Free Web NovelChapter 165: Exams [4]
Chapter 164
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Episode 38 - Exams [4]
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In the middle of a hallway, there was absolute silence. Standing there was a girl with silver hair and purple eyes.
Her body was completely frozen as she stared into the empty space before her.
There was absolutely no one in the hallway, not a single soul in sight.
’W-w-what was that...?!’
Her body was stiff, her heartbeat increased with every passing second, and a faint red tint covered her face.
Perhaps it was because of his sudden approach, something he had never done in her previous regression.
Perhaps it was because of his words about some kind of punishment.
Or perhaps it was because he had whispered into her ear, making her body react and tremble.
In any case, Lumina closed her eyes and pressed her lips together as she shook her head like a little girl.
"A-ah... w-what was that, seriously...? Why did he suddenly get so close to me...? I-almost had a heart attack..."
"Is something wrong, Cadet Lumina?"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind her, causing Lumina to jolt.
She turned around like a cat caught stealing food from the kitchen. Then she noticed that Professor Lunia from the Alchemy class was staring at her with her head slightly tilted.
Lumina quickly composed herself and searched for an excuse. She looked around before lowering her gaze to the floor.
"I, uh... was... examining the floor... Y-yes, that’s it... I was doing that."
"Examining the floor? You have quite a... unique hobby."
"Y-yes..."
Normally, this situation would have been extremely embarrassing for anyone, but her embarrassment stemmed from a certain person from earlier.
Professor Lunia looked at her for a second before nodding and resuming her walk.
"Well, I have to go. Goodbye, Cadet Lumina."
"Yes, goodbye, Professor Lunia."
Professor Lunia soon disappeared into the distance, and Lumina let out a sigh.
Then she calmed her mind, and her stoic expression returned.
’Let’s calm down. I have things to do.’
Lumina told herself as she tried to forget what had happened.
***
Saturday finally arrived, two days before the practical exams.
The last few days of classes had consisted solely of written exams, so there wasn’t much to mention.
Aside from studying and relying on some knowledge from my memories, it wasn’t really difficult to answer all the questions and complete the other exam topics.
Ah, and my mana finally returned, and I could use my Traits again as well.
My weakened and sickly condition disappeared, and I was now back in optimal shape.
Moreover, after recovering my Traits, I quickly used Mana Sense and learned that Liora had reached Rank 4.
I didn’t know why she had reached Rank 4. Perhaps it was because of the combination of my blood and fairy blood.
In any case, if she reached Rank 4, then that’s fine.
As far as Awakened individuals are concerned, Liora is equivalent to a Seven-Star Awakened.
Of course, since she is currently considered a baby by fairy standards, she can’t truly use 100% of her powers.
And naturally, I can’t use her powers either, since my Specialty is not that of a Summoner.
Thus, on Saturday and Sunday, Rinna and I left the Academy and returned to the orphanage.
And, as usual, I faithfully kept my promise to Astrid and visited her every weekend.
Then Monday arrived.
The first practical exam consisted of duels against Professor Franklin, followed by the magic exam.
Although for those who weren’t Mages, we had to use our Attribute abilities.
Naturally, Lumina, Charlotte, and I were the ones who performed the best.
After that came the Alchemy exam, in which I stood out even more, followed by the survival and spirituality exams.
Monday finally ended, followed by Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. They weren’t much different from Monday.
***
Friday, first period.
Throughout the entire week, the practical exams had been intense in their own way.
However, today’s practical exams are the final two.
Both are related to illusion magic.
Aside from Professor Ashly from the traditional magic class,
there are also other professors who teach different branches of magic, such as the illusion magic class.
The professor in charge of this class, a Nine-Star Illusion Mage, is Professor Rein Lunovar.
He is Clementine’s uncle, and since the Void Attribute belongs to House Lunovar, one of the family branches associated with the Mage Specialty, illusion is their primary form of magic.
The Void Attribute is one of the attributes that, in a certain sense, is the most difficult to use.
Normally, other Attributes have forms and colors, but the Void Attribute is transparent in its own way.
And as its name suggests, the Void Attribute is not tied to a single law. For example, the Light Attribute possesses the laws of healing, purification, sacred flame, etc.
And the Dark attribute has the laws of dark flames, disintegration, degradation, etc.
Since attributes have their own laws, there are far too many to list in a general way.
That is why the Void attribute is not limited like other attributes, so it can basically adopt any law, though it specializes more in uncommon laws such as illusion, deception, etc.
Clank!
Professor Rein entered the classroom. He was an old man who walked with a sword cane, a rather rare weapon.
"The first exam of the Illusion Magic class is about escape. Find a way to escape my illusion or try to defeat me."
"Now, let us begin."
About two seconds later, Professor Rein murmured.
"World of Illusions."
The next second, I was no longer sitting in my seat in the middle of the classroom.
Now, I was standing at the center of a cracked platform.
Around me were rubble, pillars, and statues scattered everywhere.
It looked like the ruins of some ancient place, and all the cadets had appeared in the center of the square platform.
Then all the cadets looked ahead.
There, Professor Rein stood calmly, looking in our direction. Then he said:
"As I said, find a way to escape the illusion or try to defeat me."
And just as he said that, the space around Professor Rein distorted.
Then spheres appeared everywhere and suddenly began moving at high speed.
"This is a simple illusion spell; however, if you are touched by the spheres, you automatically lose and fail the exam."
Upon hearing his words, all the cadets quickly spread out, avoiding the spheres.
In front of me, a dozen spheres the size of soccer balls appeared.
I moved my body as little as possible and dodged the spheres without much difficulty.
Then I unsheathed my sword and "looked" at the weakness of the spheres.
Wooooong!
The blade of my sword cut through the air and sliced through the weakness of the spell.
The next second, the sphere shattered into pieces. I continued doing the same thing to every sphere that appeared around me.
Soon, the area around me was completely clear.
"Amazing! It seems you use the critical point, or the imperfect weakness, of magic simply by using your sword, without the need to comprehend and dismantle the spell, and all of that without using mana."
Professor Rein said while looking in my direction, his voice echoing in my mind.
I nodded without saying anything and soon "looked" around me.
Using my trait to search for the weakness of the World of Illusions I was trapped in.
However, after approximately a minute, I could not find the weakness of this spell.
So to speak, the place was quite large, making it difficult to locate the weakness of this magic.
’It seems to be a Six-Star illusion spell.’
The problem is that this spell comes from a Nine-Star Illusion Mage.
And interestingly, it seems that this illusion spell also incorporates deception magic. Perhaps that is why it is even more difficult to find a way out of the illusion.
Wooooong!
At that moment, I sensed a large amount of mana flying toward Professor Rein.
"..."
Boom!
A trail of frost and light exploded in front of Professor Rein.
And when the spell disappeared, Professor Rein was completely unharmed and unfazed.
"Cadet Rinna wishes to defeat me."
Then Rinna walked toward Professor Rein while preparing another spell.
"Sorry, Professor. It’s just that I can’t find a way out of this illusion."
"Mhm, that’s not a problem. However, are you sure you can defeat me?"
"W-well... to be honest, I’m not confident either."
Professor Rein laughed and said,
"Don’t worry. My current power has been suppressed to that of a Peak-Stage Five-Star Awakened. Defeating me is not impossible."
With those words, Rinna began attacking Professor Rein, searching for a way to defeat him.
Meanwhile, the others seemed to be looking for a way to escape first without needing to defeat the professor.
They probably think that escaping without defeating the professor will result in a better grade.
Because in a real battle, although defeating the caster of an illusion spell means escaping that illusion,
there is also the fact that such an enemy has absolute control over the illusion, so it is easier to escape if you look for an opening or dismantle the illusion spell.
However, for me, it is better to defeat Professor Rein.
Wooooong! Boom!
While I was absorbed in my thoughts, I suddenly noticed that Rinna was bombarded by multiple attacks from Professor Rein.
Then, the next second, her body was riddled with holes, and blood fell to the ground. Shortly afterward, her lifeless body collapsed.
"Is there anyone else who wants to defeat me?"
Professor Rein said as he looked at the cadets, who were stunned by Rinna’s death.
