As the last of the beads shattered, an eerie stillness enshrouded the examination hall.
"......."
The examinees, assistant supervisors, and even Dirac and Deflyn stood in stunned silence, all except one—Ulan.
What he did was simple.
He compressed the ever-active spirit within his body to a high degree and unleashed it outward through his fist. This caused the compressed spirit to explode instantly, causing the wind to swirl and cause a strong shock wave.
It was a technique from his past life, but back then, it served a different purpose.
'I originally created it to obliterate swarms of venomous insect-like monsters with a single blow.'
Poisonous insects that swarmed and sprayed venom at the sight of small subjects, such as flies, and Ulan himself created it to destroy them in a single blow.
'Though its power is not as great as it used to be.'
In his previous life, he could have shattered even walls covered in beads with this technique. He bit his lip in disappointment, but his regret was short-lived. He would regain his strength.
"U-Ulan..." The voice of the assistant supervisor was heard.
She sounded flustered, and stammered out Ulan's results.
"....Ulan Bator, 3 seconds."
The examination room fell silent once again.
At that moment, a cheerful voice broke the silence, "Wow, what did you just do?"
It was a girl with apricot-colored hair, Deflyn. Her eyes brimmed with curiosity as she looked at Ulan, "It didn't look like magic at all."
"It's...."
Who the hell is this person?
She didn't seem to be a supervisor. As he glanced at Deflyn, he suddenly recalled Noah's advice.
"If you find yourself being questioned, just deny it as magic. Insist it's magic."
Ulan followed that advice to the letter, "It's magic."
"Huh? But the mana response..."
"This is how my magic works," Ulan blurted out.
Deflyn looked puzzled, but in a moment, she covered her mouth and chuckled with a playful expression, "Hehe, well, let's just go with that. It may be an unconventional method, but you've certainly achieved the test's objective."
As she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room changed. Other examinees started buzzing with questions.
"Can he really do that?"
"It's not magic, no matter how you look at it."
"But according to the rules...."
The test was to find and break the bead with different amounts of mana as quickly as possible. In addition, even if he chose the wrong ones, there would be no penalty.
And Ulan smashed all the beads without his body touching them. They don't know if that was magic, but he accomplished his goal.
Meanwhile,
In a different corner of the room, Dirac's face was completely crumpled.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his clenched fists were shaking with rage.
'You crazy barbarian!'
No, what the hell did you do?!
Just as Deflyn had said, Ulan's mana didn't react in the slightest, which meant that it wasn't magic, but 'something' else.
Part of him wanted to disqualify Ulan on the grounds that he wasn't using magic.
But to do that, he would have had to make it a condition from the beginning that they had to use magic.
'Besides, the Dean approved it.'
No matter how angry he felt, Ulan had accomplished the goal anyway.
Challenging the results now would only damage the Dean's reputation. Thus, he had no choice but to swallow his frustration and step back.
And so, the first exam came to an end.
Soon after, the results were announced - Ulan scored 5 and Dilia scored 4.
Did she not like the results?
Dilia's eyebrows twitched for a moment, but she quickly returned to her usual expressionless face.
Then, the second test began.
"Next, you will aim to hit the target with this spear. The spear is reinforced with five layers of weight-enhancing magic, and the only way to undo it is to find the mana core and trigger the mana response."
The spear was made of steel from the tip to the handle.
Due to the weight-enhancing enchantments, the weight of the spear has increased tremendously. It took five knights to carry it.
"Most of you probably haven't thrown a spear before, so accuracy won't be factored into your score. However, we will measure how quickly you can pick up the spear and throw it."
Soon after he finished explaining, Dirac looked at Ulan nervously.
'If everything went as planned, he should have failed the mana measurement test, at least in the first exam….'
But Ulan passed with flying colors.
And that too using something that didn't quite look like magic.
'If I had known, I would have prepared more rigorously to make the other exams more challenging for him'
The second and third tests in〘Mana Detection〙test were slightly modified versions of the talent test he'd taken the previous year.
He thought Ulan would fail before then.
But in retrospect, it was too late to regret. As he swallowed my anxiety, the test began.
"Yuffie Davien, 3 minutes, 51 seconds."
"Jervaine Colt, 4 minutes, 33 seconds!"
The time it took each examinee to pick up the spear and hit the target was announced. Although the duration varied for each examinee, most of them took about four minutes.
"Dilia Arpen. 1 minute, 15 seconds!"
Dilia, who had excelled in the previous test, also managed to break the one-minute mark this time.
Finding the mana core and triggering the mana reaction took only 30 seconds, but her inexperience with the spear made her waste time.
"Ugh, your strength is still weak, which is why I've told you so many times to train your strength and stamina in addition to magic," Deflyn murmured, sticking out her tongue.
Despite her pouting, her expression remained bright. Even taking over a minute, she was still the fastest among the examinees.
Soon afterward, it was Ulan's turn.
This time, the stares were just as intense, but a few students noticed something unusual.
"Hey, doesn't that spear look a bit different?"
"Yeah, it is. It's bigger than we were told."
"It seems heavier somehow."
This is why I hate those who are perceptive. Dirac frowned. As they said, he'd definitely pulled a fast one on Ulan this time.
'Eight stacks of weight enhancement alone, plus a special gravity enhancement spell.'
The weight was such that even ten knights wouldn't be able to lift it. No matter how strong Ulan was, it seemed impossible for him to lift it.
However, a strange sense of unease crept in.
Could he effortlessly do it again this time? Though he harbored such concerns deep within, he vigorously shook his head to dispel his worries.
'No, that's not possible. No matter how strong he is, there are limits to what a human can achieve. Unless he belongs to the legendary giant race, lifting that is simply impossible.'
Thus, he became certain this time.
That guy wouldn't easily pass the test.
"Begin!"
The assistant supervisor's cry echoed through the examination hall.
Ulan walked confidently and grasped the spear.
Then, he lifted it with apparent ease.
".....What?"
Dirac muttered, bewildered.
Why did that sound reach him?
He hurriedly checked if the enchantment had been undone, but that wasn't the case. The magic inscriptions etched onto the spear proved that.
'Then, that means...'
Did he just lift it with sheer strength? Really?
At that moment, Dirac's eyes widened in astonishment.
Ulan hurled the spear.
Quaaaaaaang!
The steel spear tore through the air with a shrieking sound, piercing the target in a single stroke. Not stopping there, it even shattered the outer wall behind the target.
Kuwung! Kugugugu!
The force was so mighty that the entire examination hall trembled momentarily from the shockwave.
"Ul, Ulan Bator. 5 seconds."
"...."
Silence descended once more.
The examinees chatted amongst themselves.
"What the hell? Did he use magic?"
"It looks like he just lifted it with brute strength….."
"Isn't that even more impressive if it's not magic?"
In any case, he had fulfilled the requirements of the test.
And the result…
Ulan scored 5 points again.
Dirac's plans crumbled once again, and his face turned bright red as if he might explode at any moment. On the other hand, Dilia, who scored only 4 points, pouted in disappointment.
'He's done something absurd.'
It was the kind of reaction one might have when greatly vexed.
Perhaps Ulan easily passed the exams, snatching away points with a method that seemed incredulous.
However, Dirac couldn't afford to take it lightly. If Ulan had approached the exams nonchalantly, who knows what kind of trouble he could have caused himself.
Having accumulated a total of 10 points...
The final test was upon them.