The Magic Tower Entrance Test (1)
The Magic Tower was a dreamlike place for anyone who aspired to become a mage. It was founded by the empire’s strongest archmage, and it judged people solely on their talent for magic and their passion for it, regardless of their background. That was why it was considered the fairest and most impartial institution of all. But precisely because of that, it was also fiercely competitive. Every mage who believed they had even a shred of talent wanted to enter, which meant that an average level of skill wouldn’t even let you compete.
Yet here, in a remote rural village on the edge of the empire, there was a boy who had stumbled upon a magic theory book written by the archmage himself. He had taught himself, awakened his mana, learned spells, and now dreamed of becoming a mage of the Magic Tower.
At the age of fifteen, the boy set foot in a city for the very first time. He arrived at the magical city where the Magic Tower stood—the very city said to be managed by the archmage.
After stepping off the train, the boy swallowed hard.
“Whoa…”
Nothing but pure awe escaped his lips. More than the people walking the streets or the surrounding scenery, his eyes were drawn to a single towering structure that dominated the skyline.
The Magic Tower. The place every mage dreamed of and longed for.
Right now, he could only stare at it. But the boy had come here to enter that very tower. All he possessed was a single magic theory book, yet—
I can do this. I can definitely do this.
The boy believed in himself. The Magic Tower entrance test was held only once a year. He trusted the preparation he had done over the past year. Even if he failed, he could use the experience as a stepping stone to grow even stronger and try again next time.
Carrying all that nervous excitement, the boy headed toward the Magic Tower. The bustling streets were incredibly unfamiliar to him, but that unfamiliarity only fueled his anticipation and joy. Having lived his entire life in a rural village, everything he saw now was new. And at the end of the path paved by those new experiences stood the tower he had longed for so deeply.
So that’s the Magic Tower…
The boy’s role model was the archmage. It was only natural. In this empire, the archmage was an overwhelmingly famous figure. Anyone who walked the path of magic simply had to know him. He had laid the foundation for modern magic, created its systems, and restructured everything. He was the greatest genius in history and the one and only archmage. The books containing his story had become wildly popular, even reaching the top of the empire’s bestseller list. Such was the sky-high status of the archmage.
“Um… where is it?”
When the boy arrived near the Magic Tower, he saw the posted notices.
[The Magic Tower Entrance Test will be held once per year]
[Date: January 12th]
[Location: Somewhere near the Magic Tower (find it yourself)]
[Test Content: You’ll find out when you get here]
[Eligibility: Anyone crazy about magic, interested in magic, and who shows even a hint of potential]
[This notice was written by the Archmage himself. If you have any complaints, come fight me and win. I’ll hand over the position of Tower Master immediately.]
It was hard to tell whether this was an announcement or a threat, but every year, countless aspiring mages flocked here to challenge the test. Finding the location was apparently the first part of the test itself.
Let’s give it a shot.
Even though this was part of the test, they probably wouldn’t hide the starting point too well. The boy figured it must be concealed by a barrier.
The location was near the Magic Tower but couldn’t be seen. That meant it was hidden behind a barrier. While he couldn’t break the barrier, simply recognizing its presence made reaching the destination much easier.
The boy focused mana into his eyes and caught the faint distortion in space. That was all he needed. With just that, he successfully located the building.
There it is.
He walked slowly, following the distortion until he reached the spot where the wavering was strongest. Then he gradually released his mana outward. The hidden building slowly revealed itself.
Tension crawled up his throat. His heart swelled with excitement and anticipation at having found the building. When he opened the door, the structure that had looked like nothing more than a warehouse from the outside instantly expanded, revealing a majestic interior.
Several mages wearing the official Magic Tower robes stood inside, along with nearly hundreds of other aspiring mages. The boy’s mouth fell open.
T-There are this many…?
It really was the Magic Tower that drew people from all over the world. There were even people who looked like they had come from foreign countries.
I have to compete against people like this?
The boy naturally found an empty seat and sat down. As he tried to calm the frantic pounding of his heart, someone sat down beside him.
“First time?”
“Y-Yes?”
The boy turned his head. There sat a man who looked utterly languid and exhausted. He was wearing a robe, but it lacked the Magic Tower emblem, so it seemed to be a personal one.
“I asked if it’s your first time.”
“Y-Yes…”
“How did a kid your age end up coming all the way here for the test? You look like you’re from the countryside.”
“W-Well…”
When the boy hesitated, the man stared at him as if urging him to speak. Unable to withstand the gaze, the boy finally answered.
“I happened to pick up the Archmage’s theory book… and I got completely hooked. So I wanted to become a mage too, and that’s why I came here.”
“…You don’t have a teacher? You learned everything by yourself?”
“Ah, yes…”
“Hoo…”
A spark of interest flashed in the man’s eyes. It was a gaze filled with genuine curiosity and anticipation.
“That’s impressive. Then first, you should join the Magic T—”
“Fuck this shit!”
A sudden loud shout made both the boy and the man turn their heads at the same time. A man with crimson eyes and hair dyed red was yelling at the top of his lungs.
“How long are you going to keep us standing here?! Are you kidding me?! We’ve come this far, so it’s about time you started! How much longer do we have to wait?!”
“He was the first one here, so he must’ve been waiting a long time. No wonder he’s pissed,” the man beside the boy muttered.
The boy tensed up. If this man was the first to arrive among hundreds of mages, he had to be incredibly skilled. The boy couldn’t even imagine how much damage he would cause if he went on a rampage.
“Say something, will you?! You great and mighty mages of the Magic Tower?!”
The mages wearing official tower robes didn’t show any change in expression despite his outburst. They simply looked at him with faces that said, Ah, there’s one of these guys every year, and then ignored him.
Apparently that attitude rubbed him the wrong way. The red-haired man’s face twisted, and intense flames erupted around him.
“Fuck it. Who the hell cares about this damn tower anyway?! Making people stand around like dogs— I’ll burn you all to ash!!!”
The boy’s face turned deathly pale. The spell the red-haired man was using was clearly a high-tier one—Hellfire. If that thing landed in the middle of the hall, it would sweep everyone away. They had to run—
But the man sitting beside the boy, along with most of the other mages in the testing hall, remained eerily calm.
What’s going on…?
Just as the boy began to wonder, the massive inferno that had engulfed the hall suddenly vanished without a trace.
“W-What?!”
The red-haired man looked stunned. As if to prove his shock, a particularly beautiful voice cut through the air.
“I will not tolerate violence in this sacred place!”
A woman with flowing snow-white hair appeared. She stood out even in this crowded space. The boy’s mouth slowly fell open.
T-The Vice Tower Master…
The second-in-command of the Magic Tower herself had appeared. Her beauty far exceeded the rumors. The boy was still lost in admiration when the woman lightly tapped the air with her finger.
Boom!
The red-haired man vanished with a tremendous roar that echoed outside. There was no need to see what had happened to him.
The Vice Tower Master opened her mouth.
“Now, if anyone here has any complaints, please raise your hand!”
Naturally, no one raised their hand. She nodded in satisfaction and smiled brightly.
“Great! It looks like everyone is here, so shall we begin? The 9th Magic Tower Entrance Test starts now!”
Ding! Ding!
A sound like a bell rang out.
“The test for this round is~ drumroll please~”
Before she could even finish speaking, the space around them warped. When it stabilized, they found themselves standing in a clearing in the middle of a dense jungle.
The Vice Tower Master shouted cheerfully.
“Survive in the jungle! Reach the destination and you pass! There is no limit on the number of people who can pass! Time limit is four hours. Our Magic Tower does not condone killing, so you are not allowed to kill anyone! Any questions?”
Someone raised their hand.
“What exactly is the question?”
“As long as we stay alive, is that enough?”
“Excellent questions! Yes, as long as you stay alive, that’s fine! All of our mages are highly competent, so we can clean up any mess later! And…”
For a brief moment, the Vice Tower Master’s gaze swept over the area where the boy was sitting. He felt it, but assumed it was just his imagination. There was no reason for the second-in-command of the Magic Tower to look at him.
The man beside him wore an unreadable smile.
“One piece of advice: there are a ridiculous number of tests, and this is only the first one. So don’t get too cocky! Things can go very wrong if you do. Make sure you take that to heart!”
Clap!
After clapping once, the Vice Tower Master called out in a bright, energetic voice.
“Then let the real test begin!”
Meanwhile, inside the Magic Tower.
Several mages had gathered in one room, staring intently at a magical screen. This was the 9th Magic Tower Entrance Test. It was such an important event that even the mages who spent every waking hour researching magic took the entire day off to watch.
After all, these were the people they would be working with in the future. And since they had all gone through the same brutal tests themselves, there was a certain satisfaction in watching their juniors suffer.
As they watched the jungle from above, the mages each offered their own comments.
“Man, the newbies this year are so lucky. When I took it, the test started in a lava field.”
“Lava field? That’s cute. I got dropped in a snowfield. Even thinking about it now makes me feel like I’m going to freeze to death.”
“Tsk tsk. You weaklings. I once got chased by the Tower Master himself. He said he was the boss monster and told me to dodge his spells while he chased me like a madman.”
They all claimed that their own test had been the hardest. But then one of them suddenly sensed something off and changed the subject.
“By the way… where is the Tower Master right now?”
Normally, the Archmage would be overseeing the test alongside the Vice Tower Master. Yet only the Vice Tower Master was visible on screen. The Archmage was nowhere to be seen.
Their gazes naturally turned toward one particular spot on the screen. The magical display followed their attention and zoomed in.
There, a boy and a man were standing together.
The moment the mages saw the scene, they instantly understood what was happening.
The owner of the Magic Tower. The Archmage himself. Participating in the entrance test.
“Ugh.”
“Oof.”
“Shit.”
For the first time, the mages looked at their junior with genuine pity. He was about to face the hardest test any of them had ever seen.