219 Graduation Work 1 (1/2)
”Cheers!” Charles, who was already drunk and sitting beside the dining table, cheered.
Bai Xi sat beside him with Old Phil and rolled her eyes helplessly. Ye Qingxuan chuckled and continued his dinner. Abraham had surprisingly been dragged out from the library to celebrate with them. After surviving the first two rounds of the school day trials, it was quite certain that Charles would have enough points to graduate. No wonder he was so happy—he had never thought that he would graduate one day!
”Anglo, I’m coming! World, I’m coming! Pretty girls, I’m coming!” Charles yelled. He ran around the table in excitement. Annoyed to the max, Bai Xi stuck out a foot and tripped him.
After falling, Charles was finally a bit awake. He stuffed a napkin up his nostril and went back to the table to continue eating. He was already full, but it was rare to have meat, so it would be a shame to waste it!
Ye Qingxuan sighed. ”Senior, don’t get happy so fast. There’s still the last round in two days.”
”The last round is just for looks. What are you scared of?” Charles whistled. ”Don’t worry. With me, we’ll definitely win!”
Done eating, Ye Qingxuan put down his utensils and asked the question he had been avoiding. ”How exactly is your product for the graduation work exhibit on the last day?”
-
The last trial was the graduation work exhibit. It was a fixed show. It was actually an easy task because one could make whatever one wished. Most would not be too harsh either. Even if it was made horribly, the student would just lose some points.
For musicians, the graduation works of each academy were completely different. This was decided by the local culture and aim of the academy. For example, the graduation works of the Asgardian Iron Rock Academy was a demon captured by a musician digging through the glaciers with a hook.
In India, the students would have to use the form of a debate to discuss music theory with the guru of their monastery. In some places, the graduation work was to…kill their own teacher.
Of course, the Royal Academy of Music was not this cruel. Instead…its process was—uh—”unique.”
Two hundred years ago, when the graduation work was still ”composition,” a waterway mechanic learned by himself…The academy accepted this self-learned mechanic as an exception and he graduated with high grades. But because he did not have much foundation and could not compose, he used a different way to show his learnedness on music theory.
He requested to use the Requiem Illusion and then created something new…Yes, it was the illusion that everyone used for hide-and-seek on the first day, but hundreds of times smaller. In the illusion, the musician must use music notes to guide a waterway mechanic through challenges, defeat various demons and the demon king, save the captured princess…
At the time, this work was critically acclaimed and well-liked by all the students. It almost created a craze in the musician world and trended in every academy around the world. In fact, some students quit school because they were so obsessed. In the end, alchemists even implanted the work as music score into aether balls—the tool that never leaves a musician’s side—so musicians could play when they were bored.
To the academy, this work not only displayed the creator’s achievements in music temperament and grasp on music theory. It also touched on aether usage of the Resonance level and the mechanic mind of the creator and more…
Anyway, Ye Qingxuan did not know what happened, but all graduation works were changed to be that type after that. Because of the amount of work, graduation students usually teamed up. Each school would have their own proud work. The best would even be sent to the Sacred City, receive critique from all the musicians, and spread widely.
Being in the limelight like this as a student, it was the best way to make a name for oneself. Outstanding works had been created continuously through the years.
Most started preparing one year in advance for their work. Charles, who had never thought about graduating, did not even think in that direction. Even if he worked quickly, Ye Qingxuan was not sure that he had enough time.
”There are only two more days. Will something go wrong?”
”Don’t worry. It’s basically set!” Charles drank alcohol and pounded his chest. ”The music theory within is practically impeccable and shows my glorious spirit. Through this graduation work, I’ve expressed the impermanence of life, changes of the world, and the troubles of fate. It also has the dreary feeling of being forced into a dead end, with nowhere to escape but to fight. There’s no way I can’t pass!”
The more Charles bragged, the more Ye Qingxuan felt doubtful. ”Anyway, just show us first.”
Charles smiled mysteriously and snapped his finger. He maneuvered the enchantment using the temporary creator authority given by the school.
Boom! There was a muffled burst.
An iron box, 1.5 meters tall, suddenly appeared in the room. It looked like the refrigerator that had recently been invented. There was a suspicious lever on the right side. There were also three runners going down the middle of the box. Colorful designs were drawn on them. It seemed that the runners would turn with a pull of the lever. There was also a circle of slightly-dazzling colored lights around the knobs. All in all, it did not look like something good!
”What the h*ll is this?” Ye Qingxuan felt a headache coming.
”My graduation work! Look, I’ll show you!” Charles moved forward and abruptly pulled the lever. The machine began playing a horribly cringe-worthy kid’s song. The lights around the turntable lit up, blinding everyone. Then the three wheels inlaid in the machine began rolling wildly. The designs on them changed quickly before gradually slowing. Finally, the clanging sounds of coins falling traveled from the box. As the lights flashed wildly, a giant pile of coins fell from the opening.
Ye Qingxuan was fossilized. ”That’s it?”
”That’s it.” Charles nodded. ”You can use it if you pay some points. If the designs on it create a group, you can receive different amounts of points. I haven’t connected it to the point calculator though, so I replaced it with coins. Anyway, I played a bit after finishing it and I couldn’t stop. I almost put all my drinking money into it and still haven’t taken it out.”