C111
“Of course, it is strange. But that's just the realm of the senses. Mathematically, it's a statement that has no problem at all.”
Iruki's pride in mathematics was enormous. How much must the humanities teachers have hated to see it to give him a score of zero on his test?
Shirone decided to use his last resort.
"Won't you be promoted?"
“Huh! Damn it!"
Iruki couldn't help but kneel at that remark. He didn't want to go down as Canis's junior even if it killed him.
As Iruki resumed solving the problems with fervor, Shirone returned to his seat and sighed.
'It would be dreadful if he does this in a real exam, really.'
Nade, as if remembering something, looked away from his book and asked.
"Ah, we have a practical exam next week, did you practice a lot?"
Shirone and Iruki asked at the same time.
“What exam?"
"Darn it, didn't you even know? It's an endurance test. Spirit Zone Endurance Assessment.”
"Do we need to practice? We can easily get more than 80 points, can't we? Why are you anxious?”
"No, but there are many variables in practical exams. It's relative evaluation unlike the other categories. If others perform better, our score decreases. I thought we should go over it once."
"It's okay, it's okay. We don't have time anyway."
Iruki, indifferent, focused on solving the problems. How well could one handle a Spirit Zone at the Class Five level? Iruki believed he would definitely pass the practical exam.
While solving math problems, Shirone said.
"I want to pass too. I simply don't have the capacity to worry about that."
Nade also had his own confidence. But it was also true that he would have a hard time getting a higher score than the first two.
'Hmm, what to do?'
If things really looked difficult, he could ask for help. But it would be using the rule to steal friends' time for his mere anxiety.
'I don't know. I just need to be in the top 10 anyway.'
Nade folded his thoughts and began to study. If each of them can't achieve their share of 33.3%, the efficiency of the study group is destroyed.
They collaborated as best as they could for the benefit of all, but the result was not something others could give anyway.
---------------------
Image Zone Practice Field.
Normally, this would be the time for the advanced class joint lesson, but the only students gathered were from Class Five.
It was the infamous practice assessment period that had cornered Shirone several times. Especially since the end of the semester was near, the tension among the students was higher than ever.
Entering the Image Zone, Ethella spread out the 20-meter-diameter Spirit Zone as always and began to explain.
"The subject we will evaluate today is the Spirit Zone Endurance Test. It's a test to measure how long you can maintain the changes in your Spirit Zone."
Ethella extended both hands to the left and right and pointed far away. A black rod of unknown material rose high, and unknown characters were engraved on the surface.
"The evaluation criterion is the distance from end to end of the pole, that is, 20 meters in diameter. If your Spirit Zone is less than that, you can't take the test. Of course, I don't think any of you can't reach 20 meters."
Ethella contracted her Spirit Zone. When the volume of the zone as measured by the scoreboard dropped below two cubic meters, a buzzer sounded from the sound device.
"When the buzzer rings, it's one cycle. The measurement time is 30 seconds and your score is determined by the number of Spirit Zone pulsations. We haven't done much practice with the counter on, so I'll show you a demonstration first."
When Ethella gave a signal, the Image Zone's Spirit Zone pulsation mode activated. At the same time, Ethella's Spirit Zone began to pulsate like a heart, expanding and contracting repeatedly.
"Wow…..”
Seeing the 20-meter diameter Spirit Zone drop to below 2 meters in diameter and then instantly expand again was a sight to behold. Although the cycle wasn't particularly fast, the pattern of contraction and expansion was intense, reminiscent of an explosion.
The sound machine, one of the features of the Image Zone, calculated the speed of expansion and triggered explosion sounds.
It wasn't merely to make the experience more exciting by creating sound. Understanding the intangible Image Zone through all five senses provided the best efficiency in magical training.
After 30 seconds, the number 30 points appeared on the notification board. It had pulsed once per second.
According to the seniors, you need at least 90 points to reach the promotion cut line, which means three pulsations per second. The children checked their prepared strategies one final time using Ethella's demonstration as a reference.
After the demonstration, Etella put her hands behind her back and said.
"In real situations, you often need to quickly transform into various forms of zones. The Spirit Zone Pulsation is a basic training that serves as the foundation for that, so it's important to keep practicing even after the practical exam. Now, we'll proceed with the assessment."
Based on the results of the speed gun test they took last time, the students began to come out from the rear. As expected, most of the rankings were similar to last time, perhaps because it is difficult to improve one's skills in one or two months.
One by one, the students recorded their scores, with the lowest score being 48, Nade's turn came. Being in the upper-middle rank in the speed gun test, he had no choice but to take the test much earlier than Shirone and Iruki.
"Nade, do well."
"Whew, I'm nervous."
Encouraged by Shirone and Iruki, Nade entered the Image Zone, closed his eyes and concentrated. With the start signal, he opened his eyes and expanded his Spirit Zone. Like the heart of a person running at full speed, the zone pulsed at a rapid pace.
"Wow! What's this, Nade?"
The children's eyes widened. Only 10 seconds had passed, but he had already scored over 50 points. The pulse rate of 5 times per second came with tremendous force even to the spectators.
"Wasn't he originally middle-ranking? At this rate, he'll definitely be in the upper ranks?"
"Playing with Shirone really improved his skills, right? If we knew this, we would have joined the research group too."
"That's right. They have been studying so intensely these days, haven't they? Even Iruki, who used to fool around every day, hasn't missed a single class."
After 30 seconds, Nade's score came out. 173 times. Accelerating in the last 10 seconds helped to improve the score.
“Good job, Nade.”
Ethella recorded the score with a hearty smile. His student, who she was responsible for, had made great strides, making her feel even better.
'Well, I expected this much from the beginning.'
Nade returned, seemingly shy, sticking out his tongue. He high-fived his friends and sat down, saying.
"Phew, I thought I was going to die of tension."
"You did well. We passed one at least. Only the two of us are left."
As if stimulated by Nade, the subsequent participants took the test with all their might. However, no score higher than 173 points ever came out.
With Nade securing first place, Iruki, the second to last, entered the Image Zone. Without showing any signs of nervousness, Iruki activated his Savant ability as soon as he started.
The method of designing the expansion and contraction mechanism in advance and repeating it like a machine would not be very useful in practice, but it produced the highest efficiency in the test.
The score thus obtained is 210 points.
The kids stared at the score with absurd expressions. It was a number that couldn't be achieved without mechanically marking seven pulses per second without changing the speed.
"Ha, as expected, he's amazing. Is it mind equation? That guy, he probably didn't even do it properly."
"There's nothing we can do. He's a Savant. Even Shirone would find it hard to beat him this time, right?"
Then a voice pouring cold water on the heat that had heated up from behind was heard.
"Hmph, making a fuss over such a small score. I guess Class Five is a gathering of pathetic guys."
The students turned around, and the moment they saw the person, they opened their eyes as if they had seen a ghost. Canis and Arin, who were supposed to be enrolled from the next semester, were watching the practical test.
Ethella, who was recording the students' scores, asked.
"Huh? You two, what's going on?"
"The principal said it's okay to tour, so we came to see how the tests are done."
"Ah, I see. Then come this way. You can see well from here."
Canis' brow wrinkled. Was that woman really the one who argued with his master? During the battle, he was not a menace, but she was so soft-natured that she looked like a fool when she’s teaching.
'Is she doing this on purpose? Or is she really a fool?'
In any case, it was also true that he was interested in the exams. Canis took Arin and stood behind the participants.
“How is it, Arin? What do you see?”
"I've done plenty of heartbeat exercises until I'm bored. The master said I had to improve no matter what. I should be able to easily score over 250."
Arin is a mental-type mage. Especially, since he had to freely manipulate the tentacle type, which was the most difficult form among the forms of the zone, his stamina in the Spirit Zone was second to none. (God, I really need to re-read the manhwa.)
'As expected of Arcane's disciples. They're in a different league than us.'
The students were naturally intimidated by Arin's words. Even though they were also from noble families, anyone aiming to be a magician dreams of being a direct disciple of an Archmage. Even though they came from the slums, in terms of magic, the two of them had been on the elite course of the elite.
'But, we also have a secret weapon.'
As it was Shirone's turn to step into the Image Zone, the students all cheered for him.
They knew about Shirone overpowering Canis after regaining his memory. Therefore, they were hoping for him to demonstrate his abilities again this time.
In the center of the Image Zone, Shirone took a deep breath. Since Iruki had scored 210 points, Shirone only had to be on par to pass.
However, Shirone's eyes were different from before. As long as he had a firm goal, he had no intention of taking the test in moderation, even if it wasn't for Canis.
When the signal from Ethella came, Shirone began pulsing his Spirit Zone to its maximum from the start.
Without precise planning like Iruki, dividing a second equally was difficult. However, humans have an extremely accurate body clock known as rhythm.
Shirone sped up the pulse rate of the zone in rhythm. A drum line that seemed to come from a sound machine erupted in quick succession.
Popopopopong!
The children couldn't close their gaping mouths in awe. They watched Shirone's demonstration without even blinking, but they could only properly see the Spirit Zone about once per second.
"Can he really... how many times per second is that?"
Several layers of the Spirit Zone were moving simultaneously, making it impossible to count by eye. The students waited for the 10-second mark. Shortly after, a staggering number, 120, was displayed on the scoreboard.
"12 times per second..."
Could one imagine a sphere with a diameter of 20 meters contracting 12 times in a second? Even though they were just watching, no one could fathom what was happening inside. The bursting pulses and rapidly increasing count were the only proof of Shirone's mental resilience.
Even Canis and Arin were stunned as they watched the demonstration. Arin, in particular, had an expression of disbelief. When the heart rate increases to that extent, the mind collapses first, leaving the speed.
The key to pulsing was how quickly one could stretch from the smallest to the largest circle, and how much shock one could withstand when contracting.
In that sense, the demonstration that Shirone was showing was the pinnacle, maximizing both speed and durability.
'Vajrapani.'
Ethella grasped Shirone's state at a glance.
'This is truly remarkable. The potential of that child is immeasurable.'
Even Ethella wasn't sure where Shirone was now. When she thought he was at one point, he was suddenly much further along.
---
Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
