Chapter 10: Transfer Test (2)
“The exam will be conducted with ten people at a time.”
More than two thousand people gathered at the academy’s training ground.
Even though there were many people, the wide training ground could accommodate us all.
“Please, those who are called, come up to the stage.”
Some people went up to the stage at the supervisor’s call.
The exam was conducted by attacking a fabricated mana stone and measuring the damage.
‘Not bad.’
With two thousand eyes, it was impossible to cheat.
It would also help to improve my skills just by seeing the skills of the competitors.
It was a good exam from any point of view.
The problem was that I was too short to see the front.
“Everyone is tall.”
I couldn’t see the stage because the people around me were too huge.
The exam seemed to have started since there was a sound of something exploding in front of me, but I couldn’t check it with my eyes.
“Ugh.”
I was so short, but they gave me a middle seat.
It was a truly inconsiderate world.
“I want to see the front too.”
I lifted my heels to get higher.
However, because the man in front of me was too tall, I couldn’t see anything.
“Th, this.”
It’s unfair that only I can’t see the level of my competitors.
I was jumping up and down like a hopping rabbit from the East, trying to see the front, when someone tapped my shoulder.
“Hey, shall I lift you up?”
“Huh?”
Turning around, a boy with a fierce expression appeared.
His hands were in his pockets, which was quite haughty, but the boy’s eyes were clear without a speck of dust.
He was the kind of person who was born with the same kindness as Philiana and Bella.
“Are you saying you’ll lift my body?”
“Yeah. I don’t think you can see the front.”
His tone was harsh, but he had consideration.
My mood improved with the good meeting, but I didn’t intend to accept his help.
“That’s enough. I don’t have a hobby of stepping on people’s backs.”
“What are you talking about? I also don’t have a hobby of being stepped on, I just wanted to lift you up.”
Lift?
Was he going to pick me up like Bella?
I frowned at the boy’s straightforward attitude.
“Are you going to touch this body? Do you have that kind of taste?”
Philiana had definitely told me to be careful with men.
Since I knew that man’s desire, I glared at him with a wary look.
“What are you talking about? You little runt.”
“Runt?”
What is a runt?
I was standing blankly at a word I had never heard before, when he suddenly grabbed my bag.
“That way, you don’t have to touch the body.”
He adjusted the length of my bag strap.
Until it was tight enough to fit my body.
Why was he tightening the bag strap?
I was just tilting my head when he suddenly lifted my bag.
“Nuu, nghat!”
My body floated up with the bag.
I shook my legs back and forth in a sudden situation, but my legs that had already floated were just scratching the air.
“Y, you!”
He was a rude kid.
I was trying to get out of the bag quickly, but I stopped moving because of the stage in the distance.
‘I can see it.’
Ten people lined up on the stage.
They were wielding weapons such as swords and spears towards the mana stone in front of them.
Only two of them were using magic.
‘Mages are rare.’
It seemed like I knew why Philiana told me to learn magic.
Because I started to see the world from a new perspective.
Perhaps, it was my greatest luck to have found her.
“Can you see it well?”
“Yes, lift me up a little more.”
The boy lifted his hand at my request.
Thanks to that, I could see the stage more comfortably.
‘Fire magic.’
Puff!
Some of the mana stone was split by the flames that someone shot.
The people around started to make a fuss with just that.
“She’s at least at the fourth circle, right?”
“What kind of monster came from nowhere.”
“Ha··· She’ll get a spot.”
The fourth circle.
It was a realm that received the envy and jealousy of talented people.
‘She’s the best among the mages, it seems.’
I wanted to take a closer look at the fourth-circle mage, but I couldn’t see it properly because the stage was too far away.
I thought I had to use the binoculars Philiana had given me.
“Hey, boy. What’s your name?”
“Arc.”
“Okay, Arc. Can you take the binoculars out of my bag?”
“···Wait a moment.”
Zzzt-
He opened the zipper of my bag without even putting my body down.
After hearing the sound of rummaging for something, Arc let out a deep sigh.
“···What a wide bag this is?”
“It’s a magic bag. Take it out while thinking that you want the binoculars.”
“Binoculars··· Oh?”
Arc’s hand, which had been rummaging through the bag, stopped.
Was he surprised that the binoculars flew to his hand by themselves?
As I was shaking my legs back and forth in a situation where I couldn’t see, he held out the binoculars next to me.
“Thank you.”
I held the binoculars and looked at the stage.
The identity of the fourth-circle mage was a red-haired girl with a prim expression.
“She looks strong.”
“Yeah···”
Arc agreed to my words.
To be honest, the guy Arc holding me up seemed stronger.
Because I could check the skills of the people who had learned martial arts with just a glance.
‘He’s the strongest in his age group.’
He was so strong, but he was also kind.
He was a person who lived the opposite life of me.
It was then that I was about to pat Arc’s head with a delighted heart.
The supervisor on the stage started calling out the next examinee.
“Luna Eve Chambers, Edric’s Lane Walker···”
It was my name.
I tapped Arc’s hand holding the bag.
“You can put me down now. It’s my turn.”
“Okay, good luck on the exam.”
“···You don’t have manners to say ‘Okay’ to me.”
I was about to turn around to scold him, when he pushed the back of my head first.
“···Just go take the exam.”
“You···!”
Although it was unsatisfactory, his words made sense.
It was a matter of knowing the priority of work if you were capable.
Ten applicants went up to the stage.
I was the only one among them who used magic.
Naturally, the gazes of the mages turned to me.
“What is it? She seems to be at the first circle?”
“She might be a rare magic user.”
“Is that so···?”
Since there were only mages who were better than me in the training ground, most of them knew my level.
Although I didn’t feel good about being the weak, I decided not to care.
‘Just do as I was taught.’
I was circulating the magic as Philiana had taught me.
It was then that the nameless female supervisor approached me.
“You have three chances. Please cast the magic at the mana stone when you’re ready.”
“I understand.”
“You understand···?”
The supervisor’s eyebrows twitched, as if she was displeased with my casual way of speaking.
Although she had a smiling expression, I could tell that she was angry.
“I, I’m sorry. I can’t fix my way of speaking.”
“···It’s okay, just cast your magic.”
Perhaps her anger subsided at my apology, her expression returned to normal.
I quickly started the magic casting after being relieved.
The magic I would use this time was Fire Bolt, a basic attack magic of the first circle.
Huuung-!
A small ball of fire rose above Philiana’s magic wand.
It was the magic attack with the maximum output I could give.
“Isn’t that Fire Bolt? It won’t even scratch the mana stone?”
“She’s casting without incantation. It seems like she has the basics.”
“I agree.”
Of course, she would have the basics.
Because my teacher was Philiana, the pinnacle of mages.
‘One shot for now.’
I cast a Fire Bolt towards the mana stone.
Thump!
With a small explosion, smoke rose from the target range.
‘I hit the center accurately.’
The accuracy was excellent.
The casting speed was also fast.
It was thanks to Philiana’s teachings that prioritized accuracy and speed over power.
‘But there’s no damage.’
There wasn’t even a smudge left on the mana stone that had been cleared away.
I just looked down at the wand in disappointment.
“You have two more chances. Do you want to continue?”
“No···”
I was about to go down the stage, saying it was okay.
If only I hadn’t heard the sound of someone’s laughter.
“Puh, how did she even apply for the entrance exam with that level?”
“Hoho, it seems like a bumpkin, a noble girl, didn’t know her place and applied.”
“Wh, what are you talking about?”
I turned my head towards the place where the voices came from.
Two girls were glaring at me.
To be so proud after insulting someone in front of their faces.
A cynical smile came out at a familiar sight.
‘Oh ho.’
The two girls’ eyes, which were blazing, looked up and down at me.
It seemed they felt jealousy towards this homunculus’s appearance.
‘It’s a familiar type of human being.’
Because they wanted to trample me with their skills and status as much as I was deficient in appearance.
It was the same as insulting my teacher, Philiana.
‘···I didn’t intend to use power.’
Here, I had to open some of my ‘power’ even if it was at risk.
I had to show the difference in skills so that they wouldn’t be able to look down on me.
My goal was the mana stone.
I was going to break part of the mana stone and tear the girls’ clothes with the fragments.
It was all for the sake of my loyalty to Philiana.