Year 348 of the Great Sundering Era, 2nd Month, 30th Day of the Astral Reflux Cycle.
After discussing Codebreak-006 with the others, Magnus spent most of the day asleep. Meanwhile, Celia and Eveline, who surprisingly got along well, continued their research on the Knockout Brick and made progress on automating Celia's averaging log. It wasn't until late that Magnus heard the door open as Celia left the Research Station.
"I'll be back early tomorrow to write down the specifications you mentioned, Eveline," Celia called through the door before closing it behind her. Magnus, who was in his pajamas and lying on the couch instead of his bed for no particular reason, sat up lazily as she left.
"Looks like you two are getting along well," he commented, his tone casual.
"Yeah, I think so too. I get why you said she was a bit... creepy, but once you start working with her, she's actually a lot of fun. I don't think I've ever learned so much in a single conversation with someone," Celia replied, her face lighting up with excitement.
"Hmm, well... you're probably right. As much as she nearly gives me a heart attack when she randomly appears or teleports me into her library, I've definitely learned a lot from her too. And she was pretty helpful in figuring out that whole memory-tampering thing," Magnus admitted. In the end, he felt confident that making her an ally was the right decision, rather than just hoping she'd stay neutral.
"Oh? Are you... sure we should be talking about this out loud?" Celia asked, her voice dropping as she glanced around the room. They were in Magnus's dorm now, not the Research Station, and she remembered him mentioning that he was being monitored, which meant that had to avoid saying certain things.
"Hmm? Oh, no need to worry about that. Eveline said she took care of it. She realized since the Research Station linked to my room, it would be suspicious if either you or me seemed to leave but didn't actually show up in the hallway," Magnus explained. After all, the spatial door linking his dorm to the Research Station meant that if anyone monitoring saw him go through it but didn't see him emerge on the other side, it would raise questions—not just about him, but about Eveline as well.
Eveline was the only person known for messing around with spatial doors at Takerth Academy, so she decided to extend her security measures to Magnus's dorm as well. But instead of outright blocking anyone from spying on Magnus, she set up a subtle spell that fed any prying eyes a falsified version of events. They'd still see Magnus and Celia talking, but their conversation would appear completely normal. And when they disappeared through the spatial door, anyone watching might see them simply sitting down to read books for a few hours.
"Oh... well, that's good. Anyway, I'm heading home; do you need anything before I go?" Celia asked.
Magnus thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No, I'm good. I already grabbed some food from the cafeteria, so I'll probably just go back to sleep," Magnus replied as he lay back down on the couch.
"Eh? But you've been sleeping all day. Was the Live Examination really that tough this time?" Celia asked, curious.
"No, not really. I just ended up overdoing it and using up too much brain power," Magnus explained.
"Hmm, I see. Well, I was planning on picking up more of those cookies we like when I come back tomorrow, so I'll try to get some tea that helps energize you too." Celia's words earned her a thumbs up from Magnus.
"You're a saint, Celia." But after saying that, he suddenly sat up. "By the way, I was going to offer—why don't you just sleep here again? It's a lot more convenient than heading all the way back home, right?" Celia's expression froze for a moment as memories of the last time she stayed over flashed in her mind. Her face flushed with embarrassment as she quickly shook her head.
"Uh... N-No, I think I should just head home. I mean, I have things I need to wash and stuff. Oh, and Tola is coming over; she convinced me to do a little shopping with her, so I really can't." Seeing that she had plans, Magnus nodded and flopped back down onto the couch.
"Oh, alright. Well, just know you can if you want. With how much time you spend here and clean up, this room is pretty much just as much yours as it is mine." Celia nodded before taking her leave. Out in the hallway, she let out a deep breath as she glanced back at Magnus's dorm.
I can't believe he said something like that so casually... I really hope he isn't this way with all the female friends he has in the future, or he's going to get into a lot of trouble. Then again... I don't think I've ever seen Magnus take any interest in or even talk about a girl before. Isn't it normal for boys his age to think about that kind of stuff? And it's not like he doesn't have the looks for it; even Tola admitted it.
Even after he left, the maids kept bringing Magnus up; his looks were just too unique. It wasn't the same rough handsomeness they were used to. It was like the effect K-Pop had back on Earth when it became popular among Westerners. But at this point, Celia suddenly shook her head at herself.
Wait, what the hell am I thinking about? It's none of my business anyway. Damn it, that whole sleeping-over thing is really messing with my head...
The next day, Magnus woke up still lying on the couch, feeling completely refreshed. It was hard to explain, but sometimes it just felt more relaxing to sleep somewhere other than your bed. In any case, he got cleaned up, took a quick bath, and changed clothes before heading out, grabbing his mask as he left. Since he had slept so long, he woke up early, and with the next round of the Live Examination yet to begin, he grabbed something to eat.
About an hour later, he started heading to the Academy Arena, finding a secluded spot along the way to put on his mask and adopt his persona as Cain. As he walked, he couldn't help but notice that many of the students also heading there looked very relaxed. The usual tension that accompanied the Live Examination seemed absent today. Instead, it felt as normal as it did before the Live Examination had begun.
"I see you didn't sustain any injuries during your match—just as expected." Magnus heard a voice behind him and turned to see Seraline behind him. She looked exactly how one might expect after a tough match. Even though a knight could be healed physically and given rest, their true strength came from their willpower. Winning might help them recover their resolve faster, but it didn't change the fact that every fight took its toll.
So, Magnus decided to ask, "Are you feeling okay?"
Seraline glanced at him, a hint of surprise in her eyes at his concern. But after a moment, she replied.
"Yes. From what I can tell, I'll be back to a hundred percent by the end of the week." Magnus nodded; that was pretty quick, considering what he had heard from Syrna about her match against Velis.
"What about the others?" he inquired.
"I believe Luden has already arrived. I'm not sure about Blair or the twins. But judging by the atmosphere, it doesn't seem like anyone's expecting any fights today." Magnus agreed with her. It seemed what Luden had mentioned to him, Syrna, and Blair yesterday was proving true.
Hmm, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
It didn't take long for Magnus and Seraline to find Luden and take their seats. Within the next twenty minutes, the twins arrived, followed shortly by Blair. Sylas had been the most heavily injured of the group, and though he looked better, his body still had some natural healing to go through, not to mention the recovery of his aura. But in the end, it didn't matter, because what Luden predicted came to pass. There were eight matches scheduled that day between the remaining sixteen participants of the Live Examination.
However, out of those eight, seven ended with Eredim announcing that one of the participants had forfeited before even stepping onto the field. Among them were the matchups of Sylas and Seraline, Zilen and Luden, as well as Jalud's match and, of course, Cain's.
Sylas was in no condition to fight, so Luden told him to surrender and let Seraline move forward. On the other hand, Zilen had absolutely no intention of facing Luden. He and his faction had come far enough, which was why the only other member of his faction still in the Live Examination also dropped out. As for the two who were up against Jalud and Cain, their reasons for forfeiting were obvious to anyone.
In the end, two participants for the sixth and seventh matches dropped out as well, leaving only a single actual match between an Apprentice-level knight and an Apprentice-level mage. Unsurprisingly, the knight dominated, making it a one-sided fight that ended quickly. Looking around, Magnus saw that no one was surprised by the outcome.
Whether it was the students or the academy staff, they were all here just for appearances. Just like Luden said, there wouldn't be any real matches until the very end.
"Well, that was a waste of time," Blair remarked as the third round of the Live Examination wrapped up.
"Perhaps, but just because the students plan to do something en masse doesn't mean the academy can simply ignore the rules they've set in place. It's a matter of principle rather than logic. Like I said before, for most of you, the Live Examination is already over," Luden explained, standing up and turning to the group. It was clear this was directed more at Sylas and Seraline, and the two acknowledged it.
Once he received their confirmation, Luden shifted his focus to Magnus.
"Right now, the only thing you need to concentrate on is being ready for your match against Jalud." Magnus understood and nodded. He already had a plan in mind, and now he had the perfect opportunity to put it into action. As the students and professors filtered out of the Academy Arena, Magnus had no intention of returning to his room to sleep the day away.
The moment he arrived back at his dorm, he headed straight for Eveline's library and the Research Station. And, unsurprisingly, despite the Live Examination having ended less than an hour ago, Eveline was already there. She stood in front of a mana structure that resembled a constantly shifting matrix. With every gesture of her hands, it transformed entirely.
"Woah... What's that?" Magnus asked as he walked over, his eyes glued to whatever she was working on. Eveline responded without taking her eyes off her work or slowing the movement of her hands.
"It's an artificial brain, made entirely of mana. It's not nearly as complex as a human brain, but it should be sufficient to perform the basic cognitive tasks I need it to, like observation and writing."
"Wait, seriously? Doesn't that mean you're basically creating intelligent life?" Magnus was amazed. Even back on Earth, technology hadn't advanced to the point where humans could create artificial beings with genuine cognitive abilities. They came close through replication and feeding AI massive amounts of data, but there was always a line separating such creations from true cognitive beings.
Yet here Eveline was, creating an artificial brain. But when she heard Magnus's amazement, Eveline responded casually.
"It isn't that impressive. Nearly any woman in this kingdom can create a more complex life with much higher potential than what I'm making now, given a few months." Magnus couldn't help but sigh at her nonchalant reply.
"I guess I should have expected you to be the kind of person who doesn't see life as some kind of miracle." Once again, Eveline didn't look at Magnus as she replied.
"All organic life originates from something inorganic if you trace it back far enough. Life is rare at the start because it requires specific conditions and a lot of trial and error to reach the level of sentience. But in the end, it's just a matter of time. Given enough time, life is practically guaranteed to appear somewhere, and once it does, it proliferates exponentially, becoming one of the most common things in the world. I wouldn't call that a miracle, because miracles are things that exist outside the realm of possibility."
Magnus was a bit taken aback by Eveline's perspective. Most of the time when they met, they focused on magic or her interest in his abilities. But this seemed to be a genuine, non-crazed opinion of hers. Of course, whether or not he agreed with her wasn't something he planned to say aloud. After all, he had only recently learned about the nature of souls and reality from Eveline herself, so he wasn't in a position to argue whether life was a miracle or not.
"Well, anyway, I didn't come here just to talk about life. I actually need a favor from you. It'll really help me out for the Live Examination," Magnus explained as Eveline paused her work.
"Alright, it needs some time in an Accelerated Temporal Zone anyway," she remarked, waving her hand. The complex mana matrix brain in front of her vanished, sent off to some unknown location.
"So, what is it you need? From what I can tell, the only people left in the Live Examination who could challenge you are that boy leading your little group, Luden, and the one from the Creseya Family. But all things considered, you should still be able to handle them just fine." Eveline predicted, having a solid understanding of Magnus's abilities as well as those of his potential opponents.
"Perhaps, but there's no point in leaving anything up to chance," Magnus replied, then continued, "What I need from you is to show me as many different forms of magic as you can over the next two days."
His request caused Eveline to raise a brow; her interest clearly piqued.
"Oh? And why's that?" Seeing that she was eager to know more, Magnus sighed and began to explain.
"My ability allows me to replicate phenomena that I can see. However, they have to appear to originate from nothing, even if they don't. Since I can't see or sense mana like knights or mages until it's condensed, it means I can replicate magic as well. I had planned on asking you this after the Live Examination, but since I have a few days where I don't need to fight, now's as good a time as any."
His admission seemed to ignite a spark in Eveline's mind, and her face lit up.
"The copying of phenomena... I see... I see! That explains it; that explains everything! That's why the mana around you never fluctuates when you cast a spell; you're creating mana from nothing at all! And that also explains your regenerative ability—it's all making sense now. Truly, an ability with nearly endless potential," Eveline muttered to herself, chuckling slightly.
"Uh... yeah." Moments like these made Magnus wonder once again how Celia and Eveline got along so well.
"You said just two days, right?" Eveline asked for clarification, her eyes locked onto Magnus with a barely contained fervor. Magnus nodded cautiously as an intense grin spread across Eveline's face.
"Perfect. In that case, we'll need to get started right away. We can't afford to waste even a single... second."