Chapter 93

EP.93 Joint Practical Evaluation (2)

"Cliff (Rock Attribute, ★4)"

"Wind Wall (Wind Attribute, ★4)"

"Flame Wall (Fire Attribute, ★4)"

"Ice Wall (Ice Attribute, ★4)"

Crack───!!

Whooosh───!!

Crackle───!!

"What?!"

"Damn brat!!"

"Isn't this cheating?!"

"No, it isn't~."

In the joint practical evaluation, combat between students is prohibited. Therefore, at the beginning, many chose to use elemental magic to block their paths.

The students used various elemental magics to break through the elemental walls and advance, but each time, new elemental walls appeared to block their paths.

'About here.'

I stopped and placed my hand on the ground.

A pale yellow mana flowed from my palm.

"Rock Creation (Rock Attribute, ★1)"

Crack───!

Rocks shot up from the ground, pushing me away.

The rock pillars formed a parabolic arc. I fixed my hands and feet to the rocks and crossed the air, facing forward, over all the elemental walls.

There was a limit to extending the rocks. So, I made new rock pillars rise in the middle, leaped up, and landed on the new pillars, repeating this process.

After passing all the elemental walls that obstructed my path, I landed on the ground with ease.

"What's that?"

"Is he from the Magic Department? What kind of physical skills does he have…?"

The students were more impressed by my physical skills than my magic.

Crack───!!

Students with solid elemental attributes like rock and ice began to follow me. However,

"Aaah! Let me down!"

"Scary!!"

Many couldn't pull it off. It's natural, given their lack of skill and fear.

Without proper mana control and physical skills, they couldn't replicate what I just did. They dug their own graves.

'What are you doing?'

It was a pitiful sight.

Finally, the first branching point appeared.

Running through a valley filled with splashing water, I reached a fork in the road. The signpost made it clear.

Continue running through the gorge, enter the cave, or take the stairs leading up the gorge.

Some students decided on their path without hesitation, while others stopped, struggling to choose. Naturally, I was in the former group.

'This way.'

My choice was the stairs. I had to go this way to meet the frog demon.

Looking up from below, you could see a dizzying bridge on the path above the gorge. That's why few students chose the stairs. It's scary.

'Luckily, I don't have acrophobia.'

Crossing the swaying bridge at a high altitude was thrilling, but manageable.

A few brave students also chose the stairs. I joined them and started climbing.

The frog demon would leave at 4 PM. I had to reach it before then. I didn't have much time.

Crack───!!

After climbing a bit, I created a rock on the cliff and leaped onto it.

The rock extended upward, quickly pushing me up the cliff.

In *The Magic Knight of Merchen*, if you're a bit late, some aggro player might destroy the bridge, forcing you to choose another path.

Running across the gorge, a long bridge connecting to another gorge appeared. The scenery was breathtaking, as you'd expect in reality.

I started crossing the bridge without hesitation.

Creak, creak─!

'Ah!'

It was an unexpected surprise.

The bridge was swaying wildly due to the strong wind. I thought it would only sway side to side, but it also moved up and down.

The natural wind mana in the area seemed quite intense.

I gripped the handrails tightly to maintain my balance. If I let my guard down, I'd be blown away.

"Aaah!"

"What's this! What's this!"

"Help me!!"

The screams of students crossing the bridge behind me echoed.

Why did they come here if they were going to react like this?

"Ah!"

It's really shaking badly!

It was hard to move forward. I had to do something. I'd help the students behind me, but I needed to move forward first.

I extended my arm downward and released ice mana. I activated [Ice Creation] with the buff from Zanya's staff.

"Ice Creation (Ice Attribute, ★1)"

Sssss─

I spread the ice thinly and widely. The bridge solidified into a sheet of ice.

Done. Now the bridge wouldn't undulate like an eel.

"That guy!"

"Ah! It's slippery!"

"But it's less shaky! Thanks, friend!"

A gentleman thanked me, so I extended my arm and gave a thumbs up.

'[Rock Creation].'

I only let my heels touch the bridge and used [Rock Creation] to add sharp rocks to the soles of my shoes. This reduced the contact area with the ice and allowed me to slide more easily.

I extended my right arm backward, gathered the ice mana flowing through my mana circuit, and explosively released it, emitting a powerful pressure and cold flame.

"Frost Flame (Ice Attribute, ★4)"

Whoosh───!!

It was a booster.

"Wow!!"

Using [Frost Flame] as propulsion, my body started crossing the ice bridge at high speed.

A smooth sprint. My silver feet flapped roughly. I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

[ Frost Flame] was an advanced application requiring considerable mana control and proficiency.

While I couldn't yet balance and fly like Iron Man, I could at least use [Frost Flame] as a booster.

However, due to the high mana consumption and poor efficiency, I couldn't overuse it until I improved my proficiency.

My body slid across the bridge and reached the gorge in one go.

I immediately released the sharp rocks on the soles of my shoes and melted the ice on the bridge. My elemental magic dissipated into a powder of bright light.

The bridge started swaying violently again. The students screamed.

"What?! You give and take away?!"

"Ah! Anyone without ice attribute?! Quickly freeze it again!"

"Ugh! It's hard! How can someone control it like that in this situation?!"

Ignore them.

I slung Zanya's staff over my back, secured it with a diagonal belt around my torso, and continued running.

Beep, beep─.

While running across the gorge, a maple forest appeared. The surroundings were filled with bright red maple leaves.

At the same time, a light appeared on the test bracelet on my left wrist, and an alarm sounded.

I've entered the first checkpoint.

Mana particles flowed from the bracelet, forming words in the air.

'First checkpoint, find the Nivurus orb.'

The Nivurus orb is a mana construct that emits little mana. Though called an orb, its actual shape is a hexagonal prism, slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball.

The more you know about the shape of the emitted mana, the faster you can find it. This is an official setting from *The Magic Knight of Merchen*, but I don't fully understand the principle.

Of course, I didn't need to know such specific details.

"Yep, cleared."

It's meaningless if I already know the location.

Ding─♪

Finding the Nivurus orb near a tree, the bracelet emitted a green light and a cheerful sound.

Mana particles flowed out again, forming words in the air. Below 'Checkpoint Passed' was a directional arrow pointing to the next path.

I started moving in that direction.

'By the way.'

Is someone still following me?

I could tell someone was trailing me, maintaining a distance and using wind magic. I repeatedly took out a small, plain hand mirror from the magic pocket in my school jacket and discreetly checked behind me to confirm the girl following me.

Her silver hair was tied to the side. Her eyes were sharp like a cat's. She held a wooden staff.

─ 'If you're ready, go. I don't have the face to watch.'

I recalled the woman's sunken voice during the Frost Trial. Isaac's older sister.

I already knew she was a student at Merchen Academy.

'Seeing her brought it back.'

I put the small hand mirror back into the magic pocket.

The female NPC in *The Magic Knight of Merchen* I thought was related to Isaac. Seeing the silver-haired girl following me, it all came back.

Anyone could tell she had Replic Syndrome and wandered around like a loner… a mysterious NPC.

The girl following me was her. Isaac's older sister, the girl with a mental illness.

I didn't have all of Isaac's memories. Only some of his stories were in my head.

So, I didn't know what kind of person she was or what her story was.

'Just don't interfere.'

My current goal was to defeat the frog demon. That was my priority. I just hoped she wouldn't get in the way.

I ran toward the next checkpoint.

* * *

Eve Rophenheim's eyes widened in shock.

'How… how did he find it so quickly?'

Even Eve couldn't immediately detect the Nivurus orb, which emits little mana… but Isaac found it in one go. What an incredible mana detection ability.

Moreover, since the joint practical evaluation started, Isaac had been effortlessly using ice and rock attribute magic, which was unbelievable. How could a guy with no mana do that…?

His skill level was also impressive. The influence of the staff aside, the fact that he could wield a magic tool was a testament to his abilities.

'When did he… improve so much?'

The last time Eve saw Isaac was about two years ago, the day their mother passed away. Back then, Isaac was still a useless guy.

His growth over about two years was unbelievable.

There seemed to be something about Isaac that even Eve didn't know