[608] The Five Great Prestigious Schools (1)
Winter arrived.
Alpheas, who had been looking out the window at the snow-dusted school grounds, turned away and asked, "A notice came down from the Association?"
"See for yourself." Olivia set a crisp document on the desk that caught his eye.
It said that graduating students from the five great magic schools must personally submit their application to take the graduation exam to the Association.
"That could be a variable."
It was precisely the moment when the final 30-week evaluations were beginning.
Around this time students sharpened their minds like blades and tuned their biorhythms so they'd peak on the day of the graduation exam. Having to travel to the capital to visit the Magic Association in the middle of that would be a significant stressor.
"Are they using the students for politics now?" Alpheas asked.
The change had come after Lupist, who had been acting in Gaold's place, was officially installed as head of the Magic Association.
"That's one way to see it. Lupist believes in elite-first ideology. This is probably part of a plan to start managing students who might be assigned to the Association in the future."
That was why the scope was limited to the five great schools.
"Still, isn't this extreme? Up until last year the schools handled this. To switch it now… there must've been a lot of pushback."
"It's a show of power. His connections are excellent, but he hasn't completely taken over the Association."
"So Gaold's influence was bigger than we thought."
"He was a madman, but the kingdom's strongest mage. Even if people criticized him openly, many mages likely supported him in private."
That was Gaold.
"Politics are for politicians. We teachers should focus on the students."
Colly, who had been listening, spoke up. "To send thirty students to the Association, we need to fill our slots. Anchul dropped out, so one seat is vacant, and Aider still has to decide."
Aider, who had suffered multiple fractures when Shirone used Ataraxia during the high-ground capture evaluation, was still in the school infirmary.
His treatment was finished, but his mind remained the issue.
"The infirmary staff say the trauma is nearly healed. Aider himself is eager to take the graduation exam."
"Hmm." Alpheas agreed with Olivia. "Let's double-check one last time. If there's no problem, have the advanced class nominate one student to fill the slot. If we base it on academic ranking, it should be fine."
"Yes. I'll leave it to Teacher Shiina." Colly bowed and left the headmaster's office.
* * *
As always, Shirone sat cross-legged on the research room floor.
With the upper echelon of Istas gone, he came here every day to unfold his numeric sequences.
"Trust the power of the day."
Nade, who had recovered from his stomach ailment, was getting normal evaluations, and the students paying the price for Scramble Royal were steadily dropping in rank.
Only ten days remained until the graduation exam. All the training so far had been nothing more than preparation for that day.
"Ugh!" When his sequence passed two hundred gyeong, Shirone's face crumpled fiercely.
He had manifested Shibulsangpokmae at the gyeong tier, and now he had pushed two hundred times beyond that. Still, breaking past the gyeong and entering the realm of the Hae was far off.
'It's enormous. There's no end.'
No matter how far he reached, all he could see was a tunnel of numbers racing on forever.
—Numbers do have an end.
Recalling Goffin's words, which he still couldn't fully understand, Shirone accelerated the sequence. The time-aura filling the research room warped the scenery until shapes were indistinguishable.
"Going!" It would spread on and on.
"Shirone, are you in there?" A knock sounded and Shiina opened the door.
"Huh? What is it?" Perceiving a second into the future, Shirone had already stopped the sequence and greeted her casually.
"Yes. Colly asked me to ask if you could come with me for a bit."
"Of course." Watching Shirone stand and brush himself off, Shiina felt a wave of nostalgia. 'He's grown so much.' She remembered how he'd stood out during the entrance test—the boy who had seemed remote in magic and only knew Spirit Zone had become the top candidate for graduation, able to hold his own against anyone.
'This is why I teach.'
Shirone, wearing a winter coat, asked, "Where are we going?"
"To the infirmary's rehabilitation training center. I need your help. I'll explain more on the way."
As they headed to the infirmary, Shiina filled him in.
"Oh, that'll take two days."
"Right. But travel time won't be long. We'll use the space-transit formation at the Association's Creas branch to get to the capital."
Long-distance space-transit formations were critical to the kingdom's security and unavailable for private use. "The students who will be evaluated already heard from Teacher Colly. Make sure they have the clothes for the inspection—get them tailored in advance."
The rehabilitation facility was on the infirmary's second basement level. In an roughly eighty-pyeong room, rehabilitation tools lined the walls, and beside the infirmary nurse stood Aider in a patient's gown.
"Aider." A student whose cute smile concealed a snake-like malice. The image of him enjoying the one-sided beating he'd given Maya remained vivid.
"Ah? Long time no see, Shirone-hyung." Aider greeted him with the same smile, but Shirone could no longer return it warmly now that he knew the truth.
"Oh, come on. Are you still holding onto that? I'm sorry about it. I didn't know my place." Sometimes Shirone felt he'd been too harsh, but that feeling came from the luxury of the strong—regret mixed with the knowledge that he now had far more choices than before.
"I know. I heard. You want to take the graduation exam?"
"Of course. I'm in the graduating class too."
Shirone understood. If Aider gave up here, he'd have to repeat a year from the beginning.
"Coincidentally, I'm the one helping with the rehab test." Since Shirone had been the source of Aider's trauma, he was the right person for it.
"Yes. I heard. Thank you." While they spoke, Shiina and the infirmary nurse reviewed documents in the corner.
"The rehab has been successful. He's not having nightmares and the light-visions are gone. However…"
"However?"
"It vanished too cleanly. Nothing odd came up in interviews, but… it's the doctor's instinct."
"You think Aider is faking?"
"That's why we called Shirone." Shiina nodded and turned to him. "We'll run a test now. Shirone will recreate the situation, and the infirmary doctor will check Aider's condition."
Aider's face hardened slightly. "Recreate the situation?"
"Don't worry. He won't actually attack you. Can you handle it?"
"Yes, of course. I'm healed." The final test began. Aider and Shirone stood at opposite ends of the rehab room and faced each other.
Ataraxia. When the multicolored magic circle bloomed above Shirone's head, Aider, who had been cocky, went noticeably pale.
"It's okay, Aider. Fear is natural. You just have to hold on, so don't be nervous." From the teacher's perspective, it was natural to want to give Aider, who had worked hard to reach the graduating class, a chance.
Shirone moved to the next step. Photon Cannon. The instant a golden orb burst into being and vibrated, Aider's facial muscles contorted with raw emotion.
"Uaaaaah!" Aider bolted, burying his head in a corner and curling up as he shouted, "I see the light! I see it, teacher!"
The hallucination was gone, but he couldn't withstand even the real light. After dispelling the Photon Cannon and Ataraxia, Shirone looked at the infirmary nurse with a bitter expression. After a moment's thought she shook her head and wrote "rehab further recommended" in the personal notes.
* * *
"Good work." Colly spoke with all twenty-eight graduating students gathered. "This completes the one-year graduating class program."
No applause, no cheers followed. What they felt after training their minds every day for thirty weeks was nothing but a nausea-inducing tension.
"As you know, there are two graduation slots left. After a week of selection, two students from the advanced class have been promoted. Welcome them."
Colly turned, and Mark and Maria, ranks one and two of the advanced class, stepped onto the stage.
"Hi, I'm Mark. It's an honor to join you for the graduation exam, even if a bit late."
"Hello. I'm Maria. Please treat me well." There was no senior-junior distinction in the graduating class, but Maria bowed politely anyway, true to her nature. No one cared. Evaluations were over; only the real contest remained, and relationships no longer mattered.
"The top two from the advanced class? Isn't that risky?" Anyone who had gone through the graduating year's evaluations would have thought so.
"But you never know. Those two trained under Teacher Sad personally." If a certified rank-6 mage had trained them, they wouldn't be limited to advanced-class level skill.
'Senior Shirone.' Mark caught Shirone's eye. Getting a preview of the graduation exam carried great advantages but also psychological risk. Still, Mark chose to move to the graduating class because Shirone was there.
'If not now…' When else would he get the chance to face Shirone? Climbing from Class Seven to the top of Class Four so quickly was possible because he'd followed Shirone closely.
"I'll learn a move from you, senior. And…" Mark glanced at Maria. 'We will graduate this time.' That was how he'd convinced her. If their combo play, honed by Sad's training, was steady, they might not be top-tier but could place within the top ten.
"All right, I'll explain tomorrow's schedule." Mark and Maria stepped down as Colly read the notice.
"Departure at 6:00 a.m. Be ready by 5:00. Wake-up is at 4:00." This was due to security rules for long-distance space-transit formations.
"Everyone wears formal dress. Skirt length must be five centimeters below the knee. Men wear white dress shirts, women white blouses, matte shoes only, no accessories except the school badge, and women must wear their hair up."
Sabina raised her hand. "Why do only women have to put their hair up? There are men with long hair too."
Because they had to get up so early, the extra grooming burden made the female students resentful.
"That's a rule set by the Association head. If you have complaints, file them with the Association." That alone gave a sense of Lupist's character.
"Clothing must not be wrinkled upon arrival at the Association. Do not run; avoid bending at the waist or swinging your arms."
The graduating students, already strained by stress, looked even more hollow-eyed.
"Wouldn't it be better to stuff you in and carry you?"
"Exactly. You must arrive without a single crease, like a taxidermy display. As you know, by noon tomorrow all graduating students from the five great schools—one hundred and fifty students—will gather in one place."
Only then did the students' expressions change.
"Few will check you meticulously, but flaws are the easiest things to spot. Never appear disheveled. This concerns the school's honor." They could not be seen as inferior to the other great schools.
"Rest well tonight. Sleep early. See you at dawn." "Yes!" The students' voices rang out louder than usual.