"I surrender."
Those were the only words Velis could utter as she stared at the scene before her. Hearing that, Magnus cut off his connection to the Hydro Orb Spell, causing the dozens of hydro orbs floating in the air to lose their form and dissipate back into mana as if there wasn’t any water to begin with.
This was, of course, due to the natural effect of the world's spirits. Water created through magic was often abnormal and completely violated not only the natural laws of water but many other laws as well, so it would be broken down in a matter of seconds once the spell's caster cut off control over it.
For example, the stage Magnus and Velis had just fought on was completely dry, without a drop of water to be seen.
As the two of them made their way off the stage, Velis had an indescribable look on her face. It seemed she was doubting a lot of things, but eventually decided to approach Magnus and ask him something.
“I know I lost, but… I was hoping you could tell me what level you are at. Everyone says you’re an Apprentice-level mage, but I don’t believe that.” There was no way an Apprentice-level mage could do what Magnus had just done; Velis was confident about that. Magnus was silent for a moment, thinking about how he should answer before speaking.
“I’ve never been evaluated before.”
Unlike the other students, who were mostly the children of nobles and had their skills evaluated even before coming to Takerth Academy, Magnus went through no such process. He was being taught as an Apprentice-level mage, but his abilities had long since surpassed the Apprentice level in many aspects, and now he has surpassed it entirely.
So, upon learning that Magnus, or who Velis thought was Cain, had never been evaluated, a look of understanding flashed across her face, along with a bit of relief.
“Oh, I see. No wonder you’re so strong.” If Magnus had really been an Apprentice-level mage just like her, it would have just been hard proof that there was simply that big of a gap. However, if he had never been evaluated, then that changed things. It meant that her opponent was likely someone above her level, and losing was more reasonable.
If I had to guess, he’s probably a genuine Adept-level mage. If that’s the case, then the rumors about him make sense, despite sounding so ridiculous. A student with that much talent is practically guaranteed to reach the Master level before graduating. Though that raises the question, how did he go unnoticed for so long? A noble family capable of raising a child with that level of talent must be well known, yet apparently, no one’s heard of him before or even knows his real identity.
While Velis pondered that question, a familiar voice echoed in the distance, causing her and Magnus to turn their heads simultaneously.
“Hey cous, did you win your match already?” The approaching boy was immediately recognized by Magnus from his memories. He was the one who had sparred with Seraline when Gerald first took Magnus to visit Takerth Academy, and from the looks of things, he was Velis’s cousin.
Cousins? Huh, now that I look at the two of them side by side, it makes sense; their hair colors are exactly the same.
“Tascen, what are you doing here?” Velis asked as her cousin approached, a smile lighting up his face.
“Well, I came to congratulate you, obviously. My first match turned out to be pretty easy.” Tascen glanced at Magnus, not noticing that Velis had yet to answer his previous question.
"Oh, you're the one my cousin fought? Hey, there's always the next Live Examination, you know. Just train hard," he encouraged, patting Magnus on the shoulder. Seeing Tascen's energy, Magnus empathized with Velis and simply nodded before walking away. Since he had already finished his match, there was no need to interfere in the relatives' conversation.
Watching Magnus walk off silently, Tascen shook his head and remarked, “Well, he’s sure quiet, though I can’t say I blame him. Did he even manage to get a hit off of you? You don’t have a scratch.”
It was only as he was asking those questions that Tascen noticed Velis's unusually quiet demeanor and asked, “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Hearing that question, Velis let out a long sigh and simply said it outright.
“I lost.” Tascen blinked for a moment, his face turning to one of disbelief.
“Huh? Wait, what? You, of all people? Lost? Are you serious? That guy actually beat you?” He turned to look at Magnus, who was already making his way up the stairs.
“Well, I surrendered before he even launched a spell, but it makes no difference. I wouldn’t have won no matter what I tried. That was Cain, the one said to be a part of Luden Rilhawk’s Faction,” Velis explained, causing an even more surprised look to appear on Tascen’s face.
“Cain? The same one who was rumored to have beaten two Apprentice-level warriors?” Velis nodded, confirming it was the very same, but she also corrected her cousin.
“The rumors are most likely true. He’s at least an Adept-level mage. Though even I’ve never heard of an Adept-level student with that level of mana control, I don’t know where Luden found that monster, but he’s definitely going to end up shaking things up.” Listening to his cousin talk about Cain, Tascen felt dumbfounded.
Someone like that is really among the first-year students?
Meanwhile, Magnus, who was unaware that the two cousins were still talking about him, had already headed back to the registration desk for his next match. The first two days of the Live Examination were dedicated to the preliminary matches, in which each student would have to win twice.
While the first match was immediately mandatory, the second match could be scheduled at any point in the next two days; however, like all the aspects of freedom the academy provides, there was a catch. There wasn’t an even number of first-year students; as such, there would never be a one-for-one situation.
If you waited too long to have your second match, there was a chance you might not find anyone else willing, or anyone else who was willing had already had their second match. This went double for people, with one win and one loss. That’s why Magnus decided to knock both of his matches out right away, which surprisingly matched him up against another mage.
Unlike Velis, they simply used uncategorized magic, which almost solely consisted of solid mana construct spells. Since there was nothing for him to copy, Magnus ended the match in a similar fashion as the one before, through sheer intimidation. There were not many Apprentice-level mages willing to fight after seeing another mage snap fifty mana spheres into existence.
And so, just like that, Magnus’s preliminary matches were over.
Huh, that went by even quicker than I thought it would. I bet Celia will be surprised to see me come back so soon. Well, even if it was quick, at least I still managed to learn something new.
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As Magnus had that thought, he walked off a stage while playing with a small bead of water that was floating in between his fingers. A satisfied smile spread across his face under the mask.
•
“How intriguing. The mana he gathers for his spells doesn’t originate from his mana core or from the world around him. In fact, he doesn’t seem to have a mana core in the first place. It’s almost as if the mana popped into existence from nothing, but such a thing should be impossible.” The voice of the Headmistress trailed into the ears of Vlaslor, the Vice-Headmaster, who stood in front of her desk.
Her office, situated at the apex of Takerth Academy's main building, lacked windows, shrouding it in perpetual darkness. Yet, within this murky blackness reminiscent of the ocean's midnight zone, the Headmistress's violet eyes gleamed brightly.
The only other light illuminating the room was the projection sitting between the two figures.
Displayed through that projection was none other than Magnus, making his way across the academy grounds back to the dorms. Staring at him, the Headmistress let out a small chuckle while reaching out, the black gloves of her hands caressing Magnus’s entire figure, distorting the projection.
“It’s as if his very existence violates how we understand magic—an unknown that even we can’t see through. It’s so fascinating; I’m tempted to squeeze every drop of information out of his head.” She clearly meant every word she spoke, yet there was no malice in her voice; instead, it was almost mischievous.
Vlaslor, on the other hand, seemed to find the entire situation less amusing as he spoke, “This Magnus is too dangerous to be allowed to roam around the academy freely, Headmistress. If you’re that intrigued by him, why not allow me to probe his mind?”
He found no humor in Magnus’s existence. He himself was an Archmage, yet he couldn’t see through this boy’s abilities. He felt that was more than enough reason for him to act, yet the Headmistress never allowed him to.
“Oh, Vlaslor, I understand your eagerness; truly, mine is growing day by day. I want nothing more than to see the truth behind this boy’s capabilities. Yet, we must always keep the bigger picture in mind, always the bigger picture. As tantalizing as the unknown is, you must always control your desire to unveil it; that is something my sister, Eveline, seems to always forget.”
The mention of the Headmistress's sister seemed to cause Vlaslor to calm his eagerness, as if just the thought of being compared to her shifted something in his mind. With that, the Headmistress continued to speak, her voice almost illusory in the way it echoed.
“He is the little general’s entry, and even he will notice if we do anything to his mind directly. Even if he’s of no threat, he can’t catch on just yet… No, not yet. Not until we have everything we need, and our show plays out on the big stage. Only then, when our obstacles are removed, can we do as we please.”
Listening to the Headmistress's words, Vlaslor lowered his head with a vexed expression and replied, “Yes, Headmistress, as you say.”
Seeing this, the Headmistress stood from her chair and sauntered over to his side as the projection of Magnus vanished, leaving them in total darkness. Now, her gaze focused solely on Vlaslor seemed sharp enough to pierce one’s soul yet so tantalizing that it drew one in.
Yet, despite her approach, Vlaslor remained motionless, not even turning his head.
As her hands trailed across his body and neck, leaving a strange chill, he seemed like a statue, staring into nothing while the Headmistress appeared to almost be enveloping him. It was only in this state, where her voice seemed to come from every direction at once, that she whispered into his ear.
"Don't make that face, Vlaslor. You know this is the only way. Just a few more months, and everything will be in place. Both your dream and mine will finally be realized." Her words trailed off, and Vlaslor felt the pressure that had been mounting on his body suddenly vanish, along with the presence of the Headmistress.
All that remained were her words, echoing endlessly in Vlaslor's mind. A complex maze of emotions hid behind his gaze, obscured by the darkness of the room.
•
Hey Basker, how many Apprentice-level spells has the Magic Simulation Space managed to generate so far?
[The current archived amount has reached a total of four thousand three hundred and twenty-six, though half of them serve repetitive functions.]
Hearing such a large number, Magnus paused as he was walking up the stairs of the dorm building.
Wow, we’re accumulating spells a lot faster than I thought we would. At this rate, I’ll end up hitting over ten thousand by the end of the Live Examination.
The Mind Simulation Space was exactly that—a space within Magnus’s mindscape. By itself, it wasn’t truly an ability but more a way of thinking. However, there were two major abilities that he managed to derive from the Mind Simulation Space, the first being [Arcane Matrix].
Put simply, the ability utilized the Mind Simulation Space to allow Magnus to edit Apprentice-level magic to a near-perfect degree. From a mage's perspective, it looked as if he had a level of mana control that was limited to Apprentice-level magic, yet somehow beyond the Apprentice level.
It also meant that, as long as he could observe another mage's magic, with the criteria that it appears to originate from nothing, he could not only copy it but modify it freely. Pairing that with the fact he essentially had an inexhaustible supply of mana, it became more than understandable why Velis and the other mage Magnus went up against stood no chance.
As for the second ability, he called it the [Library of Babel], based on a story he had read back when he still went to school. Unlike [Arcane Matrix], this ability wasn’t one Magnus had to actively utilize and was instead running passively within his mindscape 24/7.
The purpose of the ability was simple: to constantly create new spells.
Although the Mind Simulation Space was amazing, one downside was that the spells it simulated were completely random unless he gave it a starting point—something to edit. So, Magnus decided that if the Mind Simulation Space was going to generate random Apprentice-level spells, then why not generate all of them?
If every possible Apprentice-level spell could potentially be made by the Command Console, then archiving all of them was also possible given enough time, even if some spells were useless or repetitive. Not only that, but now that he had witnessed Velis transmuting mana into water, that information had been assimilated by the Magic Simulation Space.
Now, not only did it simulate mana construct spells, but also water-based elementrix spells as well. Even if simulating actual water was still impossible, as it entered the territory of simulating water physics, which was the same as emulating reality, he could at least simulate certain mana constructs turning into water, which didn’t require him to worry about the physics of it all.
Plus, it doesn’t stop at simply magic. As long as I can keep accumulating information, eventually, it will be able to simulate other facets of the world as well, becoming a true library of babel. In the mean time, though, I hope that in the actual live examination, I can see some more elementrix spells. Being able to spontaneously create elements would definitely be useful in the future.
If I ever ended up stranded in a jungle or something, I could cook without a stove, build a temporary shelter out of mana, and then convert it to stone, or even... uh...
Well, he wasn't sure of any other uses right now, but he was sure they existed. So, with his mind focused on that, Magnus paid almost no attention as he arrived in front of his dorm room and opened the door. However, the moment the door cracked open, he suddenly felt a shift in gravity.
The door shot open, and Magnus fell forward through it, though the fall was extremely brief as his face immediately made contact with the ground.
“Augh…” Letting out a groan, Magnus held his nose as an aching pain began to spread across his face. At the same time, behind him, the door he had somehow just fallen through closed itself before vanishing.
“Ow… what the fuck…” Cursing as he sat up, Magnus was still holding his nose as he tried to get his bearings.
The sudden shift in gravity had completely messed up his sense of direction, but as he looked around, he started to notice both familiar and unfamiliar details about his surroundings, the most notable being the seemingly endlessly tall bookshelves. They were like skyscrapers as they stretched upwards into the darkness, their tops obscured from view.
Directly around him, he could see he was in a strange circular open area that could almost be mistaken for a building, besides the fact it had no roof. Desks lined the circular walls, covered in various papers as well as tomes, books, and scrolls, both new and old. Engraved into the floor was a massive rune formation, which was the only source of light around.
Floating in the air freely within this area were all sorts of magical artifices, ranging from crystal ornaments in the shapes of animals and creatures to an out-of-place golden crown adorned with jewels and etchings. They moved as if they had no gravity, and as Magnus stood up and tapped one, it simply floated in the opposite direction.
However, the most interesting thing Magnus saw floating in the air was a large bed, which levitated a few meters higher than everything else. Truly, the only way to describe this place was chaotic; it was as if nothing here actually belonged, yet at the same time, it formed some strange semblance of order.
As Magnus observed this strangeness around him, he suddenly heard a familiar voice echo from behind him, sending a shiver up his spine.
"Oh, Magnus, you're here already. How wonderful."