Chapter 74

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This exam, I want to challenge you, who distinguished yourself in the previous battle.

It was a sudden declaration from Brain Milhis, the top student of the year. I was surprised when he said it, and the surrounding students erupted in loud voices.

"Wh-what! For real!?"

"The war hero and the top student of the year!"

"This is intense!"

...This is getting complicated. I looked at Brain.

"I don't quite understand this sudden challenge... Are you serious?"

"Of course, I'm serious."

Brain's eyes were sincere. There was no hint of a joke. There was a strong will to do this.

"...We don't need to make it a challenge. Wouldn't it be better to check my scores and be satisfied with that?"

"I can't push myself that way. It might be a bother to you, but..."

Brain responded casually. ...It's like a knight challenging another in a single combat during a battle.

"Sorry, Albert! This guy is as serious as a board!"

Suddenly, a light voice cut in. A boy with burnt sienna hair put his hand on Brain's shoulder and poked his temple with his finger. He had a friendly, sociable demeanor and used polite language with me because he was a commoner. Brain made a displeased face and glared at the boy.

"Stop it, Saelus."

"Scary! We're friends, right, Brain?"

Saelus laughed and took a step back, removing his hands from Brain.

"Wow... Three students with iron badges are all here!"

One of the students shouted. It was an accurate description of the current situation. The stone badge, which most first-year students have, is a requirement for promotion to the second year. The iron badge is a requirement for promotion to the third year. Therefore, there are few students in a year who have the iron badge.

And these three—me, Brain, and Saelus—are among them.

"Are you joining too, Saelus?"

Another student called out. Saelus waved his hand.

"No, no, I'll pass. I'm not that enthusiastic."

Saying that, Saelus took a step back and kept his distance. I stared at Brain.

"...Why me?"

"As I said, you distinguished yourself in the previous battle. Your offensive magic must have that much power."

Brain looked back at me and continued.

"I want to compare the strength of my offensive magic with yours."

There was no frivolousness in his words. Only serious intent.

"...Alright... I'll accept..."

My words caused a stir among the students. Personally, I wasn't enthusiastic, but being challenged in front of everyone, it would be difficult to refuse. ...Part of it was also due to Brain's seriousness.

"Thank you."

Brain said quietly. Filbus clapped his hands.

"Hey, don't get too excited! You guys are really... "

Then he smiled and continued.

"But, I don't hate this kind of thing."

"Teacher, why don't you join in!"

"No way! I'd lose my authority if I lost!"

Filbus answered the student's interruption immediately. The students laughed.

"Quiet! I'm going to explain the exam!"

Filbus shouted and opened the door to the adjacent room. Inside, there was a waist-high fence at the entrance, dividing the space to prevent students from going further.

Filbus pressed a button.

Instantly, several walls floated up in the back. From these walls, black shadows in human shapes emerged. The shadows appeared and disappeared in various places. The students murmured in awe.

"This is a setup using illusion magic. It's like this. The exam is to shoot the shadows that appear from the obstacles before they disappear."

Filbus pointed his right hand forward.

"Magic Arrow! Magic Arrow!"

Two Magic Arrows hit different shadows. Immediately, the shadows shattered like broken glass.

"Be careful, though. There are also these. Magic Arrow!"

A white arrow pierced a red shadow that suddenly appeared. However, the red shadow only staggered and didn't disappear, hiding behind the obstacles.

"The shadows have durability. They might not break with one hit. In that case, you need to use a stronger spell."

Filbus turned back to the shadows.

"Fireball!"

He threw a ball of fire at a cluster of two black shadows and one red shadow. A loud explosion. Instantly, the three shadows vanished.

"It's like this."

"Wow!"

The students praised Filbus as he turned to them. Spells like Fireball, which are flashy and famous, are very popular.

"This room is made of heavy mithril with high anti-magic defense. You can cast spells without any worry."

Filbus stomped on the floor, making a dull sound.

"However, powerful spells consume a lot of magic power. You can't just cast them willy-nilly. Adjust accordingly."

I see.

The power and accuracy of spells are important indicators. But, the timing of using spells that consume a lot of magic power is also a crucial skill for a mage.

...It doesn't matter to me since I can only use Magic Arrow...

"To put it simply, it's like archery. Haven't you all tried toy bows or crossbows at festivals? It's the same, but with magic."

After finishing, Filbus returned to the first room and pointed to a black panel embedded in the wall.

"When you leave the room, your score will appear here. It's a 100-point system. It's good. You can all see everyone's scores. You can all challenge Albert and Brain."

Filbus chuckled, and the students protested.

"What! We're fine! We can't win!"

"We didn't hear about this!"

"Embarrassing, stop it!"

Such cries were heard. But, I thought this was typical of the academy.

The Royal Magic Academy is quite ruthless—this is evident from its strict expulsion policy. Even in the water quality survey of Lake Biharnu, they immediately select students who have just enrolled. This is how the academy encourages competition among students.

"Don't worry. I'll set the advanced course for the selection. You can use that as an excuse if your scores are bad."

The students here are all top performers in their class. ...For some reason, I'm included. Probably because I have an iron badge.

This group seems to have more nobles, and only a few commoners, including Saelus.

"Let's start. I'll call you in the order of who gets excited."

Filbus pointed at Brain and then at me.

"Brain, you go first. And Albert, you go last."

Our gazes met. Brain nodded once and said,

"Understood."

He entered the adjacent room with Filbus. The wall was transparent glass. I could see Brain standing in front of the fence and Filbus sitting in a chair at the end. The students' whispers were audible.

"...How many points will Brain get?"

"Filbus said it's advanced..."

"Maybe around 80?"

Then, the exam began. It seemed to be soundproof, as no sound was heard, but Brain's movements were clear. Various colored spells shone, piercing the shadows one after another.

"Handred isn't just a name..."

One of the students said. Brain must have already learned 100 spells...

It was understandable given the variety of offensive spells. Without showing off, he calculated the power and range and immediately chose and cast the most suitable spell.

To have this ability as a first-year student.

Honestly, there were no classmates with this level of skill ten years ago.

After a while—

Brain came out of the room.

"Wow! As expected, Brain!"

The students cheered at the impressive result. At the same time, everyone's gaze turned to the black panel embedded in the wall. The panel displayed:

98 points.

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