Chapter 13: The Reincarnated One Completes It

Professor Robert Perry, a professor of Boundary Composition Studies.

During his active hero days, he mainly operated in Japan and had a deep relationship with the Inoue family, one of the three major clans.

Not only did he receive various forms of support from the current head of the family, but his wife was also a distant relative of the Inoue family.

A relationship bound by both connections and blood. Therefore, he paid extra attention to those related to the Inoue family.

"The young lady showed interest in Borshifa's top student?"

He was surprised by the news his disciple brought.

"Yes, look."

A young man with a fierce expression, who had picked a fight with Iseun at the bus stop, showed the photo he had brought.

Iseun and Erica facing each other. There was nothing particularly special about it, but Robert had a headache.

"So that's why she suddenly applied for the class..."

While Boundary Composition Studies was a somewhat well-known course in the Shujutsu Department, it wasn't at the level where he could filter people through a test.

However, this year, the number of applicants had tripled compared to last year, mostly due to the rumor that Erica had applied for the course.

'Since the young master asked, I should sort this out once.'

Robert, who had been pondering how to filter them, quickly came up with an appropriate method.

"Tomorrow's test will use the Soul-Distorting Maze."

Seits looked at Robert with a surprised expression.

The Soul-Distorting Maze, a basic boundary that distorts senses and causes one to wander, was not to be underestimated.

Its ritual was very subtle, making it difficult to detect unless one was well-versed in boundaries or had a natural talent for them.

"Isn't that a bit too much?"

"With so many applicants, no one will complain if I filter a bit more strictly. If they can't pass this, there's no point in taking the class."

"Understood."

Robert, hearing Seits' response, suddenly looked at Iseun in the photo.

'I wonder if this guy can pass.'

As the top student, Iseun must have some basic talent, but it was unclear if he had any talent related to boundaries. After a moment's thought, Robert came to a conclusion.

'It wouldn't be bad, either.'

If Iseun canceled his application or lost interest, it would help weed out the riff-raff. Since Robert had no expectations for Iseun, he dismissed it casually.

"Passed the test..."

He was surprised by the unexpected result.

"Test?"

Iseun looked around with a puzzled expression, seemingly unaware of what he had passed. Robert's expression hardened.

'Was there a problem with the Soul-Distorting Maze? No, that's impossible.'

If there had been a problem with the boundary, Robert, as the caster, would have known. Realizing this, he looked at Erica, who had entered the field with Iseun.

'Did the young lady help?'

With her innate talent for rituals, it was possible, but Robert, who had been watching, would have noticed.

After considering various possibilities, Robert realized there was only one explanation.

'Iseun broke through the Soul-Distorting Maze on his own.'

And he didn't use a ritual to counter it or draw mana to resist it.

He broke through the effect of the Soul-Distorting Maze with only his instinctive senses and walked to the field.

'I don't know what to say about this...'

While his talent for rituals was unknown, his senses were worthy of the title of top student.

With a complex expression, Robert looked at the students who had broken through the Soul-Distorting Maze and organized his thoughts.

"From now on, we will separate the class through a second test. Come forward in order."

At Robert's call, a student glanced at Erica and confidently stepped forward.

"I'll go first."

"Alright. The second test is simple."

As Robert lightly waved his left hand toward the ground, a red mana flowed along the ground, forming a ritual in an instant.

Whoosh!

A red boundary appeared between Robert and the student, resembling a spider web. The student looked at it with a tense expression, and Robert continued his explanation.

"Break the boundary in front of you using only mana. I'll score you based on time, so be quick and accurate. Start."

At Robert's command, the student quickly placed both hands on the boundary and channeled mana.

Finding the core that maintains the boundary and destroying it. The process itself was simple, but the target was the problem.

"Ugh..."

Robert's boundary had the same effect as a spider web.

When mana penetrated the ritual, the core moved, like a spider sensing vibrations and fleeing.

Thus, one had to slowly surround the entire ritual, which was mentally and mana-intensive.

Crack!

"Huff... huff..."

Despite a good start, the student struggled and finally broke the boundary. Robert evaluated him calmly.

"2 minutes and 23 seconds. You need to pay more attention to understanding the structure. Not bad, though."

"Thank you."

The evaluation wasn't bad, but that was all. Seeing that Erica didn't even glance at him, the student slumped and moved aside.

The subsequent tests were similar, and some students failed to break the boundary at all.

"You'll start with the beginner class."

While they passed the Soul-Distorting Maze, they lacked the knowledge, so starting with the beginner class was a natural progression.

The students who had tried to show off their abilities stood to the side like defeated soldiers, and Erica stepped forward under their gaze.

"Begin."

Whoosh!

At Robert's command, Erica's hand touched and then left the center of the boundary.

A silver mana spread from her hand, causing ripples in the red boundary. The moment the ripples reached the edge of the boundary:

Crack.

The boundary began to crumble from the outside.

Instead of finding the core and destroying it, Erica had dismantled the entire ritual, causing the boundary to collapse. The students watching were stunned.

Usually, such a method was used only when breaking a boundary quickly was necessary or when someone without knowledge tried to brute-force it, as it was cumbersome and inefficient.

"What... what is this?"

"Why is she so fast?"

But Erica had done it with a single gesture and a minimal amount of mana.

This meant that for Erica, breaking this boundary by finding the core or dismantling the entire ritual was equally simple.

"22 seconds. Not bad, but the standard method would have been about 2 seconds faster. Choose your method more carefully."

"I will keep that in mind."

Robert and Erica conversed without showing much surprise.

The students who had come to show off finally realized who they were trying to impress.

'So, she's the top student.'

'I can't even hold a candle to her in terms of skill.'

While everyone was embarrassed, Erica moved aside, and Iseun stepped forward.

"Please take care of me."

He showed no signs of nervousness.

The students, who had looked down on Iseun as a student from the Refining Department, watched him with slightly tense expressions.

Given Erica's impressive display, they expected Iseun to show something equally impressive.

Robert, who also felt some anticipation for Iseun, was equally curious.

'He doesn't seem special...'

A young man with a fierce expression and poor conduct. The only notable thing was the mature look in his eyes, but that alone wasn't enough to make him special.

'There's no choice but to find out now.'

Robert, reserving his judgment, immediately waved his hand to create a boundary.

"Hmm..."

Unlike the other students, who were tense and preparing to break the boundary, Iseun stared intently at the process of creating the boundary.

He particularly focused on the traces left on the ground as the boundary formed, which made Robert curious.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, nothing."

Iseun continued to stare at the ground, even as he responded.

Robert frowned at his slightly arrogant attitude but continued calmly.

"I see. Then start."

Beep!

Seits, who was acting as an assistant, pressed the timer, and Iseun finally looked up at the boundary.

"..."

But he just stared.

He didn't touch the boundary or channel mana to break it, leaving the onlookers puzzled.

"What is he doing?"

"Doesn't he know the test has started?"

In the unexpected situation, Iseun seemed lost in his own world, staring at the boundary.

'A boundary inspired by spiders and webs. It has versatility, easy to deploy in any environment, and the ability to regenerate as long as the core isn't destroyed.'

While not unique, it was stable for defense, and the professor's technique was highly refined, especially the structure of the ritual.

'He poured so much mana, yet there's no trace.'

Even with excellent control, repeatedly casting a boundary in the same spot would leave marks on the ground.

But Robert's boundary was so delicate that not even a blade of grass was flattened.

'The structure is specialized to blend with the environment...'

Watching its effect, a material naturally came to Iseun's mind.

The flames of a furnace and hammering. A black ore that absorbed everything, even the mana infused into it. Refining Heavy Blackstone was difficult due to its overwhelming presence.

'That's why two stimuli must be applied simultaneously to prevent absorption.'

When heating, hammering to prevent the heat from dissipating, and when hammering, heating to prevent the impact from dissipating.

This wasn't done randomly but with one stimulus slightly higher, about 51% and 49%, to maintain a very small difference.

Otherwise, the accumulated stimulus would be partially absorbed, disrupting the balance.

"What is he doing?"

The precise senses needed to allow no 1% error and the stamina to endure a process several times longer than regular refining.

Both were necessary to refine Heavy Blackstone, but Iseun had a sudden thought.

What if the accumulated stimulus on Heavy Blackstone could be held without dissipating?

"Are you listening to me...?"

"Leave it."

"Um..."

The moment this possibility came to mind, a bracelet design appeared in Iseun's mind.

Its shape, structure, and the mana circuit to be engraved inside. The design was complete, and all that remained was to verify its feasibility.

Finally, Iseun emerged from his thoughts and looked at the boundary again.

'I think I understand the structure...'

The vast knowledge he had accumulated randomly before his reincarnation and the brief glimpse of Erica's ritual yesterday.

Iseun had created a path in his mind and immediately drew mana into his right hand.

Whoosh.

His right hand, enveloped in red flames, lightly tapped the center of the boundary.

Whoosh!

The flames spread across the entire boundary.

The spreading flames quickly dismantled the boundary, leaving everyone speechless.

Breaking the awkward silence:

"Done."

Iseun clenched his fist and his eyes sparkled.

"This is it!!!"

He shouted loudly, turned, and ran out of the field.

Everyone watched his departing back in shock, and Seits, finally regaining his senses, turned off the timer.

Beep!

"7 minutes and 45 seconds..."

The longest time among those who broke the boundary. But everyone knew the time didn't matter.

What Iseun had done wasn't just break the boundary but create an effective 'destruction ritual' to dismantle it.

'Creating a destruction ritual for a ritual he saw for the first time today took only 7 minutes and 45 seconds...'

This time, it took 7 minutes and 45 seconds, but if he faced the same boundary again, Iseun could break it in less than 10 seconds.

"..."

Robert's expression hardened as he thought.

"..."

Erica also stared at Iseun's back with a hardened expression.