Mana examination test 4.718

Physical examination test - 3.139

I look

ed at my score without saying a word. The score for my mana examination score was expected. I was currently level forty-seven, only three levels away from reaching level fifty which was Tier 5.

....The only score I was a little behind was the Physical examination score.

This was a score that I somewhat expected.

I was a mage and my body was weak. Furthermore, with the fact that we weren't allowed to use our 'Concepts', this was my true physical examination score.

It was neither great nor bad.

It was just that...

"Stop there, Caius. Your examination score is 4.910."

'....This is ridiculous.'

Caius.

His metrics were off the chart.

Not only did he beat me in the physical examination test by a large margin, but he also did it for the mana examination test.

He was now on the verge of reaching Tier 5.

'What kind of monster is he...?'

He was even more overpowered than Leon who was a [Body] user.

"That is it for the last cadet."

The Assistant suddenly paused, his gaze just briefly moving toward my direction before flicking away.

"We will now be moving towards the last test."

A familiar object came into view in the distance-a simple chair, firmly anchored to the ground. The Assistant Professor proceeded to take out two metal cuffs.

"You're already familiar with these cuffs. These will be what will be used to measure your mental strength. Being able to persevere during times of pain is an important aspect you should all learn to achieve as that will help you when the time comes for you to enter the Mirror Dimension for real."

The Professor glanced at the scores and then looked at Caius.

"You go first."

I frowned a little but then let it go. I didn't feel like he was targeting me like last time. Caius did achieve the highest score so he was deservedly first.

And... I was also curious.

He was an Emotive Mage as well.

Without a doubt, his score was going to be high.

But how high exactly...?

Click. Click.

"I will be starting the exam soon."

The Professor moved to the side.

"0.1"

"0.2"

"0.3"

The familiar count began.

Everyone focused on Caius who sat expressionless

I too stared intently in his direction.

'Exactly how long will you last?'

"0.7"

"0.8"

"0.9"

"1.0"

Caius didn't so much as flinch throughout the first phase.

"2.0"

Not even the second.

"3.0"

...And the third.

"4.0"

And the fourth.

I could hear murmurs and whispers beside me as all attention was fixed on Caius. Not only was

his performance impressive, but the fact that he had yet to display any sign of discomfort was what truly had the attention of the cadets.

Even I, by this point, had started to struggle.

'....So weird'

His performance was so great that it almost felt off-putting.

Something felt wrong.

"5.0"

And that feeling only grew once he reached the next phase and still displayed no changes to

his face.

'Is he hiding it?'

...Even if he was, his body would show it.

And yet, it wasn't trembling at all. There was no sweat and his complexion was the same.

"6.0"

All noise ceased when the count reached the sixth phase.

Hardly anyone could believe what they were seeing. I even felt several gazes pause on me as

Caius still remained unfazed by the sixth phase.

"7.0"

The seventh phase came.

His body still showed no sign of pain.

"This is ridiculous."

"...How is he still holding out like that?"

"Is he faking it? Did the machine break?"

By now, everyone was whispering to one another. The glances that were thrown my way were even more evident as they all started to compare my performance with his.

...At this point of the count, I had almost completely failed.

I remembered almost losing my consciousness.

And yet...

11

"....

Caius remained unfazed.

"7.5"

Even the Assistant Professor looked startled and taken aback by the situation. He didn't know how to react as he alternated his gaze between the measuring device and Caius. He had a face that seemed to say, 'Is the device not working? Why is he showing no reaction? this doesn't

make sense.'

He wasn't the only one that made such an expression.

Pretty much half of the class was showing similar looks to his.

Perhaps I was too. I wasn't sure.

My attention was focused elsewhere.

Towards the two faint yellow eyes that stared in my direction.

Unknowingly, Cauis's attention was directed straight at me. His eyes were deep and

indifferent, like that water of calm and untouched well.

"8.0"

Even with the count reaching the eighth phase, he looked the same.

.....I felt differently.

His gaze felt pressuring.

"8.1"

But I didn't shy away from it.

I stared directly at it as the count increased in the background.

"8.2"

He got near my record.

...He was now just a tiny bit away from beating it.

I pursed my lips as the Assistant Professor opened his mouth. Just as the words were about to leave his mouth, Caius moved.

He gently closed his eyes and removed the cuffs from his wrist.

"...!?"

His sudden action startled the crowd and Assistant Professor who didn't know how to react.

Massaging his wrists, Caius's expression remained the same. From the way he was behaving,

it became clear to everyone that he could've still gone further.

The fact that he didn't continue puzzled everyone.

Everyone but me as my eyes narrowed.

... And soon enough, my guesses were proven correct as the Assistant Professor announced the

final results.

"Caius Aetheria."

He announced, his eyes shifting to the recording device.

"Final score, 8.24."

The surroundings turned quiet.

All eyes turned in my direction.

Closing my eyes, I tried my best to ignore the stares as I secretly laughed to myself.

'8.24...'

It wasn't a bad score.

A great score in fact.

Especially since... It was exactly 0.01 higher than my score.

Thinking about how he had been staring at me the entire time, I knew this was no accident. He

had done this on purpose.

But why?

Why would he do this...? Was it just to challenge me? Or was there more to it?

I wasn't sure, but by the time I opened my eyes, he was standing right before my very eyes,

cuffs in his palms.

11

"1

11

The silence between the two of us only lasted for a few seconds until he directly handed me

the cuffs.

"Your turn."

He said, his tone deadpan.

"....It's your turn."

***

The upcoming Gathering of the Seven Churches was a big event. One that would host the

second-greatest power within the Empire.

...The Seven Churches.

One might even argue that the Seven Churches held more power than the Royal families

themselves due to how far-reaching their influences were. Not only did they have devoted followers in the noble houses, but several key members were also followers of certain gods.

Nothing needed to go wrong with the upcoming gathering.

"......"

Delilah's current struggle was the safety of the students and the Academy.

There weren't many things that she could control. Despite being strong herself, she couldn't

fend off entire organizations by herself.

...Especially not when the organizations were a lot more powerful than her.

"1

Thinking about it, Delilah still had no real lead about the Inverted Sky.

She had been trying for many years, and yet, she barely had much to work with besides the

emblem and the occasional information she received from low-ranking members. It had been given her a headache for quite a while.

...She did find a breakthrough not too long ago.

And that breakthrough came in the form of Julien who possessed the tattoo belonging to the

Inverted Sky.

It was also for that reason that she interacted with him.

She wanted to see if she could have a breakthrough in her search through him.

However, the more Delilah interacted with him, the more trouble she had associating him

with them. He seemed completely clueless about them.

In particular, he wasn't even aware of what the tattoo on his arm symbolized until she told

him.

It was small details like this that made it more difficult for her.

'But it can also be acting...'

Julien was good at acting.

She had seen him act.

He was great.

"...."

Delilah pursed her lips.

It was a very troublesome situation. Especially since the more she found herself interacting

with Julien, the more he reminded her of the past.

....He felt so familiar with the kind man she had once met.

Her image of him was blurry.

She had been young back then. Starved. And it was dark.

Delilah couldn't recall that much.

However, his hand was warm.

He was kind.

...He felt so familiar with Julien. Perhaps she didn't keep him close just because of his

relationship with the Inverted Sky.

His reminder of the kind man was possibly the reason.

But...

'It can't be him.'

The kind man, after all, came when she was young.

Julien was younger than the kind man.

"....

Delilah closed her eyes and emptied her thoughts. Now was not the time for her to think about

the kind man. She had more pressing matters to attend.

Like...

Organizing for the upcoming gathering.

She couldn't afford for any incident to occur. Especially not after all the incidents that had

occurred in the past.

She was still getting heat from that.

Thankfully, it was only the first years who were implicated. There had been no problems with

the other years. Delilah took a deep breath and started to fill out all the paperwork.

First, the budget needed to be allocated accordingly. Next, security preparations needed to be made, and finally, space needed to be allocated accordingly.

...She couldn't allocate more space to other churches or that would make it seem like they're

favoring them, which would in turn give them a massive headache.

Delilah's brows furrowed as she started to fill out the paperwork.

11

Several hours into the process, lilah stopped.

*Puff*

Steam rose from her head as she leaned her head back.

Gaze: I want freedom.

If things weren't bad enough, Delilah soon heard a knock on the door.

To Tok-

Without waiting for her approval, a figure entered the room. Her wavy brown hair was disheveled, and her glasses slid down the bridge of her nose. She looked completely worn out

as she stepped inside. "Jennifer..."

Delilah sat up.

"Um."

With a casual glance, Jennifer looked at Delilah and dropped over a dozen documents on her

table.

Delilah's eyes shook at the sight of the files.

"...I can't do this anymore."

Jennifer haggardly spoke.

"I know I'm supposed to be your assistant until your old assistant comes, but this is too

much!" Jennifer exasperatedly said, "I have barely slept in the past few days with how much work there is to do. I'll die at this rate! Get your old assistant back!"

Delilah's fluttered as she looked at the document in front of her and then Jennifer.

Her expression didn't change much but she soon nodded her head.

"Okay."

"Good."

Jennifer nodded in satisfaction.

Then, as if recalling something, she took one of the papers and slapped it on the table.

"Another thing. You have to handle this."

"This is...?" Delilah took the paper and glanced at it.

Jennifer gave a tired laugh.

"The recent scores for the Analysis Progression for the Second years."

"...Oh."

Delilah understood as she raised her head.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Progression Analysis scores were normal and she didn't have to go through them. It was

usually not something she'd check unless the machine broke.

Could that be the case?

"Look at the score."

Jennifer pointed towards a certain section. "...This is the score of one of your most recent students."

Delilah blinked once again, lowering her head to stare at the score.

Her expression stiffened shortly after.

"This..."

Delilah mumbled absentmindedly.

How could...?

She blinked once again to make sure she was seeing correctly. Once she was sure, her mouth

opened slightly.

"Oh."

A small noise escape her lips as her eyes wondered toward the score once more.

9.88

-Julien Dacre Evenus.