Author's Reincarnation in a Fantasy Setting

Chapter 42 Entrance Exam [3]

The fireball was then fired in the direction of the human dummy at utmost speed.

'Shit! This is wrong! If that old man saw this fireball then it ought to make me the center of attention! I definitely don't want to take that generic mc path!'

Hence, without wasting a single second I quickly used elemental magic and launched a jet spray of water toward that fireball.

I used most of my mana to increase the speed of the spray so that the old man doesn't see it; if that happened then this will end up backfiring and draw more attention.

But Alas! I was too late, I launched the jet spray the next second after the fireball but even then it was too late. The fireball was already out of my range.

The spray didn't work, I had intended to reduce the size of the fireball with this but it failed.

The big, red fireball made its way toward the human dummies that were lined up at the end of the room. It clashed with a dummy and the next moment an explosion occurred.

It looked like a miniature supernova and it blew not just one or two, but four of the human dummies; all of them were burned to crisp.

'Sigh! I wanted to do mediocre in this exam also but now things are a little out of hand. I messed up, to be honest. Imagining the elements in my mind before casting magic has become a habit of mine.'

Now I somehow have to deal with it, so, I slowly turned toward the old man who was standing behind me at a distance.

He was staring at me with his eyes out, and sweat was visible on his wrinkled forehead.

? "D-Did I pass?" I asked with an innocent but awkward smile.

It took a while for him to come back to his senses and as he did a "Huh?" came out of his mouth. Regaining his composure he spoke

"…Ahem…I can't reveal the results to you right now."

There was a minute of silence after that, neither of us said anything and just kept staring at the other. Maybe he wanted to ask me something but I just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"...…"

"...…"

"Can I leave now?" breaking the silence, I asked.

"OH…ah, yes you can. The second exam is over for you now," said the old man.

I turned my back on him and began walking toward the exit, I wanted to run but that'll make things look even weirder.

Then when I was about to leave the room, he called out to me, considering the distance that was between us now, his voice was rather loud.

"Was this really the first time you used magic?" he asked.

"YES!" I turned and replied; the same innocent smile appeared on my face but this time I tried to make it as wholesome as possible.

At this point, I was next to the exit door so after giving him a reply, I picked up my pace and ran off.

'It'll be better if I don't see this guy again ever in my life!'

I was not running exactly but my pace was faster than normal walking, so before I knew it I came very far away from that room.

I stopped and looked around; it was good that I'm still in the hallway. I relaxed my breathing, which was out of control for a moment now; thought I was not out of breath because I have C rank stamina and a bit of fast walking is nothing for me.

And then…I realized something.

"Fuck! I forgot to ask him where I have to go for the third exam!" I cursed myself.

There was a way to go back and ask him that but…nope, not doing it. First of all, it'll be way awkward and the second is that other students may be also there now.

That will also attract attention to me and definitely not in a good way; they will likely think of me as an idiot.

'A possible threat to the peaceful life I want; maybe I'll get taunted and bullied after that. Not that I can't protect myself and beat them up but then again, I'll end up falling deeper in the vortex of attracting attention.'

I know I'm overthinking this right now but even so, it's a big no for this option.

'The other option I have is to wander on my own and try to find the place where the next exam is taking place. This sounds like a good option so I'll go with this one.'

Hence, I started walking again slowly as I kept checking my surroundings to not miss that place.

'The places where the first and second exams are taking place are not that far away from each other; after all, if they were then it will be a hassle for the students. So keeping that in mind, the place for the next exam should be somewhere near.'

***

15 minutes later

***

"Damn it! I can't find the place!" I muttered as I put my hand on my face.

Just where the hell is that place!?!

All the rooms I have checked till now were either locked or empty; probably an arrangement for this day exclusively.

The normal classes were off for today because I never saw any of them. They must have done this to avoid confusion for any crowds but this thing was working against me now.

If there were any other students here then I would have asked them about the third exam and it would be easy but…ah well.

While thinking all this I kept walking, and soon after I saw something. No, it was not what I was looking for but a person, a girl—who looked my age

She was standing outside the hallway in a garden-like place. This hallway was built on the outer side of the building so the wall on my right had big gaps in it—for light to come in and for air ventilation I guess.

And thorough those gaps, I was able to see her.

She had long white hair that went down to her waist; her deep red eyes had a shine in them, making them seem like a gem. Her face was devoid of any makeup but had an image of natural beauty on her. She wore a plain white top and a crimson-colored skirt that matched her eyes. Her legs were covered to the thighs by black stockings that were similar to the ones Anya wore.

Though her looks are the perfect example of an overused trope with her white hair and red eyes, I have to admit…I can't deny that she is also an example of the beautiful girl of your dreams.

She was standing there alone and gazing at the flowers that were planted near the outer wall.

At that moment, a gust of wind passed by, that made her hair flow in the air. I also came back to my senses then.

I finally got the second thing I was searching for; someone I can ask for directions.

So I parkour over the wall and made my way outside as I walked in her direction. I made my presence very open and easy to catch so that I don't end up surprising her.

The same thing happened and she noticed me. She looked at me while I stood at a three or four steps' distance from her.

"Sorry to disturb you but can you tell me where the third exam is taking place? It's okay if you don't know," I asked in a soft voice, though it was lacking in emotion because I didn't put much effort into it—I was in a hurry after all.

I also added that she doesn't have to tell me if she doesn't know; that was because I am not sure if she's taking the entrance exam or not.

I mean, if she was then why she would be wasting her time here?

Or the other possibility was that she already finished all the exams and was now killing time here; which was unlikely so I paid it no mind.

The answer was not given to me immediately as she averted her gaze and maybe was thinking over something.

After a minute or so had passed, she spoke up.

"It's taking place in the room next to where the second exam is held," she said.

"Okay, thank you very much. I appreciate your help though now I have to go," I thanked her and went back in the way I came from.

Walking alone in the hallway at a fast pace there was only one thing going through my mind right now.

"I feel like an absolute idiot!" I was thinking it with such force that it came out in words.

After that in around five minutes, I reached the place in question. It really was just next to it and I simply passed by without even noticing it.

I entered the room and saw that no one was there, the examiner was the only person to be seen there.

Either I was too early or too late.

And keeping in mind what oh wonderful thing I did, the latter part seems to be true.

'Ah fuck! I am so annoyed that I'm throwing sarcasm at myself; that is a thing I don't usually do.'

Anyway, I walked up to the examiner who this time was a young man with a sword.

Of course, he has a sword; this is an exam related to sword arts.

"Umm, so, I am here for the third exam," I said to him.

"Oh, you are rather early!"

Wow, I'll just pretend that I didn't hear that.

"Well, take a sword from there and get ready," as he finished speaking, he pointed toward a desk where several swords were.

I went and picked up one of them; it was a long and thin sword, and it also gave off a katana-type vibe that I liked.

Then I came back and stood in front of the examiner.

"In this exam, I will be testing how good you are at sword arts, so don't hesitate and come at me with everything you've got," he said as he held his sword with both of his hands and raised it toward me.

Hmm, shouldn't we be using wooden swords though?

'But if he says it's fine then it's fine, don't hold any hard feelings if I ended up killing you. Also, I'm not kidding here.'