novelraw Chapter 110 : Ed Etar (2)
Chapter 110 : Ed Etar (2)
Chapter 110: Ed Etar (2)
‘I finally understood what Former meant.’
Only after seeing Kiena in person did Etar recall what Former had said in the past.
But he did not think it was important in the current situation.
Compared to students with different energies, she merely stood out a little—nothing that could truly be called special.
Etar did not show it and proceeded with the evaluation.
“Now then, student Kiena. Shall we take a look at the relics? I heard that for the summoning subject, you only need to perfectly handle three adult beasts.”
He also knew the passing criteria.
Although he was an Elementalist and could not use summoning magic himself, he was at least at a level where he could observe and judge.
“Yes!”
Kiena answered brightly and summoned the first relic, Pegasus.
“Uh……?”
However, even though Kiena had summoned a perfect Pegasus, she reacted as if something was not going as intended.
“What is it?”
“The Pegasus’s skin color changed. Until yesterday, it was white…….”
The Pegasus Kiena had now had black skin.
But Etar did not know the meaning behind the sudden change in skin color.
“Don’t worry about things like that and continue.”
“Yes!”
The second relic, Roc, then Griffin, and finally the last relic, Lycan.
Kiena showed Etar the relics, each possessing four adult beasts, exceeding the passing criteria.
Clap, clap.
Etar lightly clapped his hands and spoke.
“A 5th Class graduate has finally appeared. And to handle four of them at that. You will have no problems in the 6th Class.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Could you come over here? You can send the relics back now.”
“Yes!”
Since Etar was seated in a wheelchair and his height was similar to Kiena’s standing height, he could reach her shoulder just by extending his hand.
He burned away Kiena’s existing 5th Class insignia with a simple spell and replaced it with a new 6th Class insignia.
Immediately after, a red portal opened behind Etar.
“If you go in there, you will arrive at the 6th Class hall. Once you arrive, a mob will guide you, so just follow it.”
This was the moment Kiena passed.
“……Thank you very much!”
With a booming voice, Kiena dragged a suitcase nearly as large as her own body and entered the portal.
Then the next evaluation subject, the Fire Element student, Hei, entered the hall.
“……Huh? Who are you?”
Hei truly looked as though he was asking because he did not know.
The other students had said they had at least seen him in photographs.
That meant they had looked at the book 《The Admission Requirements of Our Academy》 in the library at least once since Class 0.
But the student standing before him seemed to have no interest in such things at all, asking as though he had never looked at it even once.
‘A student like this…… suddenly being a Double Caster is even more suspicious.’
Just like with Kiena, that unpleasant energy lingered around Hei as well.
“Have you never seen the book called 《The Admission Requirements of Our Academy》? It’s a book found in every class library.”
“……Yes.”
As expected.
“I see. Then it’s only natural you wouldn’t know who I am. I am Ed Etar, the Headmaster of this school.”
“……Gah! I’m sorry for not recognizing you!”
“No, it’s fine. Now then, shall we start the evaluation? I hear you recently became a Fire and Darkness Double Caster.”
“Yes……. I went to sleep and when I woke up, my hair had suddenly turned black, and just in case, I tried manifesting the Darkness Element—and it worked.”
Etar wondered if such a thing had ever happened in history.
Not being discovered in Class 0 like Artel, but becoming a Double Caster only after quite some time had passed as a single Elementalist.
At least as far as Etar knew, there was no such mage.
“What elements did you prepare for the evaluation?”
“Both Fire and Darkness. For some reason, even when I manifest Fire Element magic, Darkness Element gets mixed in. Even though I didn’t intend it.”
“Is that so? Then, could you first explain the magic?”
“Yes! I named it Physical, but since I suddenly became able to use Darkness Element too, I wasn’t sure what to call it.”
“We can decide that slowly later. Physical? What does that mean?”
“It’s a combination of fire and physical.”
Physical was a term referring to the body.
In other words, it was a term more familiar to swordsmen.
‘Come to think of it, I heard this student also passed the swordsman school entrance exam. Is that influence showing here?’
A mage who intended to use his body.
As far as Etar knew, there was only one such mage in existence.
‘Or is this also Lord Archis Eimer’s influence?’
“For now, I would like to see it. Show me.”
“Yup!”
Hei created a black flame sphere and swallowed it.
“……?”
Etar was slightly surprised, but he did not show it and simply observed the situation.
Soon, as if Hei’s body itself had become a wick, he turned into black flames burning darkly.
It was clearly a spell Etar had never seen before.
No, beyond simply never having seen it, it was a spell that stimulated his interest.
Usually, when students were told to develop a new spell, they would grotesquely modify existing spells like Reina and pretend they had developed something new.
Or they would present truly nonsensical magic.
That meant more than half the students lacked even the basic mindset to pioneer magic.
However, Hei’s magic was extremely earnest and powerful.
“Could you explain the effect of that magic?”
“Yes, while using this magic, my physical abilities increase explosively!”
“Try it.”
Hei flew around the hall with his bare body.
The sight was like a black-burning comet performing acrobatics.
And it was fast.
So fast that even Etar first wondered whether, if he gave an assignment to hit that flying student with magic, he could even manage to land a hit.
But it did not seem like that magic had such a simple effect alone.
“Is that the only effect?”
Hei briefly stopped his flashy movements and continued his explanation.
“No! This wasn’t intentional, but while I’m using this magic, the power of all my spells becomes stronger!”
“In that case, would it be alright if I conducted an experiment using my magic on you, student?”
“Sure!”
At that, Etar created multiple flame curtains.
There were no fewer than twenty of them.
“……Fire Shroud?”
Hei guessed.
“No. It only looks the same on the outside—it’s completely different.”
Boom-!
As if the flame curtains were cannons, fire-element spheres were fired from within, grazing past Hei and striking the wall of the hall.
Kwang-!
The wall caved in and shattered.
Seeing the broken section, Hei seemed slightly frightened, his shoulders shrinking just a little.
“I’ll be aiming at you next. Can you defend or evade using that magic?”
“Um…… I think I can.”
He was somewhat scared, but he hadn’t lost his confidence entirely.
Hei answered boldly.
“Is that so?”
Etar asked back with interest and began the evaluation.
Fire spheres fired simultaneously from the twenty flame curtains.
They all targeted Hei, but Hei evaded every single one at tremendous speed.
‘His reactions are good. He can’t be called a 5th Class.’
If he were an ordinary mage, it would be obvious that he’d try to block the attacks somehow with his own magic.
But this student instead chose to evade.
Actively using his body.
That was definitely not a solution that could come out of the head of a mere 5th Class student.
Now intending to actually land a hit, Etar carefully aimed at Hei.
He was curious how the boy would react.
Kwang-!
Puh-ung-!
Some spheres were brushed past with bodily movement, and those that seemed impossible to dodge were punched, disappearing on the spot.
Thus, unlike the other students, Hei’s evaluation lasted a bit longer, only ending around the ten-minute mark.
“Excellent.”
There was no longer any room for doubt.
Etar dismissed the twenty flame curtains he had manifested and spoke to Hei.
“You too, withdraw that magic and come before me.”
Hei returned to a normal state and walked toward Etar.
Etar reached out his hand, trying to touch Hei’s shoulder, but his hand didn’t reach.
“You’re a bit tall for your age.”
At those words, Hei slightly bent his knees to match the height of Etar’s hand.
Etar burned away Hei’s 5th Class insignia and newly affixed a 6th Class insignia.
“Enter that portal. Graduation—congratulations.”
“……Thank you!”
Overcome with joy, Hei’s eyes glistened with faint tears.
With that, even the ninth in order, Hei, was finished, and now only the long-awaited final student, Artel, remained.
“…….”
Before lifting the barrier magic at the entrance of the hall, Etar took a small, deep breath.
Arkis Aimer.
The moment of reunion with his master.
It was a particularly nerve-wracking turn.
At the moment Artel’s turn approached, it felt as if the flow of time itself had stopped.
Even his thoughts.
The sound of “huuk, huuk” breathing rang out unusually loud.
He couldn’t even remember the last time he had been this nervous.
‘Is today finally the day I meet you, Lord Arkis.’
Steeling his trembling heart, Etar released the barrier magic.
With my arms crossed, I leaned against the wall and waited for my turn.
The students who had gone through the evaluation before me had taken roughly five minutes.
Up to Reina, it had been as if they’d all agreed—uniform timing.
But that rule broke starting with Kiena.
Less than three minutes after Kiena entered, the barrier magic was lifted, and after that, Hei went in.
Kiena did not come out of the hall.
That meant she passed the evaluation without any issues and headed to the 6th Class.
The same was true for Hei.
It bothered me a little that Hei’s evaluation alone took about ten minutes, but since it didn’t affect the result, it didn’t seem worth worrying about too much.
And now.
The barrier magic at the entrance of the hall was lifted.
“Is it finally my turn.”
If only I passed now, the 5th Class would end up being the smoothest and easiest class progression in history.
With my arms still crossed, boldly,
I stepped into the hall.
But the moment I saw the mage inside the hall, I couldn’t help but freeze in place.
‘Ed…… Etar……?’
Compared to the image I remembered and the photograph I’d seen in the book 《The Admission Requirements of Our Academy》 in the library back in Class 0, he looked much older, but there was no doubt—it was Etar.
And he was seated in a wheelchair.
‘Don’t tell me…… the one who’s been conducting the evaluations all this time wasn’t Nylon, but Etar……?’
Etar was staring at me with a blank expression.
The moment Etar saw Artel enter the hall, he barely managed to stop his mouth from falling open.
That posture as he walked in with his arms crossed.
It was far too similar to someone he had seen countless times three hundred years ago.
The only difference was the outward appearance—his gait and even the atmosphere he exuded were the same.
It was the image of that mage he knew.
Perhaps because of that, from the day Etar became Arkis Aimer’s Disciple to the day Arkis died, all those days flashed past like a panorama.
Heh.
The corners of Etar’s mouth rose on their own.
This was something he couldn’t forcibly suppress.
‘It really is…… Lord Arkis. But the more important something is, the more thoroughly it must be verified—even excessively so.’
Although all circumstances already pointed to Artel being Arkis Aimer, Etar needed a more definitive confirmation—one that would leave no room for doubt, even in his own mind.
Only then, he felt, would he gain the courage to lay everything bare.
Etar recalled one good memory.
He intended to use it as the procedure to confirm Artel’s true identity.
Soon, Etar opened his mouth.
“Student Artel, I suppose I’ll have to change the standards for your student ability evaluation.”
Feigning ignorance of Artel’s true identity, he presented a new task.