"Uh, am I really going to be the chief examiner?"
Aura walked out of Serie's palace with a look of disbelief on her face, wearing a badge with a feather and a staff on her chest.
This was personally awarded by Serie, proof that she was now the chief examiner of the magic tests among the human empires, granting her the highest authority in determining the rank of every human mage.
How could a demon like her be allowed to hold such a position?
"What about the other human mages? What about Zanze? Why don't they object?"
The announcement was not a private decision by Serie, bestowing her the position of chief examiner alone.
But in front of a group of human mages who have followed Serie for a long time, the other examiners would have let it go, after all, although they have worked with Aura for a long time, they are not clear about Aura's identity as a demon.
'But what about you, Zanze, why don't you say anything?'
When Aura glanced at Zanze, who was standing beside her in silence, with a look of surprise, she only gave her an encouraging look in return.
It was so gentle that it was not the attitude a human should have towards demons.
"Could it be that I've gained her trust?"
Aura pondered for a moment, and carefully recalled her experience as Zanze's assistant over the past year.
She has always been conscientious and hardworking in disrupting Zanze on time every day for months, interfering with her normal work. Even if she has no credit, she has worked hard.
'This...has been gained humans recognition??'
"I don't understand."
Aura removed the badge from her chest, examining it closely in the sunlight. There was no sign of magical alteration; it was just an ordinary badge symbolizing her status.
It shouldn't be used to monitor her; it was simply proof that she would be in charge of all human mage assessments from now on. Even Zanze's power in this matter is not as high as hers. Even if Serie wants to reform the system, she needs to ask for Aura opinion in advance.
But... Aura couldn't understand it. Even if it was a promotion, she should never have been promoted to the position of "Chief Examiner of Magic Levels."
She didn't do anything.
All she did was never miss the thrice-daily magic level assessments, using Magic Cannon: Sturmkanone non-stop for an hour each time. Although it was tiring and consumed the equivalent of twenty years of human magic power each time, it was nothing to Aura, who had five hundred years of magic power. After all, with her total magic power of five hundred years, the magic power consumed by Sturmkanone could be restored in just one or two hours of rest.
Aura enjoyed toying with humans.
——
"Is it really hard to persist? Blasting human mages is such an interesting thing. Even if I have to blast them all day long, I'm willing to do it."
Aura was surprised.
Recently, it seemed no examinees registered with other examiners. All the human mages from various places came to Aura's examination venue. Fortunately, Aura is a mage with 500 years of magic power, and she is a demon who feels pleasure when abusing humans, so she can complete a large number of magic level assessments every day by herself.
——The current magic level assessments were almost exclusively Aura's domain.
"Though it's strange, with this status, I can be even more unscrupulous, hahaha—"
Before she was the chief examiner, no matter how much she enjoyed the process of destroying human magicians, she still had concerns. Aura was afraid that Zanze would scold her. Of course, Aura was the kind of person who could not bear to hear scolding, and a mere criticism from an ordinary person was nothing to her.
But if she report that to Serie, she will threaten to pull out her horns.
Now, Aura doesn't need to worry about this possibility at all. She is the chief examiner, and Zanze has no right to criticize her behavior.
From now on, things would be very different~
"Today's routine assessment is about to begin."
Glancing at the clock atop the bell tower, Aura picked up her decorative magic staff and walked into the examination venue.
Due to the different brain structures, few demons needed magic staffs. Most cast spells barehanded or developed their own magical tools, like Aura's Scales of Obedience.
Being able to unify the magic system and create standardized magic tools for popularization is an incredible thing for the demons who each have their own unique system.
Aura used the magic staff to disguise her identity. Though human mages could cast spells barehanded, it was more characteristic of demons. The staff also served as a prop, reinforcing the illusion of her human guise.
Standing on the high platform, Aura looked down at the rows of young human mages waiting for assessment, a joyful smile spreading across her face. The atmosphere was tense; the examinees were visibly nervous, shifting in their spots and whispering anxiously among themselves.
"Are you ready?"
"We…"
The moment the words fell, the faces of the young human mages who were sitting down changed. They had long heard about the rumors about the most strict magic examiner Aura. Some humans who were uneducated and just wanted to get a certificate from other lenient examiners participated in the examination with a fluke mentality.
However, they learned halfway through that the magic examination system had been reformed, with the tall-hatted, high-hatted purple-haired reaper serving as the chief examiner. From then on, no candidate could avoid her scrutiny.
These people were planning to give up, but as soon as they saw the examiner appear, before they could say a word, the pressure of magical power came down from the sky.
Puff!!
Like raindrops falling.
At the moment the massive magic pillar appeared, two-thirds of the magicians present were unable to release even a trace of magic power. The magic pillars they had previously unconsciously released sank like water droplets, settling at the bottom, clinging to the ground.
Losing their magic, the sudden physical weakness caused these young mages to collapse, some even screaming under the mental pressure, feeling as if their bodies were being torn apart. The overwhelming sensation of their magic being forcibly suppressed was unlike anything they had ever experienced.
Faces pressed to the ground, tears and snot flowing. The once proud and eager magicians were reduced to trembling, broken figures.
All of these were unqualified. Aura's eyes scanned the fallen mages with a detached gaze, marking them as failures without a hint of empathy.
"Made it through…" Before the one-third of human magicians who were barely maintaining the stability of their magic power could feel happy, dense and swarming Magic Cannon: Sturmkanone came overwhelmingly. The air crackled with energy as countless magical projectiles rained down upon them.
Those who reacted quickly immediately put up shields or cast other evasive magic, but most people reacted consciously but were unable to mobilize the magic power that had stagnated under the huge pressure of magic, and were eventually blown away. The raw power and speed of Aura's attack left little room for error.
——Of course, no one was seriously injured.
Aura was bound by the command "do not harm humans." Even if she intends to increase her efforts to kill these human magicians, the obedience magic will forcibly distort her consciousness, change the direction of the attack, or weaken the magic output. Her strikes were powerful enough to test their limits but calibrated to avoid fatal damage.
In the magic level test, resisting attacks is used as a test method. This is one of the few ways for Aura to bypass the order of "do not harm humans" and attack humans at will.
Because subjectively Aura's goal at this time is "assessment" rather than "harm", and objectively the humans who are harmed also perceive her attack as "assessment" rather than intentional "harm", so she is not affected by the backlash of obedience magic.
Just like when she performed surgery on Flamme, it was within the scope of "do not harm humans".
"Great! The screams, the pain, the unwillingness, the resentment, these expressions are amazing. The magic assessments not only physically torment humans but also mentally devastate them!"
Aura admired her handiwork. The demons had no necessary need to eat humans, but they would also kill humans for fun. All they wanted was human suffering.
As for what kind of evolution would create the demons, a race with twisted instincts, no one knows - but who cares, just be happy!
"Uh, is there a qualified product this time?"
A pass, that is, the standard for a third-class mage as stipulated by Serie.
While resisting the suppression of magic power, he withstood the first round of magic cannon barrage. This demonstrated not only resilience but a deep understanding of magic, enabling him to maintain his composure and defenses under extreme pressure.
Such a human mage will not lose his fighting power even if he encounters a demon stronger than himself on the battlefield, and he has the possibility of survival. It also means that he has entered the field of magic cognition and is a mage who has truly practiced magic theory and engraved the knowledge into his body.
"Interesting, so much magic power, he has potential."
Amid the collapsed mages, there was only one young man in an old-looking long robe appearance who insisted on standing, glaring defiantly at Aura. The look in his eyes showed no fear, only determination and resolve. He exuded an aura of confidence, a stark contrast to the defeated mages around him.
Is this what humans call a magic genius?
Aura examined his magic power, which was probably at the level of a normal human mage in thirty years. All those who came to take the test this time were humans under the age of twenty. To be able to possess magic power far exceeding that of other mages at this age, he could indeed be called a genius.
But—
"Only among humans."
Whoosh!!!
The young man raised his staff and a white beam of light pierced through the space and attacked Aura on the platform.
But it was deflected by her magic distortion field, landing beside her.
It seemed this human aimed to challenge the Second-Class Mage qualification in the same test.
"Human genius~"
Aura covered her mouth and chuckled.
"My favorite playthings are human geniuses."
——————
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