The Placement Exam (2)
The class placement exam had begun. No one needed to give the signal. In the same instant, every student kicked off from the ground.
Whoooong!
They all activated mana detection as one. Blue mana slowly spread outward around the students. Lucyd ran while maintaining her own detection spell, heading straight for the thickest concentration of power.
Hmm?
The problem was that nearly every student was sprinting in the exact same direction. They were all clearly aiming for the same mana orb.
What now?
For Lucyd, taking the densest orb wasn’t optional. No matter how famous the title of Hero might be, attending the academy for free was impossible. The scholarship covered tuition, but living expenses were another matter entirely. To secure enough money for daily life, she had to be placed in the highest class.
I didn’t want to go all-out right from the start, but…
There was no helping it. Lucyd drew the training sword at her waist.
Fwooooosh!
In a flash, she released her mana. Unlike the blue energy everyone else emitted, hers shone with a pure, brilliant white. The students nearby instantly understood what that meant: the girl radiating that power existed on an entirely different level.
Just as the others tried to surge past her—
“I’m first!”
She swung her blade horizontally, carefully holding back most of her strength. A crescent of pure white energy hurtled toward the group. Their eyes widened.
Kwaaaaaang!
The aftershock sent students tumbling across the ground. Lucyd felt a pang of guilt as she watched them roll.
Ugh. Maybe I used a little too much power.
No one appeared injured, but her conscience still twinged. Still, it couldn’t be helped. She needed the money for living expenses!
With literal dollar signs flashing in her eyes, she dashed forward.
“Huff… huff… It was definitely around here.”
She had reached the destination before she knew it. She scanned her surroundings. She had followed the dense flow of mana, yet nothing was visible.
Hmm. Did they hide it on purpose?
They obviously wouldn’t have left it out in plain sight. That would have turned the test into pure chaos. After thinking it over, she moved precisely to where the mana felt strongest.
If it’s not above ground…
It was probably buried. She poured mana into her body, reinforcing it. Then—
Thud!
She drove her hand straight into the earth. A completely brutish method, but nothing was more reliable. She rummaged through the soil as if searching for a pebble at the bottom of a river.
A moment later—
Found it!
A thick pulse of mana throbbed against her palm. This had to be the orb she’d been searching for. The instant she closed her fingers around it and began to pull—
Whoosh!
A training dagger shot toward her as if it had been waiting for exactly this moment. Lucyd ducked low, letting it pass over her head. The blade sank deep into the ground behind her.
“Whew. That was close.”
If she hadn’t dodged, her gauge would have dropped significantly. Lucyd plucked the embedded dagger from the earth with one hand. At the same time—
Whooong!
She hurled it back toward the direction it had come from. The dagger streaked forward at terrifying speed.
Thud!
The sound of impact echoed near her ear. Soon after, someone dropped down from the branches. Short black hair, delicate feminine features, small stature, and a flat chest. A boy wearing the same uniform as her appeared.
“Sorry, but I found it first. Could you please look somewhere else?”
“I was looking for that too. Can’t yield.”
He refused in an awkward, clipped tone. Sparks flew between them.
Crackle!
Neither needed to speak. They both kicked off the ground at the exact same moment.
Nel barely avoided Lucyd’s slash. Truthfully, he had little interest in the mana orb. He was only here because the Shadow Guild’s master, Vain, had given him a request: assess the new Hero’s aptitude.
That was why, despite arriving first, he had deliberately left the orb untouched.
“Slow.”
Nel muttered while dodging her strikes. Lucyd’s brow furrowed sharply at his assessment.
“If you’re going to say that, at least land a clean hit first!”
Even though he had provoked her on purpose, she didn’t lose her cool. She wasn’t the type to fight mindlessly, it seemed.
But.
It’s somehow boring.
He had honestly expected more from the Hero. He knew the legends—how the Hero had defeated the Demon Lord who once tried to devour the entire continent. Everyone in the world had heard that story. Yet here the famous Hero was, unable to land even a single solid blow.
Did I set my expectations too high?
As Nel felt disappointment creeping in—
“Opening!”
Lucyd closed the distance in an instant. Her sword drew a clean arc with no wasted movement.
Whoosh!
The same attack as before. Why did she keep using the same pattern? Should he report to the guild master that the Hero’s talent was lacking?
Just as Nel was about to reach that conclusion—
“?!”
Her slashes suddenly became much faster. Nel flinched at the unexpected burst of speed and quickly retreated.
“Agh. So close!”
Lucyd stomped the ground in frustration at the miss. Nel, however, could only stare at her in shock. He had never been pushed this hard by someone his own age.
No wonder even Vain had called her the greatest genius in history.
Hmm?
A faint stinging sensation bloomed on his cheek. The Gauge Suit might prevent real injury, but it didn’t erase pain. Curious, he glanced down.
Eh…?!
His gauge had dropped—only by a tiny amount, but the fact remained. The sting on his cheek proved Lucyd’s blade had grazed him for a split second.
I need to revise my evaluation.
“Where do you think you’re looking?”
Lucyd was already there, sword descending. And just as he expected—
Fast!
The speed was on another level. Nel retreated with a surprised expression. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, he asked,
“Why did you suddenly get faster?”
“Huh?”
“You were ridiculously slow at the beginning. Then you suddenly sped up.”
“Oh. Was that why you looked so shocked?”
She shrugged as if it were nothing.
“Obviously I was holding back at first. Isn’t that normal?”
“......”
“Why are you asking something so obvious?”
Nel nodded in understanding. Then he completely rewrote his assessment of her.
The Hero is stronger than expected. Now I need to test her evasion ability too.
Having organized his thoughts, Nel released his mana without hesitation.
Fwaaaaak!
Mana layered onto his weapon. He wouldn’t normally go this far, but the Hero’s strength exceeded his predictions.
Still, using that would be overkill.
With that thought, Nel swung his sword five times in a single breath. Each strike wasn’t particularly powerful, but their speed was on a completely different dimension.
And, as expected—
“Kgh!”
Even though Lucyd raised her sword, she couldn’t block every blow.
But.
Her reaction speed is also better than expected.
Not a single one of Nel’s attacks had targeted a vital point. And that wasn’t all.
“My turn to counter!”
She dodged while launching her own attack. Nel blocked the unexpected counter instead of evading.
The next instant—
Kwaaaang!
Nel flew through the air in an arc. Yet he spun once and landed lightly, as if the impact had been nothing.
Plan change.
The Hero was far stronger than anticipated. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to properly gauge her true ability. He would have to use his full power here.
Having reached that conclusion, Nel slowly drew forth his mana.
Fwaaaaak!
The mana he released now was on an entirely different scale. So far he had only shown the movements of an assassin. But Nel’s real power lay in necromancy.
Whoooong.
A mana circuit materialized before his eyes. At the same time, letters formed in the air.
Lucyd’s eyes widened.
Undead?
The person she had assumed was an assassin was summoning the undead. As the completely unexpected development unfolded, the wraith flew through the air and descended upon her.
Lucyd swung her sword in an X-shaped slash. But—
Whoosh!
Her strike cut only empty air. She looked up. The spirit raised its scythe.
Lucyd leapt backward while launching a mana-infused slash.
Fwaaaak!
The spirit dodged with ease once again. Then—
“Opening.”
Nel had circled behind her. His dagger sliced through the air at the perfect moment. Too late to dodge.
No choice then.
Just as Nel had hidden his strength, Lucyd had also been holding back. The Hero’s mana was special. It consumed far less energy than ordinary mana, was far denser, and held an overwhelming advantage against undead and demons.
After awakening her power, the first thing Lucyd had practiced was control. Her mana was so potent that she could easily hurt someone by accident. She had lived her life carefully adjusting her output—until today. The classmate before her was strong enough that she no longer needed to hold back.
Fwaaaaak!
Lucyd released her full power. Nel’s eyes widened at the overwhelming surge of white mana, and he quickly retreated. At the same time—
Gyaaaaaaaah!
The wraith he had summoned disintegrated instantly. Nel swallowed hard.
The spirit was erased in one strike.
Never had one of his summons been destroyed so easily. It seemed the Hero had been concealing her power as well.
In that case, I’ll have to sacrifice more mana and summon something stronger…
He drew another circuit. This time, what emerged was a Dullahan. But he wasn’t finished. A true master of necromancy could merge with their summoned spirit.
Nel assimilated the Dullahan’s power into his own body.
Thud.
Thud.
Completely fused with the Dullahan, Nel and Lucyd stared at each other. Then they kicked off the ground simultaneously.
Just before their attacks collided—
Kwaang!
An instructor appeared between them. With both hands, he casually stopped their strikes. He looked at the pair and let out a long sigh.
“Haa.”
His deeply furrowed brow made it clear just how angry he was.