Inside the airship heading for the Training Island.
Betan muttered bluntly.
“Still, that fellow didn’t eat it to the very end. The soup.”
“Don’t obsess over it. It’s not a foolproof method.”
“……Yes. Well, that’s true, but. I should have eaten it instead. What a waste, only spilling it like that.”
When a Red Demon consumes an appropriate amount of Rotaili, one blossom’s worth (40g), their breathing grows rough and their face turns quite red. Of course, in the case of mixed blood—that is, if the Red Demon blood runs thin—the extent of the change is slight, so it cannot be called a perfectly certain method of identification.
And Rotaili, a delicacy far more expensive than the same weight in gold, with demand overwhelmingly outstripping supply, could not be recklessly used merely to distinguish the likes of Red Demons.
Of course, if Primienne had eaten it, the signs would have been clear. As an important named character, she had been born with thick Red Demon blood.
“Betan, I heard you opened the heart to confirm it.”
“Ah~ that is inefficient, because it can’t be confirmed until after killing them. One must know whether they are a Red Demon before killing them in order to torture them, you see. But then again, one cannot feed precious Rotaili to insect-like things, so these days I have been devoting myself to developing blood magic.”
Betan smiled bashfully. I averted my gaze from that smile.
It was disgusting.
[ Villain’s Fate: Death Variable Suppressed ]
◆ Shop Currency +1
I did not know what action Primienne might have taken if Betan’s provocation had continued, but in any case, thanks to it, I earned shop currency.
It was the price for suppressing the death variable Primienne had harbored for a brief moment.
In truth, I had been conflicted.
Whether to tell Primienne, “I already know you are a Red Demon,” or to leave her like this for a little longer.
It was because, someday, her cooperation would absolutely be necessary, but it still seemed too early, so I altered my course.
“By the way, Rotaili truly was delicious. As expected of a treasure of the mountains.”
Betan smacked his lips as though recalling the soup. He must have been greatly satisfied, for his eyes were dazed.
“The Yukline territory is truly fertile. To make Rotaili into soup and eat it.”
A kind of mushroom, yet never something that could be placed in the same category as other mushrooms; a food close to an elixir. A delicacy that grew only in blessed nature where difficult environmental conditions were met.
These days, with Marik opened, there were signs its price would soar even higher. For detoxifying demonic energy, there was nothing quite like Rotaili.
“Perhaps because it was a special menu…… Sluurp. Its fragrance still lingers in my mouth.”
“In summer, go there anytime and give my name. Winter will be difficult since there is so little supply, but in summer, you should be able to eat plenty.”
At that, Betan’s face filled with emotion.
* * *
By the time we arrived at the Training Island by airship, it was already morning, and the day of my schedule was no longer a single day.
I had gone to the Imperial Palace, gone to Hadecaine, returned to the Floating Island, then taken an airship to the final destination, the Training Island.
Even with 「Iron Man」, the mental fatigue was not insignificant.
“Oh?! You’re here!”
As soon as I got off the airship, the Chairwoman greeted me.
“Our seventh strongest!”
“…….”
Hearing those words made me feel a little dizzy.
The Chairwoman had been walking with a puppy along the shore, and when she saw Betan beside me, her eyes widened.
“You came with Betan!”
“Haha. It is always an honor to be with the Professor.”
Betan was gradually becoming burdensome.
“More importantly, Professor Deculein! Do you know?!”
“Know what?”
“One of the proctors died on the way here!”
“…….”
The way she delivered such serious news so brightly was somehow chilling.
I shook my head and walked alongside the Chairwoman. Betan followed three steps behind.
“You’re not surprised!”
“The cause of death and the culprit?”
“Who knows! We haven’t investigated yet! I’ll tell you when the results come out later!”
As befitted a lover of gossip, she had interest in all manner of things and liked to talk. If I simply waited quietly, she would lay out the information on her own.
“I see. But where is my lodging?”
Because I had been buried in arduous work, I had not been able to do the most important thing: magic training.
Since I felt that I would soon reach the very edge of 「Intermediate Telekinesis」, I needed a place to train alone.
“Ah! Follow me!”
The Training Island’s area was 3㎢. Roughly similar to Yeouido, as people often say, and about as wide as 300 soccer fields joined together.
As it was rather spacious, there were a total of five buildings on the island. Respectively, the examinees’ dormitory, the proctors’ lodging, the control tower, the supply depot, and the Yukline Grand Auditorium.
Among them, I was guided to the “control tower.” It was a place rising like a lighthouse at the northeastern end of the Training Island.
“You can use this place!”
The Chairwoman opened the door.
The interior of the control tower was ordinary. The interior had been arranged like a high-class mansion, and perhaps because it had been thoroughly cleaned in advance, it did not grate on my nerves.
“And this!”
The Chairwoman handed me a crystal orb.
“The external security team will keep watching the exam situation! If anything special happens, they’ll contact you!”
Then she dashed over and pointed at the full-length glass on the right side of the control tower.
“This is a magic mirror exclusively for the person in overall charge. Do you perhaps know how to use it?!”
I approached the full-length glass. When I infused a little mana into it, the scenery reflected in the window changed. It was the Training Island seen from above, as though looking down from a satellite.
I touched a point on the Training Island with my finger. It was the “examinees’ dormitory.”
Then the full-length glass showed that location.
I placed my palm on the window and swept it sideways. The scenery moved in that direction. Like a modern road view.
“Oho! You use it well! This is the absolute cutting edge of the latest magitech these days?!”
“…….”
To me, it was a method of use as familiar as breathing.
It was also somewhat nostalgic.
A world held in one hand, the smartphone.
“Then you don’t need an explanation! I’ll go back to walking with Adrienne II!”
“Do so.”
—Woof! Woof!
Adrienne set off on an adventure with Adrienne II.
I looked around here and there through the magic window.
On the dormitory’s athletic field, mages who had once been adventurers were playing soccer, and in the cafeteria, Epherene was eating with some named character.
Among them, I discovered several “persons of interest.”
“……As expected.”
There were many loaches in the first Solda exam. No, from now on, the Altar’s or the underworld’s interference in every event on the continent would only grow worse.
“How fascinating. As expected, it seems every magical technology gathers on the Floating Island. And Professor, to understand something so mysterious at a glance. Amazing.”
Betan’s long praise suddenly came from beside me.
“……Betan.”
That bastard still had not left.
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you go rest comfortably now?”
“Ah~ yes. Understood. Then I shall take my leave. Please rest well too, Professor.”
Fortunately, he was not entirely without tact.
Betan soon left, and after looking around through the window, I went up to the roof of the control tower.
Whoooooosh—
A raging gust of wind.
To the right were sheer cliffs and clouds, and to the left was the scenery of the Training Island. The mana permeating nature was two to three times purer and more abundant than on the continent’s surface.
In this place with an unobstructed view, I sat cross-legged.
After that, I deployed the magic 「Memorize」.
◆ Memorize Status
: Elementary-Intermediate Telekinesis (49%)
┏ Elementary-Intermediate Firepower Control (23%)
┣ Elementary-Intermediate Fluid Manipulation (18%)
┗ Metal Reinforcement (Progress 80%)
The act of engraving the magic circle called 「Telekinesis」 upon one’s entire body.
As soon as I began that training of hardship and self-denial, the grass, stones, branches, fallen leaves, dirt, and sand in the area trembled noisily.
Doooooong───!
Resonance and vibration arose from every direction. The ground shook faintly, and a whirlwind rose. A magnetic field formed momentarily, and the atmosphere warped like a heat haze.
As the 「Telekinesis」 in my body slowly rose to intermediate rank, the magic that had become far too enormous and complex was releasing itself……
……
Far away from the control tower. Karixel, spying on him through a telescope, let out a faint sigh.
“He seems strong enough.”
“Really? For real?”
Someone answered his complaint.
“Yeah. I don’t know what he’s trying to do, but it almost looks like he’s trying to rip the ground apart with 「Telekinesis」.”
“Let me see too.”
“Look.”
Karixel handed over the telescope and shrugged.
Because Karixel’s magical talent was related to “equipment,” his telescope could clearly look at areas dozens of kilometers away.
“That’s 「Telekinesis」? Not 「Earthquake」?”
“Yeah. Anyway, attempting to assassinate that professor is absolutely impossible. It’s obvious it would fail, and if it failed, the situation would only worsen instead. Even if it succeeded, naturally, nothing good would come of it. You admit that, right?”
“……I admit it. I thought he was all foam, but he wasn’t that big of a bubble.”
Someone nodded, long hair fluttering, and Karixel retrieved the telescope.
……
In the middle of my self-denial training.
At the notification that appeared, I tilted my head.
[ Villain’s Fate: Death Variable Avoided. ]
◆ Shop Currency +1
“……Hm?”
Apparently, there had been someone in here aiming for me.
I was slightly flustered, but whatever the case, avoiding it was a good thing.
I accepted it gratefully and focused on training.
* * *
The next day.
As soon as morning came, advisory mages from various families, professors, adventurer captains, mages belonging to trading companies and corporations, and so on arrived at the Training Island one after another.
Their purposes were scouting and networking.
All of them gathered on the eastern side of the Training Island, at the “Yukline Grand Auditorium.” As could be understood from the name, it was an auditorium built through Yukline’s donation.
This auditorium was divided into the first floor and the upper-level viewing seats.
On the first floor, roughly 1,000 exam participants were scheduled to arrive soon, and the viewing seats were for those related parties who intended to scout them.
“Everyone, please take your assigned seats.”
I sat in the seat designated for Deculein. It was a first-class seat from which the auditorium could be seen clearly through the full-length glass.
“Professor. Good morning. Hahaha.”
Betan, attending as representative of the Beorad family. Mille, the representative mage of the 「Krumacto」 trading company. Luina, the representative of McQueen, Essensil, representative of the Bran family, and so on……
“Everyone, please receive this acrylic board.”
A staff member handed out acrylic boards on which the mages’ names were recorded. Perhaps they had been lined up in order of grades, for first place on the first page was Sylvia.
My feelings were not entirely comfortable upon seeing her name.
At that moment.
“……Goodness, Deculein. Aren’t you our seventh strongest?”
Giletheon, the representative of Iliade.
He sat in the seat beside me. I calmly received his greeting.
“It has been a while, Giletheon.”
In an instant, the atmosphere cooled.
The Chairwoman, who had been watching us, popped up her “gossip antenna” and intervened.
“Giletheon! Giletheon was the tenth strongest! You got overtaken by Deculein! By three ranks!”
“Haha. So it seems. It is a little regrettable, but in truth, it is only natural. I am aging, and Deculein is growing.”
“Still, shouldn’t you fight at least once?!”
“Mm. That would not be bad either. These days, perhaps because I do not step onto the front lines, it seems people look down on me too much.”
“That’s right, that’s right! Right, right!”
The Chairwoman was extremely excited as she tried to set up a fight. Giletheon smiled brightly.
“Ha! At your old age, could you even dare challenge the Professor?”
That was not me. It was Betan, who at some point had become my confidant.
Giletheon looked at him with slightly dazed eyes.
“Ha…… Well now. When did the two of you become so close?”
“Right! Why don’t you two just show those children a magical duel?! To crush their spirits while you’re at it!”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
A familiar voice restrained the Chairwoman.
It was Luina von Schlot McQueen.
The Chairwoman glared.
“And who are you!”
“I’m asking what good comes from crushing the spirits of children about to take an exam. And since when did we rank mages only by combat power? If that’s how it is, why not tell everyone except destruction-type mages to leave? Both Patriarch Giletheon and Professor Deculein are actually ranked lower than Mage Rosério here.”
“Mm? Huhuhu. I was watchin’ with interest, so why all of a sudden? Huhuhu.”
Rosério scratched her pink hair and smiled bitterly.
As I said before, she was a genius of the “alchemy and support” line. The reason she had reached Aether rank in her mid-twenties was thanks to the mythical anecdote of having constructed a castle of tens of thousands of pyeong in only a single day.
“What a shame. I wanted to cross blades with the seventh strongest. Who knows? They say a fine fish is still a fine fish even when rotten—this old man might win. No, I think I would.”
Gilteon’s words grated on my nerves.
Of course, if we actually fought, I would be the one at a disadvantage.
But my ego was not one that could simply laugh off a provocation like this.
“Gilteon.”
I glared at him. Unconscious anger seeped out through my words.
“Keep that up, and you’ll die.”
“Mm~ That wouldn’t be so bad either.”
Gilteon smiled, the Chairwoman and Betan watched with interest, going, Ooh! while Luina let out a sigh.
“······.”
But Gilteon’s face bothered me.
It was the expression of someone who genuinely wished for his own death.
“······That’s enough, Deculein. You too, Gilteon. The exam will begin soon.”
Gindalf, the eldest among us, stopped us solemnly. Without a word, I looked out through the full-length glass at the mages gathering in the auditorium.
The Solda promotion exam was quite a major event. Not only mages but adventurers participated as well, and given the nature of the Floating Island, which did not distinguish between criminals, ex-convicts, or anyone else as long as they had once been a mage of the Magic Tower, no one knew what kind of unexpected incident might occur.
“Everyone, please look at the acrylic panels we handed out. The candidates’ personal information and specs are recorded there, you see? Please check the person you find most noteworthy. It’s part of the exam, so we ask for your cooperation······.”
The mage continued earnestly.
“I’ll say it again. The candidates’ personal information and specs are recorded on the acrylic panels. Please check the person you find most noteworthy. It’s part of the exam, so please······”
I checked Epherene, Sylvia, and a few other familiar names.
*
Epherene sat in her seat and looked around the auditorium. There were an enormous number of people.
Well, from Solda onward, one could truly be called an “adult mage.” There were many adventurers who wanted the Solda label, and there were even mages who were already Solda but had come to retake the exam.
They said that doing well on the Solda exam to the very end would make later rank promotions easier, too.
“Good to see you all!”
Just then, a clear, ringing voice echoed from the stage.
Adrienne, the Chairwoman of the Imperial University Magic Tower. Famous for her mana capacity as vast as the ocean and her overwhelming destructive power, she was smiling brightly like a child.
“We will now begin the Solda promotion exam! Over there, can you see the viewing seats?!”
Everyone raised their heads and looked up. Beyond the full-length glass were many people dressed in luxurious clothing.
Among them, the one who stood out the most was, of course, Deculein.
“There are many people who came to see your faces. Of course, some of you may already belong to adventure parties, but it’s better to make a good impression, isn’t it?!”
The Chairwoman threw both hands into the air. It was a hurrah pose.
“Those people will be watching you during this exam! They won’t be stalking you throughout the entire exam period, but if you work hard and make yourselves look good, it will be a tremendous help to your future careers! Every one of them is someone with real influence in the magical world!”
Bang, bang, bang—
The Chairwoman struck the lectern three times.
“Now then, we’ll begin the Solda exam in earnest! But no matter how I think about it, a thousand people is far too many! We’ll need to reduce the numbers a little!”
Then she closed her eyes.
Mana soon bloomed from her entire body. Her entire flesh transformed into a single mass of mana.
“──.”
A very small murmur.
Fwaaaaaa—!
Immediately after, mana spread like a wave and engulfed the entire auditorium, and a blinding mass of light flared up.
“Ugh.”
“Everyone! The first exam begins now!”
When everyone who had closed their eyes opened them at the Chairwoman’s words.
“······Holy shit.”
Epherene cursed without realizing it.
The place where she stood was not the auditorium, but a forest, and what Adrienne had just manifested was 「Great Magic: Mass Teleportation」.
They said the Archmage Demakan had manifested Giant Magic alone, but Adrienne had somehow reached the very threshold of that realm.
“Where is this······?”
A grassy thicket thick with pure white fog.
Epherene narrowed her brow and swept her gaze around. Around 100 to 200 examinees were bewildered, just like her.
She had said a thousand was too many, so had she divided them into groups of about twenty percent and sent them elsewhere?
“Nice to meet you.”
Then a boy’s voice rang out. Epherene flinched in surprise.
A short man was buried in the middle of the fog.
“I am the proctor of the Solda exam, ‘Mimic.’”
Mimic. It was a curious name. He was dressed in an ordinary robe with a crossbody bag, but he was extremely short.
Was he even 140 cm?
“The Solda promotion exam evaluates your abilities, aptitude, and refinement as mages. Practical abilities beyond those of the academy and university, that is.”
Waaah~!
A sound of admiration came from somewhere. Epherene looked that way. A woman whose face was almost entirely covered by a beret and mask had her eyes sparkling.
“First, the first exam is simple.”
Mimic took a map out of his crossbody bag.
At first, it was clearly only one sheet, but then it multiplied into hundreds and flew toward the examinees.
“You need only reach the objective of the second exam. The means and methods do not matter.”
Epherene looked at the map. It was an ordinary map with several circles marked on it.
The problem was that she did not know her current location.
“The marked objective is not just one. There are nine in total. Now, please depart.”
Having said that, Mimic vanished into the fog.
“Miss Epherene!”
“Gah! Ah, seriously. You scared me.”
Epherene glared at Carixel, who had suddenly appeared behind her.
“Haha, my apologies. Shall we go together?”
“······Together?”
Epherene examined her surroundings again.
No matter how she looked, Sylvia was nowhere to be seen. She must have been moved to a different place from her.
“Fine, sure.”
“Excuse me~ Over here~ If it’s all right! May I go with you too~?”
A clear, languid voice reached them belatedly. Epherene glanced at her with somewhat suspicious eyes.
“Who are you? Please give us your self-PR.”
“Ah, um, I’m······ I’m Meiho! I haven’t been learning magic for very long, but luckily, I was able to take the promotion exam!”
“Where are you from?”
“Yu, Yuren—no, the Kingdom of Leoc~”
“······Is it Yuren or Leoc?”
“The Kingdom of Leoc~”
She smiled bashfully.
Epherene crossed her arms and pondered, but soon nodded.
“Fine. Let’s go together. I’m Epherene. This is Carixel.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Ah, yes, yes~ Thank you~ I’ll work hard so I won’t be a burden!”
Epherene formed a team with Carixel and Meiho.
······I watched every bit of their footage through the magical full-length glass.
“Nothing’s going on?”
Luina asked. She had followed me as soon as we left the auditorium and was drinking coffee.
“Are you staying long?”
“No. We’re leaving today. We’ll just keep receiving reports through this acrylic magic panel.”
Luina, representative of the McQueen family, waved the acrylic panel in her right hand.
“Why, Boss, should I stay?”
Luina asked mischievously. The corners of her eyes curved like a fox’s.
“No.”
“Right. I heard you’re a proctor too, Boss?”
“I don’t have any particular duties yet.”
I had already received the role of proctor in writing, so I simply had to follow it as instructed.
“Security should be fine, right? Ah~ Well, of course. Who would dare touch the seventh strongest?”
I clicked my tongue.
The seventh strongest. Every time I heard it, it made my hands and feet curl.
Tak—!
After finishing her coffee, Luina looked at her pocket watch and set down her cup.
“Ah, it’s time for the airship. Then I’ll be going, Boss~”
“No.”
I called Luina to a stop. Luina stopped walking and looked back at me.
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“Yes?”
“Stay.”
“······Yes?”
Luina tilted her head.
I said it again.
“I said stay.”
“······?”
Luina’s face distorted strangely.
* * *
Meanwhile, Sylvia was cutting through the fog on horseback. It was a horse she had created with her Three Primary Colors.
Clop— clop—
After riding for a while, she stopped briefly and looked at the map.
“······It’s moving.”
The circles marked on the map were moving. Their positions were clearly different from the beginning.
What was this, an error? A defect? Or did the destination keep changing?
That thought lasted only fifteen seconds.
“The destination isn’t a building. It’s a person.”
Sylvia reached that conclusion.
Not a building, but a person.
That was why it was moving, and why there were this many destinations.
They were probably the proctors of the second exam.
“Giddyup.”
Sylvia gently pulled the reins.
If the target was a person, there was no need to move quickly. All she had to do was move slowly and determine their position.
“······.”
During that, she discovered a strange box.
A single box buried among the vines.
Sylvia blinked as she looked at it.
Was it part of the experiment?
A moment later, she got down from her horse and reached out toward the box.
“Stop!”
A voice rang out then. Sylvia flinched in surprise and looked that way.
“Who are you?”
Through the fog, one woman and one man appeared.
“Hello, Lady Sylvia? I’m Reilly. This here is Dozmu.”
“······.”
“The reason I told you to stop is because that’s called a Mimic. A monster in the shape of a box. Look?”
Reilly manifested a fireball.
Kieeeek—! The moment the fireball touched it, the box screamed, stretched out its legs, and fled.
“······It’s a sly one. Ah, don’t be too upset. Even if you’re a genius, it’s hard to know about that thing if you don’t have enough experience.”
Sylvia nodded. If she had reached out without knowing, she might have been seriously injured.
“I know you too, Reilly.”
“Me? You know me? How?”
“Red Garnet Adventure Party.”
At that, Reilly’s face turned touched.
“Thank you~ Well, we have become a bit famous lately. Hoo!”
“Why did you come to the Solda exam?”
“Mm~ I’m still a Solda, you see. It sounds a bit strange, but I messed up so badly the first time I took the exam that I haven’t been able to rise any higher. So I came to take it again. Ah, the guy next to me is here for a similar reason. This is Dozmu.”
Reilly smiled brightly. Then she approached Sylvia.
“Wow~ You even made a horse with your Three Primary Colors. That’s seriously amazing. But······ Lady Sylvia.”
“Yes.”
“While looking at this map, we found a few suspicious points, see? To check them, we need to compare and contrast at least two or more maps······ Could you show us yours? We’ve already compared it with Dozmu’s.”
Reilly asked while twirling her hair. The man named Dozmu seemed utterly uninterested in the situation and was just yawning.
“Yes. I’ll show you.”
Sylvia held out the map from within her clothes.
──At that very moment.
Dozmu, who had been yawning, reached out first, snatched the map, and fled with Reilly at the speed of light.
Dadadadadada──
Sylvia blankly watched the two of them vanish in an instant like that.
“······.”
It was so sudden—no, so unimaginable—that she had no idea what kind of reaction she was supposed to show, or how.
“Come back.”
The voice she barely managed to squeeze out.
It was only buried in the fog with a rustling sound.