Chapter 5
Karen was not a person who took much interest in others besides herself.
It was partly due to her innate personality.
And because her skills and talents were so high, there were few people who could satisfy her interest.
How many people had she been genuinely interested in throughout her life so far?
Probably the Seven Stars, including her master the Magic Tower, and various other strong individuals who could approach their level.
And Baek Seo-yun, the descendant of the Sword Saint, who was called the strongest of the Seven Stars.
These were the only people who could satisfy her interest.
Until today, that is.
"Shaman..."
Kang Shin-woo, a person who Karen recognizes more as a 'shaman' than by his name.
He was someone who piqued Karen's interest for the first time in a long while.
Rather than being interested in the human 'Kang Shin-woo' himself,
She was interested in him being a shaman, but even that alone was surprising enough.
'A being I've never seen before.'
She had seen psychics before.
Heroes who possessed either Spirit Eyes or Shamanic Power.
She had seen shamans, onmyoji, shrine maidens, and even Western prophets and shamans.
But none of them had satisfied her.
They all clearly showed aspects that were inferior to Karen's magic.
That's why she showed interest in Kang Shin-woo.
Would he, a 'true shaman' possessing both Spirit Eyes and Shamanic Power, show her something different?
It was an unknown territory.
And she was the type who liked what she didn't know rather than what she feared.
'Interesting.'
Karen smiled for the first time in a very long time.
Although it was a very slight movement, for her it was a big smile as she watched Kang Shin-woo coming to track 3.
His face was rotting as he looked at her.
His dislike was clearly visible.
'Really interesting.'
It was interesting.
Truly.
***
'What's this?'
Why is she smiling?
Why is Karen, of all people?
And why at me?
Such questions arose, but I quickly put them aside.
There's no point in questioning this now, as I won't be able to get an answer anyway.
Because the second test is about to start.
"Please prepare at your starting positions. As you've been notified, flying magic and skills are prohibited."
Following the examiner's words, the applicants, including myself, stood at the starting line of the track.
Along with that, the track in front of us became visible.
To describe it briefly, the track was both monotonous and complex.
The track itself only required going straight, but there were many obstacles with a very complex structure.
It was to a degree that couldn't be traversed with normal physical abilities.
And after observing this for a moment, the voice of the chief examiner resonated across all tracks.
"Start!"
The start signal.
As soon as that sound was heard, the applicants, including myself, immediately dashed out from the starting line.
Among them, of course, Karen had taken the lead.
"As expected, she's fast."
"When you have overwhelming magic power, your body doesn't have to suffer."
Ice Field, Fire Boom, Haste.
A simple combination, but when she used it, it transformed into an incredibly fast movement technique.
Karen froze the ground in her path with her black ice, simultaneously fixing it.
Then she created a wall behind her and gained basic power with the propulsion of blue flames.
With Haste, she insanely increased the propulsive force from the explosion.
It was clearly slower than flying magic, but in this situation, it was an extremely fast means of movement.
And seeing this, I also opened my mouth and moved the shamanic power inside my body.
"Familiar spirit, I speak to Hwa-ryeon. Lend me your power."
[Possessing the familiar spirit, 'Hwa-ryeon'.]
What skill to possess this time?
That had been decided even before the first test began.
"I choose the skill Fire Body."
[The skill 'Fire Body Lv.6' is temporarily granted to you.]
[A part of the familiar spirit Miho's soul is possessed by you.]
+++
Name: Fire Body
Level: 6
Description: Enhances the body by surrounding it with flames containing positive energy.
Temporarily increases immunity to fire attacks, and its power increases in places with strong positive energy.
※This is a skill borrowed through the possession of a familiar spirit.
+++
In this second test, combat between applicants is strictly prohibited.
Therefore, Fox Fire, which is a pure attack skill, was naturally excluded.
The skill I chose now, Fire Body, is simply put, a physical enhancement skill.
Whoosh-
Bright red flames burning on my forehead, shoulders, back, and feet.
A sensation similar to Fox Fire was felt throughout my body.
And this wasn't the end.
[The sun's positive energy shines upon you.]
[The effect of the skill 'Fire Body' is amplified.]
The sun is one of the most representative elements of positive energy. No, you could say that the sun is the source of positive energy.
The first test was held indoors, so we couldn't see this effect.
But in the second test, even though the track was divided by walls, the ceiling above was open.
Moreover, the time was exactly noon, so we could receive the most sunlight.
"Let's go! To get first place!"
No matter how fast Karen was, the test rules prohibit flying.
I couldn't say there was no possibility of getting first place.
So as soon as my body was enhanced, I ran through the track at a speed incomparable to before.
If there's a wall, I jump over it.
If the distance between obstacles is wide, I leap across.
The sensation itself was new.
It's a speed that even the fastest normal human wouldn't be able to feel.
I could even feel the liberation of high speed.
"You're using it very well even without my assistance."
"It's just a buff skill, what's there to use well?"
"There is. How important it is to know when and where to enhance, and how to consume shamanic power efficiently without wasting it."
I just moved and used the shamanic power instinctively.
Honestly, I hadn't come across many shamans even in the novel, so I was wondering if I was using this well.
Judging by Hwa-ryeon's reaction, it seemed I was using it well.
"Aaargh!! Damn it! Why am I so unlucky!"
"It's really all luck! Why am I put with such high-ranking kids!"
The other applicants following behind quickly fell behind and cursed.
I couldn't say I didn't sympathize.
It's understandable when not just one, but two people are overwhelmingly superior to you.
But there's one thing I want to say.
'This is intentional by the academy.'
The academy deliberately puts top-ranking applicants with the lowest-ranking ones.
To deliberately fail the lower-ranking applicants.
Even if they managed to pass the first test by chance, the academy doesn't like people passing by luck.
By the way, this 'grade' isn't the first test score.
It's another grade given by professors based on the applicants' types.
It's cruel, but this was reality.
In fact, in the original work, there was a description that thanks to this policy, the average of the academy itself increased a lot.
"Huff.. huff.."
Anyway, how long had I been running and jumping over obstacles quickly with the power of the skill?
I started to see Karen, who had started quickly earlier.
Karen was creating her own path with black ice and moving along it.
Her movement speed itself wasn't that fast.
Slightly slower than me? Well, that's why I was able to catch up to her.
"Hmm..."
She looked at me for a moment with an expressionless, or rather a smiling expression that seemed expressionless, and then acted as if she was pondering.
Suddenly, she stretched one hand towards me and opened her mouth.
"Ice Wall."
"...!"
With Karen's short chant, a huge wall of black ice appeared in front of me.
It was a massive wall easily 10m tall.
Normally, it wouldn't be an impossible height to climb, but at such a short distance, there were limitations.
So what should I do?
The answer was simpler than expected.
Just break through it, if I can't climb over it, I'll just destroy it.
This wall was quite thick, but I didn't think it was something I couldn't break through in my current state.
'Extreme yin and extreme yang are opposites.'
And right now, my body was the embodiment of extreme yang.
So I put all my running speed into a punch aimed straight ahead.
"Hup..!!"
Kwang-!!
A huge roar was heard as soon as my fist touched the black ice wall.
The red flames burning on my body instantly burst, creating a massive explosion.
That huge wall burst and crumbled in an instant.
"Ahem, how do you like my skills, my lord?"
"The best, absolutely the best."
"T-Then! Tonight, with me..."
The cause of this was none other than Hwa-ryeon's assistance.
It was the power generated thanks to her bursting the flames as soon as I touched the wall.
After breaking through the wall and moving forward, I could see Karen looking at me with a surprised expression.
"..."
Just like before, Karen looked at me with a small smile.
"You."
She spoke to me again, raising her magic power.
In a tone slightly excited, unlike her usual self.
"Interesting."
Along with that, the magic power derived from her body formed a single flow.
I could feel it.
Where her magic power, cold magic power made of extreme yin, was heading.
I couldn't see it, but I could instinctively feel it.
[The skill 'Fire Body' is activating at its extreme.]
Fire Body was a skill that increased in performance as the body heats up.
My body was in a fully activated state now, so it was natural that the skill's effectiveness was at its extreme.
'Here.'
I move my body to where Karen's magic power is flowing.
This time too, what's being activated is a huge wall made of black ice.
But I had no intention of being blocked like before.
Pazzzik-
Black ice forming from the ground, I grab the upper part of it.
Making holes so as not to slip.
"I won't fall for the same trick twice!"
It hurt more than I expected to dig in with each finger rather than my fist, but it was fine.
As long as I succeeded, that's all that mattered.
Kareurek-!
And as soon as I dug my hands in, the ice wall shot up at an incredible speed.
The height was 10m.
The same height as the previous wall.
I flew to that high position in an instant and then soared into the sky from the rebound.
Very high.
"Cowardly of you to use magic alone for easy interference?"
"...Wow."
Having flown up to that high sky, I flew quickly towards Karen.
"I like you."
I grabbed her waist with my arm and rolled on the ground.