[616] The Hottest Place (5)
It had happened in an instant, and that showed just how decisive Shirone's choice had been.
He'd used magic to give light mass and an ability that bypassed the mana-control device; only after the students saw what he'd destroyed did they understand the reality of it.
"Are you insane? What kind of thing is that to destroy?!"
"You arrogant bastard! If you were going to destroy it anyway, you could've at least handed it to someone else!"
Shirone looked over the students.
"What do you gain by doing that?"
"An official mage license! A Magic Association staff ID!"
As Lupist had said, under normal circumstances only five out of the 150 could get one.
Putting one of those five certificates up as an event prize was audacious, but Shirone had no regrets.
"So all the effort we put in for a year was for nothing? We bled in training just so one certificate could be handed out here?"
"What a load of nonsense! You train to produce results. And you tore that result apart right in front of us!"
"It's mine, so I can do with it as I please."
Silence swept the auxiliary building.
"The real result is building the skills worthy of that certificate. It wasn't yours to begin with."
"That doesn't make it yours either."
Curtis stepped forward.
"I don't know how you bypassed the mana-control device, but wasn't there some kind of deal made?"
Shirone's brow twitched.
"What are you talking about?"
"You met the Association head alone. And you're one of the most famous students in the kingdom. Can you tell us what was said there?"
"It's private. I have no reason to tell you."
"No—you do now. This unprecedented privilege of an official mage license. And you were the only one to bypass the mana-control device. Isn't that suspicious? It looks like this event was set up just for you."
The students rose up.
"Yeah! I knew something was off! Tell us what the Association head said!"
Iruki moved forward.
"Shirone destroyed the official mage certificate. That proves there was no deal."
"That's not convincing either. You produced an unmatched result in front of the graduating classes of the kingdom's five great schools. That could be used as an excuse for favoritism."
Shirone shook his head.
"That's delusion. The rule for this event is simple: only those who can bypass the mana-control device can get the certificate. Don't be frightened before you start—focus properly. The auxiliary building's security level isn't that high right now."
"Who else but you could bypass it? Who besides you has done that? This is clearly a scam!"
"My pride's hurt."
From where the leering voice came, a sharp click was followed by a clear note as a freezing spell was cast.
When the students turned, Prings had an ice crystal floating above his palm.
"Ma—magic…"
With senses sharp enough to feel and dodge even the Spirit Zone, Prings could easily bypass the current security setup.
"Not doing it doesn't mean you can't. Isn't it a little undignified to be digging around on the floor to pick it up?"
Druze Prings (graduating class final rank 22).
Major: Freezing branch of frost magic.
Notes: Hypersensitive senses. Pervert. Leader of the Hide-and-Seek Research Club.
That broke the students' disbelief; Shirone's words began to be taken seriously.
"This is the Magic Association."
When Fermi stepped forward and raised a finger, a flare of flame sprang to life at the fingertip.
"In other words, the Association is watching us. Do you expect to just stand here dumbly? If you don't pass the cutoff, you will never get into the Magic Association."
Those who'd been fixated only on the official mage license finally understood the event's true intent.
We have to show we can succeed.
Without anyone taking the lead, they focused and tried to enter the Spirit Zone.
Thirty seconds passed. No one succeeded.
No! I can't enter the Spirit Zone!
Even Curtis, ranked first at the Royal School of Magic, found it impossible.
This can't be. Three people from Alpheas already succeeded…
How could it be that he couldn't?
"There's some trick!"
Curtis erupted.
"You're conspiring to deceive us! I am ranked number one at the Royal School of Magic!"
"Interpretations of truth vary with one's limits."
Curtis turned to see a burly man who looked like an orangutan playing cat's cradle with string.
It was Konggo from Alpheas' graduating class.
"What are you doing? Just playing with string—!"
Curtis cut off when he realized the string in Konggo's hands was steel.
The movements were delicate, but every time the steel bent into a new pattern, the muscles in his arms bulged.
Big Konggo (graduating class final rank 6).
Major: Projection branch of steel magic.
Notes: Special alloy forging with shape-memory properties.
As Alpheas students began to succeed one by one, faces flushed crimson.
What is this place?
It felt like an invisible line between possible and impossible had been drawn, determining winners and losers.
"You bypassed it too?"
At Kanya's question, Arin nodded.
"Yeah. It's not a complex structure, but it's not simple enough that anyone can do it either. Still, our school has quite a few who succeeded. They just don't show off like I do."
Her glance swept across the friends who'd bypassed it and stopped on someone made of a network of light.
"How pathetic."
Dante slammed his goblet down and everyone turned.
"Give up on concentration that won't work, and think about how you're being treated. Even if it's the Association, assessing us is the scouts' exclusive right. Why not value your own worth a little more?"
Curtis snarled.
"You haven't done anything either, have you? You think saying that makes you look cool?"
"At least I don't look pathetic. Unlike you fools, I know who I need to fight."
"Who you need to fight?"
As Dante entered the Spirit Zone, a seven-fold magic circle with seven concentric rings formed.
"The security on the active mana-control devices uses an old-generation scheme with multi-substitution ciphers. Once you grasp the mechanism, it can be undone."
Codes that had been rotating in different directions halted and vanished in a burst of light.
- Warning. Warning. Unauthorized informational attack detected on the first floor of the auxiliary building.
Warning lights flashed and the Association guide's broadcast followed.
- Level 3 security device has been disabled. Responsible personnel, please inspect immediately. I repeat, the Level 3 security device on the first floor of the auxiliary building has been disabled….
The students who heard the announcement stared, stunned. Amy narrowed her eyes and stalked toward Dante.
"You crazy bastard! What do you think you're doing hacking Association security?!"
"It doesn't matter. They seemed to be expecting this anyway."
Dante sounded annoyed.
"You can do as you like among yourselves, but don't drag me into it and tarnish me. If you want to evaluate me, follow the proper procedures."
He was speaking to the meta system that must be enjoying the scene.
"Cheap? Cheap?"
Curtis glared at Dante's retreating back.
"Wait. Apologize to everyone for what you just said."
"Apologize?"
Dante turned.
"You insulted all the graduating classes of the kingdom's five great schools. If you won't apologize here, I won't back down."
Flames flared in Curtis's hands and Pandora barked back.
"Give me a break! You were the ones who started it!"
It was an incontrovertible fact, but Curtis wouldn't relent.
With the graduation exam looming, no one could take it properly in this state of mind.
Above all, if he returned home like this, the honor of the kingdom's premier school he represented would be trampled.
"Apologize. If you don't want everything ruined."
No school benefits from a rampage. Curtis knew that, which made him even less willing to do anyone a favor.
"No way. Serves you right."
"You bastard!"
Curtis increased his power and charged; several students followed.
This was no fistfight but a magical skirmish.
"Everyone, calm down."
As fire magic was streaking through the air, Eden spread her arms.
Saint Barrier.
A veil of light spread from her; the incoming spells were instantly snuffed, even pinning the students ahead of her against the far wall.
"Ugh! W-what is this?!"
Around a hundred students were trapped between the Saint Barrier and the wall, unable to move.
Eden—
Students from other schools were awed by the god-defying shield, but those who knew her noticed a change in her style.
She'd switched to wide-area defense.
Her absolute defensive power operated through a powerful omnipotence based on faith, but its strength originally came from concentrating mana solely for self-protection.
It was surprising she'd given up one of the two pillars that formed the Absolute Barrier, but Shirone—who'd fought her before—smiled.
You've grown, Eden.
She'd broken her stubbornness and resolved to become a true messenger of God and preach love.
"Do something about this! I can't move!"
The Saint Barrier was warm and gentle, but impenetrable to any magic.
"Violence isn't good. Let's resolve this peacefully."
Candler Eden (graduating class final rank 25).
Major: Wide-area protection branch of defensive magic.
Notes: Powerful omnipotence based on faith.
"Damn it! Unlock this now! Who the hell are you to lecture us?!"
"Ugh! This is infuriating!"
One student's wail was relayed in full to the central control room monitors via the recording device.
"It's decided then."
As Lupist rose, Chief Secretary Jane—who'd arrived the moment the mana-control device was disabled—spoke.
"Isn't this going too far? These are still inexperienced students."
"Weak are meant to be culled. Besides, it's not all bad—someone's already showing professional-level judgement and action."
"The problem is they're all from Alpheas."
By student standards, this year's graduating class at the Royal School of Magic wasn't weak. The issue was how extraordinarily superior Alpheas' graduates were.
"By the way, interesting. Ultima."
Lupist searched the monitor for Shirone.
"If a single entity disassembles information, the cipher system itself becomes powerless."
"Shouldn't we enact the highest level of security?"
"Useless. Before Ultima, all information is equal. Humans and beasts are the same; advanced math is no different from children's arithmetic."
"…the hardest-to-control category."
"It should be considered impossible. That's why it's dangerous."
Jane glanced after Lupist as he left the room.
"What about the party?"
"Calm them down and send them off. The festival's over."
The door closed.
How long do you think you can keep us bottled up?
The auxiliary building had become a riot of curses.
"Just wait until the magic's off! You're dead meat to me today!"
As dozens of students hurled abuse, those on the receiving end began to heat up.
"Those bastards…."
Just as Closer was about to step forward, someone in the rear snapped.
"Really? You wanna see what I'll do?"
Puffpuffpuffpuffpuff!
Utility-magic effects burst in a fast rhythm over the heads of all the Alpheas students.
Where the startled students looked, Suabi stood, eyes blazing.
"You guys always laugh at me so you think I'm easy to mess with?"
Puffpuff! Bang! Puffpuffpuff!
The students gaped at the mechanically precise cycle of utility magic being cast.
Suabi's angry…
Wenus Suabi (graduating class final rank 18).
Major: Multi-buff branch of utility magic.
Notes: High-speed Cross Force replacement using superhuman rhythm.
Every time a buff-enhanced ability activated, everyone reacted the same way.
Incredible. The Cross Force got faster.
Only then did Eden lower the Saint Barrier, but no one moved.
Seeing more than thirty different buffs applied across all 29 members made anyone think twice about fighting.
"How about it? If you want to try us, shall we unlock ourselves too?"
Fermi finally stepped up like a leader.
Ugh!
Curtis hung his head helplessly as the Alpheas graduating class gathered. The 3.8× multiplier wasn't an exaggeration.
A few students shed tears of frustration, but there was no sympathy for Fermi.
"Remember this. We are the protagonists of this year's graduation exam."
The hottest place had been decided.