Chapter 139 November 8, 2022
Chapter 139 – Second Exam (1)
It was called an exam, but the process itself wasn’t long.
It was because the method to deal with the exam was close to homework.
Because they had been told earlier, the students made their own magic squares with Ludger’s class materials as the basis.
The place was a place for them to demonstrate it to Ludger, or better, to the fellow students who attended the same class as them.
“Before we start, everyone must have selected their turn ticket.”
Before they entered the training ground, the students had selected their number tickets randomly—it was the sequence for who would demonstrate first in the exam.
“Let’s start right away. Number one, come.”
“Y-yes!”
When Ludger called the number, a male student who was the first came to the front.
Because he was the first one, his footsteps were stiff due to the tension.
However, there was no student who mocked him because only a lunatic could laugh watching a spectacle that might be them soon as well.
Most of them were inwardly relieved knowing that they weren’t the first one.
‘I have indeed prepared quite well.’
‘But what if the other students show something more amazing than me?’
‘Ah. If I knew that it would turn out like this, I would have prepared a bit more.’
The students who lacked preparation were restless due to their anxiety.
In the midst of it, the first student demonstrated his prepared magic square.
“I-I mixed elemental properties on the magic square, and I made it convenient to manifest the related element whenever I want.”
There was a parchment beside the student who said so, and there was a small flame formed on top of it.
He was implementing the fire elemental property using the magic square.
The flame didn’t spread wide, and the flame was maintained very equally. Moreover, it was possible to adjust the flame into lower, higher, brighter, etc..
The flame couldn’t be raised beyond the limit, but it was enough to boil water.
The magic square shape was tetragonal and had almost nothing different from what Ludger had taught.
“Alright, I’ve finished examining your square. I will give you the score.”
“Gulp.”
“The scores range from A+ to F. Your score is a D-.”
“Pardon?”
Perhaps he thought that he would at least get a C.
The student’s face was tinged in confusion, as he’d received a result that was far below his expectation.
“Pr-Professor. Did you say that… My score is D-?”
“You look like you can’t understand. Obviously, the magic square that you made is pretty useful in real life.”
Looking at its stable appearance that he’d shown off, it could be used like a gas stove on Earth.
Perhaps it would be very famous if it was distributed to households.
However, that was all.
“You used a tetragon as the magic square shape just like the original, and you only used small numbers in it. Did you choose a safe method without any thought of changing or challenging anything?”
Obviously, it was worth a compliment for him to put in the detailed function of adjusting the flame, but the other people could come up with that as well in the end.
It had no weakness, but the problem was it was too easy.
“Rather than creating a failed result to aim for a high mark, you only slightly tuned up a successful result and chose a safe path. Why do you think I taught all of you a magic square? Are you not satisfied with your score now?”
“It… it’s not like that.”
“Just know that the score I gave you was decided through a logical and reasonable assessment. And be thankful that you didn’t get an E, just a D-.”
The student couldn’t give any comment on Ludger’s words.
He hurriedly stepped back while bowing his head.
The students could feel cold sweat drenching their backs as they watched the scene.
Most of them were the students who’d chosen a safe method just like the student that had received the criticism.
“Next. Number two, come.”
Ludger’s eyes became sharper.
As if he didn’t like the fun and games from the first student, his atmosphere became more intimidating than the first time.
‘I’m doomed.’
As the second runner inwardly mumbled so, they dropped their shoulders.
* * *
“The atmosphere is very brutal.”
Leo was amazed while looking at each person demonstrating their magic squares.
He was worried whether he could properly present his magic square even though he could draw it well in that suffocating atmosphere.
At that stage, it felt like he hadn’t come to see the second exam but had been dragged into a slaughterhouse.
“Aidan. Do you think you prepared well enough?”
“Oh? Yeah. For now.”
“For now?”
“I did the best thing I could do, but no one knows how it will turn out, right? Of course, it may turn out well, too.”
“ Then I don’t know if you’ll get a low score.”
“ If I do, I have no choice. Still, I won’t regret it, because I did my best.”
Looking at him smiling brightly, Leo was about to sigh again, something that he had been doing often recently.
Since he’d said that he didn’t regret it, his answer seemed ideal—it was something that Leo couldn’t understand as an extreme realist.
Iona nodded her head as if she’d heard a good remark while standing beside Leo.
“It’s a noble mental attitude.”
“Oh, thanks.”
When Aidan conveyed his gratitude, Tessie hurriedly opened her mouth after silently watching them, as she seemed to feel some sense of crisis.
“H-hmph. Well, if it’s you, Aidan… you will at least get a C+. Don’t be too discouraged.”
Leo wondered if that stupid lady spoke something weird again.
Not only did she not encourage her friend to get an A, she even told him to be satisfied with a C+?
What was funnier was that Tessie looked satisfied, as she seemed to think that she’d done her best to support her friend.
‘Yeah. She’s originally this kind of person.’
She had a personality that couldn’t be honest with her feelings. Tessie Friad was someone who often got misunderstood because her way of expressing things wasn’t good.
What was fortunate about it was perhaps the fact that Aidan had a very good personality.
“Thank you, Tessie, for encouraging me.”
He seemed to know that Tessie didn’t intend any malice, as he even smiled at her.
Tessie, whose face flushed red and avoided his gaze after she saw Aidan, was dumbstruck.
They played well. Leo interlocked his finger behind his head while snorting.
“Oh, right, Aidan, what’s your presentation turn?”
“Me? 13.”
“13?”
Aidan’s turn was faster than he thought.
Right when he thought so, Ludger’s voice could be heard from afar.
“Next, number 13. Come.”
“…Didn’t he just call you?”
“Oh! You’re right. That seems like my number.”
“What do you mean?! He’s calling you. Hurry up and go!”
Leo pushed Aidan’s back and Aidan said, “ooh?” as he got pushed and stood in front of Ludger.
“Aidan. You’re number 13, right?”
“Yes!”
Even Aidan, who usually had a strong self-pacing tendency, was unknowingly intimidated in front of Ludger’s charisma.
Ludger glanced at Aidan with a sharp stare and soon gestured with his chin.
“Show me the magic square that you prepared.”
“Oh, yes!”
“Just so you know, all the guys in front of you showed grades that can’t meet my expectations. I believe that you won’t be like them.”
Did he believe in Aidan, or was he just giving him pressure?
Aidan gulped while pulling out his prepared parchment.
“Hm?”
Ludger showed a strange expression at first while staring at the magic square that Aidan had drawn.
“Aidan…”
“Oh, yes! Professor!”
“You… do you really intend to do the exam with this?”
“Oh, this? Of course!”
Ludger squinted his eyes while looking at Aidan, who’d answered without hesitation.
Rather than a square, a circle was drawn on Aidan’s parchment.
“What I taught you wasn’t a magic circle, but a magic square.”
The magic circle was different from the magic square.
It was a magic square if it could be drawn using a new method while escaping from an existing circle shape.
However, Aidan proudly made a magic square with a circle as its foundation as if he’d clung to the existing method instead.
“What on earth do you want to do?”
“I was also thinking about it a lot at first…”
Aidan nicely spread out the parchment that he’d pulled out.
Starting from the day when Ludger had taught the class material until then, there was not a single day when Aidan didn’t think a lot about it.
“Thoughts like ‘what kind of result do you want, Professor? What kind of method should I do to be able to create a good magic square?”’
Since the existing magic square that he’d taught was a rectangle, should he challenge another shape? A Pentagon, a hexagon, or a star would be good too.
However, Aidan had soon shaken his head. Such a ridiculous transformation was very much a one-dimensional thinking method.
Aidan knew his limit well. He was still a noob, after all. It was obvious that he wouldn’t be able to show a proper one-dimensional transformation and would screw up the test..
Then what should he do?
“In the end, I decided to do what I’m good at.”
Aidan bashfully smiled while sending his mana to the magic square.
It was only then that Ludger realized the circle that Aidan had drawn was different from ordinary magic circles.
What was engraved within it weren’t flat drawings, but the letters and numbers that he taught.
“I simply and tactlessly dug into one path like a stupid person.”
Soon, light flowed out of the magic square, and warm heat scattered to the surroundings.
As if creating a wave, the heat spread in an instant and filled the training ground.
“This is my best attempt. Professor.”
What Aidan had brought was a concentric magic square.
After showing his result, Aidan stood in a straight posture while staring at Ludger.
Ludger stroked his chin. Aidan gulped while looking at the sight.
“Aidan.”
“Yes, Professor”
“You get a B+.”
“Pa-pardon?”
“I told you it’s B+.”
Aidan thought that he’d heard something wrong at first.
Looking at all the other people that couldn’t avoid D or E, he’d inwardly wished that he would at least get a C.
However, after Ludger saw his result, he’d given a score beyond that.
“You daringly mixed the existing magic circle with the new magic square. I highly value the challenging thought. In fact, unlike the existing magic circle, you operated the magic square using a method of scattering waves through a concentric shape. You’ve increased the stability to a large amount so that the mana won’t go astray.”
Ludger pierced through what kind of thoughts Aidan had while creating it.
Aidan was focused while listening to his advice.
“The magic square that I designed has the merit of neatly matching the mana, but even so, it still has a somewhat frustrating part—it’s fixed, so it can’t be fluid. However, you counterbalanced the weakness through the flowing circle.”
“Th-thank you.”
As he didn’t know that a compliment would come out of Ludger’s mouth, Aidan still felt like he was dreaming.
“But… There’s still a foolish part in it.”
As expected. There was no way he would purely praise Aidan.
Aidan inwardly expressed a bitter smile, but in fact, he had been waiting for that moment more than anyone.
“The reason why magic squares attempted to escape from the existing circle was because circles are that complicated to draw. However, you used it again. Then the significance of using magic squares becomes weakened, right?”
“Oh!”
It was the only part that he’d missed because he’d been immersed in new inventions.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. Apart from that, the flow of numbers used inside it are still insufficient. If there was a bit more tune-up in the detailed part, a way better result would’ve come out.”
It was a part that couldn’t be helped since it was made in a short time.
Even by taking that into account, Aidan had shown a way better result than the prior 12 students.
“Still, it’s the best among what has been shown for now.”
Aidan’s face brightened at the appraisal, and the students sighed, as they’d inwardly expected for Aidan’s failure from behind.
‘It’s that kid again.’
‘Damn. A mere commoner.’
Regardless of such students’ thoughts, Ludger called the next student right away.
“Number 14, come.”
The 14th student showed a shit-face since they hadn’t properly prepared.
* * *
That was how all 80 students demonstrated their prepared magic squares one by one.
There were a couple of obvious notable students among them…
Aidan was the first one among them, but Aidan’s performance was way too insufficient compared to the results shown after him.
“Hoo. Flora Lumos, you used multiple shapes.”
“Yes, right.”
The magic square that Flora Lumos made had a shape of nine hexagons that met each other.
The more complicated shape compared to what other students had made looked exactly similar to the shape of a turtle shell.
‘Hexagonal tortoise problem… I didn’t expect to see what I saw on Earth here as well.’
He only taught the basics of the magic square, yet she’d drawn a hexagonal tortoise problem.
Moreover, the calculation technique within it was flawless.
Her genius title in Sören wasn’t gained for no reason.
“Flora Lumos, you get an A+.”
“Pfft.”
After she received the best score, Flora Lumos splashed her hair with her hand and showed a leisurely smile.
The students shouted as they praised Flora Lumos.
“Julia Plumheart, you get A.”
“Oh my, what a shame.”
The expected rising star Julia Plumheart also created an excellent magic square and received a high score.
Her actual score was second to Flora’s.
However, her expression wasn’t at all one of shame.
“…Elendil von Exileon, you get C+.”
“Urgh!”
Elendil was confident in practical technique, but creating a magic square was, in fact, connected directly with theory as well.
As she had a weakness in that part, Elendil could only give up on recovering from the failure of her first test.
Yes. Still, how come she’d gotten a C? Ludger shook his head while looking at Elendil, who stepped back with such a thought.
He didn’t believe that she shared the same blood with that woman that he knew.
Did that woman carry away all the genes with her?
“Tessie Friad, you get a B.”
“Iona Obeli, you get a B+.”
“Leo, you get a B.”
Aidan’s friends also got high scores. Ludger was a bit amazed at how the beastperson Iona joined Aidan’s party.
And lastly, the ash-gray-haired girl who had prepared her own magic square…
“Lynne…”
“Yes, Professor?”
“Demonstrate the magic square that you created.”
The tensed Lynne opened her mouth, as she seemed to have reached some sort of determination.
“I didn’t bring along the parchment to draw the magic square.”
“What?”
Ludger wriggled his eyebrows at the shocking statement.
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