Finals - Nothing Scares Me Anymore
"You're looking awfully confident~ee?"
"Yeah. I've got the cheat sheet from you, senior."
"Is that so? It's not that great."
No? The cheat sheet Dorothy had given him was immensely valuable. It was study materials on introductory magic theory, infamous for its savage difficulty.
'And unlike the ones for Luel or Belloa, the explanations are super clear.'
She seemed utterly nonchalant about it, but they might even be easier to grasp than the professor's lectures. Thanks to that, he could understand them easily even without any special insight.
"Aiming for top spot?"
"For now, yeah."
Honestly, even if he didn't snag first place, it wouldn't be a big deal anymore. He had enough money to cover tuition without a scholarship, and above all, his skills had skyrocketed. Whether sword or magic, he was at a level where he'd be treated well anywhere.
"But first-year finals means Belhalm's exam, right?"
"Pardon? Belhalm's exam?"
Lately, that name kept popping up everywhere.
'The first-semester finals for first-years didn't even appear in the game.'
Which meant he had zero clue how it worked. The written part he could just study for, but the practical? No way to prepare. All he could do was trust in his 6th Circle, 5-core self.
"It's the exam the great sage Belhalm left behind before his death. Not too tough—first-year level, totally doable."
Belhalm had left behind way too much stuff before kicking the bucket. Every damn thing seemed to come with a "he left this behind" story. Magic tools, exams...
"Did you ace it, senior?"
"Of course I got full marks. You'll probably pull it off too."
"Really?"
If Dorothy was saying that much, he didn't need to sweat it. Not like student-level stuff was worth worrying over anyway.
"Still, got any pro tips?"
He wasn't worried, but that didn't mean he wouldn't milk the top senior who'd already taken it for all she was worth.
"Tips... Well, not much, but researching Belhalm himself makes it easier."
"Oh. That's a surprisingly solid tip."
It felt like she'd just handed him the exam scope outright. Nothing flashy, but insanely practical.
'It's Belhalm's exam, so knowing the guy who made it is definitely smart.'
He couldn't pinpoint the content yet. All he had was the name "Belhalm's Exam." Maybe that was the hint all along.
"Anyway, thanks. I'll crush it."
"Yeah. As club president, make sure you come back as top dog."
"I'll give it my best."
He said he'd try, but it was damn near 100% in the bag. With the study group featuring Belloa, Luel, and Dorothy? His head was stuffed with knowledge, his body brimming with mana and aura. No exam could touch him now.
"Master."
"Hm? What?"
"Your face is seriously punchable right now."
"…………."
Finals day.
After breezing through the written exams near-perfectly, Dante reviewed his memorized notes ahead of the semester's final practical.
That name he'd been hearing a lot lately. Belhalm.
Who was this guy, exactly?
If the most revered figure in human history for warriors was the Hero, then Belhalm was the mage who commanded the highest esteem and respect of all.
Unlike Heroes who only appeared in myths, Belhalm was undeniably real.
"Lilia. You know something about Belhalm, right?"
"Not the details. But I know he's the human who established human magic."
"That's more than I expected."
"The demon world was buzzing about it back then."
Magic was originally the collective term for techniques used by transcendent beings. Demons called their demonic power magic, but humans didn't have demonic power.
Magic was the technique of implementing abstractions by substituting mana in its place.
'And Belhalm was the one who created that magic system.'
The first in human history to lay the foundations of circles and circuit studies.
The one and only 10th Circle grand mage to reach demigod realm.
And the founding chairman of this very academy.
Some called him the Great Sage.
Others, the Foolish Savior.
Magic approaching the divine, a personality akin to a saint. That was why Belhalm commanded universal respect, regardless of race.
"And he closed the dimensional gate at the end, right?"
"Yeah."
Among his feats, the one beyond approach: sacrificing his own body to seal the dimensional gate with Star Manifestation-level magic.
Demons could no longer easily invade the human realm, gods lost direct influence. He'd single-handedly brought peace to a chaotic world—who wouldn't revere him?
'Alright, I've got the basics on Belhalm down pat.'
He didn't know intimate personal details, but he'd memorized most of what the books covered. Plus, plenty of academic prep. Belhalm's exam should be no sweat.
"Looks like everyone's here, so we'll begin the first-year common practical exam."
The professor normally in charge of second-years sighed and gestured vaguely to the door behind him.
"This is the exam hall left by our esteemed founding chairman."
Behind the professor loomed a massive door that looked enormous even at a glance. So rusted it seemed questionable if it'd open.
Yet the mana leaking from its cracks was on a level even he struggled to handle.
'A model world crafted by Belhalm himself.'
True to an archmage, the scale was unreal. Artificially creating a whole world just for an exam?
"The rules are simple. Inside that world, various trials from the founding chairman's lifetime will appear. Whether you cooperate or go solo, the one who clears the most gets the points."
Like midterms, it didn't sound too brutal. Just solve scaled-down versions of a handful of trials from Belhalm's life.
'Co-op means points split by group size.'
So to rack up max score, solo it was. Normally he'd snag a frontliner like in midterms, but...
Now? No need. He was a mage and an aura sword user.
"Trials appear all over the exam hall, so do your best. They reappear even after clearing, so no worries there."
Unlike midterms, where only first clears got points. Redos allowed.
Might mean grinding solo harder than expected.
'Luel and Belloa can solo too, anyway.'
Thanks to club activities and intense training, those two were beyond student level already. They'd hit Act 4 strength ahead of schedule. Clearing this? Easy for them.
"Gonna be a speedrun."
If clear records existed, just beat the shortest time.
"Well... Good luck, everyone. Head on in."
No sooner had the professor finished than the rusty door creaked open in sequence, swallowing students one by one.
Finally his turn. The moment he stepped through—
Talent: Mana Affinity maximizes your mana sensitivity.
Trait: Seal of Original Sin detects original sin.
How to describe it? Goosebumps prickled across his entire body. His muscles tensed instinctively, like something catastrophic was about to drop any second.
'Why the hell am I getting bad vibes already?'
Just because it was an exam made by Belhalm himself? The sensation crawling over his skin was profoundly unpleasant.
He hadn't even faced the trials yet.
"Master."
"...What?"
"Something's off here."
Even Lilia could sense it? If she was saying so, the odds he'd misread it were slim to none.
"It's heterogeneous. Master, you went into that illusion before, right?"
"Yeah."
"Feels similar to that."
He'd sensed it intuitively. An artificial world was bound to have some overlap, but...
Woooooong!!!!!!!
No way around it—that floating blob of mana in midair was wrong.
Fuck.
"Ah........"
In a flash. Before he could react, an enormous surge of mana erupted from the blob.
The rusty door that every student had just passed through—without exception—slammed shut like it was bolted tight.
And that heterogeneous sensation he'd felt moments ago? It intensified tenfold.
"Fuck, for real."
An incident even he, the transmigrator, didn't know about? This was bullshit.