[376] Vol. 16 - Graduation Class Briefing (4)
When Colli left the conference room, everyone stood. The doors closed and they looked at one another, but no one spoke.
The moment they understood the graduating-class rules, the competition began.
After a short while Dante and his group were the first to leave, followed by Boil and Pandora, then Arin and Canis.
By coincidence, Shirone's group was the last to remain; they didn't feel any need to go.
Shirone's legs gave out and he slumped into a chair.
"This is bad. I never imagined it would be this exhausting."
"Told you. We can't do anything but the evaluations. How are we supposed to run the research club like this?"
Shirone looked over at Nade.
"We don't have much else to do anyway, right?" Iruki said. "I said you have the right to forfeit the evaluations. But no one's going to forfeit. Nobody enters the graduating class expecting to get a low score."
"But if you worry too much about the points, there's a risk your skill will be exposed. Then you'll be targeted or eliminated during the graduation exam."
Amy was a clear example. Up until the final week of the 30th week her rank had been fifth in the graduating class, but she was heavily targeted in the exam and eliminated early.
Leaving aside whether Fermi colluded, a big reason students were so easily swayed was that Amy was the top graduation candidate.
Nade said, "So it boils down to evaluation scores or the graduation exam—process versus result. You have to judge that well."
"If a scout will check the evaluation scores, you want to do your best on them. But in the end, if you fail the graduation exam, it won't matter."
Iruki added, "And the mind games with other students will be brutal, too."
Shirone propped his chin on his hand and pursed his lips.
"Still, I think it's best to be within the top ten. I don't want to walk into the exam with my confidence shot."
Nade said, "One-on-one combat gives the fewest points, but it's the most distinguishing event. The important thing is not to lose points."
"Tactical strategy needs a lot of reading the room. If your rank drops you'll be placed in a lower bracket. That's up to a five-point gap. Imagine that compounding over thirty weeks—it's grim."
Iruki said, "You can manage your ranking somewhat through specialty enhancement. But it's dangerous to surge too early. The best is to adjust while watching other students' scores."
Their opinions combined into a rough outline. It was a year-long journey, and they needed to decide their course as carefully as possible.
"Let's wait until the interviews tomorrow. After we see the one-on-one combat schedule and the specialty-enhancement items, we'll think more."
One More Step (1)
The graduating students were summoned by Colli and called in one by one for private interviews.
Shirone's graduating-class ranking was twenty-third, so he was called in twenty-third.
The interviews were ostensibly to evaluate the students' character and attitude toward their studies, but no matter what flowery language was used, the real purpose was to register majors.
"Good to see you, Shirone."
Colli offered his hand. Unlike at yesterday's briefing, he had his usual benevolent air.
But Shirone no longer acted like a child in front of him.
"Yes. I'm counting on you."
They sat across the table as Colli adjusted his glasses while skimming documents.
"First, take this. Here's your one-on-one combat schedule."
Shirone's hand trembled as he took the papers. It felt like holding a confidential document no one else was supposed to see.
The sheet listed opponents and dates for the duels. His first opponent was Dorothy.
'Ah—Dorothy.'
The quirky girl who always carried a tin-doll. He probably wouldn't be outmatched in raw combat power, but as Flu had advised, there was no reason to imagine the enemy freely.
Next he checked his friends' schedules.
Iruki, Nade, Amy. All of them were assigned to the latter half of the schedule that resumed after the holiday.
'Facing friends could be another variable.'
Personally, whatever the opponent, he wanted to give his best.
But if other participants formed factions and split points one by one, Shirone would have to rethink his strategy.
Colli pulled out the next document.
"Now we need to register your major…"
He trailed off, and Shirone could guess why.
Within the Red Line database there were evaluation items for unlockers, but Shirone's gift was unique.
A divine particle that imparted mass.
Magic realized through that was unlike any other magic in the world.
In short, there was no existing standard by which to evaluate it.
"After the graduating-class promotion test, the school sent a formal request to Red Line. They said a separate evaluation form would be needed. But this is tricky—your major is basically a field that only you can teach in the whole world."
Shirone had been assessed in the promotion test on his unique gift, the techniques usable with it, his Spirit Zone achievements, and his theoretical understanding.
"What the school can verify are only the magics you used at the time. The problem is there's no basis for predicting how they'll develop, so the standards become ambiguous."
"Yes. I understand that well enough."
If Shirone had been the evaluator, he would have faced the same dilemma.
If he had to evaluate Ataraxia, what level would count as master? Photon Cannon? Rampage, Radiant Wings?
Moreover, the school didn't even know whether Radiant Wings had been developed.
And likely, none of this would work in his favor.
"So the Association basically came to a compromise. They'll measure only phenomena created by the combination of light and mass. Read through it and tell me what you think."
Shirone scanned the evaluation form handed to him. Twenty items related to the divine particle were listed in succession.
Fifteen active magic items and five passive items: active mainly covering offense and defense, passive focusing on mobility.
As Shirone read through them his expression hardened.
It didn't take long for his face to contort completely.
'Are they telling me to do all this now?'
It was overwhelmingly difficult.
Of course, he could probably get three or four points on many items, and some high-difficulty items looked doable for seven or more points. But achieving ten points—the master level—on any of them at his current state was nearly impossible.
Shirone's gaze went to the bottom of the form, to the notes.
All items measured magic with the divine particle applied. Also, attack magics would only be eligible for evaluation if their impact reached 20 Crash or more.
Twenty Crash was about the average impact of the Photon Cannon he had cast in actual combat so far.
So even when incorporating the divine particle, if he reduced the mass too much the attacks wouldn't meet the evaluation threshold.
He sighed and returned to the first item.
Item one measured firing rate. The mere one-point threshold demanded sixty shots per minute.
'Sixty shots per minute at 20 Crash?'
With his current self that was possible, but not easy.
When he fought the Ice Queen in the ancient ruins his firing rate reached about 180 shots per minute. The problem was that it had been the result of fully pushing himself.
The master level required two hundred shots per minute.
That meant casting an offensive spell more than three times per second and sustaining that for one minute to get ten points.
Shirone squinted and scratched his head.
Colli, understanding his frustration, steepled his fingers and waited until Shirone gathered his thoughts.
Item two, projectile speed, was no better.
Master level required a velocity of 140 meters per second—about twice as fast as his current Photon Cannon.
'What on earth is this? Why set the standards like this?'
From what he had seen on Amy's evaluation form, even flame magics didn't demand this level. The heat-related items were naturally tough—fire is inherently difficult—but the other items were human-level difficulties based on student averages.
The divine-particle standards, however, were excessively harsh. It was almost as if they were saying not to graduate from the magic academy this year.
Even the passive item for illuminance was revealing.
Master level called for a whopping 500,000 lumens. No ordinary Shining magic could reach that.
But the Association assumed that if the divine particle was handled, it was possible.
He had once raised Shining Impact to 300,000 lumens. But 500,000 lumens… the Association people were seriously mistaken.
Half a million lumens isn't a support-level effect; it's an offensive spell. Without shielding your eyes, the light would penetrate eyelids and risk catastrophic retinal damage.
Shirone pointed to the form and looked at Colli.
"Um… this is…"
"Yes. These are the specialty-enhancement evaluation items the Association proposed. The difficulty is higher than you might've expected, right?"
"This is higher than 'higher.' Even if the graduating class is semi-pro, this is—"
Colli nodded as if he completely understood.
"Shirone, in my view you're an exceptional student. But regarding your specialty… we can't tell how exceptional you are because there's nothing to compare you to."
Colli glanced down at the evaluation copy and continued.
"For the Association, setting a high difficulty isn't necessarily dangerous. It's just unfair to you. But lowering the standards requires caution. Suppose we lower the difficulty and you pass with ease—then that could raise equity issues across all Red Line–affiliated magic schools."
Shirone understood the practical problem. It made sense that they'd be more cautious about lowering standards than raising them.
"But couldn't the opposite be unfair? It's also inequitable if only I face higher standards."
Colli's mouth tightened.
"Yes. The Association is conservative. I'm conservative, too. In your words, you'd call us fuddy-duddies."
"No. I don't mean to criticize—"
"All right, that's the first assumption."
Colli stopped, and Shirone fell silent as well.
"Now I'll tell you the second assumption. It's possible—maybe the evaluation form in front of you is the correct standard."
"Correct… standard?"
"Specialty enhancement isn't about how much stronger you are than others. It's about the level of the major. For example, fire magic is more difficult than air magic. Air is something everyone can access, but fire isn't. Differences in affinity lead to differences in capability, and capability is closely tied to talent. So the specialty evaluation for fire magic is harder than for air magic because, on average, those who specialize in fire have greater talent. Do you think that's unfair?"
Shirone said nothing.
"Shirone, the world isn't easy. Suppose the Association posted an urgent request for one fire mage. Dozens of fire mages would come forward, and the best among them would be chosen. But none of the rejected mages would complain that they're stronger than practitioners of other elements. That's how the world works."
Shirone swallowed.
"Having a higher difficulty than others isn't the problem. From the start your divine faculty is different. You possess a powerful gift others can't imitate. So the Association says this: if granting mass to light is possible, then a professional should at least be able to achieve this level."
"..."
Colli folded his hands on the table.
"Now you have a choice. As head instructor, I've presented two assumptions about the evaluation form. One: the Association is conservative and full of fuddy-duddies. Two: the Association's judgment is accurate. The decision is yours. If you pick the former, register a different major. If you pick the latter, accept this form."