Chapter 24

"From this point on, I will begin the opening ceremony of the Adventurer Preparatory School."

It had been a year since the village headman Claus, who was also the father of my father's concubine, made the strange request for me to become the next head of the Baumayster family.

Finally, at the age of twelve, I had left my home and successfully enrolled in the Adventurer Preparatory School in Breichburg. Reflecting on the past year, I had been preoccupied with evading Claus's repeated solicitations.

Apparently, if I had been willing, he had said he would persuade my father along with other supporters to make me the heir, but I couldn't understand why I would have to inherit such a remote and poor territory. Moreover, in my previous life, I was just a mediocre employee at a second-rate trading company, and managing a territory was impossible for me. I didn't have the noble mindset required for such duties, and if I could earn a living by using magic, I would be much better off as a freelancer.

In fact, my dream was to become an adventurer, but even if I earned a living using magic, it wouldn't be a problem. I could use instantaneous teleportation to move freely to unexplored lands or the coast, and create valuable items there using magic.

I had been doing this for five years, and the results of those five years had made it possible for me to live as a freeloader or a NEET for the rest of my life, even if I lived for hundreds of years more.

Yes, I was free. I had no intention of ever returning to my home.

My father, mother, and brother seemed to agree with my decision. Even if the territory was poor, if I used my magic to contribute to the people, it would likely cause new family disputes. It already had, but my father, being dense, hadn't noticed. If I reported it carelessly, it might lead to trouble, and I could be harmed.

So, I hadn't reported anything to Claus. If he couldn't easily leak his plans to my father, he should have been long gone by now.

My father and brother seemed to suspect something was amiss, but I didn't want to hear it. Perhaps they hadn't noticed anything at all.

Well, enough about my complicated family. Now, it was the opening ceremony of the Adventurer Preparatory School. An elderly man, presumably the guild master, was giving a long speech on the stage, but it seemed that schools were all similar in this regard.

Since this was a preparatory school for adventurers, no one had fainted, but even if they had all been sitting in chairs, it would have been the same.

"You will become capable individuals who can excel in the realm of monsters when you turn fifteen..."

The purpose of this preparatory school was to compensate for the disadvantage that, according to the royal law, one cannot join the Adventurer Guild until the age of fifteen. In other words, it was to avoid the inefficiency of sending a fifteen-year-old novice directly into the realm of monsters.

If a novice were sent to such a place, they would surely die, so everyone had to undergo at least three months of basic training under the guild's supervision. Even so, one in ten adventurers would die or be injured on their first mission.

It was a harsh reality, but it was a popular profession for those who wanted to make a fortune or had various reasons for feeling their lives were at a dead end.

Furthermore, the continent was experiencing development and population growth. Naturally, the demand for materials that could be collected in the realm of monsters was skyrocketing, and the guilds were welcoming new adventurers.

The Adventurer Preparatory School was established to train boys and girls from the age of twelve until they turned fifteen, or to provide at least one year of basic training for those over fifteen.

There was an entrance exam, but basically, everyone could enroll. The exam was to offer scholarships and other benefits to top performers and to encourage them to become exclusive members of the Breichburg branch of the Adventurer Guild after graduation.

This was the main reason.

Every adventurer guild was desperate to secure talented adventurers.

I had left home a month before the opening ceremony and immediately took the entrance exam. The exam covered basic geography, history, biology, monster studies, and local customs, which were essential foundational knowledge for adventurers.

There were also mock battles with instructors using weapons of choice and magic demonstrations for those who could use magic.

Honestly, I had only received basic training in swords and bows, but even as a low-ranking noble, the family's training had been effective. I had received a high evaluation among the examinees.

Mainly, I excelled in archery...

And in magic, but I decided to hold back. I had surpassed my master, the border lord's personal mage, in terms of magic power.

Fortunately, there were no mages as perceptive as my master here. They were so focused on praising me for burning the target with a dodgeball-sized fireball that they didn't notice my concealed magic power. This proved my master's words that excellent mages are sensitive to the presence of other excellent mages.

Mages, especially excellent ones, are rare. That's why someone who could use magic would never appear at a preparatory school entrance exam.

Moreover, the sensitivity of excellent mages to other excellent mages is not based on detecting magic power. It's a kind of intuition. No matter how much magic power one has, it doesn't gush out of the body like a hot spring. It's stored in a magic bag in another dimension and circulates through the magic circuit.

Even when casting large-scale magic, the used magic power is already materialized in the result and doesn't remain.

This is why mages have difficulty detecting the magic power of others. Most can only distinguish between ordinary people with a tiny amount of magic power and mages who can produce a spark.

"You are a rare intermediate-level mage. You have passed the special student examination."

It seems that being able to use intermediate-level magic exempts one from tuition, regardless of the previous written exam or weapon skills. Mages are that valuable.

"That's great... You can use magic."

"I can, but only at the beginner level, so I'm not considered much in the special student examination."

Amidst the envious comments from other examinees, I successfully passed the special student examination and enrolled in the Adventurer Preparatory School.

"My name is Wendelin von Bennau Baumayster. As the name suggests, I am the eighth son of the neighboring Baumayster family, but I won't inherit the territory, so I'm here to become an adventurer. Nice to meet you."

After the opening ceremony, the class assignments were announced, and it seemed that all special students were placed in the same class. The ages ranged from around my age to about eighteen.

There were those skilled in sword techniques, those proficient with bows, those good with spears, and those who could use beginner-level magic. I introduced myself as someone who could use intermediate-level magic and received the curriculum from the guild staff. The classes were 30% lectures and 70% practical training, and they only lasted until noon. Additionally, there were two days off per week.

"You can't enter the realm of monsters until you turn fifteen. Even those over fifteen can't enter for the first year. The reason for the few classes is also to allow you to earn a living through part-time jobs."

Indeed, even with the tuition exemption for special students, not everyone commutes from home. Many had moved to Breichburg from their hometowns and needed to earn rent and living expenses.

"Wow, that's right. What kind of part-time job should I do? By the way, does Baumayster get an allowance from home?"

A boy my age, who had become friends with me, asked if I received an allowance. Some, whose families were wealthy merchants or nobles, received allowances as compensation for not inheriting.

"The eighth son of a knight's family doesn't dream of such things anymore."

"Right... I'm in the same position."

This boy, who was about ten centimeters taller than me and had sharp eyes and short brown hair, was also the son of a small lord from the west. His name was Elwin von Arnim, and he was the fifth son of a knight's family that owned a village of about five hundred people, with a similar financial situation to mine.

He planned to use his talent in swordsmanship, which had earned him a place as a special student, to make a living as an adventurer.

"I do get some initial funds from home, and I've saved money from selling game I've hunted."

I didn't need such things, but I couldn't reveal that.

"I got a small amount of initial funds too. But the game I hunted was all taken by my parents. I need to find a part-time job soon."

"I also have some materials stored in my magic bag that I can sell."

"Being a mage is great. Hey, how about we do part-time jobs together, like hunting?"

Part-time jobs included working in shops, cleaning the city, babysitting, and other low-level tasks from the guild that didn't require entering the realm of monsters. There was also hunting, which was recommended by the guild for improving combat skills, despite the risk of being attacked by wild animals.

"Baumayster..."

"Call me Vel. My family calls me that too."

"Got it. Call me El. It's normal for younger siblings to be called by nicknames. Vel."

"Right. Nice to meet you, El."

"Sure. Nice to meet you, Vel."

I successfully enrolled in the Adventurer Preparatory School and made a friend of my own age for the first time in a long while.