Chapter 17

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 17

Chapter Title: Paper Bird (3)

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—♬♪♩♪♩♬.

1:00 p.m. sharp. The bell signaling the end of the first period of the College Board.

I'm on the Endex campus.

Of course, empty-handed. I no longer have the mana to summon the SZX-9500 Mana Optics Microscope, and besides, I have no intention of picking it up again.

"Yawn."

I yawned lazily and strolled back to Cleam Hall.

Inside Cleam Hall, grading seemed to already be underway.

The name flowed out especially clearly from beyond the door.

A voice so distinctive you could tell who it belonged to just from the tone.

Damn bitch.

I opened the door to Cleam Hall.

"Next!"

"Gerkken Kal Dun."

Gerkken. He showed his paper bird to Asilen with an icy expression.

I quietly slipped into the back row seat.

"A hummingbird~! You caught this tiny thing perfectly! That's a bonus CP of 1.5 points, same as before!"

Asilen, who had graded Gerkken, whipped around to look at me.

"Name?"

I answered curtly.

"Sion Askal."

Asilen tilted her head and scanned me up and down.

"No bird, huh?"

"Yes."

Slash—!

A line drawn across the grading sheet.

I must ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been the last one. Asilen returned to the lectern.

"There are 33 seniors who failed to catch a paper bird, and looking at who they are..."

She paused for a moment, sweeping her gaze over me and the other empty-handed ones. The others glanced our way too. Faces tinged with mockery or relief.

"...yeah, that makes sense!"

What the hell does "makes sense" even mean?

"Alright, now I'll hand out the answer sheets~"

She tossed a thick stack of answer sheets into the air. They scattered, realigned themselves in midair, and settled onto everyone's desks.

"From 1:10 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.! Observe a paper bird and write its mana formula on the answer sheet!"

Scratch-scratch.

The sound of pen nibs scratching across answer sheets. Occasional groans and sighs. People unconsciously scratching their heads, rubbing their necks, massaging their eyelids.

The typical exam hall atmosphere, but with one key difference.

"...It's so noisy."

I glanced sideways at Elise.

No one knows which paper bird she's observing and describing right now. You can't see it. She's draped a mana curtain around herself.

That's a mana formula too. One she cast herself.

She's not the only one.

Everyone's hiding their answer sheets and paper birds in their own best way, preventing any potential 'peeking' or 'stealing.'

The 32 who didn't catch one are indeed eyeing a loser's bracket revival.

"Hmm."

Me? I'm relaxed.

Of course. I don't have a paper bird right now. And I have no intention of stealing or peeking.

Which is why I can screw over one specific person. Sprinkle some spicy chili powder.

I hope that 'one person' getting dusted is Elise...

I picked up my pen. First, I wrote [Sion Askal] in the name field on the answer sheet.

This is the biggest hint for this task: you can still fill out an answer sheet without a paper bird.

If two or more answer sheets are submitted for the same bird, only the more perfect one gets scored.

Plus, second period scores even more than first period.

You're screwed.

I smirked faintly and opened my Notebook.

The paper bird's mana formula is already memorized in the Notebook.

So my task is simple.

Just copy and paste this memory straight onto the answer sheet.

[——Retrieve]

I gripped the pen and recalled the memory. My fingers twitched on their own.

Swoosh—a single, sweeping stroke like scribbling randomly. But the result etched onto the answer sheet was the paper bird's mana formula, without a single error or hesitation.

The perfect answer observed most accurately by the SZX-9500, reproduced through the Notebook's memory via my hand.

"Done."

Dozens of circles, inscribed triangles, mana equations. Countless lines connecting equations into formulas. Even the slyly hidden rune letters at the edge of this pristine mana formula.

Complete.

I stood up and walked to the lectern at the front, holding out my answer sheet.

"Sion Askal. Turning it in."

The seniors, noses buried in their paper birds, briefly focused on me.

Of course, only for a moment. They checked my face, smirked, and poured all their attention back into their birds.

"Ah, yeah. Congrats on the gold medal. Just leave it."

The proctor Asilen didn't even look up, glued to her smartphone instead.

I set the answer sheet face down on the lectern and left.

3:10 p.m.

The Wednesday College Board had already ended.

In the hallway outside Cleam Hall, Elise was scrolling through today's College Board posts on her smartphone.

It's the student community 'Rbit.'

Since the College Board runs not just at Endex but at other mana academies too, you can roughly gauge the difficulty from the community vibe like this.

The community, and even the instructors on the admissions board, seem to think this College Board is pretty tough.

Great news for top ranks like her. The harder it is, the better the differentiation.

"Ah, my eyes hurt like hell. Elise, you done?"

Kain Traksil asked. His eyes were bloodshot like a ghost's.

"I didn't finish. This shit's so fucking detailed."

"It's fine. You aced first period anyway. Just need 2 points here."

With the high difficulty buzz, 80% of max should be safe.

Max CP for this task is 5.5 total across both periods. Over 4.4 puts you in the top tier.

"Oh, really? Phew."

Kain patted his chest and grinned.

Bang-crash-bang—!

Sudden shouts and commotion erupted. Elise turned that way too.

Two seniors were fighting. It started with punches, but one charged and tackled the other down.

Elise watched with keen interest.

Watching fights was a hobby of hers, in a way.

No polish like UMFC (Ultimate Mana-Fighting Championship), but low-tier scraps like this had their charm.

Because they were so pathetic and desperate.

"Elise, if the failures drop out, what happens to Secret Santa?"

Rae Hilton asked with a worried face. Esher Dread answered for her.

"They ask who you want for Secret Santa when you submit the withdrawal. Why? One of those fighters your Secret Santa?"

"No! Why assume?!"

Rae yelled.

"If not, then say so. What assumption."

"You idiot!!"

"Ah, what now—"

"Shh."

Elise cut them off.

"You guys can definitely clear 4.4 points on this task, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks to you."

Esher smiled brightly. Kain chuckled deeply and nodded.

Rae, pouty-faced, rested her chin on Elise's shoulder.

"Elise, how long you gonna help Esher and Kain~? I did mine alone."

Elise raised an eyebrow.

"Sharing joy multiplies it."

She knew. Sharing her talent now would return as greater power later. The value of Kain and Esher came from their 'families,' not themselves.

"Wow... should I cry?"

Esher pretended to tear up enviously.

"Spare me the disgust. No need to thank me. This task was tailor-made for me anyway."

Elise Petra. Her innate Spectrum was 'mana itself.'

Mana control, coordination, agility, reaction, resonance, affinity—all her agility stats were perfect, innate.

Genius-level.

She already knew dozens of mana formulas, and had invented two or three herself.

So in Mana Studies and mana in general, her ability to grasp, assemble, and understand formulas surpassed even Gerkken, Soliet Arkne, and most pros, or so she believed.

"I'm heading out first."

She turned.

"Huh? Where to? We were gonna pop some champagne."

Kain asked. Rae grabbed her wrist tight.

"Me too!"

Elise replied curtly.

"Library."

"...Right now?"

The trio looked shocked. Rae quietly released her wrist.

Elise countered.

"Review and recap. You?"

Today's task was fairly tough.

Infuse mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into your eyes to track the paper bird's trail, follow the path, capture it, return, observe its mana formula until your eyes nearly burst...

Seven straight hours of hell.

"Uh... yeah. See you."

"Ahem. Go. Catch you tomorrow."

Esher and Kain backed away with waves.

"Oh, almost forgot. I have plans..."

Rae pulled out her phone with an excuse.

"Do what you want."

Elise left Cleam Hall alone.

Walking across Endex campus, she texted her admissions consultant.

[I'll get full marks on the second task too.]

Reply came quick.

[JR: Noted. Any notable incidents?]

[Incidents?]

[JR: Yes. Anyone targeting you, or you want checked? Happy to investigate anytime.]

"Incidents..."

Today's College Board was smooth, but something nagged.

Sion Askal.

Why did he give her his paper bird?

No—how did a D- rank even find that one?

Everything else was a mystery too.

Challenging College Board with D-, showing Latynel knowledge, suddenly acting cocky like a different person, not backing down from Kain and Esher...

Lost in thought, she arrived at the library.

[Nothing like that. Except the two you know.]

She replied to the consultant.

No need to bother with trash like him anyway.

Not even worth calling garbage. A worm crawling the floor. No, less than a worm—an amoeba. Single-celled. Planarian.

That was Sion Askal.

Elise contemptuously opened the library door and headed to the third floor, seniors only.

"...?"

At the entrance, Elise's eyes widened slightly.

Seniors-only reading room.

Early in the semester, it was empty—but someone was there.

Surprising enough, but the identity was even more shocking.

A failure.

Precisely, a guy failing tomorrow.

The gold medal who bailed 15 minutes into second period.

Sion Askal.

That trash·worm·amoeba·single-cell·planarian sat at a desk.

Studying... or what?

Elise glanced at his book unwittingly.

[Mana Studies for Beginners: Even Middle Schoolers Can Understand Mana Studies]

Not just low-level—the title questioned his intelligence too. Middle school material.

"..."

Good lord.

Elise's eyes chilled. Unexplained disgust and hostility surged. Like a sapiens eyeing an ape.