I Don’t Have Any Magic Power but I’m Having a Blast at the Academy chapter 49

49

In the early morning, I sat on the bed and looked out the window. Around me, the swords of Gram floated in the air. The number of swords had increased from five to over six.

The determination gained from hunting Dongjagwi had brought a change in my energy, unlocking the swords of Gram.

Swish!

One of the swords flew towards me in an instant. I gathered my hands as if praying and then spread them apart. The sword flew into the empty space between my hands.

As the sword flew into the empty space, it seemed to be moving forward, but its speed gradually decreased as if caught in a spider’s web. Eventually, it bounced off my chest and flew away.

“Nice.”

My smile widened with satisfaction.

The reason the sword bounced off was that it was blocked by the energy extended between my hands.

The change in energy brought about by the rise in mental power. It endowed the energy with a ‘nature.’

That nature was none other than ‘elasticity’ like rubber.

This elasticity seemed tough enough to bounce off even considerable magic or sword strikes without any difficulty. It was now able to block things that the previous energy couldn’t.

“Time to go.”

Checking the clock, I got up, washed my face, and changed into my school uniform.

Today was the day of the midterm exam.

***

In the morning, the children gathered in the classroom, chatting with each other or reading books, showing a lively atmosphere.

Although they were supposed to be suffering from the aftermath of the Dongjagwi incident, turning to Han Seyul’s special potion had unexpectedly improved their condition. Thanks to that, I also made quite a bit of money.

[13,056,000 won]

I chuckled briefly at the amount displayed on the banking app and looked around.

【Soul Vanguard】

As I activated the title, the souls of the students began to appear. Those souls were colored with emotions.

However, the emotions I could distinguish were very limited.

Just ‘liking’ and ‘hostility.’

If she liked someone, it would be white; if she had hostile intentions, it would be red. If there were aggressive intentions, black would flow.

Red was seen in Kim Joo-hyuk and some students who harbored jealousy at times, while Amelia Eungaye and Han Se-yeon were white. However, Han Se-yeon, though white, was a bit peculiar.

The color when she dealt with the students with a smile was ‘transparent white’.

It meant smiling without any particular kindness.

Even Amelia, who lived with a business smile, wasn’t up to that level, which was quite impressive. Well, she was a bit different when dealing with me.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

A hazy white? Milky white? That kind of color came out.

“It’s nothing.”

“Hmm, really?”

Feeling my gaze, she turned and nodded, heading back into the firearms import department, Han Se-yeon.

By the way, that gun had changed again.

‘Is it a Desert Eagle? Looks pretty cool.’

Watching Han Se-yeon disassemble and assemble the firearm, I eventually turned my gaze away. The seat that had been empty for the past two weeks was now occupied.

I approached the owner of that seat.

“Hey, long time no see. Doesn’t seem like you’ve been doing well.”

I patted his shoulder and awkwardly changed the subject as I looked at Cheon Woo-jin.

It was funny to ask if he had been doing well seeing the dark circles under his eyes.

Cheon Woo-jin greeted me with a bright smile.

“Oh, Haesol. It’s been only two weeks since we saw each other in the classroom.”

“…Oh, but did you have dawn training today too?”

“No, it’s midterms. Should keep my condition in check.”

Cheon Woo-jin had returned from ‘Norland’ on the night of the Dongja Incident.

It was so surprising to hear that he was going to the training ground as he returned to the dormitory.

Even a guy like him couldn’t skip early morning training even on the day of the midterms.

“I just ran a few laps in the park to loosen up.”

“… … .”

I stared at Cheon Woo-jin as if he were crazy.

It wasn’t that, but ‘Park’ in Eternity was no joke in terms of its size.

Is it okay to say he ran several laps around that park, where just one lap would make you lose your breath?

As I stood there dumbfounded, Ha Jin-woo entered as the classroom door opened.

“Good morning.”

Ha Jin-woo, standing at the teacher’s desk, looked around the classroom.

“Everyone’s here. Let’s start with attendance.”

After Ha Jin-woo called the roll, followed by greetings led by the class president Han Se-yeon.

“Well. I assume everyone has been preparing well for the midterms, right? Well, even if you haven’t, you’ll have to now.”

After Ha Jin-woo made a casual joke, he said, “Let’s get started. The first test is the Mana Control Test. Everyone, move to the Hero Hall.”

***

Eternity’s Grand Hall, Hero Hall.

600 freshmen students had gathered to take their midterms.

The neatly lined up students looked up at the platform.

“Well then, let me explain about the first test of the midterm exam, which is about magic control.”

Instructor Shin Ojun, with assistants standing behind him, pointed to the 50 magic circles drawn on the floor of the auditorium.

“These are magic circles that suppress the concentration of magic. Your task is to block the iron beads flying towards you within the circle for 3 minutes. Your score will be based on the number of beads blocked.”

The students’ expressions tensed as they confirmed the test content.

It was obvious that considerable mental strength was required to use magic within the magic circle that suppressed magical concentration.

Moreover, timing the use of magic in sync with the fast-flying iron beads was no easy task, as simple as it sounded.

“You don’t have to rush as each press of the console button sends one iron bead flying. So, there’s no need to be in a hurry.”

After finishing his words, Shin Ojun looked around at the nervous students and then let out a confident smile.

“I see you all have a difficult expression. I understand. It might be hard to grasp just by listening. In that case, let me show you a demonstration to help you understand.”

Stepping into one of the magic circles, Shin Ojun pressed the button on the console in his hand.

Ping!

Iron beads shot out at high speed from a hole in the wall of the auditorium.

Shin Ojun, waiting for the iron beads to come, raised his hand at the right moment and conjured magic. Soon, the blocked iron bead rebounded.

“Iron beads don’t fly uniformly. They spin and vary in speed, so you need to conjure magic accordingly.”

While calmly explaining, Shin Ojun continued to press the console button.

Iron beads flying in various patterns. Shin Ojun blocked them all by conjuring magic intermittently.

Thus, the total number of iron beads Shin Ojun rebounded in 3 minutes was 30.

While it might seem few, blocking 30 beads in 3 minutes in a test that required high concentration was a remarkable achievement.

For a student, blocking 20 beads would already be considered impressive.

With a satisfied smile, Shin Ojun exited the magic circle.

“Since you all understand, let’s begin the test now.”

***

Shin Ojun, who was in charge of the magic control test, wasn’t actually expecting much from the students in this test.

As sensitive to magic as the low magic concentration suppression circle was, it was actually harder for those who were more sensitive to magic to gather magic.

As the saying goes, the more you know, the more you see. Those sensitive to magic were greatly affected by the circle that interfered with concentration, while students with dull senses couldn’t even perceive what it was, making them relatively free.

It might seem unfair, but Shin Ojun believed that even truly talented individuals should overcome such obstacles.

Of course, that was a general statement regardless of age, and Shin Ojun’s judgment was that it was difficult at the first-year level.

However, the first-year students this time showed skills that far exceeded Shin Ojun’s expectations.

“Indeed, are they of Romano’s direct lineage? Impressive.”

Amelia, steadily increasing her count by blocking the iron beads, although slow in speed, wasn’t simply exceptionally talented in magic.

It was a combination of high concentration and excellent magic control that allowed her to do so, prompting Shin Ojun to silently nod. Truly, it was a skill befitting Romano’s direct lineage.

“If she’s blocking them, then she’s blocking them.”

Seeing the student next to Amelia, Shin Ojun made an ambiguous expression.

It was Eungaye, who stood with a sword and a baseball bat, knocking away the iron beads.

As it was a test where magic had to be used to block, it could be considered a clear violation, but it couldn’t be said that the act of deflecting the iron beads was related to the sword in any way; it was solely the magic that caused the beads to rebound.

So, that stance was simply a motion to catch the timing and rhythm.

“Nevertheless, that’s formidable magic.”

The iron beads touched by Eungaye’s magic didn’t bounce off but thudded into the ground, piercing through it.

It was Eungaye’s gift, “Gravity.”

However, the exhaustion of mental power each time a iron bead was summoned was so immense that Eungaye’s school uniform was soaked with sweat.

Despite the tremendous consumption of mental power, the speed at which she summoned and repelled the iron beads without a moment’s hesitation was truly astonishing.

Shin Ojun, overwhelmed by the ferocity, raised his head.

Yet, in reality, one could consider it somewhat normal up to this point. Compared to what was to come next.

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Tang! Tang!

Shin Ojun turned to the direction where the gunshot sounds were coming from, his expression turning peculiar.

He had clearly instructed to use magic to block the iron beads, not to “shoot down” the iron beads with magic.

It was much more difficult to shoot down flying iron beads with magic than simply blocking them.

However, there was someone who could manage the much more difficult task.

Hanseyeon, holding a Desert Eagle, was the one who shot magic bullets to shoot down the iron beads.

It was indeed an unconventional method, but it could not be considered a violation of the exam rules.

Since using magic to block the iron beads was what was demanded of him.

Moreover, due to the high concentration of magic in the magic bullets, the mental power consumed was much greater than simply using magic. So, there was nothing to say about it.

“…There’s no monster quite like her.”

It was an unconventional method, but Shin Ojun couldn’t help but admire Hanseyeon’s skill.

Rumble, rumble, rumble…

The sound of wheels rolling loudly echoed through the hall. Shin Ojun’s expression twisted as he turned his gaze.

A student was moving a chalkboard with wheels to the front of the magic circle.

“What is he trying to do?”

While the previous methods were unusual but impressive, causing him to nod in approval, now, watching the student move the chalkboard, Shin Ojun couldn’t understand what was going on from start to finish.

But what was even more bewildering was the reactions of the students waiting in line to observe.

“I wonder what’s hidden on that chalkboard.”

“It wasn’t just a simple test of blocking iron beads.”

“I should bring a chalkboard too.”

Thinking that there must be some meaning behind the bizarre actions of that student, the students gathered on one side of the hall were bringing in the chalkboards with wheels, in anticipation. An untimely migration of chalkboards was unfolding in the hall.

“No, blocking the iron beads, what’s the point of all this…”

Feeling dizzy, Shin Ojun, holding his temples, approached the student, ‘Ihaesol,’ who was placing the chalkboards on both sides of the magic circle and securing them with tape.

“Ihaesol student, what are you doing right now?”

“Ah, could you hold these chalkboards so they don’t shake?”

“Um, excuse me?”

“I’m going to tape them. If I don’t secure these, it’ll be chaos.”

“…?”

What chaos is he talking about?

Perplexed by the incomprehensible words, Shin Ojun, thinking he might as well take a look, watched what Ihaesol was doing.

Soon, Ihaesol, who had blocked the front and sides of the magic circle with chalkboards, brushed off his hands and stood up from his seat.

“There are 10 seconds left. Ihaesol student.”

“That should be enough.”

“…?”

Enough with 10 seconds? While others couldn’t even fill up 10 in 3 minutes?

It was when Shin Oh-jun furrowed his brows at incomprehensible words.

Ihae-sol began clicking the buttons on the console in her hand.

Not once or twice, but in a rapid succession.

Whirrr!

Dozens of iron beads flew out.

And what followed was a spectacle.

“What in the world is this?”

Shin Oh-jun’s eyes widened in astonishment.