There are several sacred halls in the Magic Department, and the one in the north was used for measuring magical talent. Since measuring magical talent requires no external interference, the area around the hall was surrounded by invisible protective magic, and not even wind blew.

“Let’s go in. Ah, don’t tell other friends about this. Okay? Especially you, Belle. Don’t spread rumors and bring more friends, or you’ll be in trouble.”

“Of course. Trust me, Uncle.”

Belle crossed her arms with a dignified attitude. Aris was going along with their conversation in front of the hall when she suddenly turned around.

‘…What was that?’

She thought she heard something just now.

Not only did she feel eerie, but suddenly all her senses seemed to be on edge. Just like that day, at the racecourse…

That’s when a sharp ringing sounded in Aris’s ears. Aris reflexively covered both ears with her hands. Startled by the sudden impact, she staggered.

—Aristena.

She was having an auditory hallucination. Aris frowned, slightly opening and closing her mouth repeatedly. It felt like she couldn’t breathe, then her breath came out roughly.

‘What is this? Someone is calling me……’

Where is it coming from? The ringing in my ears is too loud. It’s noisy, but the voice calling me is so vivid.

She squeezed her eyes shut in fear. At that moment, Belle grabbed her arm.

“Aris! Are you okay?”

The ringing that had been fiercely echoing in her ears suddenly stopped with Belle’s call. In an instant, the noisy world became quiet. Aris felt goosebumps all over her body from the eerie feeling.

She slowly steadied her breathing and lowered her hands that had been covering her ears. She opened her trembling lips while listening to the pounding of her own heart.

“Sorry, Belle. I suddenly felt dizzy…… I’m fine now. I get dizzy sometimes, that’s all.”

“Ah…… I was really surprised just now!”

“Are you alright? If your condition is not good, it might affect the measurement values. We can come back another time if you want, what do you think?”

Andre asked for her opinion with a worried look. Belle also chimed in, saying, ‘I’m okay with coming back another time too.’

Aris smiled faintly and shook her head.

“No, we should do it since we’re already here. I’m really fine now, Doctor.”

“Aris, you shouldn’t push yourself. You look like you could be blown away by the wind, so be careful!”

“Okay, I got it.”

They entered the hall together.

It was like a chapel with long benches in rows, and stained glass embedded in the high ceiling. And passing through the benches, on a high platform at the end, there was a large, opaque orb.

Andre approached the orb first and explained.

“You’ll place your hand on this orb to measure your magical talent. Currently, 300 is the average value. The current head of the Magic Department is around 870, and it’s said that the great sage from long ago reached a level of 950.”

Andre gestured for them to come closer. Belle and Aris stood side by side in front of the orb. Andre asked.

“Who wants to go first?”

“Aris, do you want to go first?”

“No, you go first, Belle.”

Aris didn’t have particularly high expectations, so she gave up her turn to Belle, whose eyes were shining with excitement.

Following Andre’s instructions, Belle approached and placed her hand over the orb.

“The orb uses magic to scan your body, so your palm might feel a bit ticklish.”

Belle nodded solemnly with a face full of tension.

After a moment, the opaque magic orb reacted and gradually became transparent, then started to spark and crackle.

And then…….

“Aaah!”

Along with Belle’s raw, resounding scream, a number appeared above her hand.

[385]

Belle’s eyes widened. Soon, with a face full of joy, she turned to look at Andre and Aris, then started jumping up and down.

“I’m above average!”

“It’s a usable level. It wouldn’t make sense for my niece to be below average when I’m this excellent.”

“This isn’t because of you, Uncle. It’s my innate talent, you know?”

Belle bristled. Andre nodded, telling her to think whatever she liked, then called Aris.

“Now, Miss Eldeiz. It’s your……”

Andre stopped mid-sentence and his expression hardened. Aris asked with a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?”

Andre’s expression gradually became more horrified, and suddenly he ran his hands through his hair.

“Oh no. I left the magical tools connected for alchemy and came out without turning them off!”

“……What?”

“This is bad, it might cause a fire. Last time it burned the next room too and I got in trouble! Sorry, but can you put your hand on it and measure by yourself? I’ll be right back.”

“Uncle. That’s why I told you to clean your room before we left. If you had looked around even once then, would this have happened?”

Andre left the hall in a hurry without even listening to Belle’s criticism. Aris stared at the door he had left through, dumbfounded. Belle shook her head with a sigh and said.

“He was just pretending to be normal earlier because you were there. He’s usually like this. A complete eccentric and a klutz.”

“Don’t be too hard on your uncle.”

Aris laughed, thinking that Belle and Andre’s relationship was really good.

“Aris, let’s measure your magical talent now! I’m really curious.”

“Um…… okay.”

Aris, who hadn’t had much expectation from the beginning, felt pressured by Belle’s words as she raised her hand. She was about to place her hand on the magic orb obediently when she hesitated.

She turned her head to look at the left wall of the hall. It was as if she had instinctively sensed something.

Aris’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, and then suddenly she covered her ears, startled by the ringing that assaulted her eardrums. The sound was so sharp and overwhelmingly loud that Aris felt like she might lose consciousness.

‘What is this sudden sound?’

Amidst the deafening ringing that was almost painful to her ears, she heard someone’s voice again.

—Be careful.

The moment she understood that voice, the left wall collapsed with a thunderous sound. The resulting dust spread acridly through the sacred hall.

Aris frowned and then looked towards the collapsed wall, her breath suddenly stopping. In the hazy dust, she saw the eerie red eyes of something that looked like blood.

“M-monster……!”

Belle’s scream-like voice was heard from behind. Aris didn’t have time to check where Belle was.

Making a strange ‘grrrr’ sound, a monster that looked like a wild beast stared at Aris with lifeless eyes. The monster approached her one step at a time, as if it was gauging its prey.

‘Why on earth is there a monster here?’

Aris, who was exhaling spasmodically in bewilderment, slowly backed away while maintaining eye contact with the monster, as if they were in a battle of nerves.

‘C-calm down, Aristena. It’s not like you haven’t seen one before. First, until Dr. Andre comes back……’

At that moment, Aris’s foot unfortunately caught on something as she stepped back. She lost her balance.

With nothing else to grab onto except the round orb beside her, she desperately reached out her hand, but she fell backwards before she could regain her balance.

The monster, seemingly excited by the commotion, bared its teeth and lunged at her with a roar.

“Aris!”

Belle screamed. Aris could see the huge monster opening its mouth wide, filled with sharp teeth. She inhaled sharply in surprise and squeezed her eyes shut. Tears leaked out along with her trembling breath.

‘No…… I don’t want to die like this again……!’

As she desperately wished in her moment of terror, an explosive light spread.

From Aris’s hand, which she had raised in minimal defense, a magic circle large enough to engulf the monster appeared. And once again, with a bright sound, the light exploded.

The magic orb next to her cracked with a sound.

Aris breathed heavily. Although it happened in an instant, she had seen everything with her own eyes when she opened them in that split second.

The large magic circle that appeared and disappeared in an instant. And the light of terrifying intensity that burst forth from her hand.

Gradually, the light faded, and the smoke that had risen with the explosion subsided. As visibility improved, the situation inside the hall came into view.

The form of the monster that had been rushing at Aris was gone. As if it had been an illusion.

But the pile of ashes in that spot proved that it had not been an illusion.

The ringing in her ears that had been chaotically sounding was gone. Aris swallowed and looked down at her hand that she had been holding up awkwardly. Whether it was because the nearby magic orb had shattered, there were many small cuts on her palm.

‘Did I…… just do that?’

In the midst of confusion and nausea, Aris tried to recall her memory.

She hadn’t even thought of a formula. Moreover, she didn’t even know how to use magic, so she couldn’t believe that this magic that suddenly burst out was her own.

“Aris! Are you okay?”

What broke Aris’s contemplation was Belle, who came running to her side, calling her name urgently as if screaming.

Belle hugged her tightly. Through their touching bodies, Aris could feel Belle’s rapidly beating heart. Although she was also confused about the situation, she gently hugged Belle back.

After a moment, Belle raised her head to look at where the monster had been.