he feared most was a lie-detector Q&A. Once asked about his "past," he would likely run into big trouble.
"There are always ways to cheat on lie detectors, but an essay reflects a person’s continuous thoughts, their attitude, and their nature, which even they themselves might not be aware of. This is more reliable and more characteristic of the era.
Oh, Detective, this is no longer the chaotic era. In this age of civilization and steam, the entrance exam must, of course, be a bit more civilized."
Miss Writer leaned back on the sofa, looking quite relaxed. She enjoyed the feeling of watching others being forced to write essays.
Thus, Xie De was forced to undergo the eight-hundred-word "entrance essay test." He could understand and read, but speaking and writing still relied on the knowledge provided by the voice in his head, so it was still quite strenuous. However, this also confirmed to Doctor Schneider, who was observing the scene, that his investigation into the original Xie De was correct.
Good and evil, order and chaos, were relatively large propositions. Eight hundred words seemed like a lot, but if one really wrote seriously, they might not even finish the introduction.
Sticking to the principle of "write less, err less," Xie De divided this small entrance test into four paragraphs: the first for pleasantries, the second for good and evil, the third for order and chaos, and the fourth for a summary.
This made the flow of thought much smoother, and Xie De was quite adept at writing in this manner.
While Xie De was writing his entrance test, the doctor was not idle either.
The standard enrollment process for Saint Byrons also included having the group's Ring-術士 lead the gifted individual in solving a mystery-related incident to judge whether the gifted individual's personality was suitable to become a Ring-術士.
The incident from the morning involving the recovery of the [Life Countdown Pocket Watch] would suffice, but a report had to be submitted explaining the gifted individual's performance.
So, while Xie De wrote his essay, the doctor had to write the report; the latter was perhaps even more troublesome. But Miss Louisa was quite happy, as she was the only one who didn't have to write anything.
As the two men kept their heads down writing, she sat there holding her teacup, watching them with an indescribable sense of comfort.
The essay and the report were sent away by the manuscript at the same time. It took a full half-hour before an admission letter with Xie De’s full name was delivered. The enrollment assessment was "Excellent." During this time, the three had been talking, popularizing some basic knowledge for Xie De.
"Actually, the enrollment assessment only has 'Excellent' and 'Fail,' unlike the academic year assessments and year-end summaries, which are divided into 'Excellent,' 'Exceeds Expectations,' 'Pass,' 'Fail,' and 'Terrible.'"
The doctor whispered.
"This is a little trick by the academy to win your favor."
The blonde writer added.
Xie De found this amusing, but it also made him realize that the academy was indeed very formal and not some small organization.
"Then, the next step: I will help you officially become a Ring-術士 and push open the Door of the Extraordinary. Only after you obtain your core rune can your major at the academy be determined. As for the textbooks and study materials, they will be delivered in three days; after all, the academy needs time to prepare these things."