Chapter 146: The Angel Who Meets His Junior (3)

Episode 146: The Angel Who Meets His Junior (3)

There’s a field of study called superhuman studies.

Superhuman studies research why superhumans have overwhelmingly superior physical specs compared to ordinary people, and how they can wield mana and esper abilities.

The ultimate goal of superhuman studies could be summarized in a single sentence: how to cultivate even stronger superhumans.

Any method would do. Just what could they do to raise superhumans capable of defeating the demon king.

The research continued.

Superhuman studies had become humanity’s most practical field of study, with their papers and academic journals becoming increasingly thicker.

Thus, superhuman scholars,

…Eventually came to a single answer.

‘Extreme trials are what make a superhuman grow.’

That only trials that pushed them to the brink of death could make a superhuman stronger.

So, a superhuman’s potential could be summarized like this: the ability to confidently pass an incredibly difficult, life-threatening test.

That’s why the Central Superhuman Academy entrance exams were…

…Incredibly difficult and harsh.

“The first test you will face is a mana dive. Mana diving is training for dealing with extreme magical emergencies. It allows you to assess the level of your mana sensitivity and resistance…”

Klein smiled.

“It’s also a test where we can assess your potential.”

Klein continued to explain the details of the exam. How to pass the test, what would result in failing, the risks involved, and the emergency escape routes.

And so on.

To roughly summarize, the rules were simple: retrieve one of the 100 golden keys at the bottom of the mana pool to pass, and failing to do so meant elimination.

Of course, losing consciousness or being unable to continue diving also meant elimination. Activating the escape scroll you brought along also meant elimination.

And every time he mentioned the word ‘elimination’,

The Examinees’ eyes sharpened.

Well, their gazes had already been sharp from the moment they were told that only the first 100 would pass.

But this was also part of the exam. One of the conditions for making the exam an even more difficult trial.

Neither the Examinees nor the professor,

Had any intention of stopping.

“Ah, and as some of you may already know…”

Klein said in a somewhat sorrowful voice.

“In my childhood, I gained enlightenment from those depths of mana and rose to where I am today.”

Now it was just a memory,

Too distant a past to remember.

And whenever he tried to recall those times, his body and mind would become so cold that he couldn’t bear the pain.

Klein, unaware of why he was feeling sad and cold, smiled at the Examinees.

“I hope you will also have such an opportunity.”

Seeing the Examinees’ eyes filled with anticipation and desire, Klein collected himself. But his gaze fell upon a certain boy’s sad eyes.

“Professor, have you truly forgotten everything?”

Klein pretended not to hear Leffrey’s murmur.

And so the first test, the mana dive, began. Most of the Examinees immediately rushed to the pool.

A test that could be passed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Only a fool would just stand still in a situation like this.

*Splash*—*Splash*—With those sounds, the Examinees jumped into the pool, a pool filled with mana so densely concentrated that it had gained physical form.

And like salt dolls dissolving in blood, they disappeared, leaving only afterimages.

(TL Note: I believe salt dolls is a folktale, but I don’t know much about folktales…)

“I can’t see…”

Leffrey, witnessing this phenomenon,

Muttered those words with surprise.

“Yes, you can’t.”

However, Professor Klein only muttered calmly.

“Highly concentrated mana is magic in itself. The pure magic of mana so densely packed in a space large enough to be called a pool.”

Leffrey continued,

“The pure magic of space. A barrier. A powerful barrier that distorts space and time, preventing light and sound from easily penetrating…”

“As expected of Leffrey, I’ll give you extra points if you apply for Mana Studies next semester.”

But I heard that class is a death trap…

Swallowing those words, Leffrey asked.

“Then is it okay? What if there’s foul play inside the barrier…?”

“Ahahaha, that’s impossible.”

Professor Klein shook his head.

“For them to have the energy to commit foul play when they’re struggling to even survive. Now that’s a Examinee I would need to write a recommendation letter for.”

Dismissing Leffrey’s concern like this,

He carefully muttered.

“Don’t even think about entering. I won’t tolerate such blatant interference with the exam.”

“I wasn’t planning on entering.”

While Klein and Leffrey were having this conversation, one Examinee had already emerged, confidently holding a golden key in her hand.

With a flap, the girl shook off the mana from her wings. This girl, who somewhat resembled an angel, was named Sori.

The girl who would have died at the hands of Drewmark, one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings, if it hadn’t been for Leffrey. This girl possessed a special talent.

The talent to survive extreme trials.

In other words,

A talent for growth as a superhuman.

Sori had an incredibly powerful growth potential.

A young bird beast folk, who had no abilities to speak of, was now a powerful superhuman, challenging the Central Superhuman Academy entrance exam after just one year.

Sori couldn’t help but believe that this was all due to the grace of the angel who had saved her.

“Angel-nim, as you wished, I-I’ve passed the test…!”

Of course, seeing Sori like this, Leffrey said,

“What is with that ridiculous talent? I don’t even know her. Scary.”

But whether Leffrey was scared or not, Sori quietly prayed and murmured,

“For the glory of our church and Angel-nim, I will become the top student of the Central Superhuman Academy.”

The girl prayed devoutly. Klein, who was standing next to her, looked at Leffrey with suspicious eyes.

“Leffrey….?”

“I don’t know her. Really.”

Thus, one by one, two by two, the Examinees returned, holding golden keys. This group, as soon as they emerged, they immediately checked those who had arrived before them, then quietly moved to a corner, keeping an eye on Sori, who had arrived first.

The Wolf and Hongwol’s younger sibling were among this group.

“This is harder than I thought.”

“What, there are people coming out just now. Losers, losers.”

The Wolf scoffed, and Hongwol’s sibling, as if the only word they knew was “loser”, kept calling the Examinees who hadn’t emerged “losers”.

And then, the next group arrived.

As soon as they emerged, this group shouted “We survived!”, “We passed!”, cheering. A few even burst into tears from relief.

Thus, this was the third group of examinees who barely managed to pass, obtaining the golden keys.

Sori’s first group, who had passed overwhelmingly fast.

Then the second group, who had passed without much trouble.

And the third group, who had barely managed to pass.

‘There are still a few golden keys left.’

But if they stayed any longer, they would reach a limit that a young superhuman couldn’t overcome. Their lungs would be ravaged by mana poisoning, their mobility would be impaired, and they would drown, trapped in the mana.

So Leffrey felt that now,

It was time for him to act.

And Klein, who was overseeing this exam, was…

‘Mana dive. mana dive.’

…Recalling his past when he as a child, who came from the other world, was a refuge in this world, participating in the UN Magic Research Institute’s mage aptitude test, which now no longer existed.

He had also done a mana dive back then.

To have your entire being immersed in a power that distorts reality, to be trapped within your own delusions, fantasies, and nightmares. It was difficult to describe with words.

Why was it so difficult to describe? Because it was too painful to recall those times? Or was it because he had left something precious behind?

The slight quiver of Klein’s Adam’s apple proved that his emotions were closer to the latter.

‘I can save them. Those who can’t endure the mana dive.’

That’s what his student, who was an angel, had said. But it was unbelievable.

‘What am I even thinking? That’s impossible. After researching it so thoroughly.’

The barrier created by mana diving is a barrier that unfolds for each individual, meaning it was impossible for one person to enter another’s barrier.

Even if Leffrey were to jump into that mana to rescue those who had fallen, the mana would welcome him with a barrier that was his and his alone.

‘There’s no way.’

Reaching that conclusion, Professor Klein closed his eyes. Because a sadness he couldn’t even remember enveloped his shoulders.

The last, the fourth group. Those who had given up on the exam and escaped without the golden key. Although these Examinees would be disqualified, at least they survived.

Everyone who was going to come out had come out.

The mana dive test was now over.

As Professor Klein hardened his face and began the countdown, and the remaining examinees were about to pass it off as, ‘What a brutal test, just like the ones they give in our families or guilds’, seemingly unfazed…

A boy stood before the pool.

“That’s the Central Academy uniform.”

An examinee recognized the boy and muttered enviously.

“Kuk, it’s our senior.”

“Hey, is he already a student?”

The examinees, looking at the boy, each said a word or two.

“Wow, but he’s really pretty.”

“Should I try hitting on her?”

“…You crazy bastard, that senior’s a guy.”

“A-a guy?”

A few even began to question their own sexuality.

“Hmm, so that’s Senior Leffrey.”

“…To think that a daughter of the White family would use honorifics.”

“What do you mean, it’s only natural for met to use honorifics for my older brother’s friend.”

A few recognized Leffrey through their connections with current students at the academy.

And a few others…

“I’ve finally met him. Finally. The devil’s spawn of the angel race that created this damned world.”

“…How beautiful you are, angel.”

…Looked at him with eyes filled with madness.

Examinees with no particular feelings towards Leffrey, Examinees who had never felt such emotions before, Examinees filled with admiration, and Examinees consumed by malice.

But all the Examinees here,

Would never forget what was about to happen.

“But why… is he standing in front of the mana pool?”

With those words, a brilliant light began to emanate from the boy’s entire body. The Examinees, looking at Leffrey, couldn’t help but let out a small scream and avert their gaze.

“Leffrey. What are you? ”

Klein saw it clearly. That the boy’s body was slowly being burned by the light.

Just why.

Why would he do this, burning his own body?

The reason was obvious.

“The Light of the Heavenly Lighthouse that Illuminates the lost.”

The light pierced through.

Towards the examinees trapped in the depths of the mana, like an abyss, a heavenly light shone, leading them.

And the light said,

It’s time to go home now.

It’s all over now.

The examinees, who were tormented by hallucinations, forgetting even themselves while submerged in the mana… they reached out to the light of the lighthouse.

The lighthouse was right there.

The lighthouse that would guide them was right up there.

And so, an examinee reached out, their hand breaking the surface of the mana. A boy gently took that hand and, as if embracing, slowly pulled the examinee out.

Murmur murmur—

The other examinees who saw this scene couldn’t close their mouths.

“What, so that’s why that senior was at the entrance exam site.”

“He’s here to save those who fail the entrance exam?”

Why would he do such a thing?

These children, born and raised as superhuman warriors,

Couldn’t understand this concept.

To show mercy to those who have failed, with no ulterior motive. They had no backing, no power, no skills. Saving them would be pointless.

And yet, Leffrey was truly delighted every time he saved an examinee, reaching out his hand to them.

“Even while using that body-destroying divine power like that.”

It was an act worthy of being called foolish. If the elders of guilds and families saw this, they would probably curse profusely, calling him pathetic.

But the examinees couldn’t bring themselves to say that.

‘Even if I fail, that senior will save me.’

In this space where failure is unforgivable,

That senior was offering forgiveness.

“Sob, sob. I’m sorry. I failed the first test…”

Leffrey, embracing the crying girl’s shoulders, said,

“It’s okay. You’re an amazing person, just for making it to the exam site.”

[Saving a child abandoned in the abyss is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

After comforting the girl, Leffrey smiled as he organized the rising messages that popped up.

‘Come to think of it, I earned a lot of Angelic Power during the entrance exam last time.’

And it was the same this time.

He would rescue them all, not a single one left behind, and transform them all into his precious Angelic Power. He couldn’t miss a single one.

Leffrey muttered, his eyes shining with greed,

“I’ll save them all.”

Gulp—The sound of gulping could be heard among the examinees.

‘He says he’ll save them all. For no reason at all. What is he, some kind of hero from a movie?’

That beautiful senior whose eyes burn with a sense of mission. The examinees gathered here would never forget this moment.

One boy accidentally blurted out the words he held in his heart.

“So fucking cool.”

“Y-yeah.”

“Leffrey oppa…”

This is how idols, icons, role models, are born in moments like these.

“…Leffrey.”

And it wasn’t just the examinees,

Who were shocked by this sight.