Chapter 80: You Might as Well Change Your Name to Demon Proud Sky!

Ten minutes earlier

“Mayuna, are you really going to take this test?” Alicia lay draped across Mayuna’s shoulder; though describing a staff as lying down seems odd, she managed to convey the sentiment perfectly with her gestures. The amethyst affixed near Mayuna’s ear whispered softly to her.

“Why not?”

“Um, are you here to beat up the children?” Alicia asked, thoroughly perplexed. With Mayuna’s abilities, what could she possibly learn here? What could these teachers teach her, when the goddess of magic could dismantle this venerable academy with a flick of her wrist? Wasn’t this just a waste of time?

“I simply want to see how the system’s teaching differs from the teachers’ guidance. Experiencing the feeling of going to school seems interesting, don’t you think? School is something Ruby looks forward to—I won’t let him down.”

“That last part is the real reason, isn’t it? What’s so good about that human?” As soon as Ruby was mentioned, Miss Staff grew unhappy. Mayuna’s expression from moments before only intensified Alicia’s irritation, her voice rising with jealousy.

The commotion behind them drew the attention of the girls at the front. They turned to see who was causing such a ruckus during the admissions test—a solemn occasion where even a qualified magical aptitude could be dismissed if the examiner found one’s character lacking.

But when the girls saw Mayuna, they were terrified. She was beautiful, standing there like a painting, but her appearance resembled the demon described by the church. Despite Mayuna’s friendly smile, the girls screamed, making the mage girl want to simply suck all the air from around them—voices travel through air, a useful fact Ruby had once explained.

The disturbance eventually brought the Academy’s Dean, a white-haired elder leaning heavily on his cane. Mayuna noted how walking seemed a struggle for him.

“Are you prejudiced against me because of the legend?” Mayuna asked with a smile. Ruby had once suggested she dye her hair to be less conspicuous, but the goddess of magic refused to pretend—she would enter as her true self. She could immediately discern the Dean’s power: a grand magus, just a step away from becoming a saint of magic. Serving as Dean was fitting for him.

“No, Rhine Academy welcomes anyone. Anyone with talent is our student.” The Dean was startled at first by Mayuna’s appearance, but as a learned man, he would not be frightened by such trivialities. After probing her magical aura and finding her to be of the mage’s rank, he no longer paid her much mind, instead turning to calm the terrified girls.

The magical aptitude test brought both joy and sorrow. The girls knew Rhine Academy’s standards were strict and had worked hard for courage to apply, but rules were rules: of the ten-odd girls before Mayuna, only two passed. The others either wept and ran home or retreated silently to ponder the difference between themselves and the others.

“Mayuna, age twenty. You may begin.” The examiner was the Dean himself. Though Mayuna appeared harmless, he wanted to be cautious and personally oversee her test. He knew that, given her appearance, she might face exclusion from others, so he could step in to explain, offering her what little support he could.

The magical aptitude test was a broad assessment: magical level, mental strength, elemental affinity, and other essentials for spellcasting. The test site was open-air, with no cover, ensuring fairness and preventing accusations of cheating.

There were also thorough anti-cheating measures. Applicants were often wealthy, and Mayuna sensed magical arrays beneath her feet, the examiner’s chair, the table holding the crystal orb, and so forth. Her first act was to quietly disable them.

She couldn’t help it! She didn’t want to cheat, but she was desperate. Others cheat to get higher scores; she cheats to lower hers. She worked hard to suppress her level, and to avoid detection by the magical arrays, she sabotaged them—now she could safely cheat. Yes.

“Place your hand on it and channel your magic.” Seeing Mayuna hesitate, the Dean thought she might not know what to do, pointing to the crystal orb. Mayuna nodded and placed her hand atop it. The instant her magic touched the orb, it flashed with a blinding white light, almost bursting. Luckily, Mayuna quickly controlled her output, and to the onlookers, the orb merely glowed faintly before dimming.

“Mage level.” The Dean rubbed his eyes. For a moment, he thought he saw a flash, but soon he dismissed it as his old eyes playing tricks. The orb’s feedback matched his own perception. At her age, reaching mage rank was genius among commoners, but here it was mediocre. If she failed the other sections, Mayuna would be cut.

“Now channel your mental energy and tell me how many symbols you see inside.” The Dean set aside the orb and placed a hexagonal crystal before Mayuna. Mental energy is like a mage’s third eye, the vital bridge to the elements. Those with strong mental power can see the symbols stored within the crystal.

“Huh, one hundred and twenty-nine?” Mayuna instantly counted the symbols and blurted out the number.

“What did you say? How many did you see!?” The Dean shot upright, banging the table. He’d made the crystal himself; publicly, it held one hundred symbols, the remaining twenty-nine were for functionality. Mayuna had counted every symbol, even those hidden ones. If she’d guessed randomly, the coincidence would be beyond belief.

“Um, how many did I see?” Poor Mayuna realized her mistake. She’d never done this kind of test and tried to probe how many would be considered appropriate.

“I’m asking you!” the Dean snapped.

“Seventy? No, sixty? Is that too many?” Mayuna chose a middle number, but the old mage’s face was still grim, so she kept reducing her answer.

“How should I know if it’s too many!” The Dean was about to have a stroke. He felt like Mayuna was toying with him; in all the years of this exam, no one ever asked how many they should have seen!

“Fifty, then. I saw fifty.”

“Draw them.” This test wasn’t judged merely by what one claimed to see; the symbols had to be precisely drawn on magic paper and submitted, testing control as well. If the drawings were inaccurate, the candidate failed.

“Next test: elemental affinity. Step into this magic circle.” The Dean glanced at Mayuna’s symbols, found them neatly drawn, and put them away. She was a promising candidate. He then pointed to a nearby magic circle.

“Hm, this array…” Mayuna sensed the difference in elemental concentration as soon as she entered—it was an array designed to attract elements. Before she could figure out how to cheat this time, she saw a dreadful sight: the elements eagerly rushed to her, swirling around her in joyous dance.

As said before, the air of this world is filled with elemental magic. Mages communicate with these to convert their inner magic into various spells. The speed and ease of communicating with elements is crucial for casting.

Ordinary eyes cannot see the elements, but within the magic circle, they gathered, forming clusters of colored lights that danced around Mayuna, making her seem like a goddess in a field of flowers.

“This—this is an elemental flood! Is she an elemental affinity talent?” The teacher who had been conducting tests gasped in awe. Such a high-level talent appeared only once in a century.

“Nonsense! You call that elemental affinity? Look closely! The elements aren’t just happy—they’re submitting to her. I’ve never seen it myself, but that could be the legendary advanced talent: Elemental Submission!” The Dean slapped the teacher’s head for his ignorance.

Elemental Submission was a legendary talent, akin to the concept of the goddess of magic: a fanciful notion. Yet bards spread tales of it far and wide, and with rumors, it wasn’t so hard to accept.

“You must be joking. Elemental affinity alone is a guaranteed step toward sainthood. But Elemental Submission…”

“Contact the Headmaster immediately.” The Dean knew things had escalated beyond his control and ordered the teacher to act.

Mayuna overheard their conversation, filled with frustration. All her plotting had been undone by these silly, eager elements. Maybe she should just wipe their memories, or let Ruby handle it physically.

Imagine the elements as adorable children.

Those without talent beg: “Please help me, Elemental Lord!”
Those with some talent coax: “Help me and I’ll give you candy later.”
But those with the cheat of elemental affinity don’t need to communicate—the elements line up on their own at a mere thought.

Though it’s late to mention, Mayuna was indeed born with elemental affinity, but after advancing to goddess of magic, she almost forgot about it—every spell came as naturally as breathing, no need for communication.

“Mayuna, what are you up to now?” Ruby finally arrived at Mayuna’s side. The crowd pointed and whispered, and he was ready to pay damages if necessary. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

“Just a little accident, but I’ll handle it.” Mayuna whispered to Ruby, reassuring him she wasn’t causing trouble—at least, not yet.

News that a student with suspected Elemental Submission talent had appeared spread quickly, and Headmaster Harvey Terry soon arrived. He glanced at Ruby, then at Mayuna, uncertain which was the student.

“You’re the Headmaster, I presume? We need to talk.”

“Follow me,” Harvey nodded, leading Mayuna and Ruby to his office at the top of the teaching building.

“Ruby, wait here.” Mayuna pushed Ruby’s chest, keeping him from entering. With him present, she couldn’t get too extreme, so she made sure he wouldn’t see.

“And you are?” Seated, Harvey felt uneasy—not threatened by Mayuna’s appearance, but by something indefinable, like a shadow on his heart. Mayuna, meanwhile, sat opposite him, openly appraising the office. He decided to speak first.

“Tell me, does this Academy require an entry level for students?”

“No. Anyone with talent is welcome—even apprentice magicians.” Harvey shook his head. If her talent was genuine, her rank was irrelevant.

“You may not believe it, but I am a goddess of magic.” Mayuna wondered what expression to use as she said this. Should she smile, or strike a solemn pose? It all seemed silly, so she spoke with a blank face.

“If you keep this up, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

“Fine, let me put it another way. You, sir, are a half-saint, aren’t you?” Mayuna didn’t expect Harvey to believe her immediately, so she bluntly revealed his greatest secret.

“You—!”

“Yes, your rich foundation let you step halfway into sainthood, but until you restore your magical origin, you’ll never truly become a saint. That’s also why you maintain this appearance.” Mayuna raised a finger, motioning him to stay calm, and explained his failure to reach sainthood. Typically, saints of magic retain their youthful looks; no one wants to be an old man gazing at their wrinkled reflection, after all.

“Who are you really—”

“My name is Mayuna, disciple of Yura the Thief Saint.”

“You’re the disciple of that damned thief?!” Mayuna thought that revealing her identity would earn his trust, but Headmaster Harvey only grew more agitated—so much so, it seemed he might leap across the desk and tear her apart.

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PS: Please collect and recommend! (Too lazy to split chapters, so here’s one.)
PS: It feels like I’m writing a classic overpowered protagonist school entry from ten years ago—so embarrassing (/▽＼). But if I say the protagonist is Ruby, nobody believes me!
PS: Thanks to Mr. Mantou for the 1500 reward; SL, Icarus Cute for 1000, Fairy’s Song for 600, White Rock VS Black Rock, Global Cold Weather, and Last Fantasyland for 100 each.