Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Mana Ball Demonstration
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"Why on earth does the magic lecture have a practical exam? Even if we do it, it's just casting magic in front of the teachers, that's all."
"There must be a reason for it."
"Hmm..."
Honestly, I couldn't quite understand it.
It wasn't anything else, but for the magic subject, the exam was just personally performing one spell.
It wasn't even a fixed spell; we could freely choose which magic to demonstrate in the exam, which made it even harder to understand.
There weren't even clear criteria specified, which made it worse.
"The Nordal Lady said we should prepare for the practical exam together, but..."
I wondered if it was really necessary.
For first-years, the written exam had a relatively higher weight anyway, and the practical itself wasn't that difficult.
"Nordal Lady, how would you like me to do it? Most of them are just not that difficult."
"Show a demonstration of the magic the Leonhardt Lady plans to use in the exam."
"Pardon?"
"Both in the class assignment exam and in regular magic classes, the Leonhardt Lady has shown impressive displays. I think it would be best for her to demonstrate."
"Uh... is that so? But I don't think a demonstration alone would have much impact..."
"It will."
"...Okay."
I didn't really get it either, but since Ivana Nordal herself said so.
For now, I decided to do as the Nordal Lady suggested.
She was the one who brought up doing the practical first anyway, so it might be good to follow her lead?
"Hmm... Well, a demonstration doesn't give us much to show off anyway. It's just low-tier magic..."
For now, inside the club room, I was preparing one low-tier magic spell.
I couldn't just cast dangerous or large-scale magic inside the club room, so I deliberately chose something moderate.
At the same time, I was mentally drawing the magic circle for a spell that was fairly difficult even among low-tier magic.
"I personally think that while the type of magic matters for what you'll show in the exam, the completion degree of the magic is extremely important."
I said this to the first-year club members watching me prepare the magic.
[Low-tier Magic: Mana Ball]
It was truly nothing special, just that type of magic.
Simply gathering mana into a sphere, that kind of magic.
Unlike types with attributes like Fireball or Waterball, it was purely gathering mana.
"The Mana Ball I just made is as clean as possible. The mana's color is very pure, and the shape is perfectly round, right?"
"Yes. It's really pretty."
"Even Ella thinks so?"
Ella, who had been watching the magic, chimed in.
It really was that good-looking of a Mana Ball.
Of course, the Mana Ball in my hand right now would definitely hurt if thrown at someone.
It was an attack magic, after all.
In fact, it was used quite often in exams and classes, and it wasn't easy to dismiss as low power.
"Remember well what this Mana Ball looks like. Now I'll cast Mana Ball once more."
After recovering the Mana Ball in my hand, I cast it again.
Unlike the previous one, I drew the magic circle sloppily in my head and used an ambiguous amount of mana.
"How's this Mana Ball?"
"You made it way too badly."
"The Mana Ball is... um... wobbling. Is this okay? It won't explode, right?"
"It could explode, but not to that extent yet."
"...Pardon?"
I showed the sloppily made Mana Ball to everyone.
As Grace and Ella said, it was wobbling, and the shape felt somewhat unstable.
If I had put in a bit more mana, it might have exploded on the spot, just as Ella said.
Of course, since I used less mana, that didn't happen.
"The difference between the previous Mana Ball and this one is obviously the completion degree."
A Mana Ball close to a perfect sphere, truly pure and uniform mana.
But this one had a completely different, strongly unstable feel.
"It's an exam where you cast one low-tier magic, but ultimately, what's most important in the exam is this level of completion degree. Everyone will do low-tier magic, and it's among first-years with similar skill and age."
I was just saying that the completion degree of the magic was truly what mattered.
Of course, achieving the level of my first Mana Ball might be a bit tough, but basically, completion degree came first in magic no matter what.
Magic with low completion could malfunction or not produce proper effects.
"Choosing what magic to use... well, you'll pick well on your own, but personally, I think focusing on making the highest completion degree possible is more important than just the difficulty of the magic."
Unlike the written exam, there really wasn't much I could teach for the practical.
I couldn't reveal anything profound about mere low-tier magic.
"Hmm... I don't think there's anything else to tell you about the magic exam besides this."
With that, I wrapped up the talk about the practical exam.
No, really, there was nothing else to say.
"Um... Nordal Lady, is this enough? For the others too...?"
"It's helpful. Honestly, I was thinking of just doing something flashy at first."
"Well, it shouldn't matter. Being flashy won't deduct points, right?"
"But I changed my mind to a familiar magic."
"That's good too."
I smiled at Ella's words.
It was fortunate she seemed to have some realization from what I said.
For first-years, for whom this was the first practical exam, they probably all thought like Ella initially in various ways.
"Nordal Lady, is there anything else you need? There's nothing else to do for magic practice."
"Hmm..."
"Why?"
"Could you show another low-tier magic?"
"Uh... Of course that's possible? No problem."
With that, I showed one more low-tier magic.
I had no idea why she wanted to see mere low-tier magic, but since the Nordal Lady requested it?
I did it, and Ivana Nordal watched my magic very intently.
Why she focused so much on mere low-tier magic... I had no idea, but anyway.
*
After academy classes ended like that, we gathered in the club room every day, helping club members with written and practical prep, spending our time that way.
Before we knew it, exam day at the academy arrived.
Of course, it was only the first day?
"Hmm... First period is Mana Studies, second is Imperial Arts..."
Looking at the exam schedule, I was certain.
Today was a day to solve for 10 minutes and then sleep again.
Originally, I planned to do nothing and just relax... but somehow it turned into studying with the club members.
Really, at first, I had zero intention of studying for exams or anything.
"Well, it's a good thing."
Even if I didn't attend academy classes, I knew a lot of the content, but reviewing it once more was another story.
For me, with the goal of changing dorm rooms, it was naturally a good thing.
"Ella, are you confident?"
"Of course! What do you take me for?"
"Hmm... Hm..."
"Why aren't you answering!"
I deliberately didn't answer Ella's question.
The answer to Ella's question just now... it was just that she was pretty and cute, ordinarily.
Besides, I wasn't worried about Ella's exam at all to begin with.
Rather, the worry was...
"...Hmm."
Grace sitting alone a bit farther from me and Ella's seats.
She was less worrisome than before, but still someone I couldn't help worrying about.
"Well, she'll do fine."
"What? Me?"
"Nothing."
"Why do you stop mid-sentence!"
Anyway, I was spending the pre-exam morning time with Ella, having such conversations.
Ella, Karen, Ivana Nordal—no need to worry about them at all, but I was still worried about Grace's exam.
Had we gotten closer through this exam studying, or had our relationship improved compared to before?
Grace, who used to leer at me whenever she saw me at first, had toned that down a bit lately, so maybe that's why.
-Scritch...
Exam time came, and after receiving the exam paper, I glanced at the problems.
The Mana Studies exam was just as I expected.
Content at low- to mid-tier magic level, things I'd learned long ago... really long ago from Ashley.
Probably stuff I learned less than a year after starting lessons with Ashley.
"Hmm."
Nothing special.
I began solving the problems lightly.
They were all problems I knew, no chance of mistakes.
-Scribble, scribble.
While solving them one by one, I sneaked a glance at Grace's side without getting caught by the examiner.
I also looked at Ella next to me, but she was just solving normally.
.......
I secretly watched Grace like that, and what I felt was one thing.
"Hmm..."
Clearly, much of it was content we'd studied together for 2-3 weeks, and Grace had been above basic before that too, so why did her expression look so uneasy...
She wouldn't mess up from the first exam, right...?
Even so, messing up the first exam would destabilize her mentality in all sorts of ways...
Instead of worrying about others, my worry was concentrated on one person.
After the exam ends, I should go straight to Grace.