He was three years clean. Yet Senior Professor Kollider still placed a cigarette between his lips. The scene before him demanded it.
He inhaled the smoke deep into his lungs as he looked up—
At the towering marvel reaching toward the heavens.
The colossal tree.
‘Now I understand.’
After days of shouting and grabbing other professors by the collar, the purpose of that massive illusion was finally starting to reveal itself.
And with it, the professors—Kollider included—began to grasp Professor Dante’s true intent.
The professors beside him, also smoking, remained silent.
[Persistence], [Vastness], [Scalability]... Which of the three had been the focus?
By now, the debate was meaningless.
It had been all three.
“How big is that thing now?”
“Right now, about 1,000 meters tall.”
“But there was a circuit that expanded the moment it was completed, wasn’t there?”
“Yeah.”
“Roughly how much did it expand by again...?”
“About twentyfold, I think.”
Twentyfold.
A tree already a kilometer tall in mid-air—length-wise alone—expanding by twenty times?
Volume-wise, that meant a cubic increase. Eight thousand times.
‘......And the fact that it can keep [expanding] means outsiders can join in too.’
Why had Dante Hiakapo created an [Illusion] that allowed continuous outside participation?
“...What is he planning.”
The more you know, the more you realize how little you understand.
And so, as they began to understand Dante’s intent, new questions emerged.
It was said that he invested 10 million Hika into this.
An absurd sum for a professor to pour into a final exam.
And yet, Dante had done it anyway.
“...What for?”
While Kollider still hadn’t quite grasped it—
Something cold touched his cheek.
“It’s snowing.”
“...Ah. So it is.”
At the very end of December—
The first snow began to fall on the Academy.
* * *
At that very moment, Gray had completely grasped Professor Dante’s intent. The [Illusion] accelerated.
While crafting nearly the 600th branch of the colossal tree, her score had already secured an overwhelming lead.
But now, things like scores and rankings no longer mattered.
The subspace [Illusion Field] had expanded multiple times, guiding Gray higher and higher.
From that point on, she was entirely immersed in the professor’s assignment.
Her mana stabilized. Her emotions no longer wavered.
There was an assignment—
A blueprint carefully crafted by her professor over a long period.
What was he feeling when he built the framework for this?
Why, out of all things, did it have to be a tree?
In this state of complete absorption, Gray began to feel something strange. As if the tree were alive and moving.
A strange thought. [Illusion] was fundamentally an advanced form of puppetry designed to trick the senses. The Habanero family itself had once been called “the family of puppet masters,” hadn’t it?
A living, moving [Illusion] should be impossible. And yet, Gray felt it. A tenacious vitality—the kind that forces roots through even asphalt to survive.
And so, at last, she reached the “final branch.”
When she filled the framework and added illusionary flesh to it—
The final exam was complete.
── .
The [Illusion Field] surrounding the cadets began to shatter.
As the hazy space vanished, they found themselves back in reality.
And at that moment—
All the cadets looked up at the sky.
What they saw there was beyond comprehension.
“......!!”
Gray clutched her chest.
Far in the distance, several kilometers away—
The incomprehensibly massive tree was still growing.
It had begun to pierce the sky.
* * *
Ezekiel was not a man prone to regretful words.
He was a high mage capable of casting Level 9 magic. Ranked #171 on the continental [Challenger] list. A royal-blooded noble. Tall, sharp-featured, famously handsome.
“Well then, Professor Ezekiel.”
And yet, for a man with no reason to ever grovel, this moment was torture.
“The Elder Council regrets to inform you that we are not in favor of your proposal.”
“......”
He had just proposed to expand Professor Dante Hiakapo’s grand illusion into a national event.
He had formally requested a royal executive order.
The Elder Council had rejected him.
Adjusting his silver-rimmed glasses with long, slender fingers, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Ezekiel asked again.
“...May I ask why.”
“There are honestly several reasons. In truth, if the proposal hadn’t come from you, it wouldn’t have even made it to this meeting.”
“Well, it has. And I would like to hear them.”
Even in front of the Elders, his regal demeanor never bent.
Pressed by Ezekiel’s question, one Elder shifted uncomfortably before replying.
“First off, shouldn’t this ‘Senior Professor Kain’ person appear in person if we’re to take this seriously?”
“I’ve already explained—Professor Kain is under protection as the academy’s highest-priority figure.”
“Well, it’s good news, I suppose, especially since illusion studies were all but ruined after the traitor Gloomy fled. Still, it’s not exactly respectful to the royal court.”
“......”
“And this whole idea of involving illusionists nationwide in some grand illusion project? That’s also under question. Are you sure it’s worth that much?”
“It absolutely is. As shown in the documents I provided, this isn’t a simple illusion.”
“If you say so. But to those of us who don’t spend our days holed up in research labs, it’s just another gimmick.”
The Elder shoved the meeting materials aside.
Papers fluttered down onto the table.
“And let’s not forget—the people are already anxious after the Kreutz Kingdom’s recent air raids. We’ve suffered economically. And now you’re proposing a national rollout of a giant illusion? How’s that supposed to help anything?”
“Please review the data. Roughly twenty years ago, when the Imperial illusionist known as the ‘Light Constellation⁺₊⋆’ Abraxas first succeeded in a 『Virtual World Forgery』, it caused a massive economic boom.”
“That was Abraxas. And now you’re saying this ‘Senior Professor Kain’ is just as capable?”
“The illusion he created this time is on par with that level. If you’ll look at the data—”
“No. No. No. No.”
The Elder sighed. Ezekiel’s eyes twitched menacingly. Still, the old man stood firm.
“I’m sorry, but we’re done discussing the data. The royal court—our Elder Council—remains skeptical of anything unproven.”
“......”
Ezekiel had once eaten a sweet potato.
A humble crop consumed mostly by the poor.
He couldn’t even finish one—felt like it clogged his throat.
Now, thirty minutes into this meeting—
It felt like he had force-fed himself three.
It was suffocating.
He knew how incredible that illusion was.
His students knew.
Anyone who’d seen it would know.
But there was simply no way to explain that to these Elders.
And now they wouldn’t even look at the data?
“If you want the Elder Council’s support, then prove its value.”
“To prove its value, you need to grant at least a small measure of permission first.”
His patience was wearing thin.
“How many times have I said there’s only a week left? Yet you keep demanding proof, over and over. I said—there’s just a week left.”
“There it is again—emotions. You’ve always been that way, haven’t you? Ever since decades ago, you’ve let emotions cloud your judgment.”
That struck a nerve.
If he disrupted the meeting, the rejection would come with a valid excuse.
That was what the Elder Council wanted.
But how was he supposed to stay calm?
“Emotions or not—you’re already rejecting the proposal!”
“So you can’t prove its value, then?”
“Do you enjoy repeating yourself?”
“So that’s a no.”
“Are you mocking me?”
Bang!
Thick stacks of paperwork slammed onto the table, moving on their own.
The Elders flinched. It was 『Telekinesis』—a power of the highest tier.
“Enough with your condescension.”
Even as his fury boiled over, Ezekiel kept one leg crossed arrogantly and began shouting.
“How many times must I repeat the same—”
He was just about to lose it, voice rising past his throat in raw anger—
─ .
Something brushed against the edge of his senses.
“...?”
It was a perception so sharp, he could detect blood droplets falling into a lake from miles away.
Ezekiel slowly turned his head.
Toward the heavy curtain draped like a royal banner.
And then—
“I’m curious too.”
A clear, commanding voice rang out.
Ezekiel shot up and bowed deeply—To his older half-brother.
“You’ve arrived, Your Majesty.”
The presence of greatness entered. At once, every Elder and attendant in the chamber stood and bowed their heads.
Blonde hair like sunlight. Eyes like pink gemstones. A stern expression, reminiscent of a proud dragon.
The man who had lifted a collapsing kingdom back to its feet. The greatest king in Hiaka’s history. Rebecca’s father.
To Ezekiel—who needed no one and envied no man—he was the one tree he could never climb in his entire life.
His Majesty, Hiaka the Third, had entered the chamber.
The king surveyed the room like an enraged dragon, glaring down at the Elders.
“The Elder Council ought to be ashamed.”
The entire council flinched.
“Knowing full well this man’s temper, you still try to provoke him and drive him out? Have your brains rotted with age while your bones wither?”
“...We are ashamed, Your Majesty.”
Ashamed! the Elders echoed in unison.
“Ezekiel. You too. When will your wisdom finally deepen? Is it any wonder these old fools still look down on you?”
“I am ashamed, Your Majesty.”
“Fool.”
The king walked directly to the head seat and sat without delay.
He was not one for preamble.
He spoke plainly, diving straight into the heart of the matter.
“So. This illusion of yours is that magnificent, is it? Magnificent enough to drag you back to the royal court after fifteen years in exile?”
“...Yes, Your Majesty.”
“A high mage of your caliber should’ve been able to bring back a fragment of this so-called miracle.”
“I apologize, Your Majesty. I could not.”
“Why?”
“Even at my level, it was impossible to replicate the illusion itself.”
The king’s expression softened slightly.
“Those who ask others to believe in what they cannot see are usually swindlers. So—what can you show me?”
He demanded the same thing as the Elders.
Show me.
Something Ezekiel had been unable to do all this time.
But he’d known from the start.
It was a reasonable request. Of course they would only believe if shown proof.
He knew that. That’s why he’d had nothing more to say before now.
“...If Your Majesty must see it with your own eyes...”
Now, the situation had changed.
Ezekiel stood and strode toward the curtain. He waved off the attendants rushing toward him. Then grasped the fabric himself.
“I will show you directly.”
The Elders frowned, unable to understand what he meant.
Show them?
He’d been talking about a tree of colossal scale, but wasn’t the academy over 25 kilometers away from the royal palace?
Whoosh—!
But the moment Ezekiel flung the curtain open—
The room erupted in stunned chaos.
“W-What in the...!!”
* * *
“Uh...?!”
“Wha—what the hell is that?!”
The moment the [Illusion Field] shattered, Forte gasped in horror. Dominic broke out in goosebumps. Hwaru’s legs gave out, and he collapsed on the spot.
In one of Dante’s classes on [Illusion], he had once said: "Illusion can only replicate what has been experienced.”
So then— What had this ‘Professor Kain’ experienced?
Far off in Sector 9, at the edge of the Forest of Magic. Roughly 4,000 meters in the air.
A tree had appeared. A tree so massive it blotted out the entire sky.
Its roots sprawled outward, wide enough to blanket a city. They were embedded throughout the air like anchors.
The rising trunk of the tree resembled a stacked mountain range—layer after mountainous layer.
“......”
Faced with this incomprehensibly massive form, the cadets were completely overwhelmed.
It was beyond awe.
It felt like witnessing a cosmic entity—a creature from the far edges of reality.
Yet it wasn’t terrifying. It felt warm, like a benevolent god had descended to embrace them.
Everyone knew it was [Illusion]. Even the warmth on their skin, the gentle caress in the air—those too were simulated.
And yet it felt familiar. Like a mother’s arms. Like a tree growing in the backyard of a beloved home.
This was an [Illusion] created by the hands of 1,200 cadets gathered here.
And the ones who made it—they all remembered which part of the tree they had created.
At that moment—
Flash—!
Thousands of pre-installed lights exploded across the tree, illuminating it.
With senses overwhelmed by those multicolored lights, each cadet was gently embraced by their glow.
And in that moment, Dominic understood clearly what the final exam had meant to convey.
“...A Christmas tree.”
Come to think of it—Tomorrow was Christmas.
The hour had already passed midnight.
The [Illusion Field] gone, 1,200 cadets stood in the clearing.
And before them, hovering in the air—
The professors in their black exam overseer uniforms had appeared.
Thirty of them, lined up.
At their center, Professor Dante spoke.
“The exam is now over.”