༺ The Entrance Exams (3) ༻
For Combat Magic, they had a device in place that prevented the examinees from getting injured.
[Advanced Innate Magic ─ Barrier X 3]
When you entered the ring, three clear, formless shields started to revolve around the examinee, protecting them. This shield supposedly blocked any magic except for the Ultimate ones up to three times.
It was probably an Innate Magic of one of the invigilators since this couldn’t be an Elemental.
The shields disappeared if you left the ring. In that case, the test ended regardless of how much time was left and the examinee was given additional point deductions for crossing over the line.
The invigilator continued with explaining the criteria.
“For every shield that you lose, you’ll lose two marks. If you break your opponent’s shield, then you receive one mark.”
I already knew this from Professor Heerlein. There were also other small tips that they didn’t mention to the examinees.
For example, an internal rule that costs you 2 points for just passively defending.
“Are you ready?”
“A moment, please.”
I put the mana grass between my lips and lit it with the help of the invigilator.
“I’m good now.”
Huuuu─. I got into position as I watched the smoke float up into the sky. Right before combat began, I summoned my personal staff.
“Have you ever seen the staff that the Golden-Eyed is using?”
“No. I’ve never seen such an interesting shape before.”
“It’ll be over quickly, anyway. What’s the point of taking it out?”
It wasn’t a long wait.
The clang of a bell soon sounded and the test began.
“Bullet.”
The first step was gauging each other. I dodged the opponent’s fire shot and closed in.
Despite being praised for her mana capacity, the female student backstepped when I got within a foot of her in an instant.
This wasn’t the reaction of a Battle Mage or Arc Wizard. She was likely a Caster.
The first thing to do when facing a Caster was to close the distance so that they didn’t have the opportunity to chant anything. I swung my two meter-long staff to hit a homerun.
It was a feint.
The girl ducked her head, dodging the staff, and quietly smiled as she summoned a fireball without a verbal command.
It was ‘stack1simultaneous activation of similar spells’ and ‘multicasting’, something that was difficult to do even for currently active mages. Its sudden appearance meant she already had it loaded since the first fire bullet.
Kaaang─!
A shield shattered instantly. That was minus 2 points.
This straightforward tactic wasn’t working. My mind blanked for a moment. It might have been the nerves.
Then in that moment, I recalled what Professor Heerlein had told me repeatedly.
─ You’ll be fighting against another student for the practical. You can’t fight them the same way you normally would against a beast, alright?
I was starting to understand what she had meant by that.
The opponent was an intelligent lifeform who could think and evolve just like me. Which meant that she wasn’t simply a Caster who needed to be protected while providing long-distance support like an artillery. She, too, had her own tactics and knew how to respond accordingly to the situation.
This girl was, yeah. A self-propelled artillery in terms of modern warfare.
The latest artillery capable of continuous firing at that.
I took a moment to catch my breath. After checking that I had two shields remaining, I quickly came up with a Plan B.
I was going to lose marks if I went on the defensive. But going on the offensive could cost me too many points.
My immediate goal was to avoid failing. It was arrogant to think it was possible to get more than 40 points with a Golden-Eyed’s body. I didn’t want to make the wrong call in these circumstances just for a few extra points.
As if she finished gauging me, the red-haired student began multiple chants.
Using Fermi estimation, I counted over 50 of them. All those fireballs came at me emitting a menacing heat.
There was no way out. I suddenly became the target of a crossfire.
I attempted to run to a wider area but the opponent aimed another spell there. If this had all been Advanced magic, she’d have no problem being sent to the frontlines with this level of skill.
And because of that, the thought crossed my mind.
She was definitely a pass.
I felt like I hit a wall here. It wasn’t my first time experiencing discouragement but every time I saw those who could use magic without limitations or equipment, I was overwhelmed by a sense of deprivation. It was as if I was the only one in modern society who couldn’t use a smartphone or computer.
I swerved my body to evade as many of them as possible but I still got hit by one. Another shield shattered.
The Maginot Line2A fortified barrier built before WWII to protect the eastern border of France but was easily overrun by the Germans a.k.a. a barrier that gives a false sense of security was crumbling. If it ended like this, then it was definitely a fail.
But, this was within my calculations.
Just in time, the mana concentrated in the grass started to spread throughout my body. Without any scroll or other equipment available, the only thing I could do in this situation was to fill up my whole body with it.
Of course, if there was an entryway, there needed to be an outlet. The element needed to be directed elsewhere before it overloaded me.
Then where did I need to let out all this mana?
[Ultimate Innate Magic ─ Element Operation]
Into my staff, obviously. I used Element Operation and infused the steel staff with mana.
At the tip of the staff, there was a circuit that I had placed beforehand using the transistor. Since this circuit wasn’t in the form of a scroll, it shouldn’t count as cheating.
The circuit that was placed at the end of the stuff was built based on the Eightfold Way theory I had been researching since three months ago. It was like equipping a mage’s equipment with eight skill slots in an RPG game.
I discovered not too long ago that the four main elements of Elemental Magic were related to nuclear physics. But as soon as I found out, I was able to apply the Eightfold Way concept in combat.
The Eightfold Way passed through six points on the outside and two points nested in the center. Here, an arbitrary point could leap to another via an isospin operator.
To put it simply, the staff allowed me to use stored-up magic in turns.
I only had time to condense two skills into the staff, but they were enough to get me past the threshold.
I charged it with mana to the max and dashed at my opponent. She started to chant urgently as if she hadn’t expected me to run through the rain of fire.
A great heat poured out in front of me. The radiant heat of a flame was said to be hot but this was way beyond my imagination. Sweat started to rain down my neck.
My staff was made of steel and needlessly excellent at conducting heat.
Tightening my grip on the heated staff, I prepared for the final strike. I could feel my hands cooking but I paid no attention to it.
The girl quickly put up a wall of flame. I smashed my staff against the wall and chanted in a flat voice.
Eightfold Way – First Form.
“Short Circuit.”
Both the girl’s circuit and mine came into contact.
“Ugh……!”
It should be an unpleasant feeling, as if someone had a hold on your mind.
I inserted a moderator through the connected circuits.
Not a neutron moderator for operating nuclear reactors….
But a moderator that destroyed the opponent’s magic circuit.
Kaaaaang─!!
There went my last shield. It was the aftereffect of my staff’s mana causing a sudden discharge.
It didn’t matter. It wasn’t just my shield.
The range of impact of ‘Short Circuit’ was tens of meters. Although it hadn’t been my intention, the magic circuit I was holding hostage wasn’t just the girl’s.
It was also mine, the circuits of the students on stand by, and the invigilator’s as well.
It indiscriminately caused a ‘shut down’ of every circuit operation. That was why the opponent’s fire attack, the defensive magic around the ring, and the shock-reduction magic all vanished at the same time.
“Stop the test! Stop!”
The invigilator ran over with an urgent shout.
“This is the end of your evaluation! Please step out of the ring and if you sense anything wrong with your body, please inform the nearest invigilator immediately!”
I waved around the staff now void of mana to get rid of the smoke and saw the female student collapsed. All her shields were gone. They had vanished simultaneously due to the blast of EMP.
I asked her if she was okay and held out a hand. The young lady took it and got up slowly.
“How… did you do that?”
“It’s my Innate Magic.”
“How could a Golden-Eyed use such magic…….”
Our conversation stopped there due to the invigilator announcing our marks right away.
“First, Miss Lotte Saliere. You have remarkable mana and the feinting manoeuver was impressive. However, that last exchange was handled poorly. Since you lost all three shields, you will be deducted 6 points as per the rules, and awarded 3 points for your opponent’s shields.”
“Then the total is….”
“Yes. That’s 22 points.”
The student seemed a little bitter at hearing her mark. In the meantime, I calculated my own mark.
“Next is Miss Aether.”
The highest mark achievable in Combat Magic was 25.
Since I lost 5 points in the beginning for using mana grass, my initial point was 20.
From here, I lost all three shields so it was three losses of 2 points each. So 20 minus 6 was 14 points.
And it was another 2 points due to taking an overly defensive stance. With this, my total came to 12 points.
However…
“You’ve shattered all three of your opponent’s shields so as per the rules, you’ll receive 3 points.”
It was a point for each of the opponent’s shields that you took out. Since I managed to break all three at once, I got 3 points.
And 12 points plus 3 points was 15 points.
Mana measurement was 0 points. Alchemy and scroll fabrication were 12 and 13 points respectively for a total of 25 points.
If I added this together with the 15 points I received from this last test…….
“That brings the total to 40 points. You narrowly made the cut. Hm, it’s hard to tell if you’ll be able to pass with this result, but……. It’s a different story if you did well on the written. Please have hope.”
For now, I took a breather and went back to my seat.
I did my best. The rest was up to fate.
