CHAPTER 121
CHAPTER 121
OMR Card?
Elves have their own independent magic academy, and the Elf queen, “Daughter of Spring Where All Things Bloom,” holds one Board Card of the Dunaice Academy.
Dwarves and gnomes of the southern Black Continent have established their own independent magic schools, and they too possess one Board Card.
The universal magic school that teaches magic to mages in conjunction with the Adventurer Guild, the Blue Tower, has one card.
And then, through some routes, General Bernhardt of the Garumhau and Chancellor Gimel each obtained one more card…
With two cards in the hands of the demons and three more cards added from other magic schools, a total of five Board Cards would support the holding of the Arcane Olympiad exam.
The sudden acquisition of two cards by the demons had neutralized Ludwig’s veto power within the board.
“Hm. The Arcane Olympiad exam. This is an area I’m unfamiliar with.”
Idnia was quite taken aback by the appearance of an event that did not exist in her memory of the game she had played.
It was likely content added after she had died in her previous world.
Seeing the demon prince Kais and his faction invading, who had appeared in Season 3, confirmed it.
The story unfolding before her eyes was clearly from Season 4 or beyond.
“Those demons are the same ones we saw back then.”
Karl muttered as he paid Aka Coins to a student at the Notos black market.
He bought tea leaves and brewed tea.
He then handed the brewed tea to Idnia as well.
“Oh, thank you. I should give you something in return.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve received far more from you, Lady Idnia, than this.”
Idnia had brought out bread she had taken from plundering Buremhyde’s laboratory.
They were breaking a sweet roll into eight pieces as if it were some kind of cake and sharing it, making the heirs of the Elector House look rather unsightly.
Karl seemed to have brought tea to repay the favor of being treated like that.
“Hmm. Thank you as always. Thanks to you boosting my sales, I’m able to make a living.”
Lorenzo greeted Karl in that manner. Even if it was partly a joke, the way he said it suggested that Karl, despite his complaints, was actually boosting the revenue of Lorenzo’s black market quite a bit.
“After all, there must be something like maintenance expenses for appearances. Even if Karl himself lives frugally, he has many attendants. As someone in a higher position, taking care of those below naturally requires a lot of spending.”
Even Crown Prince Rudolf’s students in Zephyrus were gentry or independent nobles, so Rudolf did not need to personally support them.
However, the Boreas dormitory in the northern region, which still retained a more traditional feudal structure, had a different atmosphere.
“Stop being sarcastic. Lorenzo. You’re the one good at scheming, aren’t you? Why do you think the demons are doing this?”
“They likely came to propose the Arcane Olympiad exam.”
“So what exactly is this Arcane Olympiad exam?”
“It is a competitive exam among mages that has existed since ancient times. It is said to have been a tradition of the Dunaice Academy. It was not held for a long time due to certain reasons, but when it was resumed, the competition became so intense that there were even fatalities.
So it was abolished again, though this is all from a distant past before we were born.”
“I see, as expected, you know a lot.”
“It’s thanks to these ancient books here.”
Lorenzo said this and placed a booklet on the table.
It was a small booklet that could be called a brochure, but strangely, it had familiar writing on it.
Idnia frowned when she saw it.
Because it was written in Korean: “Arcane Olympiad Exam Guidelines, National Magic Mock Examination.”
The Arcane Olympiad exam is divided into written and practical parts, but even the written portion was essentially a dangerous test akin to a practical one.
This was because, in order to take the written exam, special relic items were required.
Those were the ancient relic paper cards called OMR cards.
And the artifact known as the computer-use water-based marker pen that could mark on them.
The requirement of items obtainable from dungeons not as exam tasks but as basic tools needed to take the exam itself demonstrated how difficult and dangerous the exam was.
“I understand that normally it’s too dangerous to take in the first year… but seeing that they’ve come here now, it seems unlikely they’ll wait until then.”
“Hmm. Honestly, those demons are not at a first-year level. If we were to face them, we would be defeated.”
Idnia had already fought demons before and knew their strength well.
Although she had been able to win thanks to the Overlord’s Technique, in terms of pure magical ability, they were overwhelmingly superior. There was no way it would be a fair match with the current dormitory students.
“Currently, the Dunaice Academy Board claims to treat both demons and humans equally, but it acknowledges cooperation with imperial rule and that the academy exists within the Empire.
Faculty and student selection is also aligned with the Empire, so even if it claims not to discriminate against demons externally, from the demons’ perspective it can only appear to be under imperial influence.
That is likely because the most important transfer gate of the Dunaice Academy is located in the imperial capital, Dunaice.”
Crown Prince Rudolf of the Empire explained the current state of the academy in a rather neutral manner, considering his position.
“Previously, external parties tried to change the academy’s pro-empire policy by attending the board, but currently the faculty council holds four voting rights on the board. More precisely, the headmaster alone holds all four. So no other board members could move to change things. Elves, dwarves, and the Blue Tower also have no particular reason to side with demons against the Empire.
However, for some reason, the demons have now obtained two board voting rights and seem to be attempting to shake the current academy administration with the Arcane Olympiad proposal.
If the demons simply demanded control of the Dunaice Academy, the other board members such as the elves, dwarves, and the Blue Tower would not side with them. But if it’s proposed as an Arcane Olympiad, they would.”
While Rudolf spoke, Idnia felt something odd.
“This isn’t something a student should know. Is this knowledge he acquired as a crown prince?”
In other words, Rudolf had entered the academy already knowing how Dunaice Academy was operated as a crown prince.
In the original game, he had simply been a bright and cheerful crown prince, but it turned out he was a deeply grounded individual trained in the art of rulership.
“Well, as the crown prince of an empire, it’s only natural he would know this much. I’m seeing a side of him not shown in the game.”
Idnia smiled as she observed the different facets of the familiar characters from the game.
“Isn’t the Arcane Olympiad an exam for students? Can that be used to seize control of a school’s administration?”
Karl raised that question.
Could school governance really be determined by mock exam results?
“Because it is such a test. At first, it was merely a competition to determine superiority and pride, but over time it became a contest driven by pride, with many bets placed on it, and eventually even lives were at stake.”
Lorenzo, who seemed to know quite a lot, explained the Arcane Olympiad.
From the way he spoke…
“It seems the Medici Ducal House had already considered this. A plan to use the Arcane Olympiad to somehow seize Dunaice Academy…”
However, the Medici Ducal House had not put the plan into action, likely because they had not obtained a Board Card and did not have secretly prepared young mages capable of definitively conquering the Arcane Olympiad.
“That is truly a foolish story.”
Karl replied, and Lorenzo gave a wry smile.
“That is exactly what I think, but in this world there are many who risk their lives over trivial pride.”
There was a subtle edge in his words.
This was because Karl himself was a northerner who risked his life over such trivial honor.
For a clan that would casually bury an axe in an opponent’s head for insignificant reasons, to now claim they could not understand magicians risking everything over pride and honor—it was rather absurd.
At that moment…
An armored figure approached the group gathered in the dining hall.
“Wizard Ball members, report immediately to the Wizard Ball clubhouse. Those who arrive on time will receive 100 Aka Coins.”
Surprisingly, the summons was accompanied by a lure of Aka Coins.
“…It seems the professors have devised some sort of countermeasure.”
Rudolf rose from his seat.
In the Wizard Ball clubhouse, as expected, were Headmaster Ludwig holding an umbrella, Vice Headmaster Deneuve, Baroness Burem, and Professor Buremhyde.
Since it was raining, everyone had gathered in the clubhouse locker room.
The roof of the Wizard Ball clubhouse, coated with an aluminum oxide layer, resonated with the falling raindrops, producing a sound like drumming.
“Good. It seems everyone has arrived properly. I will now distribute Aka Coins.”
Headmaster Ludwig paid them the Aka Coins.
All of their student ID brooches shimmered in unison.
“What is the reason for the summons?”
“As you all know, unexpected guests have arrived and requested the Arcane Olympiad.
The Arcane Olympiad is an exam in which magic schools from around the world all participate. It is an extremely dangerous and destructive test.
At least in the current situation where the academy’s students are first-years, my judgment is that not only will we be unable to win, but even lives will be at risk.”
“You say with certainty that we cannot win?”
Rudolf asked, puzzled.
He was surprised by such a statement from the headmaster of the usually proud Dunaice Academy.
“Since we are first-years, couldn’t we deploy assistants?”
For first-year students of Dunaice Academy, assistants are treated almost like instructors, though strictly speaking they are still students.
Their magical abilities are certainly on par with those demons…
But Ludwig shook his head.
“If the demons have proposed the Arcane Olympiad, it means they are confident in victory. The first principle of strategy is not to respond as the enemy desires. If the enemy dictates the battlefield and timing, then even if you are confident in victory, you must remain suspicious.”
“But if we refuse the Arcane Olympiad, it doesn’t seem like we can simply reject it. If they weren’t confident, they wouldn’t have come and even requested a board decision.”
“Indeed, worthy of a crown prince. Assuming you understand the existence of the academy board, that is correct. They possess two Board Cards, and with the three additional cards from the elves, dwarves, and the Blue Tower, they believe they can overpower the four cards held by our faculty council.
Other magic schools also find the Arcane Olympiad troublesome, but they all share the same thought.”
“What thought is that?”
Rudolf asked, and the headmaster replied.
“The moment I win, I want to stop.”