Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: End-of-Semester Report Card (3)
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“Of course, it's strange. But that's just a matter of perception. Mathematically, the sentence is perfectly sound.”
Iruki's pride in his mathematics was truly immense. You could imagine how insufferable he must have been for the humanities teachers to give his paper a zero.
Shirone decided to play his final card.
“You don't want to advance to the next class?”
“Hngh! Damn it!”
Even Iruki had to concede to that. He'd rather die than become Canis's junior.
As Iruki focused on solving the problems again, Shirone returned to his seat and sighed.
*If he does this during the actual exam, it'll be a disaster.*
Nade, as if suddenly remembering something, looked up from his book and asked.
“Oh, right, the practical exam is next week. Have you guys practiced much?”
Shirone and Iruki asked in unison.
“What exam?”
“Are you kidding me? You didn't even know what it was? It's the Spirit Pulse test. The Spirit Zone endurance evaluation.”
“Is there really a need to practice? Shirone and I can both easily score over 80. Why, are you nervous?”
“No. But practical exams have a lot of variables. Unlike the other tests, this one is graded on a curve. If others do better, our scores will drop. I just thought we should go over it at least once.”
“It's fine, it's fine. We don't have time anyway.”
Iruki paid him no mind and went back to his problems. How skilled could a Class Five student possibly be at manipulating a Spirit Zone? Iruki was certain he would pass the practical exam no matter what.
Shirone said while solving a math problem.
“I'll pass too. I just don't have the mental energy to worry about that right now.”
Nade had his own confidence. But it was also true that it would be difficult for him to score higher than the other two.
*Hmm. What should I do?*
If it seemed genuinely difficult, he could just ask for their help. But taking up his friends' time simply because he was feeling anxious felt like exploiting their agreement.
*Whatever. As long as I make it into the top ten, it'll be fine.*
Nade dismissed the thought and started studying. If each member didn't pull their 33.3 percent of the weight, the study group's efficiency would crumble.
They collaborated to the best of their abilities for the group's benefit, but in the end, your results were your own.
***
The Image Zone Practice Hall.
Normally, this time would be for the advanced integrated class, but today, only Class Five students were gathered.
It was the period of the notoriously difficult practical evaluations that had driven Shirone into a corner several times before. With the end of the semester fast approaching, the students' tension was higher than ever.
Etella entered the Image Zone and, as always, expanded a Spirit Zone with a 20-meter diameter before beginning her explanation.
“Today's evaluation is the Spirit Pulse test. You could say it's a test that measures how long you can sustain changes in your Spirit Zone.”
Etella extended her hands to either side, pointing to the distance. Two tall, black pillars of an unidentifiable material stood there, their surfaces carved with unknown characters.
“The evaluation standard is the distance between the pillars, a 20-meter diameter. A Spirit Zone smaller than that will not be eligible for the test. Of course, I doubt any of you will fail to reach 20 meters.”
Etella contracted her Spirit Zone. As the number on the digital display measuring the zone's volume dropped below two cubic meters, a buzzer sounded from a speaker.
“When the buzzer sounds, that's one cycle. The measurement time is 30 seconds, and your score will be determined by the number of pulses. Since we haven't often practiced with the recorder on, I'll give a demonstration first.”
At Etella's signal, the Image Zone's Spirit Pulse mode activated. Simultaneously, her Spirit Zone began to expand and contract repeatedly, pulsing like a heart.
“Whoa…”
The sight of a 20-meter-diameter Spirit Zone shrinking to less than two meters and then instantly expanding again was a spectacle. The cycle wasn't particularly fast, but the repeated contraction and expansion was intense, reminiscent of an explosion.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A sound machine, one of the Image Zone's functions, calculated the speed of the expansion and produced an explosive sound.
The sound wasn't implemented merely for excitement. Perceiving the intangible Image Zone with all five senses provided optimal efficiency for magic training.
After 30 seconds, the number 30 appeared on the display board. That meant she had pulsed once per second.
According to the upperclassmen, you needed at least 90 points to meet the cutoff for promotion. Three pulses per second. Based on Etella's demonstration, the students made final checks on the strategies they had prepared.
Finishing her demonstration, Etella clasped her hands behind her back and said.
“In actual combat, there are many situations where you must rapidly transform your zone into various shapes. The Spirit Pulse is the fundamental training for that, so it's important to continue practicing diligently even after this practical is over. Now, let's begin the evaluation.”
Based on the results of the previous speed gun test, the students began to come forward, starting from the back ranks. As expected, it was difficult to improve one's skills in just a month or two, so most of the rankings were similar to last time.
One by one, the students recorded their scores. With the lowest score so far being 48, it was Nade's turn. Since he had placed in the upper-middle ranks on the speed gun test, his turn came much earlier than Shirone's and Iruki's.
“Do your best, Nade.”
“Phew, I'm nervous.”
Encouraged by Shirone and Iruki, Nade entered the Image Zone, closed his eyes, and focused his mind. At the starting signal, he opened his eyes and expanded his Spirit Zone. Like the heart of someone sprinting at full speed, the zone pulsed rapidly.
“Whoa! What's with Nade?”
The students' eyes went wide. Only 10 seconds had passed, but he had already surpassed 50 points. Five pulses per second was an impressive display of power even for the onlookers.
“Wasn't he usually in the middle ranks? At this rate, he's guaranteed to make it to the top.”
“His skills have improved a ton since he started hanging out with Shirone, huh? If I'd known, I would've joined that research society too.”
“I know, right? Those guys have been studying like crazy lately. Even Iruki, who used to slack off every day, hasn't missed a single class.”
After 30 seconds, Nade's score was in. 173 pulses. Accelerating in the last 10 seconds had helped boost his score.
“Good work, Nade.”
Etella recorded the score with a pleased smile. She was especially happy to see a student under her direct guidance improve so dramatically.
*Then again, I expected this much from the start.*
Nade returned, sticking his tongue out shyly. After high-fiving his friends, he sat down and said.
“Phew, I was so nervous I thought I was going to die.”
“You did great. That's one down. Just the two of us left.”
Inspired by Nade, the following participants also gave it their all. However, no one managed to score higher than 173.
With Nade holding first place, Iruki, the second to last, entered the Image Zone. Standing without a hint of nervousness, Iruki activated his savant ability the moment the test began.
His method—pre-designing the mechanism of expansion and contraction and repeating it like a machine—wouldn't be very useful in a real fight, but for a test, it yielded maximum efficiency.
The score he achieved was 210.
The students stared at the score with bewildered expressions. It was a number you couldn't possibly get without mechanically churning out seven pulses per second, with no variation in speed.
“Hah, as expected of him. Is his mind just one big equation? That guy probably wasn't even trying his hardest.”
“What can you do? He's a savant. I don't think even Shirone can beat him this time.”
Just then, a voice from behind poured cold water on the heated atmosphere.
“Hmph, making a fuss over such a trivial score. I see Class Five is just a gathering of pathetic fools.”
The indignant students turned around, only for their eyes to widen as if they'd seen ghosts. Canis and Arin, who were scheduled to enroll next semester, were watching the practical evaluation.
Etella, who was recording the students' scores, asked.
“Hm? You two, what's the matter?”
“The Headmaster said it was alright for us to observe. We came to see how the exam is conducted.”
“Ah, I see. Then come over here. You'll get a better view.”
Canis's brow furrowed. Was this woman really the one who fought on equal footing with his master? He hadn't had time to notice during the battle, but watching her teach, she seemed as docile as a fool.
*Is she doing it on purpose? Or is she just an actual idiot?*
In any case, it was true he was interested in the test. Canis led Arin to stand behind the participants.
“What do you think, Arin?”
“I've done so much Spirit Pulse training I'm sick of it. Master told me to raise my score no matter what. I could easily surpass 250.”
Arin was a psychic-type mage. In particular, she had to freely manipulate tentacles, the most difficult of the zone forms, so her Spirit Zone endurance was second to none.
*As expected of Arcane's disciples. They're on a whole different level from us.*
Hearing Arin's words, the students felt themselves shrink. They too were children of noble families, but any aspiring mage dreamed of becoming a direct disciple of a grand mage. Though Canis and Arin came from the slums, when it came to magic alone, the two had walked the most elite path imaginable.
*Hmph. But we have a secret weapon of our own.*
When Shirone, the final participant, entered the Image Zone, the students cheered for him in unison.
Having regained their memories, they knew that Shirone had defeated Canis. As such, they hoped he would show him what's what this time, too.
Shirone took a deep breath in the center of the Image Zone. Since Iruki had scored 210, getting a score anywhere near that would be enough to guarantee his promotion.
But the look in Shirone's eyes was different from before. Now that he had a firm goal, he had no intention of taking the test lightly, Canis or no Canis.
At Etella's signal, the device lit up, and Shirone began pulsing his Spirit Zone at maximum speed right from the start.
Without a precise design like Iruki's, dividing a single second into equal parts is a difficult task. But humans possessed a very accurate internal clock called a sense of rhythm.
Shirone placed the pulses of his zone on a rhythm and accelerated. A rapid-fire succession of sounds, like something you'd hear from a drum line, erupted from the sound machine.
B-B-B-B-B-B-BOOM!
The students' jaws dropped. They watched Shirone's demonstration without even blinking, but they could only get a clear look at his Spirit Zone about once per second.
“No way… How many is that per second?”
It looked like multiple layers of his Spirit Zone were moving at once, making it impossible to count with the naked eye. The students waited for the 10-second mark. A moment later, the incredible number of 120 flashed on the digital display.
“Twelve pulses per second…”
Could anyone even imagine a 20-meter sphere contracting 12 times in a single second? They were merely watching it with their eyes; no one knew what was happening inside. Only the volley of explosions and the numbers counting up at a tremendous speed proved that Shirone's spirit was pulsing.
Even Canis and Arin watched the demonstration, mesmerized. Arin, in particular, had a look of disbelief. If the pulse became that fast, speed aside, one's mind would collapse first.
The core of the pulse was how quickly one could expand from the smallest circle to the largest, and how much of the shock from the contraction one could endure.
In that sense, the demonstration Shirone was putting on was the pinnacle of performance, maximizing both speed and endurance.
*Adamantine.*
Etella understood Shirone's level in a single glance.
*Truly incredible. That child's potential is simply immeasurable.*
Even Etella was no longer certain where Shirone currently stood. Just when she thought he was here, he was already far over there.