PHATFO 68

~Chapter 68~

“So, what should I do?”

“It’s a qualification test… just prove your qualification. That guy doubts your skill, so you fight him and show you’re superior.”

“So it’s a duel.”

“Right.”

“Will it be bloody and dangerous to my life?”

“…That depends on how you handle it.”

As expected. It was called a test, but some violent behavior was tolerated.

Around me, apprentice magicians smirked proudly. They must have interpreted Aisha’s words differently.

The magician in the lead, Lian, spoke.

“Don’t worry about that. I have no intention of defeating a fragile person with brute force.”

So he was the one who set up this stage. I felt deep confidence in his eyes.

I liked the Garden. I hadn’t come many times, but the library—only for full magicians—was full of rare books.

I didn’t want to lose my pass.

At the same time, I didn’t want to be dragged into something like this again.

‘Even if it’s small trouble, it’s still annoying.’

So, what must I do to end complaints once and for all?

‘Leave behind a strong impression that will never be erased.’

People always remember a reversal.

I pretended to be weak, opposite of Lian.

“That’s a relief.”

It was also to make Lian careless.

Aisha raised one eyebrow at a strange angle.

“What nonsense? You almost burned a whole mountain before. If you do like in Ermel, they’ll be roasted chickens in one go. What kind of trick—”

She stopped when she saw the apprentices whispering.

“See, we were right to protest together! Aisha’s disciple is no different!”

“I told you! She only joined because of her backer.”

“A new magician without training, getting a badge? Impossible.”

The finishing touch was Lian. He stood tall.

“If you passed the mana test, then your entrance wasn’t wrong. Even if you lose to me, I’ll let you remain as apprentice.”

After hearing all that, I shrugged at Aisha.

“It works.”

“…Why are you already cooked?”

She was at a loss for words.

“Then let’s go to the testing ground. I’ll guide you.”

“So kind.”

I followed Lian.

Aisha’s dumbfounded eyes stayed on me, but I ignored them.

The training ground was just an empty space in the middle of the Garden.

Residual mana was scattered around, proof of past duels or experiments.

A duel needed a referee. So Duke Durnar was called.

Dragged out from the main building, he looked baffled after hearing the situation.

“Prove qualification… the young lady?”

Why?

He looked at Aisha, but she turned her head.

“Don’t look at me. I don’t know either.”

Anyway, since both sides agreed, the duel-as-test began.

“The rule is simple. Show your best magic.”

Among the many formats, the Duke chose the mildest.

“Lian, you’re best at wind magic. Show that.”

Lian nodded.

Crowds had gathered—apprentices and even full magicians.

The noisy ones were the apprentices.

“Go easy, don’t scare Aisha’s disciple.”

“Yeah, don’t make her cry home.”

The jeers meant nothing to me, but they gave Lian confidence.

He posed like throwing a ball, gathered mana, and cast wind.

Whooosh—

Wind swept the arena, enough to stir my hair.

“How is it? My magic!”

He spread his arms. Apprentices clapped.

“Awesome, Lian!”

“So cruel, told you to go easy.”

“Look, her face froze in fear!”

I was surprised… but only because it was so weak.

‘Is it okay if I win this?’

Wouldn’t it look like an adult bragging after beating a ten-year-old?

“Do I… really have to?”

I asked Aisha.

Apprentices misunderstood.

“You came this far, no turning back.”

“Everyone’s here for this test.”

“If you’re Aisha’s disciple, show something great—or maybe not…”

It wasn’t just my name, but Aisha’s honor at stake.

‘Then I’ll do what I planned.’

I couldn’t use fire. With magicians crowded around, fire would be a disaster.

So I chose wind magic too.

I had glanced at a formula in a book days ago.

“Go easy. Lian is a genius—it’ll be hard to win.”

I stood still, gathering dense mana. Sparks flickered.

“Wait—what is that?”

“If you do that, the building—!”

A whirlwind spiraled toward the main hall.

Right before smashing the building, it rose into the sky and dispersed, leaving only a breeze.

Only the lingering mana showed how strong it was.

No one there misunderstood what almost happened.

“……”

This time, no clapping—only heavy silence.

‘Too plain?’

I thought restraint was best, not destruction. Maybe I should’ve blown the building away.

“Um…”

My voice shrank.

Then Duke Durnar laughed loudly, from his belly.

“What a shame. I thought we’d see the main building fly away. Too bad!”

“Is this okay?”

“Fortunately, no one was inside… buildings can be rebuilt.”

He waved, and mana filled the cracked ground, smoothing it flat.

“…It’s perfectly clean.”

“I reversed time. Since no living beings were caught, it worked.”

“You can’t if life is inside?”

“If so, they’d die. Reversing a dead person’s time is forbidden.”

A thought flashed in my mind.

“So forbidden doesn’t mean impossible?”

“…Theoretically yes, but not something to discuss here.”

I noticed the watching crowd. As the Garden’s leader, he couldn’t show too much about taboos.

“But!”

He clapped.

“In our house we have many books on time magic. I’m very interested. If you become my daughter, as first privilege, I’ll grant access to my library—ugh.”

He was hit. Aisha glared.

“Shut up. Save the persuasion for later.”

Only then I realized what truly caught her attention.

“There he comes.”

Armin appeared, face flushed, breathing rough.

“I heard a loud noise—what happened? Were you hurt?”

“No, I—”

“Then why that expression?”

“Nothing… I won. That’s all.”

“That’s not the face of someone with nothing wrong.”

He wasn’t wrong. The turmoil was in my mind.

‘If turning back time is forbidden but not impossible… then maybe my regression was someone’s doing.’

‘If so, why did they save me?’

The question echoed endlessly in my head.