Entrance Exam – Magic Department (2)

As soon as all three mana arrows from my first triple casting attempt embedded themselves into the ground, a strange sense of crisis began swirling in my mind.

‘Wait… did I just fail this?’

Even excluding Mana Blast, I had two attack spells at my disposal, could utilize triple casting, and even had Clean as a support spell, so I hadn’t been particularly nervous. But…

The moment I actually took the target destruction test, this creeping sense of impending failure began rising within me.

Lilith’s current Luck stat was a pitiful 2.

Converted to Luminor Academy’s accuracy formula, this translated to a despair-inducing 4-5% hit rate.

And since the maximum number of spells I could cast simultaneously was limited to triple casting, even if I used all five attempts for triple casts, I’d only get 15 total spell casts.

Ah, no – I’d already wasted one attempt completely, so only 12 casts remained… Even more despair-inducing, damn it.

There was a very real possibility I might keep using triple casting throughout the exam and end up failing to destroy even a single target – a complete disaster.

‘This wasn’t the time to be spouting nonsense about gum or whatever.’

Of course this wasn’t the time to relax thinking I’d pass easily. The moment I seriously considered the possibility of failing the academy entrance exam as spectacularly as those mana arrows just crashed into the ground…

This was the moment Lilith’s innate limitation of having abysmally low Luck was truly holding me back.

…Instead of lamenting over this despairing stat that stubbornly remained single-digit even at level 9, I needed to think about how to overcome this situation right now.

Because the problem before me was the academy entrance exam where failing wouldn’t even be surprising at this point.

“Try to relax and take it slowly.”

“…Yes.”

It’s not like I missed because of nerves. This character simply wasn’t built for attack magic – what was I supposed to do?

But now that I was already taking the magic department’s entrance exam, there was no backing out.

At this point, applying to another department wasn’t an option either.

Since I’d already taken the magic department’s exam, applying to another department would be considered cheating by Luminor Academy standards.

…Guess I have no choice but to leave it to luck.

Relying on luck with Lilith’s abysmal Luck stat was insane, but I had no other options now.

Shockwave had slight accuracy bonuses but was close-range magic, so unusable now.

Mana Blast consumed all my mana instantly with no going back, and its effective range wasn’t even guaranteed to be enough to pass.

At best with good luck I might hit three targets at once, but normally two would be the limit.

Even if I used all 9 of my saved skill points, I couldn’t learn any useful attack magic right now.

The only thing I could attempt with low accuracy would be area magic, but learning that now would require more than my current 9 skill points.

“Oh magic, dwell within my hands.”

Ultimately, I decided to create three mana arrows through triple casting again, just like before.

This time too, I aimed at the three closest dummies and released them as if throwing.

“Pierce through! Oh arrows of magic!”

-Thud!

“……”

“…Ah.”

Ah.

Ah, ah, ah!

Watching the mana arrows fly wildly off course again, grazing targets before crashing into the ground, I screamed internally.

The exam proctor even gave me some cautious advice, unable to bear watching.

“Attempting triple casting is good, but wouldn’t it be better to land even one or two shots properly? Once you pass the entrance exam, you can properly learn triple casting at the academy.”

“…Thank you for the advice.”

I understand why they’d say that. From the academy staff’s perspective, letting a talent who can triple cast before even entering slip away must be painful.

While double casting can be achieved through personal effort, triple casting requires innate magical talent – impossible without exceptional aptitude.

So their intention to get me to pass first and develop at the academy is understandable, almost moving, but…

…The problem wasn’t concentration disrupted by triple casting.

It was simply Lilith’s terrible accuracy specifically with attack magic.

“Pierce through! Oh arrows of magic!”

-Whoosh!!

“Oh!”

“…Huh?”

On the third attempt, miraculously one of three arrows hit and destroyed a target.

Though it was only the second target from the front, the fact it was destroyed at all was what mattered.

It meant I’d somehow beaten the slim 5% odds to witness a minor miracle.

‘Now, if I can just hit about four out of the remaining six shots…’

Destroying five out of ten targets would barely scrape me past the passing threshold.

That level would at least qualify as standard for noble apprentice mages. No area magic or multi-casting, but the ability to consistently hit targets without mistakes across five attempts.

Specifically, I’d need to hit just one shot on the fourth attempt. If I could do that, I might barely destroy three targets with a final Mana Blast.

Thinking this, I fired three mana arrows similarly on the fourth attempt, but the results were pathetic for single-digit accuracy Lilith.

-Thud!

“Ah…”

“……”

The proctor’s sigh upon seeing the arrows crash to the ground.

And the shame washing over me for failing to hit even stationary dummies.

“Examinee, why not calm down a bit before trying? From what I see, you clearly have talent…”

“……”

Really, if I could just hit one more shot, I might have had a chance.

Now my only remaining option was dumping all remaining mana into a single Mana Blast.

Even with perfect luck hitting three targets, I’d already fallen far from passing range.

If only I’d landed just one more shot during those triple casts, I might have had some hope…

‘……Wait.’

Come to think of it, triple casting doesn’t have to be limited to mana arrows, does it?

Right, my premise was wrong from the start – that mana arrows were the most suitable for triple casting.

Preoccupied with thinking of Mana Blast as a last resort, I hadn’t considered until now that it might actually be the most effective spell for triple casting.

Since it consumes all remaining mana, the three mana bullets’ power would be similarly amplified.

Even if the power was distributed reducing the range somewhat, Mana Blast was already a powerful area spell.

If I could hit special targets with three Mana Blasts, or land two per blast…

“Examinee, please at least give your best for the remaining…”

“Oh magic!!!”

“…?!”

The moment this thought crystallized, I began chanting the incantation for my final all-or-nothing attack, channeling the sensation of casting Mana Blast with both hands.

The Mana Blast combined with triple casting immediately began forming three spheres above my hands.

This was no time for worrying about standing out or other such comforts.

Right now, passing without failing was all that mattered.

“W-wait! Examinee?!”

The proctor called out in alarm seeing the growing mana spheres, but the spell couldn’t be stopped once initiated.

Whatever consequences might come later, right now I just had to unleash it.

At 500 mana per shot, the power was already substantial, and unlike my previous Mana Blast, I didn’t need to aim for a 5-meter wide area attack.

Just three targets.

The farthest target, the moving target, and the durable target.

If I could reliably destroy these three highest-scoring ones, I should barely pass.

Any additional targets would just be a bonus.

“Explode!! Oh bombs of magic!!”

With that thought, I hurled the three mana spheres floating above me forward with all my might.

…Moments later, three explosions echoed through the magic department’s examination hall.