Book 12 Chapter 23
Side Story Part 2, Chapter 16
The Child Who Weaves Hearts (16)
The Bandoran (1-star) Mage Rank Test is divided into written and practical components.
The written test assesses whether one possesses the knowledge to handle 1-star magic.
It usually consists of 20 multiple-choice questions and 5 essay questions, asking about understanding of runes and mathematical formulas.
Originally, examinees must take all four major elements, but up to two of them can be forfeited.
Instead, those empty slots must be filled with two minor element subjects.
Unlike minor elements, the four major elements appeared with the dawn of magic, requiring essential mathematical thinking, making them quite challenging.
In other words, it can be said to be a test consisting of a minimum of four to six subjects.
“Nen!”
It was impossible to describe the excitement Nen felt when she proudly passed the written exam and entered the plaza.
“Sis, Nen unnie!”
Ellaheim also excitedly waved her hand, and Nen kindly waved back.
“Why don’t you look a little happy too?”
As Miria hinted, Rain rested his chin on his interlaced fingers and closed his eyes.
“It’s too early to rejoice. The highlight and the most difficult part of the rank test is always the practical exam.”
Of course, when Rain took the rank test in his Lynn days, he thought, ‘What kind of warm-up doesn’t even make it a test, and why is the failure rate so high? I really don’t get it.’
‘Hang in there, Nen. If it’s you… if you remember the times you spent with me, you’ll pass without difficulty.’
Rain taught Nen magic, and beyond magic, the world itself.
He didn’t just teach her to use magic according to a situation, but the mindset required when using that magic.
Just as Headmaster Atlante did when teaching his beloved disciple, Lynn.
“Examinee number 46, step forward.”
The Bandoran Rank Test is evaluated by one supervisor and three examiners.
From Atlas (3-star) onwards, where the number of personnel is strictly controlled, it’s a relative evaluation, but fortunately, the 1-star and 2-star tests are absolute evaluations.
The supervisor chooses and presents one of several examples, and the examinee chooses the magic that resolves the example most perfectly to be evaluated.
‘It might seem simple if you just hear the explanation…’
The Magic Alliance, which emphasized practical magic use, made this test method very similar to reality.
Illusion magic almost realistically reproduces the situation presented by the examiner.
Let’s say the supervisor presents a situation where a large forest fire suddenly breaks out. Then, the entire area really changes into a mountain and flames erupt.
“It’s a situation where heavy rains have caused a dam to overflow and farmland to be damaged. From now on, use the most appropriate magic for this situation.”
The entire test area begins to be covered by illusion magic.
It was farmland.
It was a scene where heavy rain pouring from thick, dark clouds showed no sign of stopping, turning the area into a quagmire.
There’s no time to panic.
There is definitely a time limit, and while it’s not overly pressing as it’s the Bandoran test, one still cannot afford to be entirely at ease.
- Earth-element magic begins with an understanding of geometry.
Nen closed her eyes for a moment.
What unfolded comfortably in her mind was the memory of her companion.
- What are the basics of geometry? It’s about finding the area or perimeter of shapes. In other words, it’s the study of measuring space.
Rain didn’t just teach the principles of mathematics; he told stories deeply intertwined with each subject, and Nen really loved that.
- Here, you have to ask yourself a question. What was the reason for needing to measure space?
- What was it?!
- Let’s say it rains. The earth boundary stones crumble, and the farmland is damaged. To restore it exactly as it was before, what do you need to know?
- You need to know the area!
- Exactly! Seeing the world as hundreds, thousands of three-dimensional shapes. That is the beginning and completion of geometry.
The scene of memory Nen was drawing had already shifted from theoretical education to practical training.
Along with the regeneration (再生) of that memory.
Nen’s fingers moved elegantly and beautifully, starting to turn the pages of the grimoire. Her movements were both imitation and reproduction.
- To use earth-element magic, first, all you need to do is find the area of the corresponding coordinates to change the perceived information of the earth.
Yonghyun, Rain Ludwig.
300 years ago, the great mage Lynn.
- To put it simply, it’s like the area of the three-dimensional shape of that space.
That genius boy was famous for using magic so beautifully that there are even records stating that onlookers were captivated by the ecstasy.
‘What kind of beautiful hand gestures are those?’
Closer than anyone else.
And more than anyone else.
Is it natural that Nen’s way of using magic, having seen those hand gestures by her side, in her arms, resembles Lynn’s?
“Rain, look at that. Nen is concentrating and using magic.”
Of course, he was watching.
He was watching more attentively than anyone else.
In the trembling reverberation that made his heart tingle, Rain was gazing at Nen’s form.
‘I think I might understand why Nen looks so lovely…’
In his Lynn days, Rain wanted to resemble Headmaster Atlante.
His method of using magic was also like that; Lynn desperately tried every day to mimic even the movements of his fingertips.
Rain’s magic usage had become much tougher and simpler compared to his Lynn days, but those beautiful hand gestures contained the effort to resemble the object of his admiration.
‘Just seeing it by my side isn’t enough.’
That is the byproduct of desperate effort.
The result of desperate longing, wanting to become like.
Was Rain, for Nen, a being like Headmaster Atlante?
‘Hang in there, Nen.’
Of course, there’s a difference: Lynn, who obtained the Gladoss (4-star) rank immediately upon his historical appearance, was a Yorghen-type mage from the age of 13.
Nevertheless.
And thus.
Isn’t that very movement, resembling such beauty despite being of the Remidiere type, a symbol of admiration and longing?
* * *
“The ground is starting to move.”
“The speed of infusing magic into the grimoire is quite fast.”
“Her coordinate calculation ability is also good.”
The examiners began to move their quills, marking O’s and X’s on the evaluation forms.
“The usable area of the earth is quite wide at that level.”
As the muddy ground slowly moved, beginning to form furrows at the edges of the farmland, Nen recalled Rain’s advice.
- Once you start moving the earth, what’s important afterwards is to continuously provide the correct coordinates. And you must never lose the coordinates of the central axis.
While building a barrier to prevent water intrusion, another barrier was also erected beyond it, which made the supervisor tilt his head.
‘Is it a coordinate calculation error? Why is the ground moving there too?’
If it was merely for the purpose of showing off the amount of magic or the achievement level of the magic… it’s recklessness. She already looks quite tired.
“Next up is water magic.”
Water-attribute magic is based on number theory.
Number theory is the study of the properties of integers, and prime numbers can be said to be a representative field within this.
The stages of number theory required in the Bandoran Rank Test included greatest common divisor, least common multiple, and prime factorization.
“She’s started to drain as much moisture as possible from the water barrier formed by earth magic.”
“But that alone isn’t enough.”
“Uh, the wall will collapse before all the moisture inside is completely drained.”
The examiners stopped moving their quills for a moment and withheld their evaluation. If she uses the next magic, they will perform a composite evaluation then.
“Ah, she’s using flame as her final magic.”
Flame-attribute magic was based on algebra (代數學).
The algebra required for the Bandoran rank involves various formulas for simplifying mathematical expressions.
In short, it could be said to be the technique of substituting variables into unknowns to solve them, in other words, solving equations.
‘Flame changes in intensity, temperature, shape, and so on depending on various variables. It’s an attribute that’s equally difficult to handle.’
However, for Nen… it could be said that the beginning of her study of mathematics stemmed from her exploration of algebra.
- Nen, you will have to spend your entire life solving this equation called ‘heart’.
Nen liked solving equations.
Was it perhaps because, unlike people’s hearts, mathematical unknowns and variables were so honest and straightforward?
While solving equations, Nen began to conceptually understand that there are many more forms of unknowns in the human heart.
“Ah, she’s started to bake the water barrier with fire!”
“That’s a 120-point judgment. The ground is muddy, so if left as is, it would immediately collapse.”
“She’s an examinee who has clearly built up her understanding of magic… why have I never heard her name before?”
As the examiners circled items on the evaluation form, the supervisor had to furrow his brow again.
‘Time isn’t that generous… and she’s doing something strange on the other side again.’
Earlier, when forming the water barrier, this examinee created the same wall not only in the area presented in the test but also beyond it.
It was the same when she drained the moisture inside with water-attribute magic.
And now, with flames, she was solidifying not only the water barrier within the test area but also the one beyond it.
‘If this examinee had overwhelming magical ability, I might have been impressed, but no matter how I look at it, it’s recklessness. What on earth is she trying to say?’
The supervisor nervously gazed at the plaza’s clock tower repeatedly.
He didn’t know the exact reason.
It might just be curiosity, but he definitely wished this examinee wouldn’t fail.
‘If she had solved the water barrier in the test area first, she would have already passed, so why?’
The examinee primarily ignited a fire directly in front of where the waterway was flooding (水害).
If she had simply enveloped the entire test area, he definitely would have been willing to give her a perfect score.
However, instead of doing that, the examinee first heated the water barrier on the far side.
“……”
“……”
“……”
The examiners each felt anxious and checked their watches.
‘I don’t know why she’s doing that, or what she’s trying to achieve…’
‘The Bandoran test is a mark given as a proper mage’s qualification…’
‘If she can’t solve this problem, no matter what her score is, she can’t be given a rank…’
In such apprehension and worry, time flowed relentlessly, but examiners must not advise examinees. It’s illegal.
30 seconds…
15 seconds…
10 seconds…
9 seconds…
6 seconds…
3 seconds…
2 seconds…
It was almost simultaneous. Nen finished using magic and took a deep breath, and the supervisor flicked his finger, stopping the progress of the illusion magic.
“Examinee number 46, as the situation has been perfectly handled, the test is concluded.”
Nen’s entire body was soaked in sweat from the recoil of using multiple spells in a short period.
Nen found her family watching the test across the plaza and smiled brightly through her sweat-soaked hair.
The supervisor pursed his lips in dissatisfaction several times before finally stepping forward.
“Number 46, may I ask one question? What were you trying to do? There aren’t any bonus points, so why did you create a water barrier on the other side as well?”
The examinee seemed flustered by the question and stammered, making the supervisor curse his naturally stern expression.
“No, I’m not stern!”
“?”
“The water is overflowing… if I only blocked it here… the farmer uncle on the other side would be sad… so I did that.”
Not only the supervisor’s, but also the examiners’ eyes widened.
The farmland beyond the test area is an illusion, not real.
It’s merely a background device created to emphasize that if water overflows, it would be devastated like that.
‘There’s something…’
At that moment, the supervisor felt a strong tremor in his heart and thought.
‘There’s something different about this child’s magic compared to others…’
It’s not overwhelming genius.
Genius is the pinnacle of reason.
But what this child possessed was the exact opposite end of that genius… sensibility.
‘It’s warm. There’s no other way to describe it… How long has it been since I last saw such warm magic.’
Magic had been called a study of reason until now, but Yonghyun, when expounding on truth, referred to it as ‘containing the heart.’
Perhaps.
This child’s magic, her life, might become something that interprets Yonghyun’s inscrutable words. The supervisor unconsciously thought so.
“Examiner, the Bandoran emblem.”
Originally, in the Bandoran Rank Test, scores were announced after all tests were concluded, and the emblem was collected by the individual or guardian at the reception desk.
However, the supervisor.
judged that such a method could not show proper respect for the magic this child had just performed.
“Understood. I happen to have a sample one.”
The examiners also did not raise any objections. The supervisor pinned the Bandoran emblem onto Nen’s chest and said.
“You are still a young and inexperienced mage, but when you mature someday… we all sincerely look forward to seeing how the horizon of magic will change.”