Chapter 65

August 3rd.

The day of the practical exam had arrived.

Naturally, it being midsummer, it was already muggy in the morning, and my body felt a bit sluggish.

My room is on the second floor, southeast, but even with the wooden window open last night, there was no breeze, and the room was stiflingly hot. Furthermore, without the convenience of a screen door, mosquitoes came in, which was one of the reasons for my lack of sleep.

Incidentally, the room assignments were as follows: to my right, northeast, was Ridi's room, and Sharon was assigned the southwest room directly across from mine. The northwest room, across from Ridi's, was used as a guest room and was being used by Guy.

After performing my usual morning routine of practice swings, I headed to the communal well.

Hanna, my neighbor, was already there to fetch water, and we exchanged greetings with smiles.

After washing my face and wiping off the sweat, feeling refreshed, I returned home to find that Sharon had already finished preparing breakfast.

This area is a residential district for people who work in the old town, and the market is nearby.

Thanks to our neighbor Hanna, we had managed to get some excellent ingredients.

Breakfast consisted of bread, a fried egg, a vegetable soup with bacon, and milk with cheese.

"Good morning, Sharon. You've made a delicious breakfast again."

When I said this, she bowed slightly, looking a bit embarrassed, and said, "Good morning."

Guy was already at the table, and Ridi came down last.

(Sharon being here makes Ridi the most relaxed. Well, I'm pretty relaxed too, but...)

After breakfast, we spent some leisurely time, and then Sharon and I headed to the academy together.

It was quite early, around 9:30 AM, but since there was nothing else to do, we lay down in the shade of the schoolyard. Sharon sat down next to me, and we leisurely gazed at the sky.

I glanced at Sharon and asked, "Are you nervous?"

"It's fine. I'll just do my best."

She smiled, and there was no trace of anxiety in her expression, making her seem genuinely relaxed.

(But that's impressive. She didn't seem nervous even during the written exam, and this is her first exam. Today's exam is an individual interview-like test, yet she's so calm. I remember being quite nervous during my job interview...)

After spending about an hour leisurely, the clock struck ten.

I slowly got up and said, "We should probably go to the waiting room now," and headed to the classroom designated as the waiting room.

There were about five examinees waiting in the waiting room.

They all seemed nervous, and no one was chatting; they were all intently reading what looked like reference books.

(Five people means it will take about an hour. I could have lain down a bit longer. Still, everyone else looks so tense. Maybe this is normal...)

As we were waiting, the door suddenly opened, and a number and name were called.

The examinees reacted with a start, and the one called walked out of the waiting room with the staff member, taking stiff, jerky steps.

After about an hour, it was finally my turn.

"Number 525, Zacharias Rockhart."

I answered energetically, "Yes," and stood up.

"I'll take you to the exam venue. Wait quietly until you're instructed to enter the venue."

I nodded and said, "Yes," but the staff member stopped, looking puzzled.

"Is it okay to leave your staff? Once you enter the exam venue, you won't be able to go back for anything you forgot."

"It's fine. I don't need my staff."

The staff member nodded slightly and started walking.

The exam venue was a gym-like place behind the school building.

It looked similar to the training grounds in the guild, so it was probably used for magic practice.

There was a table outside the venue, and a female staff member was seated there.

"Your exam number and name, please. And show me your orb."

I told her my exam number and name and showed her my orb.

"Rockhart, huh? The previous examinee will be done soon, so please wait over there."

I felt like I was being looked at with curiosity but ignored it and sat down to wait.

Listening carefully, I heard a dry thud, like something hard hitting a wooden board, coming from inside.

(That must be the sound of a magic spell hitting the target. But it sounds lighter than I expected. It sounds like someone threw a stone...)

The sound stopped, and an examinee came out. They were wiping their eyes with their sleeve, so they might have been crying.

After the previous examinee left the venue, a few minutes later, I was called in.

"Number 525, Zacharias Rockhart. Please come in."

I opened the large wooden door and went inside. As expected, it was a gym-like place with an exposed floor, similar to the guild's training grounds.

On the right side, there were rows of desks and chairs, with about ten staff members seated. Some of them were probably evaluators.

A man in his forties, who seemed to be the examiner, started explaining the exam.

"The exam involves showing us your most proficient magic. Please demonstrate your best magic. If you need a target, you can aim at the one in the back. Do you have any questions?"

I answered, "No," and approached the target.

The examiner gave the signal to start, and I bowed to the staff members before turning to face the target.

I had decided to use a restrained version of the Wind Blade spell today, so I slowly began chanting the incantation.

"O god of the winds, ruler of countless breezes. Grant me the wind that tears, the blade of the spirit. I offer you the power of my life. Tear my enemies apart! Wind Blade!"

As I finished the incantation, a transparent blade of vacuum energy shot towards the target.

When the magic blade hit the one-meter-square wooden target, it made a cracking sound, and large cracks appeared in the wood.

The staff members let out sighs of admiration.

(Did I make it a bit too powerful? No, this is just right...)

I bowed to indicate that I was finished.

"Is that magic acceptable? If you're not satisfied, you can do it again."

I shook my head, about to say that it was enough, when a young male staff member stood up.

"The exam is to show your best magic. Are you saying that was your best? To me, it looked like you were holding back."

The man, upon closer inspection, had long ears, indicating he was an elf. As I was trying to figure out how to respond, the elf continued,

"If you hold back, you'll fail. Show us your best magic now."

The examiner scolded the elf, saying, "Mr. Laspade, you can't decide the results on your own," and then turned to me, speaking in a slightly stern tone.

"Rockhart, please take this seriously. Now, show us your best magic with all your might."

(I have to be serious... I guess I have no choice. If I hold back, Mr. Laspade will notice. I'll have to use my best magic... The most powerful magic I can use now is the Great Storm, but can I use it in this confined space...)

"Excuse me, but it might be dangerous in this venue. Can I cast it outside?"

The examiner replied, "Dangerous? We're already running behind schedule. Just cast it here!"

I thought, "What if something happens?" but nodded and bowed to indicate my acceptance.

I then began chanting the incantation for the Great Storm.

"O god of the winds, ruler of countless breezes. I call upon the feast of wind spirits, the great storm. I offer you the power of my life..."

I gathered the spirit's power for about thirty seconds, then, when I judged it was ready, I released the final activation words.

"...Rage, swift wind! Great Storm!"

As I completed the incantation, a cold wind began to blow through the thirty-meter-square exam venue.

Gradually, the wind converged, forming a vortex about fifteen meters in diameter and ten meters high.

The Great Storm spell didn't end there. The converging wind created an updraft, lifting objects from the ground and pulling them into the vortex. Inside the vortex, countless ice blades shredded anything caught in it.

Given the confined space, I increased the curvature of the wind, making the diameter as small as possible. This made the ice blades more densely packed, creating a more powerful spell.

Although I reduced the diameter, I directed the spell towards the wall to avoid endangering myself or the staff, which still blew out several wooden windows and doors. Even though it didn't endanger anyone, strong winds blew into the area around the staff, causing their papers to flutter.

A stack of papers slipped from one staff member's hand, was caught in the powerful vortex, and was shredded by the ice blades before rising to the ceiling. The shredded paper then fell like confetti throughout the venue.

The Great Storm spell lasted about a minute before disappearing suddenly.

I turned around calmly and said, "That was my limit. By the way, I won't be charged for the repair of the doors and windows, right?" and bowed.

The examiner was still in shock and couldn't speak.

Mr. Laspade, the staff member, laughed loudly,

"Indeed, that was your best effort! Don't worry about the repair costs. You warned us it would be dangerous from the start."

No one else spoke, but I judged the exam was over and bowed again before heading outside.

Mr. Laspade's cheerful voice called out to me from behind,

"Rockhart, right? I'm Lionel Laspade. Feel free to visit my lab anytime."

As I turned to respond, I heard an even more enthusiastic voice,

"Right! Why don't you quit school and become my assistant? I'll personally guide you!"

I muttered to myself, "I haven't even passed yet," and silently bowed before heading outside.

Outside, the female staff member who had been at the reception was standing in shock. She seemed surprised by the sudden flying wooden windows and doors from the training ground.

Sharon, the next examinee, also looked surprised, but it seemed to be because I hadn't held back.

I lightly bowed to the female staff member and called out to Sharon, who was waiting nearby.

"You can use your full power. It's okay even if you damage the building."

When I said this with a laugh, she looked puzzled.

We waited away from the exam venue, and a heavy thud echoed. A short while later, a slightly anxious Sharon approached.

When I asked, "What happened?"

"I used the Air Hammer spell, and the target was destroyed. The people there seemed flustered... Is it okay?"

It seemed she had used the Air Hammer spell to its full extent, and the loud noise was from her spell.

"It's fine. I broke some doors and windows, and the people there said it was okay. A target is nothing to worry about."

I placed a hand on her shoulder, still looking anxious, and said, "Let's go home after lunch," and started walking.

---

Lionel Laspade, who had been at the exam venue, returned to his lab after seeing the two examinees. Despite the practical exam supervisor's voice calling out, "It's not over yet!" from behind, Laspade said, "There won't be any more interesting examinees, so there's no need for me to be here," and continued walking without stopping.

(Hmm... This was more interesting than I thought. I came here because I was told there was a multi-attribute user, but it was even more interesting than expected... He intended to use the Great Storm, but that spell was almost an original magic. The Tempest spell is a wind attribute magic, and it's supposed to use vacuum blades, not ice blades...)

He was also surprised by the other female examinee.

(She's a genius. Although it was just an Air Hammer, in terms of magic efficiency, she's better than the multi-attribute user Rockhart. No, even a court mage of the mentor class wouldn't be as efficient. And she did it without a staff... This year, we have some interesting students.)

He muttered to himself as he returned to his lab.