"Here, you're going to have a Mad Doll throw a spell at you. It's a sort of 'targetting' test.

　The examiners told us so as the students, including me, were gathered in the schoolyard.

　A short distance away from us, multiple dolls made of mud were moving left and right.
　They seemed to be controlled by magic.

　However, from reading the built-in magic formula, it's apparently not a very high quality one.
　When you move a certain distance to the right, you move to the left ... and when you're done with that, you move to the right ... and so on ... it's like a doll that simply goes back and forth.

　It's a lousy thing, but this is the first time I've seen something that looks like a magic tool.


"Mad doll.........!　As expected of a magical academy in King's Landing.
I'm sure they're expensive, aren't they?
'Yeah. They say more than ten gold pieces in one piece is a load of crap.


　The students around him were talking in a whisper as they looked at the moving mud doll.

'Then I'll tell you a little more about the exam in detail. I'm going to have you guys stand at this line.

　I looked down at my feet and saw a single white line drawn.

''Don't leave this line and have it release Fire Spear, which is also the basic magic. Keep your eyes on the Mad Doll.

　Oh, I see.
　You want me to try to shoot a moving target with magic.
　Simple, but profound.

The Mad Titan...?
Can you cast a spell on a target that's moving around like that...?

　The surroundings are buzzing.

　Seeing this, the examiner slowed down and said

''Don't worry. It's a very good idea to be able to get a score for the test, even if you can't apply magic to the mud doll, depending on how fast you build your fire spear and how strong it is. That is to say, even if you can't hit the doll, you won't get a zero score, so use your strength to your heart's content.

　Hearing this, the candidates around me let out a breath of relief.

　Hmm.
　I don't care if you can't hit it, they say.

　But a wizard who can't hit a target of this level will have a hard time in the future.
　I can't think of any other option other than to 'guess' from the start.

''Then let's start with exam number one, please--''

　Thus began the target test.
　In turn, the candidates stood in front of the white line and released their magic.

'Gather round my hand, O flame. Turn into a spear and burn through the enemy.

　I think Cyril was also mumbling to himself, but what are those embarrassing words?

　Could it be ... chanting?

　No, it's the only way I can think of.
　It's a method that was used before the magical revolution I started.
　It was so old and I hadn't used it, I had forgotten it existed.

　The feeble spear of flame released from the examinee goes towards the Mad doll.
　But it seemed to have missed.

''That's right. If you're using chanting magic, you can't control it well.

　After all, chanting magic is a 'complete thing' in itself.
　It's no more applicable than building a magical formula from scratch.
　It was a nod to simply take the magic off to the back-and-forth mad doll.

'Then next!'

　One after another, the candidates released their magic.

''Gather round my hand, O flame. Turn into a spear and burn through the enemy!
"Gather round my hand, O flame. Become a spear that pierces the enemy and burns them!

　Pompon, one after another, magic is being released.

　But........it seems to be no good.
　The spears of fire fired by the examiners at the same time didn't hit the mad doll and landed on the ground.

''Next!　Exam number 50.
Yes!

　I heard a cute voice and a girl came out of the crowd.

　Whoa.
　That's.....................Lara?
　The girl I saved yesterday.

　Well, let's see how it goes.

Gather round my hand, flame. Become spears that pierce the enemy and burn.

　Just like everyone else, Lara chants a chanting magic.
　Hmm.........................Apparently, Lara's magic power was like red.

　Red? It's a magical color that excels in the magic of the attack system.
　Flames gathered in Lara's hand, and soon a spear of fire was formed that was much larger than the other candidates.

''Eh?''

　The person in question, Lara, rolls her eyes in surprise.

　As it is, the large flaming spear goes forward with a goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
　It couldn't hit the mud doll, but it landed on the ground nearby, causing an explosion with a loud sound.
　The lukewarm blast reached this point.

　As if everyone was surprised to see it.

What the hell!　That attack magic!
'It really was Fire Spear, wasn't it?　I couldn't hit the Mad Doll but if it's that strong it must be able to destroy the enemy.
You've done a lot of good work for an unfortunate magician.

　He looked at each other and mouthed it.

　It's a chanting magic, so I guess it couldn't be equipped with a tracking function, but its power is much different than the other candidates.

'Eh, eh?　What's going on?　I've never fired such a strong spell in my life, could it be the effect of this ring?　No, but ... it wasn't like this when I tried it out when I bought it...

　Lara looked puzzled and looked at the ring on the finger of her right hand.
　Come to think of it, I've improved a defective ring for you.

　But.

'Lara can still be a good wizard.

　The quality of the magic is good.
　It's only 200%. It's not much of an effect.
　

''Then........next!　Exam number 99!

　My turn.
　I take a step forward and look at the Mad Doll.

"Kurt, good luck.

　I look back and see Lara waving at me.
　As she does so, everyone is looking at Lara and me in turn.

''........This is so embarrassing.

　Scratching my head.
　Well, it doesn't feel so bad.

　Okay. I can't show you how uncool it is.

　While analyzing the Mad Doll, I put together a magical formula.
　There were a few guys who were able to get their magic applied to the doll, but none of them were able to break it.
　So it's hard to figure out what kind of strength it has.......but let's say it's given [Strength + 1000%].
　There are ten moving Mad Dolls.

　...Analysis completed.

'Is this enough?'

　I'm going to make up ten fire spears.
　Of course, I've also added a tracking function so that I don't miss.
　Firing them all at once, the ten spears of fire headed towards the Mad Doll in a straight line.

　Every single one of them hit.
　The Mad Dolls exploded, and they were connected in a chain of events.

''Whoa!''
What happened?

　The screams of the students taking the exams echoed in the schoolyard.
　And by the time the gray smoke subsided........


''Ma, all the Mad Dolls are broken!
And Fire Spear seemed to be heading towards the doll by himself, but...?
''And that yellow magic power.......defective magic power?　No, you're looking at it wrong. I've never heard of a faulty magic power being able to do that.


　Of course. I've added a tracking function.

　But it seems that the Mad Doll was made of a fragile material.
　I didn't know this level of magic could destroy them all.

This is the first time I've ever seen a Mad Doll crumble!
''Yeah, I'm with you. I've heard one theory that it's as durable as the armor made in Orihalcon...?

　Orihalcon?
　Ah, that fragile metal.
　A thousand years ago, I had found a metal far stronger than that, so I didn't expect it to be made of such a fragile material.

'Kurt, it's still amazing!

　Lara runs up to me and squeezes my hands together.

'Hahaha all my mad dolls are broken. What am I going to do with the test.......I mean, I should just hit one of them.......why do you hit them all?

　Meanwhile, the examiner, whose glasses were off, looked at the broken Mad Doll and was at a loss for words.
　I felt sorry for him, so I later magically fixed the Mad Doll for him.