Chapter 139: Black and Gold – 10
Following the signal, the balls flew towards her.
She calmly caught them and tossed them into the net basket.
No matter from what angle they came, her balance never faltered.
Her nickname, Golden Libra, was attributed to her absolute sense of equilibrium.
People admired her movements.
Her body moved like a machine, without any unnecessary motions.
It was a sharp contrast to Ellas flashy improvisations.
She occasionally delighted the audience with performances that captivated onlookers.
Instead of immediately putting the balls into the basket, she juggled them with one hand, threw them in rapid succession, or caught them in her hand as they flew towards her, displaying tricks as if the thrown balls went into the net while the deflected ones were neatly caught in her hand.
Yet, none of these performances affected her exam scores, which was truly remarkable.
But there was none of that in Reynas movements.
She didnt waste a single wrist flick.
She only moved as much as necessary when needed.
Thanks to her, the audience realized something.
Until now, everyone thought of Reyna as a genius.
Because her abilities were overwhelmingly superior to her peers.
But when compared side by side with a real genius, they could see.
That all of her movements and skills were accumulated through relentless effort.
One minute had passed.
Reyna also succeeded in putting all 50 balls into the basket.
She even set a new record!
Just 5 seconds before the end of the exam, the last ball was thrown.
Typically, exam takers would scramble to pick up the dropped balls during that time, trying to throw even one more into the net.
But thanks to having already put in the previous 49, she ended the test by catching the last ball in her palm and putting it into the net.
So it took Reyna 55.4 seconds to put in all the balls.
She was faster than Ellas recorded 55.8 seconds.
The reason was simply the difference in reach.
Reynas height was 178cm.
Ellas height was 162cm.
Because of the difference in height, the last 0.4 seconds widened.
It was a narrowly won victory.
Raina turned to the audience.
She expected to see her fathers face, sneering at her victory.
That alone was enough for her to feel relieved.
Just the absence of scorn and ridicule.
But what she witnessed there was an unbelievable sight.
Her father was wearing a bright smile.
Moreover, his hands were clapping!
Reyna almost forgot to feign surprise and burst into laughter.
To see her cold and indifferent father showing such a reaction.
Her body trembled with overwhelming emotion.
She was finally acknowledged.
In front of so many people, he finally praised her achievements sincerely.
She wanted to shout Dad! in a loud voice.
But her inflated expectations rapidly cooled down.
It felt like something heavy and solid was blocking her throat.
She realized.
She had made an absurd mistake.
She hadnt misread the others expression.
Her father was clearly still applauding and smiling.
He just wasnt looking at her.
His gaze was fixed on the contraption called The Crazy Tomato Baptism.
And there
Wow!
Amazing!
Ella! Ella!
The audience erupted into a mixture of enthusiastic cheers.
Ella realized that fake tomatoes were no longer flying towards her and checked her body.
Her robe was clean.
Only the floor was smeared with paint.
0% contamination! Maximum score achieved!
The examiners shout echoed through the entire auditorium.
Ella turned around in the spot and looked up at the ceiling.
Sprays of paint splattered on the ground as she twirled around.
The air was filled with droplets of various colors.
Ella twisted her body among them, narrowly avoiding them.
Though the paint splattered again on the floor, not a single drop stained her clothes!
People were now not just amazed but astounded, screaming in disbelief.
What, what is that?
Wow!
Ella! E-Ella!
Ella skipped through the paint like a child playing in the rain.
She knew exactly how the droplets would splash when stepped on.
She arrived in front of the examiner and removed her shoes, and still, her clothes remained spotless.
We can reuse this!
Ella handed her raincoat to the supervising student.
As prospective freshmen, the examinees were initially treated as juniors.
Even so, they felt intimidated by Ella.
Her skill and the charisma emanating from her ease overwhelmed them.
Ella checked the record for Outfielder in Dodgeball and admired Reyna standing before her.
You beat my record? Feeling a bit jealous. Cant challenge again? Too bad
Hearing her taunt, Reyna felt the urge to slap her.
She clenched her fist so hard her nails dug into her palm.
Hey.
Reyna tried hard not to show the whirlwind of emotions inside.
Could you leave me alone?
Ellas cheerful face stiffened for a moment before relaxing again.
Sorry, sorry. We were rivals, right? I got carried away.
With that, Ella left to take the next exam.
Reyna returned to her seat.
Earlier, she hadnt misinterpreted anything.
Her fathers gaze was still fixed on Ella.
Reyna sat down, barely suppressing the urge to cry.
I can do well.
If I do well.
Still, shes just someone else.
Im daddys girl.
Yes. Winning.
Even if its 13 wins and 12 losses.
Winning means
With that determination, Reyna took the next exam.
Simon Maguire paid no attention to whether his daughter behaved like that or not.
Currently, he was busy examining Ellas next test.
Ever since Ella passed the first test, he couldnt take his eyes off her.
He was a fervent disciple of Kirku, who had received four Inspiras.
How could he not get excited by such exceptional talent?
Director, Reyna has overturned another record of the opponent!
Being members of the Golden Carnival, Reynas colleagues still paid enough attention to her.
However, Lord Fantastic glanced over there briefly and scoffed.
I saw. Nothing but a bit of novelty. Its the strength coming from the difference in physique. Thats how she won.
At his response, his colleagues exchanged awkward glances and turned their heads away.
They were tired of his indifference towards his daughter.
Simon locked eyes with Reyna as she descended from the apparatus.
Even in precarious situations, she maintained a composed expression and posture.
Despite her well-groomed appearance, the person who trained her could clearly see the hidden turmoil behind her mask.
For a moment, he felt sorry for her.
But it was fleeting.
His heart quickly closed off.
Like he did with Ella, he didnt smile at her.
He didnt nod his head or clap, nor did he offer any response.
He simply turned his head towards Ellas seventh task that had just begun.
***
Maya, coming out of school, wandered aimlessly around the Tettromino Plaza.
There was no space left between the seven types of blocks that filled the ground.
She soon sat at a table in front of a cafe directly facing the plaza.
From her bag, she pulled out a flat, doughnut-shaped metal disk.
Memory Disk.
It was a tool used by illusion magicians to record their illusions.
Only illusion magicians could record on it, and only illusion magicians could play it back.
This was an heirloom left by her mother.
Her mother, shortly after giving birth to her, ascended to the Sky City upon a friends request due to a shortage of labour but met with a disaster soon after.
This item was what she held in her arms until her mothers dying moment.
The surface of the memory disk had writing that said it was left for her daughter.
Over the seventeen years, the writing had almost faded, but Mayas goal to replay it with her own hands remained deeply ingrained in her heart.
Ordinary illusion magicians pursuing mysteries could easily play it back, but what she used was no ordinary illusion.
To implement this, she had to find other memory disks, carve each pattern onto them, and infer them inductively.
It would take at least a year.
But recently, she had opened her eyes to mysteries.
She had stepped into the mystery of the void, which she had thought was unreachable.
In the process of fighting demons and the struggle between life and death, emotions spread on the blank canvas of her mind.
Thanks to that, she could create illusions through the workings of her heart, not calculations.
Although only one type.
Meow
A phantom cat stretched out in front of her.
It walked and acted just like the Wally she remembered.
There was no need to calculate each movement.
It was enough to recall from memory.
Maya continued to recall it while infusing magic into the memory disk.
Various colors flashed on the surface of the metal disk, and the illusion popped out.
Dead cat bodies were scattered around.
One cat lay crushed under a pile of cat bricks.
The cat looked straight at her and meowed.
But with the appearance of another cat, the cats expression turned fearful, blood splattering, and the illusion was interrupted.
Every cat that appeared looked exactly like Wally, both in appearance and fur color.
This was a memory disk she had reconstructed to the best of her current abilities.
Why oong
Beside her, Wally grimaced as if he had seen something dreadful.
As it was evident, the mystery she had grasped did little to aid in implementing the memory disk.
The only thing she could create with the newfound mystery was memories of Wally the cat.
The illusion she had just replayed was a foolish one, with almost every element composed of Wally.
The general idea could be inferred, but the implemented illusion was so, it even made her doubt if she had read the disk correctly. It could simply be a reflection of the vague imagery she had about the terror.
This was not thorough calculation but magic driven by the heart.
This was the result of her efforts over the past three weeks.
Maya tucked the disk back into her arms.
When stuck, it was right to seek guidance from her master.
Surely, he would provide insights into unexpected avenues.
But she didnt want that.
If so, he would still see her as a needy child, a disciple in need of guidance, rather than a competent magician.
If it didnt work out, she had an inductive method she had planned from the beginning, so she had no fear of what would happen if she couldnt implement the illusion.
So, how could she expand the realm of the mystery she possessed?
What was the trigger that created the vessel of her mind?
She recalled when Wally was first implemented.
At that time, she was holding the exhausted leader in her arms.
She felt the emotions she had felt when she rushed out of the hall.
So what should she do?
Should she embrace the director again?
Bebbebabebebet.
Wally giggled beside her, making a windy sound.
Maya barely restrained herself from spanking him.
Then, she heard someone calling her from afar.
Maya! Hothot, its almost time, wont you come back in?
Sven waved at her.
Beside him was Gascon staggering around as if he had lost his mind.
Can you support this person with telekinesis? I tried, and almost dislocated my arm. As you know, my joints are weak Hothot!
Before he could finish speaking, she was already supporting the staggering old man with telekinesis.
What happened?
Well someone handed him vodka, saying it was watered-down beer and he believed it he drank 250mL in one go
.
Uweaek!
Gascon vomited violently.
Wally, underneath it, took the brunt of it.
Woong!
It was fortunate that it was an illusion.
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