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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 27
Thunder Magic
In the past, it was a favorite among many mages and was called the flower of offensive magic.
However, as the era of Meisters arrived and focusing on a single attribute became the trend, mages specializing in lightning magic gradually disappeared.
This was because the essence of thunder magic inherently combined two attributes—fire and light.
For mages who needed to focus on one of the four primary attributes—fire, water, earth, or wind—thunder magic, which blended two attributes, proved to be a hindrance to their training.
Moreover, the difficulty of manifesting the light attribute further accelerated the decline of thunder magic.
And so, as centuries passed, this forgotten magic re-emerged in Kaylen's hands.
“Isn’t that just for show? He’s not even chanting, and there’s no sign of magic manifesting.”
Zaik seemed unimpressed, but Lioness, wearing a grave expression, spoke briefly.
“...The sky.”
“What?”
“Look at the sky. The mana is shifting.”
“Ah…”
A cloudless, vivid blue sky.
Suddenly, black storm clouds appeared above, accompanied by the rumbling sound of thunder.
Kwarrrrr.
Within the clouds, mana burst forth.
Intense energy flowed through the artificially formed clouds, and even from afar, its destructive power was palpable, causing Zaik to gasp in disbelief.
“No way… How… without even a mana suit…?”
Before he could finish his sentence—flash!
A blinding light struck as lightning crashed down.
Kwakakakabang!
The lightning struck the mana stone directly.
With the first bolt, a crack appeared in the mana stone.
With the second, the crack widened further.
The third.
The fourth.
The fifth…
“W-what… how many times is this going to…”
Kwakakakabang—!
“P-please, stop…”
Lightning continued to rain down relentlessly.
“Stop! Stop it!”
By the time the examiners, realizing something was terribly wrong, hurriedly tried to intervene, it was already too late.
Crack. Crumble.
The mana stone, which had been specially treated to emit a bright glow, shattered into blackened fragments.
The participants, who had witnessed the entire scene, turned their gazes to Kaylen.
Shock and astonishment.
And…
Fear.
“What’s the score?”
“One… One hundred points.”
“Thank you.”
Kaylen politely bowed and turned away.
As he walked past, the other participants instinctively stepped aside, startled.
But from afar, the scouts observing the scene couldn’t hide their curiosity.
“Who is he? Kaylen, was it?”
“A remarkable mage has appeared.”
“Was thunder magic always this powerful? I’ve heard it was widely used by mages in the past, but…”
“That mana stone… it may not be as durable as a dungeon core, but its resilience is still extraordinary.”
“This power is unreal.”
“A lightning bolt… with this kind of force, it can’t possibly be a third-circle spell. Could he be a fourth-circle mage?”
The scouts eagerly jotted down Kaylen’s name in their notebooks, each beginning to evaluate him.
“He’s an exceptional mage. Casting without incantation…”
“It implies a deep understanding of attributes. And the sheer power—impressive. It’s comparable to the magic of a Meister equipped with a basic mana suit.”
“But can he become a Meister? With this level of skill, his attributes would overlap.”
“If he doesn’t become a Meister, he’ll just end up being incomplete…”
Though they praised Kaylen, their focus ultimately shifted to whether he could meet the qualifications to control a mana suit—a true mark of a Meister. Most viewed this prospect with skepticism.
However.
If he defied those slim odds and became a Meister…
Then… he’d be the greatest talent of the year.
“I need to investigate Kaylen immediately,” one scout thought, his eyes gleaming as he scribbled down evaluations.
As the scouts busily documented Kaylen’s performance, Lioness watched him with an unusually vibrant gaze.
“Zaik.”
“Yes?”
“Who ranked fourth before Kaylen? A Meister candidate without a mana suit, wasn’t it?”
“That would be Ruth, with a score of 85.”
“Where is he now?”
“Over there… he seems dazed.”
Ruth, a mage who had confidently assumed he’d advance to the finals with his 85-point score—well above the average of 70s for Meister demonstrations—was now standing in stunned silence.
Unreal.
A second-year mage at the fourth circle?
Shattering a mana stone without even wearing a mana suit?
Ruth couldn’t process the surreal scene he had just witnessed, his mind blank.
Lioness walked toward him.
“Ruth.”
“Lioness, sir.”
“Do you still think you’ll accept this?”
“…What?”
“Eighty-five points. In another group, it’d undoubtedly place you in the top three.”
That’s how it was.
In other groups, even mana suit users often refrained from activating them.
But in Group D, where all three mana suits were activated, and the irregular Kaylen appeared, the circumstances were extraordinary.
An 85-point score should have guaranteed advancement.
The problem was simply being assigned to Group D.
“Ruth, file an objection.”
“An objection…? Do you mean…”
“You know the rules of the preliminaries, don’t you?”
The preliminary rounds were held over two days.
Although the magic demonstrations alone could have been completed within a day, the schedule was extended for a reason.
In the early days of the Superior Mage Selection Tournament, matches were held starting from the preliminary rounds.
However, about 50 years ago, with the development of the mana stone for measuring magic power, the rules were changed.
Even so, there was criticism that evaluating purely based on magic power was not the best way to select a Superior Mage. In response, the organizers introduced a new clause.
Objection Clause.
If a student narrowly missed advancing due to a small score difference, the fifth-place student had the right to challenge the fourth-place student.
While the official term was "objection," it was, in essence, a duel.
“But the score difference is too large between us… 15 points…” Ruth spoke in a defeated tone. Generally, an objection was only considered for score differences of about 5 points.
Anything beyond that wasn’t deemed “narrow” by anyone.
Yet Lioness, aware of this, smiled slyly.
“There’s no strict rule for objections. A 15-point gap can certainly be considered ‘narrow,’ depending on perspective.”
“Ah…”
If anyone else had said this, it wouldn’t have been taken seriously.
But Lioness, a central figure of the Second Prince’s faction and a promising mage of the Obline Ducal Family, carried a different weight with his words.
If he claimed that a 15-point gap was close, it could be justified.
“If you have the will, I’ll support you.”
Ruth fell into deep thought at Lioness’s offer.
With his help, a duel could take place.
But could he win against Kaylen?
‘…It’s impossible.’
A Meister could objectively assess the situation to some extent.
Kaylen’s overwhelming power.
And his own.
The difference was undeniable.
Hadn’t it been clearly reflected in the scores?
“Ruth, don’t tell me you lack confidence?”
***
“Disappointing.”
“But the gap…”
“Zaik.”
At Lioness’s signal, Zaik adjusted his glasses and spoke.
“Ruth. A commoner-born Meister who submitted an application to the subjugation corps under the Ducal Family’s command.”
“Hmm. Where is it?”
“El Salvar Subjugation Corps.”
“That’s the one run by my older brother. It’s a good place. El Salvar offers some of the best conditions in the industry.”
“…”
Lioness placed a hand on Ruth’s shoulder.
“If you show a proactive attitude this time, I might be willing to give you a special recommendation.”
His smile was stunning—almost too beautiful to be called masculine—but…
Ruth felt a cold chill run down his spine.
“Damn it…”
If he complied, he’d be granted a spot in the Ducal Family’s Subjugation Corps.
But if he refused, the unspoken threat of rejection loomed heavily over him.
“I don’t want to fight…”
Kaylen’s lightning bolt was terrifying.
Its overwhelming power was far too much for a mere Meister without a mana suit to handle.
“What if my barrier shatters like the mana stone?”
A single misstep could lead to serious injury.
“But if I defy Lioness… the aftermath will be worse.”
Lioness wasn’t just any noble—he was a key figure in the Academy’s power struggle against Princess Violet.
Earning his disfavor here would put Ruth’s future in jeopardy, leaving his career prospects in shambles.
Ruth bit his lip hard.
“…I understand.”
“You’ve made the right choice. Zaik, inform the judges.”
“Yes, understood.”
From there, everything moved swiftly.
“An objection?”
The judges initially reacted with disbelief at the suggestion.
But when they heard, “Lioness desires it,” their expressions changed.
“…Ah.”
Noticing Ruth lowering his head while Lioness stood beside him, smiling brightly, the judges quickly nodded in agreement.
What bad luck for him.
Normally, this would have been dismissed as a baseless claim, but… what can they do?
With no clear regulations to prevent it, no one dared to oppose a grand noble’s request.
Soon, one of the judges, wearing a grim expression, approached Kaylen, who was waiting below the arena.
“Participant Kaylen, an objection has been raised.”
“An objection?”
“Yes. The fifth-place participant, Ruth, has declared dissatisfaction with the results and has requested a duel. The match will take place tomorrow at this time, here in the arena.”
“A 15-point difference isn’t something you can accept?”
“…Well, it’s the participant’s right, per the rules.”
The judge avoided saying more, clearly uncomfortable.
Kaylen closed the spellbook he had been reading and glanced around.
He saw a mage hanging his head in defeat and, next to him, Lioness grinning broadly, waving in his direction.
“What a hassle.”
Kaylen tucked the book under his arm.
"Does the duel have to be tomorrow? Is that a rule?"
"Well..."
"If it's not mandatory, let's do it now."
The judge was momentarily stunned by Kaylen's casual suggestion.
‘He must have used up a fair amount of mana in the preliminaries. Shouldn't he want to recover and prepare?’
But this strange participant didn’t seem to care about such things, proposing they fight immediately instead.
Hearing this, Lioness's eyes gleamed with interest.
"Fine. Ruth, you okay with that?"
"...Yes."
Ruth nodded.
It wasn’t a bad proposal for him either.
‘Yeah, it's better to get it over with now. That Kaylen guy must be underestimating me just because he scored 100.’
Ruth had expended a lot of energy as well, but given the massive scale and power of Kaylen’s magic, it was clear the latter had used even more.
Plus, Kaylen seemed overconfident. Ruth felt there might be a slim chance for him to prevail.
"Very well. Since both participants agree, we’ll proceed immediately."
When Ruth stepped into the arena to face Kaylen, he still believed he had a chance.
"Circle, reload."
He prepared his mana circles, boosting his confidence with positive thoughts.
‘I’ll deploy a fire shield and counter with a 1st-circle spell to keep him at bay.’
As he fortified his defenses and prepared to act—
“Flash.”
Kaylen’s body shimmered with a sudden burst of light.
‘Flash…? A light-based… spell?!’
Ruth had read about it in books—a teleportation magic meant for quick escapes.
Before he could process this, his vision was overtaken by a blinding white light.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a massive hand seized his throat.
“C-cough, ugh…!”
"Apologies, senior."
Kaylen’s calm voice accompanied the sight of Ruth being effortlessly lifted into the air.
Kaylen, carrying him by the neck, began walking toward the edge of the arena.
"This method will hurt less."
"Th-thank y—"
Without waiting for more, Kaylen gently set Ruth down just outside the ring, ensuring he was disqualified by default.
As Ruth sat dazed on the ground, Kaylen turned to the judge.
"That should suffice."
"...Yes. The victory goes to you."
The match was over in less than ten seconds.
Zaik spoke in a defeated tone.
"Lioness, Ruth turned out to be pretty underwhelming. Should we reconsider his recommendation?"
"Zaik, if you had been out there without a mana suit, you’d have fared no better."
"Well, that’s..."
Zaik trailed off.
'What if I didn’t have a mana suit?'
Facing someone like Kaylen, who could teleport and strike out of nowhere, he wasn’t sure he’d last either.
Lioness chuckled softly.
"Ruth did his part. The recommendation stands."
Then, his gaze shifted back to Kaylen.
His eyes sparkled, as though gazing at an invaluable treasure.
"So this is why the princess is so interested in him. Investigate everything about that boy."
"Understood."
"And if he doesn’t have a master yet…"
Lioness licked his lips briefly.
"Even if he doesn't want to, I’ll make him mine."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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