“Hey, expulsion… isn’t that a bit too much?”
Karl said nervously, wiping cold sweat, as Chloe asked.
“Are you scared?”
“Of course! Lumerne’s magic tests are bound to be insanely difficult!”
“Do you really think they’d give us questions beyond a freshman’s level?”
“I envy you, top student.”
Karl, who had barely passed the entrance exam, was anxious about the test.
He wasn’t the only one feeling that way.
“Expulsion?”
“That’s too harsh!”
“The professor has the authority to expel students. Everyone should know this, right?”
“But isn’t it impossible to expel someone without a valid reason?”
“Of course, expulsion without a valid reason isn’t allowed.”
Professor Ren lightly tapped the test paper with his fingertip.
“But if you can’t pass even this level of a test, you don’t deserve to learn magic at Lumerne.”
Then, a male student from another department raised his hand.
“What about students taking magic as a minor?”
“You can still take non-major magic courses.”
“What about those aspiring for dual class?”
“Dual class, huh…”
Professor Ren trailed off with a smile.
“Who knows, maybe they’ll discover hidden magical talent in a temporary course.”
His sudden remark left the students puzzled.
“It’s precisely because some people think so lightly of it that minor students also need to take this test.”
Several students flinched.
“Isn’t it disrespectful for someone who’s never learned magic to stand on the same level as those who’ve dedicated their lives to it?”
Although Professor Ren was smiling, his eyes were cold.
Chloe nodded enthusiastically with a sparkle in her eyes.
“The test will be graded out of 100 points, and a score of 40 or higher is a pass.”
The relaxed cutoff brought sighs of relief from the students.
When Professor Ren snapped his fingers, a massive hourglass appeared in mid-air.
“The test time is one hour. Once you’ve completed your answers, submit your test paper and rest outside the lecture hall.”
Students took out their pens.
“Then, begin.”
The hourglass flipped, and sand began to flow down.
The students picked up their quills and checked the test papers.
The test papers consisted of questions, answer sheets, and several sheets for formula calculations.
As the sound of quills filled the room, Leo’s face hardened upon reading the first question.
‘Describe the effects when the given magic formulas are combined.’
His head started to ache.
‘What kind of formula is this?’
If he had to pick the skill that had changed the most since his time as Kyle, it would be magic.
Magic is fundamentally an area of research.
While the basic rune language remained the same, the methods of using formulas had evolved over time.
Especially in this era, the Hero Record had advanced magic formulas significantly.
Having not studied magic books since his reincarnation, Leo was clueless about modern formulas.
Looking to the side, even Karl, who had been grimacing, was solving the questions.
Chloe was rapidly writing down answers.
‘Kids these days are so smart. They’re solving these complex formula combinations mentally?’
With an exasperated look, Leo took a deep breath.
‘Alright, let’s get a sense of modern formulas first. Even if the formulas change with the times, I can make an educated guess if I understand the structure.’
Leo steadied himself.
‘There’s no way I’m getting kicked out on the first day of class!’
As a hero who once saved the world, his pride was at stake!
With a determined look, Leo began analyzing the formulas at incredible speed.
‘Thank goodness! These are all formulas I know!’
Meanwhile, Karl sighed in relief as he solved the problems.
Contrary to his worries, the test wasn’t exceedingly difficult.
The formulas on the test were all ones he had memorized.
While the formula combinations were complex, as Professor Ren said, anyone unable to solve them didn’t deserve to study magic at Lumerne.
‘As expected, someone like her solves formula combinations mentally.’
Seeing Chloe write down answers without showing any calculations left Karl speechless.
When he turned toward Leo, he saw him moving his quill at an incredible speed.
However, despite the speed, his answer sheet remained blank.
‘What’s going on? Leo claims to be aiming for dual class, but does he lack knowledge of formulas?’
At this rate, Leo was sure to fail the test and be unable to attend magic classes.
Karl, disappointed by the thought of not attending magic classes together, looked dejected.
“Thirty minutes left.”
‘Oops, I need to focus. Let’s solve the problems first.’
Meanwhile, Leo, having filled an entire calculation sheet, stopped his quill.
‘What kind of madman made these formulas so complicated?!’
If he had more time, he could interpret them fully.
The problem was that time was too short.
Checking the next question, he saw it was also filled with unfamiliar formulas.
Frustrated, Leo moved through the questions until he stopped at the last one.
There were 50 questions in total.
Questions 1 through 49 were formula combination problems, while the final question required interpreting a formula to find a result.
Compared to the previous questions, the formula itself wasn’t overly complex.
Leo solved it mentally and wrote the answer on the answer sheet before standing up.
The students turned to look at him.
‘He gave up, huh. Well, if he hasn’t solved the first question yet, staying would just be a waste of time.’
Karl clicked his tongue, watching Leo hand his answer sheet to the assistant.
‘Forget magic class.’
With only one answerable question out of 50, how could he attend the class?
‘I guess I’ll have to study it on my own.’
Blaming his own shortcomings, Leo left the lecture hall.
The hourglass continued to flow.
Still, no other students stood up.
Even the non-majors had some basic understanding of magic since they had chosen it as a minor.
“Time’s up. Everyone, submit your answer sheets to the assistants.”
“Ugh, that was tough.”
Karl stretched and asked Chloe.
“Hey, what was the answer to the last question? I couldn’t figure it out at all.”
Chloe frowned as if dissatisfied with Karl’s question.
“I couldn’t finish it either; there wasn’t enough time.”
“Really? Yeah, it was ridiculously hard.”
“What about Leo?”
“From what I saw, he couldn’t solve a single question.”
‘So that’s why he left.’
Nodding, Chloe stood up and walked toward someone.
Karl, curious, followed behind her.
“Brother! This answer is correct too, right?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“Yes!”
Chloe walked toward Avad and Chelsea.
“Chelsea, hello.”
“Huh? Karl? Who’s that girl?”
“This is Chloe Muller.”
“The top student from the North?”
Chelsea’s eyes widened.
“Nice to meet you, Avad Lewallin. Did you solve the last question?”
“I couldn’t finish it because I ran out of time. What about you?”
“Same here.”
Chloe pulled out her test paper.
“I’m curious to see how different my solution is from yours. Can we compare?”
“I was wondering the same thing, so this works out well.”
Chloe’s test paper was filled with detailed solutions for the last question.
Avad’s test paper was just as thorough.
Karl clicked his tongue.
‘Top students really are different. If they had more time, they could’ve solved everything.’
“What about Leo?”
“After he left earlier, he might’ve left the Magic Hall entirely. He didn’t seem to have solved a single problem.”
“Well, knights wouldn’t be able to solve those problems anyway.”
Thinking of Leo as an exceptional knight, Chelsea nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Professor Ren returned to the podium, and the students quickly went back to their seats.
“Thank you all for your hard work on the test.”
Professor Ren smiled smoothly.
“The assistants will finish grading soon. In the meantime, let me briefly explain my Magic Theory course.”
Professor Ren’s lecture began.
As they listened, the students couldn’t help but be amazed.
The content of Professor Ren’s lecture was incredibly engaging.
They instinctively felt they were learning from a truly outstanding professor.
‘I can’t believe we get to attend his classes!’
The students were filled with anticipation.
Just as Professor Ren finished speaking, a male assistant entered the lecture hall.
“Professor, the test results are ready.”
“Shall we have everyone check their results?”
The assistants brought a board displaying the test rankings to the front of the lecture hall.
“To clarify, this test consisted of 49 one-point questions and one 51-point question.”
As the students murmured, Professor Ren continued his explanation.
“This test is not only for selecting students for magic major courses but also a core part of my teaching philosophy.”
“Over the past few centuries, magic formulas have advanced rapidly. Thanks to this, what once required full comprehension to use can now be activated simply by memorizing the activation conditions.”
Professor Ren opened his palm, and a magic formula made of mana activated.
He clenched his fist tightly, shattering the formula into fragments of mana that scattered in all directions.
“But this advancement has caused wizards to regress!”
The sudden exclamation startled the students.
“The recent trend among wizards is to memorize more formulas! Sure, it’s an easier path to using magic… but that’s not what a true wizard does! A wizard’s essence lies in research and understanding, not memorization! And what are young wizards doing today? They’re neglecting understanding and clinging to memorization! This advancement of formulas has led to the decline of wizards!”
Professor Ren raised his hands above his head.
An enormous number of magic formulas unfolded in mid-air.
“This is the culmination of magic formulas I’ve created. Not formulas anyone can learn, but unique formulas crafted entirely by me. How many wizards these days research their own formulas?”
It was, quite literally, the essence of an individual’s unique magical world.
To the eyes of a wizard, Professor Ren’s magical world was breathtakingly beautiful.
“The battle between magic and magic is not just about mana. It’s a battle to see who can understand and break the opponent’s formula faster. Relying solely on activation formulas won’t take you to the highest level. That’s why!”
With a gentle motion, the magic formulas vanished.
“I will teach you to understand magic formulas deeply! So you can become true wizards!”
Professor Ren spoke passionately to the students.
His enthusiasm inspired the students, who began clapping.
The phrase “true wizard” was enough to stir the hearts of the young students.
Professor Ren, nodding at their enthusiasm, gestured toward the board.
“Check your scores and rankings. And those who scored below 40, I regret to say, must leave the lecture hall. That’s all!”
The students crowded around the board.
As Professor Ren watched the students with a thoughtful gaze, a male assistant approached him.
“Professor.”
“Yes, Assistant Professor?”
“There is a student who solved question 50.”
“Someone scored 100 points?”
Professor Ren was genuinely surprised.
‘Such talent among the new students! Is it Avad? Chloe? Ah, could it be that I’ve finally found my lifelong disciple?!’
“It’s not 100 points.”
“Not 100 points?”
Professor Ren’s expression grew peculiar.
Anyone capable of solving the last question should have had no trouble with the first 49 questions.
Yet, they didn’t score 100 points?
“Ah, I see. They must have skipped some questions while solving the last one.”
“That’s not it either. Other than the last question, the entire answer sheet is blank. Look here.”
The assistant handed the answer sheet to Professor Ren.
As Professor Ren examined the pristine answer sheet, his expression turned serious.
“...Who is this student?”
***
Checking the board, Chloe naturally looked toward the top ranks.
Then she froze.
2nd: Chloe Muller, Avad Lewallin (49 points)
3rd: Chelsea Lewallin (48 points)
By all accounts, Chloe and Avad were tied for second place.
And at the very top was the name:
1st: Leo Plov (51 points)
Staring at the rankings with a hardened expression, Chloe turned to look at the seat where Leo had been sitting.
His test paper was still there.
She rushed over and picked it up.
‘What… What is this?’
Seeing the solution to the first problem that Leo had abandoned midway, Chloe couldn’t hide her shock.
‘Leo Plov… Just who is he?!’
End Of Chapter
