Moving from point A to point B took no more than 1 second. It was quite difficult to calculate variables in your head since you were limited to that 1-second time frame. And above all, due to the nature of teleportation, short distances had to be repeated several times, meaning multiple calculations.
"Ah, I get it now."
Shirone slapped his forehead. You couldn't calculate with your head, but you could still feel with your intuition.
Just as the number of leaves in a tree could be counted through the Spirit Zone, the speed of light was also perceivable through insight.
This was exactly what Alpheas wanted. A magic that anyone could utilize, but not everyone could master.
Shirone gained confidence. Although he lagged behind in terms of omniscience, he had been honing and polishing his omnipotence every day since he was 12 years old.
30 days left until the exam.
Shirone did his best to expand his knowledge of Kergos' theory on photonization. After class, he spent night and day digging through the books in his dormitory. After 20 days of doing so, he could no longer find a book that could offer him anything new.
So from that day onwards, he started visiting a training ground dedicated to Class 7. The training ground was empty, presumably because his classmates had better, more private training areas.
Shirone combined the omniscience of the photonization theory with the omnipotence of the Spirit Zone. He found it difficult to grasp the feeling because this was his first attempt.
Shirone stood between omniscience and omnipotence. In that state, as soon as Shirone erased himself, the omniscience and omnipotence grew an affinity with each other. They then attached themselves as the magic activated.
Shirone cast the magic while in a state of trance. As he felt his body disintegrate, a light flashed before his eyes. At the same time, he bobbed his head to move forward, the distorted world crashing down on him.
"AHHHHH!"
Shirone, after traveling 5 meters, rolled on the floor. He felt like all the bones in his body were breaking.
"Ughh…"
As he grit his teeth and endured the pain, the word 'failure' got engraved in his mind. If the mass was not completely reduced by the photonization, the impact force from the speed would follow. Hard.
It was a magic too dangerous to try alone.
However, Shirone, who had no upperclassmen to ask for advice, let alone a private teacher, had no choice but to learn by tackling it with his body. And while yes Amy and Ms. Siena offered to help, he could not accept either. He chose not to out of principle.
'I won't give up. I'll definitely succeed.'
From that day onwards, Shirone went through numerous trials and errors to correct anything he was doing wrong. An ignorant method at first glance, but in the end, only muscle memory would remain when facing the actual test.
A few days later, a mysterious person suddenly appeared on the training grounds and started watching Shirone. They could have been a spy sent by someone, but Shirone didn't care. There was no other suitable place to train.
How many times did he roll on the floor and bust his lips on the ground? He had bruises all over his body while his muscles did not forget to ache each time he woke up in the morning.
The day before the exam.
With ten minutes to go before midnight, Shirone stumbled back to his position.
"Never give up… Never give up…"
His throat was dry and sore from inhaling all the dust. He stood in the center of the training ground with half-open eyes.
He had corrected most of his mistakes by this point. All he had to learn now was perseverance in front of pain and gain the will to overcome fear.
Shirone couldn't move. He was too afraid to teleport. His stamina had fallen to the point that it could no longer get any lower, while his bones and muscles were bruised so bruised that just a light brush of anything left them throbbing in pain.
"Let's do it… I have to do it…"
Shirone muttered these words as his consciousness began to fade. He was mentally knocked out. But maybe that was a good thing as he did not have to put in any effort to erase himself.
"Te…Teleportation."
Shirone's body stretched 10 meters out. His speed was not comparable to light, but to the naked eye, it seemed as if he was.
After arriving at point B, Shirone hurriedly straightened his upper body as it was about to drop forward.
He just stood there for a long time. He didn't feel it. This time around, he didn't feel any pain.
"Hehe… I did it."
Then the midnight bell rang loud.
Hearing the reverent sound, Shirone dropped to the ground from his standing position. The smell of dirt irritated the tip of his nose.
The result of the 30 days of training was only 10 meters. But still, this was the first time he had successfully leaped 10 meters.
'How much farther can I go with this?'
To cross the Bridge That Cannot Be Crossed, he had to cast a minimum of 70 teleportation magics as the bridge was 700 meters in length. Furthermore, since this was a race, he had to pay careful attention to his stamina as well.
Casting a single teleportation magic was much more costly than casting a single attack magic.
This was because it was simply better to just run fast rather than use teleportation that only moved you 10 meters forward. It was more efficient.
Ultimately, the key was connectivity.
If you could not cast it consecutively, teleportation was a magic one was better off not using.
If one arrived at their destination in a fully photonized state, the inertia would disappear. And thanks to this, the mage's body would not shatter and be destroyed due to the inertia.
'I don't have time for this. I shouldn't be lying down. I have to practice a little more. At the very least, I should be reinforcing the connecting part…'
Shirone's determination remained the same, but sadly he couldn't lift a finger. His consciousness was tugged into an abyss, and Shirone's eyelids closed gently.
And just like that, the morning dawned.
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Mark opened the window and enjoyed the fresh morning breeze. He stretched and went into the bathroom to wash his face. The smile on his face did not fade while he got changed.
Today was going to be a historic day in his life.
'Promoting from Class 7 at full speed. Haha. I'm already looking forward to the kind of treatment Class 5 will give me.'
Mark was incredibly strong at the young age of 15. In the magic world, physical appearance was not very important, but young children were still intimidated by height. And in addition to that, he was gifted with magic talent, so there was no brave soul who dared to bother him in Class 7. Thanks to that, he gained this opportunity by driving Shirone into a corner, so knowing that he made this opportunity fall into his hands, it strengthened his pride.
"How do you feel, young master?"
A slender man opened the door and greeted Mark. It was the mage who taught Mark teleportation for a month. Although Mark was pressed for time to hire someone quickly, he managed to find someone who was a certified Grade 9 mage.
"All right. How about Shirone?"
"Still the same. Even if teleportation is easy to learn, there is a limit to training alone. Even if he takes the promotion exam, he won't even be able to come close to the young master."
"Hmm. But I shouldn't let my guard down. His Spirit Zone is bigger than mine."
Mark was satisfied with what he had just said. It was often said that the weakness of genius was laziness. But Mark thought himself different. In his head, with his natural talent and hard-working character, there was no way he could lose against Shirone.
"By the way, how many kids are participating in the operation?"
"As of yesterday, four."
"That's quite small. After all, receiving private tutoring from a certified mage is rare."
"They either do not know their limits or are simply ignorant. Or maybe too prideful."
Mark snorted at the thought of the students who refused to participate in the operation. Those losers who had not a speck of talent were blinded by the opportunity for early promotion and kicked off the lucky chance with their feet.
'Well, whatever floats their boats. Let them do whatever they want. I'm the one who will get promoted anyway. It's Mark Slider's victory.'
The House of Slider was not very high up in the social class. However, despite being 3rd-class nobles, most of the family members worked for the Magic Association, so in the magic society, they had a pretty significant influence.
In any competition, if there was an upper rank, there of course would also be a lower rank. Mark decided to draw in half-baked kids with poor grades to form an operational group. When he offered to help them get a job at the association after graduation, several chose to come over. They concluded that it was more realistic to make a deal than to pass through the eye of a needle.
"Four people are enough. We can just crush him from the beginning."
"How about teleportation"
Mark opened the door and gave a thumbs-up as he walked out.
"Perfect. I will cross over 700 meters with my eyes closed."
"I wish you all the best, Young Master."
The certified Grade 9 mage was courteous to Mark 'til the end. From his perspective, he was a distant lowerclassman, but Mark was the son of his employer, who was a technical advisor at the Magic Association.
Mark headed to the Intermediate class building. There was no class because it was the day of the promotion exam, but students who were not participating in the exam remained and were studying on their own. Mark also visited this place for a meeting with the operation team.
As expected, the expressions of the students self-studying on their own were not good. It was because of the sense of shame they had for knowing they did not have a chance in the exam.
Mark enjoyed a sense of superiority whenever he looked at their faces. He burst out laughing when he thought that the kids who were left in the classroom today would probably be polishing shoes after going out to society.
"Yo, Maria! Are you giving up on the exam?"
Mark raised his hand at Maria, who was approaching from afar. Then Maria's face turned pale. She had become an outcast ever since she filed a complaint to Siena about Shirone's bullying.
Mark looked abhorrently at the helpless Maria.
'Tsk. This bat-like girl. She goes out and snitches on us, forgetting the times we used to bully together? So old and so useless. Why the hell is this thing even attending the academy?'
Frightened Maria spoke first.
"Mark, you didn't go to the training ground? Are you going to self-study like us?"
"Haha! You seriously think that? I'm not you. I just came here to meet my friends because I have some time to kill."
Maria, who was being condescended by Mark who was four years younger, turned gloomy. However, she couldn't even blame anyone because she was the one who lacked the talent and skills.
"Forget me, what are you doing here? What difference can you make by studying today? That's why your grades look like that. Come up to the training ground and take a look. Watch us. Observe. Observing those who are talented is also another form of studying, you know."
"Yes, I guess so…"
Maria gave an awkward smile while listening to Mark. She just wanted to end the conversation quickly and leave.
"W-Well, then, good luck. I really hope you pass."
"Kekeke! Do you really think so?"
Maria's heart sank at Mark's sneering.
"I've only tolerated you for so long because you were in the same class as me. But if I become an upperclassman, you better be prepared. I won't forget the time you snitched on us."
Maria urgently tried to make an excuse, but her mind went blank and she couldn't think of anything. In the end, she resigned and ended up bowing her head as she walked off.
Mark snorted while watching her walk away. He entered the classroom where the operation team gathered. Four classmates were waiting in the empty classroom.
Three men and one woman. They were students who had been training for a month to interfere with Shirone's path. In particular, the place they focused on was the situation that would happen within 100 meters.
Shirone for sure knew he was being kept in check, so he was definitely going to go all out in the beginning. Eliminating him by using any method possible before that happens was the key.
They had to be careful since a deliberate collision could lead to them being disciplined, but from Mark's point of view, it didn't matter if they crashed into him. He thought so because he felt that their sacrifice was equal to the compensation he was going to give them.
"So how is it? You guys must have set up a plan, right?"
"Yes. As soon as the exam starts, the two of us will cling to Shirone. In the meantime, the other two will cover you. If Shirone breaks free from us, we'll at least have another two waiting."
The number of opportunities they had to fail Shirone was at most two times. However, considering his victory was going to be determined within the first 100 meters in the exam, Mark was pretty satisfied with the plan.
Shirone's leaping distance was probably a standard of 10 meters. If so, the operation team needed to bring him down within the first 10 times they cast teleportation magic.
"I won't forget your help today. I will lead you guys if I get an early promotion."
"Okay. We'll be trusting you."
Mark was satisfied. Everything was going according to plan. He was going to be the winner.
"Great! Shall we get started?"