Book 3 Chapter 19

Episode 68

[Commence calculations!]

As soon as the examination began, students started drawing magic circles on their parchments. The audience seats at Dragon's Blood Arena were truly packed.

"I heard it could accommodate five thousand people, and it's full, is that right?"

Tyrintid of the Magic Alliance's Special Operations Department looked around with interest. Lunen, a giant with a charming mustache, nodded.

"Doesn't that just mean there's a lot of interest in this Golden Generation? Senior Tyrintid, you must be feeling nostalgic too."

"Hmph, nostalgic? I'm from <Winterhold>. Unlike those southern dandies, I learned real magic."

<Winterhold> was a school located in the north, one of the Empire's three great magic universities, and almost all northern mages were trained there.

The same was true for the Blado Count family, famous as a northern magic family. The Blado clan had only ever enrolled in <Delaiten> once in their long history.

Anyway, since the seats were already full, the two couldn't sit down and had to stand in the northern passage, looking down at the examination hall.

"So what, are we supposed to pick our successors here or something?"

"It seems the section chief has already set his sights on Rain Ludwig."

"That genius (calamity) young master? Ugh, the world's ending, the world's ending. Look at him picking someone as unpleasant as himself. I'm against it. Strongly against it!"

"What's the problem with that genius young master becoming the top student?"

"Hey! I just can't stand guys who don't live diligently like that and then suddenly pretend to hide their power and act all cocky, got it?"

"Then who exactly do you want to pick, Senior Tyrintid?"

Tyrintid, who graduated top of <Winterhold> four years ago, was naturally focusing on Christa Worden.

Her talent was undeniable, and her diligent demeanor was pleasing to see. And like herself, she was a woman, which she liked.

Such favorability wasn't unique to Tyrintid; many judges were already gathered around Christa Worden.

"Two squares, so this is, what, Earth-type magic? Right?"

"Yes, that's correct. More precisely, it's summoning magic."

"Summoning magic? Haha, we don't really need something so grand…"

"It's not grand. It's an all-purpose doll that can do anything."

The magic circle spun gracefully in Christa Worden's palm, and the next moment, sand soldiers surged forth, taking formation behind her.

"From a minimum of two to a maximum of four. You can order these soldiers to do anything you wish. From chores to civil engineering, everywhere."

As the sand soldiers lifted heavy trees, erected foundation stones, and raised pillars in the area, people gasped in admiration and raised their hands frantically.

"Give me one sheet!"

"Me, me, give me two sheets!"

"Oh, I don't know, just give me all three sheets!"

Reconstructing bloodline limits into a magic circle and then reprocessing it for others to use is no easy task.

To do it so perfectly, indeed, the skill that conquered both elementary and middle school as a top student hasn't gone anywhere.

Listening to the many magic-world administrators whispering, Professor Caroline smiled.

'Yes. There's no need to be impatient at all. The world already knows your worth.'

Starting with Christa Worden, it was the members of the Eight Great Schools who were taking the lead.

Lilian Carain of the Rivendell School with fierce flames, Cayden of the Harimun School with a clear tone…

Logan of the Chaihak School was an exception, experiencing a setback after putting magic that aids muscle growth during exercise into a scroll.

'That, that guy whose head is filled with nothing but poop…'

Professor Owen pressed his forehead with a sigh. On the other hand, the mages from Chaihak who were observing this exam looked puzzled as to why it wasn't popular.

"You fools, that's not Logan's fault."

"Vice Dean?"

"The problem is that the world is still too young to understand the beauty of muscle. Logan has prepared the best magic as our future successor."

"Keuk, as expected! I knew it!"

The mages of Chaihak were truly simple.

Compared to such Chaihak, Uybert, the successor of the Lohwynum School, was setting new scroll sales records at a crazy speed.

"Fan-shaped… Young mage, may I ask what attribute this magic is?"

"It's wind-attribute magic. It's our Lohwynum School's specialty."

Wind means freedom.

And that free attribute naturally dwells in wind-attribute magic.

"If it's just simple wind magic, is there any point in buying it as a scroll?"

"My explanation was insufficient. This isn't just wind. It's wind that transforms freely."

"Transforms freely… wind?"

Uybert snapped his fingers, and the wind circulating in the air changed its form, transforming into a powerful gust.

That gust instantly scattered the dark clouds Uybert had created with magic, creating a clear sky.

That was only for a moment; this time, the wind spread out into a circular barrier, protecting the judges from the drizzling rain and wind, a reflection of the dispersing dark clouds.

"The maximum usage time is 12 hours. The time decreases each time you make a change, but you can probably use it three times sufficiently."

Wow, a wave of heartfelt exclamations flowed, and soon the judges eagerly reached out, indicating their intention to purchase scrolls.

1. Christa Worden: 56 sheets.

2. Nora Ledden: 49 sheets.

3. Cayden: 48 sheets.

4. Lilian Carain: 47 sheets.

5. Uybert: 46 sheets.

6. Gertrude Fenton: 44 sheets.

The string of characters that had appeared in the center of Dragon's Blood Arena before the exam still shone brightly, revealing the students' competitive scores starkly.

"The top students are all showing fierce competition by utilizing the strengths of their families and schools. It's very interesting."

"Yes, it seems so."

Marhena nodded at Kyle's words, showing a slight disappointment.

That disappointment was also a natural emotion for anyone interested in <Delaiten>'s trends.

Why wouldn't it be?

The name of the genius young master, who broke everyone's expectations and became the top student, was not among the top 5.

"Didn't they say that genius young master of the Ludwig family was the top student?"

"Was it just a rumor after all?"

"It can't be a rumor. The dragonbone ornament string on his school uniform cloak is proof."

Indeed. Rain Ludwig's current scroll sales figure was '0'.

Compared to Logan, who clearly intended to ruin his grades but still sold eleven sheets, it was an overwhelmingly meager number.

'Right, was this the way…?'

Rain slowly touched his chin.

If you can't showcase magic, you can't attract attention, and if you don't attract attention, you can't sell scrolls.

In this rather simple structure, the magic Rain chose was truly the worst of the worst.

'The range of the magic is too large.'

No matter how vast the grounds of Dragon's Blood Arena were, there were limits to demonstrating this magic, which creates an instant breakwater during a flood.

'No, it's not just a limit, it's completely unusable.'

Someone would surely get hurt. If that happened, he might be immediately disqualified. So what to do now?

"What in the world is that guy doing?"

Christa, who was busily drawing magic circles on parchment and checking the scoreboard, narrowed her eyes at Rain's name.

'Still 0 sheets… He's not messing around now. What in the world did he trust to casually hang out with a girl during the exam period?'

If it ends like this, I really won't let it go. How hard did I work, how much did I try my best with the mindset of defeating you with all my power.

"Rain…"

Kasena, who was observing the exam from beside the president thanks to an enormous special privilege, looked up at her mother as if asking for something, but Madelia shook her head resolutely.

"There's nothing I can do. Even if I interfered, do you think it would help Rain? He would only gain infamy."

While Kasena was somewhat passive, Seri Ludwig, who was chewing her fingernails and watching the exam from a first-class private room, actually sprang to her feet.

"This, this is wrong! People are clearly doing this because they're jealous of my brother! Auntie, intervene and protest—"

"—Sit down and stop being so dramatic."

But when Ellyn yelled, Seri looked at her with tear-filled eyes. Ellyn sighed briefly.

"Look closely now, you pathetic niece. The qualities required of a mage aren't simply about casting spells quickly."

Can one calmly respond and conduct oneself in any situation? Those who act rashly whenever an adversity strikes cannot become first-class mages.

"Yes, your aunt is right."

Brim pulled Seri into his arms and stroked her head comfortingly.

"What Seri needs to learn from Rain isn't simply about solving math equations well or things like that."

"Then what…?"

"It's better to see it directly than to explain it with words. Watch carefully."

Regardless of what was happening around him, Rain on the scene didn't even despair. He didn't blame himself and collapse for failing.

"It seems the preliminary task was too difficult for a young master who was raised so preciously. Do you feel despair?"

Uybert, who had a little leeway, provocatively threw out such words, but Rain chuckled and retorted.

"Why?"

"You're completely ruined right now, and you're saying that?"

"What's the fun in a math problem that solves itself in one go anyway? Now it's gotten a bit interesting."

Uybert flinched in surprise at that unknown source of confidence and had to raise his eyebrows.

A zero-sheet seller… is smiling now?

Only 40 minutes left. Even if he pulls some stunt now, it'll be impossible to overtake the five of us who are leading?

"Just think of the first 50 minutes as a handicap for promising juniors."

"What?"

Before Uybert even had a chance to retort, rings of light were already blooming and intricately weaving in Rain's palm.

"First, let's get their attention for sure."

No less than three layers of circular arrays broke with a clear resonance, and dark clouds thickly spread across the clear sky.

As the dark clouds spewed out a downpour, the judges began to flounder, but soon they calmed down.

"Uh, what?"

"What in the world?"

Because the rainwater wasn't falling.

To be precise, the rainwater wasn't falling evenly across the world, but was pouring down only in one area. Exactly where Rain Ludwig was located.

More precisely, into the circular water tank with a diameter of 7 meters that Rain had created in front of his stool.

'Rainwater concentration, that's truly an enormous water-attribute magic control ability…'

Professor Caroline sincerely admired the inexplicable sight. But that was all.

'38 minutes left, 0 scrolls sold. The problem is that this isn't a score that can be overturned now.'

However, one cannot control human interest, and already a good number of judges were heading in that direction.

"It's really amazing. How does it only rain here?"

"Can something like this also be done with scrolls?"

About thirty people gathered, I guess.

This should be enough.

This time, a square formation shattered in Rain's palm. Then the earth writhed and began to stir, like a work of art.

"Wow…?"

"What is this…?"

"A map…?"

Among the people drawn by the crowd was Count Willem, who served the Aijin Grand Duke family.

"No, it's not a simple map. This is like… a miniature of a terrain."

Correct.

Forests, homes, and streams and rivers.

Prince Lyda Aijin opened his tiny eyes in disbelief.

"Really? But what's the meaning of this? Do people want toys like this in scrolls?"

Perhaps from his imperial education, it was a sharp, logical argument for his young age.

"That's right. A scroll is for when magic power is urgently needed in real life. With a model like this…?!"

Then, an unexpected event occurred.

As the heavy rain continued to pour, the water in the circular tank that was collecting the rainwater overflowed.

The water not only savagely swallowed the miniature forests and houses, but also surged in a torrent towards the observing judges.

"U-ugh!"

"R-run!"

The terrified judges backed away, and Count Willem stared at Rain in disbelief.

"Why, why would you do something like this…?"

Did he just want to play a prank?

In a final exam where a magic university student must put everything on the line?

Rain answered that question with a smile.

"Of course, it's to show you this."

The next moment, unable to understand the meaning of that smile, a miracle unfolded in the boy's palm.

The magic circle was a triple rectangle.

The runes carved were Gyeol (闋), Du (阧), On (鞰).

Imbuing earth-attribute magic with the properties of

'Gyeol (闋): closing a gate',

'Du (阧): surging upwards',

and 'On (鞰): accumulating'.

The earth swelled like waves on both sides of the threateningly overflowing torrent, which seemed to sweep through Dragon's Blood Arena, and then instantly shot up like cliffs.

That natural wall, blocking all flood damage, continued to ripple and extend until it reached the drainage ditch prepared in the corner of Dragon's Blood Arena, only then stopping.

It was a scene where a disaster that had turned everything in the area into a wasteland was suppressed in an instant, as if by magic. Now, to the judges who were dumbfoundedly murmuring, the boy finished his explanation.

"This is the 'anti-flood response magic' I prepared. Its power is so immense that I had no choice but to show you a miniature version."