Ch.26Chapter 26. Second Exam (1)

After passing the most difficult test in this year’s grade competition, the first test of ‘Theory,’ I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders.

“Do we just go straight this way?”

“That’s right! But wait a second!”

“Let’s go!”

As soon as the first test ended and we were warped somewhere, what we saw was a straight path that clearly said “come this way.”

True to the obstacle course genre, what mattered was overcoming obstacles along the way, not struggling to find the path itself.

“Hey, who knows what might appear…!”

“Exactly. I think we should form a formation and advance safely.”

Unlike me who wanted to run ahead quickly, our team members seemed to be overthinking things.

Well, that’s actually normal.

When the event is explicitly called an “obstacle course,” rushing forward without preparation would make it impossible to properly deal with the obstacles.

‘Right, right. I should act like a proper mage.’

“…Okay. Then let’s move in formation!”

“Good. I think we should approach this like we’re preparing for the upcoming dungeon exploration. Cynthia can watch the rear, while Ryuyeong and I take the lead.”

“Uh, wait a second.”

“Yes?”

“Why am I at the front?”

“Well, Ryuyeong… Oh.”

Elaine definitely showed qualities of a leader.

As the situation unfolded, she gave calm instructions that felt reassuring and showed leadership.

Though she was slightly mistaken about a team member’s abilities.

“I told you I’m a mage.”

“Ah… hmm. Then I’ll take the lead alone.”

A momentary look of confusion flashed across Elaine’s face.

It was just for a split second, but there was no way I’d miss it.

Following Elaine’s instructions, our formation was set with Elaine at the very front, Cynthia at the rear, and Emily and I side by side in the middle.

“But isn’t an obstacle course usually something you run through?”

“Well… that’s true.”

When they called it an obstacle course, I expected thrilling, fast-paced action where we’d dodge various magical traps while running quickly.

Instead, we were walking along a wide-open path, deliberately maintaining formation while cautiously advancing and watching our surroundings.

I don’t know how the second and third-year students were proceeding, but we were definitely moving slowly.

“I suppose it’s not your typical ‘race.’ Honestly, I’m not sure what to expect either.”

“Ah, up ahead!”

At Emily’s urgent cry, Elaine’s gaze, which had been turned toward me, and even Cynthia’s eyes that had been watching the rear, all turned forward.

Rumble-rumble-rumble—

Just a moment ago there was nothing ahead, but suddenly enormous boulders were rolling toward us.

And not just one, but many.

“Whoa!”

Shing—

“Is this the obstacle course?”

“Everyone, get behind me!”

Elaine drew her sword as she watched the boulders rolling mercilessly toward us on what wasn’t even a downhill slope, and Emily was the first to hide behind her.

‘This could actually kill us if we’re not careful.’

The boulders rolling toward us weren’t illusions.

They were real stones.

It seemed they were suddenly set in motion through some magical mechanism.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I’ll cut them.”

“Those?”

“Yes.”

Instead of running away or blindly hiding behind her, I was skeptical, but Elaine’s voice carried genuine conviction.

Cynthia seemed to be debating whether to flee or follow Elaine’s instructions to hide behind her, but then she strapped her bow to her back and moved behind Elaine.

That showed how much she trusted Elaine.

‘This is really dangerous.’

While I’m not without trust in the Sinclair family, could a girl who just entered the academy really cut boulders that were rolling with such ferocity?

Rumble-rumble-rumble—

Meanwhile, the boulders were rolling fiercely toward us, now right in front of us.

‘No choice then.’

Swoosh—

Ready to escape with the three of them at any moment, I stepped close to them while opening a spatial rift with my right hand to grab the hilt of my sword.

Though it had been a while since I last held this sword, it fit perfectly in my hand as if I’d been training with it just yesterday.

Just as I was thinking I might have to cut everything down if necessary—

“Haah!”

CRASH—

A cloud of dust erupted in front of us with a thunderous noise.

Elaine had swung her sword at the boulder that had approached right in front of her.

Contrary to my expectation that Elaine would be helplessly thrown by the boulder, she was standing firmly in front.

Without her stance breaking at all.

Rumble-rumble—

“She… she really cut it…!”

“That actually worked?”

As Emily murmured in amazement, Elaine had indeed sliced the rolling boulder in half.

Though the dust cloud partially obscured my view, I could see white mana flickering around the sword Elaine was holding.

Elaine had coated her sword with mana and cleanly cut the boulder in two.

The way the mana perfectly enveloped her sword without wavering, and how her stance remained completely solid even in such a critical situation.

‘She’s pretty good…?’

“Haah! Haaah!”

Each time Elaine swung her sword with a power-filled shout, the boulders were cleanly cut in half with a thunderous sound.

Occasionally, stone fragments would fly backward, but they were at a level I could easily deflect without even needing to draw my sword.

After Elaine had swung her sword several more times, the vibrations shaking the ground disappeared.

There were no more rolling boulders.

“Phew.”

“Wow, Elaine, you…”

“It seems to be over.”

“You’re pretty skilled, huh?”

Shing—

Elaine simply sheathed her sword without answering.

With a faint smile.

Though she quickly wiped the smile off her face and composed herself, she couldn’t hide it from my eyes.

‘I was already reluctant to draw my sword, so this worked out well.’

“Let’s continue.”

The satisfaction in Elaine’s voice was definitely not my imagination.

“That was amazing!”

With Emily’s sincere admiration, Elaine confidently stepped forward.

**

Slash—

With a deadly yet pleasing sound of clean cutting, the barrier blocking our path split open.

Cut along the trajectory of Elaine’s swing, the barrier couldn’t reform and completely dissolved.

“Good, good!”

“Phew.”

Shing—

Elaine sheathed her sword and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

The second test, the obstacle course, was called a “race” but in reality had nothing to do with running.

Starting with rolling boulders, then a maze based on illusion magic, and after breaking through the maze, golems like those from the entrance exam appeared.

Many obstacles blocked our path, but we had overcome them without major incidents so far.

To be precise, it wasn’t “we” but Elaine doing everything alone.

Starting with cutting the boulders, Elaine had been overcoming all obstacles by slicing through everything in our path.

When we encountered the maze, she cut through walls to create paths, and naturally, she cut down the golems too.

For some reason, she looked at me with eyes seeking praise after dealing with the golems.

And just now, she had cut through a barrier that looked obviously solid.

“Wooow! She cut through it again!!”

“…It seems like Elaine is doing everything by herself. Are you okay?”

“A-ahem. This much is fine. Let’s move on quickly.”

Elaine cleared her throat awkwardly, seemingly uncomfortable with the praise, and stepped forward again.

‘She’s really exceeding expectations.’

Elaine’s skills were beyond what I had anticipated.

Honestly, when I first came to the academy, I didn’t have high expectations for the students’ abilities, and when I saw Cain Hover’s skills on the first day, I thought it was just as I expected.

Seeing that such a mage ranked within the top 7 in the entrance exam, I assumed the others would be about the same level.

‘I guess the Six Great Families are different after all.’

Elaine was definitely shattering my assumptions.

Until now, I hadn’t seen Elaine’s actual skills, but her abilities were absolutely not at a student level.

Exaggerating slightly, she seemed capable enough that I could bring her into the Black Shadow Corps and deploy her in the field right away, and she’d definitely pull her weight.

‘She’s tempting…’

While the Sinclair family is known for their “iron wall” defensive swordsmanship, Elaine was showing exceptional skill in offensive swordsmanship as well.

If this weren’t the academy, and if Elaine weren’t a student, I would have immediately offered her a position.

Directly under the commander, at that.

‘What a shame.’

“Oh…”

“Is it over?”

At Cynthia’s call, I came to my senses and looked ahead to see the end of the path in the distance.

It was clearly the finish line.

Looking closely, I could see a magic circle drawn on the ground for warp magic.

Cynthia, with her good eyesight, must have seen the same thing, as she broke formation and ran ahead with a bright voice.

“Ah, Miss Cynthia!”

“It’s the end!”

Flash—

As Cynthia approached the magic circle, a small light burst in midair, and I felt traces of mana.

It was a slightly different version of the message we saw earlier.

<Second Test Complete.>

It was a message announcing the end of the second test, the obstacle course.

“Wow! You really worked hard!”

“N-not at all.”

Scratching her head and sighing in relief at Emily’s direct praise, Elaine definitely looked tired but also very pleased.

<You will now be transported to the third test location.>

‘Finally, the last one.’

And right after came the third test.

Everyone says it’s the most difficult event in this competition, but it’s the one I’m most confident in.

Dungeon exploration.

“Alright, let’s aim for first place!”

My shout echoed emptily in the air.

Flash—

And without any break, the warp magic activated with a burst of light.