Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Roan's Declaration
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I had no idea why this guy was suddenly showing such hostility toward me.
The key point here was that even for this fellow decked out head to toe in expensive artifacts, the [Essence of Light] was a precious item.
And that he was a mage who had reached at least the 4th circle.
"-The Essence of Light... is mine."
So, this was basically a declaration of war against me.
Something like, "This is mine too, so hand it over nicely and scram."
How very noble of him.
It felt like he'd gotten everything he ever wanted his whole life.
Honestly, it didn't sit well with me...
"Take it. If you can."
But this was the best response.
No matter what anyone said, this punk was a noble with a family name, unlike me.
Even as a respected mage in this world, I had to show a minimum of courtesy to a noble.
Besides, there was no magic tower to back me up if I mouthed off to one.
"...So you're not backing down?"
Roan tilted his head, as if surprised by my answer.
I nodded in response, and Roan bowed his head deeply.
...Was he about to explode in anger?
That question arose, but Roan's reaction was unexpected.
"Pfft, pff呵呵呵呵...!"
He suddenly clamped his mouth shut and burst into mad laughter.
Was he actually insane...?
Fuck, the redhead was one thing, but this silver-haired guy too... Why did all the crazies keep latching onto me?
He laughed for a good while before finally lifting his head.
"You're a really fun guy, you know that?"
Roan's face had lost its seriousness, replaced by a wide grin.
As if his earlier act had been just that—an act—he spoke in his usual sly tone.
"I just wanted to get friendly with you. I was curious what you'd fear. Turns out you don't buy into noble pretensions, huh? Forget what I said earlier."
...He did that just to get friendly?
Thud thud thud! You're definitely a psycho, you bastard.
"Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Roan Bilgeff, eldest son of the Bilgeff family and on the verge of graduating from the academy. And you?"
"Yoo Han... that's me."
"...Yoo Han. Got it. You're the first person to surpass me in a magic evaluation."
'Surpass?'
I pondered his words briefly before realizing.
'In the evaluations excluding mana capacity... I took first in everything.'
He must have been referring to the rankings given by the examiners in the previous tests.
'So he's second place?'
They hadn't disclosed everyone else's rankings, so I couldn't be sure, but it sounded like it.
That explained the earlier hostility.
Probably stemmed from competitive spirit or inferiority complex—something like that.
"But you know it too, right? The real contest starts now."
I shook off my thoughts and looked at Roan.
Even after admitting his loss with his own mouth, he seemed inexplicably relaxed.
That composure surely came from confidence that he wouldn't lose in the upcoming evaluations.
Unlike me, who gained genius through game traits... he was a true genius from birth.
"What I said earlier was sincere. That the Essence of Light is mine."
"..."
"Look forward to it. I'll show you who the real owner is."
With that, Roan turned away.
I averted my gaze from him too, but my mind was spinning faster than during our conversation.
'I'm no true genius.'
My genius came solely from traits, soul imprints, and the knowledge I possessed.
But so what?
In the face of my grand goal to defeat Baal and my wish to return to my original world, such trivialities meant nothing.
If there was an item I needed to achieve those, and I had to win it...
'...I won't lose.'
I would never let that chance slip away.
***
I'd definitely thought that just moments ago...
But right after the break ended and the next evaluation began, I was already in trouble.
'What the hell is this...?'
This evaluation was none other than a written exam.
It was simply solving a test paper created by the Aldeon Magic Tower.
But it wasn't as easy as it sounded.
Especially the history-laced questions.
'Describe the name and principle of the light magic demonstrated by the Aldeon School at the exhibition 50 years ago...?'
For someone like me who'd only skimmed tooltips a few times and spammed skills, I had no clue about magic principles.
Hell, 50 years ago wasn't even from the world I played the game in.
"Fuck, how am I supposed to know this?"
"Quiet there."
"...Yes, sir."
I swallowed my anger at the examiner's warning.
In the end, I left that question blank and skipped to the next.
'Solve what I know. Only what I know.'
The silver lining was that I knew quite a few.
Who knew the knowledge from researching mage builds would come in handy like this.
'Alright, this should be...'
Out of 25 questions: 15 I was sure of, 5 guesses, 5 descriptive ones left blank.
The cutoff was 17, so if I didn't mess up, getting just 2 of the guesses right would pass me.
Of course, leaving something this crucial to luck was horrifying, but there was no choice. This was my best.
'...Please.'
I waited for the results with trembling anticipation.
Why was I as tense as waiting for college entrance exam scores over this?
Finally, the results came out, and the applicants swarmed to check the postings.
Most wore satisfied smiles.
"...Passed."
"...This evaluation was easier than the others. Did Aldeon go easy on us?"
"If you fail this, your fundamentals are still lacking."
...Fundamentals.
I gulped dryly and squeezed through the crowd of applicants.
Praying desperately that I had the fundamentals.
The result:
'...Passed!'
Exactly 17 correct, barely scraping by on the cutoff.
Only then did deep relief wash over me, easing the tension from my body.
Sure, 81st out of 100, but even that was satisfying enough.
19 people did worse than me, right?
'They must not have studied a damn thing.'
I was grinning to myself with that thought when I sensed someone sidling up.
"Hm?"
I turned to see the blond again.
Roan Bilgeff.
He stared piercingly at the postings before turning to me.
"Weird. I didn't think it'd pick an owner this soon."
He said that while tapping the paper with his finger.
There, proudly in first place: Roan Bilgeff.
"..."
...What did he want?
***
15 hours after the evaluations began.
My stomach was plastered to my back, my mind foggy like I was dreaming, but I couldn't voice a single complaint.
I'd just witnessed a guy whining to the examiners about how tough it was and asking for food, only to get told, "Then go rest outside," and get booted.
One less competitor thanks to that.
80 remaining.
'Whew, just hang in a bit longer.'
Thinking of it as a game made it bearable.
When I was deep into [Devil Fantasy], pulling two all-nighters was no big deal.
Anyway.
"Hey, top scorer. You're with me, then."
This evaluation checked "teamwork."
To that end, Aldeon had us pair up into teams of two, and somehow my partner got decided for me.
Thompson, a massive guy who fit "barbarian" better than "mage."
"...Sure. At least I got you, mister."
I had no option to pick a competent teammate.
Of the remaining 80, the other 78 excluding me and old man Thompson were all noble-born mages.
I glanced over at where Roan was.
"Roan! With our connection, you should team up with me, of course...!"
"Roan, you're teaming with me, right? My specialty's water attribute, so with you..."
"Lord Roan Bilgeff, correct? Ah, I'm from the Istan family..."
They were making a huge fuss vying to team with Roan.
Honestly, was this even right?
If you really wanted to pass, wouldn't it make sense to pair with someone like me, who aced the practicals?
Screw status.
'Good thing I secured commoner status...'
If I'd come here with my initial beggar identity from this world... yeah, just imagining it was nightmare fuel.
Even as a mage, beggars don't overcome status easily.
They'd discriminate openly, no doubt.
Not that getting discriminated against openly now was much different.
"Being commoner has its perks! Teaming with you means we've practically passed already, eh? Hahaha!"
Well, Thompson wasn't a bad teammate anyway.
He was the sole surviving commoner, after all.
His skills were guaranteed.
"Oh, you know that noble Roan over there? Top of the academy, they say. A once-in-a-millennium genius, the academy's buzzing about it..."
...If only he'd shut up.
To cut the chatter, I casually asked.
"Mister, you're 3rd circle, right?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah."
"What spells do you know?"
"Oh, planning ahead! As expected of the top scorer. See, I'm pretty big, right? So I specialize in earth magic to make the most of it..."
We'd just about grasped each other's abilities when.
"Everyone, attention."
The strategy session halted with the tower lord Dershion's appearance.
"Seems teams are set... Now, I'll explain this evaluation."
Snap! Rumble rumble!
Dershion snapped his fingers, and small doors along the lobby's edges swung open.
And then.
"...Huh?"
"...What is this?"
"No way... We have to catch those?"
We couldn't help but be shaken by the iron cages the examiners dragged in.
Keeek!
Gurgle, gurgle!
...Snort.
From demon goblins to demon hydras, demon basilisks, and more...
Over a dozen species of demons crammed into the cages.
'These bastards... they've captured demons?'
Demonkin were instant-kill targets anywhere in the world, leaving Asteron.
In other words, what they were doing was straight-up illegal.
I couldn't believe they were openly revealing it in front of 80 mages.
'No wonder it felt off...'
Only then did I understand why Aldeon was always linked to demons.
'...If they've locked the tower tight for 100 years and raised demons inside, no wonder the rumors spread.'
It was a miracle it stayed at rumors.
If this leaked, the whole school would be in danger.
"No way... Aldeon really with demons...?"
"We have to get out and tell everyone!"
"...I can't do this. I quit the evaluation!"
As expected, backlash erupted among the mages.
But Dershion spoke firmly, as if he couldn't care less.
"You lack the qualifications to walk the path of light. Fine, get out if you want."
Rumble rumble!
He gestured, and the exit slowly opened.
I'd thought he'd blow heads off at this point... but he opened the door? What was he thinking?
Dershion continued impassively.
"Only those who wish to see true light remain."
His intentions remained a mystery.
But.
"...Hey, top scorer. What're you gonna do?"
I had to choose.
Stay for the [Essence of Light], or take another path.