༺ Do Your Best And Leave The Rest To God ༻
─ This concludes the 1024th Tilette Academy Admissions Test. Examinees, please make sure that you have collected all your belongings and make your way out.
─ The results of the exam will be delivered by mail at exactly 7 a.m. two weeks from now.
─ To all examinees, congratulations on finishing.
“Haaa….”
It was finished.
Once the nerves were gone, anxiety took over.
What would happen if I don’t make it? Would I have to stay here for the rest of my life without tasting ‘chimaek’ ever again? Anyhow, it was an evening where all sorts of thoughts were running through my mind.
The students were leaving the school grounds under the sunset’s orange glow.
Their parents met them at the gates and handed them snacks such as chocolate.
There was a female student who was crying that she failed and a male student confidently declaring that he passed.
My eyes took in everything before I turned around.
“Hey! Did your practical go well?”
This was already the third time. The self-proclaimed dwarf’s descendant looked up at me with triumphant eyes.
The most distinct characteristic of a child was that they couldn’t hide their emotions well. Judging from this kid’s overall expression and body language, she must have done well on the exam.
“Hey kid, why aren’t you heading home?”
“I came to see the manaless miser. So did you do well on the exam!”
“Somehow.”
I didn’t care for lingering on things of the past. What was done was done. My priority was to think about what to do tomorrow.
And get rid of this kid before that.
“Why do you keep following me? Haven’t we met for the first time today?”
“The Earth Elemental King is whispering to me that something good will come of being in your company!”
“Kid, I don’t have money to buy you a meal so go somewhere else.”
“I’m not a kid! Call my name properly!”
“You never told me your name.”
“Ack.”
The kid cleared her throat with an ahem like something was caught in it. Cover your mouth when you’re coughing, seriously.
The kid held out a hand towards me.
“Freyr. Freyr Shelkany.”
The name was rather refined, the opposite of her appearance. Her last name also indicated that she was a noble.
“I’ve introduced myself. Now tell me your name!”
“Aether. No surname.”
“Whoa, a commoner?”
This also called for the ‘no lying’ tactic.
“No, a graduate student.”
“Aha! That’s why you don’t belong to a family!”
Somehow, that made me angry.
The brat…. Freyr tagged along as I went to the cafeteria for dinner. Since all the examinees had left, I didn’t have much trouble finding a seat even though it was dinner time.
The kid prattled on endlessly while I ate and it went in one ear and out the other as the tray of food cleared quickly. I ended up inhaling everything within five minutes due to eating at my usual pace.
Ignoring Freyr’s weird nagging of ‘you’ll make yourself sick eating like that’, I headed to the research wing. She still followed me no matter how unresponsive I was. It felt like I’d picked up a stray dog….
In the end, this little pup barged her way into Professor Hasfeldt’s lab. I wanted to say something but let out a sigh instead to represent my feelings.
“Wow, is this your master’s lab?”
Master, right. That was what I used to call Professor Hasfeldt when I first came here.
When had she told me to change it to ‘Professor’ because she hated that? I didn’t remember anymore.
My brain went numb as I watched Freyr run around the lab and supply room like some kid at an amusement park. She was definitely not mature enough to apply for the Academy.
“Don’t touch any…….”
“Wow, it’s the transistor!”
Her words stopped me in my tracks as I was about to go to her.
The brat ignored my glaring and picked up the mana stone on Professor Hasfeldt’s desk, turning it around in observation.
Oh, right. The last question on Basic Magic Theory.
It wouldn’t be weird for Freyr to know the word ‘transistor’ since it came out on today’s written test.
Anyway, I hadn’t expected a question on transistor circuit construction to show up there. Even for the purpose of differentiating, that had been too much.
“So what did you come here for?”
“To work.”
“Eueck, it’s alright to relax for a day!”
This was the devil’s whisper. I need to resist its temptation and not forget my actual identity.
Just hold on a little while longer.
I refused Freyr’s suggestion to have a drink and pulled out the hardcover. Then the brat puffed out her cheeks, offended, and said she was going back to the inn where she was staying.
Baaaam─!!
Close it softly, geez.
Anyway…
With the exams over, I recalled one thing. That is, the scroll I was told by Professor Hasfeldt to finish in three months. I hoped that this could be a farewell gift.
Shhllllik.
[Ultimate Fire Magic ─ Flare]
[Here lies the path to the Fourth State and the Fifth State of the Sun.]
[▷ This magic has not been mastered.]
[▷ This magic is incomplete. Obtaining it via research rather than studying is recommended.]
“What’s with this explanation?”
That’ll be another all-nighter, then.
**
The scent of burning was everywhere.
Klais plugged her nose and scanned the battlefield.
Most of the high-level beasts from the fourth wave were subdued. The lupine beasts were burnt to a crisp and the birds of prey monsters were torn in half.
Their numbers were roughly 200 000 to 250 000. Including the beasts from the first to third waves, more than a million machines tumbled around like leaves on the ground.
Some were even Calamities that she and Heerlein had defeated together. They dragged those corpses to the foot of the hill.
They were able to obtain a lot of high-quality mana stones from the higher-level beasts, but unfortunately, they didn’t find any of the transistors that Klais sought.
Shouldn’t the attacks be slowing down by now?
No, the next wave was bound to come whenever they thought that.
“Here they come.”
Dududududududu─.
From beyond the horizon, the sound of hooves marked the beginning of the fifth wave. Two-headed insects cut through the air and charged for the camp.
“Meri, are you good now?”
“Yes. This should be enough.”
Meriga, who had replenished her MP with mana grass, nodded at Klais’ gesturing and brought out her staff made of the World Tree before sticking it into the ground.
[Ultimate Earth Magic ─ Mecharomancia]
With that proclamation, the surrounding elements scattered all over the place. The corpses of the monsters that had been laying around haphazardly slowly raised their heads.
The missing parts were patched up with pieces from the other corpses. Any traces of burns were completely removed before being molded with dirt and recreated into a thick armor.
Beasts were combined with beasts to create another beast.
A beast that had been resurrected. The Earth Mages called these ‘golems’.
By Meriga’s proclamation, the high-level beasts that had been a nightmare for the Empire’s soldiers transformed into high-grade golems.
Their count was approximately 800 000. It was slightly less than the number of beasts that Klais had defeated, but at least they were enough to fill this great battlefield.
The dead beasts, the golems, were no longer on their side. They sided with humans, as well as the other races like the elves. Under the command of their new master, the beasts shook the earth as they trampled all over their former allies.
“Manifest, High-Grade Golem, Lexon.”
After forming a horse-like golem with the leftover materials, Meriga pulled Klais onto it and followed after the marching golems.
“Keep your distance, Meri. Don’t go hurting yourself by charging ahead from excitement like you used to.”
“I know. Anyway, what did we need to check again? The tower’s exterior?”
“The exterior and the opening that the beasts are using. If we can calculate the height with trigonometry, even better.”
The two made their way down the hill behind the defense of the golems, then sprinted towards the front. It wasn’t the most pleasant of rides. The wind that whipped past them wasn’t refreshing at all.
Both Klais and Meriga were calculating the same thing. At nearly the same time, they calculated the golem’s speed and running time to estimate the distance from the plains to the tower.
The answer came out immediately. The calculation of the tower’s height using trigonometric ratio was unbelievable.
“What’s your estimate?”
“About 1.8 km.”
“I got 2.1 km.”
It was a height worthy of being remembered by the architects of the Magic Tower. The two clicked their tongues and approached even closer.
“It’s sturdier than I’d imagined.”
“This won’t break easily judging from the outside. It’s quite large in size as well.”
Even the tower’s main entrance was a hundred meters tall. A normal person would have collapsed shaking considering this was where giant creatures that were fifty times the size of humans came out of.
The beasts poured out ceaselessly from the tower. As they got closer, the two professors realized that the tower was expelling more and more of them. The golems were being pushed back little by little, and hundreds were being taken out per second.
They couldn’t stay here any longer.
“Let’s retreat.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
They made a quick call. Having taken a cursory look at the magic tower’s exterior, the two turned their horses around and returned to the encampment.
Fortunately, the attacks stopped with the fifth wave. Klais and Meriga stayed vigilant until the end and contacted the signalman at the frontline before retreating to the rear where the Commander was.
“28 hours and 21 minutes from the start of the wave to the finish. Well done, both of you.”
The two women crumpled right there upon hearing the lieutenant-general commending them. It was from having ordered the army to stand back and engage in battle by themselves to protect as many clueless new recruits as possible.
Klais didn’t even have the strength to create a single flame with her hand. The nap that she took after reporting her investigation was the sweetest nap that she ever experienced. It was actually the best sleep that she had in a while.
On the third day, the two relayed information to the first-line soldiers about the types of beasts and the strategies against them, then they boarded the carriage heading back to the capital.
“Neeeiiigh.”
By the time they returned, it was after midnight. Some streets were under curfew. There was a funny incident as soon as they entered the capital where they were warned by a security guard for being out and about at this hour, but then the guard immediately bowed once they showed their IDs.
“Take care on your way back.”
“You as well, Meri.”
After parting ways, Klais suddenly changed direction from her home to the Academy.
It was to see her assistant.
She wasn’t concerned that she might have run away after being left alone for three days. Her assistant had never attempted to escape this whole time, after all.
Even two years ago, the child had nursed her when she had been sick with the flu instead of disappearing. That had been when Klais removed the metal collar which was the symbol of a slave.
Come to think of it, I asked her to complete Flare.
Flare, a supreme Fire Magic that she had been researching after her discharge.
Flare was the only weapon they could use against a Cataclysm. At least, Klais thought so.
When the palace had requested an exchange for Aether, she didn’t inform her of this fact. It was because she might have slacked off as a result of knowing and that would have been troublesome.
If Flare wasn’t completed, then the nation could be consumed by Magic Beasts in the future. With that kind of situation, it was beneficial for her to get help from the Golden-Eyed even for a short time in the hopes of getting any ideas rather than doing the research by herself from start to finish.
Hence, she came to this conclusion.
Have her assistant do most of the research on Flare then complete the rest herself.
“Heh…….”
It was a good plan. A very good plan.
That was what she thought.
What could this be, this impending feeling of emptiness….
For now…. For now, let’s push aside any complicated thoughts. Her mind was completely exhausted so she was desensitized at the moment.
Since I’ve come here, I should see her before heading home.
Klais dragged her tired body to the dorms where Aether was.
From the back, she looked as if she was drunk.
