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 coloured sweets. “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.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

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.