Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 41 Is it an error?

The rule was simple.

In the rectangular evaluation arena, we had to deal with the magic rushing toward us. If we successfully neutralized it, that was it.

However, merely casting a spell wasn’t enough. True success would be determined by whether one could suppress the incoming force with their own magic.

—The evaluation of Trixie von Fritz and Louis Rozewald is complete. Currently, Louis is in first place.

With that thought, I observed the evaluations of Trixie and Louis. A staff member from the Magic Tower kindly narrated the situation.

The Magic Tower staff and Violet observed us from the black barrier on the opposite side.

It was a one-way mirror. They could see us, but we couldn’t see them.

Both Trixie and Louis had potential, I could give them that.

Louis made good use of his light element, while Trixie effectively utilized the fire element. They both succeeded in swiftly casting their magic.

But their efforts stopped at casting, and the power was not overwhelming.

It was understandable. These rough gems hadn’t been properly refined yet.

A magician still in their raw state cannot change the world. Neither of them would become the representative.

And now, it was my turn to show the reason why.

After the evaluation, Trixie left with a dissatisfied expression, and Louis approached me.

He spoke in a gentle tone.

“I did my best, but it’s still a bit disappointing.”

“Reflect on it.”

Because one day, he would undoubtedly become a useful magician. Louis surprisingly nodded obediently at my words.

“Of course, I should. But Flan, you don’t seem nervous at all?”

Nervous, huh.

In this world, I had never felt nervous.

I answered with my expression instead of words. As I looked at him with calm eyes, Louis suddenly burst into laughter.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying this with any other intention. I just like it. What you told Professor Violet about becoming the representative, I found it personally admirable.”

—Finally, Student Flan, please come forward.

At that moment, a Magic Tower staff member called my name.

“Do your best, Flan. By the way, mind if I watch?”

After giving a slight nod to Louis, I walked toward the center of the evaluation arena.

◈

Quick spell casting, overwhelming suppression.

These were the two conditions I had set to prove my eligibility as a representative. Since I had spoken those words myself, I intended to see them through.

I would do so without fail. I wanted to reduce the time magicians were looked down upon by even a second.

—The evaluation will begin.

With a brief announcement, the evaluation commenced.

The consistent training I had undergone did not betray me. As I focused my mind, mana, more refined than ever before, enveloped my body.

—Round 1.

I observed the magic power gathering far across the arena with my naked eyes.

I aimed to surpass others’ expectations by a level.

I abandoned the idea of merely winning in terms of speed. I intended to strip the concept of “speed” away from my opponent.

Whoooosh….

As I examined the bizarre sound of the swirling magic power in detail,

The pure mana within me accelerated my thoughts, pushing my computational abilities to the extreme.

Simultaneously, the entire world lost its color.

In a world divided only by black and white, with everything in my sight turning pure white, only the magic power across from me appeared black.

—Firing.

The moment the magic bullet started to move,

White lines began to pulse from the blackened entity’s body. Each of those lines was a critical circuit.

The important thing was that I could see them.

Once confirmed with the naked eye, interfering and dismantling them wasn’t difficult.

Pop.

The magic power fizzled out without traveling far. A moment of silence filled the evaluation arena.

‘Two more times, perhaps.’

Assuming the same power was used, I could perfectly dismantle it two more times. That was the limit of total capacity.

But it didn’t matter.

Both Trixie and Louis finished their evaluations after the third round. I wouldn’t be any different.

—Firing Round 2.

A magic bullet rushed toward me. The composition of the critical circuit had changed, and the speed had increased compared to the first round.

However, the result didn’t change. Just like in the first round, it disappeared before reaching me.

—Firing Round 3.

Finally, the third magic bullet flew toward me, and once again, I dismantled it.

‘Is that all?’

It was rather disappointing.

The name of that innate ability was Flash (閃光), wasn’t it? The speed and power were not living up to the name at all.

I couldn’t tell whether the Magic Tower’s equipment was subpar, or if the innate ability itself was nothing special….

Anyway, I had completed the evaluation in three rounds. It would be impossible for anyone but me to be chosen as the representative.

As I was about to head back to the waiting room,

—Firing Round 4!

Suddenly, someone energetically announced the start of a fourth round.

“…Seriously.”

I reached out toward the magic bullet flying at terrifying speed.

Even without mana, I had a way.

“Arrogant fools.”

◈

Elyse didn’t hold high expectations for the students, except for Louis.

It was often said that outstanding magicians could be recognized from a young age, but no matter what, they were still only first-year students who had just entered the academy.

Moreover, in a magician’s life, a moment of awakening known as a “singularity” could come unexpectedly. Judging a magician’s quality based on just one evaluation was inherently difficult.

“Well, Louis is… as expected, doing well.”

The light element, something that sometimes garnered envy simply for being able to be wielded, was Louis’ natural talent.

He was, of course, listed as a scout candidate for the Mysterious Valley.

Although he hadn’t managed to deflect the magic bullet yet, he was sure to grow immensely in the future.

“The Fritz family is still the Fritz family.”

Fritz. That family name alone was enough to describe this girl.

Trixie also performed at her best, wielding her blue flames.

Elyse noted Trixie’s name as well. This girl’s future growth would be worth keeping an eye on.

Both Louis and Trixie had grounds to be considered geniuses among their peers.

However, whether they could defeat Yvonne, who was called a supernova, Elyse couldn’t easily determine.

Violet spoke up.

“Elyse, what do you think? They’re still the best so far.”

“They’re good, but… I’m not sure.”

“I told you not to look at them only through the lens of guild standards.”

“It’s not just about guild standards, idiot. The goal is to win properly. How are you going to beat the Knight Department like this?”

Elyse tapped the stack of papers containing information about Yvonne.

Age, height, innate ability… The papers were filled with detailed information about Yvonne Rose.

“The speed of the magic bullets is too slow. What’s the point of this? It should match the speed of Flash.”

Violet furrowed her brow at Elyse’s words.

“If we increase the speed, the kids will get hurt. Besides, the arena is much larger than this. Even at this adjusted speed, there won’t be any problems.”

“And if they get seriously injured during the competition, is that okay? What’s wrong with getting hurt during the evaluation? It’s better that way.”

“And if they can’t even participate because of that? I told you it was a bad idea to bring this up.”

Elyse shook her head in disbelief.

“Every time I hear this, I don’t understand. Why do students say Violet is scary?”

“Shut up and let’s just finish the evaluation.”

The Magic Tower staff, who had been listening to Elyse and Violet’s conversation, called the next student.

—Finally, Student Flan, please come forward.

Elyse furrowed her brow.

It wasn’t because there was anything unpleasant about the conversation with Violet. The two of them had always talked like this from the moment they first met.

However, the appearance of the student walking toward the center caught her attention. Elyse read the name written on the list out loud.

“Flan.”

From the moment her eyes met with the boy’s, her watch malfunctioned.

What was on Elyse’s wrist was not an ordinary watch. It was an advanced invention worth hundreds of gold coins, capable of reading the opponent’s magic power.

It was too strange to be a mere coincidence. There was something subtly odd about him.

From his expression to his walk toward the center, everything about him was off. His dignity already made it hard to see him as just a student.

Violet let out a sigh.

“We changed this evaluation because of that guy.”

“Changed the evaluation?”

Elyse questioned. Now that she thought about it, it was true.

When Violet first contacted her, it seemed she was simply planning to find a student who could counter Yvonne.

“We need magic that can surpass the speed of Flash. And only when you suppress your opponent with that single strike will it have meaning. That’s what he said.”

“Have meaning….”

Meaning.

Elyse silently repeated those two words. It was hard to believe that a mere first-year student would contemplate the meaning of magic.

One could strive for meaning.

But to insist on the true essence of magic without compromising with reality wasn’t an ordinary mindset.

Violet wasn’t finished talking yet.

“And he said he would become the representative. He was confident.”

“Did he really say that?”

“He did.”

All at once, drowsiness and boredom vanished.

The Mysterious Valley.

A magic guild with the purpose

of eradicating demons. The guild had various talents, and even more were needed.

But the most prioritized talent was…

‘Someone who believes in themselves more than anyone.’

Demons ruin human lives by any means necessary.

They don’t simply try to overpower people with force. They could disguise themselves as loved ones, offer sweet temptations…

However, if one believes in themselves above all else, they won’t be easily swayed by such temptations.

It had to be acknowledged.

Elyse, after just a few conversations, found herself immensely interested in Flan.

Hiding her bewildered expression, Elyse spoke.

“Let’s watch for now.”

Upon hearing that, the Magic Tower staff resumed the evaluation.

—Firing Round 1.

“Huh?”

The staff tilted their head in confusion. The magic bullet had dissipated before it even flew properly.

“Is it an error?”

“No.”

Elyse responded sharply. She turned her head to look at Violet.

“Violet. Did you see that?”

“…I saw it.”

Violet quietly nodded.

They both understood. This wasn’t a malfunction but a ‘dismantling’ brought about by perfect interference.

However, accepting that was another matter entirely.

Elyse was the first to speak.

“Interference is part of the second-year curriculum, right?”

“It’s part of the second-year course.”

“Hmm~”

“And now that I think about it, on orientation day….”

“Orientation day? What about that day?”

Violet shook her head.

“Nothing. Let’s continue the evaluation.”

Violet muttered, unable to take her eyes off Flan. The staff did as instructed.

—Firing Round 2.

—Firing Round 3.

Two more attempts were made, but the results didn’t change.

He encountered no difficulties.

He simply and calmly dismantled the magic bullets without any wasteful movement.

Throughout the three rounds, not a single sound was heard. It was elegant, even.

‘His mindset is fundamentally different.’

He had long since surpassed the notion of simply confronting magic. His aim was to prevent the opponent from even accelerating in the first place.

Curiosity surged. No, it surged to the point of explosion.

The black barrier was shrouded in silence.

Violet was the first to break it.

“With this… Flan really is going to be the representative.”

Elyse silently rubbed her chin. Violet spoke again.

“Elyse. What do you think? It’s Flan, right?”

“Is that what matters now?”

Elyse abruptly stood up, pushing aside the Magic Tower staff, and began manipulating the equipment.

“E-Elyse?”

The staff called out in bewilderment, but it was too late.

‘How much do you believe in yourself?’

Could he still believe in himself even when faced with an overwhelming force?

Really?

Truly?

Elyse, consumed by curiosity, was already in a trance that no one could stop.

Elyse disabled the safety device on the equipment.

“You’re crazy! What are you doing?”

“Elyse! You can’t tamper with the equipment like that!”

The staff and Violet immediately tried to restrain Elyse.

But she was unstoppable. After injecting as much magic power as she could into the equipment, she shouted into the microphone.

“Firing Round 4!”

The fastest and most powerful magic bullet.

A magic bullet with the same speed as Yvonne Rose’s innate ability, Flash, began rushing toward Flan.

Violet shouted furiously.

“This is insane. Does being the guild leader mean you can act without thinking?”

There was no reply. Violet shouted once more.

“Say something! Is this really okay?”

“…There’s no sound.”

Elyse muttered, seemingly to herself. Violet asked in disbelief.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Have you lost your mind?”

“That’s not the point, you fool.”

Elyse merely smirked and pointed her chin toward the other side.

“Once again, there was no sound from that direction.”