Shards of the pulverized crystal lay scattered across the arena.
The confused buzzing of the other students showed no sign of subsiding. Meanwhile, the faculty scurried about in a frantic rush, occupied with collecting the fragments and hauling in a replacement measurement crystal. The teachers continued their work while casting occasional sidelong glances my way, but they immediately averted their eyes whenever our gazes met. I had to wonder what they were thinking.
Do I really look like some kind of monster to them?
(Well, at any rate, the measurement is over. I should get back to the others.)
Standing around in the middle of the arena forever would only get in the way.
I called out to a teacher to get permission to leave, then made my way back to where the three were waiting. As I arrived, Yuu greeted me with a wry smile and a hand on my shoulder.
"You really overdid it, didn't you? I've never seen anyone actually smash the crystal before."
"I only did as I was told. I didn't think it would break, either."
I knew from my knowledge of the original game that my mana was the highest in the setting. Still, I never imagined it was at a level that could physically destroy the testing apparatus.
That certainly wasn't described in the original story. Seriously, developers? If you were going to give this character such absurd mana quality and quantity, you should have made him a rival or someone significant, not some disposable extra who dies screaming while surrounded by monsters.
I let my shoulders drop at the thought.
"Well, I kind of expected something like this," Yuu added. "I've known you weren't normal ever since I saw you fight that Grave Hound."
"—What’s that supposed to mean?"
"It means you’re a truly incredible guy."
I returned Yuu’s grin with a wry smile of my own as he laughed and gave my shoulder a light tap.
After chatting with the three of them for a while, the commotion in the venue gradually began to settle. The broken shards were cleared away, and a new crystal was installed. Once the remaining transfer students had finished their measurements, the next phase began.
"With this, the First Exam is concluded," the teacher's voice boomed through the hall via Voice Amplification Magic. "We will now proceed to the Second Exam: the Combat Aptitude Exam."
Immediately following the announcement, sections of the floor opened with a heavy, mechanical groan. The floor slid apart to the left and right, and massive humanoid objects rose from the depths, the "go-go-go" rumble of their ascent shaking the very ground.
Resting on one knee with their heads bowed, the hulking figures were composed of stone and metal. Magic circuits branched out from a central crystal in their chests, spreading across their entire bodies like veins, with light pulsing through them like glowing blood.
"Whoa..." Yuu let out a breathy exclamation, clearly impressed. "We have to fight those things?"
"Precisely. For this exam, you will engage in a mock battle against these Training Golems in a one-on-one format. There are no restrictions on the use of weapons or magic."
The teacher continued his explanation dispassionately, his gaze eventually shifting toward me. Given his line of sight, he was definitely singling me out.
"Furthermore, these golems are special models designed by Lord Albert Krausel, the Grand Magic Engineer who built the foundation of the Kingdom's Magic Civilization. They will not budge if hit with half-hearted attacks, so please, do not hold back. Fight with everything you have."
The crowd erupted in a roar at the mention of that name.
Albert Krausel—he was a legendary figure whose name was known to everyone in the land. He was a genius who had created the modern essentials of life, such as lanterns that could stay lit for six months on a single Magic Stone, the streetlights that illuminated the cities, and the magic furnaces that maintained a room's temperature using magic fuel.
In the game, not only was his name mentioned, but the man himself made an appearance. He looked like any ordinary grandfather you might find in the neighborhood, and his personality was that of a doting, kindly old man who lived for his grandchildren. Whenever he spoke, he was usually gushing about them, saying, "That child is a genius!" However, I had a lingering impression that he became much less talkative after the midpoint of the story for a specific reason.
Now, the handiwork of such a man was coming to life right before my eyes.
The teachers placed their hands on the crystals in the golems' chests and funneled mana into them. With a sharp flash, the golems' eyes glowed with a pale, ghostly blue light. They stood up with heavy, deliberate movements and loomed over us.
"...Alright, at least the next part is simple."
As the tension in the air grew taut, Yuu clenched his fists.
"Hehe. This is much more my style than the Mana Measurement," Ciel said, manifesting her dual swords and letting out a quiet laugh.
"This time, I will achieve a result worthy of my title as Rai-sama's personal maid!" Lene declared, pumping her fists in front of her chest with a determined huff.
"In that case, as your master, I can't afford to look pathetic myself," I said with a light chuckle.
In response, I felt a wave of gazes hitting me from every direction—eyes filled with a mix of envy and awe that seemed to say, What else is this guy going to do?
Honestly, wasn't everyone being a little rude?
With those thoughts in mind, the Combat Exam officially began.
The venue was soon filled with the sounds of battle: echoing explosions, screams, and shouts. There were the high-pitched hums of magic being cast and the sharp metallic clangs of swords striking the golems' reinforced hides. It was a scene of chaos that could easily have been mistaken for a real battlefield.
In the midst of it all, our group of four was making steady work of the exam, producing excellent results one after another.
"—Haah!!"
Yuu charged forward aggressively, parrying the golem's heavy strikes with his sword. By repeatedly blocking, deflecting, and stepping in, he managed to dive into the golem's guard. Once inside, he unleashed a full-powered thrust directly into the crystal core in its chest.
The core shattered effortlessly, and the golem slumped into inactivity.
"Yes!" Yuu cheered, resting his sword casually on his shoulder. It was a victory won through his trademark style: a headlong, brute-force charge.
"—Shi!!"
Next was Ciel. Unlike Yuu, who stood his ground heroically, her combat style was—to put it bluntly—crafty. She focused on confounding her opponent through sheer agility.
She stayed perpetually in the golem's blind spots, launching precise strikes from the shadows to wear it down. The golem's fists repeatedly swung through empty air, and she answered each miss by hammering slashes into its massive frame.
"Got you!"
Finally, seizing an opening created by a particularly large swing, she plunged both of her swords into the core. She settled the match with surprising ease.
"That was even easier than I expected," Ciel remarked, smoothing her hair as she claimed her victory.
In Lene’s case, the outcome was never in doubt.
Just as she had during the fight with the Grave Hound, she manifested her greatsword and launched a frontal assault similar to Yuu’s. She handled the massive hunk of iron—which was longer than she was tall—with effortless grace. When the golem swung its fist down at her, she intercepted it, shattering the arm entirely before the strike could even land.
The broken limb was still flying through the air when Lene followed up with a massive horizontal sweep. With a thunderous boom, the golem's torso was bisected, and its upper half collapsed into a heap on the floor.
"...It is finished."
Lene made her report with a perfectly composed expression. The surrounding examiners, as well as most of the students who weren't part of our group, stared at her in stunned silence. In an instant, she had completely wiped away the "dropout" stigma that had been attached to her after the Mana Measurement.
"Next: Rai Arkberg."
"Yes."
And so, my turn finally arrived.
I could feel the weight of the collective gaze on me and hear the hushed whispers of the crowd. Is he going to end it instantly again? Will it really take just one hit? They were saying whatever they pleased. Most of them spoke as if my victory were a foregone conclusion, and I found myself feeling a bit of a rush.
(Well, if you want a one-hit kill that badly, I might as well give it to you.)
To be honest, I didn't mind meeting their expectations.
I instantly applied Reinforcement Magic to my body. Bathed in the faint glow of "Strength Boost" and "Nerve Acceleration," I felt a surge of overwhelming power coursing through my limbs.
"—Begin!"
The golem lurched into motion the moment the examiner gave the signal.
In a flash—I closed the distance, diving into the golem's reach and driving my fist toward its core. I put only a fraction of my strength into the blow, but it was enough to completely vaporize the golem's upper half despite its heavy armor.
The force of the impact sent the remaining lower half flying backward, where it became embedded in a wall several meters away.
"—............G-good work."
The examiner's voice rang out through the venue, which had fallen into a deathly silence. Just as he had during the mana measurement, he was scribbling on his documents with a dazed expression, though his fingers seemed to be trembling slightly.
As if the entire arena had been frozen in time, I walked away from the wreckage, scratching my cheek and wondering if I had gotten a little too carried away.