Chapter 3

Three hundred years ago, the Silver Lion Knights were renowned for their incredible fame.

The citizens of the kingdom, hearing of the Silver Lion Knights' great deeds, would exclaim in unison:

The pride of the kingdom.

You are the iron shield that protects us.

You are the beasts on the walls that guard the kingdom.

Seeing the child who introduced herself as Charlotte Elaine, old memories welled up within me.

Leaning my elbow on the carriage window frame and resting my chin, various old memories seemed to flood back.

"Why are you going to the Knight Academy?"

As I watched Charlotte, who was already on her third skewer of chicken, she seemed flustered for a moment, wiping the sauce and crumbs from the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief before answering.

"Why are you asking such an obvious question? Of course, it's to join the knights."

A perfectly reasonable answer.

I had asked for more than that, but it seemed she had no intention of giving a proper response, so I slightly changed the direction of my question.

"Then which order do you hope to join? The Silver Lions?"

Honestly, my heart raced a little when I asked this. I wondered if she might want to join our order.

However, Charlotte Elaine frowned deeply and retorted.

"Are you crazy? Why would I join there?"

"..."

"It was prestigious 300 years ago, but now it's just a place for common soldiers."

She wasn't wrong.

I was well aware of the current status of the Silver Lion Knights.

After my death, it is said that the Silver Lion Knights retired en masse.

Unbelievable as it was, it was written in history that all the members laid down their swords and disappeared.

The king at the time could not simply disband the prestigious order that had defeated the army of Mammon with just one knight order, so he forcibly gathered the knights.

If quality was lacking, he would make up for it with quantity.

This was the opposite of the previous approach, which had pursued a small, elite group, and all sorts of knights began to join the Silver Lions.

This is why the current Silver Lion Knights are an order that anyone can join, but no one wants to.

At first, many knights were lured by the name of the Silver Lion Knights.

However, internal divisions and various corruptions soon followed.

From my perspective, hearing this story, it was enough to make my head hurt.

'That's why I'm going to the Knight Academy.'

While it's a natural course of events for things to change over time, this is the knight order we built with our comrades.

I couldn't just stand by and let the Silver Lion Knights be treated like this while I was wide awake.

To the me who had no family or hometown, the knights were my family, and the order was my hometown.

To raise the name of the Silver Lion Knights once again on the continent, I am becoming a knight once more.

"We've arrived."

The carriage had already stopped, and the driver's indifferent voice was heard.

"Wow."

Although I had lived in a rural area in this life, I had a vague idea that many things would have developed over the 300 years that had passed.

However, imagining it and actually seeing it were two different things.

The Knight Academy, one of the top knight training institutions on the continent, made my mouth drop open the moment I saw it.

It wasn't just because of its vastness.

From the height of the buildings to the facilities beyond, everything was of a different level.

Personally, I had nothing to learn about swords, but I was excited to see how creative and innovative the young people who were devoted to swords would be.

At the entrance, a huge statue of a knight stood tall, and right next to it was a statue of a mage made of the same material.

"That's the Mage Academy."

While the Knight Academy was a place to train knights, the Mage Academy was the opposite.

It was a place solely for training mages.

The two academies were in close proximity, engaging in friendly competition.

The Mage Academy was also crowded with people because it was the day of the opening ceremony.

"But why aren't they going in?"

Even though the magic students had gotten off the carriage, the main gate of the Mage Academy was not opened, preventing them from entering.

Charlotte Elaine, who had come closer as if to get her money's worth for the chicken skewer, cleared her throat and explained as if talking to herself.

"It's a tradition of the Mage Academy. You'll soon see something rare. That's why the Knight Academy students aren't going in either."

"Hmm?"

See something rare?

It seemed that the students who were about to enter the Knight Academy were also glancing at the Mage Academy, as if expecting to see something interesting.

Just as I wondered what it could be, the gate of the Mage Academy opened, and the faculty members walked out with a dignified gait.

An imposing presence.

The Mage Academy faculty made quite an impressive first impression, to the point where one might wonder if the Knight Academy had nothing to offer.

For a moment, the faculty members extended their staffs, and a blue light began to emanate from some of the students.

The students enveloped in the blue light smiled brightly, as if they had been chosen, clenching their fists or crossing their arms as if it was a given.

"This is how the faculty members select the best students from the new batch before the semester even starts. Although they only judge by the amount of mana, the amount of mana is crucial for a mage, so the students who are glowing blue now have a high chance of becoming top students..."

Charlotte Elaine, who was more talkative than I expected.

Thinking of Nelson, our youngest, this aspect seemed similar.

He tended to talk a lot when he had a drink.

Anyway.

"Huh? Huh?"

Charlotte looked at me with wide, confused eyes, as if she couldn't understand the situation at all.

Pointing to myself, I asked:

"What's going on here?"

A faint blue light was etched all over my body.

The blue light that appeared on the top students of the Mage Academy was now glowing on my body.

"No, huh? What's this? Were you admitted to the Mage Academy?"

Sighing at Charlotte's foolish question, I replied:

"We came in the same carriage to the Knight Academy, so what are you talking about?"

"That's true, but... What's going on? Is something wrong? No, wait a minute."

Suddenly making a fuss, Charlotte said to me:

"J-Just grab something! Mages prioritize ability, so probably...!"

Charlotte's words were cut off because my body was already floating in the air and flying towards the entrance of the Mage Academy.

It was a mysterious experience.

The levitation magic I experienced in my previous life was generally more aggressive.

It felt like a giant who couldn't control his strength suddenly picked me up and threw me away.

But the levitation magic of this era was on a different level.

The sensation was as soft as a bed in the sky.

Landing lightly, I stood with the other chosen ones in front of the Mage Academy.

The faculty members who brought me there with magic smiled kindly and cleared the way.

"The Mage Academy always prioritizes talent and ability. Therefore, the five students who show the greatest talent in this batch will be the first to step into the academy."

The five students were the first message the Mage Academy sent to the young mages.

The five selected now have the honor of entering the academy first because they have the highest amount of mana.

It means that those with ability will receive the treatment they deserve.

I knew that the Mage Academy was a place where everything was decided by talent and skill, but I didn't expect such a clear distinction from the start.

The problem was...

"Excuse me, I'm not a student of the Mage Academy."

"Hmm?"

One of the professors looked at me with a puzzled expression.

* * *

Alfredo, who had been working at the Mage Academy for the longest time, was attending his thirty-second opening ceremony.

Admitting young and talented students. It was something he had done for 32 years, but it was always fulfilling.

The infinite potential of the young mages who would grow and flourish.

And his role in shaping these raw talents. Alfredo was convinced that his true calling was not as a mage but as a professor.

He was grateful to be in a position to teach others because of his talent in magic.

The first selection process at the Mage Academy was a screening.

Five students with the highest amount of mana are selected and admitted to the academy first.

Some might call it discrimination, but it was a symbol of the Mage Academy.

Moreover, it was very effective in igniting the growth of the students.

The five selected students continue to strive to enjoy the overwhelming superiority they feel.

The students who were not selected burn with jealousy and competitiveness, striving even harder in their studies.

Look at them now.

There were quite a few students who were visibly upset at not being selected.

'Those who feel this way will eventually bear fruit.'

Not just seeing their shortcomings as mere shortcomings, but feeling ashamed and frustrated by them.

It was a quality that Mage Academy students should have.

"Alright, let's go."

While saying this, Alfredo was focusing on one boy.

'There's a child whose amount of mana is immeasurable.'

A mysterious and handsome boy with the rare silver hair.

How did he acquire such mana at his age?

At least, among the prestigious magical families he knew, there was none with silver hair.

A once-in-a-lifetime genius who had emerged from somewhere.

He seemed to be a commoner by his behavior and attire, but that only made Alfredo's heart swell.

'Ah! A pearl in the mud!'

While some professors subtly discriminated between nobles and commoners, he was not one of them.

If the boy was a commoner, he probably hadn't had the proper education in magic.

That meant he would be a blank slate, making him easier to teach.

There would be no unnecessary habits or inefficient styles.

While he appeared calm on the outside, Alfredo was more excited than the new students entering today.

'This batch has many geniuses from prestigious families, but a true genius, a real one, has appeared!'

It was a pity for the other children who were praised as geniuses in their families, but Alfredo could already see who would be the top student in the first year.

The gap between this boy and the others was that vast.

Being able to contribute to the growth of such a boy was the highest blessing for Alfredo.

But the boy approached him with an awkward smile and whispered:

"Excuse me, I'm not a student of the Mage Academy."

"Hmm?"

Alfredo blinked his eyes, like a fish opening its mouth.

Ian Aynel, who awkwardly smiled, pointed to the Knight Academy, seeing that Alfredo didn't understand.

"I'm a new student at the Knight Academy."

"That's... That's ridiculous."

Is this child having some kind of delusion?

Look at the amount of mana that stands out even among the prestigious families lined up.

This child, who has a unique amount of mana that surpasses the children of prestigious families who have increased their mana from a young age with various elixirs, is now saying what?

A knight?

He's saying he's a knight now?

What kind of nonsense is this!

"Hey! What are you doing to our student!"

At that moment, a large man with a fierce scar on his face pushed through the students and approached Alfredo.

He was Hector, a professor at the Knight Academy known as the head of the security team.

I heard that he does odd jobs himself because of the lack of hands due to the new students, and today he even drove the carriage, with dust all over his body.

"Hector? This child is a new student at the Knight Academy, you say?"

Alfredo, who asked in disbelief, was nodded at without hesitation by Hector.

"Yes! I brought this child myself today! Ian Aynel from Haman Village! A boy who entered through the commoner admission process."

"No, that... That's impossible. This child doesn't have the talent to just swing a sword!"

The students murmured at the sudden commotion.

The other four talents who were selected with him were also observing the situation instead of entering the academy.

Alfredo grabbed Ian by the shoulders and shook him violently, shouting:

"Boy! You're making a big mistake right now. I'll allow you to enter the Mage Academy by my authority. You have the potential to become a great mage! Not just swinging a sword and sweating, but a mage who can orchestrate destruction and salvation with a wave of the hand!"

"Ha ha..."

Ian, awkwardly scratching his cheek and laughing. Seeing this, Alfredo shouted roughly.

"You still don't understand at all! You are on par with the great mage Hilda, who was active 300 years ago...!"

"Ah, Professor Alfredo, that's enough!"

"The students are watching. What a disgrace!"

Finally, other professors started to intervene.

Looking around, the students' eyes were also glaring.

The image of the professors, who exuded an absolute presence, was being ruined in real time.

Finally, as Alfredo was being pushed back by the professors, he hastily took out a stone with magical runes from his pocket and handed it over.

"T-This is a detection stone I brought to help the new students find their magical attributes today. Please, take it and confirm your talent!"

"Professor Alfredo!"

"H-Have the students go inside!"

Following the professors' instructions, the new students of the Mage Academy started to rush in.

Unfortunately, the opening ceremony, a tradition of the Mage Academy, didn't end satisfactorily.

And even in the midst of this, Alfredo continued to shout, making eye contact with Ian.

"Think about it! You don't know your own talent! I'll awaken it for you!"

Ian could only let out a hollow laugh as he watched Alfredo being dragged away by the other professors.