Volume 16 - CH 1

On the outskirts of the Kingdom of Austin, the entrance and transfer examinations for the Royal Academy of Magic are being held.

The examinations are held twice a year, in the spring and at the beginning of winter.

It is said that there are more students who take the exam in the spring, but even now, in the winter, there are nearly a thousand people.

However, only about sixty of them are able to pass the exam, making it an extremely difficult exam, even for the University of Tokyo.

The first exam began immediately, with a dozen or so examiners surrounding the gathered students and chanting incantations.

「Murgh?」

I felt a surge of magic power.

My body was enveloped in a blue light, and I resisted in a flash.

「Right, anyone who has a cross mark floating above their head has failed the test. Please step outside the line immediately」

When I looked around, I saw quite a few blue dots floating everywhere.

「Huh? Seriously?!」

「That's a lie!」

「That's ridiculous! That's impossible, I'm a top graduate of the Royal Academy of Magic of Portiana!」

「Tell me the criteria for passing!」

「Well, the current spell is a 'Sifting' spell, a system that lights up a rejection for those whose basic magic value and MP total is below a certain level and whose magic resistance is weak. If you have been rejected, please train your magic power and try again next year」

Oh, well, I guess I was right to resist then.

「Oh, crap, it's no good. Alec-san, we'll go home first then.」

I had brought some warriors with me who wanted to become magicians in the second team, but it seemed to be too hard for those who had never received any magical training, and all the warriors except Noel were wiped out.

「Ahh, if you really want to become a magician, have Letty teach you later」

「「All right!」」

Still, all the magicians from the first and second teams were still around, and Nene and I were fine.

If we had done our research beforehand, we could have given them an item to raise their magic resistance, and I guess we could have cleared the test.

Well, there's another test ahead of us.

「Noel~, good luck to everyone~ Fight! Fight!」

Outside the testing line, Olivia is cheering on her son with her fluffer like a cheerleader, but she's young.

「P-please don't, Mother! It's too embarrassing. ...... Uwahhh!」

He seems to feel like he is being tortured, and the psychological damage seems to be great, but hang in there.　　

「Well then, That was just a small test. The real test will begin here.」

「You've got to be kidding me!」

The unsuccessful candidate cursed at the examiner, but he's not a graceful guy.

「Hmph, look at him, he can't even resist a spell like that, and he thought he could get into the Royal Academy of Magic?」

「You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. His gear is a mess.」

「It looks like he doesn't even have a good boost on him, haha.」

A group of well-dressed boys in silver embroidered robes sneered at the the unsuccessful candidate, but I guess it's not right for a guy who gets his clogs from magic boosting items to be arrogant. I'm sure their parents got all the items for them anyway.

「The second test is "Use of Magic". Please use your best magic to show off your skills. However, please do not hit others with your attack magic. If you do, you will be disqualified immediately.」

I'll just show off my magic, right?

「All right, then, let's do something flashy here!」

「Damn, I'm not very good at that kind of flashy magic, am I?」

While saying so, magicians around him began shooting fireball magic into the sky.

「Magic? ...... Master, I can only use the recovery system, can I use heal?」

Noel asked.

「I don't know. ...... Oi, examiner!」

It's faster to ask.

「What is it?」

「Um, I don't know black magic yet, can I use heal?」

「I'll allow it.」

Looks good.

「Auhh. Fi-fireball.」

「Auhh-auuhh, Fi-fire―」

Meme and Nene got so stiff and tense that they didn't even get a good fire going.

「You fools, did you guys even listen to what the examiner said? He told you to use your best magic」

「Ah!」

「T-that's right. Then――lose all light and fall into darkness, Blindfall!」

Meme chanted the blindfold spell, designating an empty place.

Perhaps it was because she chanted it all the time, but she didn't bite or stutter and completed the spell beautifully.

「Yes, you there, the one using Blindfall, you passed! Put this patch on your chest or hat.」

「Y-yes!」

The examiner was a professional magician, and he seemed to be paying close attention to even the most humble magic.

It's a rather high level exam.

Nene also began to cast the【Shield】spell that she had been taught by Letty-sensei. I, too, will go with the 【Ice Javelin】 spell that I always use.

Well, it doesn't have to be that advanced, so I guess I'll go with a single shot. However, I'd like to casually show off my altitude by not chanting.

If I shoot at the sky, it will be dangerous when the ice spear comes crashing down, so I shoot at the ground.

「Okay, you there with the shield, you passed!」

「Ha-hee, I'm glaaad!」

I'm glad Nene passed, too. Thalia also passed with her wind magic. The magicians of the second team also received their patches.

The "Black Cat of the Wind" seems to be doing well.

「The one using Heals over there, you passed!」

「Phew.」

Huh? What about me?

Is it bad that I'm not chanting?

「Yes, the person with the oversized fireball over there, passed!」

Serina passed, but she didn't chant.

「Tsk, Jajajaja!」

Get on with passing it, you bastard.

「Ah, that person in the black armor over there.」

The examiner called out to me.

「What is it?」

「Is that really a spell? Isn't it a skill?」

「No, it's a spell.」

I got it with skill points, but this is a spell type, so it's a spell.

「Hmm, it's too fast for a spell. And you've already fired more than fifty shots, so how can your MP hold up?」

「Ahh...」

It's because I'm a hero with a high magic value, and I also have skills such as 【Magic Power Generation Lv5】, 【MP Consumption Reduction Lv5】, and 【MP Recovery Speed Increase Lv5】.

Well, there's no point if it's too advanced to be recognized as a spell.

「Then―― Ice spirit, drip and become a frozen spear! Pierce it! Ice Javelin!」

I slowly chanted the spell for him.

「――that's all right?」

「Well, that's fine. Try not to look too good.」

I got a patch, but I don't feel good about it, even though I wasn't trying to look good.

「Pfft...*giggle giggle* ......, Did you guys see that? He's so dumb to use his skills to make it look like a big spell, and the examiner saw right through him」

「Yes, Melissa-sama is right.」

A group of three aristocratic kids were laughing at me over there.　

「Alec, you shouldn't worry about that. It's true that your magic is amazing.」

Serina says, well, I don't have to deal with the kid.

However, the kid, Melissa, is quite beautiful. Her age is around middle school.

She has silver hair with bangs and twin tail drills, and she has a very nice gaze that makes fun of the other person.

Well, I'm in the middle of an exam, and if I get involved badly, I'll fail, so I guess I'll go visit Melissa in her bedroom after I pass. Kuku.

「Now, we will continue with the third test. Those of you who did not receive a patch have failed here, so please step outside the line.」

「What!?」

「You should see more of my magic!」

「Damn it, I'm out of magic power. ......」

The magicians who ran out of power put their hand on the ground, but the number of people has decreased considerably. There were about a thousand of us at first, but now there's probably about two hundred.

「All right, please leave quickly. We won't give out any more patches, so please try again next year」

The students who still persisted in taking the exam were caught by the examiner's levitation magic and taken out of the line.

「So this will be your last test. I will only say the explanation once, so please listen carefully. For the final test, you will have to get the "Magi's Feather" from the top floor of the "Tower of Trials" that you can see behind you However, you will have to work in teams of three to complete this test. This is not only a test of magical ability, but also a test of cooperation. So, if even one of the three of you drops out, please consider that team to have failed」

At the examiner's explanation, the students voiced their surprise and dissatisfaction.

「What!? I'm a genius, but what if I get dragged down by others and fail the exam?」

「T-that's right! If Melissa-sama is fails because of me, ......」

「If you are a genius, please fill in the holes in your team and show your own ability. I'll be assigning you to a team based on your abilities from the test and your special magic. When the number on your patch is called, please come forward.」

「No way! I can't believe I'm being teamed up with people I don't even know!」

「What a mess! This means I can't use the Magician maid that Maman prepared for me!」

There were screams from all over the place, but I guess this was another countermeasure against the nobles Magician maids. It's not quite doubles, but it's not fair for the test to have skilled Magicians who help their masters in the mix.　

Saki, who did the research beforehand, told me that the Royal Academy of Magic in Austin has no backdoor admissions. This is probably why it is known all over the world as a prestigious school of magic.

「Number 189, number 3, number 25, come here」

My number's been called.

「Okay, we'll split up from here. Good luck, everyone!」

Serina winked and went to the examiner who had called her too.

「Yeah!」

Well, I'm off too.