"...Next! Number Ten!"
"Yes, sir!"
The third exam progressed smoothly, until only enough examinees remained to count on both hands. As expected, those with lower examinee numbers showed a higher accuracy against the target; misses had become increasingly rare.
"It'll be the young lady's turn and yours soon. By the way, Bauer, where's your staff?"
"I have one. It's not like I forgot it."
"Huh..."
"More importantly, what was that 'Witch of Ulm' title you mentioned earlier?"
"Ah, right, that..."
Hermann glanced once more toward Elena, who stood alone in the corner.
"Apparently, the young lady has been personally trained in magic by the headmaster since childhood. The fundamentals were drilled into her thoroughly."
"And?"
"She was already well-known throughout Ulm before she turned ten. Rumor has it she even defeated an adult mage in a mock battle."
"At that age? That's extraordinary."
"Through blood, sweat, and tears, she mastered her current craft. Her magical ability is the best in the preparatory school."
I never had anyone to teach me magic... Let alone an opponent for a mock battle. Ulm's educational environment was clearly far superior to the countryside.
"All right. Next, Number Nine!"
"Yes, sir!"
Judging by Wittmann's demeanor, Number Ten had also hit the target without issue. Elena's turn and mine were steadily drawing near.
"It's almost Lady Elena's turn."
"Yeah, I can't wait."
I overheard the preparatory school students who had already finished whispering among themselves about Elena. As far as I could recall, their results hadn't been particularly impressive. Yet they were still eager to watch her... Her magic had to be truly exceptional.
"Oh, the young lady's on the move."
Hermann's gaze fixed on Elena, who was lightly swinging her staff. As expected, she was thoroughly prepared. Unlike me, she was an elite student raised on magic in the city. I was genuinely curious to see what kind of magic she would display.
"What about you, Bauer? Aren't you going to warm up?"
"I'm fine. All I have to do is pierce that target."
"A lot of time has passed, and Examiner Wittmann's magic has diffused quite a bit. Calculating the trajectory should be much harder than it was for me."
"Thanks, Hermann."
In truth, Hermann was right. With Wittmann's mana steadily spreading over time, the conditions were probably drastically different from when Number Ninety-Seven stepped up at the start.
"Next, Number Four!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Before I knew it, only two people were left ahead of me. Number Three had reportedly failed the second exam, so once Number Four finished, only Elena and I remained.
"Take that! Ah—no way?!"
"That's enough. Next, Number Two!"
"Yes, sir."
Number Four failed in short order, and Wittmann called up the next candidate. Elena answered in a clear, dignified voice and strode forward, her distinctive red hair swaying. Her presence carried such an imposing grace that the surrounding air seemed to tighten.
"Fire whenever you're ready. Aim carefully."
"Yes, sir."
Elena smoothly raised the staff in her right hand. Leveling it straight forward, she fixed both eyes squarely on the target. But that staff looked somewhat faded....Something about it felt off.
"Hermann, Elena's staff..."
"I heard she inherited it from the headmaster. It's not like it's a vintage wine, so there shouldn't be any reason to cling to an antique, but..."
"I'm sure it's precious to her."
A father would certainly be overjoyed to hear his daughter say she wanted to use his staff. Ah, looks like Elena's about to cast.
"..."
As Elena focused mana into the tip of her staff, a whirlwind kicked up around her—just like in Wittmann's demonstration. The fabric of her robe fluttered, and a faint cloud of dust rose into the air.
"Her disruption index is remarkably high. To think it contains that much wind magic..."
"Told you, didn't I? The young lady isn't just a bookworm."
Come to think of it, Wittmann had also incorporated a slight touch of wind magic. Perhaps he had been giving us the answer from the very beginning: "Raise your disruption index." In any case, Elena—
"Haaah!"
She demonstrated a flawless, textbook answer. Unleashed with a sharp shout, the fire magic struck the target with pinpoint accuracy. An enormous explosion erupted, sending a burst of flames high into the air as cheers and applause broke out among the examinees.
"Incredible..."
"As expected of the Witch of Ulm..."
Their reactions were as breathless as if they had just witnessed an astonishing acrobatic feat. And indeed, it was magnificent. Having never seen such refined magic back in the countryside... I found myself genuinely moved.
Watching Elena hold her stance and gaze quietly at the target, Wittmann nodded in satisfaction. That was undoubtedly a pass. No candidate before her had presented such a textbook solution.
"All right. The last one. Number One!"
"...Yes, sir."
"Wait, Bauer, your staff...?!"
Ignoring Hermann's anxious voice, I stepped forward empty-handed. I passed Elena as she walked back... and catching sight of me, she wore a similarly bewildered expression.
"Number One, what happened to your staff? Aren't you going to use one?"
"No, I will use one."
Wittmann tilted his head. The role of a staff is to guide directional magic. When firing at a target as in this exam, one must channel mana along the length of a staff. In short, without a staff, fine directional control over a spell is impossible.
"You say you'll use one, yet you hold nothing. Did you forget it?"
"No, that's not it. My staff is..."
I smoothly opened my right palm. Unlike Elena, I had no one to bestow a staff upon me. There had been grimoires in the shed, but no staff was left behind. That was why—
"Wait...?!"
"What is that?!"
"Why is there a staff...?"
Lightning crackled across my right hand, and the head of a staff slowly materialized from thin air. Scattering sparks as it phased into reality, it solidified into physical form. The examinees behind me broke into a commotion, but Wittmann simply stared intently at the weapon in silence.
It had been written on the very last page of the grimoire, on a leaf no ordinary person would ever read. It spoke of a spell derived from compression magic that could materialize a staff from nothingness. A technique so difficult that even seasoned experts struggled to wield it and gave up on mastering it. Its name—
"The Phantom Staff, is it...?"
Paying no heed to Wittmann's murmur, I leveled the staff straight ahead. I needed no trajectory calculations or increased disruption index. With this staff channeling my mana, all I had to do—was fire with everything I had.
"Haaah!"
A heavy thud resounded. A brilliant, intensely powerful beam of crimson light shot out in a straight line. Its trajectory never wavered. Slicing through the wind, the lingering magic, and space itself—it struck dead center.
"Whoa...?!"
The loudest stir of the day erupted. It wasn't because of the flame towering into the sky. It was because of what everyone saw out on the plain.
"No way...!"
"Nobody else could even scratch it...!"
Indeed, my magic had pierced clean through the defense magic—and shattered the target into dust.