Chapter 149 - The Truth About the Examination Exemption Certificate

Gro’s eyes widened as he locked gazes with the ponytailed girl for a fraction of a second before ultimately looking away in defeat.“I… I should leave,” Gro said weakly, turning to leave as he glanced at Richard, “Lord Richard, it seems… I’m really not cut out to be a wizard.”

“If you truly wish to board the ship, I could help you,” Richard suddenly said.

“Hmm?”

Richard flipped his hand, and an Examination Exemption Certificate appeared in his hand—crystal material, circular, with intricate patterns engraved on the surface, emitting a purple glow—a genuine Examination Exemption Certificate.

Putting the Examination Exemption Certificate into Gro’s hand, Richard said, “Getting an Examination Exemption Certificate is not the issue; the key is whether you truly want to become a wizard. If you do, then you can take this certificate and board the ship.”

“Uh…” Gro was stunned for a moment before quickly catching up on many things, such as why Richard hadn’t bid on the certificate at the auction, as he already had one in his possession.

But…

Gro looked at Richard with some difficulty and said, “But Lord Richard, if you give me this Examination Exemption Certificate, what about you?”

“I’m fine,” Richard said indifferently, looking back at Gro, “You don’t really think I have only one Examination Exemption Certificate, do you?”

“You have two?” Gro’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Pandora, “If you have two, wouldn’t that be perfect for you and Pandora? If you give one to me, then Pandora can’t board, can she?”

“Actually, I have three,” Richard said, flipping his hand to reveal two more identical Examination Exemption Certificates, making a total of three along with the one given to Gro.

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“Ah! This!” Gro was completely stunned, taking a long while to accept this reality.

It was not easy for the entire Cuijin City to obtain three Examination Exemption Certificates, which were auctioned at exorbitant prices, yet Richard alone possessed three.

This… this was powerful.

Gro now fully understood that Richard’s calmness was indeed backed by confidence.

So that’s how it is…

Actually, Richard still harbored a secret: he didn’t just have three Examination Exemption Certificates; in reality, he had far more than three.

After a while.

“Then…” Gro glanced at Richard, “then, I…”

“Right,” Richard nodded.

“Alright,” Gro took a deep breath, approached the ponytailed girl, and said, “This time, I have an Examination Exemption Certificate. Can I board now?”

“Of course you can,” the ponytailed girl’s eyes twinkled, “But before boarding, you need to hand over the Examination Exemption Certificate to me.”

“Why?”

“Do you think you can reuse an Examination Exemption Certificate? The Examination Exemption Certificate is the price you pay to bypass the test for boarding. It’s a one-time opportunity. You have to hand it over to board, understood?” the ponytailed girl said with some eye-rolling.

“Uh…” Gro, chastened, obediently handed the Examination Exemption Certificate to the ponytailed girl and then walked toward the wooden ship on a wobbly gangplank. However, his expression was somewhat displeased.

The girl with the ponytail shook her head and then looked at Richard, her eyes twinkling with a meaningful glint, “Do you have three Examination Exemption Certificates? Tsk, it seems you have some secrets.”

“My secret is that I encountered a dead man on the roadside, and he just happened to have three Examination Exemption Certificates. That’s it,” Richard replied expressionlessly.

“Heh, who would believe that,” the girl with the ponytail retorted. “But I don’t care about your secrets, as long as you have the certificates. Here’s a friendly tip, if you have any extra certificates, it’s best not to show them until you reach the White Stone Tower. Then you’ll discover their true usefulness, and you might even thank me.”

“Thank you,” Richard said.

“No need for thanks. Now, give me two of the certificates, and you and this little girl next to you can board the ship,” said the girl with the ponytail.

Richard didn’t dally further, handing over two Examination Exemption Certificates and pulling Pandora onto the gangplank.

“Creak—”

Pandora wobbled on the gangplank, which bent dramatically downwards but ultimately did not break. Unafraid, she followed Richard, wobbling onto the ship.

On the ship’s deck, there were already many people who had boarded before. Gro, slightly nervous, was waiting for Richard; upon seeing him, Gro breathed a sigh of relief, though his expression remained displeased.

Looking at Richard, Gro said, “Lord Richard, why do they insist on collecting the Examination Exemption Certificates? Aren’t they supposed to exempt us from testing? Do they have another purpose?

After boarding, we do not need a second eligibility check, so how could they be reused? Why did that girl with the ponytail insist on taking them? It’s too much; I wanted to return them to you.”

“Heh,” Richard chuckled softly, looking at Gro, “Do you really think that the Examination Exemption Certificates are just for exempting tests?”

“What else then?”

“If that were their only purpose, what would be the point? Are they just for a Wizard Organization to gather a group of people with no Talent?”

“Um, this…”

“One might think that the original Examination Exemption Certificates were indeed a type of credential that could be issued to families of wizards, giving the bloodline of wizards an easier opportunity to enter the Wizard Organization for study, acting as a privilege, a protection. But in that case, the exemption should be more about the person’s identity, not just the certificate.

If it’s just about the certificate, that means anyone can use it to enter the Wizard Organization. Then, those possessing the certificates would face a fatal threat, vulnerable to being robbed at any time. This contradicts the original intention of protecting the bloodline of wizards.”

“Um, this…” Gro thought about the strife among the nobles of Cuijin City over the three certificates, pondering, “This way, the certificates are indeed very dangerous, giving anyone a reason to attack, then…”

“Don’t you think, in that case, the Examination Exemption Certificate is similar to something?”

“Hm? What?” Gro seemed perplexed.

“Money.”

“Huh?”

“A lot of money.”

Gro suddenly understood something, his eyes narrowing sharply. So this was the truth…

“In fact, the Examination Exemption Certificates are like money used by the wizards, and they are high-denomination money. They recognize the certificates and not the person, and allow us to board without a test solely because the certificates have value to them—we essentially paid them off to obtain boarding rights.

It’s like buying a ticket; we pay, and they let us board. This way, they profit. Otherwise, why would they bother collecting a bunch of people with no or low Talent, if it did not benefit them?”

Gro fell silent, deep in thought.