“Ihihihihik!”
Out of the 48-hour exam window, the first 9 hours—the entire first day—
I spent them being ridiculed by Head Professor Galois.
“Uheheheheek!”
All because Gray couldn’t focus.
Not even once.
Clatter!
Her [Illusion]—nowhere near the intended answer—shattered again.
Her breath pushed against the uniform, stretched tight to the brink.
Gray collapsed, nose bleeding.
“Haa, haa....”
Why couldn’t she focus?
She could win easily, if only she could concentrate like usual.
***
“......”
Muscle movement requires ATP.
Manipulating mana depletes mental energy.
That’s [Willpower].
And so, anyone who uses magic or abilities beyond their limits for an extended period suffers depletion.
A crushing lethargy.
A feeling of total helplessness.
As if you’ll never want—or be able—to do anything again.
That state of [Overexertion] is eerily similar to depression.
“......”
Gray lay face-down in the [Illusionary Realm].
Only a few stray fragments she had tossed by accident had stuck, forming part of a “branch.”
Meaning, most of her points didn’t come from conscious, logical progress.
“......”
She just couldn’t focus.
Truth be told, her inability started before the exam—even back when she tried to spread her wings behind the Dormant Dragon Hall.
At some point, a seed of doubt took root.
That maybe those wings hadn’t come from her.
A vicious doubt, deeply rooted.
She remembered the sensation: her hand reaching out, the wings blooming from her back.
But the memory itself was fuzzy. Like a library book with blank pages. That lack of clarity tormented her.
If it wasn’t me...?
Then what about all the praise?
What about all those people lifting her up, assuming it had been her?
What about the support money the faculty sent, treating it like a distinguished accomplishment?
The monthly Assassination Daily cover shoot scheduled for her?
But ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) more than all that—
What truly crushed Gray was the disappointment.
In herself.
The airship had been crashing.
There had been others aboard.
She thought she had saved them.
When the pilot later thanked her, she laughed it off:
“Aha! You suck, old man ♡ You can’t even do a proper landing ♡”
But inside?
She’d been overwhelmed with joy.
To Gray, that had been the greatest achievement of her life. She had saved people. For the first time. For once, she had done something truly meaningful.
But if none of that was actually her...
Then what was she?
“What did I do...?”
Trying to close that gap, she attempted to spread her wings again.
She barely reached ten meters, not twenty.
And since then, all the praise and goodwill aimed her way had only irritated her.
Because she knew—
Those wings hadn’t been hers.
Not hers—the one who had staked her childhood and her entire family legacy on [Illusion].
And so, as her focus dissolved, she ended the first day with a pitiful score, even by her own standards.
“...241 points. What’s everyone else at...?”
Ashamed to be seen bleeding, she wiped the blood off.
Her steps were heavy as she exited the [Forest of Magic], the testing ground.
That’s when she spotted Elize—amid a crowd of students.
Oh right... she was in the same class too.
Too exhausted to even say hi, Gray tried to walk past quietly.
“Elize. You got 500 points, right?”
...What?
How many?
“Yup yup.”
“Wow, you’re insane! Guess geniuses really are built different!”
“500?! I barely scraped 90. How’d you do it?!”
“Hmm? I just dug around the roots a lot. Like, pah-pah-PAH.”
“Pah-pah-PAH?”
“Yup. Pah-pah-pah~”
Elize bent at the waist and mimicked a digging motion with her hands—pah-pah-pah.
Gray felt a burst of irritation rise in her chest.
This made no goddamn sense.
“...What do you mean, 500 points?”
She blurted it out, impulsively.
Elize turned and waved.
“Oh? Hi, Gray~”
“What do you mean, 500 points...?”
“Oh, it was 500. Or maybe exactly 510? Did I do good?”
The surrounding students started murmuring.
“Isn’t Gray from that famous illusionist family?”
“Wouldn’t she have even more?”
It irked Gray even more.
Because her score... was lower.
“Haaah...”
“Hmm?”
“Come here a second...”
She dragged Elize aside.
“Did you really get 500?”
“Yup yup.”
“No, seriously. Don’t lie.”
“I’m not lying...”
“Oh come on! Be real. Do you think that even makes sense?! You? Five hundred points?!”
“Why’re you mad?”
Elize tilted her head and smiled, beaming.
“Hmm, well... Gray must’ve scored higher than me. Right?”
“......”
“If I got 500, then Gray probably got 1,000? You’re really good at [Illusion] after all.”
Rage surged in Gray’s chest.
“Why are you lying?”
“Huh? I’m not—”
“Why are you lying to me? We’re not new friends.”
“...Huh?”
“Unless you’re saying you—how could you possibly...”
“......??”
Gray bit down on her lower lip.
“Seriously, quit the bullshit. I’m about to lose it.”
“But I’m not lying.”
Her lip bled.
Anger flared.
She grabbed Elize by the collar—but Gray was small and Elize was bigger in every way.
So when she tried to shake her, Gray's own body wobbled. It looked ridiculous.
“Ahaha~ What’re you doing? You’re so weak. You must be tired~”
That pushed Gray over the edge.
Because somehow, even after scoring 510, Elize hadn’t hit [Overexertion].
And it didn’t stop there.
“You’re so cute today~ Ooooh~”
Elize suddenly hugged her.
Pressed her warm cheek against Gray’s burning forehead.
The heat wasn’t affection—it was the high body temperature of someone burning through mana.
And Gray realized—instantly.
Elize wasn’t lying.
“......”
She was the idiot.
“...Let go.”
“Hmm?”
“Let go. Please. Just—go away.”
She shoved Elize back and turned away.
Shame exploded within her.
“Gray...? What’s wrong? Was the test bad today?”
“Don’t come near me. I mean it. If you do, I’ll seriously die...”
“...I’ll cut ties with you. I’ll quit Dormant Dragon...”
“???”
Gray fled the painful scene in a rush.
And then—for some inexplicable reason...
“It’s okay, Gray! You’ll do fine tomorrow~”
Elize actually said something like that.
“You can do it!”
What the hell was that?
Annoying. That was Gray’s first reaction.
But the voice echoed in her head.
You can do it.
Suddenly, like a jolt of electricity—something flickered through her mind.
A blurry vision. Frozen arms. A collapsed body. Her left hand trying to stop the blood pouring from her shoulder. And from inside that pain, a voice—an adult’s voice—spoke softly.
“Try again. Just once more.”
“...I can’t.”
“You can. You can do it. You can.”
“......”
“Just once more, let’s try it again.”
...And then?
She reached for a book on the shelf.
One page was missing.
What came next?
What had that adult said after that?
After desperately searching, she found the fallen page.
“This professor will help you.”
Gray’s ashen eyes widened round.
***
The first day of the exam wrapped up. Roughly thirty professors and assistants involved in [Illusion] proctoring—including myself—returned to the lodgings near the Forest of Magic.
Head Professor Galois had dropped his act and was casually calming the staff. We both knew the little pride fight earlier had just been a game.
This wasn’t a joking matter.
I thought back to the “one-month research project” Galois had mentioned. Truthfully, he hadn’t touched research in over fifteen years.
Because his once world-renowned 9th-tier spell, [Land Rebirth], had killed tens of thousands during the Second Assassination War.
Originally, [Land Rebirth] was a miracle spell. It was meant to restore soil vitality by recycling useless organic matter—like food waste or corpses—into nutrients, rejuvenating up to hundreds of square kilometers in a single cast.
It was supposed to be a miracle for famine relief.
Even with his reputation sullied by plagiarism allegations, this spell had made Galois a star mage and a near nominee for the Obel Prize.
But the spell was leaked by Kreutz. Then corrupted by a mad mage.
With just one cast, 30,000 innocent citizens were absorbed into the land—disintegrated and vanished.
A spell made to save lives... had annihilated them.
And not just anyone—they were citizens of the Hiaka Kingdom.
Crushed by guilt, Galois publicly renounced magic and went into seclusion.
So why was he picking up research again now?
I could only assume it was because of the “Betrayal and Collapse.”
His former protégé, Senior Professor Gloomy, had turned traitor and killed another disciple.
In other words, no one was taking this situation more seriously than us.
“Hik-hik-hik! Professor Dante! I’m back~!”
“....”
...Maybe not?
“Did you hear? My little Parhan is sitting at 441 points now. Bit lower than expected, but still decent! How’s your Gray doing again? What? 241?! Oh nooo~!”
“....”
Day two of the exam had begun, and there was a problem—Gray hadn’t shown up to the test site.
Meanwhile, the old man had clearly spent the night stockpiling breath just to run his mouth.
“Oh dear, what now? A 200-point gap, eh? There's still over 24 hours left in the exam, but looks like I already own twenty days of your life! My Parhan’s still getting a feel for it, but your Gray hasn’t even arrived! What if the gap widens? Ten points per day, wasn’t it? What if it’s 500? 1,000? 2,000? 5,000?! By the time you retire, you might still be my assistant! Ohohoho!”
“Honestly, though, I was surprised. That Gray girl—she’s pretty decent. Didn’t expect an assassin to pull off 241 points... Ah! Apologies. That wasn’t an insult to assassins, I swear! I solemnly swear upon the unbiased, honorable star of Surveillance, ☌! But really, what an assassin-like performance. Is that what they call [Concealment] Magic? Hik-hik-hik!”
“Oh look, Gray’s finally arrived. She really didn’t need to...”
“Hmm? What is she doing? Did she forfeit? She’s lying face down on the ground.”
“Tsk tsk. She must’ve given up.”
“Ahh, I get it, I get it. You’re disappointed, sure. But don’t be too down about it, hmm? Once you’re working on research with me, I’ll even teach you how to teach! Not that you’re a bad professor, mind you. But if you look at my Parhan, you can see what effective mentorship looks like. You’re young and bright—keep at it, and maybe someday you’ll raise a decent student too! Speaking of which, how many days are left in your faculty contract again?”
“By the way, let me be upfront. I never let my assistants go home. So bring your own toothbrush, toothpaste, and one pair of underwear next time. Just one? You’ll wash it daily, of course! What, think you’ll get to research in comfort? Magic research isn’t some cozy vacation! When I was an assistant, if I couldn’t poop on schedule, I had to hold it until the next day! But worry not! I’ll install a potty pad in your dormitory—”
If there had been cement nearby, I’d have poured it in my ears.
The man had a talent for getting under your skin. And his motor mouth never stopped.
Meanwhile, I had no idea what the hell Gray was doing.
She’d been lying there, fidgeting, shifting positions, for twenty minutes straight.
I was about to mentally clock out—when:
“Ah...”
Gray let out a soft gasp.
She seemed to have found something.
Her pose was odd—on one knee, clutching a conjured illusion-rod in one arm.
【 Gray: ‘...Found it.’ 】
What now?
Not being able to focus wasn’t enough?
What the hell is she doing...?
【 Gray: ‘...Focus. Focus...’ 】
And then I saw it—my eyes went wide.
Gray began to cast [Illusion]—and started petrifying her own arm.
Then it hit me.
That pose—it was the exact same one from when she’d clung to the falling airship.
Gripping the vertical pillar on the deck, lying against the floor.
She was replicating that very moment—the instant I had approached and helped her spread her wings.
【 Gray: ‘Focus...’ 】
Shaky breathing. Hand gripped tight on a metal pole. Eyes closed.
And finally—Gray unleashed her [Illusion].
FWOOOOOSH ───!
A massive surge of mana erupted like a storm.
Countless wooden fragments materialized in the void, spiraling upward.
The blank-white space of the illusionary realm bloomed with tree segments—from the heartwood at the center, to the crown, sapwood, cambium, phloem, and bark.
Each piece formed meticulously, beautifully—a tree, fully and perfectly assembled, inch by inch.
Ah.
I was stunned. It was an extraordinary illusion. I didn’t know why she had petrified herself, but one thing was clear:
Overnight, Gray had snapped out of it.
I quickly shifted my gaze—her ranking?
───
27. Gray – 241
⋮
23. Gray – 275
⋮
17. Gray – 311
⋮
13. Gray – 349
───
Yes! I clenched my fist.
Her score was skyrocketing. Like nothing I’d ever seen.
“Ah? Ahhh? AAAAHHH?!”
A scream burst from beside me. The mad old man mage had seen it too.
“Huh?! What the hell!? How is she—suddenly—!?”
What sweeter music could there be?
I turned to him with a wide grin.
“Curious, are you? I could tell you.”
“...N-no, I’m good...”
“Too late. I reject your rejection. By the way, who brought an extra chair and plopped it next to me? Guess I can sit next to you too, now.”
“......”
His expression turned corpse-like.
As he tried to back away, I followed—grabbing the very folding chair he’d used earlier.
Yes.
Fuck yes.
Now it was my turn.
Time for...
Old Man Destruction.