NOVEL WEB Chapter 25: Comprehensive Examination (2)
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: N/A
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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“Please, become my disciple! I'll treat you very well!”
“I told you I'm not interested! Why are you like this?”
“I'll make you a master of water magic! We can achieve great things together, truly!”
“No thanks! Achieve greatness on your own!”
Having finally shaken off the persistent teacher who refused to move forward with the test, Eugene hurriedly left the water magic practice field.
“Ugh, I’m running out of time.”
He immediately headed to the fire magic practice field.
He had to arrive at least 30 minutes before the exam to avoid a penalty.
Fortunately, he made it 32 minutes before the start.
Upon entering the practice field, a student teacher assisting with the exams approached him.
“You're Eugene von Lennon, right?”
“Yes, that's me.”
“You arrived just in time. There are three students ahead of you. Please wait.”
“Understood.”
Eugene walked over to where the students were gathered, watching the ongoing exams.
Their faces shone with excitement, illuminated by the bursts of fire magic in the arena.
Among those shining faces, a particularly girl caught his eye.
It was Tina.
“The teachers really don’t hold back.”
Her golden hair shimmered, catching the fiery glow.
Even among the crowd, she stood out with her uniquely gold-colored hair.
“Hm?”
Her ruby-red eyes shifted and landed on Eugene as he approached.
She walked over.
“Are you here for the exam?”
“Yeah. You too?”
Tina nodded.
“Yeah, but I came early out of boredom. I have to wait for about five more students before it's my turn.”
“I see.”
Eugene then turned his attention back to the arena.
Leaning slightly towards Eugene, Tina asked,
“How many students are ahead of you?”
“Three.”
“Really? So you’ll go before me?”
“Yeah.”
A brief silence followed before Tina spoke up again.
“Confident about the exam?”
“So-so. You?”
As if she'd been waiting for that question, Tina's eyes lit up.
“Of course, I am! My skills have improved a lot recently.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. My mana has significantly increased, and I've broken through the Five-Star barrier. So, after your exam, don’t leave right away. Stay and watch mine, okay?”
“Um…”
Did he have time to watch Tina’s match?
The fire magic exam was at 3 PM and the wind magic exam at 6:30 PM. That left a gap of 3 hours and 30 minutes.
‘There's plenty of time. It shouldn't be an issue.’
She had helped him with the written exam; he could at least watch her match.
“Alright, I'll stay and watch.”
“Promise?”
Tina smiled brightly and then turned away.
‘Why is she...’
‘Why on Earth is Tina...’
The male students sighed, holding their faces in disbelief.
They couldn’t understand Tina's behavior towards Eugene.
“Amy von Bella, 60 points. Please record it.”
“Yes, teacher!”
The exam continued, and soon it was the turn of the student just before Eugene.
“Next student, step forward.”
The female teacher beckoned Eugene forward, and he promptly made his way into the duel arena.
“Ah, Eugene von Lennon, I presume?”
“Looking forward to learning from you,”
He said, offering a courteous nod of respect before the assessment.
Her lips curled into a faint smile.
“There's no need for false modesty. I'm already quite aware of your capabilities.”
She had supervised Eugene's fire magic training sessions multiple times before and was familiar with his exceptional talent.
With a serious expression, she gripped her staff firmly.
“Unlike the others, I won't be holding back.”
“That seems a bit unfair.”
“The exam is difficult, but even a moderate performance from you will earn full marks. Please understand."
She asserted, showing no intention of making it easy for him.
Facing a prodigy like Eugene without being serious could quickly turn the tables against her.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Eugene replied, a hint of resignation in his voice.
Without a moment's delay, she unleashed her magic.
“Explosion!”
Boom!
A fiery explosion erupted around her, quickly encircling Eugene.
‘She's really going all out.’
If he was caught in that, it wouldn't just be a minor inconvenience.
Quickly infusing his legs with mana, he dodged to safety.
Boom!
The spot where Eugene had stood moments ago was now consumed by the fiery explosion, with a thick haze covering half the arena.
Using the smoky veil to his advantage, Eugene channeled his magic, forming a ‘Fire Spear’ in his grasp.
He enhanced the strength of his arm and, with a perfect stance, hurled the spear of flames towards the teacher.
Whoosh!
From within the ash-grey haze, the flaming spear shot towards the teacher with blinding speed.
Any regular student would have been paralyzed by fear, facing defeat from such a move.
However, the teacher had a counter ready.
“Fire Shield!”
A six-star spell, ‘Fire Shield’.
It was magic that formed a protective barrier of flames around the caster.
Crash!
Eugene's fiery spear clashed against the shield, resulting in a massive burst of flames.
But, the spear couldn’t penetrate the barrier.
“Is that all you've got?”
Hidden within the dense smoke, Eugene let out a sigh.
Honestly, it felt like the end.
‘If only I had a sword.’
Breaking through that barrier without a sword seemed impossible.
Had he been allowed to use lightning-element magic, maybe he could have found a way.
But this was a duel restricted to fire magic; other elemental magic was prohibited.
‘Fire doesn’t even have a spell to create swords...’
Which was why it wasn't his favorite attribute.
‘Considering my grades, I can't just give up now.’
While he had managed to dodge the teacher's attacks and even counter-attack with his own four-star magic, which guaranteed a high score, he wasn't satisfied with just that.
‘I have to try as much as I can.’
Eugene once again conjured the Fire Spear in his hand.
However, instead of throwing it this time, he grasped it firmly and plunged it into the ground.
'If I can't use swordsmanship...'
Then I must resort to spearmanship!
Although I've never swung a spear before, my talent will guide me.
When Eugene approached the female teacher, he let his instincts and body take over.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
An incredibly swift series of strikes attacked the teacher's protective barrier.
Explosions sparked and blazed every time his spear of flame clashed with the shield.
"Your effort is truly admirable."
The female teacher unleashed offensive magic.
Dozens of fireballs emerged from thin air, hurtling toward Eugene.
The trajectory of each fireball was designed to trap him, making evasion seemingly impossible.
However.
Boom! Whiz!
Eugene skillfully dodged the ones he could and parried the others with his spear.
He did not let a single attack hit him while continuously piercing her defensive barrier.
The female teacher was left in utter disbelief.
'Incredible movement...'
She couldn't understand why Eugene, talented in fire magic, wasn't pouring all his energy into it.
But witnessing this clarified things for her.
The boy could surely succeed in magic, but he has the potential to excel far more in other areas.
As she pondered this, she noticed something.
CRACK!
Her fiery barrier was showing signs of fracture.
'What is this...?'
Superior fire magic naturally holds an overwhelming advantage.
The flaming spear Eugene wielded was a four-star spell, while her fiery barrier was a six-star spell.
The gap in their hierarchy, realistically, shouldn't be bridged.
'But why is there a crack...?'
The female teacher stared at her barrier, stunned.
Upon closer inspection, around the main crack were nearly a hundred smaller fissures.
It looked as if countless precise stabs had been aimed to create that singular, prominent fracture.
The realization was hard to swallow, but it was irrefutable.
The evidence was right before her eyes.
Eugene, while avoiding her fireballs, had aimed and succeeded in creating a hundred precise stabs on a singular spot on her barrier.
Considering the complexity of such a feat, it seemed impossible.
'How sharp must his battle instincts be...?'
Her heart sank at the enormity of Eugene's talent.
If they were of the same age, she might have been overwhelmed in mere moments.
CRACKLE, CRACKLE!
The fissures in the barrier grew more pronounced.
It felt like the entire thing was about to shatter.
But the teacher seemed to have lost interest.
She raised her hand.
"The test ends here."
"Huh?"
Eugene, who was ardently trying to break the barrier, looked up, puzzled.
"By managing to inflict such damage on my barrier, you've far surpassed the level of a first-year. You've scored perfectly. Overwhelmingly so..."
"In that case, I'll record it as a perfect score!"
The student teacher marked the score on the paperwork.
Eugene bowed his head, his face flush with a mix of relief and surprise.
"I've learned well."
At the end of the day, getting a perfect score was all that mattered.
He was about to leave the practice field when he remembered.
'Ah.'
He had promised to watch Tina's exam.
Eugene turned back towards where Tina and the other students were gathered.
“...You saw that, right?”
“It's not like I'm blind… I saw everything.”
The male students who were glaring at Eugene moments before now avoided his gaze.
They knew Eugene was talented in magic from their practical lessons, but after witnessing today's test, they couldn't deny his incredible abilities.
'I thought he was just obsessed with girls...'
'Who would've thought he had such talent in fire magic...'
Admitting someone was better was a hard pill to swallow.
They might speak ill of him behind his back, but they had to restrain themselves in his presence.
“He really is amazing.”
Unlike the other students, Tina, who was aware of Eugene's exceptional talent, approached him with sparkling eyes.
The other students probably now recognized Eugene's talent.
Of course, they didn't fully grasp the extent of it, likely thinking Eugene had secretly practiced fire magic extensively.
But Tina knew better.
She was aware that Eugene had not practiced fire magic at all.
'It’s just pure talent.'
The magic proficiency and combat sense Eugene demonstrated in the exam seemed almost divine, purely based on raw talent.
'He's ridiculously talented.'
Despite recognizing his talent, Tina smirked.
She had always claimed her talent was at par or even superior to the best, but reality seemed different.
'But I won't lose.'
She had no intention of lagging behind or being surpassed.
Even if there was a difference in their innate talents, Eugene hadn't dedicated time to fire magic.
On the other hand, Tina had poured more than half her personal training time into mastering and researching fire magic.
In the realm of fire magic, she was determined to become the greatest mage of all.
'It's time to prove that now.'
Soon enough, the exam of the student after Eugene finished, and the female teacher called out Tina's name.
“Yup!”
Tina energetically raised her hand to acknowledge the call, then approached Eugene.
"Eugene!"
"Hm?"
"Make sure you watch my test closely, okay?"
"...Alright."
With those words, Tina confidently turned and entered the dueling area.
Eugene, unsure why she was acting this way, could only offer an awkward smile.
"Tina von Elia."
"I'm eager to learn, teacher!"
Seeing the brightly smiling Tina, the female teacher tried to reciprocate with a genuine smile of her own.
'It's the turn of the top fire magic student of the first year…'
She needed to be even more sincere because Tina had skills that were arguably superior to Eugene's.
“I won't hold back against you, Tina.”
"Understood!"
Was that recognition of her skills?
With a grin, Tina readied her staff.
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