Seventy Seventh Seven-Chapter 52: Seven’s Absent

"That should be enough."

Seven whispered as he stared at Lythian's body he dragged outside the village gate.

Step.

He stepped back inside the gate, and the eerie green glow of the torch slowly darkened. It flickered, twisted, and then dimmed into near nothingness.

Outside, Lythian's severed lower half writhed. Flesh and bones slithered toward his upper torso, snapping into place like pieces of a puzzle.

Seven's stomach churned.

"Disgusting."

No matter how many times he saw it, watching flesh and bone move on their own like they had a will made bile rise in his throat.

"Urghh..."

Lythian groaned as his body finally knitted itself whole.

"Where am I...?"

He sat up, disoriented, scanning his surroundings. There was no longer a village in his sight, so was Seven. He stood alone in the middle of the dense forest.

Seeing that Lythian couldn't see him, Seven clicked his tongue.

"It really is a mirage..."

For a second, Seven considered throwing a pebble at him, just for fun. But he shook the thought away.

That was not a good idea.

If the illusion broke, the village might become visible and Lythian would see him.

Step.

He turned, walking toward the young boy lying in the dirt. The howler had only taken his right arm and he was still breathing. For now.

"How old is he...?"

If time had stopped in this village, the boy could very well be older than him. Seven reached for the boy's left wrist...

...only for it to crumble into dust.

"An illusi—"

"Hehehe..."

Seven's blood ran cold as a giggle rang out.

He spun around.

The girl was still there, leaning against the post, giggling softly.

Then, as if peeling away a mask, she stood up and her form twisted. Warped. Turned into a howler.

His heart thudded. He snapped his gaze back to the creature he had cut in half.

It was turning into dust.

"Fudge."

A pit formed in his stomach. At first, he had wondered why the howler fell so easily to a simple First Form strike despite its thick hide.

Now it made sense.

He had no makeshift weapon left. The area around him was a mess—a broken table, an anvil, shards of glass from a shattered window.

No sword.

No dagger.

No shovel.

Nothing.

'It wasn't the cultists... but her?'

And now, the girl who turned into a howler was standing in front of him.

"...It's you?"

The girl smirked.

"Took you long enough."

She blew softly on the green flame of the torch, extinguishing it.

Darkness swallowed them whole.

"Isn't your left eye supposed to be 'all-seeing'?"

Seven clenched his jaw.

Slowly, time stretched.

The girl raised her hand, writing something in the air as her aura left faint, glowing traces.

Letter by letter, a word painted itself in front of him.

'Trial.'

Time snapped back to normal.

Seven froze.

"Trial...?"

The first trial. The one written in the novel. It should've happened months after the Academy enrollment.

But things had already changed. Major events that should've happened, didn't. Others that shouldn't have, did.

He expected something like this.

But not like this.

"Aren't you a reader?"

"...?! Wha—?"

The girl clapped her hands.

All illusions shattered. Including herself, and Seven.

***

"Fuck. Where the heck is he?"

Lythian waited above the tree branch, watching the exact spot he woke up from.

"And where's the village?"

The trees were the same around him, but the village was nowhere to be found.

All that he could remember was the poisoned tea by the old granny, and how the howler snapped his body into two pieces.

"Tch. Fuck him."

He stood up as the sun was already setting.

Step.

"I hope he dies somewhere..."

***

Three Days Later...

At the Academy, the fifth test was well underway.

Lythian had passed every test before it.

Vice Headmaster Cylinth sat in her office, flipping through stacks of documents, her sharp eyes scanning the latest results.

There were a few names that caught her attention.

— Applicant 776: Lythian Ace

First Test: Passed

Second Test: Passed (2025)

Third Test: Passed (444)

She tapped her finger on the page.

The third test was a mental strength evaluation. Applicants had to stand still while balancing an apple on their head, while another applicant shot at it with a bow.

Poisoned arrows. Explosive arrows. Arrows meant to induce fear.

If they got hit? The medics were there to patch them up.

Fourth Test: Passed (44/50)

A written exam. Magic theory, aura equations, the species living among humans. Even the names and abilities of foreign royals and nobles.

Despite being a reader, Lythian hadn't scored perfectly.

Because he skimmed most of the novel.

Cylinth let out a breath.

Flip.

Next.

— Applicant 2: Ciae Arventis

First Test: Passed (Late)

Second Test: Passed (2110)

Third Test: Passed (666)

Fourth Test: Passed (49/50)

A small smile tugged at her lips.

Only two applicants had scored above 2000 in the second test. These two.

But as quickly as the smile came, it vanished when she flipped the next page.

Flip.

— Applicant 1: Aeloria Havin

"Tch."

Her fingers tightened around the paper.

Aeloria's talent was undeniable. Her personality? Tolerable.

But Havin.

Just seeing the surname made Cylinth's mood sour.

Second Test: Passed (1676)

"She only scored this much?"

Disappointing.

As the youngest daughter of the Archmage, she should've scored at least 1900, like her siblings.

With a sigh, Cylinth grabbed a pen and scribbled down a correction.

Second Test: Passed (2000)

"This should be enough."

Third Test: Passed (211)

She paused.

Aeloria's score was well below average.

She considered adjusting it—again—but after flipping through other scores, she stopped.

100 was the mean average.

Lythian and Ciae were just...

Monsters.

Fourth Test: Passed (50/50)

A smirk.

"She should at least know this much..."

Flip.

The next applicant had a name she didn't recognize.

— Applicant 197: Lunaria Vayne

Second Test: 1711.

"Huh. Higher than Aeloria's original score?"

Third: 311.

Fourth: 7.

She laughed.

A practical fighter, not a scholar.

Flip.

Flip.

— Applicant 213: Neitzyxren II

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

"Neuxx...tryz..in...?"

She frowned.

"Who the hell names their kid like this?"

But other than his name, his scores were impressive.

First Test: 1955

Third: 100 (the average)

Fourth: 50

She sighed, flipping again.

Flip.

Then, her interest had reached the peak.

— Applicant 777: Seven Hart

Her favorite.

"Finally..."

First Test: Passed (Fainted)

Second Test: I̵̒͜r̴̰͙̈̑ŗ̵̽͐e̶̖͚̔͐g̸͎͆ṷ̵̡͠ļ̵̠̽a̵̧͒͗r̸͇̯̍..

Third Test: Failed (Absent).

Fourth Test: Failed (Absent).

Her smile faltered.

"...?! Absent?!"

The spark of excitement vanished in her face, replaced by full-blown rage as mana radiated from her body, sending the stacks of documents behind her flew around and formed a tornado.

Then, she stared at Seven's score on the second test, which didn't even meet the standard average score.

She recalled the words of the proctor, who said he blurted out 777 as his score after the device failed to show the proper and accurate result.

'Did he lose faith after hearing his low score?'

'No.'

'That can't be...'

Thud.

She slammed her elbows against the document, raising it up, and rested her chin above her knuckles.

Then, she glanced back to the document—Seven's result—for a second.

"Did that old geezer, Magnus, make a move?"