An Impossibly Ingenious Answer

At Tylen's words, an uproar erupted across the previously quiet arena.

Everyone inside and outside the arena turned their eyes on Tylen, all at once, as if spotlights had swung his way.

On the Cain Tower side, Kathy and Locke wore expressions of shock.

The chisels in their hands were still poised against the bone; they had barely finished the outermost Runic Frame.

Locke had even nearly slipped and carved crookedly when his attention wandered.

They stared at this usually unremarkable lower-level apprentice in disbelief, only one thought running through their minds:

How was this possible?

Across from them, Virgil and Joyce of the Blazing Sun Wizard Tower looked just as shocked, their expressions mingled with deep confusion and disbelief.

After all, both of them had reached level 0.9 in Runic Studies!

And yet, they had only just finished the outer frame and carved two of the main Mana circuits.

As far as they knew, constructing such a complex rune was absolutely impossible for a low-level Corpse Collector Apprentice who had barely attended any formal classes.

"Don't let him fool you!"

Joyce quickly shot Virgil a look, signaling him to steady himself and keep carving.

"This is probably a psychological tactic to disrupt our progress."

"They want us to lose our composure and waste time."

But when her sharp gaze swept over the long, slender tibia in Tylen's hands, her pupils suddenly widened.

The tibia, which had been rough to begin with, had been cut cleanly at both ends, exposing its hollow marrow cavity.

Several smooth, neatly carved Mana circuits ran across the bone's surface, along with three tiny but fully formed Mana cores.

"H-how is this possible?!"

Joyce's heart was rocked by a storm of disbelief.

Whether or not the runes would actually work was beside the point. The speed at which he had carved them into that long, slender, hard tibia had already far surpassed everyone else!

His precision and fluid technique made it look as easy as slicing tofu.

Steampunk came over as well.

Surprise gleamed in his shrewd eyes.

He had known for a while that Tylen was someone Makley had prepared in advance, but he hadn't expected the boy to be this fast.

"There's no way this boy could've known the topic ahead of time."

"Could he... have come up with it on the spot?"

Steampunk marveled to himself. Then he put on a stern, businesslike expression and stepped forward to ask:

"Student Magnus, are you sure?"

"According to the rules, once you submit your work, you can't make any further changes."

"If your rune can't be activated or produce a magical effect, you'll immediately lose your chance to be rated."

Tylen bowed respectfully, still wearing that harmless smile.

"Please rest assured, sir. I've checked it thoroughly."

Seeing Tylen's confidence, Steampunk nodded and called out:

"Very well!"

"Since you've finished, please explain the design behind your runes to everyone here, then give us a complete demonstration!"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Tylen calmly raised the long, slender tibia in his hand and spoke in a steady voice.

"I carved a small rune array into this bone that can control minute currents of air."

"It consists of three basic cores and six Mana circuits, built on the classic 'Karl Rune Framework.'"

Tylen's voice rang out steadily and clearly across the arena:

"And its effect is simple."

"When I spend Mana to activate the runes, they can produce sound on their own."

Many of the people present immediately grew interested.

Locke even set down his chisel and asked curiously:

"Produce sound?"

Joyce sneered. "I hope you're not just blowing into it yourself!"

Steampunk was also eager to see what would happen. He called out:

"Then, Student Magnus, show us what you've got!"

Tylen nodded, gripped one end of the tibia, and slowly infused it with 0.5 points of Mental Power.

Bzzz!

The runes on the bone's surface instantly glowed with a faint blue-green light.

Then a strange rush of air emerged from the hollow inside the bone.

Combined with several sound holes Tylen had deliberately drilled into it, a bizarre yet strangely catchy tune began to play.

Toot toot toot toot... toot toot toot toot... toot toot! Toot toot!

It was a melody this world had never heard before, but one that had been familiar to everyone in Tylen's previous life: "Two Tigers."

The tune was simple and catchy, with a strangely comical quality.

The onlookers and apprentices gathered around were stunned at first.

But soon they found themselves nodding along to the infectious rhythm. Some even began humming without realizing it.

"Toot toot toot... this tune's pretty catchy!"

"That's interesting. This thing's really something!"

"Holy Father... above!"

When Locke saw that the runes really worked—and could even play such a complete tune—his eyes widened in shock.

Kathy's big eyes, visible behind her oversized glasses, were filled with shock and curiosity as well.

She couldn't imagine how this usually unnoticed lower-level apprentice had managed it.

And... though the tune was strange, she had never heard it before, and it was actually pretty nice.

Steampunk could no longer suppress the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

As a level-two Official Wizard with a level 3.6 in Runic Studies, he could naturally see at a glance how ingenious the runes were.

"Genius!"

"This took not only a deep understanding of runes, but, more importantly, the kind of innovative thinking that could break free of established frameworks!"

If he'd been given the topic, his first instinct would probably have been to carve a traditional rune that could produce light or heat.

But runes that manipulated physical elements were generally much more complicated. Their cores required more complex and advanced elemental resonance.

But this boy had taken a different path.

He hadn't tried to manipulate physical fire or light elements.

Instead, he had chosen the most basic wind element, dealing only with "controlling the flow of wind" and not condensing the element.

That meant the runes didn't need a complex core for resonating with elemental particles. They could function with just the most basic universal cores.

Most ingenious of all, he had used the tibia's naturally hollow structure and combined it with the principles of how musical instruments produced sound.

With the simplest runes and the most suitable material, he had created the most immediate and astonishing effect!

The infectious melody of "Two Tigers" continued to play on repeat.

Joyce's expression had grown absolutely grim.

She suddenly stepped forward and pointed at Tylen, shouting:

"Who can prove he carved those runes himself, right here?!"

"And who can prove he didn't know the topic ahead of time?!"

By now, Joyce had finally realized what was going on.

The real competitors today hadn't been those two glamorous noble youths.

It was this Corpse Collector Apprentice they had ignored—and even mocked—all along!

She had schemed carefully for today's competition, guarding against every possible way the other side might cheat and keeping a close eye on the two noble apprentices.

But it had never occurred to her that the other side would use those two noble apprentices as bait, drawing all her attention away.

That had let this unremarkable Corpse Collector Apprentice deliver the finishing blow right under her nose!

At Joyce's accusation, Steampunk's expression darkened at once.

His smile vanished. Fixing Joyce with a stern look, he said coldly:

"Student Joyce, watch your words and your accusations!"

"People from your Blazing Sun Tower have been watching Student Magnus the entire time."

"If you want to know whether he carved those runes himself, one stroke at a time, why not ask your people?"

The two burly apprentices who had been assigned to watch Tylen turned pale and lowered their heads, stammering. With so many people watching, they didn't dare lie.

Steampunk gave a cold snort and continued:

"And as for your claim that someone leaked the topic ahead of time?"

He raised his right hand, his expression solemn and dignified.

"That's an extremely serious accusation, and one I can't prove false on my own. Since Student Joyce is so insistent, then I..."

"By the honor of the Steampunk name, I swear before the great Holy Father of the Source Fire and the profound Primal Sage!"

"Other than me, I haven't told a single person in this world the topic of today's competition!"

!!

At those words, Joyce opened her mouth, but her arrogance instantly evaporated, leaving only embarrassment and humiliation on her face.

In this world, once someone became an Official Wizard, oaths carried the force of magical constraints.

The fact that he dared to swear before both the Holy Father of the Source Fire and the Primal Sage meant that the topic really hadn't been leaked.

And among the nobility, forcing an Official Wizard to prove their innocence by taking an oath was an utterly undignified act—one that could even be considered insulting and powerless.

Her impulsive outburst hadn't helped her regain any ground. Instead, it had stained her family's reputation with the taint of rudeness and sore losing.

"I..."

Joyce bit her lip and stared fixedly at the bone still playing its cheerful tune, unable to say a word.