Chapter 51
“Then are you saying it’s fine to break school rules whenever you want?”
“That’s not what I mean. But my desire to help a friend in trouble was stronger. All I did was show her how a hologram monster is implemented with the controller. There was no other intention.”
“Hm…”
“I believe you know better than anyone, Professor, that this has nothing to do with the suspicions about Jaelyn’s exam. Manipulating the numbers on the hologram controller to alter the arena in favor of a specific person is simply impossible.”
“You’re right. The hologram system and the community system have been researched for ages by countless scholars, but it’s still something no one can even analyze. Still… now that I know about this incident, I can’t just overlook it.”
“Entering the control room without permission was entirely my fault. I’ll accept the punishment for that. But this matter has nothing to do with Jaelyn’s alleged cheating. I don’t want my carelessness to affect a judgment that could determine the course of someone’s entire life.”
When Lionel finished speaking, the classroom fell completely silent. Up until now, he had never once broken academy rules.
He had always been upright, precise, and perfect—like something measured with a ruler. For someone like Lionel to openly admit breaking the rules was hard for anyone to believe.
“Even putting that aside, I still can’t believe that student Jaelyn managed to bring down a Kelastine.”
Professor Avery of Magical Studies, who had distrusted Jaelyn from the beginning, spoke coldly. Once again, silence spread.
Jaelyn was flustered, at a loss for what to do as the situation turned against her. Then, suddenly, her eyes met Lionel’s. He gave a gentle smile as if to say it was okay, and mouthed the words:
“You can do it.”
Jaelyn understood what he meant.
Before coming here, Lionel had told her: Just do it the way I showed you. If you do that, there won’t be any problem.
Encouraged by him, Jaelyn stepped forward. She was still nervous about standing in front of so many people, but it was all right—because there were people who believed in her.
In the silence so heavy you could hear a pin drop, Jaelyn’s calm voice rang out:
“Um… would it be all right if I directly demonstrated the magic design I used back then?”
At her words, the classroom, frozen in hushed tension, burst into murmurs again.
“Good. That’s not a bad idea. If you were able to do it in the exam, you should be able to show us again here and now. What do the other professors think? If the student can reproduce the magic exactly as before, would you acknowledge her innocence?”
At Dean Ines’s question, the professors gave their answers one by one.
“Of course.”
“Y-yes, naturally.”
“Very well. Since it’s difficult to conduct a magic demonstration here, let’s move to the dueling grounds and continue the hearing there.”
The dueling grounds were far more crowded than the classroom. Many had gathered, even those who hadn’t known a disciplinary hearing was happening, drawn by curiosity.
Dean Ines looked around at the faculty, seeking a volunteer to help demonstrate Jaelyn’s magic design.
“Would anyone assist with activating the student’s design?”
“I’ll do it.”
It was Professor Wallace, who taught Jaelyn’s Monster Defense class.
He didn’t have decision-making authority over Jaelyn’s alleged cheating, but as her instructor, he was observing.
A moment later, Professor Wallace summoned a magical construct similar in size and appearance to a Kelastine at the center of the grounds.
The construct didn’t fade, holding its form, and began moving in response to his gestures.
The professor’s smooth, skilled control of the massive cluster of magic drew gasps of admiration from the students.
The form, at first slow, accelerated until it moved nearly as quickly as the Kelastine had during the exam. Then Wallace shouted across to Jaelyn:
“In the center of the form, there’s a part that glows brighter where light gathers! Do you see it?”
As he said, a faintly brighter spot was visible.
“Yes, yes, I see it!”
Because of the distance, Jaelyn had to yell as loudly as she could.
“It’s about the same size as the Kelastine’s eye you hit in the exam. That’s your target.”
“Understood!”
As soon as he finished, Dean Ines, sounding a bit weary, spoke:
“Then, Jaelyn, begin when you’re ready.”
“Dean Ines, do you really think she’ll succeed? That’s something even a student majoring in Magical Studies couldn’t do. This feels like a waste of time.”
Professor Avery, arms crossed beside Ines, voiced his dissatisfaction.
“I don’t think she’ll succeed either.”
Most of the professors agreed, even Professor Cologne—who had been supportive of Jaelyn—shook his head.
Dean Ines stayed neutral.
“We’ll see. If her skills are genuine, she’ll prove it under any condition.”
Jaelyn steadied her gaze.
The distance to the construct, the size of the target, its speed, the surrounding conditions—everything her eyes perceived converted instantly into diagrams, forming the blueprint in her mind.
Lines, drawn with magic through the air, became components of a rune magic circle.
In the blink of an eye, the design was complete. From it, a streamlined projectile emerged and shot toward Professor Wallace’s construct.
The result was anticlimactic.
The duel ended so quickly that all the prior arguing seemed pointless.
The projectile, chasing down the moving construct, pierced it clean through in one strike.
The spectators were left speechless, jaws hanging open at the impossible sight.
Light exploded, painting the sky white for an instant—the clash of Wallace’s magic and Jaelyn’s creating a brilliance that nearly blinded everyone.
Instinctively, the crowd shut their eyes.
When they opened them again, Wallace’s construct had shattered into glittering fragments that scattered across the sky.
Gasps erupted:
“Insane. Is this even real?”
“She actually hit it?”
The shards of silver dust drifted down like snowflakes over the dueling grounds.
Professor Avery, brushing his hand against the floating motes, muttered:
“Even seeing it with my own eyes, I can’t believe it.”
“Nor can I. Who would’ve thought we had someone this skilled at our academy?”
The professors unanimously acknowledged Jaelyn’s ability. They concluded that there was no evidence whatsoever of cheating on her midterm exam.
However, Jaelyn and Lionel still couldn’t escape punishment for sneaking into the hologram control room.
Their sentence: cleaning duty at the control room for a time.
When the hearing ended, uninterested students dispersed from the grounds.
Rowan Archfield approached Jaelyn and extended his hand.
“Senior, I have no personal grudge. It’s just that there were so many rumors about your abilities—I only wanted a chance to see them proven. I hope you understand?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
Jaelyn nodded, about to shake his hand, when Adrian stepped in between them.
“What a joke. You make someone look like a fool, then ask them to ‘understand’? Would you accept that if it were you?”
Rowan’s hand froze awkwardly. As he tried to retract it, his backup arrived.
“Curiosity is natural. As fellow students, cheating is not something we can ignore. Still, I agree that opening a full hearing may have been rash. If you’d given Jaelyn a chance to explain beforehand, it would’ve been better. Though, of course, you had no reason to expect an explanation.”
Lionel smiled warmly, but Rowan felt a chill down his spine.
Though Lionel’s words seemed to defend him, they subtly shifted blame onto Rowan.
“Don’t you agree?”
Lionel gripped Rowan’s shoulder firmly, then patted it as if in encouragement.
The action left Rowan no choice but to nod with a strained smile.
“Yes, yes, you’re right, senior.”
“Good. I’m glad we think alike.”
Lionel smiled quietly at him, then, as if realizing something, spoke again:
“I’ve kept you long enough. You should go.”
Rowan couldn’t shake the feeling that Lionel’s gentle suggestion was actually a command. Regardless, desperate to escape, he bowed quickly and hurried off.
While Jaelyn was busy talking with Stephan, Adrian shoved his hands into his pockets and stood beside Lionel.
“Don’t you think you overstepped?”
“Not at all.”
“Even without you, Jaelyn could’ve proven her innocence just fine.”
“So what?”
“Stop playing the knight in shining armor. Quit meddling where you shouldn’t.”
“Funny, I don’t see it that way. If anything, isn’t it you who played the ‘knight’ only after everything was already over?”
Lionel, without looking away from Jaelyn as she spoke with Stephan, coolly called out Adrian’s hypocrisy.
