Ch.269264 – The Examiner’s Intent

# [Academy Competition Elementary Division 2nd Grade Selection List: Yoon Si-hoo, Seo Yu-na, Kim Han-gyeol, Ma Ji-hye, Lee Ha-ru]

“Congratulations Yoon Si-hoo. Looks like you’re number one.”

“Your name isn’t on the selection list. Are you sure you’re really going too, NoName?”

Si-hoo, who had secured his position as the ace of the elementary division’s second grade with overwhelming skill, asked me.

“I’m going to the middle school division candidate selection trial later.”

“How?”

“Very well.”

I actually prefer groups that strictly adhere to regulations.

Because they tend to be more lenient as long as you don’t violate the rules.

I contacted Emily Mayakovsky at the Cephiron Foundation headquarters to ask about regulation applications.

First, there’s no height restriction in the middle school division.

Second, only students of the same or lower grade can be included in the candidate list.

I identified the loopholes in these two regulations and argued point by point that “lower grade” could include elementary students according to Article 3, Section 4 of the Academy’s founding purpose: “Continuity of Elementary and Middle School Education.”

There was actually a precedent where a 6th grader had participated in a competition in place of an injured 1st year middle schooler, so it wasn’t difficult to make my case.

“But the selection trials should be over by now.”

“They said I can have a simplified selection trial separately through the grade head with the principal’s recommendation.”

“Wow…”

Of course, the foundation merely took a position of “permission.”

However, I exaggerated this opinion to Principal Gu On-yu, implying that the foundation was “recommending” my participation.

“The foundation probably gave permission thinking I was already selected for the middle school division without prior consultation, and conversely, the academy probably thinks the foundation ordered it.”

“Isn’t that lying? What if you get caught later?”

“I don’t think it matters even if they know. But what’s important is that I can stay with all of you, right? Do you not want me to come along?”

“…”

“Why aren’t you answering, Yoon Si-hoo?”

I wrapped my arm around the back of his neck and shook his head playfully.

How cute.

It doesn’t matter whether the foundation or the academy knows this fact or not.

Wasn’t the academy of the past willing to send students to competitions or wars as long as they could prove their abilities?

Things shouldn’t be much different now.

[Ahem. Attention. All selected participants for the 2051 Academy Competition should gather in the first floor auditorium immediately for safety and ethics training.]

“Anyway, have a good trip. Si-hoo, make sure you take good care of our Yu-na. Got it?”

“I got it. I’ll take good care of her, don’t worry.”

“Oh? Take care of her? Ohhh…”

“Why…?”

“Nothing, heh.”

Normally, Yoon Si-hoo would have lit up with fire in his eyes and vehemently denied it, but strangely this time he just calmly nodded.

Has his mindset really changed now that the day of battle is approaching?

Unfortunately, I was too busy with my schedule to interrogate him further.

I’ll have to tease them mercilessly when I meet the kids later.

* * *

The Academy Competition was about much more than just winning when viewed from a macro perspective.

First, the event itself needed to be successful.

The competition between eight academies, broadcast through the three major networks, was also a national event.

However, since all academy competitions across the country were held during the same week in October, appropriate cooperation with opposing academies was also important.

Originally, the competition between Cephiron and Altair Academies in Seoul was considered the most popular match, but its popularity had somewhat diminished due to Altair’s continued victories.

Moreover, following the myth created by Ban So-wol in recent years, the competition between Aspen Academy in Busan and Maha Academy in Daegu was rapidly catching up in viewership.

But it would be a grave mistake to think that Altair Academy would go easy on them.

“There’s absolutely no way those rotten mudskippers would do that.”

The middle school division’s grade head frowned as he looked up at the bright sunlight in the middle of the field.

While broadcast revenue was a concern for each foundation, the academy professors’ stance was that they would never tolerate defeat, even if the competition’s popularity waned.

But last night, the grade head received a shameless request from the elementary division’s principal to allow one child to participate as a candidate.

The subject of the rumors had just put down her red backpack and hopped onto the sandy field.

“So you’re the cigarette kid who was supposed to come today?”

“Cigarette? That’s not appropriate for a student. I’m truly sorry about the previous incident.”

“I see you’re not showing any signs of remorse? Well, whatever. You’re from the elementary division, and I’m sure your teachers have educated you properly. What difference would my involvement make?”

“None at all.”

NoName accepted the grade head’s subtly pressuring words very calmly.

The grade head’s eyes narrowed at her unusual attitude.

“…Let’s begin. Name: No Na-me. Elementary Division, 2nd grade. Ranked 1st in the first semester? Why aren’t you participating in the elementary division competition and coming to the middle school division instead?”

“I’m not tall enough.”

“Height?”

The teacher’s eyes moved downward.

Name slightly raised herself on tiptoe and then made a show of coming back down.

“There’s a height restriction.”

“Is that so? Well, if you participated, you might just get crushed by weight. But you’re fearlessly applying for the middle school division selection?”

“It’s actually better this way. The elementary kids felt a bit inadequate.”

“Hahahahaha! You really talk like a little old lady, kiddo. Name, you’re truly a funny one.”

“Thank you.”

“Haha, alright. It’s hot today, so let’s finish early and go inside. Is that okay with you?”

Name shrugged.

The grade head smiled with satisfaction and took out the switch he had shown before.

“That’s a wand.”

“You recognized it right away? I modified it myself. Cool, isn’t it?”

“Not really…”

“Kids really are the embodiment of honesty. Good, I like that attitude. Let’s check your skills, shall we?”

Whoosh-

The grade head drew a large magic circle with the switch.

A geometric pattern appeared on the soft soil, and he completed the magic by inscribing eight runes at each vertex.

[Area Casting: Sisyphus Barrier]

Blue mana surged and took the form of chains.

Clank-!

Clank-clank-clank-!

The twelve taut chains soon became the edges of a cube, surrounding the two people.

The six faces had transparent, sparkling walls that created gentle ripples whenever the wind blew.

Name placed her index finger on the cube wall and wiggled it around to read the changes in the mana flow.

‘The mana flow is constant.’

The mana flows in one direction.

The grade head threw the switch outside the cubic barrier, lowered his stance, placed both hands on his knees, and shouted loudly.

“The test begins now! Try to knock me down, kiddo. It doesn’t matter if it’s a knee or an arm, as long as it touches the ground. Got it?”

* * *

‘It’s not just a barrier that keeps the mana flow constant.’

When I took one step forward toward the grade head, the distance between us increased by one step again.

This is a type of physical illusion magic.

It deceives the caster’s senses to make me think I’ve moved, while in reality, I’m continuously walking in place.

On the other hand, ranged attacks were relatively too easy.

Because the mana flow is constant, the time to construct a magic circle is reduced several times.

‘Let me play along for now.’

[Cast: Rapid Cooling]

[Cast: Polar Coordinate Assignment]

I froze the damp soil completely and shaped it into hard icicles.

Simultaneously, with double casting, I assigned coordinates to the magic circle itself, freely setting the initial casting space.

All this took just 1 second.

That should be enough time for the opponent to react.

But the grade head maintained his earlier posture in the same spot.

Crash-!

The spiky masses rained down, devastating the center of the barrier.

I was thinking about increasing the power with the same aura response when I realized the icicles’ direction was slightly off.

Not a single spell had hit its mark.

Was my magic disrupted midway?

No, the mana flow inside the cubic space had changed momentarily.

“How did you double cast so quickly-“

“You know quite an interesting spell.”

A magic that combines illusion and environmental control—human imagination is truly limitless.

I wonder what runes he used; I can’t even begin to guess.

My lips trembled slightly at this amusing feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

[Cast: Polarization Array]

Most barrier magic of this type uses light to disrupt vision.

Therefore, I can easily break it by completely blocking interaction with the outside, just like when I faced Ballum Benaons before.

[Cast: Light]

I set up a light spell in the dark space to illuminate the inside of the barrier.

Now for close combat.

I concentrated my aura on both legs and leaped toward the grade head in one breath.

Straight attacks are easy to block.

But it’s different if the attack isn’t a point but a plane filling the narrow space.

The moment my foot touched the ground, I moved all the aura I was operating in my body to my fist and released it at once.

“Hup.”

“Oh no…!”

Swoosh-

Finally, the grade head moved his feet, and my attack barely grazed his side.

Behind me, a strong shockwave created a sandstorm that filled the barrier.

“Saying it’s amazing doesn’t do it justice. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

Despite his heavy body that must weigh over 100kg, the grade head subdued the sandstorm with a single light roundhouse kick.

However, the earlier composure was no longer visible on his face.

“Why aren’t you using simple magic like friction coefficient adjustment?”

“You obviously look like it wouldn’t work on you.”

Despite his chubby appearance, his physical balance is quite good.

His center of gravity is stable, and above all, it would be greedy to expect such basic magic to work against someone who knows how to handle aura in the soles of their feet.

And if the test was that easy to pass, he wouldn’t have created such a troublesome area casting magic.

“For a young kid, your insight is excellent… you’re more and more fascinating the more I look at you.”

“Isn’t it about time you fell down now?”

“Can you show me a little more? I’m curious how far you can go.”

This person is really annoying.

While I do have more mana capacity than my peers, it’s not enough to waste carelessly, so I formulated a plan.

[Cast: Circuit Reconfiguration]

With the circuit reconfiguration magic, I interfered with the “Sisyphus Barrier” and rotated the mana flow by 90 degrees.

The barrier had no security magic, making it easy to access.

Did he anticipate a student interfering with the barrier? That seems to be the correct answer.

I ran toward him again while continuing to create a magic circle with my right hand.

[Cast: Uplift]

Rumble-!

I restricted his movement by uplifting the entire ground.

A large wall was erected a few steps behind where the grade head was standing.

[Cast: Rapid Cooling]

I pulled out a sword made of ice directly from the ground and pointed it at him.

Clang!

The grade head wasn’t going to be defeated so easily.

He strengthened his arm with aura and crudely deflected my attacks one by one.

With such a weak body, I couldn’t expect to land an effective hit on that solid armor anyway.

My goal was to make him back up little by little until he was cornered against the wall.

Clang!

[Cast: Rapid Cooling]

I hastily made another sword for my left hand to pressure him even more.

Sand grains and water droplets scattered from the two swords.

Our arms and hands became increasingly wet with the continuous attacks.

Occasionally, sharp counterattacks came flying.

Thud-

The grade head’s back touched the cold sand wall.

“Cornering an enemy… where did you learn such sense?”

“It comes naturally when you play games.”

“Our parents would grab the backs of their necks if they heard that. But what will you do now? It’ll be even harder to knock me down when I’m backed against a wall.”

I dropped both swords to the ground.

“…?”

The teacher scratched the back of his head with a puzzled expression.

Of course, he wouldn’t understand.

“Looks like I won. Your back is touching the ground.”

“Huh? This is a wall, not the ground.”

“Are you really sure about that?”

This is exactly why it’s a big problem when control of a barrier passes to the opponent.

The grade head may have deliberately made the security loose to test me, but in real situations, those who preach barrier omnipotence usually pay back in this way.

The synthesis circle I had hidden behind the uplift magic activated.

[Synthesis: Cyanoacrylate]

His clothes stuck firmly to the wall and gradually dug inward.

“What’s happening? Why is the ground…?”

By now, the light magic’s duration had ended, and as the polarization array magic disappeared along with the barrier, the blue autumn sky appeared.

Unlike me, who was standing upright,

“If I rotate the ground 90 degrees like this, isn’t the wall now the floor?”

The grade head was lying spread-eagled on the ground.

“Whoa… you even know barrier magic? Did you make it your own?”

From the moment I rotated the mana flow 90 degrees, I knew I had the authority to interfere with this entire space.

So I just rotated the cubic cube 90 degrees.

The ground he was standing on became a wall, and the wall against his back became the floor.

“Is that the correct answer?”

“200 points out of 100. You’re the first person to knock me down like this inside the barrier.”

That’s a relief. Figuring out the examiner’s intention has always been the hardest part.

* * *

Barrier studies, typically taught in high school courses.

Because of that cursed discipline secretly prepared by Altair, Cephiron Academy’s middle school division was devastated last year.

All participants were trapped in barriers, fumbling around until their heads were cracked and they were eliminated.

Of course, Cephiron blamed Altair’s professors for teaching advanced courses arbitrarily, but in the end, all that remained was the result of defeat.

To avoid falling for the same trick twice, they taught all middle school students how to deal with being trapped in barriers and evaluated the selection process with a focus on barrier studies.

“Ha, this kid is something else…”

The 1st year middle school grade head swallowed a hollow laugh as he recalled the simplified selection trial that had just taken place.

[Escape Time: 1:36.492]

A result worthy of the main team, not just a candidate.

“Hmm, what’s this?”

He discovered a pale scribble on the stone tablet that served as the medium for Sisyphus’s barrier magic circle.

[NoName was here.]

A scribble engraved before the barrier magic circle was even broken.

Name had control of the barrier from the moment she first entered it.

“Interesting… this is going to be really interesting… this competition.”

For the stage that these promising youngsters would unfold, the grade head felt, for the first time in a long while, anticipation rather than worry.