Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Shattering the One-Minute Barrier
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After Ascanien entered the exam room, a notification rang out thirty seconds later announcing the start of the test.
Laughter mixed with curious questions floated around from the nearby students.
“How long do you think that guy’ll take?”
“Ten minutes? Thirty?”
“You think everyone takes ten just ‘cause he did?”
“Ah, I’m screwed for last place. At least let him...”
Boom! Roar—!
[If you abide in me and my words abide in you,]
The moment flames raced up his arm, the students’ laughter cut off.
One student who’d been chuckling beside Leo just moments ago unwittingly let his mouth hang open.
Red magic was considered the exclusive domain of Pleroma, alongside Vitriol.
Of course, it was all baseless rumor, but most people still believed it.
Yet not a single student watching this scene thought of Pleroma.
‘...The color...’
Every shade possible from the red spectrum mingled vibrantly, flowing along the staff. It was unmistakably fire, yet the light swirling around it made it look almost like divine power.
“Hey, that guy...”
Suddenly, the broadcast camera went black, then flickered back with static.
[...ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.]
Kabaaang—!!
An explosion rocked the room as flames engulfed the exam hall. Shouts erupted from the waiting students at the same time.
“You said you never learned it?!”
“What?! Wasn’t that the first time you used it today?”
“......”
The student swallowed hard without thinking.
‘...Wait. What the hell?’
Am I seeing this wrong?
Is this the magic that bastard uses?
It didn’t add up. This was pure Ascanien magic.
Lucas was an Ascanien too, of course, but that wasn’t what he meant.
Ascanien magic was renowned for its flair. Mana taking on multiple colors signified a high level of mastery, so wizards from the Ascanien line—direct or collateral—were welcomed everywhere.
But if this was truly his skill, then not only collaterals, but even the main line like Georg Ascanien or Adrian Ascanien fell short of such acclaim.
Only now did he recall the adults’ relief and mockery from childhood: the one who perfectly mimicked the founding wizard of Ascanien was actually from Pleroma or whatever.
The student, who’d been staring blankly at the screen, finally turned his head in bewilderment.
“Hey, Leo...”
Leo was gazing at the screen with a faint smile. A smile that practically radiated ecstasy.
‘...Why’s this guy—who grimaces at the mere mention of Ascanien—grinning like that?’
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Leo looked at him with an indifferent expression, as if asking what was up.
“Why?”
“...That guy right now... No, didn’t he say he never learned magic?!”
“Nope. Pretty surprising, huh.”
“......”
This wasn’t the kind of power you dismissed with ‘surprising.’
Sure, the technical details were beyond what a mere student like him could judge. He hadn’t even noticed them.
Only two impressions burned in his mind right now.
The vivid colors of the mana, and the sheer scale of the spell operated without any apparent effort.
Unlike the other students who’d dashed around handling attacks, he hadn’t moved an inch from his starting spot, simply pushing out his mana effortlessly.
“......”
The Ascanien family was lately hearing whispers that it was on the decline.
First, because of Georg Ascanien’s pathological lethargy and tyranny.
Second, because of that Pleroma business.
No—after Lucas Ascanien’s true nature came to light, Georg the Duke fell ill, so you could say the family’s downfall was all thanks to that guy.
But ironically, that’s exactly why Ascanien wouldn’t fall.
Beep—
[The exam has ended.]
[58.33 seconds.]
“......”
Silence hung over the exam hall.
It was harder to find someone with their mouth shut than not, yet no one made a sound.
The grade announcement, which usually came right away, was delayed for quite a while.
[...Overall 1+. Well done.]
* * *
I let out a light chuckle.
‘1+.’
Thanks to combining report scores at semester’s end, I’d barely avoided failing, but Luca always got 6-—dead last—in practicals.
Not just Luca; I’d been the same all first semester.
‘Thanks for the generous grading.’
Right then, a familiar yet alien notification chimed.
Ding—!
Favorability reached 50 (50/300)
Huh?
“......”
I stared at the window, mouth agape.
Jumped straight by 50?
Even blinking didn’t change what I saw.
For a split second, the idea of boosting favorability en masse flitted through my mind.
‘...Aha.’
Easy.
Not just theater stages—even this could be boosted on a wide scale.
Even bare ‘unexpected’ reactions without true ‘approval’ seemed to net +1.
A fundamentally different laugh bubbled up than before, and I hurriedly clamped my mouth shut.
Only after did I remember the cameras.
‘......’
Not many people grin at thin air.
I schooled my expression and opened the door—nearly colliding with the person standing right outside.
Before I could step back, another popup appeared right on cue.
Favorability reached 60 (60/300)
Why’s this one late? Time lag from the Imperial Newspaper broadcast?
That’s when Elias grabbed my shoulder, his face lit up like he’d found prime teasing material.
“Luca! Feeling good~? You are, right?!”
“Nah. What’s with the sudden...?”
“They caught you grinning after that 1+. How’d you survive all those 6- grades? Feels good to let it all out, huh?!”
‘Ah.’
Everyone’s gonna misunderstand like this.
It was really about getting 15 points closer to 1/6, but no way to explain that—and at least I wouldn’t look like some lunatic laughing at nothing.
“Luca, smile away. You defended my full Pell. Win it, and it’s all yours!”
“Ten errand coupons, right.”
“And this brings Team 1 a step closer to passing, fact.”
I could only laugh in disbelief.
Where’d he even bet that money?
“Where’d you put it? Not on the school, I hope.”
“Hmm~ Got a spot. Losers’ club for life failures.”
“Why bet on them?”
“They trash you! Gotta empty the wallets of trash like that for the fun.”
“Fine. What’d they say?”
“......”
If it was so bad, why not tell me.
Seizing the moment Elias dodged, I swatted his arm away.
Once free of his antics, I finally noticed the deathly silence in the exam hall.
“......”
Dozens of students and staff stared at me, frozen.
It wasn’t like I’d done anything wrong, but their reactions sure made it seem that way.
I just met their gazes.
As the silence stretched, Elias spoke in a now-serious tone.
“You’re the first to break one minute, Luca.”
“......”
I slowly nodded.
Right. Most students finished around five minutes.
And the me they’d seen so far was barely a wizard—sparks of flame at best.
I’d known that since the failing bet.
It wasn’t just Knight or Admin majors’ misconception; it was the whole school’s vibe.
As I wrapped my head around it, Elias clapped my shoulder with a grin.
“So team up with me for primaries and secondaries!”
“Hey, you already paired with me.”
Leo’s chiding voice came from afar.
Perfect timing—another student’s exam ended.
Beep—
[5 minutes 55 seconds.]
[Overall 2-. Well done.]
* * *
I’d barely escaped that shocking atmosphere when the rumors spread across the school in under an hour.
No, the school wasn’t the issue.
[Lucas Ascanien, 1+ Grade in Imperial Second Academy Magic Practical Evaluation]
The Imperial Newspaper had posted a clipped video of my exam scene and an article.
‘This is news?’
For real?
You’re kidding, right?
“Ascanien’s might... Meanwhile, nationwide fear of bloodsucking persists.... Whatever. Pick one.”
Elias read the article aloud as he trailed me.
He’d started hanging around subtly before my exam day, and now he just stuck to me constantly.
Wouldn’t look weird, though.
Elias was the type to drag random students along regardless.
At least his usual antics kept suspicions down. Good.
Spotting an Admin major passing in the hall, Elias grinned and called out.
“Fail~?”
“......”
The student glanced at my face, made a troubled expression, and hurried off.
From the reaction, he’d bet with Elias.
“Write your name and wait~!”
Elias cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled, cackling.
Once all thirty-seven exams ended, we returned to the classroom.
Even with everyone seated, professors and students alike were shockingly quiet.
The professor, who’d been silently scanning the scoresheet, finally looked up.
“You all worked hard on the exam. First, I’ll announce Class 1-B’s average: 2-, two full grades above Class 1-A’s average 3. However, for our class...”
He glanced at Narche and Elias in turn before continuing.
“...we had transfers: exchange student Narche Farnese and Class 1-A’s Elias Hoenzollern, boosting our top scorers.”
Elias, Class 1-A’s practical topper, transferring here did raise the average. True.
But they wouldn’t buy the Narche part much.
Class 1-A had a Papal exchange student too.
Same divine power use—and hallway chatter said they’d already gotten 1+.
“Leonard Wittelsbach and Julia Cheringen got top marks as always, but most students dropped one or two grades.”
Battle sense.
They’d never faced Vitriol-spewing things before. Practicals were mostly solo drills, not PvP.
‘Oh yeah, it’s Sunday.’
Tonight, swing by Bayern for purification, check ops HQ reports, handle the advisory committee’s pile of Imperial questions.
‘Tuesday’s rations need holy power extracted for the meds, haven’t done it yet.’
Other holy mages extract daily for the state, but it’s not enough volume.
Gonna have to crank it out like mad from the dorm.
That’s when the professor called me.
“And Lucas Ascanien.”
“Yes.”
“You never learned magic, correct? Any training back in Ascanien?”
“None.”
The professor nodded like he’d expected that.
“I graded the theory section. Had to give you full marks there. The spell outcomes were precise, activation delays minimal, and your sustain against attacks flawless. Other profs must’ve agreed per section, given the top score.”
“......”
I smiled and waited.
‘...I deliberately lowered output...’
Apparently didn’t show in the results.
Everything else was as I’d trained, so fair judgment.
“You finished in 58 seconds, right?”
“Yes.”
“All years took the same test, but fewer than ten broke one minute. How, without prior magic training?”
Not a real question from his tone. He had guesses, but wanted confirmation from me.
Students’ eyes turned my way.
“Thanks to focusing on theory.”
“Theory alone yielded this?”
“Yes. Haven’t used magic much in practice. Core’s healthy only recently, and I figured my spells might cause chaos, so I prioritized memorizing formulas over casting.”
A deflated chuckle escaped somewhere.
The professor’s gaze pierced me.
A bit guilty, but not entirely wrong in context.
They’d trained 15 years; I’d had four months.
Closed the gap via nonstop theory in class—fact, shortened catch-up time.
Ding—!
Favorability +1
‘...He bought it.’
Now popping up in front of eyes too?
The professor’s grave voice followed.
“Do you know what 1+ means? You’ve surpassed students from 3rd Academy up who’ve bled for this, on theory alone.”
“Just luck. Much left to learn.”
“Situation judgment and reflexes aren’t luck—they’re skill. Same theory, but applying it when, how hard, how altered—that varies by person.”
“......”
“Adrian Ascanien was the same. Glanced at a spell once, reproduced it like decades of use—or stronger.”
I just smiled. He chuckled encouragingly.
“That talent’s in you too. Immature spots aplenty, but effort’ll fix ‘em. I expect great things.”
* * *
Unlike the prof’s praise, student talk mostly ran: ‘Pushed through with mana volume.’
‘Not entirely, though.’
Understandable.
Cameras flickered from mana alone; hard to recall strategy over the onslaught in 58 seconds.
Theory-alone success? Tough sell.
‘Don’t care anyway.’
Not aiming for peer approval.
“O~ How many’s that now?”
Elias teased from beside.
Even with dissenters, true trends showed in pragmatic students’ urgent moves.
So thinking, I peeled off the partner requests stuck to my desk.
Yesterday: zero. Now: nonstop.
My image had shifted already.