The Precision Test Ordeal

The Precision Test (PT) is a standardized evaluation procedure designed to meticulously measure a mage's foundational capabilities. Through it, the coach can assess the individual's tendencies and potential, tailoring the training guidance to them personally. Thus, infamous labels like "child abuser" or "youth PTSD factory" are nothing but baseless public nonsense.

* I scratched at the few stickers stuck to my head.

"Can you really test anything with just this?"

Yuri smirked and pressed the sticker down harder.

"Agh!"

I glared at Yuri, tears welling up and trickling out.

"Tch…."

"Of course~ lil' one~ This precision test room's gonna start summonin' enemies tuned to your ether sync rate~"

"Abyssal entities appear, you say?"

"The ones that pop up~? Just smash 'em! Azat! They're fakes, so even if ya get hit, it won't hurt that bad~ Hehe~"

"Hmph, what a dull affair."

At my words, Yuri swished her shark tail.

"Who knows~? Ya better give it your all~ Ehhe~"

Yuri waved and stepped out through the door.

Now I was left alone in the vast white room.

"No matter how I look at it, 'tis a wondrous chamber."

The enormous room, finished in white tiles, evoked thoughts of an asylum.

From the speaker in the corner came Yuri and Monica's voices.

"What do you…."

No sooner had I spoken than I felt grass under my bare feet.

Grass?

"!!"

Sensing the killing intent, I reflexively rolled aside—and a massive blade sliced through where I'd stood.

Lifting my head, I saw a gigantic abyssal entity.

They said it was fake….

"Yet this ether wave feels utterly real."

The grass kicking up from the entity's attack, the dirt splattering my face—it all screamed real.

My heart pounded wildly, hairs standing on end across my body.

These mad fools. I knew trusting mages was a mistake.

While cursing inwardly, a bizarre window appeared in midair.

It was the Abyss system, like those I'd seen inside the Abyss.

"Have I truly been dragged into the Abyss…?"

I hurled myself aside, dodging the follow-up attack.

Thankfully, my Mage Hunter instincts were sharp as ever—no trouble evading.

"But if it hits, it feels like death…. If this is a jest, perhaps call it quits here?"

My trembling voice was embarrassing, but this was unmistakably real.

"S-save me. Won't a child beg like this…."

No reply.

"These fiends are mad, surely! Tossing a 7-year-old girl with no gear…! I was the fool for following a mage! You barbarians—!"

The curse cut short.

I rolled past the abyssal entity's downward slash, then dashed forward to widen the gap.

"To begin with, I know no magic!"

"What is—?"

No sooner had I spoken than a torrent of information flooded my mind.

A throbbing headache made me claw at my hair.

"Ugyaaagh!"

It hurt so bad, drool dribbled down.

The info crammed in included incomprehensible terms like ether sync rate (ESR), mental image core resolution (CI), neural circuit formation, and more.

"What's a mental image?! I've only heard of neural circuits!"

No one to hear complaints, so no choice but to proceed.

Dodging the abyssal entity's attacks, I sorted the mental data.

1. Absorb surrounding ether.

2. Convert ether via mental image core into usable form.

3. Compress ether into a sphere and fire at the enemy.

A simple three-step process.

Barely evading an incoming blade, I tried envisioning this "mental image."

"Mental image? Those mage riffraff always prattled on…."

The controller for handling ether—the mage's strongest memory forming their core.

Strongest memory, eh.

A house ablaze with a mage's magic flashed in my mind.

"Aye, that must be it…."

Feeling my dry mouth, I recalled that moment.

Kang San! Get out of the house!

That voice, unforgettable even after decades.

Unpleasant things intertwined.

Spin these swiftly, is it?

I got the gist. Just spin the ether fast and launch.

Thus, a basic spell.

A fist-sized ether sphere pierced the charging entity's head.

"Fuu…."

Ether Shot—I'd reversed it countless times.

Once I grasped the generation method, sustaining and firing felt as natural as breathing.

"Next."

I smirked, ether spinning rapidly above my palm.

"Come at me all at once. 'Tis tedious."

Dodging a blade by a hair's breadth, I fired point-blank.

Purple abyssal fluids splattered; I used the dying entity's corpse as a shield against the next blade.

Indeed, while using magic, physical strength gets augmented.

Magic inevitably spreads ether through the body.

The side benefit: superhuman strength and quickened cognition.

But ether claimed life in return. Most mages retired in their late 30s for that reason.

Panting, I fired two shots at the head of another charging entity.

Ducking one Ether Shot, the entity took the second in the neck.

Kwang—

"Dodging changes naught! Hahaha! Easy! So easy! And these mages strutted about over such trifles?"

As I laughed confidently—

An abyssal entity dropped from above.

"Eek!"

Its blade sliced my arm.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flesh-tearing sensation sent chills through me.

"Urgh! They said fake! It hurts, damn it…."

Tears beaded instinctively.

"You bastard! It hurts!"

I gritted my teeth, aiming my index finger at the entity's core.

The speeding sphere pierced the round core in the entity's chest.

The ether-clumped center shattered; the entity crumbled to dust.

Beep—

Time up, and the white room reappeared.

Legs shaking, I slowly lay on the floor.

The arm wound was gone.

Truly fake, then….

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠faint relief that they weren't total lunatics.

I read the floating number.

"28 points…."

Probably out of 100—not passing, really.

I nodded humbly, accepting my skill level.

"Aye, ether sync rate isn't everything, it seems."

*

"Ya really gonna take 'er as a disciple~? What's the Aqua Queen up to~?"

Monica just gave a wry smile at Yuri's words.

"Yeah. Weird for me, retired five years now, to suddenly mentor someone."

"Aw~ But yer a 7-level mage~ Only five in Korea~"

"……."

Monica fell silent, detaching her right arm.

Chiiiik—clang—

A spent ether cartridge popped from the elbow.

Fishing a new one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from her bag, Monica said,

"See? I'm no great mage."

She knew it herself.

America's core-grade Abyss Asterda, floor 42—she lost her right arm and left eye there, retiring.

Fancy calling it 7-level; she'd embarrassed herself in combat and quit.

Monica Newell, a half-baked theorist compared to true mages like the missing Lee Han.

"Never even joined Korean Abyss raids or pro leagues. Embarrassing they treat me well."

Placing her right arm on her thigh, she slotted the cartridge one-handed.

Yuri adjusted her glasses.

"Monica~ Don't change that ya devoted yerself to humanity~ Deserve respect beyond nations~ And ya were with Blue Wave Tower~?"

"Maybe…."

Monica closed her eyes.

Blue Wave, top U.S. tower.

But knowing what went on there, "respect" wouldn't come easy.

When did the world turn like this?

The kid's voice still echoed.

Ugh, dark basement, ugh crazy mages, ugh….

"……."

Monica silently removed her eyepiece, wiping it with microfiber.

Aqua Queen.

That glittering title's reality: a disabled vet, missing an arm and eye.

Yuri awkwardly wagged her tail at Monica's sight.

Monica fitted the prosthetic eye and arm, testing function.

"Oh, that test. What'd Isara score?"

"Isara~? Lemme see~ She took this version, so~"

Yuri fiddled with her tablet, frowning.

"19 points. Wow, she crushed it~"

"Really? That's low by old standards, no?"

"This version, even third-years struggle over 10~ Basically full score's 10~"

"Huh, changed a lot."

Yuri clacked her sharp teeth, grinning.

"Hehe, it's so tough for kids, the machine's nicknamed 'child torture device'."

"For real? It's just holograms."

"C'mon, what're ya sayin', newbie~"

Yuri showed the tablet screen.

"Modern PT's so Abyss-real, it can traumatize. All thanks to magitech."

Monica groaned at the photo.

"…Well, better than dragging kids inside real Abysses like old days."

"Ahaha! The savage romantic era~"

"They marked tests as 'survival,' not 'pass.' But everyone volunteered anyway."

"Heroic times~ Their sacrifices stabilized Abysses, got us here~"

As Yuri wryly smiled, fiddling with the tablet—

Ding-dong—

Test-end alert.

Monica's eyepiece swiveled to the tablet.

"Shall we see how our lil' one did?"

They strolled to the precision test room.

"Hope she didn't piss herself~ Sensitive gear everywhere~"

"Mm, that kid's tough—probably gritted through."

"Nah~ She's a crybaby deep down~ Probably broke."

Monica chuckled.

Yuri flicked her shark tail.

"Bet on 'fled and died'~ One vote."

"Score?"

"Dodged once: 1 pt. Zero: 0."

"…Harsh. I'll say 9."

"Me, 5~?"

As Yuri opened the door—

The kid lay there casually.

"Ah, you've come. 'Twas harder than expected."

"Huh? Thought she'd wet herself~"

"Er… floor's clean."

Monica pocketed her handkerchief, checking the floating screen.

In that instant, silence blanketed the white room.