NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6
Chapter 6
—–CROW—–
The
Each applicant could choose their own five subjects, and it seemed that passing the first exam required an average score or higher in all subjects.
And the second exam was an interview.
The first exam was no problem thanks to [Contemplation]. With [Contemplation], which could penetrate all the principles of the world, an exam was nothing.
“Or so I thought…”
I activated [Contemplation] and peered at the test paper, but the test paper didn’t crumble beneath my gaze. I simply gained a profound understanding of the principle that white was paper and black was ink.
What valuable information I had gained.
Although the price was a bit steep, it was good to know that [Contemplation] wasn’t completely omnipotent.
“No, looking at this again, this won’t do…”
My test scores didn’t meet the standard.
Fortunately, I had chosen three magic-related subjects out of the five, so I managed to hold my own, but I completely bombed the remaining two.
“Fucking math…”
As a graduate of a science university, it was a blow to my pride, but come to think of it, I had always used a calculator for all the calculations I did while preparing experiments.
I had become a being incapable of living without a calculator.
So, my pride wasn’t hurt.
“Hmm…”
What was damaged wasn’t my pride, but my stupid brain. Its expiration date had long passed.
Why did I think I would pass the exam without a hitch?
I should have studied a bit. I was too foolish, relying only on [Contemplation].
No, [Contemplation] did a good job.
It boasted perfect performance when it came to magical theory.
The fault was entirely mine.
Idiot.
“…Should I pack my bags in advance?”
If I failed the exam, the chase with the assassins sent from
The only consolation was that I would have some leeway.
Even
I was a man who always exceeded expectations.
“Sigh…”
Still, just in case, I should go to
Perhaps I passed because many others performed worse than I expected? I hoped so.
* * *
I quickly scanned the announcement board at the
[Contemplation – Activated]
“Hmm…”
I even checked with [Contemplation] activated, but no matter how hard I looked, my name wasn’t on the list of successful applicants.
I failed the exam.
Honestly, it was an expected outcome, so I wasn’t that disappointed…
“Ugh… Damn it…”
Alright, I was honestly disappointed.
Frankly, anyone from Korea would understand this feeling.
Even if you failed miserably, you would still check the list of successful applicants multiple times, hoping for a one-in-a-million chance.
“…Should I go back?”
But I had to accept it now. I failed. Before worrying about the protagonist, I had to worry about my own life.
Instead of dreaming of a pleasant school life, I would be thrown back into a brutal chase.
“Excuse me, mister.”
Just then, someone tugged at my clothes. I turned around to see a small child.
“I, I’m lost.”
A situation that made me sigh involuntarily.
“So…?”
“Take me there.”
“Where?”
“The faculty office.”
“Sigh…”
Obvious.
It was so obvious that it was hard to maintain a straight face.
Tiamat, the [Dragon Emperor], could use polymorph since she was a dragon. And having a child character as the headmaster in a game was already a well-established cliché.
And this approach, clichéd and trite, made me dizzy. Did I really have to play along?
Honestly, I didn’t feel the need to.
“Do you usually play like this? Headmaster.”
“Tch! Annoying brat doesn’t know how to read the room.”
Wow, her personality was showing.
A fiery red dragon indeed.
“An educator shouldn’t speak like that.”
“And manipulating the entrance exam is fine?”
Perhaps because she was short, her luxurious robe seemed to drag on the ground.
Her neatly braided red hair swayed like a tail.
Large, round glasses and vertical, reptilian orange pupils. And two large horns that seemed to have sprouted out of nowhere, radiating heat.
An absolute being, considered one of the strongest in the game’s setting.
And a Key Person who played a crucial role in the story.
[KP Dragon Emperor]
Tiamat
Usually called Tia for short. At her own request.
She was glaring at me with a deeply furrowed brow.
Although it wasn’t scary because of her childlike face, there was a strange sense of intimidation.
“Follow me. Oz Quabadis.”
“…Alright.”
Not a suggestion, but an order.
But I wasn’t courageous enough to refuse in front of the strongest being in this world.
Although it was a bit embarrassing, it was best to obediently follow behind the child.
* * *
We arrived at the headmaster’s office.
As soon as we arrived, Tia sat down in her chair with an arrogant posture and started glaring at me with cold eyes.
“So? Let’s hear why you made such a mess of things.”
“…I don’t know what you mean.”
I wished she would tell me what she was talking about.
But honestly, it wasn’t hard to guess.
It was probably because of my test scores.
“This!”
“Ah, it’s that after all.”
“What? You little shit?”
Since the expected outcome came out exactly as predicted, I unconsciously reverted to my original way of speaking. I had to be careful.
“No, it’s nothing. I misspoke.”
“So what is this?”
Tia shoved my test paper at me and shouted.
Understanding of Phenomenal Magic 100
Understanding of Elemental Magic 100
Application of Modern Magic 100
All magic-related subjects were perfect scores. Oz was truly amazing.
“You little shit, do you even know the difficulty of this exam?”
“Well, it wasn’t much.”
By the standards of [Contemplation], it was nothing.
Of course, it was incredibly difficult by my standards.
When I deactivated [Contemplation] as a test, it was so difficult that I could barely distinguish between letters and paper.
“You crazy bastard. You made this mess because it was easy?”
Tia pointed to the other subjects, Alchemy and Mathematics.
Ah, there was nothing I could do about that.
Alchemy 26
Mathematics 14
It was humiliating, but they were difficult. [Contemplation] or not, they were simply difficult.
Yes, I admitted it. Thinking about it now, the exam difficulty was insane.
I thought Alchemy would be about making potions with magical knowledge, but it was pure chemistry.
Strange.
It wasn’t like that in the game…
Still, I was confident in chemistry, so I thought it wouldn’t matter, but the damn periodic table was different in this world.
Hydrogen wasn’t H, but C.
C was carbon. Game developers, you fucking bastards.
I would refrain from commenting on mathematics for the sake of my honor.
There was honestly no excuse for that.
“Why don’t you tell me why you made such a mess of this?”
“Honestly, math and alchemy were difficult.”
“You don’t expect me to believe that bullshit, do you?”
“Shall I swear on mana?”
Lying while swearing on mana meant betraying mana.
And mana wasn’t kind enough to lend its power to those who betrayed it.
In other words, breaking a mana oath meant losing the ability to use not only magic, but all skills that utilized mana.
In this world, it was impossible to live without mana, so it was practically a disability.
“…Ah, I can’t argue with a mana oath.”
As expected, the universally recognized mana oath was a way to gain trust.
It was an expression of such resolve that the other party couldn’t help but understand.
“So what? Are you an idiot? Do you know nothing but magic? How can a person be like that? I can understand why the Demon King kicked you out at this point.”
“…”
She was crossing the line.
But I endured it for now.
Although Tia had a harsh personality, she wasn’t a bad dragon.
“Learn something here. Whether you use it to take revenge on the Demon King or give up and find another job is up to you. That’s the condition for me to take you under my wing.”
She wasn’t someone who would abandon a talented individual to a meaningless death.
That was the dragon’s sensibility. They prioritized their own interests and emotions over social or political stances.
“…Thank you, Headmaster.”
“Even if I pull strings for you, you still have to take the exams for formality, so participate in the practical exam and the interview.”
“Yes.”
She was a being who established an academy to impart knowledge to humans. She loved human potential.
She was a challenger in another sense, who hadn’t given up on her faith in humanity despite witnessing all sorts of vile human behavior.
“You can leave now.”
“Yes…”
And she would die because of it.
In the game, I thought it was natural for her to die because she was too overpowered, but now that I was in this situation, I couldn’t help but feel bitter.
[Erosion Rate 16%]
* * *
A few days after the first written exam, the practical exam began.
Similar to the written exam, the practical exam required passing scores in the chosen subjects.
The only fortunate thing was that I only had to take one practical exam.
Even after many were filtered out in the written exam, there were still many applicants remaining.
It would be difficult to have each person take multiple practical exams.
“Hmm…”
Crackle─!
I created a [Mana Bullet] above my hand.
Its formula was written in the example problems during the written exam.
I thought it was a good opportunity, so I interpreted it with Oz’s knowledge and deployed it.
“Not bad…”
This was the first magic, not a skill, that I had deployed. I still couldn’t use it without the help of [Contemplation], but I felt a sense of accomplishment in creating it with my own hands.
Of course, [Master of Mana] wasn’t magic, but a useless skill.
It only devoured mana and, except for the initial use, I had never seen it do anything properly.
Crackle─! Crackle─!
[Mana Bullet] was a basic magic spell used by most mage characters in the game as a basic attack.
Of course, as a basic attack, it didn’t have much power.
Still, I was an SSR-rank character, wasn’t I?
Although it might not be very cost-effective, if I increased the output, it could be more powerful than most R-rank magic.
“Hmm…”
Crackle sizzle──!
Yes, output.
When using [Master of Mana], it felt like pulling out completed magic, but the magic I deployed myself was different. I could add more mana than necessary during deployment or apply it in different ways.
“Excuse me.”
Coming to the academy was the right decision.
If I utilized Oz’s magical knowledge and talent to learn, I could become closer to his portrayal in the story rather than his playable character version.
“Excuse me?”
Of course, [Master of Mana] had its advantages. The deployment speed of magic was abnormally fast.
If ordinary magic was like the process of cooking, magic from [Master of Mana] was like pulling a finished product from a vending machine.
I could use ordinary magic normally and keep [Master of Mana] as a hidden card for emergencies.
“Excuse me!”
“Huh?”
I had been wondering why it was so noisy, and then I realized someone was talking to me.
I looked up and glanced to the side, and saw sparkling sapphire blue eyes.
“…”
It was Eleanor, the game’s protagonist.
Come to think of it, all practical exams for combat-related classes would be conducted in the same way, so it wasn’t strange for her to be here.
But why was she talking to me? Was there some kind of interaction between Oz and her?
I decided to respond normally.
“Is that okay?”
“It’s fine. It looks flashy, but it’s not that dangerous.”
She was referring to the [Mana Bullet] I was playing with.
It was sparking and fluctuating in size irregularly, but it was more stable than it looked.
Of course, without Oz’s talent, it could have gone out of control immediately.
It would probably be the same even if I learned other magic.
As long as I could complete the formula, Oz’s talent would automatically adjust it.
“Ooh! It really is okay! It’s sparkly and pretty, and I like how flashy it is.”
“…”
While I was momentarily distracted, Eleanor was trying to conjure a [Mana Bullet] herself, albeit unstably.
It was sparking even more intensely than mine, and its shape, let alone its size, was irregular.
That was dangerous.
Even a non-mage could tell.
“…”
I seemed to have forgotten the most important part.
“What do you think? Don’t you think mine is flashier?”
The protagonist of
Eleanor von Chrysos.
Despite being in a desperate situation and having to hide her identity…
“Huh? I think it’s about to explode…?”
“What…?”
She was a hopelessly attention-seeking individual.
—–CROW—–