Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magical Noble Family
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Since things had come to this, maybe I should put on a show or something.
*It'll work?*
That was what I thought, but my mind was already running the calculations on its own.
Last time with the play, we had five hundred people show up.
Even if I squeezed just one point out of each, that was five hundred.
*Pretty lucrative... No. Snap out of it.*
This wasn't the time for theatrics.
Especially not when I'd only been in the drama club for less than a month and they were going to hand me the stage just like that.
I considered wringing a little more out of my friends somehow...
*No, forget it.*
Checking their favorability ratings felt a bit rude.
It wasn't polite, and their values were already high anyway—raising them further wouldn't yield much.
My reputation at school was currently sitting at -7. Even pulling it up to zero would give me seven points, and targeting just forty-three people would net me 301.
*Forty-three, huh.*
I could think of it as building a decent network of forty-three contacts.
For now, I knew full well that this system was grabbing me by the collar and trying to keep me alive.
Of course, I was putting in effort to save my own skin too, but it seemed our goals were slightly misaligned.
*I never planned on scraping by on favorability points.*
Still, knowing it could supplement points like this put my mind at ease.
I could make friends aplenty.
That's when Leo waved a hand in front of my face.
"Lucas. What's up?"
"Nothing."
I gave a vague reply and stood from my seat.
"Tomorrow's the exam, right? Let's go train."
* * *
"Everyone, thanks for showing up on the weekend. As you all know, we'll be taking our first first-round exam in two hours."
The next day, we arrived at the classroom bright and early.
All thirty-seven passers from Class 1-B were desperately avoiding my gaze.
My circle of friends was the exception, of course, but half of them had already been cut from the paperwork stage, so effectively around thirty were fully dodging me.
*Hmm.*
If I thought of it as a gold mine, it was pretty positive.
*While I'm at it, maybe check them one by one.*
I stared straight at the professor and opened the favorability window.
Favorability +6
Professor...
As a pro-emperor mage working at a pro-emperor school, his politics weren't to my taste, but it was refreshing that he personally thought so highly of me. At the same time, my stomach churned a little.
*No room to raise it further.*
Fine, judgment made.
Ding!
Favorability +6 [Targetable]
*...*
Target what? Seriously...
It wasn't phrased as a proposal, so I quickly regained my composure. It just meant I didn't need to work in a professor's lab in this world.
A positive sign that we could build an even better mentor-student relationship.
But this system telling me that was pointless—my targets were those with favorability of 2 or lower.
They were easier and faster to raise.
*Come to think of it, the guy next to me was negative too.*
Maybe test it out.
I turned my head and quietly spoke.
"Hey."
"...!"
Bam!
As I reached out, Philip slammed his desk with his knee and convulsed.
"......"
"What is it?"
"Ah, nothing..."
Philip mumbled, glancing around nervously.
Ever since the core stability report, he looked at me like I was a ghost.
How had he been bullying Lucas with this level of grit? Empty carts make the most noise, after all.
Favorability -1* [Targetable]
I checked his favorability and spoke to the pale-faced Philip.
"Philip."
"...What...?"
"Hang in there with the written exams till graduation."
"...Huh?"
A flash of utter exhaustion at the mention of written exams crossed his face. The value stayed the same.
Favorability -1* [Targetable]
*Thought I'd snag even one point, but no dice.*
Words like that wouldn't raise it.
Better to find a way to boost favorability across the board than waste effort on pointless tries.
"Write hard."
Feeling like I'd just drained my own mental energy for nothing, I locked eyes with Pie in my pocket.
Pie’s mouth corners curved up.
Favorability +10 [Conquered]
*Hm.*
I liked that +10.
Separately, since I'd gotten close to Pie, there was nothing more to raise, so it called it 'Conquered'—not the most pleasant phrasing. I was done looking at that window anyway.
As soon as I thought that, the text vanished from view.
*...So I can turn it on and off at will?*
At that moment, the professor called my name.
"First, Lucas Ascanien."
The classroom atmosphere tensed subtly the instant my name was called.
The professor seemed at a loss for words, pondering for a long moment before speaking.
"...The other day, your core stability came out high."
"Yes."
"Over the past eighteen years..."
I waited for the rest, but it never came. He shook his head slightly and continued.
"Today will be the first time you'll be casting magic as a student. We're broadcasting the entire exam process, so keep that in mind from the start. You've never learned magic before, so don't tense up—treat it like a light practice run."
Other students' gazes flicked toward me at the mention of my first spell.
*They still think I'll flop.*
The others probably did too.
Core stability doesn't correlate to skill.
Plus, everyone knew I hadn't learned magic yet.
No point in explaining at length—it wouldn't change anything.
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now, the first and second rounds are team exams. We're supposed to form groups after the first first-round exam, but over sixty out of seventy-two have already submitted lists."
*In a rush, huh.*
Probably to avoid teaming with me.
Just yesterday, Leo, Elias, and Narke's inboxes had been flooded with partner requests from other students.
Even average students got them, but not a single one came my way.
In the end, my partner would be whoever flubbed the eye-contact game, so everyone was scrambling.
I asked Narke if my guess was right, and he gave an awkward laugh.
Spot on.
"Five from our class haven't submitted yet. No rush, but with so few left, you should start preparing. And..."
The professor checked the list and looked up.
"Julia Chellingen."
"Yes."
"You're the only top practical scorer in Class 1-B without a group. Teaming with someone matched in skill boosts your second-round chances."
"I know."
Top ranks got personal attention from the prof, sure enough.
I just rested my chin on my hand, waiting for him to finish.
With thirty minutes till the exam, a staffer entered to relay news, finally ending the professor's endless reminders.
"Class 1-A's thirty-five passers have already finished. Let's head to the exam hall."
* * *
The massive school gymnasium, set up as the exam venue, was divided into sections.
Students wore stiff expressions, staring into space from tension.
Whispers reached me now and then as eyes turned my way, but with more fear and curiosity than hostility, I saw no reason to react.
I scanned the area and sank into thought.
*The first first-round exam is just individual skill checks.*
In Bayern, they used real victims, but the school couldn't, so trainees swapped victim roles.
*I wondered if they'd go crazy and bring actual victims for the exam...*
They hadn't.
Exposing students to that would defeat the purpose.
"Mimesis~?"
Elias muttered beside me, frowning.
The school, with imperial and papal aid, had crafted spatial magic artifacts to simulate victim rampages.
For safety, they used orbs instead of victims now, but higher exam stages would likely feature human forms.
The school called this artifact training system "Mimesis."
"I knew it when I made those kids memorize Greek conjugations. Can't they use our proud native tongue? Still scarred from Greek verb changes."
"Haha..."
Then came the sound of someone's exam ending.
Beep.
[3 minutes 57 seconds.]
[Overall 2+. Well done.]
"Ooh, not bad. Been all 3-grades so far—getting boring."
Grades ran 6 levels with +, neutral, and -, for eighteen total.
2+ was solid.
As Elias said, most students had been 3s and 4s.
But more than that...
*They're straight-up announcing scores publicly.*
In modern times, complaints would flood in. They’d only recently revealed the exam artifacts too.
But in this tough-love era, no one seemed fazed.
Another room chimed.
Beep.
[7 minutes 17 seconds.]
[Overall 3. Well done.]
"Seven minutes is rough. Who's breaking records~? Leo and Narke haven't gone yet?"
"Nope."
Elias crossed his arms, whistled, and called me over.
"Lucas. Know about this?"
"What?"
"Second-years from knight and admin departments are betting on your grade."
[Next: 25, Lucas Ascanien. 26, Hanna Neudorf. 27...]
"It's not a make-or-break exam, but other subjects fail below 4-. Bet on whether you hit 4+ or flop."
"Is that so?"
Telling me right before the exam—great friend.
He figured no pressure since failing was laughable.
Elias slapped my back laughing.
"Go get 'em, Lucas! Bet ten errand coupons on you getting 4+~! Win, and they're all yours—use me plenty."
[Reminder: 25, Lucas Ascanien. 26...]
What are we, elementary kids...
I brushed off his words and entered the exam room.
The door shut behind me, and countdown began.
[First exam starts in 30 seconds.]
I casually spun my wand in hand and faced forward.
[3, 2, 1. Begin.]
A pitch-black mass appeared before me.
Vitriol-black slime rippled across its surface.
* * *
"Class rep."
"Use my name."
Leo stared blankly at the overhead relay screen as he replied.
Exams hadn't started, so all feeds showed empty white spaces.
"Leo, what do you think for Lucas?"
"What do you mean?"
"Can he actually cast properly?"
"......"
Asking if he could cast properly.
No one would say that about Nikolaus, but people not seeing him in Lucas thought like this.
"What if he blows up the school and drains blood? Honestly, his face looks even more like it now than freshman year."
"What's with faces?"
A friend laughed and asked; the student shook his head.
"Nah, last year he was a nobody, but this year his expression... you know."
"Yeah, totally~"
Leo started to speak, then shut his mouth.
Defending Lucas now would put him in a bad spot.
Skill or rumors, it'd sort itself once they saw.
Leo replied curtly.
"We'll know after he tests."
"Oh, right—he went to Bayern for evaluation."
A nearby student spoke up.
"Yeah, kinda curious if he can cast right."
"Don't get hopes up. If this counted, he'd fail."
"Yeah, never learned magic—what to expect."
"True, but..."
Students crossed arms, eyes on the relay.
Other students were testing simultaneously, but all waits fixed on one screen.
Lucas onscreen drew his wand and spun it.
[3, 2, 1. Begin.]
The announcement ended, and red light burst from his ebony wand. No—not the wand.
Mana surged from the hand gripping it.
* * *
They used orbs instead of humanoids to soften the shock, they said.
Made sense. Bursting a core meant targeting the heart, impossible for unfield-tested students.
Worked in my favor too.
Subduing left room for recovery, but seeing a near-death face up close beat detached report numbers.
Not the time to dwell, though...
*End it quick, but play the rookie.*
So I drew mana from my hand, not wand.
Grades here didn't matter.
They mustn't see Nikolaus in my moves.
[Begin.]
The orb hovering still began thrashing. In a blink, black smoke filled the space.
*Same basics, different shape.*
I'd faced this dozens of times in the field.
I raised a body barrier and gathered mana in my hand.
The faint hand warmth erupted into flames with a boom.
Boom! Roar—!
[If you remain in me and my words remain in you.]
I spun the wand between fingers again.
Double max output formula, usable for divine or mana power.
Experts cast formula-less unless intent required; chants advertised rookie status, so I dialed output down.
I tweaked the formula, slammed the flame-wrapped staff down.
[Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done.]
Kwaaaang—!!
Flames raced up the staff, devouring my arm. Red mana surged like a wave from my feet.
Success. Mana I could've mustered chantless.
Bang—! Boom—!
The black mass sprayed vitriol wildly at the mana prod.
To minimize civilian harm, pin the victim with minimal barrier or hit artery/core precisely.
Show that, and I'd look experienced, not rookie.
*What would a rookie do?*
Rookies often nailed answers surprisingly.
Even if inefficient.
So mine was...
Enclose the whole space in my mana.
I pictured coordinates, thrust my other arm, snapped fingers.
[Fear not, for I am with you.]
Snap.
Clear air rushed my face, vitriol-free.
Flames and vitriol cleared before me; a thick pink barrier split untouched flames from me.
Whoosh—
Boom!
Thunder followed a beat late.
Crackles battered my ears.
Crack! Rumble— rumble—
The dome barrier shivered finely. I braced legs, pushed mana through staff tip. Ears rang with noise. Floor tiles shattered sequentially, my infused mana splashing up.
Thud— plop—
Red-glowing interior turned pitch black.
Barrier bubbled like corrosion.
*...Good.*
The orb's misplaced vitriol core must've burst.
As I gripped staff to push more mana, a familiar beep sounded.
Beep.
[Exam ended.]
[58.33 seconds.]
Instantly, black air and vitriol vanished from the dome.
*58? Nailed the rookie act.*
Maybe not convincingly, but good I'd set rookie safeguards.
I wiped sweat with a smile.
*So, the grade?*
Usually announced together, but early finish delayed voice.
I glanced at relay cam and speaker; announcement came.
[Overall 1+. Well done.]