Chapter 38 (1/2)
Chapter 38
The wizards began to give up a week after the test began, their progress distinctly divided by their ranks.
The lower ranks gave up at numbers 1-4, while the middle ranks stopped at number 5.
The higher ranks were divided into those who could barely complete number 6 and those who had enough wits and tenacity to challenge number 7. The highest ranks were divided by the percentage of number 7 that they solved, from answering barely more than half to providing a complete solution.
No one could even talk about number 8.
Regardless, experiencing the test alone became a feat, a medal of sorts, for the students. It was a privilege that only 150 out of the 300 new wizards could enjoy.
Not only the senior wizards but even the professors were asking about the test.
On Saturday noon, the day the exams at the university tower were dated to end, Sylvia immersed herself in question number 8, forgetting the passage of time.
Her disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes were completely disparate from her usual neat appearance. Nevertheless, she ceaselessly released mana.
She had spent nearly five days on the final problem alone, and through it all, she had already written more than seven magic circles.
Due to the numerous magic involved with the problem, she decided to deduce them piece by piece and translate them into the answer sheet.
She had conjured multiple magic circles already, but she still had no idea how many more were left.
She finally understood the need for the gigantic answer sheets.
“…!”
While writing the 8th magic circle, she felt a pain in her head and eyes. Acting swiftly, Sylvia quickly stopped the blood that was about to fall from her nose, knowing full well it might cause a problem if they dripped onto her papers.
Leaving the test room and creating a blood trail behind her, she noticed her reflection on the corridor’s window.
It was clear she had left herself unattended and unaccounted for.
“…”
She might even die at this rate.
‘I need to take a short break.’
Sylvia lightly tidied up her appearance using Cleanse as she headed for the elevator, finding the person she had seen for ten days straight seemingly dozing off.
“Excuse me.”
“Ah! Oh. Ms. Sylvia, are you going out?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, you may proceed.”
She got on the elevator and came out of the tower.
Fortunately, the surroundings were quiet. Sylvia walked to a nearby park, sat on one of its benches, and stared at the garden right in front of her.
“…”
It was nothing out of the ordinary. It had grass, flowers, and trees stemming from the ground. Above the greenery shone the sun, providing them with the light that they need for photosynthesis.
The garden, just like question number 8, was the result of independent elements connecting to become one unit.
Hence, she thought creating and casting powerful advanced magic was no different from gardening.
Her father once told her that even if thousands or tens of thousands of Solda-ranked wizards gathered, they still wouldn’t be able to manifest Great Magic, and Professor-level wizards could only do it when 30 of them gathered.
The Great Wizard could cast it by himself, however.
That was why only one Great Wizard existed in the past 60 years.
Even though he was now over a hundred years old, he could still break up question number 8 with just a glance.
“…”
Sylvia closed her eyes for a moment and opened them after, finding the sun’s position had changed quite heavily.
She was confused at first but soon jumped up in shock upon understanding the phenomenon.
“…!”
She accidentally fell asleep.
Sylvia rushed back to the tower and checked the clock. 4 PM.
There were only 31 hours and 59 minutes left until Sunday midnight.
She sat in her chair again, scribbling with her wizard-exclusive pen and mana in an attempt to answer a test question that was interconnected like several cogwheels.
Sylvia calmly dismantled the connection and analyzed each of them individually.
Without knowing how the magic circles took such forms, she couldn’t even expect to find any hints, let alone answers. Hence, she focused heavily on the task at hand.
Tick tock tick tock——
The clock ticked as if it were attached to herself.
Meanwhile, she constantly consumed her mana, which surprisingly reached tens of thousands, to imbue her answers into the answer sheet, until finally…
“… Eleven.”
A total of eleven completed answer sheets.
She put them down on the floor, carefully examining their structure’s order and combination.
The magic circles imprinted on the paper perfectly intertwined from the first to the eleventh’s core.
Sylvia took a deep breath.
She imbued her 150 hours’ worth of effort and mana into this magic.
———!
Her own soul even resonated with the magic circles on the answer sheet.
Whooooong…
With her heart trembling, 80% of her mana was instantly consumed, and her test room soon completely changed.
“…”
The magic that materialized extended over the walls and ceiling, creating an unfamiliar landscape that covered her room’s entire space as it was separated from the rest of the world.
Cypress trees and wheat fields stretched across the lands, and clear winds and intense starlight enveloped the skies. Vegetable gardens littered the hills along with windmills, while acres upon acres of sunflowers beautifully decorated the vicinity of a simple village.
Deculein’s genius materialized this space as a dedication to the young wizards who could solve all 11 techniques.
“…”
Sylvia found herself mesmerized by the painting-like scenery filled with rich and dazzling colors.
It was an art that made the beholder tremble stronger the more they were dazzled by it.
“Sylvia.” A voice flowed with the wind. Turning her gaze to where it came from, her eyes widened.
Amid the mystifying harmony of magic and art was Deculein. He wore his usual attire, which was perfect enough to make her wonder if it was magical.
“Congratulations.” He said, locking his eyes with hers.
… Kim Woo Jin’s soul had a strong desire for art, at the very least.
It was a passion that he couldn’t abandon even if the world and reality themselves swept him away, a dream that ‘that guy’ helped keep.
Although he couldn’t reach his desired goal due to his lack of talent, eventually forcing him to push his love for the craft to the corner, Kim Woo Jin’s memories of those days were combined with Deculein’s characteristic [Aesthetic Sense].
Having gained the artistic talent he desired, he ended up imitating the famous paintings that remained in his head, creating them in a world that wasn’t Earth through illusory magic.
The Starry Night, The Road with Cypress Trees and Stars, The Sunflower, Vegetable Garden in Montmartre Hill…
The maker of those paintings struggled with endless pain and sorrow.
In the end, he was just a fleeting stranger who wasn’t acknowledged in his lifetime, but his affliction between death and madness allowed the most primitive beauty to bloom inside him. The story of the painter named Vincent Van Gogh was told through an entrancing and beautiful canvas that glowed brighter than his life ever did.
“…”
Sylvia softly closed her eyes, the scene remaining in her vision even when she did, much like the warmth she felt on her skin.
It was all magic. Even the colors were made of elements.
The unfamiliar fields seemed to be moving, swaying along with the winds, causing tremors, which soon turned into an echo, to occur within her soul as she stood there amid it all.
After a brief silence, she heard his voice once more.
“Thanks.”
Deculein uttered a word that caught her off guard.
“…?”
She didn’t know what he was grateful for, but he sounded sincere.
“… Good work.”
Deculein couldn’t reproduce it with his own magic, but he wanted to see it with his own eyes at least once.
That was why he was grateful to Sylvia.
He didn’t know if she understood him, but fortunately, she nodded as if she did in her own way.
Sylvia turned around again and left her body to the magical landscape, enjoying its light, breeze, scent, vibrant colors, and calming movements.
Not long after, she felt warmth flowing down her cheek.
A single teardrop fell, the one that she had kept inside her since her mother’s death.
“…” Deculein had already left by the time she turned around after wiping it away.
… She was hoping to return his thanks.
*****
Knock knock—
Allen opened the door of a test room filled with the scent of sweet coffee, finding Epherene inside.
It made him feel dizzy. Her answer sheets, imbued with multiple magic circles, were sprawled on the ground.
It was an approach close to Sylvia’s, but it resulted in failure in the end. “Debutante Epherene. Time is up.”
“…!”
Epherene flinched. Looking up, she saw Allen.
“Ah… Is that so?” She scratched the back of her head and smiled bitterly. “That’s too bad.”
Allen just smiled in return.
“By the way, Assistant Professor. This test question…” Epherene hesitated, sounding embarrassed and regretful.
“Ah, yes, I’ll give it to you. Professor Deculein told me to do so. He’ll send a new set of test papers along with a magic vault. However, we will need a drop of your blood.”
There were a total of four people who solved the problems up to number 7, but there were only two who filled it in 11 days.
Epherene was one of them. Hence, she deserved to be rewarded.
“Whew… Thank you so much.” She got up with a sigh of relief then collected blood. Afterward, she took all of her belongings with her, including her writing instruments and clothes, as she left the test room.
Allen saw her off to the elevator at the tower.
“You’ve done well, Ms. Epherene.”
“… Thank you, Assistant Professor Allen. For the test paper as well.”
Epherene bowed so deep the bag she was carrying on her back fell on the top of her head and came up.
“Hehe. It’s okay.” Allen laughed. “The test paper will arrive in 3 days. Feel free to solve it anytime by then. I’ll also enclose ten magic answer sheets with it.”
“Ah, really, thank you so much…”
“However, don’t bury yourself in it.”