Chapter 5

For now, the option of giving up the exam altogether is not on the table.

What I need right now is information. In that sense, going to the capital for the exam alone is worth it.

Putting aside thoughts about my future plans for now, I should first focus on the exam, broaden my knowledge about this world after enrolling, and if necessary, reconsider my options, including possibly dropping out of the academy.

I came to this conclusion.

The preparations for passing the exam are also thorough.

The most important thing in the exam is for the examinee to accurately grasp the height of the wall they need to overcome.

To do this, the first thing to do is very simple: thoroughly solve past exam questions. It all comes down to this.

To be honest, a three-month preparation period is short. In a situation where what you can do is limited, and you don't know how many similar questions will appear in the past exam questions, it would be scary to spend time on them under normal circumstances.

However, without this, it's impossible to measure your own ability and the distance to the borderline, and you can't formulate a strategy.

It's important to accurately grasp your own ability, understand where you need to improve to efficiently and surely cross that line, and clearly recognize the level you need to reach before studying with a strategy.

Just blindly completing the tasks given by your parents or teachers won't significantly improve your ability.

Looking back, I wasted a lot of time studying in my previous life.

I vaguely understood these things during my university days in my previous life and after becoming a working adult, as I continued to take various qualification exams.

Confronted with my clumsiness and inefficiency, I struggled and finally arrived at this simple answer.

I regret not realizing these fundamental things earlier, but the exam war is such that everything doesn't align at the necessary moment.

So, I asked Zold to gather as many past exam questions as possible and spent a considerable amount of time formulating my own strategy.

After objectively analyzing the remaining time and the scope I needed to cover, I concluded that with my current intellect, I could easily reach the borderline.

Incidentally, my pass/fail prediction before my awakening was less than 20% (possible), but I would have definitely failed if I hadn't awakened.

I know the strictness of the exam gods better than anyone.

Well, that's how it is with the exam.

More importantly, my current interest is in magic. I had some knowledge from "Allen," but I decided to investigate further.

External magic, such as shooting flames, creating water, or generating lightning, is possible in this world.

However, it seems to be a world where talent plays a significant role.

There are two necessary elements for using external magic.

One of them, the ability to project or circulate the magic power stored in the body outside, is something I possess.

In terms of sensation, it's an extension of the magic power manipulation for body enhancement, which is my forte.

In that sense, I can say I can use external magic to some extent, as it can be applied to things like detection.

...But it's not the kind of magic I'm looking for.

Yes, the other important element, the talent to change the nature of the magic power in my body to something like fire, water, or holy healing, is something I completely lack.

It is said that about one in ten people have this talent for nature change.

The compatibility of the nature that can be changed also varies, and the most compatible fire nature talent is found in about one in fifteen people. The rare affinity for lightning is found in about one in a thousand people.

There are also rare dual or triple natured mages, which is quite a dreamy story.

This talent for nature change, like the base capacity of magic power, manifests by the age of twelve and doesn't change afterward.

This is because the magic organ, equivalent to a monster's magic stone, is said to be fully developed by this age.

A special talent held by the chosen few... How wonderful!

I wasn't chosen...

In such cases, it's important to understand the phenomenon and accurately visualize it... That's the kind of development I expected, hoping that my scientific knowledge and awakening would suddenly awaken this talent, but so far, there are no signs of it.

It seems that the theory of dependence on the internal magic organ is more plausible.

If that's the case, it means that I can't use magic on my own through conventional means.

I do have an idea of how I, who lack the talent for nature change, can use external magic.

By using magic tools.

Using magic tools like wands, which use attribute magic stones as a medium to assist in nature change, it is possible for those without talent to forcibly change the nature and use external magic.

However, this method also has its drawbacks.

If someone with no affinity for the attribute of the magic stone forcibly changes the nature, the magic stone will rapidly deteriorate.

It can even shatter with a single use if a large amount of magic power is infused.

If I were to use very expensive magic tools and discard them, I wouldn't even be able to train properly.

So, should I become a magic tool artisan and improve magic tools?

But I don't want to become a magic tool artisan...

Originally, I wanted to use natural magic, not artificial magic that relies on tools.

Magic that anyone can use with tools.

The power depends on the performance of the tool.

Where's the romance in that?

That's the extent of my research so far.

With only the library of a small viscount's household and Oliver, the former explorer who is my only contact, I'm at a loss.

If I go to the capital, I can probably investigate research materials, and there should be clinical magic experts at the academy who can teach me.

Even though practical skills are required and passing is impossible, I would want to enter the mage course.

No matter how much time I spend, there's a high possibility that it will end in vain.

But I won't give up...

Whether it's for work, a hobby, or just for fun, I've decided to do what I want to do!