Almark – Northern Sword, Southern Wand

When his name was called, Almark was still in a state of confusion.

Almark stood up nervously and lowered his head to the teacher who came to call him, before heading to a magic practice hall away.

He envies me.

Leila and Wallis must be jealous of me.

What, what is it?

I don't know what Deg meant.

If we knew what it was, we might be able to hint at this exam... what was Deg trying to say?

So, Almark finally realized that even though Deg knew nothing about the exam, he probably didn't have any hints or anything.

And thoughts come back to square one.

We have to do it.

In the meantime, we have no choice but to challenge the issues raised in the crash scene.

I don't know if I can do it, but I try.

I will not admit losing from the beginning.

While thinking, Almark reached the entrance to the magic practice hall.

All right.

Take a big breath.

When I opened the entrance door, Ilumis stood alone, as if it were a regular lesson.

This is Al Mark.

Almark raised his voice consciously.

Thank you very much.

Ilumis nodded as small as she could tell by looking at Almark.

"You're the last of two pairs. Let's get started."

And Ilmis himself brought a stone the size of his palm from the corner. It is the same size stone that is often used for practice in stone cutting classes.

Ilmis said to put it on the floor in front of Almark.

"Show me what you did in class."

……

Almark waited for Illmis's next words. But silence. Ilmis doesn't seem to want to say anything anymore.

Almark stared at the stone in front of him and solidified.

Outcomes in class.

Show me what you've done.

... no, nothing like that.

In the magic practice class, I've only meditated since that big flame of failure.

Sure, I decided to take a peek at my other classmates.

However, I have never learned magic like stones.

But...

Almark thought.

But we have to do it.

Prepare yourself.

It's a real bump, but it's better than finishing without doing anything.

What are we gonna do with this stone? What am I supposed to do?

Illmis didn't say anything specific.

The first thing that came to mind in Almark's head was Deg, who was with him just now.

Deg would surely float this stone without making it. Floating magic is his specialty.

Next, I think of Wallis in the first stone class.

Wallis would cut out a beautiful geometry on this stone.

What about Wendy?

Wendy can do anything, but maybe she can use the change technique she just learned to turn this stone into a beautiful jewel or a live rabbit.

Where's Nelson? What happened to Norish? I wonder what kind of answers they gave after they had finished this exam and were on their way back to the dorm.

Their good magic keeps coming up.

Ah, I've seen their magic for a long time in the last few months, and now Almark realizes.

Dr. Ilmis is not the only one. They were all my teachers. [M]

When I think about it, Almark remembers it.

There's only one magic I've learned.

"Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Feel the magic in your body. Hold the image of gathering magic to the tip of the wand. And while exhaling sharply, I imagined magic piercing through the back of the stone and shook my wand...."

In the first class, the voice of torque comes back to life.

Yes, indeed, at that time, Torque taught me how to carve stones.

I couldn't do it at all. None of the flakes came off from the stone.

But now what?

I have meditated every day, every day, every day. I've been practicing my magic. Now, will I break the stone too? [M]

Is it possible to produce "results"?

Illmis stares at Almark in silence.

Gokuri.

Almark swallows his spit.

Stone carving technique.

Let's try it.

No, I'll try. Prepare yourself, Almark.

... do it.