Hearing this, Lanen also turned back, intending to check the bulletin board first. Other matters could wait.
Lanen had been about to leave the school gate and head to West Street to find a general store to replenish a few magic crystals.
The magic crystals powering the furniture at home were running low on energy and needed replacement soon. Additionally, the Feather Fall spell on his bicycle consumed a significant amount of magic, requiring spares. Lastly, he needed to restock the magic crystals used for his research studies.
Crystals had witnessed multiple leaps in magical technology.
In ancient and medieval times, magic crystals existed as minerals—rare and disposable. The popular magic crystals of that era were irregular in shape, size, and magic content, yet highly valuable. Ancient mages most commonly used them for personal cultivation during critical moments. They also employed them to power magic arrays, embed them in enchanted precious gear as energy sources, or use them as spellcasting materials.
By the end of the glorious Great Era, the utilization of crystals had advanced. First, due to the more standardized energy input requirements of arrays after arcane analysis, natural crystals were cut, tested, classified, and standardized, forming different models and specifications. With the rapid development of arcane arts, crystal usage became widespread, applied extensively in various fields and industries requiring magic.
Decades ago, the situation improved again. With the breakthrough in magic recharge technology, the awkward scenario of manually recharging depleted crystals vanished. Magic crystals quickly became affordable and widely used. Crystal mines shifted from consumables to reusable resources.
More importantly, with the advent of standardized crystal smelting and production technology, low-grade magic ore and even slag became valuable resources. Further standardization of magic crystals and control over their output capacity allowed them to enter households, becoming the cornerstone of civilization.
"Yay! I passed!"
As Lanen approached the bulletin board, he saw a (likely third-year?) classmate shout these words.
The student clapped his hands, laughed, and then collapsed backward.
The crowd quickly scattered, only to find him unconscious, teeth clenched.
His companions then carried him off to the infirmary.
Whispers and murmurs surrounded the scene: "This is his fourth year... Rumor has it his family pulled strings to keep him another year. Failing again would be unforgivable."
"At least he passed. Wonder which field he'll choose..."
"Why bother? His family has connections, unlike us... If it were us, we'd have been kicked out after failing the third year..."
"......"
Refocusing on the bulletin board, Lanen scanned the densely packed papers for his name.
The printed results were alphabetized, so Lanen quickly found his row.
"Lanen Banneret... First year..."
"Magical Flora and Fauna... 86... Magical History... 81... Magical Defense... 76... Language... 61... Etiquette & Humanities... 65... Meditation... 70... Mathematics... 95... Continental Geography... 77..."
"...Astronomy... 90... Spell Principles... 79... Magical Runes... 99... Mechanical Design... 80... Potions... 60... Alchemy Principles & Practice... 62... Spells... 70..."
"...Physical Education... 75. Yay!!! I passed!"
Instantly, a crowd stared at him intently, as if fearing he'd be the next one carried to the infirmary.
Lanen awkwardly smiled at the onlookers and quickly left the bulletin board—he still needed to buy magic crystals.
In high spirits, he bought an entire box of ten standard crystals for just three silver coins. Carrying the box, he passed the bulletin board again.
"Hey, Lanen!"
Hearing Hal's voice, Lanen looked up to see Hal, Elina, and Sophia calling him from under a tree.
"Coming!"
Lanen hurried over.
"I was about to look for you in the library's study room. Didn't expect you here—have you checked your results?"
"Yes. Elina graduated successfully, and Sophia and I failed as expected. But our grades are great, so we'll have a comfortable summer. Lanen, I heard about you—you actually passed!" Hal said excitedly.
"Huh? Yeah..."
Seeing Lanen's confusion, Hal quickly added, "Don't you realize? You're one of the extremely rare geniuses who passed the graduation exam in their first year!... You'll shock half the kingdom!"
Elina and Sophia smiled at them.
"...It's not that exaggerated..." Lanen had hardly dared to think of this.
"Of course it is! And this time, our school has three first-year graduates. Big news!"
Elina and Sophia clearly already knew. Lanen asked, "Who else?"
"You'll never guess!... Scott Silvermoon and Jennifer Silvermoon!"
"Those two elves? Wow! Never noticed before."
"Yeah..." Elina chimed in.
Lanen turned to Elina. "Congratulations on passing too."
"Thanks, it's thanks to your methods. By the way, Lanen, you should think about your post-graduation path."
After graduating from primary arcane school, options included: vocational arcane colleges for learning a trade (the most common path); intermediate arcane schools for further study (chosen by some); art academies (popular among noble children); liberal arts colleges (favored by middle-class families); and, for the rare geniuses uninterested in practical magic but drawn to pure theory, arcane mathematics institutes.
As for Lanen's choice...
"Of course, intermediate arcane school. That's the most interesting path to me. What about you, Elina?"
"Same. But there are many intermediate arcane schools, like our school's senior division or others accepting out-of-town quotas, especially in the capital, where conditions are better. Where are you going?" Elina replied.
Lanen pondered briefly. "I'll stay here. I'm familiar with this place, and most importantly, you're all here."
...
Under the tree, they snacked on Elina's dancing ginger cookies and weird-flavored candies, chatting and dreaming about their summer break.
Suddenly, Hal exclaimed, "Look over there—those people holding red papers!"
They turned to see several individuals carrying red papers and small metal buckets toward the bulletin board.
Hal analyzed: "Posting red papers on the bulletin board only happens in one scenario... announcing good news. So, as I said, Lanen, you and the Silvermoon siblings are about to become famous."