Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 29
>Chapter Title: Stared Intently
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"I'll explain the rules from here on out."
On the platform.
With the students of M1, M2, and M3 classes watching, Professor Parun snapped his fingers.
It was a hologram created using illusion magic in a translucent form.
The hologram depicted a massive cross-section, shaped like an intricately complex maze.
Like a river flowing into the sea, paths merged and split repeatedly, tangling in a dizzying mess.
Yet despite that, it was structured so they all converged at one point further ahead.
"There's no need to worry about getting lost. No matter which fork you take, it's designed to lead you to the goal in the end. The objective of the test is simple."
A blue flame ignited at one point on the map.
Dozens of paths merged and converged until they met at a single spot.
"Reach the destination—the final gateway. But simply arriving wouldn't make it any different from a meaningless race."
Snap!
At Professor Parun's signal, another figure appeared beside it.
A statue about two meters tall, a head taller than Professor Parun.
Its joints were segmented bluntly, making it look less like a sculpture and more like a puppet used in a puppet show.
"It's a golem."
At those words, the students let out an "ooh" of awe.
Half admiration, half sighs.
That reaction was understandable, as golems were products of magitech, blending alchemy and magic.
There weren't many alchemists who could create golems, and most were affiliated with empires or kingdoms. Even the scions of noble houses rarely got to encounter one.
That was the pure admiration from students facing a golem for the first time. The reason for the sighs was simple.
"What? It's a performance evaluation, and a golem shows up?"
"A real golem?"
"What the hell..."
Golems were anti-mage weapons.
Their sluggish movements made them easy prey for knights, but their inherent defenses and durability were nothing to scoff at.
They ignored magic damage, closed the distance relentlessly, and massacred mages.
It was a brutally straightforward combat style, but what could be more terrifying for mages?
The students' sighs were only natural.
Professor Parun, however, remained expressionless, reciting calmly in contrast to their reactions.
"It's just a sluggish battle construct at best. But considering your level, even this will be a struggle. That's to be expected. It was made to deal with mediocre mages in the first place. So..."
Professor Parun trailed off.
That was when the golem hologram changed.
Ssshh...
Ripples emanated from its forehead, chest, and abdomen, and round crystal orbs surfaced on its body.
"The core is exposed. Its durability has also been lowered to match your level. Destroy the golem's protective field, and you can take it down easily."
Any mage who had faced a golem even once would have snorted here.
"That thing's a golem?"
The true terror of a golem lay in its protective field combined with the durability of its body itself—those two layers of defense.
But the students' reactions didn't improve.
"Even so..."
"It's not an open field—it's a confined space. It'll grab us before we can break the field."
Sighing students.
Yet they subtly glanced at Professor Parun with faint hope.
Maybe, just like exposing the core, there'd be another concession.
But Professor Parun's face, watching them, remained impassive.
'Tch.'
He wasn't pleased.
'These so-called mages.'
Mages had to be cold and rational.
And who were the students of Jenion Academy? They were far from true mages, but objectively, their level wasn't low.
Even now, mages of their caliber were out there as mercenaries or hunters, gaining experience on battlefields and delving into dungeons.
'In the end, it's the environment.'
It was inevitable that Pola came to mind.
In Professor Parun's eyes, these students and Pola were on the same level, but that day, Pola had pushed himself to the limit and survived.
It had been quite helpful, too.
But if one of these mage students had been there instead—what then?
No need to think; the answer was obvious.
Amid that.
'Hmm.'
Professor Parun spotted a few students showing decent reactions.
First one.
'Dalia, huh.'
Her face was tense, but her eyes burned with unyielding resolve. In other words, a determination to break through no matter what.
And next...
Damian.
Professor Parun looked at Damian and soon dismissed the thought.
'...No particular thoughts there.'
Damian's reaction to the hologram golem was one of awe, more like a spectator than a test participant.
It wasn't incomprehensible.
No, perhaps it was natural.
The pinnacle of the Blandoga family's talent.
A genius deemed the greatest in the family's history, not to be judged by ordinary standards.
When it came to magic, his thought process was entirely different from a normal person's. Even looking at the same thing, where others saw one, he absorbed and understood dozens or hundreds.
The golem's defenses or durability were trivial before his innate magical insight and talent.
There were a few other promising gazes besides them.
Excluding Dalia and Damian, about two or three per class.
Having assessed that far, Professor Parun turned back to the students as a whole.
"Quiet."
The murmurs died instantly.
With the room silent, Parun continued his unfinished explanation.
"The golem acts as a gatekeeper of sorts. Paths are blocked at key points, and you must defeat the golem to proceed. But it's not without options."
As he finished, a new hologram appeared.
It was a bracelet.
"A test bracelet. It has protective power similar to your pitiful barriers. The moment this barrier breaks, you're considered failed. Assistant professor."
At Professor Parun's call, the assistant professor manipulated the hologram.
The bracelet's green-glowing gem soon lost its color.
A dull gray.
"As you see, a failed participant's bracelet loses its light. And this is the key to opening the gate without defeating the golem."
In other words.
"Defeat the golem and open the door."
Or...
"Eliminate a rival and move forward."
A brief silence followed his words.
But only briefly.
"...What do we do?"
"Wouldn't cooperating be better? If we team up, we might handle a golem."
"How can we trust the others? They could backstab and open the door."
"He said the failed bracelet is the key, so we could pretend to cooperate and wait for them to fail. Even if the golem takes them out, we get the bracelet."
It was a rule that invited all sorts of schemes.
The failed bracelet was the key, but there was no rule saying the one who caused the failure had to use it.
Pretend to cooperate, backstab and steal it, or even in genuine teamwork, snag a failed bracelet when one drops out and open the door.
Professor Parun quietly took in the scene.
'At this rate, we'll be testing all day.'
The Trial of the Spire performance evaluation lasted two hours at shortest, up to twelve at longest.
Of course, two and twelve were extreme cases.
When all students charged aggressively, or when they all played it safe.
From the looks of it, it wouldn't hit twelve, but six or seven hours seemed likely.
For Professor Parun, who had just delved back into Heavenly Origin Art research after over a year, it was precious time wasted.
"You all seem conflicted. Allow me to help."
All eyes focused on him.
What kind of help?
Curiosity filled every gaze, and soon Professor Parun spoke.
"Show me something impressive. Those who do will receive a personal reward from me. I guarantee it won't leave you wanting."
"..."
"By the way, the number isn't fixed. Could be one, five, or even more."
The students fell silent.
A reward that won't leave you wanting.
Vague. Whether it did or not was up to the recipient.
Quick-witted students don't bite on such vague rewards. But the same words can mean different things depending on who's saying them.
Coming from Parun, the mage who felled Karahen the Fire Demon of the Decullan family—it was an intriguing offer.
'Now we're getting somewhere.'
Professor Parun didn't hide his satisfaction at the shifting student gazes.
With eyes like that, they could wrap it up by late morning, even if two hours was a stretch. Maybe even aim for two.
With one condition added.
Professor Parun tacked on the thought that occurred to him.
"Oh, and 'impressive performance' isn't just about the results of the evaluation. For example... generating a lot of failures could be impressive too."
It was like pouring oil on a roaring fire.
Meanwhile...
'...Ha, we're screwed.'
The assistant professors under Professor Parun looked grim as death.
The Trial of the Spire evaluation gave full points for reaching the final gateway, but for failures, it focused on how far they advanced.
Defeating golems or causing failures earned points, but those were secondary.
In extreme terms, a student who advanced 100 meters would score higher than one who eliminated everyone alone.
Considering Professor Parun's statement and the scoring...
'The magic department's average might hit an all-time low.'
'We'll get chewed out by the other professors. Things are already tense with the martial department lately...'
Of course, the magic professors wouldn't berate Parun.
But those caught in the middle? Who knew.
'Hoo...'
'...Damn it.'
A truly bitter future.
* * *
After Professor Parun's explanation, an assistant professor came up to detail the rules.
How failures were evaluated, extra points, main criteria.
But none of it reached the students' ears.
'Impressive... impressive...'
'Making lots of failures counts too?'
'Let's do it! We can! We have to!'
Most academy students had no financial worries.
Professor Parun knew that too.
So a "non-disappointing reward" was likely something money couldn't easily buy.
That was the thinking of noble or merchant scions.
The true noble heirs were intrigued for slightly different reasons.
'Top ranks are expected, but...'
'We came bearing the family name—we can't lag behind.'
'A reward from the mage who beat Karahen? Wonder what it is...'
Family pride or pure curiosity.
Either way, the noble scions were fired up too.
Meanwhile.
Aster intently memorized the cross-section hologram with deeply focused eyes.
"..."
Students barely glanced at it, knowing they just needed to advance.
It was too complex to memorize, and starting points were unknown anyway.
Even if memorized somehow, without knowing your position, it'd be pointless.
But Aster stared at that cross-section piercingly.
* * *