Having completed the strength measurement portion of the practical test, we left and headed to the next venue for the final test.
“Master! Am I amazing or what?! Did you hear? I got an A!”
As much as I knew that it was unavoidable since an A was the highest possible grade, I couldn’t help but feel a little depressed that we were considered the same level of mage, at least on paper.
“So this is the room where the other A-ranked people are supposed to be?”
Ted had been emphasizing the “A” ever since he’d received it. He must’ve been very happy to have gotten a grade that reflected their high appraisal of his skills.
The doorknob clicked as it turned. There were a little over twenty people inside, from the looks of things. Apparently, some of the nobles in the room knew each other already, and were casually conversing. The mood was very relaxed...until they saw me. As soon as we entered, a silence fell over the room. Hm? What’s going on? They had all clammed up, hanging their heads awkwardly.
“I think it’s because they heard rumors of how you destroyed the dark matter, Master.”
“Oh, I see.”
It was uncomfortable, but at the very least it didn’t seem like they intended me any harm, so I could ignore them. I sat in a chair and exhaled lightly. Most likely, all the nobles present were elites who were extremely prideful. There was probably a mix of people who were frustrated to have lost to a commoner and others who resented me for making waves as a commoner. Then there were still others who were in denial about having lost to my skills.
“Hey, you.” A girl approached me.
It was the same person with crimson hair that I’d met at the school gate. I sighed a little and ignored her.
“Excuse me?! How dare you act that way towards me! Don’t you know what an honor it is for me to go out of my way to talk to you?! At least look at me!”
“Good grief. I could’ve sworn that a certain someone warned me that, as a commoner, I should hold my tongue and not get a big head and act all friendly with you.”
It wasn’t as if I held a grudge towards her, but I also wasn’t interested in getting involved with anything troublesome. I very much wanted to extract myself from this situation and have nothing more to do with her.
“I like your attitude, but you can set that aside right now for the sake of my honor. I don’t particularly care about status or anything like that. I hate weaklings, that’s all,” Eliza said, sticking out her chest, which was strangely large for someone her age.
I see. I suppose she did say that she was only interested in the strong. It was true that there were commoner mages who were exceptionally strong, but there were far more noble mages who were. So her sole interest in those who were strong was both similar and different from the general disdain nobles held for commoners.
“Wow. Good for you,” I said, turning the page in the book I was reading while trying to make it painfully obvious I wasn’t interested in continuing the conversation.
“So anyway, is it true? I heard that you turned the dark matter targets into dust,” she asked, sitting next to me without any reservations.
“Hm. I couldn’t say.”
“How did you handle the composition of the magecraft? Did you append it? I heard that Amber-Eyed mages can’t properly control magecraft, but is there a specific type of magecraft that you excel at? Did you train under some kind of famous mage?”
Good grief. It appeared that this Eliza girl couldn’t take a hint. But I didn’t miss the way her eyes sparkled when she began talking about magecraft. It would have been easy for me to answer her questions, but I didn’t really feel like it. I hated troublesome things more than anything. I could already tell that if I let myself get involved with her, things would become a pain. Fortunately, I had an ally who came to my rescue.
“Hello everyone, please be seated. I will go over the rules for the final exam.”
The doors to the waiting room we were in opened and a woman with Ashen Eyes, who looked like the supervisor for the entire exam, entered. Her white coat gave me the impression she was a mage who specialized in healing magecraft.
“How unfortunate. Looks like we’ll have to continue this conversation another time,” I said sarcastically.
“Hmph. Fine. You’re off the hook for now, but this test will give me the answers I want,” Eliza said cryptically before returning to her seat.
Hm? What is she talking about? Apparently she was already familiar with the particulars of how we would be tested. However, I’d only discover the meaning behind her words after hearing the explanation for the final exam.
✦ ✦ ✦
The proctor began writing the details of how the final test would be conducted on the blackboard.
Since ancient times, people have waged battles over various things and for various reasons—disputes about women, territory, or even life itself. Even while engaged in warfare with the demons, humans had continued to fight amongst each other. And after all this petty squabbling, a certain custom, known as “dueling,” emerged.
“Your final test will be a mock duel to test your practical magecraft skills. Let me begin by saying that your outcome in this battle will heavily affect your chances of admittance.”
The room was calmer than I’d expected given the fact that they’d just announced that we’d have to duel each other. I see. This must be the final test every year. And my hypothesis was proven by how everyone present had silently accepted what the proctor said, without any fuss.
“Allow me to explain the three rules.”
She began to write them on the board.
1. Duels must be one-on-one.
2. Whoever has their defensive barrier, which will be created by the proctor, destroyed first loses.
“We will now cast a defensive barrier spell on each of you. It can handle multiple weaker attacks, but it will be destroyed if it takes even a single powerful spell. Be sure to keep that in mind and exert caution.” She began casting the barrier magecraft on herself to demonstrate.
I see. These are reasonable parameters for a mock duel. The only problem was that the barrier spell being cast didn’t inspire too much confidence, but with the other students being as weak as they were, I didn’t anticipate any problems.
“I’ll explain the third and final rule now. You will each be paired with someone who’s closest to the skill level you demonstrated in the previous exam. I’ve posted a sheet that has your duel partner on it. Check your number and find your partner.”
Let’s see... It looks like I’m paired off with number eighty-six. I had a feeling that I’d seen this number before, but I couldn’t put my finger on who it was. I had so little interest in the other applicants that I hadn’t bothered to commit their numbers to memory.
“May I sit next to you again, Abel?” Just as I was thinking I should start looking for my partner, a familiar girl called out to me.
Oh. Okay, now I get it. Everything fell in place as the girl with crimson hair, Eliza, flashed the number plate on her chest to me. Eighty-six.
“Look at that!”
“The infamous Inferior Eyes and the red-haired girl are gonna fight!”
I see. Apparently ours is the big-ticket fight. The proctor had said that we’d be paired off with people closest to our skill level, so that must’ve meant that she’d placed second after me.
“Let’s have a ball. I’ll be sure to thoroughly judge your skill.”
Eliza sounded very confident as she stuck her hand out to me. Good grief. All I wanted to do was stay out of the spotlight, be ignored, and graduate in peace. It seemed that at every turn, life was intent on showing me that nothing went as planned.