My Fate as a Cannon Fodder

Chapter Eight: Four Arts

"My head and neck hurts." Serenity mumbled while looking up to the sky.

Three hours already passed and now they are taking their one hour lunch break. As Serenity didn't feel like mingling with other people in the dining hall, she decided to eat her lunch in a secluded space.

It was an open meadow that is surrounded by tall bushes. There's a small hill in the middle and on top of it is a large apple tree. She found out about this place while searching for a place to eat. She didn't expect that the small cobblestone road she followed would lead her to this.

Serenity let out a contented sigh as she ate her sausage. Her mind couldn't help but drift to the tests earlier.

The tests are a bit easy. Thank goodness for modern education. And that all those years of suffering in school didn't go to waste.

Mathematics is easy and simple. It did not have those complex equations that Serenity studied when she was in college. Although a lot found it difficult, Serenity just didn't took in consideration those math tutoring she had when she was a child helped her with the test.

Similar to Mathematics, English was also a walk in the park. You only had to have common sense to properly answer it.

The only subject she had trouble with is Science. If Serenity didn't have studied in medical school, she was sure she would've flunked the test. And it was evident that the others had trouble too with Science. She even saw a couple of people crying after the Science test was over.

Now she was dreading over the next three hours. The next tests are History, Culture & Traditions, and the Four Arts.

The Four Arts is the one Serenity dreaded the most. This test is not a written examination like the others, but a test one must showcase their skills and talents.

The Four Arts is similar to the Four Arts of the Chinese scholar, it is the four main academic and artistic accomplishments required of the aristocratic ancient Chinese scholar-gentleman. They are qin (the guqin, a stringed instrument), qi (the strategy game of Go), shu (Chinese calligraphy) and hua (Chinese painting)*

(*credits to g[][]gle)

It's a good thing though that this type of Four Arts is a bit different. Instead of a guqin, one could use any intrument. As for go, it is replaced by chess. Calligraphy and painting is still the same though.

Among the Four Arts, each of them can choose atleast one. The problem Serenity is currently facing is that she doesn't have any talent to showcase. Sure she could sew, design dresses and is proficient at surgery, but these aren't part of the Four Arts.

She tried buying a skill from the system, but she still doesn't have any points. Serenity even asked if she could loan a few points but her stingy system is very final on its decision.

Serenity closed her eyes and tried to remember those violin lessons she had when she was a child. Growing up from a strict asian household, it was to be expected that she is going to learn atleast one instrument. And although she didn't took the lessons seriously, she still could play it quite decently.

"I could play that easy piece that Miss Sakura first taught me," Serenity mumbled to herself, "Yeah, that could work."

She snapped out of her musings when she heard a bell chime, signalling that their lunch break was over. Mumbling incoherent curses while standing up, Serenity begrudgingly went down the hill and out of her safe haven to take the rest of the test.

Following the small stone road, she was then met with the same hall from earlier. Sitting again on the same seat, Serenity looked to the front of the hall nervously.