Adopting Disaster

Yuria, who had learned a lot through Zekeheil, was taught that in a duel between mages, one must constantly move.

Because if someone succeeds in casting, they have no choice but to take it without flinching.

But Dolores didn't move a single centimeter from her spot.

Even without any vanguard soldiers to block the attack in front of her, she held her ground.

She stood firm as if a giant tree had rooted itself, without a trace of instability.

Yuria thought that the World Tree wasn't that big when she was young.

From afar, it always looked small, so she thought she could wrap her arms around it.

But when she approached it directly, she was taken aback by its size and circumference.

She could feel that fresh shock as she watched Dolores.

'That's the fight of a genius.'

Why Zekeheil referred to her as a genius.

Why Anton cherished her as his favorite student.

Yuria couldn't help but watch her fight in awe.

"My daughter, who do you think will win between the Tower Master and the graduates? Doesn't it look evenly matched?"

There was a trap in Zekeheil's question.

But Yuria, who had been watching all along, could easily jump over that trap.

"The Tower Master of Wallinis clearly at an advantage. If I'm right, she'll definitely win without even attacking."

"Indeed, my daughter."

Zekeheil burst into a hearty laugh, pleased.

It seemed like she wasn't attacking at all, but Dolores' attack was already underway.

Coldness.

The terrible coldness that penetrated their skin despite wearing clothes was the attack that nobody had noticed.

The coldness burrowed into their bodies, slowly freezing them to death.

It may seem cruel, but it was the best way to make the graduates acknowledge her.

The 30 graduates had to defeat her within the time limit before the coldness enveloped their bodies.

However, the gap between them was as wide as the sky and the earth.

In the end, they couldn't stop the flowing coldness, their bodies became numb, and their thoughts were paralyzed.

Five minutes.

The duel that lasted five minutes ended in Dolores' overwhelming victory.

All the graduates could not withstand the coldness and collapsed.

As she withdrew her blue eyes filled with magic power and the coldness she emitted, she respectfully bowed to the fallen students.

Applause burst from the audience.

No one could grasp Dolores' fight in a single glance.

Not being able to grasp it meant that she was a highly skilled mage.

Although they couldn't understand what had happened, it was certain that her overwhelming victory was something to marvel at and admire.

For the first time that day, Yuria gave a sincere applause to someone.

***

The battle between the Tower Master and the graduates had come to an end.

Although they all collapsed due to the cold, their injuries were minor enough that they would recover after about an hour of rest.

As a result, the tower secured 30 excellent mages.

It couldn't help but be a bitter situation for the other mages.

"This year's top students are all taken."

Grumbling sounds could be heard.

Since Reed couldn't outright say "Isn't it amazing?", he just smiled and replied like this.

"As you can see, they are quite arrogant, aren't they? It will take a long time to correct their habits."

However, his words were not well received.

In the world of mages, skill comes before character.

Everyone hurriedly began searching for any worthy individuals among the remaining mages, and Dolores, who had been checking their condition from below, came up.

Rosaria greeted Dolores with a beaming smile.

"Unni, you were amazing!"

"Really? Do you think you know what magic I used?"

"Yeah! Thousand Ice Needles, and... Iceberg!"

"Do you want to try it too, Rosaria?"

"Yeah!"

"Then you have to listen well to your sister and work hard on your homework, right?"

"I don't like homework..."

Rosaria frowned.

Seeing her, Dolores smiled and raised her head to look up at Reed.

What she did was check if there was anyone around.

After confirming that only the three of them were left, she asked softly.

"How was it?"

"It was amazing. But if you suppress them like that, the students might get the wrong idea."

"I thought I was pointing out one by one the reasons why they couldn't be recognized by the teacher... Did I seem too arrogant?"

It was a fighting style that was polite if it was polite, and cruel if it was cruel.

"They didn't seem to hold a grudge, did they?"

"Would they? They may have high pride, but they're not resentful. They all accepted the result and said they wanted to come to the tower as mages."

One first-place student is better than ten 100th-place students.

Moreover, everyone watched the fight, so it was excellent publicity for the students who were wavering in their path.

As a result, some of the graduates lingered around Dolores.

It felt like fans chasing after an idol.

The talent competition between the workshops and the tower was practically a victory for the tower.

***

After the graduation ceremony, the students of Escolleia all returned home.

Before officially being assigned, they focused on going back to their hometowns or relieving the fatigue they had accumulated while being trapped at school.

The dispatched mages had nothing to do until tomorrow.

The staff began cleaning up the seats left by the graduates and, at the same time, preparing for the entrance exams for the new students.

Anton Eclipsys, who had not shown his face at the graduation ceremony, approached with a hearty laugh.

His face looked as bright as if flowers had bloomed.

And, as always, he showed his favoritism towards Dolores.

"My dear Dolly, I heard you disciplined those rebellious children for your teacher. I'm very grateful."

"Master, please refrain from using such a nickname..."

"What's the problem! I'm just calling my disciple as I used to."

Dolly.

At the surprise of that nickname, all the mages turned their heads laughing.

Reed was no exception.

Dolores, who had been maintaining a poker face, blushed with embarrassment.

"Hehe, so were you satisfied with this year's students?"

"Contrary to my concerns, they were excellent students. Thanks to them, our workshop owes the deanonce more."

"I also owe a great debt to the dean in the Merchant Union, so I plan to send a gift soon."

In fact, the mages of the tower had the most fun, but to maintain a friendly relationship, they had no choice but to exchange pleasantries with a smile.

"Well, now that the graduates are gone and it's time to welcome the new students... shouldn't we try that?"

Anton subtly glanced down.

There, Yuria and Rosaria, the two little girls, were standing.

The two genius girls known to the world.

"How about giving them a test since we brought them here?"

Zekeheil and Reed knew this would happen and had been waiting.

The second nerve battle between the workshop and the tower.

The Church and the Merchant Union enjoyed the situation, as they could enjoy popcorn regardless of who won.

Yuria had already heard about coming to Escolleia and was well-prepared, so she had a confident expression.

Only Rosaria couldn't grasp what was going on in this situation.

They moved to a lecture hall used for written exams and sat Rosaria and Yuria down.

It was only when Rosaria saw the word 'test' written on the blackboard that she understood the situation.

"Is it a test?"

"Yeah."

"Will you give me candy if I do well?"

"Even if you don't do well, I'll buy you one. Just try your best with what you know, okay?"

"Yeah!"

Reed didn't want to stress her out unnecessarily and was grateful that she was taking the test.

"There are a total of 30 questions, and the time limit is one hour."

The assistant briefly explained and handed out pens and papers to the two of them.

Meanwhile, the mages who were not taking the test looked at the exam papers they were solving from outside.

Overall, the questions were difficult for ordinary people but easy for the Tower Masters.

"Silence Tower Master."

"Yes."

As he raised his head, Zekeheil with red hair showed a rotten smile.

"My daughter is not to be underestimated."

'It was a brag about his daughter.'

Reed glared at him as if he couldn't lose and opened his mouth.

"My daughter is..."

Reed's mouth fell open.

Perhaps, it was certain that she was sleeping in the exam room.

She must be dozing off, clutching her pen and looking at the test paper, affected by a sleep spell.

"...second to none."

He replied, leaving out the words "in cuteness."