Chapter 131

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 131

Chapter Title: Cave of Sincerity

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With the final exam of the second day over...

Our team's results were, of course, a pass.

This marked the end of the group exams.

The total number of participants who had passed the group exams was 28.

That left less than 10% of the original entrants.

"Y-You're truly amazing, Sir Ilno. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You seem like a sixth-circle mage on our level."

"I don't think I could've pulled that off..."

We hadn't disbanded and had gathered in Taebor's room.

The reason was to wait for Ilno to wake up.

After the exam ended, I'd told the other two about Ilno's valiant struggle.

They were stunned by his performance.

There was no longer any reason to stay together now that the group exam was over.

But we all shared the same sentiment, tending to Ilno and waiting for him to recover.

"Ugh..."

A short while later, Ilno slowly opened his eyes.

His face twisted in pain as he struggled to sit up.

"Sir Ilno, are you alright?"

"Her Excellency the Archmage Duke..."

"Her Excellency safely reached the destination, and our team passed without issue."

"Haa..."

Upon hearing that, Ilno relaxed his body once more.

He lay on the floor, practicing his breathing technique for a bit before rising again.

Though we'd cast healing magic on him, his condition was still rough all around.

Only after chugging water and devouring his packed lunch did Ilno become coherent enough to talk.

"You had no reason to look after me, yet you did. My deepest thanks."

As soon as he regained his senses, he bowed his head to us in gratitude.

"N-No, not at all."

"E-Even though the group exam's over, we might end up as colleagues later on..."

"We passed thanks to you, Sir Ilno. We couldn't just up and leave."

"Still, we're competitors again now. You didn't have to."

Ilno gave a wry smile as he spoke.

Of course, we were rivals once more.

But who could abandon someone they'd just fought alongside?

"Truth be told, I didn't accomplish it alone. Without Ian here, we definitely wouldn't have passed."

"Y-Yeah. Ian, you worked hard too."

"Sorry for underestimating you as a first-year..."

"No, that's not what I meant."

Ilno cut off Taebor and Chinya.

"Ian's skills have already far surpassed the level of an academy cadet. Honestly, he contributed more to escorting the carriage than I did. He flew while erecting barriers to block avalanches, then wiped out the beasts with explosion magic."

"F-Flight...?"

"So that broom was a flying mount?"

"All I did was offset the carriage's vibrations and handle nearby beasts. If we're talking contributions, Ian did far more."

Taebor and Chinya were shocked by Ilno's words.

And rightly so.

What I'd done was impossible for any academy first-year.

But it had all been possible thanks to SubsidyRiceEater's thought acceleration magic.

At normal thinking speed, even one of those feats would've blown my mind.

I couldn't mention the gallery's thought acceleration magic, so I just kept a calm expression and stayed quiet.

"Eek... Ian really was the impressive one..."

"B-But is that even possible? For a first-year to fly, and with how much mana does someone need to spam such inefficient spells like that..."

"Ian. Are you really an academy cadet?"

They cornered me, asking questions like it had been suspicious from the start for a cadet to even enter the selection trials.

"I can't deny my skills are exceptional for a first-year. But I am a cadet. And Ilno and I contributed about the same."

I brushed it off vaguely since I couldn't reveal everything.

Ilno had overhyped me a bit too.

I'd attacked wide areas without worrying about the carriage.

But Ilno had it harder, ensuring the battle's fallout didn't affect it.

"More than that, Ilno, your mental fortitude was astonishing. I was truly shocked when you escorted Her Excellency at the end."

"Y-Yeah, that shocked me too. Biting your tongue to endure the pain..."

I subtly shifted the topic.

Partly to dodge my own spotlight, but I was curious too.

No matter how loyal the applicants were to Yi ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Soo-ah, they weren't true retainers yet.

Yet after battling hordes of beasts and exhausting his mana, how had he shown such resolve?

Escorting the Archmage Duchess without a hint of strain in that state was acrobatic.

"I just thought I had to. I truly want to serve Her Excellency the Archmage Duchess."

Did he crave the scent of Yi Soo-ah's stockings that badly?

Real perverts go this far, huh.

These retainer wannabes aren't right in the head.

I swallowed those idle thoughts.

Then Ilno continued, sharing a story that shamed my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cynicism.

The tale of how he'd come to dream of serving the Illimost Archmage Ducal House.

"Actually, the name change was a lie. I never had a name to begin with. I just decided 'Ilno' would be mine."

"Pardon?"

"Many might think the same, but I'm one of the children sponsored by Her Excellency the Archmage Duchess."

"Sponsored?"

"Ian, you didn't know? Her Excellency quietly runs all sorts of charities. She doesn't want it publicized, but we who've received her grace know."

Ilno shared a story I knew nothing about.

Turned out Yi Soo-ah was running major secret philanthropy efforts.

Sponsoring orphanages, rescuing slum kids...

Mainly large-scale, steady aid for children.

All without fanfare.

Unusual for an Archmage Duke.

"I don't know why Her Excellency does charity work, but it must've inspired many kids to dream of becoming her retainers."

No wonder. Even for an Archmage Duke, having so many die-hard loyalists was odd.

It was all repayment for her good deeds.

"I-I'm from an orphanage she sponsored too."

"Me too..."

Taebor and Chinya were the same.

"I'm not from an orphanage. I was a pickpocket in the back alleys. There was a gang running things—fail to meet your daily quota, and they'd take your haul, leaving you starving for days. And as a thief, the city shunned me."

Ilno calmly recounted his past.

"Then the city I was thieving in got annexed by Illimost Archmage territory. Her Excellency personally purged the alleys herself—cleaned out the filth. That's when she found me. After that, it's much like you two."

Taebor and Chinya nodded in understanding.

I didn't know the details,

but I could dimly grasp how immense a salvation Yi Soo-ah's touch must've felt to those little kids.

"I was such a filthy brat back then. They put so much effort into fixing my speech and etiquette."

Ilno smiled with half-lidded eyes.

His demeanor was so refined it was hard to believe he came from the streets.

"In hindsight, bad name choice. 'Ilno' stuck from street shouts like 'hey you, this one.' Should've thought harder. But it means 'slave of Illimost Archmage Duchess,' so I keep it."

The three then swapped various stories about Yi Soo-ah.

Having passed what they'd dreaded most—the final group exam—they seemed a bit relaxed.

And so the second night deepened.

The three talked at length about their lives and how they'd come to dream of retainership.

Emotions I didn't share.

Yet I listened to their tales until the late hours.

The three looked utterly joyful sharing them.

Posting last night's stories to the gallery had the gallery exploding in response.

They'd seemed shady at first, but they were just pure fans of Yi Soo-ah.

Of course, they were rivals again now.

The third day's exam was individual.

We'd decided to shelve the proctor interference from yesterday's exam.

Personally, I wanted to call it out right away.

But Ilno kept insisting, "Whatever it was, if it's Her Excellency's will, we must obey."

Knowing the spirit behind his retainer application, I couldn't fully ignore him.

Confronting the proctor now might affect other teams' exams too.

Rather than Her Excellency's intent, it felt more like deliberate sabotage against me.

Did Yi Soo-ah really say that and try to make me fail on purpose?

Somehow, I doubted it.

Anyway, if interference happened again this time, it'd be clear.

This was an individual exam, no groups.

If issues arose again, it'd prove targeted sabotage.

With no teammates then, I could handle it my way.

I meditated to steady my mind, then headed to the exam site when time came.

"The final exam is the 'Cave of Sincerity.' Exactly half will pass."

The third day's exam differed from the priors.

Unlike previous ones centered on Yi Soo-ah knowledge,

this one focused purely on magic prowess.

"The exam site is a cave with 28 entrances. Each of you picks one and enters. All passages randomly connect to one other unique path."

The exam was simple.

Choose one of 28 entrances.

Each links to exactly one other via a single path.

Thus, 14 single-passage tunnels total.

Connections are random.

"So, whoever enters the entrance linked to yours will meet you. With one path, encounter is inevitable."

For example, if Entrance 1 links to 7.

Pick 1, and you'll face whoever picked 7.

"Knock out your opponent or outrun them—the first to exit the opposite passage passes."

Exit via 7 faster than them, pass.

If they beat you to 1 first, fail.

Simple.

Think random 1v1 duel.

"Exam starts in 30 minutes. Participants, select your entrance numbers."

Competitors eyed each other warily.

You might have to 1v1 someone.

Best to face the weakest possible.

No way to know pairings, so no point agonizing.

I picked nearby Entrance 28.

"Ah, Ian. Doing 28?"

Taebor approached as I stood at 28.

"Ah, yeah. You too?"

"Yeah. Feels right for the last number."

"Then I'll take 27."

I yielded easily.

Made no difference anyway.

Then it hit me—this could pit me against a former teammate.

Opponent fully random, 1/7 chance of groupmate.

Awkward if so.

Eliminating a teammate after two days together felt tough.

-We now begin the final exam.

The supervisor's voice echoed.

Participants rushed into passages without hesitation.

Even if magically outmatched, survive and outpace to win.

Best to cover ground before clash.

Knowing that, I mounted my broom and sped through the cave.

How long did I fly through the pitch-black tunnel?

Footsteps echoed from the opposite side.

If lucky, I could fly past without fighting.

Opponent unaware of my flight might panic, fail to react.

On broom, I could win without combat.

I accelerated further.

A human silhouette rapidly closed in through the dark.

Ceiling high. Fly up, dodge possible.

With that in mind, I flew higher, faster.

Just as the opponent fully came into view, I planned to zip past—

But recognizing them, I halted.

"...Sir Ilno?"

"Ian."

My opponent was Ilno.

Flashes of last night's tales and his group exam heroics crossed my mind.

An uneasy silence filled the cave.

One of us had to fail.

Illimost Archmage retainership trials allowed only one shot.

Winning meant crushing Ilno's lifelong dream forever.

"..."

"..."

Our eyes met.

We were surely thinking the same.

Ilno spoke first.

"We talked plenty as teammates yesterday, Ian."

"..."

Ilno surged with mana, opening his perpetually half-lidded eyes.

I doubted my own eyes at first sight.

Ilno's left eye was a perfect white orb, devoid of any black pupil.