Infinite Mage

Chapter 111: End-of-Term Report Card (2)

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"Of course, it's strange. But that's just in the realm of sensation. Mathematically, there's absolutely no problem with the sentence."

Yiruki's pride in mathematics was enormous. It's no wonder the humanities teachers gave him zero on the tests, so repulsed by his attitude.

Shirone decided to play his final card.

"Don't you want to advance?"

"Ugh! Damn it!"

Yiruki had no choice but to concede to that argument. He would rather die than become a junior to Canis.

As Yiruki returned to solving problems, Shirone went back to his seat and sighed.

'If he really messes up like this in the actual exam, it'll be a disaster.'

Nade, seemingly struck by a thought, looked up from his book and asked.

"Ah, speaking of which, isn't there a practical exam next week? Have you guys practiced a lot?"

Shirone and Yiruki asked in unison.

"What exam?"

"Damn it. You don't even know? It's the Psychic Pulse Test, the Spirit Zone endurance assessment."josei

"No need to practice, right? Both Shirone and I can easily score above 80. Why, are you worried?"

"No, but practicals have many variables. It's different from other subjects; it's relative grading. If others do better, our scores drop. I thought we should discuss it at least."

"It's fine, it's fine. We don't have time for that."

Yiruki, completely focused on solving problems, ignored the suggestion. For students of Class Five, how much better could they handle the Spirit Zone? Yiruki was confident he'd pass the practical exam without a hitch.

As Shirone worked on a math problem, he said,

"I'll skip it too. I can't afford to worry about that now."

Nade had confidence, but he knew scoring higher than the other two was difficult.

'What should I do?'

If it really seemed too hard, he could ask for help. But to take his friends' time just because of his own anxiety seemed like exploiting a loophole.

'Forget it. I just need to be in the top ten.'

Nade decided to let go of his worries and started studying again. If each study group member couldn't achieve their share of 33.3 percent, the group's efficiency would fall apart.

The benefit of the whole required them to cooperate fully, but the end result wasn't something others could give.

The Image Zone training area.

Usually, it would be bustling with advanced class students, but now it was occupied only by Class Five.

It was the notorious evaluation period that had pushed Shirone into corners several times. With the end of the term approaching, the students' tension was higher than ever.

Entering the Image Zone, Ethella, as always, expanded her 20-meter diameter Spirit Zone and started explaining.

"Today, we'll be conducting the Psychic Pulse Test. It measures how long you can sustain changes in your Spirit Zone."

Ethella gestured with her hands far apart, pointing at a towering black pole with unidentifiable characters etched on it.

"The evaluation criterion is the 20-meter diameter between the ends of the pole. A Spirit Zone smaller than that is ineligible for the test. Of course, I assume none of you will fail to reach 20 meters."

Ethella then contracted her Spirit Zone. As the volume of the zone dropped below 2 cubic meters, a buzzer sounded from the sound system.

"That sound marks one cycle. The test is 30 seconds, and your score depends on the number of pulses in your Spirit Zone. I'll demonstrate first since it's rare to practice with the recorder on."

At Ethella's signal, the Image Zone's Psychic Pulse mode activated. Her Spirit Zone began to pulse like a beating heart, expanding and contracting.

"Wow..."

The sight of a 20-meter Spirit Zone shrinking below 2 meters and then rapidly expanding was impressive. The cycle wasn’t particularly fast, but the explosive-like expansion and contraction were powerful.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound machine in the Image Zone, calculating the speed of expansion, emitted explosion sounds.

The sound wasn't just for entertainment; it helped perceive the intangible Image Zone through all senses, providing optimal efficiency for magical training.

After 30 seconds, the scoreboard showed 30 points, indicating one pulse per second.

Senior students had said that to make the cut for advancement, you needed at least 90 points. That meant three pulses per second. The students used Ethella's demonstration to fine-tune their strategies.

After the demonstration, Ethella, with hands behind her back, said,

"In real situations, you often need to rapidly switch between various forms of zones. Psychic Pulse is a fundamental training for that. Even after the practicals, it's crucial to continue training. Now, let's begin the evaluation."

Students were called up in reverse order of their Speed Gun test scores. As usual, it was hard to improve significantly in just a month or two, so most rankings were similar to the last.

As students each recorded their scores, with the lowest being 48 points, it was Nade's turn. Since he was in the upper-middle rank in the Speed Gun test, he had to take the exam much earlier than Shirone and Yiruki.

"Do well, Nade."

"Phew, I'm nervous."

With Shirone and Yiruki's encouragement, Nade entered the Image Zone, closed his eyes to concentrate, and then opened them as the starting signal sounded. He expanded his Spirit Zone, pulsing rapidly like a heart in full sprint.

"Wow! What's this? Nade?"

The students' eyes widened in astonishment. Only 10 seconds had passed, and Nade had already surpassed 50 points. A pulse rate of five per second was impressive even to the onlookers.

"Wasn't he just mid-ranking? At this rate, he's definitely entering the top ranks."

"Hanging out with Shirone really improved his skills, huh? We should've joined their study group too."

"Yeah, lately those guys have been studying ferociously. Even Yiruki, who used to slack off, hasn't missed a single class."

When the 30 seconds were up, Nade's score was revealed: 173 pulses. The acceleration in the last 10 seconds had boosted his score.

"Good job, Nade," praised Ethella with a pleased smile, recording his score. Her disciple had made remarkable progress, which delighted her.

‘Well, I expected as much from the beginning.’

Returning with a sheepish grin and exchanging high-fives with his friends, Nade settled down and said, "Phew, I thought I was going to die from the tension."

"Well done. One of us has passed. Just the two of us left."

Inspired by Nade, the following participants gave their all. However, no one surpassed Nade's score of 173.

Near the end, Yiruki entered the Image Zone. Without any sign of nervousness, he activated his Savant abilities at the start.

His method of pre-designing the expansion and contraction mechanism, though not very useful in real situations, was highly efficient for the test.

His final score: 210 points.

The students looked at the score in disbelief. Achieving seven pulses per second without varying speed was an impossible feat without Yiruki's mechanical precision.

"Wow, incredible. Even his mind operates like an equation. That guy probably didn’t even do his best."

"Can't help it, he's a Savant. Even Shirone might have trouble beating him this time."

Suddenly, a disdainful voice from the back dampened the enthusiastic atmosphere.

"Pfft, making a fuss over such a trivial score. Class Five really is a collection of pathetic fools."

The students turned around, their expressions changing to shock as they recognized Canis and Arin, who were observing the practical evaluation.

Ethella, recording the students' scores, asked, "Huh? You two there, what brings you here?"

"We got permission from the headmaster to observe. We just wanted to see how the test is conducted."

"Oh, I see. Come this way, then. You'll have a better view from here."

Canis frowned. Was that woman really a match for their master? She seemed foolishly gentle and naive.

'Is she pretending, or is she really that clueless?'

Regardless, Canis was genuinely interested in the exam.

He and Arin moved to the back of the participants.

"What do you think, Arin?"

"Having practiced Psychic Pulse so much, I could easily score over 250 points. Master always insisted on pushing our limits. I can handle it."

Arin, a psychic mage specializing in the highest difficulty level of Spirit Zone forms like the Tentacle Form, was confident in her endurance.

'Indeed, disciples of an Archmage. We're on a different level.'

The students felt overshadowed upon hearing Arin's comment. Even though they were nobility, being a direct disciple of an Archmage was a dream for anyone aspiring to be a mage, regardless of their background.

'But we have our secret weapon too.'

As the last participant, Shirone entered the Image Zone, and the students collectively cheered him on. They knew about Shirone overpowering Canis and were eager to see him triumph again.

Shirone took a deep breath in the center of the Image Zone. Scoring around Yiruki's 210 would be enough for advancement.

But Shirone's gaze had changed. Now with a clear goal, he wasn't planning to take the exam half-heartedly, not even if his opponent wasn't Canis.

With Ethella's signal, lights on the device lit up, and Shirone immediately pulsed his Spirit Zone to its maximum.

Without a precise design like Yiruki's, evenly dividing a second was difficult. However, humans have a very accurate internal clock called rhythm.

Shirone accelerated the pulses of his zone to the rhythm. The sound machine emitted rapid drum-like rolls.

Ratatatatatatatatat!

The students couldn't close their mouths, astonished. They watched intently but could only discern the Spirit Zone's movements about once per second.

"How is that possible... How many pulses per second is that?"

With multiple layers of Spirit Zone moving simultaneously, it was impossible to count. Everyone waited for the 10-second mark. Soon after, the scoreboard flashed an incredible number: 120 points.

"Twelve pulses per second..."

Could anyone imagine a 20-meter sphere contracting 12 times per second? They could only see it, but no one knew what was happening inside. Only the explosive sounds and the rapidly counting numbers proved Shirone's pulsing spirit.

Even Canis and Arin watched in awe, especially Arin, who looked incredulous. With such rapid pulsing, the speed didn’t matter; the mind would collapse first.

The key to pulsing was how quickly one could expand the sphere from the smallest to the largest point and endure the impact upon contraction.

In that sense, the demonstration Shirone presented maximized both speed and endurance, reaching the pinnacle of mastery.

'Indestructible.'

Ethella recognized Shirone's level at a glance.

'Truly remarkable. The potential of this child is beyond measure.'

Even Ethella could no longer be sure where exactly Shirone stood. Just when she thought she had an idea, he had already moved far beyond that point.

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