LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 12 - Was That All After Showing Off?
Chapter 12: Was That All After Showing Off?
“The first one is Hailey Lumian.”
When they realized they weren’t the first to go, other students breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, despite being called first, Hailey showed no signs of panic.
She flashed a charming smile at Louis before gracefully walking past the other students.
Suddenly, Becky nudged my side and spoke in a low voice.
“Hey, Flan.”
Instead of responding, I just glanced at her.
“That girl… we ran into her at the store earlier. How’s her skill?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know…? I thought you two knew each other?”
I shook my head. I knew nothing about her, and that was natural since I had no interest in her.
Becky crossed her arms with a huff.
“I don’t really like her. Let’s see how good she is.”
While glaring sharply at Hailey, Becky suddenly tilted her head as if something had occurred to her.
She turned her gaze back to me.
“Hey, Flan. Something just came to mind. Can I ask you something?”
“Ask, and I’ll decide whether to answer.”
“Why did you…”
At that moment, Violet initiated the test.
“I’ll start now, Professor Audrey.”
Upon receiving the signal, Professor Audrey began to prepare her magic.
Soon, she created a mana crystal in the shape of a gem and sent it toward Violet’s wand. It was about the size of a child’s fist.
“Let’s see how well you can assist with this mana crystal.”
As soon as Violet finished speaking, a spell formed at the tip of her wand.
It was a flawless manifestation, free of any excess.
With a bang, the mana crystal shot forward. The power behind it was evident, drawing gasps of admiration from the students.
The crystal, which seemed like it would fly endlessly, stopped at a specific point. Violet then created a signpost at that location.
“The maximum distance a mana crystal can travel without breaking is about this far.”
Violet created a new mana crystal in front of Hailey.
“If it doesn’t reach halfway, you fail. After that, the farther it goes, the higher the grade.”
“What if it passes the signpost?”
“If the crystal breaks, you naturally fail. Remember, this is about assisting.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Violet gestured to the mana crystal with her chin.
“Start whenever you’re ready.”
Hailey calmly took a deep breath and placed her index finger on the mana crystal.
With a sudden pop, the mana crystal shot forward.
The trajectory was straight, flying perfectly toward the signpost. Some of the observing students let out sounds of admiration.
“A grade.”
Violet announced her verdict. The two professors sitting at a distance nodded in agreement.
“Wow~ Thank you, Professor!”
Hailey beamed and returned to her seat next to Louis.
“What the… she’s good.”
Becky muttered in frustration.
‘Admiration…’
I could distinctly feel the youthfulness here. For those with little experience, everything like this would be worth marveling at.
“Next, Kisephi Rumir.”
Violet’s frog continued to spit out name cards, and the tests proceeded in order.
Summoning, destruction, support… Violet demonstrated various types of magic in front of the students.
“A grade.”
“If there were a grade between B and C, I would have given that, but C grade.”
“E grade.”
“D grade.”
…
Violet’s grading was swift, but it never disagreed with the other professors’ opinions.
Honestly, the grading system seemed a bit childish to me.
From my perspective, having advanced so far beyond this, all grades from A to E looked like young seedlings.
Of course, some of them might have good potential. I planned to keep an eye on those ones.
Violet continued calling names.
“Next, Becky.”
“Wha-?! That’s me.”
Becky, startled, slowly stepped forward.
The other students looked at her with noticeably different eyes, probably because she didn’t have a family name. A commoner’s name.
“Your category is…”
Violet’s frog spat out another name card.
She showed the card, which read ‘Manipulation,’ to Becky and the other students.
“Whew…”
Becky sighed in relief and nodded. I was probably the only one who knew why she was relieved.
Violet solidified the ground into a firm rectangular block and suspended it in the air.
“Manipulate it freely. Aesthetic criteria won’t be considered; only your manipulation skills will be evaluated.”
Becky took a few more deep breaths, then spread her hands with a focused expression.
I closely observed her.
The rotation speed of mana around Becky’s hands was about 14 times per second. The same speed I had taught her in the lab.
‘She’s not completely clueless.’
The rotation speed alone was enough to show that she had understood my advice. Becky then began manipulating the rectangular block.
The 14 rotations per second weren’t too fast. It was stable.
Watching her carve the hard-packed dirt like clay was strangely soothing.
Becky’s expression was more serious than ever.
The block, already in her mana’s grip, was no longer rectangular.
Petals stacked on top of each other, and the stem stood tall like a Columbine flower… no.
It was the Columbine flower itself.
“A grade.”
“Yes.”
Becky nodded as she continued to carve the flower. Then, suddenly, she looked up sharply.
“Huh, what?”
“A grade. What are you doing, not sitting down?”
“Oh, oh, yes!”
Becky, still looking stunned, hurried back to her seat beside me.
She still couldn’t believe she’d received an A grade and kept clenching and unclenching her fists.
Becky looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Hey, hey… I got an A grade.”
I didn’t bother to answer. Anyone with working ears could understand that she’d received an A grade, even a toddler.
But Becky grabbed my arm tightly.
“Flan! I really got an A! It worked just like you said!”
“…Is that really something to be so happy about?”
I responded vaguely. The sensation of someone touching me wasn’t exactly pleasant.
“Next, Flan.”
Around that time, Violet called my name. I walked past the other students with calm steps.
“So, he’s a commoner too?”
“Flan… wasn’t he the one who confessed to Hailey?”
“I think I heard that too. I heard he was crying and begging.”
There was plenty of gossip, but there was no reason to pay attention. A magician should speak with their magic.
“Flan.”
I waited to see what category of magic would be selected, but Violet suddenly addressed me.
“This time, stay put.”
She was still suspicious of what had happened during the orientation.
I wasn’t foolish enough to fall for a leading question, so I responded with my usual indifferent expression.
Violet snapped her fingers, and the frog spat out a name card. The category was ‘Support.’
The other students began murmuring as they saw the selected category.
“It’s the support category? Hailey did support earlier too.”
“He’s going to be compared publicly.”
“Is he good?”
“If he was good, would he have been rejected? He wouldn’t have been dumped if he was.”
Violet created a mana crystal in front of me.
Up close, it was clear that the mana wasn’t particularly pure, probably because it was just for a test.
Violet gestured to the signpost with her chin and murmured.
“Start whenever you’re ready.”
I paused to think.
The act of supporting has many branches. Manifestation, purification, output, direction… just a few examples that came to mind.
I wanted to assist in all of them, but the reason I hesitated was due to my frail body.
I closed my eyes and quietly checked my mana reserves. My body was at its mana limit, but it wasn’t a lot.
So, the key now was to choose and focus.
‘Purification would be best.’
Magic should be as refined as possible. If you advance with a crude appearance, you end up being just that—crude.
This applies to the dignity of my magic as well.
So, I started by purifying the mana within the crystal, making it more refined.
The color of the mana crystal deepened, like paint spreading. What was once a lake now held the depth of the sea.
The amount of remaining mana wasn’t much. Because Violet’s mana was so dense, I had to use quite a bit for purification.
“…When is he going to start?”
Someone murmured.
I had started a long time ago. The saying “you see what you know” remains a timeless truth.
I infused mana into my fingertips. The mana crystal tore through the air, announcing its surge.
“……!”
The students’ eyes widened. I understood.
A crystal infused with pure mana is like paint. The sight of it painting its path with its color is the allure of purification support.
However,
“……?”
This time, the students’ eyes filled with bewilderment.
The distance the mana crystal traveled was pitiful.
It barely surpassed half the distance between the signpost and me. Judging by distance alone, it was only enough to barely avoid failing.
“Was that all after showing off?”
“It looked impressive only at first.”
“So Hailey was really good. He’ll probably get a C grade, at most.”
The students began to whisper.
I quietly waited for Violet’s evaluation, unaffected. In the end, the grading was up to Violet.
Even if I received a low grade, there would be no regrets. A magician is done the moment they lose their subjectivity and intuition.
Violet’s expression was hard to read.
She looked at me with an inscrutable expression, then turned her head to meet the eyes of the other two professors.
The three
professors exchanged glances with subtle expressions. Then, they huddled together and began to discuss something seriously.
During their discussion, they kept glancing at me. The students’ murmurs grew louder in proportion.
“What’s going on?”
“Did he cheat? Like using a scroll or something.”
Violet returned after a while, her expression still subtle.
“Flan… will be put on hold for now.”