Chapter 45

I arrived at the Blue Academy, having passed the entrance exam for the Red Academy.

This is a school for studying and researching magic related to water, ice, and cold air.

"This seems to be the examination venue."

Even among magicians, it is generally said that red magic skills tend to manifest more easily in males, while blue magic skills tend to manifest more easily in females.

Indeed, the venue I just left had more boys, but this one was mostly girls.

"Hey? Why are you here?"

When I turned around at the sound of a voice, the girl I had parted ways with earlier was there.

I think her name was Kufa, right?

"I came to take the exam."

"…What?"

She furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Didn't you go to take the Red Academy's exam with Kaito?"

"I did. And I passed. So now I'm here."

"Sorry, I don't understand anything you're saying..."

Hmm.

It seems that taking multiple exams simultaneously is not common.

"There's no rule that says you can't attend more than one academy, right?"

"Wait, you're seriously thinking about attending this academy too...? And you can use blue magic?"

"Sort of."

Of course, I don't have the skill for it.

"But, I don't recommend it. As you know, the magical characters and grammar of 'different colored' magic are completely different. Trying to learn them simultaneously can be confusing. Mastering one color of magic is already difficult, so you should focus on one."

Indeed, at first glance, the characters and grammar seem entirely different for different colors.

But if you delve deeper, the underlying principles are not so different.

I completed the registration process, just as I did earlier, despite being surprised again for being jobless. However, they still allowed me to take the exam.

The exam content was similar to that of the Red Academy.

However, here there were multiple targets—forty in total—and each one was small.

"I see. They want to test control and rapid firing rather than power."

Given the nature of magic, red magic is indeed more powerful.

Therefore, blue magic often compensates for its weakness by emphasizing accuracy and speed.

"Water Ball!"

A girl was taking the exam at that moment.

She continuously created fist-sized balls of water and hit the targets.

Despite missing a few times, she managed to hit all the targets in about fifty seconds.

"Examinee number eighteen, you have passed."

It seems that passing within a minute is acceptable.

"Apparently, passing within a minute is enough. I did it in thirty seconds," Kufa said, slightly boastfully.

She had already finished the exam and passed successfully.

"So, are you really going to take the exam?"

"Of course."

"Well, if you insist, I won't stop you..."

Surprisingly, she seems to be the type who worries about others.

Eventually, it was my turn.

"Wait, 'jobless'? Hold on a moment. You will be disqualified for falsely claiming your occupation."

But then the examiner questioned my occupation.

She was a woman in her mid-twenties.

Her face suggested a high sense of pride and strong self-esteem. I sighed inwardly, thinking this might get complicated.

Of course, one shouldn't judge a person by their appearance.

"It's not a false claim. I am definitely jobless."

"If that's true, you don't have the qualifications to take the exam."

"Hmm? I heard that anyone can take the exam?"

"While that's true in principle, it's generally expected that people refrain from doing so. We are sacrificing our research time to be examiners. Please don't waste our time."

"I think the time we're spending arguing is already a waste."

"Please step aside quickly. We will call the next examinee immediately."

She was quite impatient.

It would only take ten seconds.

"Ice Edge."

I simultaneously created forty ice blades, the same number as the targets.

"Y-You created that many at once...? And they're ice..."

The female examiner gasped as I fired all the blades at the targets at once.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

Forty ice blades hit the forty targets almost simultaneously, piercing them with their sharp edges.

"...Hmm. About six of them were slightly off-center."

There are still issues with precision, but this should be enough to pass the exam.

They said the passing line was one minute, but it probably took less than ten seconds.

Come to think of it, I didn't need to destroy the targets this time.

I didn't need to go through the trouble of freezing the water.

I looked at the examiner with a face that said, "This should be enough, right?"

"T-This is impossible... You used Ice Edge so many times at once... And you didn't miss a single one, piercing through mithril targets..."

However, the examiner was only trembling and didn't say anything about the results.

But I don't think I would be disqualified after that.

I passed by the stunned Kufa and left the examination venue.

I still have four more exams to take.

If I work hard, I might be able to finish all of them today.