[Holy Capital · City Center]
A carriage "proceeding slowly" was rushing toward the Continental Magic Association at "extrely high" speed.
The skilled coachman relied on rich driving experience, repeatedly pulling and releasing the reins to keep the horses in an interdiate state between "running" and "walking," like human race walking.
Using such "secret techniques," the city's coachn had carved out a compromise between the rigid regulation of no galloping within the city and the objective need for passengers to arrive quickly.
Under such control, the carriage's speed, though unable to compare with normal running, was still acceptable and could satisfy most passengers' needs.
After several more minutes, as the carriage drew closer to the association.
The elf in the carriage, who had been maintaining a stern expression, seed to sense sothing and her face instantly relaxed.
Out of respect for rules, even Serie usually wouldn't use magical detection within the city.
Most of the ti she would even deliberately restrain it to avoid misunderstandings.
But at this distance, even without the elf actively trying, she could sense the massive magical reaction in the distance through instinct alone.
Barrier Magic, or rather, a modified version of Barrier Magic.
Defensive magic created by her forr disciple Flam, which she had adjusted to beco selective magic for screening mages.
After inscribing it into a ring to form a magical tool, she had entrusted it to her current disciple Gut for safekeeping.
The magical reaction ahead was undoubtedly caused by that disciple who stubbornly refused to wake her up.
"Tsk-tsk—"
"A bit temperantal, but still reliable."
The relieved elf leaned against the carriage window, gazing at the distant sky.
Co to think of it, during the final period of examinations at Äußerst, Gut had often substituted for her in this way.
Who would have thought that even at the Holy Capital headquarters, the sa thing would repeat.
She really was a lazy teacher.
But that's what disciples are for, right?
Seemingly recalling so pleasant mories from the past, the elf leaning against the window curved her lips into a faint smile.
After the examinations end, she'd reward this disciple with an additional magic spell.
And there was Ranyi's Magic Item Shop - she should check on the progress there in a few days.
Thus, amid the elf's contemplations, the carriage passed through one district after another, finally coming to a steady stop at the plaza in front of the Continental Magic Association.
The mages queuing here had long grown accustod to this scene.
The few who looked over were mostly urging the coachman to leave quickly and not interfere with normal queuing order.
The coachman nodded and bowed repeatedly in response. These mages were either from distinguished backgrounds or had promising futures - none were people a small coachman like him could afford to offend.
Fortunately, the passenger in the carriage didn't delay, efficiently disembarking and settling the fare. The coachman hastily counted the silver coins, confird everything was correct, and imdiately drove away.
However, this disembarked passenger didn't "obediently" go to the back of the queue, but instead walked directly toward the blue-purple magical barrier ahead without looking back.
The mages in the long line all showed displeasure upon seeing this, but many shrewd individuals imdiately changed their expressions upon noticing the distinctive elf ears.
The others, seeing the attitude changes around them, instantly realized the situation.
Elves in the Holy Capital were rare to the point of near extinction.
Moreover, this one had golden hair - her identity needed no guessing.
However, not everyone could notice Serie's figure, nor could everyone observe others' reactions.
For instance, the mage candidate currently standing first in line, about to take the test.
From his perspective, he couldn't see Serie's form or appearance, much less observe other candidates' reactions behind him.
He could only sense soone approaching from behind, apparently wanting to enter the examination barrier from another direction.
"Hey, friend!"
"Don't co out from behind ! Cutting in line is one thing, but that direction won't work!"
The mage candidate at the front said unconsciously, inadvertently adding so hotown dialect while explaining the examination rules.
But the next mont, when the mage could clearly see the queue-jumper's form, his expression instantly froze.
The elf also looked back with interest at the mage behind her before stepping into the magical barrier.
Unfortunately, his qualifications were too diocre. The curiosity in her eyes lasted only an instant before returning to indifference.
As Serie slightly mobilized a strand of magical power within her body, the mont her extended palm rely contacted the blue-purple examination barrier, it easily rged into the barrier.
Conversely, the examination barrier began trembling violently the instant it contacted Serie's magical power.
It seed unable to maintain its original shape, ready to shatter at any mont.
At this mont, inside the great hall.
Gut, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor ditating, was startled and quickly looked at the magical tool ring on his ring finger.
The ring was currently vibrating at high frequency on Gut's finger like a vibrating egg, transmitting signals that the examination barrier was about to collapse.
Seeing this situation, Gut's face showed no panic but revealed an expression of expected composure.
After removing the magical tool ring and holding it in his palm, Gut increased magical power supply to maintain its structural stability while scanning the other junior disciples in the hall with his gaze.
"Begin acting according to our previous arrangents."
"Rember, this is teacher testing everyone's abilities. You must all do your utmost and not hold back, understand?"
"Mm." / "Understood clearly."
Outside the hall.
Serie, whose palm had already penetrated the magical barrier, unexpectedly paused outside the barrier for a mont.
Because the elf's extrely detailed magical perception had sensed a layer of thin magical power attached to the barrier the instant her palm passed through.
This thin magical power was quite special, appearing light purple and significantly different from ordinary magical power.
Its existence must be why the originally light blue Barrier Magic had been tinted with purple.
"Let think, this is the special magical power the Camm clan uses to mark sealed targets..."
"What a naughty child."
Though she had detected her disciples' sches, Serie, wanting to test what tricks they could pull, didn't choose to blast them away with her own magical power, but deliberately walked into the examination barrier, allowing them to attach to her.
"Crack—"
With an almost imperceptible sound, the elf's ears imdiately perked up.
Her previously relaxed expression inevitably showed a trace of surprise.
"Oh no, I've been caught in their trap."
Looking at the overwhelming purple magical power converging on her from all directions, Serie nodded with considerable appreciation.
"So this special magical power's purpose wasn't marking, but was itself an ambush set for ."
"Using irreversible principles to densely construct an extrely complex thin hemispherical magical formula, then filling it with this special magical power to mislead my judgnt."
"With such an arrangent, whether I carelessly or dismissively charge straight in, or cautiously use my own magical power to deflect those purple special magical powers, due to the irreversible principle's existence, their final result would be the sa."
"Just like drilling a hole in the bottom of a water-filled bowl - regardless of where on the bottom the hole is made, once it's broken, all the water in the bowl will converge toward that hole and flow out completely."
"Like now, as long as I enter this barrier and break the magical formula constructed with irreversible principles, all the special magical power attached to this formula will converge entirely toward my location."
"But constructing this level of magical formula using irreversible principles is no easy task, especially when cooperating with a completely unfamiliar mage."
The elf, now completely surrounded by purple magical power, sighed helplessly.
"Sigh, how should I put it."
"Humans really have endless energy and thods when doing bad things."
At the sa ti, inside the hall.
Socially anxious junior disciple Zenn, standing on a special magic circle, suddenly closed his eyes and asked in a tiny voice whether the magical power attached to teacher had reached the standard line required for sealing magic, and if they should begin now.
Gut, sitting in the center of several people as the proposer and mastermind of this operation, hesitated briefly before decisively nodding.
Though for an exceptionally powerful mage like teacher Serie, it would be more reliable to accumulate more magical power before sealing.
But precisely because he understood his teacher's strength, Gut dared not gamble.
If they waited any longer, they might get directly bonked on the head by the old-tir's staff.
Seeing his senior's signal, Zenn gritted his teeth, gripped his staff with both hands, and thrust it into the pre-drawn magic circle below, imdiately activating the seal.
anwhile, Hafka, after signaling his sister to move farther away, also manipulated the magical formula he had constructed, attempting to gather more special magical power on Serie to make Zenn's sealing more powerful.
Outside the hall, in the barrier.
Sensing the massive magical power attached to her beginning to change, the elf's lips actually curved into a smile.
The good show begins!
As the magic circle under Zenn's feet beca increasingly bright, the magical restraints on Serie also beca increasingly powerful, reaching the point of completely sealing her.
Yet the elf remained unhurried, observing the changes on the field. Even after seeing the magical formula constructed with irreversible principles contract, she intercepted a small section with her hand and separated Hafka's magical power from it.
The next mont, purple light flashed in Zenn's eyes as he manipulated the magic circle. The Sealing Magic gathered on Serie instantly took shape, successfully restraining Hafka.
In the lightning-fast mont before her brother was to be switched, sister Sola's heartbeat skipped a beat, and she instantly lunged toward her brother's location.
But after a flash, the person appearing in the original spot had beco Serie.
"Foolish disciples, playti is over."
"Mmm—~!"
Before the suddenly appearing elf could further show off (establish teacher's authority), a girl's figure suddenly crashed into her, directly knocking down the elf who had just appeared at the landing point and hadn't even steadied her footing.
A few seconds later, Serie pushed away girl Sola, who was blank-minded and instinctively sniffing sothing while lying on her, patted the dust off her clothes, and stood up from the ground sowhat gloomily.
The elf truly hadn't expected a girl to pounce on her at the magic's landing point.
Fortunately, the girl had crashed into her chest armor, where there was thick cushioning, so neither was injured.
But the gloominess in her heart was unavoidable.
She had tid the instant before Sealing Magic completion, used the weak magical power extracted from a section of magical formula to locate disciple Hafka, and perford an extre magical position swap between them.
This should have been an imposing entrance that could effectively intimidate her disciples and establish teacher's authority in their hearts.
But this unexpected variable greatly reduced the effect.
One disciple wanted to laugh but didn't dare, another was only focused on watching the aftershocks of the earlier collision's cushioning, and the remaining one...
Well, for the remaining disciple now sealed outside the great hall, her teacher's authority should have been well established.
The elf lightly massaged the collision point on her cushioning twice and tidied the wrinkles on her clothes before sitting in the main seat of the hall.
She instructed disciple Zenn and girl Sola to go outside the hall and rescue the sealed Hafka.
Only after the two left the hall did the elf look at Gut, who had walked to her side, saying without good humor:
"Uniting with junior disciples to ambush teacher - you're really sothing."
"Is that so?" Gut raised an eyebrow and reported to teacher Serie, "I told the junior disciples that teacher would test their abilities today and had them go all out."
"From the results, that child Zenn trusted completely and gave his all, thinking this really was a test assigned by teacher."
"Hafka probably also guessed there were problems, but he seems to be an expert at playing dumb."
"Or rather, he also very much wanted to test your capabilities."
"Teacher, I was testing the junior disciples' characters for you."
"Hehe—" The elf in the chair shook her head and responded verbally.
"I think the only problematic disciple from start to finish was just you."
"That's truly heartbreaking." Gut spread his hands, pretending to look very hurt.
"But regardless, Gut, your behavior today was indeed excessive."
"With this kind of examination barrier design, no candidates would be able to pass the test. Did you consider those affected mage candidates?"
"Of course." Gut affird, pointing to the two orderly queues outside the window. "Actually, Hafka's technique is quite good. After we communicated our ideas, he said he could create a hemispherical magical formula with two small doors."
"This way, we could design an ambush for you while not affecting normal mage examinations."
"I see." Recalling how earlier when she entered from the side of the queue position, a candidate had reminded her about examination rules.
Who would have thought it was out of such consideration.
"It seems I really made you all go to great trouble."
"As disciples, going to so trouble for teacher is only proper." Gut shalessly answered, but Serie on the chair suddenly frowned at this mont.
She even stood up from her chair and circled around Gut twice.
"Teacher, what's this about?"
Even Gut, who had spent long periods with the elf, couldn't figure out Serie's sudden shift.
"Be quiet, don't speak first."
The elf signaled her disciple to be silent, then summoned a fla from her palm, rotating and spiraling around Gut several tis before returning to the elf's hand.
Compared to before, its fla color had beco lighter, but both the fla's size and temperature had increased considerably from before.
"Indeed, my judgnt was correct."
Serie looked at her disciple before her with complex eyes, asking, "Have you been to the Cathedral recently?"
"That's right, teacher. Just this morning, I participated in the cathedral's morning prayer ceremony."
"It really is Him." After hearing her disciple's answer, the elf sighed, not knowing what to say.
"You should visit less in the future. Do as you wish."
"Anyway, with your nature of enthusiastically doing good deeds, He certainly won't harm you."
"Is that so?"
Gut nodded. Living in the sa Mythological Age, teacher Serie indeed knew things related to the Goddess.
"Brother, how did being sealed feel?"
"Well, it was quite wonderful. I couldn't mobilize even a trace of magical power. Mage Zenn's technique is truly superb."
"Um, sorry about that."
From the main door outside the hall ca faint conversation sounds.
Clearly, the private ti for teacher and disciple was entering its countdown.
The elf, sitting back in her chair, hesitated for several seconds when looking at the familiar figure beside her before finally saying what was in her heart.
"That, Gut."
"Don't forget to co wake up tomorrow morning."
"Also, please prepare breakfast for . I want ice cream, the three-flavor kind."
"Alright."
Gut answered with a smile, "Three-flavor ice cream, delivered on ti tomorrow morning."
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Powerstones?
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