Chapter 23

【23】22

“Hey, expulsion… isn’t this a bit harsh?”

Kal wiped cold sweat from his brow as Chloe questioned him.

“Are you nervous?”

“Of course! The Lumeran magic exam is bound to be ridiculously difficult!”

“No way they’d give freshmen-level students problems beyond their level, right?”

“Jealous, top student.”

Kal had barely scraped through the entrance exam, so he was uneasy about testing itself.

He wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

“Expulsion?”

“That’s just too harsh!”

“Professors have the authority to expel students. I assume everyone knows that, right?”

“But without just cause, one can’t be expelled, right?”

“Of course, expulsion without just cause is impossible.”

Professor Ren tapped the exam paper sharply with his fingertips.

“But if someone can’t pass an exam of this level, then they are unworthy to study magic at Lumeran.”

At that, a male student who seemed to be from another department raised his hand.

“What about students who wish to take magic classes as a minor?”

“Non-major students can attend magic classes outside their primary studies.”

“What about those hoping for dual majoring?”

“Dual major…”

Professor Ren trailed off with a smile.

“It’s possible that you may discover hidden magical talent in a trial class, unbeknownst to me.”

The unexpected words left the students looking puzzled.

“It’s because there are those with such lax thoughts that non-majors have to take the same test.”

A few students visibly flinched.

“Isn’t it a bit disrespectful for someone without prior magic experience to try standing on the same stage as those who have devoted their entire lives to magic?”

Professor Ren was smiling, but his eyes were cold.

Chloe nodded enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling.

“The exam is out of 100 points, and anything above 40 is a pass.”

At the forgiving cutoff, the students let out a sigh of relief.

When Professor Ren snapped his fingers, a massive hourglass appeared in the air.

“The exam will last one hour. Once you finish, submit your exam paper and wait outside the classroom.”

The students took out their writing instruments.

“Begin.”

The hourglass completed one rotation and sand began to fall.

The exam paper consisted of a question sheet, an answer sheet, and several blank sheets of paper provided for working out magical formulae.

The sound of quills scratching could be heard as Leo’s face froze upon looking at the test.

“Describe the effects produced when the following magical incantations are combined.”

He felt a headache coming on.

“What in the world is this incantation?”

Compared to the abilities in his time, magic had changed the most since returning to this life.

Magic, fundamentally, is the realm of inquiry.

The basics of the Rune Language remain the same, but the methods of using spells have evolved across different eras.

Most notably, due to the Hero Record, magical incantations have greatly advanced in the modern era.

Having not seen any magic books since his reincarnation, Leo was completely in the dark about the current spells.

Looking to the side, he noticed that even Kal, who initially looked distressed, was solving the problems.

Chloe was rapidly writing down answers to the problems.

“Kids these days are sharp. Solving these complex spell combinations mentally?”

Leo let out a deep breath in frustration.

“Okay, let’s at least get a rough idea of what current spell incantations are. Even if the spell formulas change with the times, if you understand the framework, you can still roughly guess.”

Leo gathered his resolve.

“There’s no way I’m getting kicked out on the first day! I have pride as the Great Hero who saved the world!”

Leo’s eyes lit up as he rapidly began deciphering the spells.

“Thank goodness! Only spells I know came up.”

Meanwhile, Kal let out a sigh of relief after solving the problems.

The exam wasn’t excessively difficult, contrary to his initial worries.

The spells that appeared were all ones he had memorized.

While combining the spells was somewhat complicated, it was justified that, as Professor Ren had mentioned, if one couldn’t solve problems of this level, they were unworthy to study magic at Lumeran.

“Sure enough, this guy solves spell combinations mentally.”

Without any working out, Chloe was already writing down answers, leaving Leo amazed.

Glancing over at Leo, he noticed the quill moving at high speed, yet the answer sheet remained completely blank.

“Huh? Leo. Aren’t you aiming for a dual major? Yet your spell knowledge seems lacking?”

If this continued, it was clear that Leo wouldn’t be able to take magic major classes.

Kal frowned at the prospect of not being able to take magic classes with him.

“Thirty minutes left.”

“This isn’t the time for this. Better focus on the problems.”

On the other hand, Leo stopped his quill after completely filling up one of the working-out sheets.

“What kind of b*stard made these incantations this complicated!”

Given enough time, he could definitely decipher them.

The issue was the lack of time.

Checking the next problem, it was plastered with unfamiliar incantations as well.

As he kept running through the problems, his eyes stopped at the last one.

The exam contained a total of 50 questions.

From questions 1 to 49 were all spell combination problems, and the final question required interpreting a spell to find the result.

The spell itself was not much more complex compared to the previous ones.

After solving it mentally, Leo wrote down the answer on the answer sheet, stood up, and left his seat.

The students’ gazes were on him.

“He gave up. Of course, since he couldn’t even solve the first question, it must be a waste of time trying further.”

Kal licked his lips as he watched Leo hand his answer sheet over to the teaching assistant.

“If only this, I can’t keep up with magic classes.”

Among 50 questions, there was only one he knew.

“How can he possibly continue a class like this?”

“To learn on your own is all you can do.”

Kal reproached himself for his complacency while leaving the classroom.

After that, time continued to tick by on the hourglass.

But no student stood up from their seat.

Even if the non-magic majors had come with laid-back attitudes, as they had chosen magic as a minor, they had some basic knowledge of it.

“Time’s up. Submit your answer sheets to the teaching assistants.”

“Whew~ tough.”

Kal stretched and turned to Chloe.

“Hey, what was the answer to the last question? I couldn’t solve it at all.”

Shaking his head in apparent exhaustion, Kal watched Chloe furrow her brows.

“Due to lack of time, I couldn’t finish either.”

“Is that so? It was pretty difficult indeed.”

“What about Leo?”

“From what I saw, he didn’t solve even a single question.”

“So that’s why he left.”

Nodding, Chloe stood up and walked toward someone.

Curious, Kal followed her.

“Big Brother! Is this question correct?”

“Yes, it’s correct!”

“Yesss!”

Chloe had approached where Abad and Chelsea were.

“Chelsea, hey.”

“Huh? That’s Kal, right? Who’s she?”

“This is Chloe Mueller.”

“Top of the northern region?”

Chelsea’s eyes widened.

“It’s nice to meet you, Abad LeWalyn. Did you solve the last problem?”

“Not enough time. What about you?”

“Same here.”

Chloe took out her exam paper.

“I’m curious how my solution compares to yours, can we check?”

“Perfect timing, I was curious about the same.”

Chloe’s test paper was densely filled with the working of the last problem.

Abad’s test paper was no less impressive than Chloe’s.

Kal’s jaw dropped.

“Indeed, the top students are a different league. If only there was more time, they might have solved everything.”

“Have you seen Leo?”

“After he left earlier, he hasn’t appeared again. Looks like he didn’t solve a single question.”

“Of course. This isn’t something a knight would solve.”

Knowing Leo as an excellent knight, Chelsea nodded.

At that moment, Professor Ren returned to the podium, and the students hastily returned to their seats.

“You’ve all worked hard on the exam.”

Professor Ren flashed a clean smile.

“Soon the teaching assistants will finish grading. Before that, I will briefly explain the magic theory class I will be in charge of.”

As he explained, the students couldn’t help but marvel.

Professor Ren’s lectures were easy to grasp.

Instinctively, the students realized they were in the presence of an excellent professor.

“With this, imagine getting to take lessons from someone like this in the future!”

The students were filled with anticipation.

Just as Professor Ren finished speaking, a male teaching assistant entered the lecture room.

“Professor, the exam results are ready.”

“Let’s all check the exam results?”

Other assistants brought a bulletin board with the exam rankings to the front of the lecture room.

“Actually, this exam consists of forty-nine one-point problems and one fifty-one-point problem.”

As the students murmured, Professor Ren continued.

“This test, prior to selecting students for magic major classes, also reflects the core idea of my class.”

“Magic incantations have advanced rapidly over the last few centuries. That has allowed spells, which originally required complete comprehension for use, to now be activated by just memorizing the conditions.”

As Professor Ren extended his palm, a magical formula formed with magical energy activated.

He gripped the spell tightly.

The incantation shattered, and fragments of magical force scattered in every direction.

“The advancement of these incantations has regressed magicians!”

The sudden shout startled the students.

“The current trend among magicians is simply memorizing more incantations! It’s certainly an easy way to cast magic… But! That doesn’t make one a true magician! The essence of a magician is not memorization but exploration and understanding! What are young magicians doing today? Disregarding incantation comprehension, they instead obsess over rote learning! The evolution of magic has led to the regression of magicians!”

With both hands spread overhead, Professor Ren displayed a vast array of magical incantations in the air.

“Here is the essence of the magical incantations I’ve created. Not some common activation formulas, but formulas I’ve devised from scratch — my own unique work. How many modern magicians even research their own magic formulas?”

It was nothing less than a personal magus’s original magical essence.

To true magicians, Professor Ren’s magical world appeared exceedingly beautiful.

“The clash of magic is not only about mana but also about who understands and disrupts the opponent’s formula more quickly. Relying solely on activation formulas won’t take you to higher realms, hence!”

With a swoosh, Professor Ren’s magic disappeared.

“I will proceed to conduct classes to enhance your understanding of magical formulae! To help you all become true magicians!”

Enthused, Professor Ren spoke to the students.

That passion resonated with the students, prompting them to applaud.

The word ‘true magician’ was enough to stir the hearts of the young students.

Encouraged by the enthusiastic responses, Professor Ren nodded and pointed at the bulletin board.

“Check your scores and rankings. And those scoring below forty points, unfortunately, please leave the classroom. That’s all!”

The students gathered around the bulletin board.

Professor Ren, who had been observing the students with a thoughtful gaze, turned as another male professor approached.

“Professor.”

“Is something the matter, Associate Professor?”

“There’s a student who solved problem 50.”

“A hundred-point score, then?”

Professor Ren was genuinely surprised.

‘An extraordinary talent has entered! Is it Abad? Chloe? Ah! Am I finally getting my disciple of a lifetime?!’

“It’s not a hundred.”

“It’s not a hundred?”

Professor Ren’s expression changed peculiarly.

Surely any student capable of solving the final problem wouldn’t find the previous forty-nine problems exceedingly difficult.

And yet it wasn’t a hundred points?

“Ah-ha. So he left a few problems unsolved after solving the last one.”

“That’s not it either. Aside from the last problem, everything else is blank. Take a look here.”

The Associate Professor handed the answer sheet to Professor Ren.

As Professor Ren checked the pristine white answer sheet, he asked gravely.

“…Who is this student?”

*

Upon checking the bulletin board, Chloe naturally looked at the highest-ranking positions.

And she was startled.

2nd place. Chloe Mueller, Abad LeWalyn. (49 points)

3rd place. Chelsea LeWalyn (48 points)

No matter how she looked at it, Chloe and Abad were tied for 2nd place.

And the name at the very top was.

1st place. Leo Flove. (51 points)

With a hardened expression, Chloe looked at the front row seat where Leo had been sitting.

There was his abandoned exam paper.

She rushed over and examined the paper.

‘What in…?’

Upon seeing the solution to the first problem Leo had solved before giving up, Chloe couldn’t help but look shocked.

“Leo Flove… What the heck is this guy?”