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Chapter 185

As promised with Amir, he received information about the students transferring in for the second semester. He had then proceeded to stay up late reading it, barely getting any sleep.

Yawning out of sleepiness, he slapped his cheeks.

If it weren’t for the exam, I could have absorbed it all at once through the Vermillion Bird... no, it would’ve taken some time even then.

In truth, the volume of information wasn\'t extensive; he had just been comparing the details one by one with what he knew before he regressed.

Because they were all well-known figures, many familiar names were present.

Some were his regulars, and some were traitors of humanity who sided with the Demon Force. And right now, although none of those incidents he remembered had occurred, he knew that no action could occur without indication.

Thinking that, he decided it was wise to stay cautious, especially of those who had betrayed humanity.

I’ll think about them later.

Clearing his thoughts, Se-Hoon headed to the underground training hall of the Department of Spells. That was where the Barrier Composition exam would take place.

***

When he arrived at the underground hall, he first noticed how overwhelmingly spacious it was compared to other training halls in the department. After that, his gaze fell on the students standing at regular intervals within large grids.

“Sorry for being late.”

Finding Professor Robert, Se-Hoon bowed his head.

“Don’t worry about it, we still have ten minutes until the exam. You can head to the empty spot in the center,” Professor Robert said, waving it off while continuing to survey the students.

“Yes, sir.”

Heading the directions, Se-Hoon made his way to the central spot and met eyes with Erika upon arriving. She was standing beside him.

“...”

Normally, he would’ve said something, but today he just looked at her briefly before acknowledging her with a nod and turning his gaze forward.

Wow, she’s pretty serious.

Seeing Erika so focused, Se-Hoon also collected his thoughts and prepared.

Ten minutes soon passed, and Robert began addressing the students.

“We will now begin the first-semester departmental exam. As previously informed, the exam content involves setting up a barrier within the designated area to block the prepared spells.”

Woong-

The grid surrounding the students lit up faintly.

“You have thirty minutes to set up your barrier. Then the spells we divided into fifteen stages will begin. The evaluation criteria for this exam will include the durability of the barrier as well as its stability and efficiency, so try to keep your guard up at all times.”

With this criteria, even if two barriers were to last until the same stage, the score could vary depending on their completeness. Realizing this, the students\' eyes brightened and they watched Robert project a large holographic clock into the air.

“The exam... begins now!”

At Robert’s loud shout, the clock started ticking down and the students quickly began setting up their barriers.

Their barriers had to be set up within their five-square-meter space, which due to their small size made it more difficult since the barrier had to be densely packed.

Snap!

“Ah!”

Because of the small space, mistakes in the spell formula arrangement occurred more easily, causing complications from the start. Even the slightest excess of mana could cause the tightly packed spell formula to react and collapse.

To everyone, it was clear that thirty minutes would not be enough. However, there were exceptions: the two people standing in the center.

Swish-

Black threads extended from Se-Hoon’s fingertips, densely connecting around him. Simultaneously, silver threads extended from under Erika\'s feet, creating a symmetrical formation with Se-Hoon\'s that quickly formed the barrier\'s framework.

Awed by their speed, both the students around and the assistants below forgot they were in an exam.

“Wait... why does it look like they’re better than us?”

“Of course they are; aren’t they both honor students?”

“Yeah, but Lee Se-Hoon is from the Department of Blacksmithing.”

“...?”

The assistants, who had been chatting without much thought, suddenly all remembered Se-Hoon’s background and their stares at him went blank.

Se-Hoon, once an ordinary blacksmith who was a nobody, was now forming a barrier on par with Erika, the eldest daughter of the renowned Inoue family and a proclaimed genius.

Realizing how surreal the situation was, the assistants awkwardly laughed.

“Well, being able to set up a barrier quickly doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best.”

“Right, the durability of the boundary is more import—”

“They’re close.”

The assistants shut their mouths and turned their gazes toward Robert, who had suddenly interrupted their conversation. Having been observing the entire hall, Robert glanced at the two assistants.

“Both of them are at a similar level. Can\'t you tell even after watching?”

“...My apologies.”

Seeing the assistants bow their heads, Robert turned his attention back to the training hall and focused on Se-Hoon.

I knew he was exceptional from the beginning, but this...

He had been surprised when Se-Hoon passed the Labyrinth of Illusions test, reverse-engineered his own barrier to create a dispel technique, and when he swiftly solved weeks\' worth of accumulated assignments. However, he hadn\'t doubted Se-Hoon’s abilities then, believing anyone talented enough could achieve those feats.

But now, seeing Se-Hoon\'s barrier that seamlessly incorporated the Inoue family\'s secret techniques, Robert could no longer believe that.

Unless the young lady had taught him personally, he could only have copied all that from observation... but how is that even possible?

Secret techniques, even when detailed in books and taught by masters, were known to be hard to acquire. However, Se-Hoon had mastered those techniques just by witnessing them once. And he even customized them to suit his unique style.

It was almost as if, rather than copying the Inoue family\'s secret technique, he was using it to establish his own new secret technique.

So this is why the young master instructed me to monitor him. Curious, Robert wondered how much his talent would influence Erika.

Meanwhile, the two barriers reached their final stages.

Erika\'s silver threads began to fade and disappear, and Se-Hoon\'s black threads began dissipating into a mist that enveloped his surroundings. The integration process, connecting the completed barrier to reality, was underway. Generally, the less visible the barrier, the higher its quality—Erika had a slight edge.

They’re both amazing... wait, I shouldn\'t just be watching.

If I can’t even withstand the first stage of spells, I won’t just fail; I won’t be able to even show my face...

The surrounding students, who had been staring blankly at the two barriers, hurriedly resumed their work. And thirty minutes later, they all finished.

Checking the time, they braced themselves for the spells that could strike at any moment.

Woong-

Dozens of light bombs promptly appeared in the air, raining down on the students’ barriers.

Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!

“Aagh!”

“Grr...!”

Upon colliding with the barriers, loud explosions and shockwaves erupted. The barriers were shaken to their cores. Watching their barriers, which the explosions threatened to uproot, the students shivered; they had underestimated the first stage.

What kind of difficulty is this...!

If I even slightly lower my guard, it\'s game over!

Realizing that Robert had meant what he said, the students poured their remaining mana into reinforcing their barriers for the next stages of spells.

Fwoosh!

Waves of flames surged up from the floor, enveloping their surroundings, and fierce winds whipped around, tearing the barriers like a blender. Shockwaves penetrated deeply into their barriers, terrain changes caused the ground to undulate like waves, and curses confused them.

Clang! Bang!

“Aagh!”

“Number twelve, disqualified.”

“Ugh!”

“Number forty-nine, disqualified.”

Swoosh-

When barriers broke, unable to withstand the onslaught, red octopus-like tentacles swiftly removed the students within them from the training hall.

The number of students rapidly decreased with each stage. By the end of the fourteenth stage, the paw swipe of a giant shadow fox across the training hall, only two remained: Erika, standing still, and Se-Hoon, who was surveying the area while shrouded in a black mist.

Seeing them both unfazed, even relaxed, Robert paused momentarily before stopping the assistants from activating the next spell.

“I originally planned to have you guys withstand the final fifteenth stage, the Thunder spell, for a perfect score. However, considering your current appearance, it seems unnecessary. Both of you will receive perfect scores.”

The two glanced at each other at Robert’s declaration.

“Then, how are the rankings determined?” Se-Hoon asked, speaking up first.

“At the moment, you two have the same ranking, but if we leave it like this, it could cause issues when determining the year-wide honor student. So, how about a contest of ‘Opposing Barriers’?”

“Opposing Barriers...?”

“We clash our barriers against each other.”

Having been listening to the side, Erika calmly continued, “It ends when one side breaks or loses control. Naturally, you can\'t use any other spells besides your barrier.”

“Hm... So it’s just a power struggle?”

“There’s also some strategy since you’ll break through if you can reverse-engineer and dispel your opponent’s barrier.”

Nodding in thought, Se-Hoon turned to Robert.

“I think I understand. So, we just have to collide our barriers?”

“Right. But first, you need to transfer the pivot point of your barrier, which is probably anchored to the ground, to your body. That likely won’t be easy...?”

Humm!

Se-Hoon nonchalantly moved forward and the black mist, anchored to the ground, rose into the air and moved along with him. He now had the barrier centered around himself, rather than a fixed spot. The switch shouldn’t have been easy, yet Se-Hoon had done it effortlessly.

To think someone like him never learned a thing about magic before entering the academy...

Checking his barrier by moving around, Se-Hoon looked at Robert who had fallen silent in disbelief.

“Is this enough?”

“...Looks about right. Now, you just need to clash it with Erika’s barrier in that state,” Robert confirmed.

“Understood.”

Having received Robert’s approval, Se-Hoon turned to face Erika. There was nothing there beside her, but he could feel something transparent and sturdy wrapping around her. Feeling like he was standing before a thick fortress wall, Se-Hoon chuckled involuntarily.

So, it did come to this, directly competing against each other.

With how they both still seemed unsatisfied, Se-Hoon had thought it would inevitably occur after the exam ended.

Maybe he wants to see my true capabilities?

It was a natural thought upon recalling Robert’s connection to the Inoue family, but it wasn’t long before Se-Hoon dismissed the thought. If Robert intended to rig it and dock his points, Se-Hoon wouldn’t stand for it. However, he didn’t mind a small push to observe the true limits of his skills. Moreover, Se-Hoon himself eagerly wanted to gauge Erika\'s actual strength.

It’s about time I saw how strong she really is.

Se-Hoon had always sensed that Erika, unlike Jake, was concealing her true power. It wasn’t true combat, so it might be difficult to draw out her full strength, but he didn’t mind even if all he saw was a small glimpse of it.

Resolute, Se-Hoon stepped forward. Matching him, Erika did as well.

Step by step, they closed the distance between them until it narrowed to just ten meters—the point where their barriers made contact.

Sss-

The black mist surrounding Se-Hoon scattered instantly.

“...?!”

Instead of some kind of collision, Se-Hoon’s barrier crumbled like a sandcastle, surprising him. His mind racing, he quickly deduced the cause.

I see. She’s trying to prove that she’s the original owner of this barrier technique.

Se-Hoon’s Shadow Thread was created based on the techniques Erika showed and Ren’s Black Mist, making the barrier he made unintentionally similar to Erika’s.

He had modified it, but the original form was still evident. It meant that Erika, a genius who had already mastered the original, naturally knew the appropriate countermeasures.

It’s futile to just hold out like this. My only chance of turning the tables is...

Watching his barrier crumble, Se-Hoon swiftly clenched his hands in the air and pulled downward.

Cre-eak!

Shadow Thread, which had dispersed into mist, twisted between Se-Hoon’s fingers and revealed both itself and the barrier, which had taken on a more distinct shape upon the strengthening of the connection with reality.

Now...!

Erika quickly stepped forward, sending a wave of mana surging from below and through Se-Hoon’s barrier.

Crunch!

Unlike how his mist had skillfully absorbed the impact from the collision moments ago, Erika\'s dispel techniques were now eroding the entire structure of Se-Hoon\'s barrier directly. Shaking, the barrier seemed on the verge of collapsing, but Se-Hoon remained calm and moved his hands swiftly.

Swish!

Manipulating Shadow Thread, parts overlapped rapidly to form a new shape. Continuing the dismantlement of Se-Hoon\'s original barrier, Erika observed the changing barrier.

He’s trying to reverse-engineer my dispel technique.

It seemed that Se-Hoon had decided that, since her dispel technique shared the same foundation as his barrier, he could devise his own counter against it.

“Unfortunately, you’ve got it wrong.”

However, his seemingly ingenious plan just didn’t work for Erika.

Clang!

Lifting her foot forward, two-thirds of Se-Hoon’s barrier shattered instantly the moment her foot touched the ground.

If it had been a stable barrier, it could have maintained its defense until the completion of the counter-spell. But in its current state, it was like a sandcastle caught in a wave. Its survival was impressive, but it was reaching its limit.

Not bad, but... still insufficient.

Feeling slightly disappointed, Erika took another step to finish Se-Hoon off.

“Well...”

However, that was when she discovered Se-Hoon grinning triumphantly.

“...it seems you’ve got it wrong too.”

Bang!

Crushing the counter-spell he had been “preparing” between his palms, the threads created by Shadow Thread, that had been connected everywhere, snapped.

Ting-ting-ting!

His barrier, already on the verge of collapse, groaned and began to fracture, with the internal spells clashing and spreading cracks.

At first glance, it would seem like he had given up, however, Erika’s eyes widened upon discovering a pattern to the spreading cracks.

Is he...

Her eyes followed the fissures, tracing back the path she stepped on. The spells she thought she had completely crushed were reattaching themselves thanks to the leaking mana, forming ten new barriers.

Her eyes widened upon envisioning ten shadowy fingers surrounding her.

Shadow Grip

Caught in his trap, Se-Hoon’s newly formed barriers surrounded Erika.

Crack!

For the first time, Erika’s barrier became visible under the tightening pressure, the silver threads forming it trembling. Se-Hoon\'s barriers, despite their hasty creation, possessed a formidable crushing force.

With the situation reversing, Erika quickly analyzed Se-Hoon’s new barriers.

So he already finished reverse-engineering my dispel technique earlier.... The spells he showed earlier were just bait from the start, then.

Rather than preparing a counterattack, Se-Hoon was crafting a trigger for an already completed countermeasure. She had thought she had the upper hand, yet she had been dancing in the palm of Se-Hoon’s hand.

Clench-

Interlocking his fingers, Se-Hoon pressed his palms together, intensifying the pressure his barriers were putting on Erika’s barrier.

Cr-crack!

He’s adding physical pressure to his barriers with his hands to actively reshape them and to siphon mana and steal control of my barrier using Shadow Thread’s unique abilities...

The counter-attack was so sophisticated that it was difficult to believe it was a spontaneous decision. Moreover, it effectively nullified all her attempts to counter it.

“Ah...”

Erika let out a small exclamation.

Gurgle-

And black bubbles began to boil up from the shadow on the floor.

Bang!

A massive shockwave then swept through the training hall, shattering Se-Hoon’s barrier completely. Its fragments drifted through the air, interspersed with mana resembling crow feathers.

“...”

Stunned speechless, Se-Hoon gazed into the air before lowering his gaze to Erika.

“Well done,” Erika said.

A soft, yet cold smile had appeared on her lips.

[The bond with \'Erika Inoue\' has grown to Lv. 3.]

[Since the bond has grown to Lv. 3, the existing Relationship has deepened.]