224th Episode
After the first stage of the entrance examination for Izhise’s applicants had concluded.
Karahan, who today served as an examiner from the Royal Directly-Subordinate Knight Order, stood in front of the target that Ray had pierced and frowned deeply.
The depth of the hole carved into the target was barely around 10 cm.
Among the targets that were almost bisected, this mark seemed quite modest. Yet, Karahan couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Just then, a colleague approached Karahan and asked,
“Does this work for you?”
“…”
Without responding, Karahan drew his sword and manifested a Sword Aura to demonstrate.
Karahan focused intently, directing a cyan-colored Sword Aura straight ahead.
Tsuzujik!
The Sword Aura extended almost four meters before stopping its growth.
Even if one inefficiently and brutally poured mana into it, the aura would only extend about 4-5 meters at most.
To grow it further, one would need to stack mana particles so thinly that they would barely possess any lethality—but such skill was impossible for Karahan.
His colleague also tried manifesting a Sword Aura, only to shake their head dismissively.
“It doesn’t work.”
“It shouldn’t.”
No matter how unique the method of refining mana or swordsmanship might be, creating a Sword Aura 30 meters long was not something achievable at the expert level.
Confirming this once again, Karahan muttered under his breath,
“I’ll have to request a recheck on the examinee’s identity from higher-ups…”
Confused by the incomprehensible situation, Karahan shook his head and resumed his duties.
Gathering the shattered targets and fragments, checking for any signs of cheating, and gathering them all in one place—it was a time-consuming task.
“Hmph…”
Having finished, Karahan dusted off his hands and headed toward the building where the second-stage exam was taking place. It was about time the second test was nearing its conclusion.
However, the moment Karahan crossed the boundary to enter, a deafening roar echoed in his ears.
“…?”
Karahan blinked as he witnessed the scene of a high-ranking spirit rampaging.
Under Ignis’ wrath, a high-level fire spirit unleashed flames wildly.
Karahan covered his face with one hand, unable to hide his agitation.
*
Ignis was not someone who tolerated insults.
Moreover, he was far from merciful enough to stand idly by while some mere “applicant” acted arrogantly right before him.
With his temper flaring, Ignis summoned a high-level spirit, ready to discipline Ray regardless of the consequences.
Hwarrrlek!!
A high-level fire spirit materialized in the form of an eagle.
The name of the high-level fire spirit was ‘Corkor.’
Despite its cute name, the flames emanating from Corkor were anything but adorable.
Ray, sensing the intense heat filling the space, furrowed his brow.
“What the hell is this guy doing?”
The Corkor summoned by Ignis was emitting heat as if intent on roasting Ray whole.
This made Ray genuinely irritated.
Until just moments ago, Ray had been giving it his all.
He had truly exerted himself, trying not to kill any spirits and pass the test.
But when Ignis suddenly escalated things and summoned a high-level spirit to pressure him, Ray’s brow furrowed involuntarily.
“As if I’m going to die because of this…”
While both sides were escalating tensions,
Corkor flapped its massive wings, scattering blue flames everywhere.
Hwarrrlek!!
The surging blue flames quickly engulfed the room.
Other magicians waiting nearby hurriedly cast spells to protect the examinees from the flames.
The spot where Ray stood was also covered in the blazing blue flames.
Interestingly, no one watching from the examination hall screamed in panic at the sight of Ray being consumed by flames. Honestly, everyone secretly hoped Ray would survive at least a little—but they instinctively realized that was wishful thinking.
Amidst the flames,
Ray drew the second sword he had been given as a spare.
“Hah, shit…”
Standing beneath the cascading flames, Ray forcefully clashed the swords in both his hands.
Uuung!!
Space warped.
The flames raining down upon him twisted and surged through the distorted space.
In the instant the fiery barrier thinned like paper,
Ray sliced through it and leapt into the air.
At that very moment, the sword in his left hand snapped under the strain of the Spatial Blade technique.
Ttak!
“Damn…”
It wasn’t exactly a cheap sword, but since it was merely one provided to examinees, its quality wasn’t great.
Ray irritably threw away the broken sword and stepped on the air.
Creating a barrier-like flow of mana beneath his feet to use as stepping stones, Ray accelerated forward.
Ray grew increasingly anxious.
Time had already been wasted too much; he needed to reach a conclusion quickly.
Meanwhile, Ignis clenched his fist at Ray advancing through the air toward him.
Following Ignis’ control, two low-level spirits and one mid-level spirit simultaneously charged at Ray.
Ignis smirked.
‘Will you still avoid killing the spirits?’
The spirits were closing in on Ray, encircling him.
It was impossible for Ray to evade them due to the close proximity. Moreover, these charging spirits themselves were powerful fire and wind forces—confronting them bare-handed would amount to suicide.
Ignis was confident that this time, Ray would definitely strike the spirits with his sword—or else die trying.
If Ray got seriously injured in the process, Ignis would surely find himself in trouble too.
Nevertheless, Ignis had no intention of tolerating Ray’s arrogance any longer.
However, Ray defied Ignis’ expectations outright.
“Hah, damn it.”
Seeing the approaching spirits, Ray cursed and gritted his teeth.
Immediately after, Ray’s body rapidly accelerated.
Kwaang!
Overdrive.
Harshia’s technique was activated, allowing Ray to pierce through the encircling net.
The spirits that had attempted to surround Ray turned back just in time to see him escape their trap.
Even at this point, Ignis continued to mock Ray despite the escalating situation.
As Ray closed the distance rapidly, Ignis vented his anger.
“Kill that brat!!!”
The high-level fire spirit, Corkor, spread its wings in response to its summoner’s command, blocking Ray’s path.
Hwarrrlek!!
Blue flames erupted, blocking Ray’s advance.
By this point, even Ray’s face contorted with frustration.
Ideally, he wanted to cleave Corkor’s head in two with his sword, but Ray restrained himself with superhuman patience.
Hwaaak!!!
The condensed flames created by Corkor swept across the ground, rushing toward Ray.
For a moment, Ray hesitated.
Even with Overdrive, escaping Corkor and reaching Ignis seemed impossible.
Ultimately, Ray extracted the Sword Aura to its limits, slicing through the fiery mass before immediately reversing his grip on the sword.
As Corkor prepared to unleash more flames, Ray swung the hilt of his sword toward the spirit’s face.
Chjeok!!
[?!]
Corkor’s head whipped around, momentarily stunned.
It hurt. Not enough to be fatal, but nonetheless, it felt pain.
Corkor was so bewildered by the sensation that it double-checked whether what it was feeling was indeed “pain.”
Part of this confusion also transferred to Ignis, leaving him momentarily disoriented.
Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Ray pushed forward using Overdrive.
Jjak!
Ray’s sword severed the white armband wrapped around Ignis’ forearm.
Mission accomplished.
By the time Ignis regained his senses, the second stage of the exam was already over.
Upon severing the armband, Ray immediately discarded the remaining sword and vented his frustration.
“Shit!!”
Ray was genuinely annoyed.
“Is it really okay to discriminate against people this blatantly?! Why am I the only one with different difficulty levels?!”
“Eek, eek…!”
“You’re not old enough to lose your mind yet, so please regain your sanity! Understand?!”
Continued verbal assaults from Ray finally caused Ignis to snap and activate his Magic Circle.
“I will definitely kill this bastard!!!”
Shaken by an overwhelming sense of insult, Ignis trembled violently as he drew a magic circle.
Ray quickly retrieved the discarded sword and retaliated with curses.
You son of a bitch, why don’t we take this to the end? Let’s see who dies…
Just as the atmosphere was about to explode with hostility, other examiners rushed in to separate the two.
Even as Ignis was restrained by the examiners, he continued shouting.
“Let me go! Let me go! I will definitely kill this bastard today!!”
“It’s not allowed, Lord Ignis! Please restrain yourself!!”
Only after five examiners clung to Ignis and dragged him away did silence return to the examination hall.
Ray discarded the sword in his hand again and ran his fingers through his hair.
Regulating his breathing and calming his mind, Ray asked the examiner standing beside him,
“How are my results?”
“…”
The examiner silently showed Ray the ranking list of the candidates.
In the second stage, points were deducted based on how long it took to clear the task. Among the candidates, Ray’s score was overwhelmingly the lowest.
Given the involvement of a high-level spirit causing chaos, this outcome was expected.
Ray sighed and muttered a curse.
“Hah, damn it…”
The examiner decided to remain silent.
It was generally unwise to provoke a lunatic.
*
The tasks for the first and second stages of the Izhise entrance exam changed slightly each year.
However, the third stage remained largely unchanged. The task for the third stage was always a duel between the candidates.
The duels were conducted in a tournament format, and the candidates had to defeat their opponents to prove their skills.
Occasionally, examiners would conduct additional tests or interviews to accurately assess specific candidates’ abilities.
Generally, though, Izhise evaluated the candidates’ demonstrated skills and potential during the first three stages to determine who passed.
For Ray, the fact that the third stage involved duels among the candidates was rather fortunate.
At least he wouldn’t have to waste time on nonsense like in the first and second stages.
However, even so, Ray let out a sigh.
“Haa…”
During the first and second stages, Ray scored extremely low—specifically, the lowest possible.
Based on his scores, Ray needed to make it to the finals of the third stage tournament to get accepted into Izhise.
‘Do I really belong here, disrupting kids’ playtime…’
As doubts and self-loathing crept in late, Ray wondered if he didn’t belong in this young crowd.
However, now that he’d come this far, there was no turning back.
Initially, Ray had planned to earn good scores in the first two stages and then appropriately lose in the third to finish the exam gracefully.
Now, though, he had to defeat everyone and reach the finals.
Ray shook his head while looking at the sky.
Eventually, Ray’s candidate number was called.
Carrying the newly issued examination sword, Ray ascended to the dueling arena.
Ray’s first opponent was ‘the discriminatory Jusephin.’
Now, all they needed to do was exchange simple greetings and proceed with the duel.
Suddenly, Jusephin started sobbing loudly.
“Huuuh…! Cough…! Sniif…!”
“…?”
Caught off guard by the sudden crying, Ray was completely baffled.
Trying to compose herself, Jusephin struggled but ended up shedding tears profusely, whimpering pitifully.
Still hiccupping, Jusephin directed an accusing voice toward Ray.
“I cannot forgive you. What resolve did I bring to this position…?”
“…”
“And yet you… treated it as a momentary amusement… demeaning and deceiving our resolve and determination…!”
The spectators, including the other candidates, examiners, and observers, deeply empathized with Jusephin and teared up alongside her.
Everyone looked at Ray as if he were human garbage.
Even Délun and Johanna shared similar disdainful gazes.
Ray felt a chill run down his spine.
He wanted to tell Jusephin to shut up but refrained, fearing worse repercussions.
Finally, after turning the dueling arena into a sea of tears, Jusephin raised her sword.
“No matter how terribly you mock me… you can never break my spirit…!”
Unable to bear Jusephin’s anime protagonist-like dialogue, Ray finally spoke up.
“Damn it, stop exaggerating, will you?”
“Hiiip…!”
Jusephin recoiled in shock.
Then, the audience watching the duel unanimously hurled insults at Ray for his cursing.
Caught in the barrage of jeers, Ray pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling stifled.
Deception (6)
