Chapter 840: Unnamed
Chapter 840: Unnamed
The rest of the Core Myst paper passed faster than most students expected.That did not mean it became easier. If anything, the second half carried a more exhausting kind of difficulty, the sort that did not strike all at once but wore down the mind by forcing it to keep arranging concepts after the body had already decided it wanted to be done. The first half had been sharp because everyone was alert.
The second half was sharper because everyone was tired. Questions that might have seemed manageable in the morning now required students to reread them twice, sometimes three times, just to make sure they were not answering something entirely different from what was being asked.
Still, time moved.
Pens scratched. Pages turned. Mystica and Professor Caelus continued their silent supervision. Dylan, despite all his noise during the break, wrote with surprising focus until even his restless energy dulled into concentration. Ariana remained steady to the end, though by the final hour even she flexed her hand between answers. Sheila wrote carefully, refusing to rush through the last analytical section.
Asher looked personally betrayed by the final question but answered it anyway. Charlotte finished with enough time to review and somehow made exhaustion look intentional. Liam fought through the last few sections by choosing clarity over prettiness, writing what made sense, cutting away unnecessary phrasing, and refusing to let the more twisted wording pull him into overthinking.
Then the final bell rang.
Mystica’s voice followed immediately. "Writing materials down."
This time, the entire hall obeyed with the heavy relief of people released from a slow punishment. Pens were placed down. Hands moved away from parchment. A few students slumped in their seats the moment they were allowed to stop. One boy near the middle looked at his completed paper as if it had personally aged him.
Professor Caelus moved through the hall with a collecting spell, and the parchment packets lifted from each desk one after another, sealing themselves midair before arranging into neat stacks near the front platform.
No one spoke until Mystica dismissed them.
Even then, the sound that filled the hall was less excitement and more exhausted survival.
Students made their way out in groups and loose streams, trying very hard not to worry about what they had written. Some failed immediately and began asking vague questions that did not technically violate exam rules. Others swore they would not think about Core Myst again until results came out, which meant they would absolutely think about it for the rest of the day.
A few decided the best use of the unexpected free time was sleep. Others went to train, study for the next paper, or eat something large enough to make up for five hours of mental strain.