Fairy Tail: You said you were just acting, are you serious

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As time passed, the auditorium clock rang, signaling the end of the written exam.

"Time's up, everyone stop writing and leave your papers behind."

The proctor used a megaphone to remind all the mages, and most of them stopped writing. Only a small number ignored the instructions and continued writing.

Seeing that those who remained head down and ignored him, the proctor simply raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

Snap!

As the crisp sound faded, all the papers on the table lit up with magic circles.

In the next instant, all the exam papers floated up and flew towards the proctor's arms.

Those who hadn't finished writing let out cries of despair, some even tearing their flying papers to shreds, revealing expressions of utter despair.

After the proctor placed all the collected papers on his desk, he held up a megaphone and continued:

"You can all wait in the lobby for the results. We will notify you later."

As for the damaged papers, they are all invalid!

Afterwards, all the teenagers in the auditorium left, leaving only the examiners sent by the council.

The hall was filled with teenagers who had left the auditorium, and the once spacious space was once again packed with people, and noise rose again.

"It's all over, everything's over. How am I going to go back to the guild and explain this...?"

"I just made up all the answers to these questions; I hope Lady Luck smiles on me!"

"Studying in the library before was useless; all the questions are ones I've never seen before!"

Ron listened to the dejected mages around him arguing and wailing, and couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.

They haven't done enough practice problems; they'll probably do them more often.

Ron then moved to a corner where he could easily scan his surroundings and began to secretly observe the acquaintances he had encountered.

Lahar frowned, adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, and muttered to himself:

"This group is still too undisciplined. Even while waiting for the results, they shouldn't be so noisy. It's so rude of mages from the guild to be like this."

He then picked up his notebook and looked at the answers. As he flipped through the pages, his smile grew wider and wider.

He seemed quite satisfied with his written test score.

Ron then looked away and gazed at Azuma, who was still standing by the pillar.

He remained confidently leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed and eyes closed, oblivious to the sounds of the mages around him talking, focused on resting.

The mages around him seemed not to notice him at all; their gazes never fell on him.

Ron looked puzzled. He had glanced at Azuma's seat a few times during the assessment, and the latter was just answering questions normally, without any signs of cheating.

Could it be that he's different from what I remembered, and is actually an intellectual?

Ron finally followed the edge of the agreement and found Eric's trail.

Unlike before the assessment, Eric no longer stood on the left side, but hid in a corner of the crowd, his face still a little pale.

He frowned, trying to use his magic to probe the examiners' thoughts and gather information, but unfortunately they were beyond the range of his magic, and not a single thought was revealed.

Just then, he met Ron's gaze, shuddered, and quickly turned his face away, moving away from Ron.

Remembering the murderous aura Ron had exuded earlier, Eric broke out in a cold sweat and instinctively shrank his neck, afraid of angering Ron again.

Ron chuckled. It seemed the other party was indeed afraid, as they didn't even dare to meet his gaze.

Time passed slowly, and about an hour later, the auditorium doors were opened again.

The previous proctor walked out, holding a communication crystal ball that emitted a blue light, with a serious expression.

"Silence!"

After the proctors warned them, the noise in the hall stopped and everyone fell silent.

The proctor, standing in the middle of the stairwell, slowly said:

"After unified calculation by the review council, the written test scores of each examination area have been compiled."

According to the rules, only the top sixteen candidates in the entire mainland region are eligible to enter the second stage of the assessment.

He then added meaningfully:

"This also means that more than 90% of people will be eliminated in this first stage."

The situation in this examination area is quite good; four promising young mages have surprisingly ranked among the top sixteen in the entire continent.

Most of the young mages in the hall lowered their heads, knowing that with their scores they were one of the four candidates for this examination area.

A small number of mages looked shocked and swallowed hard, hoping that the proctor would call out their names.

"Now, I will announce the list of those who have advanced!"

Buzz!

The proctor raised the crystal ball, and a magical light screen instantly opened in mid-air, displaying the four names that had advanced from this examination area, projected above everyone's heads.

The hall erupted in chaos as everyone's eyes were fixed on the light screen, eager to know which four individuals had advanced to the second stage.

Ron looked up and saw four names on the screen, one of which was clearly his full name, followed by his guild: Fairy Tail.

The other three candidates are Lahar and Azuma, representing the Magic Academy, and Eric from a formal guild.

Those mages who thought they had a chance to advance looked disappointed and sighed deeply when they saw that their names were not on the list.

"Very good."

Rahar adjusted his glasses, revealing an excited look in his eyes, and trembled with excitement.

Eric appeared indifferent, but he still breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his name on the list.

Azuma smiled, a rare occurrence, after seeing the list, seemingly looking forward to the next stage of the assessment.

Ron smiled. As expected, the four of them were selected.

The proctor standing on the left then announced:

"The four people on the list, please remain in the lobby and then follow us to the second stage of the assessment."

As for those who were not selected, the door is right behind you. Please leave quietly in order. Thank you.

After the proctor finished speaking, the hall doors slowly opened.

Ron stayed where he was as was, as was the rule. The other candidates who had failed the exam looked disappointed and left the hall one after another.

After the crowd dispersed, the once noisy hall became empty and quiet, leaving only the four advanced participants behind.

The proctor put away the crystal ball and slowly walked down the stairs.

His angry glare swept over Ron and the other three, and finally, a satisfied smile appeared on his previously serious face.

"You did a good job."

The proctor waved to them and turned to walk towards the passage at the back of the hall.

"Now, come with me."