Chapter 49
The Misty Mountain is visible.
As the cycle of cars competed fiercely for the lead, Minarin found herself entering the high altitude of the Misty Mountain.
“The mist is too thick.”
Minarin furrowed her brows.
The fog covering the mountain spread around, blocking her vision.
She couldn’t see clearly ahead.
“Where did the cycle of cars go?”
With this limited visibility, finding them was challenging.
Minarin gave up searching for the vanished figure in the fog and instead decided to focus on flying.
She had to be extra cautious as she didn’t know what might suddenly appear.
“…I can’t see anything.”
Meanwhile, the closer they got to the Misty Mountain, the denser the fog became.
Now, there was almost no difference between eyes open and closed.
Her sight was just hazy.
Fog here, fog there.
Flying continuously through the fog made her sense of direction blur.
“…”
How far up had she come?
Was she really going upwards?
Could she truly be certain of that?
Or was she actually descending?
Unable to perceive anything, she found herself unable to be sure of anything.
“Is it impossible to dispel the fog?”
While she couldn’t clear all the fog covering the entire Misty Mountain, she believed she could at least dispel enough fog to secure her vision.
Minarin gestured, activating magic promptly.
“Dam…”
But it was short-lived.
The fog dispersed for a moment, only to quickly gather back around, filling in the lightened area.
Minarin, feeling frustrated at the situation not going as planned, bit her lip as if in annoyance.
But she had to control her emotions.
Emotions certainly enhanced magic, but they made it equally challenging to control.
A skilled magician had to maintain rational judgment by controlling emotions, enabling them to master magic.
“Hoo.”
Recalling her family’s teachings, Minarin halted her flight and began to meditate.
In a situation where she didn’t even know where she was flying, moving aimlessly would be futile.
“If dispelling the fog is impossible… then let’s use detection spells.”
Minarin spread the waves of mana.
The waves emanating from her analyzed the surrounding space.
Only then did she realize.
“…It was a barrier. There was a reason I couldn’t dispel the fog with magic.”
The fog surrounding us was not just ordinary fog.
It was a magical fog that distorted people’s sense of direction, leading them to wander off the path.
A kind of barrier magic.
The magic was mixed with natural fog, making it hard to detect.
“I won’t be able to dispel the magic spread across the entire mountain with my own power…. In that case, I have no choice but to find the designated path to exit the barrier.”
There were broadly two types of barrier magic.
One completely enclosed existence without entrance or exit, while the other twisted the path leaving only the entrance and exit.
In this case, it seemed to be the latter.
So, I had to find the way.
“Flying through the sky won’t get me to the top of the fog-covered mountain.”
Even though the surface could be sensed with a detection spell, the upper air couldn’t be sensed.
There was no path in the upper air.
Therefore, flying higher would only lead to aimless wandering.
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With that in mind, Minarin, who had been flying in the upper air, released the magic and landed on the ground.
“I’m not a fan of using my body much, but I have no choice.”
She landed around the middle of the mountain.
Minarin stretched and then spread her detection spell on the ground, beginning to search for the path leading “up.”
—
The fog was dense.
While it was fine to enter the foggy mountain, as we climbed, the fog thickened, making it difficult to see.
“Hey, Gyungwoo! Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
The fog was so thick that even the nearby sky was not visible.
As a result, we had to call out to each other passionately as we climbed the mountain.
In such a situation…
Key-ye-eek!
[Encountered a monster.]
[Goblin (Rank. 01) x 3]
We had to face the monsters popping out from the fog on the other side.
“Watch out, Haneul! It’s goblins!”
“I just confirmed it now!”
Normally, we could sense their presence even from a distance.
But in the situation of wandering through the fog, we couldn’t detect them approaching closely.
In fact, they were in the same predicament.
Kiex?
[Encountered a monster.]
[Cobolt (Rank. 01) x 1]
“Oh heavens, one more! I’ll take care of this one!”
“Please do!”
Since they couldn’t see well, they didn’t recognize our presence.
As a result, sometimes we or they unexpectedly ran into each other.
At that moment, whoever made the first move based on a split-second judgment gained the upper hand.
Swiftly.
I took a step back and swiftly slit the cobolt’s throat that I had spotted.
Then, deftly pivoting on my foot, I swiftly dealt with the goblin that had crept up behind me.
Kiex…!
The remaining two were left to Young-haneul to handle the fight.
However, the dangers we faced in the mist were not just monsters.
There were traps too.
Crack! Whoosh!
From somewhere, artificial sounds could be heard, and suddenly the sound of wind intensified.
Turning my head in the direction of the noise, I shouted loudly.
“It’s a trap! Watch out!”
The mist violently twisted, and within it, a log charged towards us.
Urgently, I rolled my body to the side.
The log passed where I had been standing, crashing into a tree in that direction before coming to a halt.
I nearly died if I hadn’t avoided it.
I clicked my tongue.
“Between the mist, monsters, and traps… climbing a mere mountain isn’t easy. Oh heavens, are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. But doesn’t the mist seem thicker now than before?”
“It does. It was barely possible for you to roughly locate our position with your ears, but now it seems impossible. Don’t stray too far from me.”
“…You’ve been finding our way with your ears all this time?”
“Your ears are long, so they stood out.”
“Hmm… well, I guess seeing is better than not seeing.”
“What about the barrier? How’s that going?”
“It seems impossible to dispel. By examining the structure of the spell, it seems to be activated through mediators scattered throughout the mountains.”
“So, unless we destroy those, we can’t dispel it. Trying to locate and break them might just waste time.”
“Right. The evaluators wouldn’t want that kind of situation.”
“So, we have to continue like this… the mist seems unbeatable?”
“I’ve been trying since earlier, but it’s not going as smoothly as I thought. I’m sorry.”
“It can’t be helped. Why apologize for that?”
I had expected it wouldn’t be as simple as just climbing the mountain, but indeed, nothing in this world comes easy.
Unfortunately, I decided to give up.
I will continue to climb the mountain through the mist without expecting any miracles.
I knew the way.
I lifted my head.
“I should follow that flow.”
While some parts of the barrier covering the misty mountain caught my eye, I could see the flow of mana.
Even in the thick fog obscuring my vision, the mana emitted a blue light.
The light was not flowing aimlessly but consistently moving in one direction.
“If I share the same thought as the sky, it must be flowing towards the direction of the exit of the barrier.”
That exit would be the summit.
The path leading upwards.
In a situation where even the sense of direction was fading, the only signposts to find the ridge path of the mountain were the dozens of beams of light passing overhead.
As long as those signposts were there, I was confident I wouldn’t lose my way.
“How much time is left?”
“There’s 1 hour and 27 minutes left now.”
“Even though we don’t know how long it will take to reach the summit, we need to pick up the pace.”
“Is it safe to do that in this situation?”
“It’s okay, I have a great intuition. Sky, you just follow closely behind me. Don’t get separated by mistake.”
“Yeah, okay. Your intuition has never been wrong in dangerous situations, so I’ll trust it.”
—
If the process of entering the ridge path of the misty mountain was to solve the examinee’s problems and evaluate their physical strength, the journey from the ridge path to the summit existed to evaluate different elements.
“Have we been going around in circles from earlier?”
“Is this the right path!?”
“Are we really going up now?”
First, the ability to distinguish direction and find a way within the barrier, relying on a sense of direction.
“I can’t see anything ahead…”
“Hey, where are you guys!?”
“They say we need to maintain the detection net, how do we do that!?”
Second, the ability to extend the detection net around and perceive spatial structure and presence, as well as the ability to maintain the extended detection net for a long time.
“Gah!”
“It’s a trap! Be careful!”
“Kieak!”
Third, the ability to respond momentarily to unexpected attacks.
And so on.
From the examinees climbing the trail, many elements could be evaluated.
In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the pass/fail outcome of the second practical exam was decided in this process.
Therefore, the evaluators’ attention naturally turned to the examinees on the trail.
“40% of the examinees have entered the foggy mountain trail.”
“Turn the screen towards them to monitor the examinees. And are the cameras installed throughout the foggy mountain functioning well?”
“All cameras are currently operating perfectly without any issues!”
Although the mountain was shrouded in fog.
The screen displaying the trail was not as foggy as the actual site.
A significant portion of the fog on site was also a magical illusion, and the video transmission artifacts on site were excluding that particular fog and capturing the scene.
“Hmm, looks like they’re all struggling.”
Thanks to that, the evaluators could observe the examinees even in the fog.
Then, on the largest screen in the center, a young girl from Mado Village, Minarin, appeared.
[Gasp, gasp…. Why is the mountain so high? Isn’t this too much…?]
“That examinee… seems to have poor stamina.”
“That’s right.”
Minarin was panting heavily as she ascended the mountain.
Her steps were unsteady.
It was noticeably different from when she flew to the foggy mountain.
“Well, she must have consumed quite a bit of internal mana. By this point, she’s bound to feel exhausted.”
“And the altitude is high. At this point, she might be suffering from altitude sickness.”
As altitude increases, oxygen becomes scarce, leading to various symptoms.
The boundary magic covering the foggy mountain was manipulating the examinees’ subconscious to make them perceive the altitude as higher than it actually was, increasing the likelihood of experiencing those symptoms.
Minarin’s current condition reflected this.
In such a situation.
[Thud!]
[Huh?]
Her judgment was inevitably impaired, making her vulnerable to illusion magic.
The evaluators took note of that as well.
The logs rushing towards her from the side were nothing but illusions.
If it were an ordinary student, they would have been startled and speechless in this situation.
[“It’s so difficult that it’s making me want to die. It’s really annoying.”]
However, Minarin was not an ordinary student.
Having seen the apparition, she moved forward without hesitation, her steps unsteady.
The logs passed right through her without causing any harm.
“Still, it’s Madomin Village.”
“Judging by her condition, it seems like she’s unaware that her subconscious has been exposed to magic, but the apparition recognized her at first sight.”
“Even though she’s under a spell that’s draining her strength and causing altitude sickness, she doesn’t seem to realize it.”
The evaluators immediately recognized Minarin, who had seen through the illusion, and gave her high marks.
At that moment, an instructor changed the subject.
“So, is the current first place held by a student from Madomin Village?”
“No, upon checking the exam seat positions, Minarin is currently in second place.”
“Then, the first place must be taken by a student from Sunchun Chaga, that child.”
“Oh, here she comes now.”
The large screen in the center changed.
Instead of Minarin wiping sweat off her hand, Cha Eun-sol from Sunchun Chaga appeared.
The student with striking green eyes…
[Chomp.]
“…What is she eating right now?”
“She seems to be enjoying it…”
Cha Eun-sol was eating a sausage.
The evaluators watched in disbelief as she casually ascended the mountain while eating sausage.
“Even in the fog, she shows no signs of struggling. Madomin Village’s student seemed to be contemplating for a moment, though.”
“She’s also distinguishing illusions well.”
“She doesn’t seem to have altitude sickness symptoms either. If she climbed that height, her stamina should have been affected, but she’s remarkable.”
“Could it be because she’s a spirit user?”
“Perhaps the spirits living in the foggy mountains are guiding her.”
“Well… with help from spirits, barrier magic might not be very effective. She’s doing well to be in first place.”
[Chomp.]
“So, what are you eating?”
“It looks like sausage.”
“It does look like sausage.”
“Where did the sausage come from?”
“Isn’t it brought from outside?”
“Well, since bringing in food isn’t prohibited, let’s overlook it. Devices, potions, and other tools are allowed for entry, so what’s the big deal with sausages?”
[Chomp.]
“But… you eat quite a lot.”
“A big eater, huh.”
It was known among the evaluators that those who succeeded the name of the Circulating Tea were generally emotionally expressive.
However, if they were to see Cha Eun-sol, who was eating sausages with an almost expressionless face, their perception might shatter.
Quite eccentric.
That’s what the evaluators thought.
“So, who’s in third place?”
“In third place is a examinee from Yeonseong Namga.”
“And fourth place is… Oh, an examinee from Singeom Do and Hong Ye-na’s disciple.”
“Tied for fourth place.”
“They’ve just entered the Welcome Zone.”
“It’s showing on the screen now.”
And so, Cha Eun-sol’s mukbang passed by.
The screen transitioned once again.
Do Gyun-woo and Yeon Ha-neul were climbing up a steep mountain path.
No, they were running up.
Without any signs of breathing difficulties.
“Did they drink a potion or something?”
“Even with a potion, it must be tough…”
“Perhaps it’s a spell that touches the subconscious?”
“No, who would cast that? Even examinees from the Mado Minga seem unaware of magic itself.”
“But there’s Hong Ye-na’s disciple.”
“Oh…”
Is that examinee with the vigorously shaking rabbit ears really so knowledgeable about magic?
The evaluators sighed.
And at that moment.
[Clack! Wooooosh!]
The trap was activated.
A pile of logs, a mix of illusion and reality, surged towards Do Gyun-woo and Yeon Ha-neul.
“Gyun-woo!”
“Just trust me and follow.”
“Can they distinguish between illusion and reality?”
“The number of activated traps is too high, isn’t it? And some of them have real entities mixed in.”
“You could get hurt if you make a mistake.”
The evaluators focused at that moment.
Soon, their eyes widened.
Dogyeonwoo…
“No, what…”
Without hesitation, avoiding the real entity but passing through the illusion excessively, he was escaping the trap zone.
“How did you recognize it as an illusion without even looking properly?”
Minarin was different from Chaeunsol.
They at least saw the illusion.
But Dogyeonwoo didn’t pay any attention to the illusion.
As if he knew it was an illusion even before seeing it.
“…”
As if answering their questions, Dogyeonwoo’s voice flowed from the screen.
[See, I have a good sense.]
“Yes, yes. You did great.”
“…Why do I feel like I’m being treated like a kid?”
“I’ll trust only child Dogyeonwoo―.”
“…”
Those who followed the name of Shin Sword Doga were generally as serious and careful as wielding a sword.
But Dogyeonwoo seemed to be an exception.
Intuition hard carrying!