Bold Genius Girl (3)

“Step forward.”

At Laminak’s call, Harvest comes out with a confident look. He was clearly different from the other students who had not yet emerged from their confusion.

“What should I do?”

His blue eyes gleam. Harvest was excited for the opportunity to promote himself.

Everyone was already looking at him. Aileen, Cecilia, Perian… He wanted to prove his strength to everyone.

“First, we will evaluate your abilities against monsters.”

Laminak said, taking out over forty scrolls from her bag.

The students’ eyes were filled with questions.

At that moment, Aileen reflexively muttered.

“Sealed scrolls.”

She was at the stage where she could read the flow of Mana with her eyes. To her, magic was like an exam paper with the answers already filled in. It was thanks to the talent of ‘opening her eyes’ (開眼) inherited from her mother.

Aileen quickly distinguished the monsters contained in the scrolls. A blue octopus with one eye, a lizard with two heads, and so on. It was a flaw that she didn’t know their names yet, as her practical experience was still meager.

“Those are sealed scrolls. Hmm, there are so many kinds, I don’t know what’s what…”

“Sealed, scrolls?”

“Yeah, yeah. I think they prepared them for each student.”

“…Oh, okay.”

For some reason.

It must have been her imagination that Aileen’s eyes turned cold.

“Is it already practical training?”

“M, monsters…?”

The sudden bombshell caused a great commotion. Harvest and Cecilia swallowed hard and tensed up. Leaving aside how Aileen found out about it, they were naturally nervous about the fact that they were prepared for each student.

“Good eye. I analyzed and prepared for all 47 students’ characteristics and magic systems, excluding those who failed, so you can look forward to it. Before going into actual combat, you need to know exactly what you’re up against.”

A one-on-one fight in a wide-open space without cover. If the first test was about maximizing ‘strengths’, the second test was about highlighting ‘weaknesses’.

A test known as the ‘aristocrat slaughterer’.

It was a bolt from the blue for the nobles who had only dealt with magic in a safe and prepared environment.

On the other hand, commoners who had experience rolling around on the bare ground breathed a sigh of relief. In reality, the results were better for the commoners.

Laminak said to the overly nervous students.

“All monsters have an explosion formula engraved in their hearts, so you can rest assured. Their heads will explode and they’ll die right before your attack reaches you.”

If you suppress them without detonating the bomb, it’s a perfect score.

If you don’t, it’s a deduction.

It was a simple test.

“I don’t expect perfection. You’re students because you’re imperfect. You need to know your weaknesses to know what to fix.”

Laminak’s test can be summarized as improvisation and uncertainty. Talents in a slightly different area, which are not required for a magician.

It may have been a stubbornness that came from her life as a battle mage. What she valued most in the second aptitude test was ‘restraint’ and ‘diversification’. She didn’t want Astra to produce only glass cannons.

• Gulp.

Reassurance blooms at the word that their lives are guaranteed.

However, there were students who were not intimidated despite the test to reveal their weaknesses.

“Yes. I will do my best.”

“This will be fun. Hehe…”

Harvest, who came out as the first player. And Amelda Cecilia, the precious daughter of the Marquis family. The aura they exuded was worthy of being called the protagonists of the stage.

Overflowing confidence. The conviction that they could win against any monster they met. Their eyes, which at first glance seemed arrogant, burned with passion.

Laminak nodded and prepared the scroll. This class had a particularly large number of brilliant ‘stars’. All of them were talented individuals with potential. She smiled as she watched the students making their resolutions.

“Well, you’ll find out when you go.”

• Jjieeik!

The first test.

Harvest.

A Bugbear from the Snowy Mountains.

“―Kuaaaaaaaah!!!”

It roared savagely as soon as the seal was released. A hideous combination of a bear’s head and a dog’s snout. The Bugbear spewed out white fur and emitted a foul odor.

“Ugh…!”

“It’s starting right away! Move!”

He was overwhelmed by the size of the Bugbear, which was twice as big as him. The Bugbear, which lives parasitically in the snowy mountains, has white fur and skin that effectively blocks the cold. It was a natural enemy for Harvest, who mainly deals with water and ice magic.

But he wasn’t afraid. All monsters have a strategy. Harvest quickly prepared the formula. The magic circle engraved in less than 3 seconds as if the top student wasn’t just for show. The round magic circles that floated in both hands emitted a chill that made his spine tingle.

“――Freeze.”

Jjeojeojeok! The snowflakes sprayed from his hands flew towards the Bugbear and froze exactly ‘under his feet’.

“Kueueu, eueueu―!!”

The Bugbear was originally good at walking on slippery roads, but because the friction was reduced to zero, he fell flat on his face.

The game was over the moment he lost his mobility. He immediately prepares the next formula. He crosses his hands and combines the two magic circles. A hieroglyph floats in between. Harvest engraved new coordinates and commands into the magic circle.

‘Compression.’

Compress, compress, and inject as much power as possible to create a sharper stream of water. Mana was draining out. Harvest felt a slight dizziness and made a short hand seal (手印).

The magic circle trembled, unable to withstand the pressure. Harvest increased the water pressure (水壓) to the limit――

‘Now.’

Just before it explodes.

He crossed his hands and opened the tightly closed door.

“Kuaaaaa―…?!”

The sharp stream of water flew towards the Bugbear’s neck. The power of water that carved the heavens and the earth is concentrated and poured on just one monster.

• Seogeok.

The water pressure compressed to the limit easily cut off the Bugbear’s neck. Harvest breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed.

“End!”

The test ends at the same time.

“Wow… amazing!”

“W, what did I just see…?”

The students who were watching from behind couldn’t help but admire him. The power was powerful, but the speed and ability to cope with the formula were enough to make him a current player.

Above all. He didn’t move a single step from his seat. Applause poured out for his appearance, which could be called the epitome of a magician.

“Harvest.”

“Huu…. Yes.”

Finally, Laminak’s evaluation remained.

Harvest waited nervously for her words.

“Turn around.”

However, strange words came out of her mouth.

Harvest tilted his head and looked back―

“…Achoo! Ugh, ugh.”

“Come here! I’ll warm you up!”

“E, Aileen…? Can you choose your words properly…?”

There was a frozen training ground.

The remaining students huddled around the fire that Aileen had lit, shivering from the cold.

“His power control is non-existent. Was it like that in the Magic Tower too?”

“W, well….”

* * *

Harvest, who received harsh criticism from Laminak for his lack of teamwork and inability to restrain himself, retreated in a slump.

It was definitely not a test that only evaluated strength. He had to think about collateral damage, and above all, he had to think about the sustainability of the battle. In that sense, Harvest could not receive a good evaluation.

“It’s finally my turn.”

Amelda Cecilia chuckled inwardly as she looked at Harvest. Sometimes the second time is better than the first. If she didn’t make the same mistake as the first person, she would be able to hear a better evaluation.

That’s how the test began.

The monster that Cecilia would face was an Ironclad Octopus, characterized by its smooth and transparent front armor.

“Watch carefully, everyone. The Cecilia family’s magic is not easy.”

Amelda Cecilia’s magic is of the Bright attribute. She made good use of the beauty and cruelty that light brings, and she proved that the Marquis’s daughter was not just precious and good.

A laser cannon that was perfect both aesthetically and powerfully. The attack that targeted blind spots using the refraction of light received high marks for its practicality.

“It would be perfect if you just made some detailed adjustments.”

“Hehe. Thank you.”

“Whatever. Except for the point that it’s unnecessarily flashy. I feel like I’m going blind. Too much light can be a serious variable. I don’t know how many times I’ve suffered from light on the battlefield.”

“…”

Of course, she couldn’t avoid Laminak’s tackles either.

“You’re too scared. You’ll get your head cut off. Didn’t you say you were going to support the Imperial Magic Knights?”

“Ah, sorry…”

After that, it was all similar.

The students had their own strengths and weaknesses. Laminak rolled her pen to the point of exhaustion to not miss anything, and before she knew it, time had passed and lunchtime had long passed.

“Okay, so is this the last one?”

After the evaluation of all the students, only one person remained.

It was a boring and hungry time, but the eyes of the students waiting for the last turn were strangely filled with anticipation.

“Aileen. Come forward.”

This was because Aileen was the last one.

Contrary to the expectation that it would be Harvest’s next turn, Aileen’s turn was the very last.

Perfect scores in all subjects. An unprecedented student who shows talent even in divine power. To face Aileen, who is called a masterpiece, an ordinary monster would not be enough.

“Yes~!”

Aileen trotted over and secured her position.

The male students’ lips were already turning up. Her beautiful personality and actions aroused a sense of protection. It was questionable how she managed to get the top spot with that slender body.

Laminak carefully took out the scroll. Unlike the other scrolls, which were white, the scroll prepared for Aileen was crimson.

The students questioned the different color from the existing ones.

But Aileen knew. This was because she could grasp the contents just by glancing at the scroll.

“Are you ready?”

“Of course!”

There were no scoldings that fell on the other students, such as ‘be nervous’ or ‘move quickly’. Just one word, ‘are you ready’, was enough.

And.

• Jjieeik!!

The scroll was torn, and the monster that had been sealed inside appeared in the training ground.

“Kireureuk… Keureureu…”

An unpleasant cry that scratched the ears. Like an alien tearing out of an egg, the name of the tentacle mass that raised its head while dripping dirty slime was Thanatos. It was a top predator that lived in the deep sea of the southern ocean.

It was too dangerous a monster for an ordinary student to face. It was even questionable how they got it.

“Kireureureuk….”

At that moment.

Aileen had a cold look in her eyes with a smile on her lips.

“….”

Thanatos belonged to the category of demons (魔物) among monsters. It was a monster that contained a small amount of magic. It was the residue left by a god who left behind the remnants of evil (惡).

It was a weak magic. It was a very small amount of magic, but Aileen could feel it with terrifying clarity.

‘…Villain.’

The indiscriminate hatred towards evil was from Shuriel. The belief not to touch the innocent was from Yujin. The nature of purifying evil was from the World Tree.

Aileen barely suppressed the urge to shoot magic at it right away and forced a smile.

In fact, this was a game. Coming to the academy was no different from voluntary exile to relieve her parents’ worries. Still, she tried to live in the world sincerely. Because it was still a fun time.

Even so. For some reason, when she sees those. Villains.

It was hard to resist the urge.