CH 18

Deflyn Chernihiv, the Imperial Archmage; one of the top three mages of the Ruben Empire, she was a voracious researcher.

Born as a hybrid of humans and fairy, she considered it a blessing. 

With a lifespan five times longer than that of humans and having reached adolescence in her early teens, she seemed to have stopped both growth and aging thanks to her mixed heritage. 

Her youthful and healthy body, combined with a much longer lifespan than others, made it the perfect condition to dedicate herself to her research.

By the time she was a hundred and sixteen, she had earned so much merit in her various endeavors that she became a Court Mage for the Empire. She traveled throughout the Empire and Kingdom, mentoring numerous disciples.

It was during her visit to the Arpen Kingdom that Deflyn met the exceptional talent, Dilia Arpen, a fellow mix-race, and the most talented student he had ever taught. However, perhaps due to her young age, Dilia harbored a certain aversion to her mixed heritage.

‘In a hundred years or so, she'll feel differently.’

How ephemeral and meaningless the blood ties are. Just like Deflyn said.

In any case, as it had been a long time since she last saw her disciple, Deflyn only intended to check on her growth and then leave. However, she unexpectedly stumbled upon someone who piqued her curiosity.

‘Ulan, was it?’

A man who possessed two mana vessels; particularly fascinating was the mana vessel placed near the small intestine. Deflyn felt an urge to dig into how he managed to do that in great detail.

Centering her curiosity around this fact, numerous questions swirled in her mind.

If he were to use magic, how would the mana flow? With two vessels placed quite close together, could it manifest magic differently from the conventional methods?

As the questions swirled around, Deflyn's patience was wearing thin.

‘Let's conduct an experiment.’

She needed to create a situation where they had no choice but to use magic. So, she deliberately formed Dilia and Ulan into the same team for a group test.

The reason was simple.

Dilia had a strong sense of pride as a mage, and Ulan had gotten top marks on each test in non-magical ways. Thus, pairing them up would naturally create a challenging situation.

‘In other words, they're a bad match.’

If their collaboration in the group test failed, there would be a significant problem. Therefore, Deflyn purposely brought them together.

And guess what?

‘Huh? They seem to be working quite well together.’

Deflyn's eyes widened.

The two seemed to be a perfect match. Or more precisely, Ulan appeared to be guiding Dilia while engaging in combat.

‘This could be problematic.’

Originally, she had intended to provoke a difficult situation to force them to use magic, but now there was no reason to pair them up.

Deflyn frowned.

However, her concern did not last long, as the tests were not over yet.

‘It can't be helped.’

She had to do something.

Deflyn sprang into action. The plan was to sneak some mana into the mana golem buried in the ground, and then deliberately make it go berserk.

And in the midst of this process, Dilia suddenly glanced in Deflyn's direction with a slightly suspicious look.

‘She seems to have caught on.’

So much for being my student.

Deflyn thought with a playful smile.

She was caught in the act, but she pressed on with his plan, and soon enough, a runaway mana golem burst out of the ground.

Kaaaah!

It swelled as if it would explode. Perhaps because it was fueled by a considerable amount of mana, the runaway golem's momentum was truly terrifying.

'This must be at least a 3-star magic beast.’

To defeat such a formidable opponent, it would require a squad of the Empire's elite soldiers, a regular mage, and an experienced hunter to barely defeat. 

It was no match for a mere student.

No matter how strong and physically capable one might be, they couldn't hope to face this situation without using magic.

Deflyn was certain of that.

But her confidence was shattered.

"......!?"

Puck-puck-puck! Bam!

Ulan, who had rushed in to save Dilia, began pounding the golem with his fists, eventually knocking it down with a loud crash.

Thud!

The examination hall fell silent.

Deflyn, with a slightly agape mouth, stared at Ulan in astonishment.

'He took down that thing with his bare hands......?

It was the equivalent of a 3-star magic beast.

And he just casually took it down with just his fists?

Deflyn's eyes widened. A look of astonishment spread across her face. It was the first time she had displayed such an expression since arriving at the examination hall.

"Ha, Chancellor."

"The test is over," the assistant supervisors announced.

Deflyn regained her composure and walked over to them, grinning like she'd always done.

"Well, that was truly amazing. Who would have thought you could defeat the golem barehanded?"

Her expression was like a well-crafted mask, concealing her inner thoughts.

Deflyn grinned, a strange smile on her face, and asked, in jest. Half serious, half joking.

"Are you truly a mage?"

If there was even a hint of doubt, he would flinch. No matter how talented he was, he was still only sixteen years old, after all.

However, Ulan remained unfazed, and this narrowed Deflyn's eyes.

‘So he is truly a mage.’

Well, if he wasn't a mage, he'd have been filtered out during the mana measurement. Besides, he wouldn't have even taken the magic aptitude test.

As she pondered these thoughts, Ulan suddenly asked, "What do you mean?"

"I've been observing from a distance, and I couldn't sense much mana flow from you while you were fighting the golem."

Why didn't you use magic?

Deflyn artfully turned the intent of the question around, but Ulan looked back at her with an impassive expression. Of course, he didn't use magic. 

It was so obvious that he didn't even stir. But if he just admitted it, it would put Ulan in an awkward position, so he scrambled to reply vaguely.

So he blurted out something.

"The opponent was too weak."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It means it wasn't strong enough to use magic. So I just settled for this."

Ulan held out his fist.

Deflyn body flinched involuntarily, recalling the memory of the runaway golem he'd beaten into submission so crudely.

"And what if a truly formidable opponent appears? Will you use magic then?"

"Yes, because my magic is special."

"Hehe, alright then. Although I'd love to dig deeper, let's call it a day for now," Deflyn chuckled with an enigmatic expression.

On the other hand, Ulan tilted his head curiously and asked, "But why are you talking from so far away?"

"Well, I have a feeling I might get hit if I get too close."

"Why?"

"That’s......."

Because I saw you ruthlessly pummel the golem with your fists, and it would make anyone want to stay a few feet away from you.

There were also other reasons for her hesitation.

Just when she thought she had.

"Are you out of your mind?"

Dilia interjected into the conversation, her face flushed with anger.

She glared at Deflyn, her eyes firmly angry.

"The golem, the rampage, and the cheating...!"

Dilia knew all about what Deflyn had done, and she wanted to argue with her, to tell her why she'd deliberately made things difficult.

But she couldn't.

"......!?"

She couldn't find her voice.

Her lips moved weakly without producing any sound.

Dilia soon realized why; Deflyn had guessed what she was going to say, and quickly cast a silencing spell.

Still a despicable little bastard.

Dilia's glare grew even more fierce. Deflyn, on the other hand, averted her gaze and continued.

"I feel bad for you. You were just one mana core short, so you ended up getting only one point."

Her crescent-shaped eyes formed a sly smile. 

She then spoke with an expression that hid a strange secret.

"Speaking of which, have you ever thought of retesting.......?"

"If it's a mana core, I've already retrieved it."

But her intention was not fulfilled.

A brilliantly glowing mana core emerged from Ulan's fist.

"......!?"

Deflyn's eyes widened like lanterns, and she wasn't the only one.

Dilia's mouth dropped in surprise, and other examinees shared similar expressions. Deflyn stammered in disbelief, "Wh-when...? When did you......?"

"When we fought."

Of course, why bother asking something so obvious?

Ulan looked at Deflyn with a pitying gaze. Dilia, on the other hand, who had a similar look on her face, had a kinder response, "I told you. I'm used to hunting demonic beasts."

However, it was not a demonic beast, but a golem.

Dilia burst into laughter, feeling a bit dumbfounded.

‘What a peculiar person’

What the hell was he doing, beating a golem with his bare hands to find its mana core?

Dilia's curiosity was piqued.

This was the first time she was interested in Ulan. Suddenly, the strange words he'd spoken, words she'd never heard before, came back to her.

‘....such a strange person.’

Her cheeks flushed again.

As she tried to hide it by bowing her head, Deflyn's voice rang out, "Alright then. Regardless of the process, I'm satisfied with the results, so I'll give you each five points. If anyone has any objections, speak up now."

There were no objections.

Both of them had already proven their abilities.

Ulan, in particular, was a monster who could beat up golems with his bare hands. There was a high chance he would be admitted to the academy, and they didn't want to provoke him unnecessarily.

"If there are no objections, it's confirmed then. Oh! And both of you, come to the Chancellor's office tomorrow morning. I'll give you the 'special benefits' I promised."

{T/N:- after reading so many pornhwas, the only special benefit I can think of are some *cough* lemons *cough*}

With a bright smile, Deflyn announced the end of Ulan's final test.

*  *  *  *  *

After the 〘Mana Detection〙test concluded, the final grades were soon announced.

Ulan, who had earned 5 points in all three tests, received an S-grade, and Dilia, who achieved the next highest scores, also received an S-grade but she shrugged it off.

As per Professor Dirac's criteria, Dilia should have received an A-grade, but Deflyn casually dismissed it, claiming that the criteria had changed with the change of test supervisor.

There was no disagreement; not a single candidate would offend the Chancellor before they even entered the Academy.

After all the results were announced, the students scattered. To prepare for the next exam.

But not Ulan.

He had already taken all the tests and had nothing better to do. So, as he wondered what to do, someone poked him in the back.

"You are..."

It was a girl with a petite frame, as small as Noah.

A girl with silver hair and golden eyes. It was Dilia. As she slowly made her way over, Ulan asked a question.

"Do you have any business with me?"

"......."

Dilia said nothing.

Instead, she pulled out her wand, squatted down, and began scribbling on the floor.

『Dilia Arpen.』

Why was she suddenly writing her own name?

Curious about her strange behavior, Ulan observed as Dilia's wand moved again.

『And you?』

Oh, is she asking for my name?

Ulan guessed, and soon spoke.

"Ulan Bator, A warrior from the Grasslands."

As soon as he was done introducing himself.

Dilia bit her small lip. As if trying to memorize the name she'd just heard.

『I will remembered it.』

That was all she said.

Suddenly, Dilia scribbled something quickly with her wand again. Afterward, she stood up briskly and disappeared without a trace.

It was a somewhat absent-minded expression.

In the place where she had sat, Ulan found some words written.

『Thank you for today. See you later.』

A simple expression of gratitude.

Ulan burst into laughter.

"It's worth running away."

Even in his past life, Dilia had never been good at showing emotion. She probably ran away because she felt embarrassed. Ulan thought it was likely the case.

And that evening.

Ulan joined Noah again.

All the tests had been completed, and the announcement of the finalists had been made.

{T/N:- words enclosed in 『』bracket refers to words Dilia wrote on the ground.}