Chapter 54
Chapter 54
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Distortion Field Test
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"……Ralph?"
The man who appeared alongside the announcement of being the special examiner for the fourth exam was Ralph, a familiar face even to Jeon.
Unlike before, he was dressed in a pristine white robe and walked slowly into the room.
"I am Ralph Clakdale, in charge of the fourth exam."
With that, he glanced at the participants and gave a brief self-introduction in his usual tone.
"No way, it's Ralph?"
"……I was hoping to have a meal with him if I placed in the top three."
"A big shot has arrived."
But as soon as he appeared and finished introducing himself, the other participants around them began to buzz with excitement all at once.
'Is he famous?'
Jeon only knew his name and face.
But the other participants seemed to have even more information about him.
They exchanged what they knew in small groups.
"He's only twenty-five, and he's already reached the 5th Circle. That's a big deal."
"They say he was exceptional even as a child. A genius, a true genius."
"Calling him a genius doesn't even do it justice. From the 4th Circle onward, it's all about enlightenment."
"He's blessed by mana itself. There are even rumors he's being eyed as the next Mage Tower Lord."
And from overhearing their conversation...
'……He's an incredible person, huh?'
Jeon had thought he was just some mage with a quirky way of speaking whom he'd met at a café.
But no—he was a once-in-a-generation genius mage who had reached the 5th Circle at just twenty-five.
'Gildard said he didn't reach the 5th Circle until he was over forty.'
Even though Gildard didn't specialize in magic.
The highest-ranking mage in the Silvermont Family had only achieved the 5th Circle after well passing forty.
For someone that young to have reached it was beyond what the word "genius" could describe.
'No wonder everyone's making a fuss.'
After eavesdropping on the explanations around him, Jeon finally understood why the atmosphere had stirred just from his appearance.
"Then I'll explain the fourth exam."
Once the buzzing from his entrance had died down a bit, Ralph began briefing them on the fourth exam he was overseeing.
"This fourth exam will be conducted using an artifact I personally developed."
As he spoke, he smoothly raised both arms.
On each wrist was a circular bracelet of similar design—clearly no ordinary item at a glance.
"The test is simple. Apply some kind of impact to the distortion field created by this artifact."
With that, Ralph infused mana into the bracelets. They floated up from his wrists, overlapping halfway in front of him.
Woooong!
From the front, the two bracelets, now half-overlapped in an infinity shape, began to vibrate and formed a hemispherical, translucent barrier around Ralph.
"Each participant will get five attempts."
He gave a quick demonstration, then withdrew his mana. The bracelets returned to his wrists as if nothing had happened.
"The exam will proceed in order of your numbers, in a separate space to ensure no advantage from order. The rest of you wait here."
Once Ralph finished, another examiner continued with the remaining instructions.
But the participants weren't listening to the other examiner anymore.
"What the hell is that?"
"A mana shield?"
"He said to apply an impact, though. So it's not a regular shield?"
"Maybe even a scratch would be hard with average spells?"
They were too busy chattering about the effect of the artifact Ralph had shown.
And Jeon was no different.
'Distortion field, huh? What the heck is it?'
Jeon had made artifacts himself.
But what Ralph had shown was several levels beyond anything Jeon had created.
'It wouldn't pale compared to that red artifact Teynon made.'
Speaking of which.
On the way to the White Mage Tower, Jeon had studied two things most diligently.
One was the magic from the goblin magic book, and the other was artifacts.
To Jeon, the artifact Ralph demonstrated was a completely new stimulus.
'I want to test it right now.'
He wanted to experience firsthand what functions that artifact had, even if under the pretext of the fourth exam.
But since his number was quite late among the remaining participants, Jeon could only sit quietly and wait.
'If I could just grab someone who's already tested and ask...'
Unfortunately, to ensure fairness, no one waiting could approach or speak to those who had taken the test.
The only thing he could check was...
"……That guy's expression doesn't look good either."
Observing the faces of those returning from the test.
But they all came back looking dejected or grim-faced, so it wasn't much help.
Yet those very expressions piqued Jeon's curiosity.
A bad expression meant they hadn't gotten the result they wanted—which implied Ralph's artifact had impressive performance.
'I hope my turn comes soon.'
How long had he waited, yearning for his turn?
"Participant 121, proceed to the test."
Finally, it was his turn.
"Good work."
Ralph withdrew the distortion field and offered a word of encouragement to the participant standing before him.
But the participant's expression wasn't great.
"What the hell is that thing?"
"What do you mean?"
"Has anyone else who's taken the test so far gotten a different result from mine?"
Ralph shook his head at the participant's probing question.
"No."
"Then what's the point of this exam? How does it differentiate anyone?"
At first glance, it might seem rude, but Ralph understood his frustration.
"I used 3rd Circle magic—even my family's secret arts. And I still got the same result. How is this supposed to differentiate?"
Participant 117, who had just finished, was the heir to a renowned magic family.
He had come aiming not just to pass but to place in the top three, and he'd given his all in the fourth exam too.
"That distortion field from your artifact—isn't it something only 4th Circle mages, or ones like you at 5th Circle and above, could breach?"
Though many mages challenged the Mage Tower qualification exam.
Most were 3rd Circle or below.
From 4th Circle on, a mage's value skyrocketed, so they rarely took the standard exam; entry was often negotiated instead.
Yet even this top-tier participant, using 3rd Circle and family secrets, couldn't land any impact on Ralph's artifact's distortion field.
So participant 117, confident in his peak skills among testers, questioned the exam's purpose amid the futility.
"It's not like that. The exam has its own criteria for differentiation, so don't be discouraged by the visible results alone."
Ralph empathized fully, so instead of rebuking him, he listened and added further explanation.
"……I hope we can learn how the evaluation works, even after the exam ends."
"If possible, I'll make it public."
With that, participant 117 turned and left the room.
"What a shame."
Ralph muttered softly, watching him go.
The distortion field he created was impressive, but it wasn't a completed artifact yet.
'Hoping they'd gain even a small enlightenment was too much.'
Due to Ralph's own lack of enlightenment, the magic had clear flaws.
He'd hoped participants pondering those flaws might gain insight.
'……Guess it was impossible.'
Most participants didn't probe the distortion field's structure; they just saw it as a tough shield and blasted spells at it.
"Hello."
But seeing the next participant enter, Ralph paused his pessimistic thoughts.
"Fancy meeting like this."
"Yeah. I didn't expect to see you here either."
The next participant was Jeon.
"I had no idea you were a White Mage Tower mage."
"Same here. I knew you'd take the exam, but not that you'd score this well."
Before starting the fourth exam, Ralph had checked Jeon's scores from the first through third rounds.
They were overwhelmingly top among participants.
He'd thought Jeon was a talented boy, but not this talented.
Just as Jeon had been shocked learning about Ralph, Ralph had been shocked by Jeon's scores.
"Then let's begin the exam."
Woooong!
After a brief greeting, Ralph activated the two bracelets on his arms.
A hemispherical translucent barrier enveloped him, just as before.
'Definitely not a normal shield.'
Mana-based shield spells existed from 2nd Circle.
But Ralph's barrier was entirely different from standard ones.
For one, its surface constantly rippled as if some flow coursed through it.
'Alright, first...'
Figuring out its function came first.
Jeon conjured a 3rd Circle fire spell and shot it at Ralph.
Normally, it would explode on impact.
Woooong!
But the fire spell slid along the barrier's shape without exploding, then ricocheted off in a random direction.
"Whoa."
He'd expected it wouldn't be ordinary.
But not this kind of function.
'No impact transmitted at all.'
As Ralph had said before the exam.
Simple spells couldn't impact the distortion field.
The spell just followed the flow and got deflected.
Confirming the distortion field's far-more-amazing-than-expected performance sparked tons of test ideas for Jeon.
'I really want to try all sorts of things.'
Like brute-forcing with max power, or using gray magic to evaporate mana briefly.
Or seeing what happens if silver clashes with it.
But Jeon set aside his curiosity for now.
'If it could be solved that way, it wouldn't be the fourth exam.'
Jeon's spells were all special.
If they alone could impact it, it wouldn't be here.
So he focused on the distortion field's core trait.
'It generates a strong mana flow in a space to deflect or bounce everything that touches it.'
After just one spell against it.
Jeon had grasped its nature.
It wasn't particularly hard.
Prior participants had figured it out by their second or third try, if not first.
The issue was how to counter it.
'It's impressive magic, sure.'
But if you couldn't shatter the mana flow with impact.
As long as enough mana sustained the flow, the distortion field held.
It produced superior effects with mere shield-level efficiency.
Still, Jeon sensed something incomplete about it.
'Feels like the magic that goblin mage used at the end.'
The goblin mage from Queta Village.
His final all-out black mana spell dominating space.
Impressive and eye-opening for Jeon, but incomplete.
He felt the same seeing Ralph's distortion field.
"Alright."
Sorting his thoughts, Jeon conjured a spell in his hand.
Nothing special.
It was Mana Arrow, a 1st Circle spell he'd used in the third exam.
The difference? He poured utmost care into this single 1st Circle spell.
He meticulously crafted every casting step, concentrating maximum mana into a razor-sharp Mana Arrow.
Especially the arrowhead brimmed with mana, glowing vividly brighter than the rest—a 1st Circle spell brimming with dedication.
"Here goes."
Peeew!
The lovingly crafted Mana Arrow shot toward the distortion field.
A 3rd Circle spell had been deflected, so it shouldn't have harmed it.
Zzzzzzt!
But on collision, the Mana Arrow briefly resisted the flow, clashing sharply enough to ripple the surface.
"……Impressive."
Achieving impact on the distortion field in just two tries.
Ralph muttered in uncharacteristic surprise at Jeon, who had exceeded his expectations far easier than thought.
'Not only did he perfectly grasp the distortion field's nature, he fully understood the principle behind deploying it.'
Even with care, for a mere 1st Circle spell to impact it?
Ralph knew his incomplete distortion field's flaws, but never imagined a 1st Circle spell exposing them.
'Does he understand mana-space relations?'
Ralph's distortion field wasn't just deflecting via mana flow.
The key was mana permeating and flowing through the space itself.
Thus, smashing it with bigger, stronger spells widened contact area, failing against the overall flow.
But like Jeon just did.
Targeting a single point and the occupying mana allowed impact with less power.
'He pinpointed and executed the flaw I sensed.'
He'd precisely struck what Ralph felt was unfinished.
"Ah, it's tougher than I thought."
But Jeon scratched his head, disappointed it wasn't quite the result he'd hoped for.
"Well, that ends the exam, then..."
"I still have three tries left, right?"
"……Huh?"
He hadn't used all five, but Jeon met the condition.
Ralph planned to end it, but Jeon apparently didn't.
"Feels like I'm this close to getting it. Would be perfect if it clicks within three."
"Uh, well, then... sure..."
"Yeah, here goes."
And so three more spells flew at the mildly flustered Ralph.
"Yes!"
Within those three tries.
Jeon finally succeeded in completely neutralizing Ralph's distortion field.