novelraw Chapter 87 : Professor Interview (2)
Chapter 87 : Professor Interview (2)
Chapter 87: Professor Interview (2)
The place we arrived at was the auditorium of the 3rd Class.
Only six people were left standing awkwardly in the vast auditorium.
Once we safely entered inside as well, Cullem thoroughly sealed the doors with a fire-element blocking spell.
“Don’t be scared. It’s just so other students don’t find out what the interview actually is. It’d be troublesome if another student came in while it’s in progress, right?”
Even if that was the reason, the blocking spell was far too vicious.
It wasn’t just simple fire—it had been plastered entirely with lava.
Then Cullem stood in front of us, lined up neatly, and manifested a single gigantic cube.
Half of it burned with red flames, the other half with blue flames.
“Now, I’ll explain the professor interview. You three will enter this cube. At that moment, the blue flames will react to your mana and begin to burn.”
It was quite an interesting interview method.
But it didn’t feel unfamiliar.
‘Could it be that?’
Cullem’s explanation continued.
“In that state, if the three of you maintain the ratio of blue flames at thirty percent, regardless of means or methods, you pass the interview. The time limit is five minutes.”
Snap!
As she finished explaining and snapped her fingers, an hourglass appeared in front of the cube.
Unlike an ordinary hourglass, the sand inside was burning.
“The moment you enter, this hourglass will flip over and the interview will begin immediately. And we’ll be injecting mana toward the cube you’re in.”
“Then that means the red flame area reacts to the professors’ mana.”
“More precisely, not just mine, but also the mana of the two teachers here.”
I finally understood what it meant when they said the difficulty would increase.
A contest of mana.
That was the true nature of this interview.
There was a reason it didn’t feel unfamiliar.
Rather than a sparring match where we attacked each other with magic, this was a method of purely securing territory with mana alone.
I thought summoning a cube made it a bit unusual, but it was actually one of the games that had commonly existed since long ago.
The problem was that this wasn’t a game—it was a test.
A contest of mana between students and faculty.
For an ordinary student, this was an interview that could never be passed.
“We can interfere with your concentration. That means it’s fine for us to attack you with magic. Still, don’t worry too much. As long as you’re inside that cube, you won’t die.”
She said it so easily.
I gauged the level of the three with my eyes.
‘I’ve never properly seen Balak or Cullem’s magic, but Balak is definitely a 6th Circle Mage, and Cullem must be a 7th Circle Mage.’
My gaze then shifted to the summoning teacher.
‘That teacher is probably a 6th Circle Mage too. Since he’s a summoner, I don’t really feel the need to be wary.’
Summoners weaker than elementalists.
Because of that, I excluded him from my list of threats.
As expected, the biggest problem was Cullem.
All along, Cullem wore an overtly sly smile, like someone who had a hidden trump card prepared.
“And the blue flames’ territory is determined by the average mana of the three of you. Just as we can interfere with you using magic, you can also block attacks coming toward the cube.”
Of course.
There was no easy way through.
A variable had been added.
Average mana.
In other words, no matter how much mana I released on my own, if Kiena and Hei dragged the average down, it would become meaningless.
“That’s all. Any questions?”
“Professor, what happens if we fail……?”
Hei asked in an anxious voice.
“Demotion to the 1st Class.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
“A relief? What’s relieving about being demoted?”
“It’s not expulsion…….”
At Hei’s answer, Kiena slowly nodded.
What they feared most was expulsion.
Honestly, I was also a little surprised that the price of failure was merely demotion.
A school that had been desperate to expel students ever since Class 0 ending it with just demotion—wasn’t that practically a complete change of heart?
Even so, there wasn’t the slightest reason to feel relieved and accept demotion.
If we returned to the 1st Class, it would take one to two years to come back up to the 3rd Class.
That would only increase the distance between me and Ed Etar, whom I needed to meet, so I refused.
Moreover, in the 1st Class, I had been able to go straight to the 3rd Class thanks to the special admission track, but if I returned to the 1st Class again, there was the variable that this special track might disappear.
Achieving my goal while avoiding variables as much as possible.
That was all I thought about.
“Hei, Kiena. You can do this, right?”
I asked while patting their shoulders.
Since the blue flames were calculated by average mana, their capabilities would have a major impact.
Judging by the abilities they showed that night a few days ago, this was a task they could pass without issue—but the problem was that the magic they displayed back then wasn’t done through their own egos.
There were still elements of uncertainty.
“Yeah!”
“I can do it too!”
Having shed their worries about expulsion, the two of them clearly looked more confident.
“Then, tell me when you’re ready. We’ll start immediately.”
After exchanging looks with the two, I nodded and replied.
“Let’s start right now. There’s no need to drag it out anyway, is there?”
“Are the teachers ready as well?”
When Cullem asked Balak and the summoning teacher, both nodded confidently.
“Professor, it really doesn’t matter what kind of magic we use on the students, right?”
The summoning teacher asked at that moment.
“As long as they’re inside that cube, they won’t die for sure. Getting injured…… I can’t guarantee.”
Just from her tone, it sounded as if she was hoping we’d get hurt.
‘Well, I guess that’s fine.’
I didn’t know what kind of interference they would attempt, but I could block all three of their schemes at my level.
“Let’s go in.”
When I took the first step, Kiena and Hei followed behind me confidently.
Former visited the Headmaster’s office.
It was to deliver the news that Artel would be taking the professor interview in the 3rd Class.
“I see. I already received all of Artel’s sparring footage from Cullem, so I expected he’d be taking the interview soon. Still, this is faster than I thought.”
“I saw it too…… it was the second day of the 3rd Class, right? Showing Tap-Taking at that level.”
“Yeah, it was unbelievable. This wasn’t something he figured out. It felt like he had always been able to do it and only just brought it out now. Mastering Tap-Taking in two days? In the entire history of mages, there has never been such a mage.”
“Wouldn’t the Headmaster’s teacher……have been different?”
Former asked cautiously.
For Etar, the word teacher wasn’t quite a forbidden term, but since it forcibly reminded him of someone who had already died, it was a word he tended to avoid.
“No. Even that person needed a full year for that stage. It took me three years.”
But Etar answered without showing any outward sign.
“When Archis Eimer became an Archmage and led the Magical Society, the prevailing evaluation was that he was already a greater mage than his own teacher, Alarize Petra. And yet even he took an entire year—so for a mere double caster to master it in two days? That would turn the world upside down.”
“I’ve taken measures to make sure news of Artel’s Tap-Taking doesn’t reach the ears of Melatan, the teacher in charge of the Dark Element, but…….”
“That’s why Tyrant won’t stay still. If that news got out, the entire Royal Guard would have come to this branch school’s 3rd Class.”
“Yes, that’s why we took precautions. But if, hypothetically speaking…….”
“What? You’re worried about what happens if Artel fails this interview?”
Etar had already seen straight through Former’s concern.
“……Yes.”
“We may not be able to explain Tap-Taking yet, but he clearly has talent. And if that talent is real, then he’ll breeze through something like a 3rd Class interview. Let’s discard negative thoughts.”
“Understood.”
“The 5th Class professor is Draco Deven right now, correct?”
Etar asked, already certain that Artel would be heading to the 5th Class.
“Yes.”
And the 5th Class professor, Draco Deven.
He was a collateral member of the Draco Family and an enemy of Etar.
He was also a professor planted by Tyrant to keep Etar under surveillance.
“Hm, then we just need to get past that stage. When Artel is about to move up, can’t we have him leave his post for a while? We went through the trouble of hiding his Tap-Taking talent—if he runs into that professor the moment he reaches the 5th Class, it could all become pointless.”
“Hmm…….”
Former turned his head as much as he could, searching for a clever solution.
There was no justification to suddenly send him down to the Underworld.
Moreover, Deven was a mage who only listened to his own words, so if Former stepped in personally to send him away, suspicion would be unavoidable.
Something that wouldn’t be noticed, and would look completely natural.
While thinking only of that, an idea came to Former.
“Perhaps……it’s quite a dangerous method, but what about this?”
“What is it?”
“We connect one of the main school’s Grade 8 Altars to the 5th Class here.”
An altar was similar to a waypoint.
They existed only at the main school, and the difference was that monsters emerged from them.
The reason was Sylarid, located at the very top of the main school.
Even while sealed, he was endlessly seeking revival.
Just how vast his mana had to be—despite being confined at the top, he had installed waypoints throughout the main school that allowed his summoned creatures to flow downward.
Whenever Sylarid used summoning magic at the top, monsters appeared on the lower floors where students were.
Archis Eimer had searched for a way to destroy the altars, but in the end, he never found one.
That was why, even while Archis Eimer guarded the top, he stationed his six disciples below, having them immediately deal with the monsters emerging from the altars to protect the students.
The grade of an altar, like a mage’s circle, grew stronger as the number increased.
A Grade 8 Altar was roughly equivalent to the level of an 8th Circle Mage.
“Hmmm……student safety is an issue, though…….”
“We can change the 5th Class schedule so all classes start simultaneously in the morning, then connect it only briefly.”
“How many circles is Deven?”
“He’s at the 7th Circle level.”
At the 7th Circle, he wouldn’t have the capacity to deal with Sylarid’s monsters coming out of a Grade 8 Altar.
Etar could be certain of that, because he had experienced it himself.
By his estimation, Deven would be at least rendered unconscious.
If he was unlucky, he might even die on the spot.
“If Deven can’t handle it, won’t innocent students and teachers be put in danger?”
“I can stand by. I’ve experienced a Grade 8 Altar myself, so I know it well. I can resolve it at my level.”
“But is it possible to connect it?”
“Yes. The method of connection is a secret art of the Draco Family, but who do you think I am?”
From childhood through his growth years,
Former had spent all of it within the Draco Family, so he could easily access that level of secret technique.
“If we connect it, will Tyrant find out?”
“He won’t. Tyrant has already ordered the Draco Family’s main residence to connect altars of various grades and train with them in order to absorb Sylarid’s power.”
“……Raising them like that, only to extract the souls of my descendants and absorb them himself?”
“Yes.”
Just what was so special about that paltry power, to make someone capable of such cruelty?
“Alright. For now, that seems to be the only option, so let’s do it that way.”
“Yes. I’ll prepare immediately.”
Etar didn’t feel good about it, but this plan was one where Former showed particular confidence, so he decided to trust him completely.
Etar waited anxiously for the result of Artel’s interview.
Tak…… tatak…….
The moment we entered the cube, the area of blue flames vanished without a trace.
In an instant, the cube was completely filled with red flames.
“That’s what happens if you don’t concentrate. You get the hang of it now, right?”
Cullem still wore an expression full of interest as she looked at us up on the ceiling and asked.
I checked Kiena’s and Hei’s expressions.
They looked like they had grasped a sense of how to increase the area of blue flames.
“Let’s begin.”
Cullem flipped the hourglass upside down.