Outsmarting The Professor

"If Nero's not going, I'm not going," said Ophelia firmly. "Sorry, Professor, I don't think there's any point in us going for the appraisals."

Ophelia pushed her form back across the table towards Professor Vamoden.

"There you have it," said Nero, a small grin forming on his face; it appeared that Ophelia had followed his train of thought. "The price is too high, Professor. We can't afford it."

"We do have scholarships that you can apply for," said Professor Vamoden hurriedly. "With your kind of intellect, you should have no problem securing a scholarship. I'll even vouch for you myself."

"It's too much pressure for Mom and Dad - if we don't ace the exams, we'll go bankrupt. It's even worse for Nero. If he doesn't ace the exams, my parents go bankrupt."

"Why are you so sure that you won't be able to do well in the exams?" asked Mrs Katori. "You haven't even seen what it's like yet."

"It's not about the exams," replied Ophelia. "It's about the bargain."

"Bargain?" asked Mrs Katori.

Professor Vamoden grimaced as the two teenagers before him exchanged a high five.

"The reason why there's no price on the website is because there is no fixed price," said Nero. "Professor Vamoden can simply tune our memories until he proposes the highest price that we'd accept."

"But we've figured it out," continued Ophelia. "No matter how many times he alters our memories, we'll continue to figure it out - unless he wants to make us stupider; which wouldn't benefit either of us at all."

"So it comes down to this," said Nero. "He'll have to quote us a price that's very acceptable to us in every iteration, or we'll continue calling him out until he gives up."

"Or I could accept that you don't want to go, and let you move on with your lives at Pentheholm University," said Professor Vamoden.

Professor Vamoden chuckled - from the crestfallen looks on their faces, it was obvious that they didn't expect such a reaction.

"I'm just joking. It'll be a huge waste to let such intelligent children slip away from us. The things you'll be able to do with esper powers - I'm excited just thinking about it.

So here's what I'll offer. Ophelia's school fees will be adjusted to that of Pentheholm University's - at two hundred and fifty thousand quaths. Nero, your school fees will be covered by the Academy. I'll help you to file the paperwork for Orphaned Prospects if you make it in. However, you'll still have to pay for your textbooks and lodging, if you choose to stay on campus."

Covered by the school..?

Was he really going to Alcaster Academy for free?

"Deal," said Ophelia, grabbing the application form and signing it immediately. "Will we be seeing you on Monday?"

"You'll probably see me around the campus, although I might be too busy to chat. Don't forget - Monday, 3pm. Alcaster Academy is located at the heart of Meridian Primus; just ask around for directions if you need help. Either way, I wish you both the best of luck."

With that, Professor Vamoden got up and nodded to Mr and Mrs Katori, the latter of whom saw him to the door. Before he left, the headmaster of Alcaster Academy turned to Nero and Ophelia once more.

"You might be interested to know, children," he said, "that the two of you can read each other's minds in a way that even I cannot."

And with that, he left. As the door clicked behind them, Ophelia jumped up and let out a huge "WOOHOO!"

"Ophelia, calm down!" shouted Nero - he, too, was smiling from ear to ear. "We're not guaranteed a placement yet - we still have to pass the appraisals."

"Oh, come on," said Ophelia. "You think we can't pass some stupid appraisal? Even Pentheholm University was willing to accept us without any preliminary trial; I can't think of a higher barrier to entry than that."

There was some logic in what she was saying.

Professor Vamoden approached them knowing that they didn't have any specialised knowledge, which meant that they stood a decent chance at passing the appraisals. For the sake of a fair appraisal, it wouldn't be super-technical in nature; it wouldn't be appropriate for a student who was brilliant in law to end up with an engineering task, for instance.

That left three possibilities. One was that the appraisal would be a physical test, akin to a relay race or obstacle course. As unlikely as it was, they couldn't rule it out entirely - it would be a huge waste of investment if someone's body wasn't able to cope with the mental strain of using esper powers.

Two, which was what Nero was hoping for, was that the appraisals were akin to an IQ test - something that measures your ability to reason and solve problems. An IQ test would be the fairest way to judge one's reasoning skills without having to compromise on technical expertise.

Unfortunately, there was a third possibility, which also happened to be the most likely. It was entirely possible that the appraisals would be judged on some innate ability - whether or not the candidate was capable of utilising that specific thing that allowed them to use esper powers. Since nobody knew how esper powers came about in the first place, there was a chance that not everyone was capable of using esper powers.

"I know you're old enough to make your own decisions," said Mrs Katori wistfully, "but it still stings that neither of you even asked for our opinions. Well - not you so much, Nero."

"Your opinions matter a lot to me, Mrs Katori," muttered Nero. "You're right - I think we got a little too excited."

"Yeah… sorry, Mom," said Ophelia sheepishly. "But come on! It's Alcaster Academy! I can't think of any reason to say no."

"I can."

All eyes turned to Mr Katori, who had spoken through gritted teeth. He looked like he was seething.