Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 30
>Chapter Title: This is the Correct Calculation
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I've thought this since my previous life, but trying to just go halfway is incredibly difficult.
People usually think that going halfway means slacking off casually, but that's not true at all.
You need eyes that can read the flow of events, and a pretty sharp mind. And that's not all. You have to be far more diligent than someone giving their all.
On top of that, temptations like this occasionally come knocking.
‘Parun's reward?’
It wasn't something I'd normally crave.
I didn't have much, but I never felt lacking. If I needed something, I'd just take plenty from those who had it.
Of course, they wouldn't want to share, but it didn't matter. As long as I could take it, that was enough.
In that sense, my vessel is different from ordinary people's. I don't cling to material things.
But this time was an exception.
‘Rapiter. Who would've thought it had entry restrictions.’
The Rapiter Library is divided into three floors.
The one I could access was the first—the lower floor.
It's open to academy students and imperial nobles, so the entry privilege is the lowest, but true to its fame on the eastern continent, the quantity and quality of books far surpass even a great noble's private collection.
However.
‘I couldn't even find the 'ma' in grimoire.’
To find even a clue about the Fire Mark, I'd probably need to reach at least the middle or upper floor...
‘But I can't get in.’
There was no way.
From the middle floor up, only royals, great nobles, or patriarchs of prestigious families could enter.
Of course, there were exceptions.
‘Academy professors can enter and exit freely regardless of status. They can access the middle floor, if not the upper one. And that's not all.’
Professors hold immense authority in the empire and the academy.
That's why people recommended by professors could enter the middle floor—and that's where the problem started.
It required recommendations from three or more professors.
In this situation, Professor Parun's reward was an offer too tempting to ignore.
‘Like this, going halfway is tough. Even when I try to stay in the middle, temptations keep coming from all sides.’
I stared piercingly at the cross-section diagram before looking away.
Regardless of halfway or not, it's best to put in as little effort as possible for anything.
A golem with its core exposed is nothing—a single punch away—but a punch not swung today, accumulated over a year, becomes hundreds of punches.
It seems meaningless if you look at just one day, but what about over 10 or 20 years?
It makes life far more comfortable than for others.
That's why I was looking at the cross-section diagram.
It was my own effort to reach the final gateway while encountering as few golems as possible.
Anyway.
‘I memorized it. The cross-section.’
It wasn't that hard.
Isn't there a saying like this?
Effort can't beat talent, and talent can't beat enjoyment.
But I guarantee you, no matter how much someone enjoys it, they can't beat someone struggling desperately to survive.
I have basic talent, I put in effort, I enjoy it, and on top of that, one mistake means death, so I struggled to live.
This minor skill was one fruit of that process.
I'd also picked up random skills like flower arranging, sewing, butchering, and more, but I hope I won't need them in this life.
Anyway.
‘Now I have to choose...’
Before deciding, I took in the sight of the magic department students burning with resolute determination.
After detailed instructions, it was personal preparation time.
The students were requesting items from the assistant professor for use in the Trial's Gate—mostly magical materials excluding artifacts.
This was especially true for students who manifested magic through 'mediums.'
Plant mages were a prime example.
‘At a high level, you can manifest without mediums, but having one is far better for drawing out your full potential. That's only natural.’
A flame mage holding a jewel like 'fire essence' is extra armament, but a plant mage carrying seeds or mediums is basic gear.
But if they sourced rare plant seeds or mediums with personal wealth, that raised fairness issues.
So the academy had regulations to provide materials to medium mages.
And the atmosphere was quite...
‘Overheated.’
It was just a performance evaluation, and aiming for high scores was natural.
“Assistant Professor, could I get bomb flowers? Ideally with ignition stones too...”
“Isn't your main attribute flame?”
“...Yeah, but.”
“Denied.”
The intent was obvious.
Flame mage and bomb flowers.
Bomb flowers weren't hard to bloom even with mediocre high-speed growth magic, and ignition stones made it easier.
With good technique, one seed could create a bomb flower cluster.
‘Blow them all up, huh.’
Of course, the caster themselves wouldn't emerge unscathed.
In other words, screw the exam and go straight for Professor Parun's reward.
It wasn't just that one student.
“Assistant Professor, as you know, I'm also studying alchemy, right?”
“So?”
“I made a golem recently, but no controller. Can you provide one?”
“Where's the golem? Show me, and I'll consider it.”
“...Left it at home.”
Obviously scheming to hijack the Trial's Gate golems' control.
Whether possible or not, success would impress not just on the exam but in Professor Parun's eyes too.
But it was just clueless undergrad thinking.
‘As if that's possible.’
Watching the scene, it was hard to tell if these were mages or just shameless, thick-skinned street thugs.
They probably knew how they looked.
But they'd try anything for the reward over shame or tact.
Unexpectedly.
“Teacher!”
Damian called the assistant professor, apparently needing something.
“...Not teacher, but anyway, Damian? What do you need?”
The assistant professor, standing far off, approached Damian.
He seemed wary somehow.
Like looking at a goblin on the verge of exploding or bolting unpredictably.
His gaze intensified at Damian's request.
“Seeds, please!”
Out of nowhere, asking for seeds.
The assistant professor furrowed his brow slightly.
“...Seeds? What kind?”
“Vine plant seeds, please. Twenty will do.”
“...”
Vine plant seeds aren't just one or two. The academy supplies over five kinds.
In intermediate or advanced classes, it reaches dozens.
Yet casually saying ‘vines’ suggested any kind would do.
That's when the assistant professor spoke.
“But Damian, your main attribute is...”
“None.”
“...Right, none.”
If you're good at one thing, it's ‘main.’ Good at everything? Nothing is.
Light of Healing was neutral magic, and the Blandoga secret art wasn't like the Decullan's all-attribute embrace but had extreme versatility.
Anyway.
“But I hear you're not a plant mage?”
Damian shook his head.
“I can do it!”
...He said, extending his hand toward the ground.
Pop!
A sprout shot up from the dry dirt right then.
“...”
The assistant professor clamped his mouth shut.
A tiny sprout, but manifesting a plant without a medium was impressive.
Far beyond basic class undergrad level.
Enough to count as a plant mage among basic class standards.
“...Just twenty?”
“Yes! Twenty's plenty.”
“Alright... Here.”
The assistant professor, hiding his unease, pulled a seed pouch from his subspace and handed it over.
Seeing that, Chenbi asked the assistant professor too.
“Um, Assistant Professor, the Trial's Gate is an artificial cave, right?”
“Artificial cave.”
Shaped by earth magic, located underground.
“So, are there restrictions on using earth magic...?”
A valid question.
Earth magic fundamentally uses ground as medium. It alters terrain, so the academy surely had measures.
To prevent undergrads from digging new paths to bypass, or destroying existing ones to reshape the Trial's Gate as they pleased.
Just in case.
The assistant professor shook his head.
“Use it freely. As long as you don't dig new paths, measures are in place so it won't affect anything.”
“Ah, yes! Thank you.”
Chenbi nodded vigorously.
Seemed like a worry for an earth mage like him.
Anyway.
Seeing even the exam-indifferent Damian preparing in his own way, I resumed my train of thought.
‘What to do.’
Parun's reward tempts me from going halfway. But chasing it brings minor annoyances later.
As I pondered.
“Now assigning starting points.”
The assistant professor's voice rang out.
Eleven starting points in the Trial's Gate. With the magic department's numbers, about seven per spot.
He projected the pre-drawn assignment on hologram—distribution as expected.
‘I’m... starting point 3.’
“Friend! See you inside!”
“Aster, Damian, good luck on the exam.”
As magic students lined up by starting point, Damian and Chenbi headed to theirs.
Seven assigned to point 3.
I took the very back of the line, still mulling.
While waiting for the escort.
“You Aster?”
“...?”
A sudden voice snapped me out of it.
One guy speaking, two behind—three students total staring at me. Unfamiliar faces, not M3 class... Anyway, the front one said.
“I'm Debay. Heard you're pretty good. Got a proposal.”
“Speak.”
Debay glanced cautiously at the assistant professor, then lowered his voice.
“I'll buy dropout bracelets. 30 gold each. Excluding you and us, three others in the group... Take them out, get 90 gold.”
“...Hmm.”
30 gold rivals a common family's monthly income.
So, that much per dropout bracelet.
As I seemed to think, Debay added.
“Not bad for a Black-White Slums street rat like you. Sure, naive young masters overlook it now, but how long? Time to find a way to survive.”
My Black-White Slums origins weren't worth hiding. I'd answered casually when asked, and word spread.
I pondered Debay's offer.
It was right, on one hand.
But not entirely.
They were just leveraging what they had well. Other students might call it cowardly, but I saw it positively.
Still, one thought.
“Why 90 gold?”
“...? Too low? Fine, 35 each. Total 105.”
“Still doesn't add up.”
“...?”
Debay tilted his head puzzled.
I explained kindly.
“You, you, you. Three.”
“Yeah.”
“Plus them, six.”
“Yea...h?”
Then the math is this.
“Shouldn't it be 180 gold? Oh, you raised to 35 each, so 210. That's the correct calculation, right? What do you think?”
Right. This is the correct calculation.
Why do guys like this always exclude their own... lives—not lives, but anyway—why skip their own value in the math?
I gave the three stunned idiots a generous smile.