In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man Is King (5)
What was the easiest way to seize first place in a particular group? The answer was simple. Join a thoroughly mediocre group from the start. It was easier to be the head of a snake than the head of a dragon, and simpler still to be the head of a worm than the head of a snake. And alchemy class was the perfect place for me to become exactly that kind of head.
After all, the experience is completely different.
How many of the students here had spent their lives handling beakers and flasks and actually understood what they were for? The talent for mana was special, and the field where that talent shone brightest was combat. If someone had known their own aptitude from childhood, they would have trained for it naturally. On the other hand, succeeding in the entrance exam without even realizing one possessed mana meant their personal combat ability was already exceptional without it—which again put them far from alchemy.
It wasn’t that mana-using alchemists didn’t exist, but most were combat mages who switched fields later in life. Very few started out as alchemists. So it was only natural that I—who had learned the concepts of chemistry in my previous life and even tinkered with it firsthand—held an overwhelming advantage over students who were starting from zero.
Professor Faust asked, “Did you study alchemy before entering the academy?”
“No, sir. However, helping with my family’s business gave me a solid understanding of time and resource distribution. The idea that too much is just as bad as too little, that sort of thing.”
Professor Faust nodded. “Indeed. Cost management is a crucial part of alchemy as well.”
After checking the other students’ results, he spoke again. “Ho, this reagent is exceptionally well-made. However, from now on, pay attention to cleaning up your workspace as well.”
The one who earned the praise was a noble lady from the Spero Kingdom—someone I already knew.
Frelia Magnus.
She was one of the major characters in Planetarium. No matter which subjects the player chose, the developers had placed at least one standout member in each auxiliary class to make forming connections easier.
“Thank you, Professor.”
Even as she said it, Frelia wore a slightly frustrated expression. She had clearly been confident, and it bothered her that she had lost to me.
Wasn’t baking her hobby? Recipes are the lifeblood of that craft, after all.
Once class ended, I walked over to her. Since I planned to focus on magic stone processing, it couldn’t hurt to get close to Frelia, who had shown exceptional talent for potion-making in the original story. Besides, the Magnus family held a position close to the new royal faction within Spero, making them one of the few noble houses without a bad relationship with the Midas family. She would be a perfect piece to use against the old royalist faction led by Alphons Betuart.
“Good afternoon, Lady Magnus.”
“…What does the honor student from the Midas family want with me?”
She greeted me with a rather sullen face. It wasn’t the usual contempt or anger I saw from other noble students—it was closer to childish grumbling. It wasn’t exactly mature, but after dealing with that brainless boar, her attitude was almost cute.
I shrugged. “It might sound like self-praise on our first meeting, but…”
“Pardon?”
Frelia tilted her head, genuinely confused.
“We both received praise for the completeness of our work, didn’t we? Yet you called me the honor student. In the end, that compliment circles right back to you…”
“Ah, no! That’s not what I meant! Besides, I received criticism and you didn’t!”
“Cleaning up afterward isn’t that difficult. You can just do better next time, can’t you? Or were you planning to skip it again?”
“No, I’ll do it. I mean, I will, but…”
“Then there’s no problem.”
Frelia looked momentarily dumbfounded, then let out a helpless laugh.
“Fine. I’ll retract the honor student comment. Though with a tongue that smooth, ‘playboy’ might suit you better.”
“That title carries too many misunderstandings, so let’s settle cleanly on Chrome.”
“Then you can call me Frelia. So, what is your actual business?”
“The joy of meeting a fellow countryman?”
“The Midas family says that?”
“Then let’s call it greasing the wheels of a promising future talent. Alchemy is best when you specialize. Ah, that’s right. Anyone who didn’t fully understand the lecture earlier, please gather here! The lecture fee is currently free! Lady Magnus here has kindly agreed to help as well!”
“Huh? Wait, what are you arbitrarily—”
“What? Really?”
“An opportunity to get something free from the Midas family? Not bad at all.”
“Hey Midas, tell me how to do this part.”
“Lady Magnus, I don’t understand what this part means—”
Roughly five out of the thirty students gathered and began firing questions. Frelia stood there flustered for a moment before she started answering, her mind clearly racing.
I watched the scene with a smile. The honor student badge was proving very useful.
I wish I could pull something like this off in magic class too.
“Draw the desired ‘formula’ at the chosen location outside your body. Imagine it like blood vessels carrying blood, like pipes carrying water, like a single channel through which liquid flows.”
Professor Neville’s explanation continued. “Once the image is solid, send the mana inside your body through that imaginary passage. From end to end, filling every gap without fail. Through this process, mana transcends simple energy and transforms into an otherworldly existence with its own unique form and nature. That is what we call a spell.”
Unlike the usual lecture hall, this was a vast training ground filled with various targets. In the space prepared for practical magic lessons, the students stood together with their eyes closed, concentrating.
Professor Neville spoke. “Those who are ready, activate your spell.”
At the same time, small clusters of light bloomed near the palms of roughly half the students standing in line.
Pure mana transformed into physical force and shot toward the targets. It was the most fundamental spell in magic, the one that could be activated with the least mana.
There was no need to chant the spell name aloud. This was the characteristic of structured magic, which formed spells through pure imagery and mana control alone. It was a system designed to reduce casting time to the absolute minimum so mages could fight on equal footing with warriors in real combat.
Professor Neville declared in a low voice that somehow reached everyone, “Fire.”
With sharp whistling sounds, arrows of mana streaked toward the targets.
The results fell into four categories: those that hit the target, those that missed, those that dissipated before reaching the target, and those that exploded midway.
Professor Neville continued his explanation. “Failure to activate the spell means the image was never properly formed. Missing the target means the image was created but lacked precision. Dissipation before impact comes from insufficient mana infusion, while explosions are caused by pouring in more mana than the spell can handle. We will repeat this ten more times.”
The low-tier mana arrows flew several more times. By the tenth and final round, most students had succeeded in manifesting the arrows. This was the result of constant mana control practice during previous classes, and proof that the entrance exam had selected students with truly outstanding talent.
Of course, even among them there were clear differences.
“Tsk. As expected, repeatedly using these petty spells doesn’t suit my temperament.”
Eagle Pendevig, the older twin from Morian’s prestigious magic family, the Pendevigs, clicked his tongue. Eight of his ten arrows had hit the target, but the impact points were scattered and the holes far too large to properly gauge his score. It was the result of his usual habit—thanks to his massive mana capacity and rapid recovery, he always crammed in mana right up to the spell’s dangerous limit.
“Is that so? I find this rather fun after so long,” his younger sister Hau Pendevig replied.
In contrast, her Low-Tier Mana Arrow left small, clean holes, and every single arrow scored eight points or higher, giving her a total of ninety. Unlike her brother, she had relatively low mana capacity and slow recovery, but her mana control was exceptional.
Hau Pendevig looked around. Most students hadn’t even reached a total score of fifty on the scoreboard, which put her in an even better mood.
Well, that’s only natural. …Hm?
Her gaze suddenly stopped on a girl with green hair.
“Whoa, this is harder than it looks.”
The girl named Pino had struggled with spell formation. Two of her arrows had dissipated before reaching the target, but the rest had all struck either dead center or right beside it, giving her a respectable score of seventy-six.
Hau hummed softly. Not bad for a first attempt.
At the same time, Eagle Pendevig’s eyes were fixed on a boy named Chrome Midas.
Sixty. Slightly above average. Plenty of mana, but control is terrible.
Eagle’s own control wasn’t exactly stellar, but since his specialty was spamming mid-tier spells anyway, his self-justification was flawless.
Satisfied with their respective observations, the twins’ gazes eventually turned in the same direction.
But—
As expected?
The moment they checked the score of the woman whose dazzling beauty stood out even when she was simply standing still—Lyla Everblaze Barhart—their eyes trembled.
“…………”
On her target, there was only a single, tiny hole right in the center. It was so small you wouldn’t notice it unless you looked very carefully. Her score was one hundred. An unquestionable perfect score.
The twins looked away.
She carries the blood of Everblaze. It’s only natural.
She’s in a league of her own, so realistically, I’m in first place.
Meanwhile, the one-eyed boy who had spent the alchemy class cosplaying as the perfect honor student was thinking:
I won’t be able to use the same trick here.
Even the model student of the class could never be first place in a nationwide mock exam. That was the reality.