The Strongest in the World (1)

The instant I activated the skill, the knowledge hit me as if I'd always known it.

So the name was Taesan—Mount Tai.

And of course the creator is Vivian.

The principle was almost insultingly simple.

Wrap your entire body in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠aura.

Hit it with a force of ten, or a hundred, or a thousand—it didn't matter. If you blocked with a million, nothing would break through. A crude, brainless method of aura manipulation that anyone could think of. Which was exactly why anyone could think of it, and no one in the world could actually pull it off.

But what if…

What if you were someone who possessed the near-infinite aura that was the bare minimum requirement for this technique?

Then Taesan became an ultimate defense that nothing in existence could pierce.

"…So you weren't all talk after all."

Just like right now.

The pure-white orbs raining down on me vanished like moths diving into a campfire—except they left no trace at all, as if they had never existed. The mana crystals that had been trying to kill me a second ago were now worth less than snowflakes.

And the next move I needed to make was obvious.

"Huh? Is that so? Oh my, to receive such glowing praise from the Dean of the Magic Faculty…!! Coming from a dean whose mouth is the only thing still kicking, that's not just praise—that's worship directed at me! A hymn of exaltation, surely!!"

"W-what did you just—?!"

"Allow me to return the favor of such a generous review!! I'll show you something of my own, Dean!!"

Obviously, I was going to run my mouth.

Bright's already been scraped raw. Ordinary trash talk wouldn't cut it anymore. Time to add a little physical comedy.

I slowly lay down right where I was, then flopped my body while staring up at Bright.

"Hello there. I'm the Dean of the Magic Faculty—a fish that fell in the water and floated right back up. Flop, flop. Whew, so fresh. Wow. Simply bursting with vitality. Shame there's not much going on inside, though."

"You…!"

Bright's face twisted for a split second, but he quickly pasted a smile back on.

"Hah… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠There seems to be some misunderstanding. The technique I am currently using is—"

"Regarding an inquiry nobody made."

"…Listen. Among all the techniques I possess, the one I am using now is my most—"

"Regarding the incident of sudden, overwhelming drowsiness."

"—my weake—"

"Yaaaawn… Zzz."

That was the finishing blow.

A colossal pillar of radiance punched through the arena and crashed down onto my head before anyone could even think of stopping him. The floor—forged from special ore—couldn't withstand the heat and melted, hissing and buckling under the glare.

"What in the world have you just done?!"

"Damn it, check if he's alive first!!"

"Urgh—Sir Charles, we can't even get in there!!!"

The examiners' voices carried over from beyond the light that still hadn't faded.

I should probably put them at ease.

I called out across the arena, all warmth and consideration.

"Don't worry, everyone! An attack like that couldn't even grill a squid properly!"

"You son of a bitch!!!!"

"Uh-oh."

The radiance came down again. The difference this time was that it wasn't a single strike—it was a continuous barrage. No damage, so that wasn't a problem, but the light was flashing so hard it was making me dizzy.

When's this going to end?

I was rummaging for a skill that could land a real hit without giving away that I'd copied it when the warning arrived.

The aura that had felt as bottomless as the deep sea scattered all at once. I'd felt something similar when Cheolsu had subdued me.

At this rate, the skill was about to cut out.

How much time is left?

The moment the question formed in my head, the answer arrived.

"Three minutes, huh…"

I got to my feet in a hurry.

"Finally—huff! Getting up—huff! Are we!"

With that much time, an exhausted Bright ought to have more than enough to call the exam, right?

Whew. It was three seconds.

"Spare m—!!!"

One second, gone. I'd only gotten three syllables out, and one second turned out to be a lot shorter than it sounded.

The aura that had been packed inside and around my body burst apart all at once, like a soap bubble popping.

I was now an ordinary person who'd done a bit of physical training. The moment I registered that fact with perfect, terrible clarity—

As if bidding me farewell, a massive column of light came down from the sky.

Light-speed. This was a death of a completely different caliber from everything before it—something that could not, under any circumstances, be dodged.

I quietly closed my eyes.

It was an instant some people wouldn't even register. To me, it stretched on forever. A moment this long, this drawn-out—

Can't someone save me?

For the first time since I'd transmigrated, I found myself earnestly wishing for someone else's help.

A clean, sharp burst of sound—and the light pouring down over my eyelids vanished.

The next instant:

"Open your eyes."

The commanding tone made me obey before I could think. I looked up into the face of a woman with a robe pulled over her head.

Short, light-purple hair. A shabby brown robe. Vividly glowing purple eyes. She looked less like a fellow examinee and more like someone's senior.

Not that she is, of course.

A regular senior wouldn't be able to casually swat aside the Grand Sage's strongest strike.

Footsteps approached, each one distinct. Only then did I realize the arena had gone completely silent.

At last she stopped in front of me. She was a full head shorter, and yet the pressure rolling off her made her feel enormous.

Her hand brushed my exam ticket.

"Eugene?"

"Yes…? Yes."

"Nice. Two syllables."

The moment she smiled that savage little smile, every survival instinct I had started screaming.

Do not run your mouth.

They say intuition is just accumulated experience expressing itself unconsciously. Twenty-five years of a previous life and a few scant hours of this one were both bellowing at me to shut up.

No way…?

I was staring at her, needled by a strange sense of dissonance, when—

"Interrupting the exam mid-trial?! Identify yourself at once!!!"

The radiance dropped again.

"Damn—too la—"

I threw myself forward to save even her, and in that same instant she vanished from in front of my eyes with a sharp crack.

"Been a while since I took a hit. Feels good."

"Uh…?"

Her voice came from the direction Bright's had been coming from.

When did she even…?

By the time I turned my head to follow the sound, everything was already over.

"An apprentice mage?"

"W-w-w-wait—hold on, just a moment…!! Don't tell me…!!"

She plucked the badge from Bright's chest, a lopsided smile on her face.

"…The Grand Sage, huh."

"P-p-p-perhaps—p-perhaps!!"

Pinned under her foot, he thrashed like an overturned bug.

"Vivi—Vivivi—Vivian!!!!"

"Quiet."

A thunderous impact swallowed the arena. Bright, who had apparently figured out who she was, vanished from sight in a single instant. More precisely: she knocked him unconscious underfoot and buried him straight into the arena floor.

But why were his cheeks flushed…?

I was still turning over the bizarrely happy look on Bright's face when the remaining three examiners exploded.

"You wretch!! How dare you assault Zion!!!"

"Cease this outrage at once!!"

"We ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have already summoned the Headmaster—abandon any thought of leaving here alive!!!"

The three of them hopped and raged like the world was ending.

"I said be quiet."

One sentence from her, and their mouths snapped shut.

A clatter of steel. Rania, Yuria, and a handful of other examinees quietly took up their weapons—but a single glance from the woman stripped them of all will to fight. They staggered where they stood.

Once everyone had been put down, she walked toward Cheolsu and shrugged off her robe.

"You know who I am?"

"…Yes. We were in the same search party, once."

"Whatever. Exam's over, right?"

"…Yes. I'll wrap things up."

Cheolsu turned on his heel and poured aura into his voice, carrying it all the way to the stands.

"The exam is over. Examinees who could not test today, write down where you are staying and go home."

"But…!!"

Yuria spat the word out like it hurt, and then couldn't say anything more.

The travel money, probably.

Imperial blood might run in her veins, but that was backstory and nothing else. The Yuria standing here was just a poor examinee from the Backstreets.

And she wasn't the only one.

"…I have to take another day off work."

"…The inn was only paid through today."

"…Let's just tough it out on the street."

Most of the commoner examinees were already worrying about whether they could scrape together enough to last until the next exam. Fairness, the content of the test, a dozen other problems besides—and still, not a single person opened their mouth.

No.

"Taking their sweet time."

They couldn't.

In the end, Cheolsu changed tactics.

"Everyone stop writing for a moment! We'll have you fill it out outside instead!"

Teaching assistants appeared at his gesture and began escorting the students out. Once the last of them were gone, Cheolsu returned to the woman and bowed his head.

"I'll take my leave as well."

"Yeah."

Just when it seemed the whole affair was over, Cheolsu tossed a line at me on his way out.

"Eugene. You passed. We'll go over the details after you're done talking with her."

Her?

Don't tell me he means that woman.

I looked at her, hoping to settle the question—and in that same instant, Cheolsu's presence vanished completely.

He's seriously ditching me here alone?

I was just starting to resent him, replaying everything that had happened, when the woman walked up to me and said, perfectly even:

"Eugene."

"Pardon?"

"…? I said explain."

Explain what, exactly. I was still trying to figure out where to even start when she added one more line.

In that instant, I was certain.

"Ah—so you really are Lady Vivian, then?"

The woman standing in front of me was Vivian. The strongest being in the world.

She looked at me as if she couldn't quite believe it.

"…So you knew I'd come looking?"

Of course I did.

That's why I'd thrown out the bait in the first place.