* * *
What filled her vision was a massive mountain.
As land owned by Whitmore, it was naturally no ordinary mountain.
“This is a mountain managed by Whitmore. As you may have heard, magic beasts currently reside there.”
Around the mountain, a distinct, thick mana could be felt.
It was an energy completely different in texture from the mana emitted by humans.
It was none other than the mana felt from magic beasts.
Magic beasts were aggressive beings that harmed humans; like humans, they possessed mana in their bodies, making them—to put it simply—creatures close to monsters.
The types of these magic beasts were incredibly diverse, and they were divided into grades from 1 to 5 based on their danger level.
The lower the number, the higher the danger.
In the case of a Grade 1 magic beast, it was a being so strong that the presence of a 1st-class mage was essential for its subjugation.
Conversely, Grade 5 beasts were not very dangerous and could be subjugated without much risk if one knew how to handle mana to some extent.
“Now, I will announce the details for the practical test. This mountain is home to magic beasts managed by the academy. Grade 5 beasts are the most numerous, followed by Grade 4, and a very small number of Grade 3 beasts live here.”
Whitmore captured and released magic beasts on this mountain for several reasons.
The primary reason was for student testing, like today, but they were also used as experimental subjects for students manufacturing magic tools or for professors researching magic beasts.
“Our class’s test will begin at 4:00 PM. Each of you will enter this mountain and eliminate magic beasts as you see them. You will be awarded 10 points for every Grade 5 beast killed, 20 points for Grade 4, and 40 points for defeating one of the rare Grade 3 beasts. This practical test will be evaluated based on the points earned from disposing of magic beasts.”
Harold explained that Grade 5 beasts would have a blue band, Grade 4 a yellow band, and Grade 3 a red band tied to them, so students should judge accordingly during subjugation.
There was no “standard” way to take the test.
One could enter the mountain and expend more stamina to accumulate points by targeting only Grade 5 beasts, which were relatively easy to defeat.
Alternatively, one could aim to fill their score all at once by killing one or two of the rare Grade 3 beasts.
In other words, it meant they were to engage in combat and earn points in a way that suited their own tendencies.
“A Grade 3 beast will not pursue you further if a certain distance is maintained. They are wearing magic tools that control a portion of their speed and strength. Because of that, even if you unintentionally encounter a Grade 3, there’s no need to worry too much. If you decide you can’t win, it’s perfectly fine to run away.”
“Professor.”
At that moment, Magnus raised his hand high.
“Then how will you know how many beasts of which grade we’ve killed?”
Harold nodded, noting it was a good question.
“There are two main ways to verify. The rule is that after subjugating and striking down a beast, you must inject a small amount of your mana into the carcass. After the test is over, the professors and I will detect the mana inside the carcasses and check each of your mana signatures one by one. It’ll be easy to tell who killed which one.”
And for the second method, Harold held out a square-shaped, translucent piece of glass.
“Once you enter the mountain, you’ll likely see these crystal-shaped objects floating in the air. This is one of the magic tools currently used by active mages; these crystal tools show the situation within a specific radius from where they are located. In short, with these, the professors can see every single movement you make inside the mountain in real-time.”
This would allow them to grade the students while also preparing for any potential emergencies.
Since the magic beasts the students would face from now on were actual living creatures rather than artificial ones, they always had to keep unexpected situations in mind.
“If something happens to your body and you feel you can no longer continue the test, find one of these crystal orbs. If you make a large ‘X’ sign toward it, the watching professors will come to get you.”
The real-world practical test beginning in the third year.
It was a test already famous through rumors, so although they had heard about it from upperclassmen, everyone couldn’t help but feel nervous when faced with the actual situation.
“Now, I will distribute the weapons.”
Harold and Neo, who appeared as an assistant professor, handed out swords to each student.
These were not the wooden swords used during practice, but real, sharp steel blades.
“The weapons are all identical. If you intend to use a weapon for this test, you may only use this distributed sword. If you use a weapon you brought in yourself, you will be disqualified immediately, so everyone be careful.”
No matter how diligently one listened to classes about magic beasts at the academy, it couldn’t compare to experiencing the real thing.
Since mages could effectively kill and subjugate magic beasts, the knight orders and mercenary guilds where mages were most concentrated primarily focused on magic beast subjugation.
Among the Magic Engineering students, quite a few had enrolled to become mages out of a hatred for magic beasts after losing parents or suffering great damage from their attacks.
It was very important to provide the experience of actually striking down and disposing of magic beasts to these future talents, who would take the mage certification exams and become full-fledged mages after graduation.
“No questions, right?”
“…”
The students, who would usually answer loudly to Harold’s words, became as quiet as dead mice.
As the tension of real combat pushed up to their throats, their bodies began to stiffen one by one.
Harold seemed to notice this and clapped his hands loudly to refresh the atmosphere.
“How can people who will be mages in the future be so scared already? Even if something dangerous happens, the professors will take care of it, so don’t be too frightened! This is a test that countless seniors before you have all gone through. Alright, everyone get ready to enter.”
Harold walked a few paces forward and opened the firmly closed iron gate just below the mountain entrance.
The bone-chilling sound of iron clashing against iron grated on their ears.
Within the moving line, Ruite looked at the real sword with a curious face, touching it.
Suddenly, she felt a chill and snapped her head up.
Having arrived at the mountain entrance, the feeling of foul mana had deepened significantly.
Those who possessed mana in their bodies could fundamentally sense the mana of other living beings to some extent, so everyone was likely thinking the same thing.
That what was inside this mountain were real magic beasts.
“The total time is 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the crystal orbs floating in the sky will turn red; when that happens, gather back at the mountain entrance. Understood? Keep in mind that punctuality is also part of the evaluation criteria.”
Harold tossed the crystal orb he had used as a demonstration high into the air.
Simultaneously, dozens of crystal orbs rose into the sky in unison.
Soon after, the crystals were dyed blue.
It was the signal marking the start of the test.
Students swarmed into the mountain.
Some charged forward with overflowing motivation, while others chose not to act rashly, remaining highly alert to their surroundings.
Ruite was closer to the latter.
Keeping her sword in its scabbard, she constantly looked around.
She had no particular desire to graduate with high marks.
As long as she could graduate, she didn’t care if her grades were just barely enough to get out, so there was no need to kill herself trying to stack up a high score.
“Better to focus on Grades 4 and 5.”
She didn’t want to waste energy by messing with a Grade 3 beast for no reason.
Well, according to Harold, Grade 3s were few and hard to find, so as long as she didn’t go looking for them, she likely wouldn’t run into one anyway.
About three minutes after the test began, not a single classmate was in sight.
Everyone had apparently scattered here and there within the vast forest.
Hearing the occasional screams of magic beasts, it seemed the fast-acting students had already begun their subjugation.
Just then, she felt a strange presence from behind.
Ruite came to a sudden halt and turned her body.
Looking around, nothing but thick trees, bushes, and the dirt floor she stood upon filled her vision.
“…”
Ruite keenly raised her sensitivity and moved her feet slowly.
Just as she was about to move toward where she felt the energy, a green vine stretched out vigorously toward her.
The end of the vine, which stretched out as if to coil around Ruite’s wrist, was sharp.
However, it was caught in Ruite’s hand before it could touch her body.
Holding the fairly thick vine in her grip, Ruite pulled it with all her might.
Then, a massive flower-shaped magic beast that had been hidden in the bushes was dragged out.
Its petals were a very dark brown, a camouflage color that made it look similar to a tree at a glance; this thing was one of the Grade 5 magic beasts.
She also saw a blue band on it.
After identifying the beast, Ruite tightened her grip. In that instant, flames flared up and spread along the vine.
Having easily killed the Grade 5 beast with just enough firepower to burn only the monster, Ruite injected a small amount of her mana into the charred remains.
“It would be nice if everything was this smooth.”
Ruite dusted off her hands and continued moving in the direction she had been headed.
* * *
