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Chapter: 27
Sabre, who had been holding my hand and trying to pour mana into me, suddenly widened his eyes as if he had noticed something off about my condition.
Just as the exposed pupils shimmered and he seemed about to say something—
“Woooow!”
Several voices of admiration burst out from beside us.
“Heh, this is way too easy.”
Rosine was holding out her palm proudly, displaying a small droplet of water for everyone to see.
Its shape was oddly limp rather than the neat form one would normally expect, but regardless, she had managed to create water.
“I thought all mages who entered the Mage Tower could do at least this much.”
Her blatant sneer at the others left no one able to respond.
‘Mages prove themselves with skill, after all.’
Rosine had succeeded faster than anyone else gathered here. On top of that, even Sabre was clapping, making it difficult for anyone to speak up.
“Excellent. You’ve already formed the framework of a mana circuit.”
“I’ve drawn magic circles at my estate before, you know. I didn’t realize the Mage Tower’s standards were so low that this would earn praise.”
“Then shall we make you do something else worthy of praise?”
“…What?”
Sabre, looking delighted beyond measure, pulled something out from his robes.
“Ta-da. The number one love-hate book among Magic Circle Division mages—You Too Can Become a Mage: The Great Encyclopedia of Basic Magic Circles. How about you draw the magic circle from the preface and pour mana into it?”
“…Right now?”
“If not now, then when?”
She clearly wanted everyone’s admiration, but she hadn’t expected things to go this far. Confusion flickered across her face.
“Creating water through a magic circle will make it prettier—and bigger, too.”
“I-I’m…”
‘She mocked the Mage Tower’s level right in front of an intermediate mage. Is she stupid?’
“I-I don’t think it’s fair if I’m the only one doing it.”
As she turned her head to escape the moment, our eyes met. As if she’d read my thoughts, her face crumpled sharply.
Then she pointed at me and shouted,
“I’ll do it if she does it too!”
“Hey, why drag someone innocent into this?”
“Don’t answer her, Ophelia. You don’t avoid shit because you’re scared—you avoid it because it’s filthy.”
At Luna and Josh’s words, Rosine’s face flushed red, then blue.
“Hm.”
But Sabre reacted differently.
Just look at that eager expression.
Knowing she was the daughter of the Mage Tower’s lord, he was clearly dying to see her abilities.
He had even noticed my mana circuit earlier.
“I was just thinking I needed an example to show why a properly formed mana circuit is important…”
He didn’t hesitate to naturally rope me into it.
“Heh, without a circuit, magic obviously won’t activate.”
Rosine, completely unaware of Sabre’s true intent, puffed up confidently.
“So, what will you do, Miss Ophelia?”
Everyone—including Sabre—waited for my answer.
‘He’s asking under the assumption that my mana circuit is more complete than Rosine’s, right?’
If so, it’d be better to play along and earn some goodwill.
‘And honestly… I kind of want to knock her arrogance down a peg.’
Since I felt no fondness toward her, the decision didn’t take long.
After reassuring Luna and Josh not to worry, I stepped forward with Sabre.
“You have more pride than you look like you do,” Rosine said smugly beside me.
I ignored her lightly and examined the magic circle Sabre showed us.
‘A water-droplet magic circle.’
“It’s not difficult. Draw this circle on the paper, then place your hand over it and pour mana in. Who wants to go first?”
As if it were obvious, Rosine stepped forward.
She quickly copied the circle onto the paper and placed her hand over it.
“Waa!”
The magic circle glowed, and a properly formed droplet—unlike her earlier strange creation—appeared before everyone.
“Oh? You do have some talent,” Sabre said, unable to hide his surprise.
Rosine herself seemed startled by the result, but she soon straightened and shot me a triumphant grin.
‘Does she really need to act like this toward someone she just met?’
Though I couldn’t perfectly control my mana, I resolved to produce a more stable result than hers.
Carefully, I traced the magic circle onto the white paper.
Once finished, I placed my hand over it. Focusing on pushing the energy flowing through my body into my palm, the circle began to glow.
‘Is it activating?’
Though faint, my heartbeat felt slightly faster.
I looked down, face flushed with anticipation—but after that, the circle showed no further reaction.
“Looks like without a mana circuit, it just glows and does nothing,” Rosine announced gleefully, seizing the chance to mock my failure.
‘It’s disappointing, but it can’t be helped.’
At least I’d felt the sensation of releasing mana outward. Satisfied with that, I lifted my hand.
“Huh?”
Sabre, staring at the magic circle I’d drawn, suddenly let out a startled sound.
“Wait—don’t tell me…”
Before he could finish—
Plop.
Something fell squarely onto the bridge of my nose.
“Huh?”
I wiped it away instinctively. Something cold touched my fingers.
“Water?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, another droplet fell.
Then another.
And when I looked up—
Whoooosh.
Water began pouring from the ceiling like a torrential downpour.
“W-What is this?!”
A horrified scream rang out nearby.
The magic circle beneath my hand was now blazing with intense light.
‘D-Don’t tell me… I did this?’
Panicking, unsure how to stop it, I looked around. Everyone screamed as the sudden indoor rainstorm drenched them, pulling robes over their heads or fleeing into the hallway.
I looked desperately to Sabre for help, but—
“Wow, you really can’t deny blood, huh!”
He was admiring something completely unrelated instead of fixing the situation.
‘Wait… my heart’s beating way too fast…’
I’d thought it was excitement, but something was clearly wrong.
‘I need—need help…’
My heart was racing frighteningly fast, while my strength steadily drained away.
As if the storm had spread, the hallway erupted into chaos as well.
“Aaaah!”
“What is this?!”
“Who did this?!”
Shouts rang out from every direction.
“Whoever it is, stop fooling around!”
‘I want to, too!’
My legs finally gave out, and I collapsed to the floor.
“Ophelia!”
“Rip the magic circle right now!”
I wanted to do as Josh and Luna said—but I couldn’t find the strength to stand.
‘Pelion.’
Without needing to think, his face surfaced in my mind—the only person who could help right now.
I didn’t want to interrupt him when he was busy, but—
“If anything dangerous happens, press it.”
I pressed down hard on the pendant of the magic tool necklace he’d given me.
“Josh, tear the magic circle—!”
Luna and Josh rushed to my side, but before they could act, the falling water abruptly stopped.
“What in the world is going on…?”
Through my blurring vision, a familiar watery light shimmered.
“Haaah.”
A deep sigh sounded, and a large hand gently rested atop my head.
“Leaving you alone for even a moment leads to trouble. Go to sleep for now.”
With those words, my consciousness cut off completely.
