Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Sirone quickly assessed the situation. He’s launching himself at me to attack. In that fleeting moment, he noticed a male student charging toward him with his eyes squeezed shut.

The student let out a scream, imagining the impending impact, and then cast his magic. But the expected collision did not happen. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sirone still calmly hovering exactly ten meters away. Did he dodge it?

Sirone had disrupted his own forward momentum, deftly shifting his direction to the right. It was a smarter move than risking disqualification by colliding, but it threw off his rhythm and disrupted the route he had meticulously planned.

As Mark’s goons wore smug expressions of accomplishment despite being exhausted from the mental strain, they descended.

Mark, seizing the moment, surged ahead to reclaim the lead.

“No!” Sirone muttered under his breath.

He trailed close behind, but the break in his momentum allowed exhaustion to overwhelm him. This sight caused an uproar from the advanced-class students in the audience.

“Weren’t their movements just now a bit strange?”

“Yeah, I noticed that too. They must have pushed too hard and bumped into each other. I doubt they intended to collide on purpose.”

The only boy sitting on the ground intervened. “You’re wrong. It was intentional.”

His thin, metallic voice captured the attention of the Class Five students. Before them was a boy with an uncanny appearance. He had skinny limbs, mismatched eyes, crooked teeth, and a bent nose. The boy was Iruki Mercodyne, the one who had advised Sirone when he was ostracized by peers while demonstrating the isolation form in the integrated class.

“How can you be so sure?” his classmate asked. “We have our suspicions, but without being directly involved, we can’t be sure.”

Iruki spread out his fingers on one hand and struck it with the fist of the other. “They strategized to have one person block the path while the other struck from the side, negating both of the advantages of teleportation: immediacy and spatial leap. If Sirone hadn’t altered his usual path, he would’ve been disqualified without question. Personally, I would have calculated an escape route using motion equations instead.”

Without a word, his classmates turned away dismissively.

“What a know-it-all...” someone mumbled.

Meanwhile, Sirone’s impatience grew. The gap wasn’t just a matter of distance. The number of teleportation turns between him and Mark was also increasing. Now, only 350 meters remained. With half of the race over, all competitors except Sirone and Mark had been disqualified.

Mark, now in the lead, felt a surge of exhilaration as he saw no one blocking his path. I’m in first place! Despite performing nearly forty consecutive teleports, he didn’t feel the slightest hint of fatigue. I feel different today. If I keep this up, I’ll win. I’ll be the one to advance!

Visions of becoming a Class Five student danced in his head. He imagined the envious glances of his classmates, the frustrated looks from the Class Six upperclassmen, and the praise showering him as a genius.

“I’m the best!” Mark laughed, quickening his pace.

Seeing his competitor move ahead, Sirone, too, pushed harder. However, the gap between them remained unchanged. Mark’s stamina is good. He’ll definitely try to finish. I won’t be able to overtake him like this. That leaves me with only one option. Acceleration...

The idea of increasing the leap distance crossed his mind, but the risk of losing his rhythm was too great. The solution was to maintain the teleportation rhythm at just half a beat faster than Mark. Gritting his teeth, Sirone accelerated, and his movements resonated through the air like the beat of a drum. The crowd’s excitement soared.

“Sirone’s starting to catch up! It’s the final showdown!”

“Mark! Go faster! He’s on your tail!”

It was the final sprint of the race. As the gap narrowed, adrenaline spiked for all of the spectators. At that moment, the steel bar of the bridge began to sway, stretching like a rubber band.

A crease formed on Mark’s forehead. Initially, he suspected an optical illusion, but then the undeniable happened as the black steel bar twisted as if alive. “What’s going on?”

The Pathless Bridge’s material, infused with alchemy, was a special substance that changed shape in response to electromagnetic forces.

The first level shouldn’t have any obstacles.

Contrary to Mark’s expectations, the black iron rod bent like rubber and rose, forming a lasso. It resembled an iron wire bent into a circle.

“Agh! What’s happening?!” In a panic, Mark’s body fell straight through the large loop.

The situation wasn’t life-threatening, but the resilience of the iron rod, which had completed its transformation, now rivaled that of steel.

What’s going on? Sirone wondered.

Just then, a mechanical female voice was heard. “Warning. Warning. Activating the control device of the Pathless Bridge. Level ten. Level ten.”

“What...?” Sirone gasped.

The reason behind the activation of the control device was also a mystery, but level ten represented the highest difficulty of the Pathless Bridge. The black iron rod, shooting out like a snake, twisted and contorted into a menacing obstacle.

“What is that?” an onlooker asked.

Given that the practical difficulty of Class Four’s training was at level six, the terror the audience felt was palpable.

“What’s happening?” someone yelled. “Why did the control device suddenly activate?”

The professors were thrown into disarray. At the same time, the complex shape and incredibly fast ejection speed of the obstacle fit to test the graduating class posed a significant risk of injury.

“Goodness!”

Thad was the first to teleport to the control room. The remaining professors turned to Alpheas.

“Headmaster, what should we do?” a professor asked. “The advancement test...”

Sirone and Mark were the only remaining students. Interrupting the exam amid this unpredictable showdown would surely cause more commotion. Since it was an advancement exam, the complaints wouldn’t just come from the students but from their families as well.

This isn’t just a regular exam. It’s to be advanced two classes higher. Those already eliminated will surely demand fairness.

In this light, the professors’ concerns were justified, but Alpheas responded with fury.

“Is that what you should be asking right now? Immediately cancel the exam! Send a signal for the participants to halt!”

***

Thad grimaced as he landed on the ground with a thunderous noise and headed for the control room.

“Whoever is behind this will pay.”

An incident at the prestigious Alpheas School of Magic involving a malfunctioning device was serious. Thad was confident that Bake, the staff member in charge of the control room, must have made a mistake. His demeanor turned grave as he forcefully twisted the control room door handle.

“Huh?” Thad gasped. The door was locked. When it dawned on him that this might not be a simple error, his gaze intensified. “Are you challenging me?”

As he conjured a massive flame in his right hand, he sensed the interior of the room beyond the iron door through his Spirit Zone.

What’s this? Someone was sitting with their back against the door. Knowing that casting a spell in this situation might result in the person’s death, he decided to issue a warning first.

“Open the door right now. I’m about to unleash a Fire Strike. If you don’t move, you’ll die.”

“It doesn’t matter. Please... Go ahead.”

“Maria...? Is that you?” Thad asked.

Although Thad hadn’t personally overseen her education, she had been attending the school since he was in the graduating class.

“It’s you, isn’t it? What is the meaning of this? The advancement exam is a pandemonium. This is serious.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve made another mistake again.”

“Let’s discuss this face-to-face.”

“Professor, will I be expelled now? Or will I end up in prison?”

“No, Maria. I don’t know what drove you to do this, but I’m willing to listen.”

“It felt like I was in a dream. It wasn’t until after I did it that I realized what I had done. I must be crazy. I’m sorry.”

“That’s why you should open the door. I don’t want to use force.”

“I don’t want to live, Professor. What should I do?”

Hearing Maria’s voice crack, Thad silently extinguished the flames in his palm. He no longer considered shutting down the device to restore the advancement exam to normal.

Maria Erlang... He recalled the kind of student she was. Maria was quiet and timid, and her name seldom appeared in school records.

“All right. I understand.” Turning away and scratching his head, Thad sat on the railing, signaling his reluctance to engage. “If you don’t want to come out, don’t.”

Maria stayed silent but seemed a bit calmer without the door shaking or all the shouting.

In the silence, Thad looked up at the sky. It’s still the same… During his school days at the Alpheas School of Magic, he strongly disliked the sky for its overwhelming blue.

“Professor,” Maria called.

“Yes?”

“Do you hate me?”

“Haven’t you heard? I can’t hate women.”

“Why is the world so unfair?”

“Do you despise the world’s unfairness? You were born with beauty, which is quite rare and unfair as well.”

“What would you know about feeling talentless when you’re called a genius mage, Professor? Even when I try my best, despair always comes first. It feels like nothing will ever work out for me. Do you understand how that feels?”

“Of course, I do. I know it very well.”

Maria turned her face toward the iron door upon hearing the unexpected answer. “You do”

“Let’s see... It’s been four years since I became a professor. I was twenty-two when I graduated from this school. You had just enrolled when I was in the graduating class. You know I attended school here, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then think back. Have you ever heard about a genius named Thad during your time at this school?”

Maria thought about it silently. She realized that she hadn’t. The only rumors she had heard were about a genius named Sirone as soon as he enrolled.

“No. I don’t think I’ve ever heard your name with those rumors before, Professor.”

“You haven’t. My grades were mediocre at best. I had no special talents, and my family wasn’t well-off. I used to fight outside of school every day too.”

“You did?” Maria asked, surprised.

“I had to spend a solid two years to get through each class, and it took me three to pass the graduating class. Of course, my situation wasn’t as bad as yours right now,” he chuckled while a pout slid across Maria’s face.

As if he could see the expression she was making, Thad smiled and continued, “We’re all the same. Unless you’re at the top, you’re bound to lose confidence sooner or later. I was like that too. I managed to make it to the graduating class, but I always found myself at the bottom of the ranks.”

“But how did you...?”

“Become a successful professor? Ha! It’s all luck. I got caught up with a very ill-tempered mage and received plenty of scoldings. He told me that dreaming of success without having the courage to give up anything is just lying to yourself.”

Maria remained silent, her thoughts turning more complex.

“You don’t need to compete. If you don’t like fighting, then win without fighting. It might be a tougher path, but you have the courage to do it.”

Choosing something within one’s capabilities...

“Who was the mage that scolded you, Professor?” Maria asked.

“Someone you should be quite familiar with... He’s the headmaster of this school.”

“What? Headmaster Mirhy?”

Thad’s gaze grew distant. “That’s right. Since that day, I became his apprentice. Thanks to him, I’ve had a good life. Learning from a renowned mage on the continent transformed even someone as wayward as me into someone who received praise as a genius.”

But Maria’s mood darkened again. Her situation felt so desperate that the notion of receiving someone else’s stroke of luck was hard to accept.

“What I’m trying to say is that, in the end, the world is unfair. Some are born with talent, and some work hard. But even someone like me, who had nothing, found that sometimes miracles do happen. There might be something worth living for in this world.”

Standing up and dusting off his pants, Thad turned toward the iron door.

“Well, Maria? Ending it here would be too much of a waste, considering everything you’ve done until now. Why don’t you keep trying a little bit more?”

Maria buried her face in her knees.

“What more can I do? Do I have to stake my life on a miracle that may never come? And if it doesn’t come, what will happen to me then?”

“What are you talking about, Maria?”

Thad asked, gripping the iron door with his hand.

“A miracle has come to you in this very moment.”

Hearing this, her voice cracked, and she slowly started to cry. The words she might have waited a lifetime to hear caused her hot tears to stream endlessly down her face.

“Could you trust me and give it one more try? I will definitely make you a great mage.”

“Really? Could I really do it?”

“Of course. It’s not about talent. It’s about passion for what you do. That passion makes everything possible. Maria, you are an exceptional student.”

Overwhelmed, she couldn’t stop crying. Maria had been suppressing her emotions for so long, and now they overwhelmed her. Realizing the urgency of the situation, she quickly opened the iron door.

“Professor, quickly! The device—”

Thad interrupted her, “It seems we’re too late for that. When I arrived, a flare spell had been triggered. The advancement exam has already been canceled.”

“T-then...”

“The situation might become a bit complicated, but that’s something I’ll take care of. For now, just focus on yourself.”

At that moment, Sienna appeared with a flash of teleportation magic. “Professor Thad! What’s taking you so long?”

“Professor Sienna?”

Her widened eyes indicated that something was amiss, but she, too, was taken aback when she saw Maria.

Thad asked, “What’s wrong? Hasn’t the exam already ended? Besides, the responsibility for this situation—”

“It’s not over!” she cut in.

“What?”

“Neither of them have given up. The match is still on!”

Thad couldn’t help but wonder how that could be possible.

Reaching a level ten difficulty on the Pathless Bridge was a challenge for the graduating class. Of course, once one reached the graduating class, it was no longer a priority. But for two Class Seven students to complete the course was nearly impossible.

“Oh, no!”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Thad turned toward the control room, but then another flash of teleportation occurred.

Etala arrived in a rush, her expression one of panic. “Professors! We’re in trouble!”

Seeing her pale face, Sienna tried to mask her anxiety. “What happened?”

Etala exclaimed, “Sirone! Sirone has...”