Chapter 260
Quite a few people were gathered in front of Franz. Some were old men with pure white hair, while others were young girls who hadn’t even reached adulthood yet.
Despite their different appearances, what they all wanted was the same: to pass the test and become a Hunter.
Staring at them quietly, Franz took out a large metal sphere from the bag at his waist. It was an item specially crafted for today.
“This sphere has a 3rd-circle-level protection magic cast on it, and…”
As Franz tossed the sphere into the air, it began to fly around irregularly. It wasn’t fast, but it wasn’t slow either.
“As you can see, it will fly around. There is only one thing you have to do: make even a tiny scratch on that sphere. You may use any method. Weapons, magic, or, if you are confident, attacking me.”
Attack if you are confident. It was a truly arrogant statement, but no one present could voice any complaints. Any mage in the Imperial Capital, no, the continent, couldn’t possibly fail to know Franz.
“Then, starting now, I will call your names one by one to come forward and take the test. The time limit is 5 minutes.”
Soon, as Franz called a name, a young man wearing a robe confidently stepped forward.
Giving a slight nod to Franz, the man pulled out a short wooden staff from his waist.
“Then I will begin.”
As soon as Franz finished speaking, he drew up his magic power. The magic power transitioned from pure to a stable flow of mana. Despite his young age, his skill in handling magic power was exceptional.
Soon, a red magic circle was drawn in front of the staff. Based on its structure and formula, it seemed to be the 3rd-circle magic Fire Arrow.
Fire Arrow was magic with high piercing power, so it was perfectly suited for a test that required piercing a shield and scratching the sphere.
However, even if the intention was good, succeeding was a separate matter.
The arrow of flame that shot out from the magic circle narrowly missed the moving sphere.
Sighs flowed from the mouths of the other mages watching the scene.
Most of the mages who came here were those who didn’t engage in external activities, so seeing another mage’s magic was quite an interesting spectacle in itself.
“Huu-.”
The man steadied his breathing and drew up his magic power once again. The magic he used this time as well was the same Fire Arrow.
Soon, an arrow of flame was fired from the magic circle. The arrow of flame advanced at a fast speed and headed accurately for the sphere.
But this time too, making a scratch on the sphere was impossible. Just like a helmet deflecting a glancing blow, the Fire Arrow that touched the shield changed direction and flew off.
Compared to the first time when he couldn’t even hit it, one could say he had grown quite a bit. It was to the point where one might think he could succeed with just a few more tries.
The problem was whether those few attempts were possible within the remaining time, though.
Even after that, he continued to fire off Fire Arrows. Had he grown impatient from the successive failures? After the second attempt, his accuracy dropped sharply.
No matter how outstanding a mage was, they couldn’t completely exclude their emotions, could they? Let alone an ordinary mage like him, it would be even more so.
Time flowed on from there, and before long, 4 minutes passed.
Even though it was enough time to attempt it twice if he completed the magic quickly, he was just taking deep breaths.
He probably knew it too, that at this rate, even if he used the magic two or three more times, he wouldn’t be able to pass the test.
Eventually, he opened his closed eyes and raised the hand holding the staff. The process was the same as before. He deployed the magic circle and activated the magic.
The promised 5 minutes were already approaching, so it could be said to be his last chance.
The arrow of flame that shot out from the magic circle advanced rapidly toward the sphere leisurely floating in the air.
Amidst a situation where everyone’s gaze was focused on the advancing arrow, the arrow accurately struck the sphere and caused a small explosion.
As thick black smoke bloomed and silence continued, a crisp clack echoed through the Testing Ground.
At the same time, the black smoke gathered in one place and began to disappear, just as if it were being sucked in by a vacuum cleaner.
Eventually, Franz spoke.
“You pass.”
“U-uwoah-!”
The man clenched both fists and let out a shout.
Hadn’t he surpassed his own limits at the same time as passing the test? It would be strange if he didn’t scream out of joy.
“Still, is it as expected…”
In fact, the moment Franz faced him, he was certain that he would pass. It was because he felt that his capabilities as a mage, such as the flow of magic power and the purity of his mana, were sufficient.
He was an F-rank Hunter for now, but he would soon look upward and advance. He only hoped that he would survive and hold out well until then.
“Then I will call the next person.”
Even after that, Franz faced many mages. Among them were those who skillfully passed the test, but there were also several who failed due to a lack of skill.
The ratio of those who passed was about 8 nobles to 2 commoners. Since innate magic power was important, it was a matter of course.
As time passed like that, the number of remaining people could be counted on one hand.
“I-I cannot accept this-! Just where am I lacking that you say I failed?”
He thought things were going smoothly, but sure enough, a problem arose. A young man who could easily be called a thug had raised a complaint about the test results.
“Shall I point them out one by one?”
“Yes, let’s hear it!”
“Your flow of magic power was unstable. As a result, even though you used the same magic, the power fluctuated. Also, your control over your magic power was sloppy. I don’t know if you’re aware that you almost failed to activate the magic and caused an explosion.”
There were many other reasons besides this, but Franz didn’t bother to voice them. It wasn’t like he would fix them even if he was told, and this was the minimum amount of consideration shown to him.
It’s embarrassing to be insulted in front of other people, after all.
“A-are you really that great? From what I hear, it doesn’t seem like you do much at the Magic Tower anyway! Honestly, subjugating the Demon Lord was the Hero’s achievement, wasn’t it!”
No, that actually touches a raw nerve…?
Doing nothing at the Magic Tower, Nonsense! I’m so busy I could die, getting called to the Imperial Palace every single day and having to solve the gate problems on top of that.
If his words were meant to provoke anger, they could be said to be absolutely perfect, to the point where it would be better for him to utilize his talent in this area rather than magic.
Anyway, he couldn’t just leave him be like this. By the looks of it, the other mages seemed to be expecting something as well.
Haa-.
Letting out a long sigh, Franz slowly drew up his magic power. Reacting to the intense magic power, mana particles were dyed blue and sparked.
At the same time, the magic circles that began to be drawn above Franz’s head numbered one, two, three, four… nine, ten. Only after a total of 10 had gathered was a single massive magic circle finally completed.
It was the legendary magic known to be usable only by the Progenitor of Magic, 10th-circle magic.
“A m-monster…”
“Shouldn’t we stop him…?”
“I-if that activates, it won’t just be him - the entire Imperial Capital will be blown away…!”
Naturally, Franz had no intention of activating the magic. Just as he said, the entire Imperial Capital would be blown away.
He just wanted to make things clear while he was showing them something so that something like this wouldn’t happen again in the future.
Did that plan work well? The man in front of him dropped to his knees with a thud.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“It’s fine. People can make mistakes in life. And if you put in the effort starting now, you should easily be able to pass within a year. You definitely have the talent.”
Franz immediately withdrew the deployed magic circle.
Not long after, the man stood up, bowed his head, and left the Testing Ground.
Then let’s hurry up with the remaining people’s tests…
It was when Franz thought that and was about to call the next person’s name. Suddenly feeling a presence, he turned his head to see Yuna standing there, blinking her eyes.
“Why? Is something wrong?”
“That’s what I want to ask: Just what happened for you to go that far?”
“I’ll tell you slowly later over a meal or something.”
“Anyway, it’s nothing serious, right?”
“Yeah, it’s really nothing.”
Yuna let out a long sigh and returned to her original spot.
Staring quietly at her back, Franz resumed the test that had been briefly paused due to the commotion.
“Ragna, please prepare for your test.”