Elydes
Chapter 326: Cubes Made Easy

Chapter 326 - Cubes Made Easy

Kai blew the steam rising from his ceramic mug. The tawny tea smelled like cinnamon and candied apple, sweet and nostalgic. He couldn’t ask for better on a cold winter day, doubly so if served with fresh butter biscuits. Each bite made a satisfying crunch before melting on his tongue.

Raelion sure isn’t stingy on comforts.

Hundreds of candidates gathered in the massive hall—the arrays woven through the mosaic of a verdant forest held up the ceiling in defiance of gravity.

Kai sipped his tea away from the crowd. Few applicants approached the refreshment, too prideful or nervous to eat.

Outside the gothic windows, clouds choked the last rays of daylight. The hall overlooked a quartz square with a brass statue in the center. The monolithic warrior gazed away in a heroic pose, his hands resting on a three-meter greatsword.

That must be brass. It can’t be gold…

There were few passersby around Nerethi’s central district, though it might be for the late hour. The zeppelin had deposited them on the upper floor of the academy’s estate without a chance to snoop outside.

I’ll visit after the test…

The journey across the Republic had stoked his curiosity about the provincial capitals. If he saw how Nerethi’s elites lived, he might finally grasp the scale of their wealth and power.

Kai walked by the tables set beneath the windows. Compared to the earlier feast, the refreshment looked meager: just three dozen kinds of salty and sweet treats to match an equal selection of beverages.

I did pay ten gold for this test.

Determined to get his money’s worth, he stopped beside Rain. “Found anything good?”

“A few.” The siren took a nibble of a cookie with neon-blue berries, adding it to the others on his porcelain plate. “Do you think Flynn would like these too? I could save some for him.”

Kai eyed the brightly colouredsweets. “I’m sure they have them at the testing grounds for Martial Studies. He’s probably enjoying them right now.”

“Yeah… you’re right.” Rain nodded to himself, swallowing the cookie in three nervous bites.

“He’ll be fine.” Kai peered at his plate for a distraction. “What’s your favorite? I’ve not tried any of those.”

Rain picked an almond tart crusted with caramel. “This one is salty and sweet…”

The idle chat continued till a clap silenced the hall.

“Candidates, gather up.” Professor Thornwyn’s voice echoed through the wide open space. Her high cheekbones and jaw were set in stoic disgruntlement, slight enough that Kai might be imagining it.

Three other examiners stood behind her on the elevated podium, giving her a wide berth. She regarded the crowd of five hundred and demanded their attention with a steady green gaze and firm posture.

When every eye turned to her, she began her speech. “We can proceed with the mandatory testing for Mana Studies. The assessment will be structured into three trials to measure your fundamental abilities with mana. To enroll at Raelion, you must reach minimum proficiency in each test…”

Her words hushed the murmurs. The explanation flew with dry efficiency: instructions for the tests, point distribution, minimum thresholds and credits.

Valela had mentioned the importance of those, though Kai was unclear about the exact benefits.

The more the better…? Can’t go wrong with that.

The rewards sharply decreased from hundreds of credits for the highest score to just twenty for the hundredth. While Winter Intake was considered less competitive, there were plenty of Yellow ★★ applicants who failed to enroll in the Fall.

I’ll try for the top twenty or thirty.

“If everything’s clear, we can proceed with the first test,” Professor Thornwyn surveyed the quiet room, her face softened by the shadow of approval. “Now…”

Glowing lines spread over the marble flooring, forming a grid over the large hall. The squares ran in columns of two, with short corridors in between. Each spot was large enough for a person to comfortably stand and not much else.

“Position yourselves in a square and wait for the assistant examiners to distribute the sealed orbs. I better not see any scuffles. There is enough space for everybody.” Seeing their stunned gazes, she cleared her throat. “Now, please. We’re on a schedule. I’m sure we’d all like to retire at a decent hour.”

Her words turned the dazed hush into a shuffle of feet.

Kai stepped into the closest square beside the refreshment tables. The wards didn’t impair his sight or hearing, though they restricted his ability to sense mana outside their strict boundaries.

Beside him, Rain shared an encouraging look. His mouth moved, his words blocked by the enchantments.

No whispering with each other.

He responded with a smile. The nature of the wards made it impossible to study them with Mana Observer—not without intrusive prodding. And considering they were meant to prevent cheating, it might not be wise to try cracking them and triggering an alarm.

I should wait till we finish.

Half the candidates contended for the spots closest to the podium, while the rest spread to the corners of the hall.

A girl in a flowing white dress stopped beside his square, hair braided with golden threads. She tapped her sandal expectantly, her pretentious posture screaming patrician.

Does she really think I’ll move?

Kai looked at the examiners’ podium, feigning ignorance.

With a huff, the girl followed his gaze to Professor Thornwyn and left murmuring. "Ignorant bumpkins…”

City people sure are strange.

After a brief scuffle and two candidates getting escorted away, the rest found their place. A pair of assistant examiners walked between each row to distribute the test material from an enchanted bag.

Kai took the glass sphere, his attention captured by the intersecting ring of runes. He hadn't known what to expect when they called it a sealed orb, but this…

It’s a puzzle box. Well, a puzzle ball…

He had spent months on Virya’s cube, losing his mind to solve the forty-two layers; recently, he had also built a simplified version for his little brother, Kien. He couldn’t mistake it, regardless of the shape. His fingers ran over grooves in the cold glass, looking for seams or movable parts to pry.

Nothing.

Is it a single block? Isn’t that a bit simple…

Rearranging the runes drastically increased the challenge, but maybe he expected too much from an entrance exam. And he had yet to check it with Mana Observer.

We might just have minutes to solve it.

From the scrambled patterns and missing connections, he’d have to use his mana to link the enchantments.

“Now,” Professor Thornwyn said. “If everyone has received a sealed orb, we may proceed. This test will measure your logic and deduction capabilities, together with your Mana Manipulation. I warn you that any attempt at cheating won’t be tolerated. You may call the assistants once if you have an important question.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Her slender arm rose to quiet the invisible chatter. “For anyone worried, I assure you that knowing runes isn’t necessary to pass this test. You’ll have an hour to unseal the orb. Each one has seven parts. And you must solve at least the first to continue.” She gazed at the orderly columns of candidates, ignoring the few waving in protest. “Time starts now. You may use your skills.”

A silver hourglass materialized above them. Aside from the translucent appearance, every detail was indistinguishable from a real object, down to the falling grains of sand.

Is that Light Magic? How— damn, later.

Kai stopped gawking and studied the puzzle ball with Runic Scholar and Mana Analyst. Beneath the scripts engraved on the surface, Mana Observer revealed a deeper set of runes. Everything connected to a cloaked core at the center—the hidden mechanism of the puzzle.

Alas, he wasn’t supposed to interact with that.

Two layers with three hundred forty-three runes… Only ninety-eight unique ones… probably seven combinations…

Deducing the rules of the puzzle was part of the test. His mind tried to assemble the patterns into a coherent enchantment, following years of habit, but this wasn't a test of enchanting.

He had to look at it like an encrypted message.

Runes instead of letters.

It wasn’t the first code he cracked. He quickly spotted several repeating patterns and runes with parallel flickering: the pieces he must assemble.

Uh… it can’t be that easy, can it?

Kai sent his mana into the transparent glass. Finding little resistance, he wove a filament through forty-nine runes, careful to touch no others.

Once he linked the last into a smooth flow, the glass orb hummed and glowed a bright red.

That should be good, right?

Professor Thornwyn had mentioned something about colors. And if the glass didn’t shatter, he must be doing it right.

Okay, next…

The glimmering red runes highlighted the new path forward.

Kai closed his eyes to focus on his skills. Shielded from sound and people, the glass sphere became his world. The patterns looked glaringly obvious. Groups of mirrored runes flickered like the notes of a song in a symmetrical distribution.

Once he cracked the code, it took seconds to make the required connections, splitting his mind to work faster. Mana Weaving excelled at this type of delicate work.

The glass sphere hummed, turning from red to vivid orange—the structure of the puzzle was made apparent.

Yellow and green lights followed, more a chore than a challenge. The static configuration of runes shrank the possible solutions with each color, even if some components were repurposed.

Kai double-checked the orb for mistakes. Everything seemed right. He hadn’t misinterpreted or broken the puzzle.

Who even designed it? I get they had to build a wagonload of them, but still… Perhaps I shouldn’t compare them to Virya’s cube…

All his excitement to solve a new puzzle box had evaporated. The most revolutionary part of this test was the round surface rather than a square.

At blue and indigo, the solutions became increasingly long, as if a series of tedious steps could make up for the lacking creativity.

The only hurdle was threading his mana through the sphere. Any mistake reset his progress, meaning he had to get it right on the first try. Another obvious solution. It did push his ability to manipulate mana, so that wasn’t a complete waste.

Almost there…

The last color grabbed back his attention. He wove an inverted radial pattern through over three hundred runes and aligned fourteen components from previous solutions.

…and done.

Kai smiled at the violet glow emanating from the orb. Every rune had been connected. He couldn’t see any other solution—the puzzle was done.

It wasn’t too bad.

He couldn’t say how long it had passed. Stretching his stiff neck and back, he glanced at the other candidates. No other orbs glowed. A spike of panic covered his back in cold sweat before he realized the wards on the ground must be responsible.

No cheating and no hints.

Had other people finished?

There were hundreds of them. A few applicants scoured the ceiling and floor for solutions, but most were intent on their orbs. Beside him, Rain also studied his puzzle sphere, too focused to pay him attention.

Has he not finished either?

His chest swelled with pride, and Kai tried to contain his grin. It might be that Rain got stuck, or it might be that he got distracted by the craftsmanship.

And I have the perfect skills for this test. I was lucky. Hmm… Guess that’s still on me?

Kai switched his weight between his legs, trapped in the square of ground. Professor Thornwyn hadn’t said what he should do when he finished, but she warned not to leave the grid till the test concluded.

I mean, I am done?

Seeing an assistant examiner walk by, Kai swallowed his hesitation and raised his arm with the orb. “Excuse me! I have a question. What do I do if I’m done with the test?”

He never liked speaking with strangers, but practice made perfect. He had to get over it eventually.

The tall young woman halted, looking for the one speaking.

“Here,” Kai said with a polite smile and waited for the assistant to make her way to his patch.

She leaned into his square to speak past the wards, her face a mask of plain courtesy. “What is it? Do you wish to leave?”

“No, I’m done with the puzzle.” Kai showed her the violet sphere. “I unsealed all the colors. There isn’t anything else, right?”

The upperclassman blinked, her lips soundlessly parted. “How did you—” Her gaze flitted between the orb and him, examining both with her Mana Sense. Finally, she took his glass puzzle. “I must ask a professor. Come with me.”

For what?

“I can leave the square?” Kai glanced at the lines crossing the marble floor.

“Yes.” She schooled her expression into a haughty scowl. “Stay close and don’t speak with the other candidates.”

Alright…

Kai crossed the boundaries, almost expecting to get zapped. Nothing happened. He hurried to keep pace behind the assistant, just then remembering the massive hourglass that floated above them.

Craning his neck to measure the grains in the translucent projection.

About halfway through? I’m pretty sure she said one hour…

Shouldn’t the course-specific test be harder than this?

The quick strides of the assistant gave him little time to ponder. She led him through the columns of candidates to the podium at the end of the hall.

“Wait here and don’t move.” She exchanged words with a colleague, discussing briefly and showing the orb. They threw him some not-so-subtle glances before disappearing past a white lacquered door.

I should have waited in my square…

Kai scratched his brow. His wait didn’t last long.

Professor Thornwyn entered the hall, the orb in her pale hand. Her eyes opened a fraction wider upon seeing him. “It’s you.”

“Hi, professor.” Kai smiled—the woman seemed reasonable enough.

She squared him up, her voice dry. “You unsealed this orb in thirty minutes?”

Huh? Do they think I cheated?

Taking it as a compliment, Kai felt his grin grow wider. “I did indeed. Probably less than that. Did I make a mistake?”

Professor Thornwyn met his beaming expression with flat composure. “Not exactly.” She took out an identical glass sphere from thin air. “Can you solve this for me and explain your thought process?”

Again?

“Do I get bonus points for it?” Kai put forth his most innocent look. Still sensing a coming No, he added, “I’ll be more tired for the next tests if I must use my skills.”

The steely gaze regarding him softened a hint. “I guess a reward is due if you manage it.”

“How much?”

“One point. If everything is correct.”

“That’s not much… Can’t you do five?”

“Two.”

“Three?”

“We’re not haggling. Two.”

Alright. I’ll take it.

Not like he had anything better to do.

Kai accepted the clear glass orb, confirming the runes were identical to the one he had already solved. “So… once you analyze the runes configuration, it’s pretty clear…”

Aside from some clarifying questions, Professor Thorwyn observed the process in silence. It took him ten minutes to thread his mana through the glass, slowed by his explanations.

Cycling through the colors, the indigo glow turned to violet at last.

“And this is it.” Kai offered her the second violet orb. “The solutions were a bit repetitive. It wasn’t very hard.”

The professor studied him with inscrutable green eyes. “Delicate work under pressure and time constraints isn’t easy for norm— most candidates. The tiniest mistake forces you to start from the beginning, straining your ability to shape mana.”

How else could it be?

He nodded, though he still didn’t get it. “So… do I get three points?”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fine. Three points. You may return to your square.” The silver hourglass was almost empty. “The next test will begin shortly.”

“Will it be easy like this one?” Kai fished for information with a cheeky smile.

Professor Thornwyn looked about to sigh, but still answered. “It will be challenging in different ways. You’ll be in teams of two. The highest scores pick their companions first.”

“I see. Thank you. I’ve got someone in mind.” Kai performed a shallow bow before leaving.

Being Lucky was better than he remembered.