Chapter 123
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 123
As Beatrice gracefully ascended the platform, Professor Martelzier pointed toward a crystal sphere and spoke.
“Alrighty, just place your hand here and pour your mana right in~ It’s not dangerous at all, so don’t you worry.”
Beatrice gave a slight nod and placed her hand upon the crystal sphere.
Vwooom—.
The sphere vibrated, responding to the mana gathering in her palm. Martelzier continued her explanation.
“Basically, there are two kinds of origin attributes, y’see~ They’re classified as elemental aptitudes and specialized attributes. First, we’ll check out your elemental aptitude~”
“…”
I watched the scene in silence, then closed my eyes and attempted to use Mana Detection. It was just like when I had searched for the note Freya had hidden in the forest. As I focused my mind, I could feel the haze of mana rising from Beatrice as if I were seeing it with my own eyes.
A wave-like flow of mana enveloped the entire platform.
Swaaa—.
It was a current that was simultaneously restrained and explosive. This harmonious flow was so remarkable that it could be counted among the best on the entire continent, yet at the same time, it felt strangely precarious.
As she poured her mana into the crystal sphere, the bulbs of the Mana Discriminator lit up one by one.
Flash. Flash. Flash-flash-flash—.
When all ten bulbs were lit, a dazzling light erupted from the device.
“Whoa.”
As the students shielded their eyes from the sudden glare, Martelzier observed the display.
“For your reference, the number of lit bulbs indicates the potential of one’s mana capacity, while the brightness represents the purity of that mana~ Ms. Beatrice’s mana is of very high purity, and her potential for growth is tremendous~ Truly befitting a descendant of Cassandra, I’d say.”
Beatrice accepted the praise with a placid expression. Still, seeing her straighten her back, it seemed she wasn’t entirely displeased.
“Then, next up~”
Clank.
When Martelzier pulled a lever, the light from the brilliant bulbs began to shift.
Fzzt—.
The bulbs were tinged with five different colors, and a shape appeared within each one. The form of a blazing fire, surging water, a growing tree, the solid earth, and tempered steel appeared in sequence.
Confirming this, Martelzier continued.
“As you all know, Ms. Beatrice possesses an aptitude for all the basic elements, y’see. It’s a very rare case. Seeing that two bulbs for each of the five elements that make up the world have lit up evenly, we can say the balance between her elements is excellent. And… hmm.”
Blink.
Martelzier noticed one of the red bulbs briefly turn sky-blue before returning to red. She scratched her cheek. She had realized there was an issue with Beatrice’s Mana Hole, but she chose not to mention it. Instead, she smoothly moved on with the demonstration as if nothing had happened.
“Let’s move on to the next part~ Please look over here.”
Beside the bulbs, the Mana Discriminator featured an output device—a flat panel that resembled a mirror.
“In addition to elemental aptitude, the nature of mana also includes a ‘specialized attribute.’ There are all sorts of types, like destruction, creation, transmutation, and support. But unlike elemental aptitude, there’s no way to check the numerical value of a specialized attribute~ This is because it symbolizes the fickle pull of fate, and it can change depending on the caster’s own will rather than just the nature of their mana. Please keep in mind that this is just for reference.”
Clunk.
Martelzier pulled another lever, and the light emanating from the bulbs gradually dimmed as Beatrice’s mana was retrieved.
Whoosh—.
The collected mana was sucked into the machine, flowed through a tube, and soon spread across the transparent panel. A brilliant pentagram emerged on the glass.
This pentagram signified [Harmony].
It was a fitting specialized attribute for Beatrice, who possessed the power of the five elements in equal measure. Her elemental magic was famous for creating synergy without any repulsion or conflict between the elements.
“You possess a harmonious mana. You’ve done well, Ms. Beatrice.”
Beatrice bowed her head slightly and returned to her seat.
“Alright, next up, please come forward in the order of your midterm exam scores~ Mr. Sleber, Ms. Yulina, Ms. Bell, Ms. Hildegard…”
Students were called to the platform according to their grades. From then on, Martelzier didn’t bother explaining the results in detail.
In Yulina’s case, about five or six bulbs lit up in a bright sky-blue. A glittering snowflake appeared inside them. Though not one of the five basic elements, it was an ice-type attribute—quite rare and highly evaluated. Her specialized attribute was [Support], a fitting trait for someone who assisted Beatrice from the sidelines.
In Bell’s case, nine bulbs lit up in a crimson red, like a blazing fire. The tenth bulb was also flickering, meaning that in terms of the fire attribute alone, her talent was comparable to Beatrice’s. Her specialized attribute was [Destruction]. It was only natural, given the nature of her all-consuming extreme flames.
The rest of the students lit seven bulbs at most, with the majority only managing three or four. There were also cases where many bulbs lit up, but their light was weak, indicating low purity.
Among the others, the only student who managed to light eight bulbs was Hildegard Astraea of the Ducal House of Astraea, one of the Seven Great Families of the Empire. The starlight-brilliant glow of the bulbs hinted at the high purity of her mana. As she was from a family of astronomers, her specialized attribute was [Observation].
“Next, Mr. Roen. Please come up.”
Since it was in order of grades, I was the fifteenth to be called. As I made my way up, the students began to murmur. Even those who weren't usually interested in others' grades had heard that Roen's scores had suddenly skyrocketed.
Ignoring the whispers, I stepped onto the platform and stood before the Mana Discriminator.
‘It’s huge.’
The machine felt different up close. I had thought it was about the size of a lunch cart, but it was nearly the size of a bull. Having seen what the others had done, I placed my hand on the crystal sphere without a word.
Zzzng—.
I felt the hard, cool texture of the crystal against my palm. As I poured my mana into it, the sphere warmed up and began to vibrate faintly.
Shyaaa—.
My mana was sucked into the crystal sphere, flowing through the machine’s tubes and into the bulbs.
Fzzt.
However, although mana flowed through the filaments, they didn’t light up. The bulbs flickered very faintly, like a blown fuse.
“Huh.”
Martelzier let out a small gasp and checked to see if the machine was broken, but there didn't appear to be anything wrong with it.
Fzzt—.
Despite the infusion of mana, the bulbs wouldn’t light up properly. I didn’t know if it was because of my half-demon constitution, the Nine Yin Meridian Blockage, or the effect of neutralizing it with Bell’s fireball, but the final reading was incredibly low.
From a distance, it looked as if no bulbs had lit up at all.
“Pfft.”
Indeed, the students in the back were watching the scene with stifled laughs. Everyone at Union knew that Roen couldn’t use magic properly.
But if you looked very closely, the mana filaments in all ten bulbs were vibrating. Even if the purity was low for various reasons, my growth potential was technically on par with Beatrice’s. Perhaps this result was because I was a player who could raise their mana stat infinitely.
Martelzier and Wayne observed the result intently, then pulled the lever.
Clack.
The mana dwelling in each bulb began to take on color. Unlike a moment ago, a pale blue mana and a transparent mana now swirled inside them like fish. Thanks to Derod’s ring, my demonic energy went undetected.
Seeing this, Martelzier spoke softly enough for only me to hear.
“How curious. Transparent mana is originally the mana from a Mana Hole used by knights, y’know~”
“…”
I had thought this discriminator only analyzed a mage’s Mana Heart. It was more accurate than I expected. Since I had changed my class to a martial artist, my Mana Hole was open.
Martelzier whispered to me with a small smile.
“Perhaps we might see the birth of a new magic swordsman to follow in Mr. Gawain’s footsteps.”
“…”
I simply nodded. Truthfully, I had no intention of ever using a sword.
“Alrighty~ Next.”
Click.
When Martelzier pulled the final lever, the mana in the bulbs gathered and spread toward the mirror.
Swaaa—.
The mana on the transparent panel soon took on a specific shape: a black crack symbolizing destruction and a descending light symbolizing creation. The two soon mixed, creating a shape similar to a Taegeuk symbol.
Martelzier tilted her head.
“Hmm? For destruction and creation to appear at the same time… how strange. I was under the impression that an attribute is like a heavenly mandate, so there should only be one.”
“…”
I silently contemplated the result. It was possible that the attribute possessed by Roen’s body and the one possessed by my soul existed separately.
Martelzier shrugged and concluded.
“Well, the results from this Mana Discriminator are just for reference, after all. Fate, heavenly mandate—whatever it is, it’s all up to you. To carve your own path and pursue the truth… that is what it means to be a mage.”
*
After Roen’s results were revealed.
“Heehee, did you see that, Your Highness?”
Yulina spoke, her face flushed for some reason. Beatrice tilted her head.
“What are you referring to?”
“Roen’s results. It was so satisfying. Pfft.”
Yulina giggled, looking utterly delighted. She wore a thrilled expression, as if a great weight had been lifted from her chest after all the stress Roen had caused her.
In fact, the reactions of the other students were similar. Those who felt hostility toward Roen’s infamy or were jealous of his recently soaring reputation were all mocking his results.
But unlike them, Beatrice’s feelings were more complicated. They were all blinded by superficial details, missing the essence of the matter.
Beatrice sighed inwardly. ‘Everyone… they judge only by what they can see.’
It would be simple if they followed the flow of mana instead of just looking at the bulbs. Roen’s mana had failed to properly light up the bulbs, but that was only the surface. The truth could be easily understood by detecting his mana.
From Beatrice’s perspective, it looked as if all ten bulbs had lit up. It was just that the purity of his mana was so extremely low that the light was almost nonexistent.
‘This is probably due to the constitution Roen possesses.’
Years ago, when Roen had briefly studied at one of the Empire’s intermediate schools, a rumor had spread through high society that he suffered from a Meridian Blockage. If that were true, then such a result was expected.
Since Beatrice herself suffered from mana seizures caused by the Single Yin Meridian Blockage, she knew very well how difficult it was to maintain mana purity. Besides, the Mana Discriminator was so precise that it had detected the influence of her own condition even when she thought she had her mana under perfect control.
Fortunately, it seemed no one other than Martelzier had noticed. In any case, it meant Roen’s potential was equal to, or perhaps even greater than, her own. This was not a matter to be taken lightly.
Beatrice narrowed her eyes at the machine. ‘I must also look into the elemental aptitudes Roen displayed.’
The colors in Roen’s bulbs were clearly different from the others. She had never heard of a combination of transparent and blue mana before. However, she recalled a story that the results for Gawain, the continent’s only magic swordsman, had been similar. She would have to look up the relevant literature.
As she was lost in thought, Yulina’s voice broke her reverie.
“Your Highness, what are you thinking about so deeply?”
Beatrice slowly shook her head. “…It is nothing.”
*
“Good work, everyone~ I hope you’ll all train your mana diligently based on the results we measured today~”
Martelzier announced the end of the class. I smiled as I watched her leave the classroom with Wayne, pulling the Mana Discriminator behind them.
‘That was a breeze.’
The lecture had been replaced by the testing, so I was able to get through it comfortably. I figured out my attributes and even caught up on some sleep while the others were being measured. It was a very meaningful time.
With the class over, I organized my books to prepare for the next lecture.
Knock, knock.
Just then, a figure approached and tapped on my desk.
“Excuse me, Mr. Roen?”
It was a tone filled with a pride I had never heard before. Puzzled, I lifted my head. Brilliant blonde hair shone under the classroom lights.
It was the eldest daughter of the Ducal House of Astraea, one of the Seven Great Families of the Empire—the one who read the laws of the heavens.
Hildegard Astraea.
“Do you have a moment?”
She spoke to me, her own faction of followers looming behind her.