The First Measurement Room, located in the Academy’s First Research Hall, is a space equipped with various measurement devices.
Since it also houses facilities that examine spiritual origins to determine aptitude, new students undergo their aptitude tests here.
“Any rare aptitudes?”
“Ah, Professor Horizon.”
As Horizon stepped into the First Measurement Room, the assistant professor in charge stood up and greeted him.
“What brings you here…?”
“Why? Did you think I’d be too busy dealing with the aftermath of the terrorist incident to pay attention to this?”
“Ah, no, not at all.”
“I’m one of the professors in charge of new students, after all. I can take an interest in what kind of kids are coming in.”
Saying that, Horizon lifted his chin.
Inside, there was a rectangular device about the size of a carriage.
“It’s truly an incredible artifact. You step inside, and when you come out, it instantly reveals your spiritual origin.”
“It used to be extremely difficult to determine one’s spiritual origin.”
“That’s right. In the past, discovering one’s spiritual origin was considered a matter of ‘enlightenment.’”
“But thanks to Professor Kaisel successfully reactivating this ancient artifact, it’s now possible to determine it so easily.”
Just as the assistant professor said, the measurement device was a relic of an ancient civilization.
It had been gathering dust in the Academy’s storage because it didn’t function properly—until Kaisel Valencia repaired and restored it.
“Your spiritual origin was… Diffusion, wasn’t it, Professor?”
“Yeah. Thanks to that, I was able to confirm that dedicating my life to elemental fire magic wasn’t a mistake.”
Whoosh.
With a faint sound, the artifact’s door opened.
From inside, a large-built boy stepped out.
“Candidate No. 301, Monarch Orson… Spiritual origin: Enhancement.”
After checking the symbol displayed on the artifact’s surface, the assistant professor announced the result.
Monarch’s face lit up with a broad grin as he bowed his head.
“Thank you!”
“You may leave now. Good work.”
“Yes, sir!”
As Monarch walked out with light steps, Horizon smirked.
“He’s happy about getting a good aptitude.”
“Enhancement is one of the top five aptitudes, after all.”
Enhancement, as the name suggests, specializes in strengthening objects.
A magician with an Enhancement aptitude can be active in various fields. After all, there are countless things in the world that need reinforcement to increase their durability.
“I asked earlier, but… were there any students with rare aptitudes?”
“Ah, my apologies. Let’s see…”
The assistant professor began flipping through the documents beside him.
“There was a student with a Summoning aptitude.”
“Summoning? That’s a truly rare one.”
Summoning is an aptitude specialized in calling forth beings from other worlds—an essential ability for dimensional summoning magic.
“Professor Climene will be thrilled. She finally has another student to nurture.”
“Students with a Summoning aptitude have always been taken under Professor Climene’s wing.”
“Hmm, any other unusual aptitudes?”
“Let’s see… I’ll have to check…”
“Oh, right.”
As if suddenly remembering something, Horizon spoke.
“I heard that Kaisel Valencia’s nephew is taking the entrance exam today… Has he been tested yet?”
* * *
“Haha. I figured I’d get Acceleration.”
“Yeah, I got Enhancement, just as I’d hoped.”
I was chatting with Cain and Senia in front of the First Measurement Room.
Since their exam numbers were ahead of mine, they had already completed their tests.
Cain got Acceleration, and Senia got Enhancement… They both got what they wanted.
Both Acceleration and Enhancement are highly valuable aptitudes.
Of course, spiritual origins aren’t inherently superior or inferior to one another, but their practical applications in modern magic vary greatly.
For example, an aptitude like Deceleration doesn’t have many uses in modern magic. Compared to Acceleration, research on it is severely lacking.
Likewise, Berserk isn’t very useful in today’s world. In ancient times, berserk warriors—whose rationality was suppressed through magic—were deployed in wars. But nowadays, international treaties prohibit such practices.
I hope mine turns out to be a good aptitude as well.
I want to become a capable magician as soon as possible.
For that to happen, I need an aptitude that allows for rapid growth.
If I grow quickly as a magician, I’ll gain free access to the library.
The Ars Magna Academy has multiple libraries.
However, first-year students are only allowed into a few of them. Access to the other libraries requires a higher academic standing.
The most secretive of them all is the Deep Library, which is only accessible to professors and above.
It would be amazing if I could enter that place someday.
The Deep Library even houses the infamous Six Forbidden Books.
I desperately want to read them if given the chance—but as a student, access is completely off-limits.
“Candidate No. 321, enter the measurement room!”
At that moment, I heard my exam number being called.
“Good luck! Hope you get a great result!”
“Do your best!”
“No, you two should go now…”
How long are they planning to stick with me?
Since they’re done with their tests, I’d appreciate it if they’d head back to the dorms already.
“Candidate No. 321, Eriol Valencia.”
“Follow the arrows on the floor.”
Inside the measurement room, a man who appeared to be in his 30s gave me instructions.
Beside him stood another elderly man, seemingly in his 60s.
That man… I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.
Maybe it was in Ars Magazine, the Academy’s official publication.
I couldn’t quite recall who he was, though.
“Step inside the device ahead and take a seat.”
“Understood.”
The rectangular device, roughly the size of a carriage, actually contained a seat inside.
It was covered in strange mechanical components, making me feel slightly uneasy.
But there was no backing out now—I sat down.
“The test will begin. Once the door opens, you may step out.”
Shortly after, the door closed, and the surroundings went completely dark.
And then…
Suddenly, my mind felt like it was being overwhelmed.
“Urgh…!”
A crushing sensation engulfed me, making me wonder if something had gone terribly wrong.
It felt like my head was shattering, its contents scattering everywhere.
What is… happening…?
Before I knew it, countless strings of text were flooding into my consciousness.
I was in a vast, pitch-black space, with no stars—only letters filling the void.
And those letters were pouring into me.
Though I had never seen them before…
I could understand every single one.
“……!”
As the number of characters increased, the world became completely filled with light.
Before long… I returned to reality.
“Huff, huff…”
I couldn’t help but gasp for breath.
Both my body and mind were utterly exhausted from a sensation I had never experienced before.
I’ve never heard of this happening. Weren’t the others completely fine when they came out of the measurement room?
With difficulty, I got up and stepped outside.
I turned my head to ask if this was normal.
“Let’s see… Number 321, Eriol Valencia…”
Something felt off.
The man in his thirties who had been giving me instructions earlier was frowning as he leaned forward.
“What is this?”
“Is there a problem?”
“Hold on… What the hell is this?”
That was exactly what I wanted to ask.
What on earth had happened?
“What is this? Has there ever been anything like this?”
The man seemed to be staring at a bluish pattern displayed on the surface of the device.
Is that my spiritual root?
“Wait a minute. Is this… Dissolution?”
Dissolution.
I had heard of it before.
Among the 24 spiritual roots, it was an exceptionally rare one.
It was literally specialized in breaking things down.
“That’s right. Number 321, you’re Professor Kaisel’s nephew, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Professor Kaisel also has the Dissolution aptitude… Did you inherit it too?”
That was true.
My uncle, Kaisel Valencia, also had an aptitude for Dissolution.
He had followed the path his spiritual root led him on… dismantling everything in his way to reach his current position.
Do I have the same aptitude for Dissolution as my uncle?
This was an astonishing revelation.
At the same time, it was a welcome one.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Pathetic.”
It was then.
The elderly man in his sixties, who had been silently observing, finally spoke.
“You need to study again. Should I strip you of your associate professor position?”
“P-Professor, what are you saying…?”
“Open your books and check again. How could you mistake that for Dissolution?”
“Y-You mean it isn’t Dissolution?”
“I can understand why you’d forget. You’ve examined thousands of people, but you’ve never seen this one before.”
The elderly man, whom they called professor, shifted his gaze to me.
“Eriol Valencia.”
“Yes, Professor Horizon.”
“Oh? You know my name?”
“I didn’t recognize you at first. But when they called you professor, I realized who you were.”
Professor Horizon.
He was one of the most renowned professors at Ars Magna Academy.
A master of fire magic known for possessing the spiritual root of ‘Diffusion.’
“Hmph, I’m glad you recognized me.”
Horizon smiled.
“In fact, I’ve had my eye on you since yesterday.”
“…What?”
“I heard you managed to decipher the terrorists’ spell formation.”
“Decipher, you say?”
He must have been referring to the moment I detected the magic being used, but I hadn’t actually deciphered anything.
I hadn’t seen any letters—so what was there to read?
“The reason you were able to sense the spell formation at that time… was a fragment of your spiritual root.”
“I don’t quite understand what you mean…”
“Of course you don’t. Not yet.”
He grinned and raised his hand.
“Look at the test results.”
“….”
The device’s surface still displayed a complex array of patterns.
“This is one of the 24 spiritual roots… Reading.”
Reading.
The rarest of all 24 spiritual roots.
But…
“Isn’t that kind of useless?”
From what I remembered, Reading wasn’t very practical.
“I thought it was only useful for interpreting ancient grimoires…”
Of course, from my perspective, it wasn’t entirely bad.
Being able to decipher ancient grimoires that couldn’t be read through normal means was a significant advantage for someone like me, who enjoyed reading.
But in terms of achieving greatness as a mage… it wasn’t particularly helpful.
“Haha…”
Suddenly, Horizon let out a low chuckle.
“So that’s what you think. Well, that’s how the world sees it.”
“…What?”
“It’s true that most mages with the Reading aptitude have gone into fields related to deciphering grimoires. But… that’s not all there is to it.”
“What do you mean…?”
“The Reading spiritual root isn’t just for interpreting grimoires. It’s meant to read something much greater.”
“…Something greater?”
A thirst welled up inside me.
A thirst for knowledge I had never known.
“What exactly is it?”
“Everything.”
Horizon kept his smile.
“The fact that you sensed the terrorists’ spell activation was just the beginning. If you delve deeper into your own essence… the moment a magic formula is constructed, you’ll be able to read it entirely and understand exactly what spell your opponent is trying to cast.”
“…You mean I’ll be able to see spell formations?”
“No. You’ll be able to read even what cannot be seen. And that is only a step along the way.”
A crimson aura surged around Horizon.
His spiritual root, Diffusion, naturally emitted its energy.
That was how excited he was.
Was it the excitement of a teacher? The excitement of a mage? Or perhaps…
“You will become the Grand Mage who reads all of magic, Eriol Valencia.”
Leave a Reply to aborednerd Cancel reply