Is It an Error?
Is It an Error?
The rules were simple.
Inside the rectangular assessment chamber, we simply had to fend off the magic that came rushing at us.
Merely manifesting magic wasn't enough. True success meant subduing an attack that flew at you with full force, using only your personal magic.
—The assessment for Trixie von Fritz and Lewis Rosevalt is complete. The current first-place is Louis.
That was what ran through my mind as I observed Trixie's and Louis's assessments. A Magic Tower staff member announced the situation in a courteous voice.
The Magic Tower staffer and Violet watched us from inside the black barrier on the far side.
It was a one-way mirror. They could see us, but we couldn't see them.
I could acknowledge that both Trixie and Louis were raw gems.
Louis had used his light element well, and Trixie had used her fire element well. Both had also succeeded in manifesting their magic swiftly.
The problem was that it began and ended with manifestation; the sheer force hadn't been overwhelming.
That was only natural. These raw gems hadn't been properly polished yet.
A mage still in a raw state couldn't change the world. In the end, neither of them would become the representative.
And demonstrating why that was the case would be my role, starting now.
After the assessment finished, Trixie wore a dissatisfied expression and left immediately, while Louis approached me.
He spoke in a gentle tone.
"I did my best, in my own way, but I can't help feeling a little disappointed."
"Work harder."
That way, he'd certainly become a capable mage someday. After hearing my words, Louis nodded, surprisingly docile.
"Of course I will. But Plan, aren't you nervous at all?"
Nervous.
In this world, there had never been a moment I'd felt nervous.
I answered with my expression instead of words. As I looked at him with an unruffled gaze, Louis suddenly burst into laughter.
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this with some ulterior motive. I just like it. The way you told Professor Violet you'd be the representative—I honestly thought that was pretty impressive."
—Last. Student Plan, please come forward.
Right on cue, the Magic Tower staffer called my name.
"Do your best, Plan. Oh, right. I can watch, can't I?"
I gave Louis a brief nod, then advanced toward the center of the assessment chamber.
◈
Rapid magic manifestation. A single-strike suppression.
Those were the two conditions I'd proclaimed as the qualifications of a representative. Since I'd said it myself, I intended to back it up myself.
I would do exactly that. I wanted to shorten the period mages were looked down upon, even by a single second.
—The assessment will now begin.
The assessment started with a brief announcement.
The training I had repeated endlessly didn't betray me. As I focused my mind, mana incomparably purer than before coiled around my entire body.
—Round 1.
I examined the magic beginning to coalesce on the far side with my own eyes.
I intended to leap far beyond everyone else's thinking.
I discarded the notion of simply winning on speed. I would rob that thing of the very concept of "speed."
Fweeeesh....
I meticulously observed the magic power, which swirled with a bizarre sound.
The purified mana within my body accelerated my cognition, driving my processing power to its very limit.
Simultaneously, the entire world bled of color.
A world defined solely in black and white. While every object in my field of vision faded to stark white, only the magic power on the far side remained pitch-black.
—Firing.
The instant the Mana Bullet began to move.
White lines started pulsating across its black-stained body. Every single one of those was a core circuit.
What mattered was the fact that I could see them.
Once you've visually identified them, interfering and dismantling them isn't difficult.
Fft.
The magic power didn't even manage to fly far before it fizzled out. A long hush fell over the assessment chamber.
'Two more times, give or take.'
Assuming they fired at the same force, I could perfectly dismantle about two more attacks. That was the limit of my total mana capacity.
But it wouldn't be a problem.
Both Trixie and Louis had finished their assessments by the third round. I wouldn't be any different.
—Round 2, firing.
The Mana Bullet surged toward me. The configuration of its core circuits had changed, and its speed had increased compared to the first round.
But the outcome didn't change. Just like the first round, it vanished without a trace before it could even reach me.
—Round 3, firing.
At last, the third wave of magic power flew at me, and I dismantled it once more.
'Only three?'
This was disappointing in its own way.
Hadn't they definitely called that Inherent Ability "Flash"? Wasn't that speed and force completely failing to live up to its name?
Whether the Magic Tower's equipment was just pitiful, or whether so-called Inherent Abilities were actually nothing special... I still couldn't tell.
At any rate, the three-round assessment was over. Nominating anyone but me as the representative would be an impossibility now.
It was then, just as I was preparing to head back to the waiting room.
—Round 4, firing!
Abruptly, someone boldly announced the start of a fourth round.
"...Honestly."
I stretched my hand out toward the Mana Bullet that came flying at a terrifying speed.
Even without mana, I still had a way.
"You insolent bastards."
◈
Elysis had not held particularly high expectations for the students aside from Louis.
People say you can spot a great mage from the first leaf, but no matter what, these were merely first-years who had just entered the academy.
Furthermore, a moment of awakening called a "singularity" comes unexpectedly in a mage's life. That meant judging a mage's quality based on a single assessment was, by nature, a difficult thing.
"Louis, well... He's good, as expected."
The light element: merely being able to handle it sometimes drew the public's envy. Louis was born with it.
Naturally, his name was already listed as a candidate for scouting by the Mystic Gorge.
Regrettably, he hadn't yet managed to deflect the Mana Bullets, but he'd definitely grow at a breakneck pace going forward.
"The Fritz family is the Fritz family, after all."
Fritz. That family name alone was explanation enough for this girl.
Trixie, too, had demonstrated her best skill while wielding her blue flame.
Elysis jotted down Trixie's name as well. That girl's development would also be worth keeping an eye on.
Both Louis and Trixie possessed the grounds to be regarded as geniuses among their fellow mage students.
But could they win against Ivan, the one they call a supernova? Elysis couldn't give an easy answer to that.
Violet spoke.
"Elysis, from your perspective, how do they look? Still, these two are the best so far."
"They're good, sure. But, I don't know."
"I'm telling you, don't just look at everything by guild standards."
"Even without guild standards, man... the goal is to win properly, isn't it? At this rate, how are we supposed to beat the Knight Department?"
Elysis tapped the stack of papers documenting Ivan's information with her fingertip.
Age, height, Inherent Ability... It was a sheaf of papers detailing everything that could be documented about Ivan Rose.
"The Mana Bullets' speed is way too slow from the start. What's the point of this? They need to match Flash's velocity."
At Elysis's remark, Violet furrowed her brow.
"If we raise the speed any further, the kids will get hurt. And the arena is far wider than here. Even adjusted to this speed, it'll be fine."
"So if they get badly hurt during the match, that's okay? Where's the harm in getting hurt during an assessment? That would be better, if anything."
"And what if they can't even compete because of that? I told you, calling you here was a mistake."
Elysis shook her head from side to side.
"Every time I hear stuff like this, I seriously don't get it. Why on earth do the students talk about Violet being scary?"
"Quiet. Let's just finish the assessment."
The Magic Tower staffer, who had been listening to Elysis and Violet's conversation nearby, called for the next student.
—Last. Student Plan, please come forward.
Elysis narrowed her eyes.
Not because there had been anything offensive in her conversation with Violet. The two of them had always spoken like this, from the very first moment they'd met until now.
It was because the sight of the student walking toward the center had caught her attention. Elysis read the name written on the roster aloud.
"Plan."
From the moment she made eye contact with that boy, her timepiece had stopped functioning.
The watch attached to Elysis's wrist was no ordinary timepiece. It was a cutting-edge invention worth several hundred gold coins, effective at reading an opponent's magic power.
It was a little too strange to be mere coincidence. Something about it felt subtly off.
Even his expression, and the gait with which he strode into the center, were proof. His bearing was already hard to see as that of a mere student.
Violet let out a sigh.
"Because of that kid, I ended up changing this assessment like this."
"Changed the assessment?"
Elysis echoed. Now that she thought about it, that was true.
When Violet had first contacted her, she had simply planned on finding a student with an attribute strong against Ivan's.
"'A magic that surpasses Flash's speed is necessary. And it only becomes meaningful when you subdue the opponent with a single strike.' That's what that student said."
"'Becomes meaningful,' huh..."
Meaning.
Elysis silently repeated those two syllables. To think a mere first-year would reflect on the meaning of magic and uphold it. Honestly, it was a hard story to believe.
Sure, you could chase meaning.
But seeing the true value of magic through to the end, without compromising with reality, was not a normal way of thinking.
Violet's words weren't finished.
"He even said he would be the representative himself. That he was confident."
"He really said that?"
"Yes, he did."
In an instant, drowsiness and boredom alike fled from her.
The Mystic Gorge.
A mage guild formed for the purpose of annihilating evil. This guild housed all kinds of talented individuals, and it needed even more.
Among them, the talent with the highest priority was...
'Someone who believes in themselves above all else.'
Evil ones ruined human lives by any means necessary.
They didn't simply try to break people by force. They could disguise themselves as loved ones, they could offer sweet temptations...
But if you believed in yourself above all else, you wouldn't be easily swayed by pathetic temptations like that.
She had to admit it.
After just a few exchanges of dialogue, Elysis had taken an immense interest in Plan.
Elysis hid her bewildered expression with effort and spoke.
"First, let's see what we see."
At those words, the Magic Tower staffer continued the assessment.
—Round 1, firing.
"Huh?"
The staffer tilted his head. The Mana Bullet had vanished, unable to even fly properly.
"A malfunction?"
"No."
Elysis answered with a sharpness like a blade. She turned her head and looked at Violet.
"Violet. Did you see that just now?"
"...I saw it."
Violet quietly nodded her head.
Both of them understood. This was no equipment malfunction. It was "dismantling," produced by perfect interference.
But accepting it was another matter entirely.
Elysis spoke first.
"What year's curriculum is interference in?"
"It's part of the second-year curriculum."
"Hmmm~"
"Ah, now that I think of it. Even on orientation day..."
"On orientation day? What about it?"
Violet shook her head from side to side.
"It's nothing. We'll continue the assessment."
Violet murmured, unable to tear her eyes away from Plan. The staffer did just that.
—Round 2, firing.
—Round 3, firing.
They conducted two more rounds, but the results did not change.
He faced no difficulty whatsoever.
He simply dismantled the Mana Bullets with an attitude of perfect calm, his movements devoid of the slightest waste.
Not a single sound occurred throughout all three assessments. And because of that, it even looked elegant.
'That one's entire framework of thinking is different.'
He had already vaulted far past the notion of clashing magic against magic. His intent was to prevent his opponent from ever gaining any speed in the first place.
Interest surged within her. No—it wasn't just surging. It was on the verge of exploding.
The inside of the black barrier was steeped in silence.
It was Violet who broke the silence first.
"This... At this rate, Student Plan truly is our representative."
Elysis said absolutely nothing and merely rubbed her chin. Violet opened her mouth again.
"Elysis. What do you think? From your eyes, it's Plan, isn't it?"
"Does something like that even matter right now?"
Springing up from her seat, Elysis immediately shoved the Magic Tower staffer aside and began manipulating the equipment.
"H-Hey, Lady Elysis?!"
The staffer cried out in alarm, but it was already too late.
'Just how much do you believe in yourself, I wonder?'
Even when faced with absurd power, would he still be able to believe in himself?
Really?
Sincerely?
Tangled in her curiosity, Elysis had already entered a trance-like state where no one could stop her.
Elysis released the equipment's safety device.
"Are you insane? What the hell are you doing right now?!"
"Lady Elysis! You must not tamper with the equipment recklessly!"
The staffer and Violet immediately grabbed hold of Elysis.
But Elysis was implacable. After shoving magic power into the equipment with all her might, she shouted into the microphone.
"Round 4, firing!"
The swiftest and most powerful Mana Bullet.
A demonic arrow possessing the same velocity as Ivan Rose's Inherent Ability, Flash, began hurtling toward Plan.
Violet screamed hysterically.
"You've seriously lost your mind! If you're a guild master, is it really okay to act without any thought for right and wrong?!"
No answer was returned. Violet screamed once more.
"Say something, anything! Is this really acceptable behavior?!"
"...I'm not hearing any sound."
Elysis only murmured that. Violet asked back, as if dumbfounded.
"What kind of random nonsense are you spouting? Have you actually gone crazy?"
"That's not what the issue is, you foolish woman."
A sly smile curled the corners of Elysis's lips as she simply pointed toward the other side with her chin.
"This time as well. There was no sound from over there, either."