Chapter 80

New Student Placement Test (4)

Josef Whitefeltz is the youngest person to be awarded the position of researcher at the Torg Magical Society which is supported by the Imperial Castle.

The fact that he came all the way to Sylvania to get a diploma even though he didn’t even need to learn basic magic shows how practical a person he is.

Even magical arts research is only carried out because it is profitable and there is nothing academically sublime about him.

Josef is the younger brother of Dorothy Whitefeltz the senior in the pension department among the fourth-year students.

Unlike my sister who was in trouble I have a quiet and gentle personality... On the contrary the magic he studied was all noisy.

Even though he is still a freshman he knows how to use mid-level magic. That’s three each.

It uses mid-level fire magic ‘One Point Explosion’ mid-level freezing magic ‘Ice Spear’ and mid-level earth magic ‘Earth Crushing’... He was a wizard who could not be considered at the level of a freshman.

He is a talented person with a reason for passing the illusion magic test first.

Of course he is worth aiming for as the head of the Magic Department and if he beats Wade Calamore of the Combat Department he could even aim for the head of his grade.

His hair is shaggy and messy due to his personality of not being bothered to cut it. Her bangs are pulled up with a thin headband to maintain an all-back look but the hair on the back is almost sparse.

“Okay pass by.”

Traces of the explosion are visible at the entrance to the altar. Anise quietly lowered her head below him.

The battle between wizard and wizard is resolved quickly.

Above all if you become a wizard of Josef’s level you can quickly gauge the level of your opponent. It was at a level where it was impossible to win in the first place.

Anis is a senior assistant and a talent who could be called a specialist in practical and academic fields... In the field of combat magic it is only slightly better than the average of third-year preliminary students.

Of course it is not at a level that ordinary freshmen can compare to. It’s just that Josef is unique.

“... There is no need to be so upset. The name... ”

“Annis Haylan.”

“Yes Senior Anis.”

Josef picked up the magic stone in a gentle voice. Behind Anis you can see the pillars of a large altar. Just go there and offer the magic stone and the test is over.

Josef felt a bit bland. More time was invested in the climbing itself than in the actual test.

“Senior you obviously have your own specialized field. It’s just that he wasn’t suited for combat and he probably has his own areas that I wouldn’t even dare to try... ”

“You are sorely mistaken.”

Anis lowered her head and interrupted Josef.

“I’m angry but it’s not the resentment you think. “Joseph as you said I have areas that I am good at.”

then... ”

“Don’t ask me too much but if you want to pass by I’ll pass quickly...” ? “I also have to deal with the students coming up behind you so I want to save some stamina.”

Josef slowly raised his head and looked at Anise’s expression. As expected he does not appear to be discouraged by the difference in skill between him and Josef.

The spirit of the seniors is definitely strong since they are in their third year of preparation. Josef shook his head and walked past Tulle Anis.

After Josef passed by Anis sat down on a nearby rock.

And I wiped away the tears from my eyes.

I’m so angry. However it was strangely different from Josef’s point.

The basis for Anis’s ability to endure the long winter-like academic life was her ability to do things perfectly.

There is no way to go wrong with an insignificant and trivial mistake. Because I lived a clean and perfect life in everything I was able to constantly affirm myself even during the arduous life of a bachelor.

The reason Anis is angry is because of her incompetence.

I broke my magic engineering supplies and was embarrassed by an unusual mistake so I couldn’t say anything couldn’t come up with any alternative and in the end I couldn’t even block the entrance to the north altar.

After this Anise’s perfectionism became a double-edged sword and a dagger that pierced her own heart.

He is a pathetic human being who always pretends to be good perfect and flawless but only falters at important moments.

I am angry at the fact that even though I have struggled as hard as I can I am still far from perfection.

Anise sat down on the rock sniffled and looked at the altar at the top.

A blonde boy will be guarding the final altar. Anis who rarely makes mistakes has caused many major accidents but he is the one who tries to solve them all with improvisation.

It’s easy to get angry but he doesn’t even get annoyed and instead tries to steer the conversation in a constructive direction.

Suddenly that face comes to mind.

The heart is clueless.

Anis sits at the entrance to the altar... I was quietly comforting my heart.

*

“You are the first customer.”

Joseph entered the altar and sighed. As expected the test did not end here.

There is a boy sitting on the altar.

With his dazzling short blond bangs rounded off he definitely looks like a master from an aristocratic family. His sharp eyes are staring straight at Josef but the sight of him sitting roughly on the altar is quite relaxed.

“And I hope you’re the last customer.”

“It’s nice that the test method is easy to understand.”

Josef observed his surroundings in an instant.

There are five or six magical engineering supplies scattered here and there around the altar. It seems to be an improved version of the illusion disk I saw on the way up.

However the parts are scattered here and there as if someone hastily worked on them. Such high-end magical engineering supplies cannot be easily repaired. Unless it is a simple function adjustment it is an item that cannot be overcome even with a reasonable knowledge of magic engineering.

Additionally several trees growing near the altar show signs of being cut down here and there and a fairly large leather bag is placed on top of the altar.

The contents were of some kind but judging from the energy felt it seemed to be a magic stone. It’s a fairly expensive item but I had no idea they were stockpiling it that much.

One thing that can be inferred is that this battlefield itself has already been orchestrated by that boy.

It is impossible to let down your guard.

“You know the content of the test right? All you have to do is offer the magic stone you brought to the altar. But I won’t just leave it alone.”

“As expected the testing method is strange... ”

Josef rested his chin and thought about it before spitting out a story.

“If I succeed in subduing my senior and offering him the magic stone... “Who will the students behind me take the test with?”

“Well that’s fine. “That’s none of your concern.”

“That’s true. “There are probably alternatives.”

Josef said and focused his attention on his eyes.

The blond boy’s name is unknown. However judging from the color of her name tag and her attire she belongs to the Ministry of Magic just like Anise who she dealt with on the way up.

As already mentioned a wizard versus a wizard can gauge each other’s abilities in an instant. Even if it’s not 100% perfect you can get a rough estimate.

In Josef’s eyes Ed did not seem to have any strong magical power. Rather Ed was borrowing the power of the magic stone offered on the altar.

If anyone could overpower a powerful wizard just by borrowing the power of a magic stone who would put in the effort to study magic?

Horsepower is ultimately nothing more than fuel. No matter how much magical power a person can immediately grasp having a low total magical power means that the level of magic he or she can handle is very low.

A person’s total magical power will eventually increase to some extent as they train their magic.

Most of the magical power felt from the blond boy is magical power that relies on magic stones and he has little of his own magical power.

That means... He said he barely trained his magic power.

Despite being part of the Ministry of Magic.

The other person is starting to look pitiful... Josef sighed deeply. Still I can’t look down on him because he’s a senior. He thought it would be better to use mid-level magic to end it quickly.

I’m starting to get hungry. Let’s finish quickly and go buy a sandwich.

With that thought in mind Josef raised his palm in the air.

After concentrating for a moment he clenched his palms tightly and stared at the blond boy.

Lieutenant fire magic ‘one-point explosion’.

Among the many magics in combat magic it is famous for being a vicious magic that ‘if you don’t know it you will face it’.

The casting itself isn’t fast and requires a lot of concentration but... Once it is successfully cast it is almost impossible to deal with it.

Because it instantly creates an explosion at a desired point with a level of mana that you can handle you must move ‘in advance’ to deal with the one-point explosion.

With just these small hand movements a series of evasive maneuvers are made to detect the opponent’s intentions read the flow of magic power and escape from the target point.

Once the explosion point is determined the location cannot be easily changed so if you can read it you can deal with it to some extent but reading it itself is not easy.

Anyone can see that the sum exchanged with Ed right now was a ‘real battle’ itself.

The opponent is not someone who is formal and competes purely with magic.

This is a person who attacks with the sole purpose of subduing the opponent using any clever or dirty tricks.

‘Don’t lose your mind... ! Keep thinking... !’

There is no way to guess what the opponent will do next. Since it is a scene where fouls do not exist in the first place no one can say anything no matter what.

In order to receive a business card called Class A you must be able to improvise to this extent. After remembering that fact again Josef took his breath immediately.

‘No matter what you can’t cast basic magic faster than me. That one has the law engraved in advance... If the magic formula itself is given... ! It’s a condensation of the magic casting process itself!’

Josef began to think quickly. His extraordinary brain is not in vain.

Now that I think about it it was strange that I had just gone through the flames with my bare body. It doesn’t look like he’s wearing any fire resistance equipment.

The destination where Josef’s vast magical knowledge is heading...

‘It’s elemental magic...!’

Josef took a defensive stance again. Ed didn’t move right away either.

A moment of lull.

Contracted spirits often grant ‘constantly activated magic’ to the caster. These are things that are collectively called ‘God’s protection’.

The ‘Blessing of Fire’ often given by low-ranking fire spirits. The most likely one is the always-on magic that temporarily increases fire resistance.

This also explains the fact that he activated the explosion magic faster than Josef.

‘It’s not a magic formula... Spirit ceremony... !’

Whether it’s the magic you’re dealing with equipment or strategies... they’re all designed to catch the opponent off guard and subdue the enemy.

That blond nobleman wearing half-tanned clothes and looking down at Josef with a cold gaze cannot be defined as a wizard. I just use magic.

Just a human who is used to the battle itself. Making up for the gap in specifications with tips... He is thoroughly practical-oriented.

Josef’s ability to sense spirits is not that great. However if you concentrate your mind even low-level spirits can see the outline.

When I gathered my magic power between my eyes and straightened my gaze I saw the shape of a flame bat floating back and forth behind Ed’s back.

‘Were they hiding the fact that they could use elemental magic by cleverly mixing fire magic...? !’

Come to think of it those aren’t all the chess pieces he’s hiding.

circumstance.

Cut off tree branches. Josef’s eyes caught the magical engineering supplies rolling around on the floor. In addition there is a high possibility that something more is hidden technically.

Will I be able to cope with it all? ? Josef has a realistic personality. He quickly shook his head and changed his strategy.

“I lost. “I will return the magic stone here.”

After saying that Josef threw the magic stone onto the floor.

Ed’s eyes momentarily focus on the magic stone. It was a base that Josef came up with quickly.

No matter what you can’t help but be drawn to it. Because Ed’s purpose itself was to steal the magic stone.

In that moment when Ed’s attention is focused an ‘Ice Spear’ is created with a faster casting speed than anyone else.

Fast casting reduces the power of magic. But it doesn’t matter. It’s just the second bait to catch Ed’s attention. Ed unconsciously felt confident that he would expect this to happen.

In the end if you want to win a real battle you have no choice but to catch your opponent off guard.

Josef is a wizard to his core having studied magic in a corner of his closet. Josef then kicks the floor and launches himself with his ice spear.

“Aaaah!”

A trembling fist cuts through the air and heads towards Ed’s chin. Josef’s power hit Ed’s cheek exactly as he quickly lowered his head conscious of his ice spear.

-Pow!

Ed’s head whipped around.

But my head just turned.

Of course there is no need for the body to fall over or fly away. It’s a difference in weight class.

I never thought that Josef who had studied magic all his life would come to such a predicament and throw a punch... Even Ed didn’t expect it.

Ed’s head returns to its original state just as the fist was inserted. The cold gaze looking down remains the same.

Distance is zero. If you raise your fist it will reach you immediately.

Josef just swallowed his breath. The last bit of pride made him stop the tears from welling up in his eyes.

The moment Ed raised his hand and grabbed Josef’s wrist a wind of unknown origin blew up.

-Whaaaaaaaaaa!

This is not the magic that Ed implemented. However it is a ‘constantly activated magic’ that protects Ed’s body. It is the so-called protection of the spirits.

There is no way that a contract could have been made with only one spirit. That’s natural. Josef was pushed by an unknown wind and ended up in a corner of the vacant lot.

“Oops! “Huh!”

And then I barely got my body together and took a deep breath. The pupils were already enlarged to their limit.

Considering that it was activated without even Ed himself being conscious of it it was clearly the spirit’s protection.

Josef memorizes all of the spirit’s protection.

A magic that subdues the enemy by blowing them away with wind when an unexpected blow occurs once in a certain period of time. ‘The protection of the storm’

The activation speed is a bit slow as the contract has only recently been signed. Still it definitely worked.

There is only one spirit that provides that protection at least as far as Josef knows.

Josef looked at the top of the altar stone with trembling eyes.

Come to think of it the wind that just blew away Josef’s fire magic was not created by Ed himself.

If Ed himself had manifested it the wind had to have spewed out with Ed as the standard.

But the source of the wind is clearly... The top of that tall monument.

Something invisible to Josef’s sensitivity. He is clearly sitting astride the huge monument. If Josef’s prediction is correct then...

What and how much more is being hidden from now on?

So does this mean that it has been a success until now? Because there are a lot of new students to deal with in the future right?

– ‘If I succeed in subduing my senior and offering him the magic stone... ‘Who will the students behind me take the test with?’

How much arrogance was that thoughtlessly thrown out?

-Hwiik.

Ed took out his dagger and stood up again. It gives the illusion that eye light is flowing from the shaking gaze.

Josef was startled and shouted.

“I really lost!”

Then in an instant he activated the ‘one-point explosion’ spell and destroyed his magic stone on the floor.

It was the easiest declaration of surrender to understand.

“... ”

After watching the magic stone that was completely broken into fragments for a moment Ed relaxed his shoulders.

A moment of silence.

“Okay good job.”

Ed heaped up his dagger and put it away as if the battle so far had been bad. The only one who was dumbfounded was Josef.

“It was great at the end. It was a great decision in its own way. I took a hit. “Then go now.”

Then adjusting my scorched school uniform I sat down on the altar again.

“... ”

Josef slowly stood up and quietly opened his mouth.

Seniors. What’s your name?

“Ed Rosstaylor.”

Ed dusted off his sleeves and sat quietly at the altar waiting for his next opponent.

Josef stuck his tongue out as he looked at Ed sitting at the altar looking the same as when he first came in.

There was one thing I was certain of.

That person hasn’t even used half of what he has yet.