The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 10

Episode 10

“Not at the top of the class? Something must be wrong!”

Elin Ludwig slammed her hand on the table in the Ludwig family mansion, Bellewyn, after receiving Lane’s acceptance letter from Delaiten.

Dressed in her professor attire, she was ready to return to Delaiten.

“This has Page written all over it! They’re just jealous of Lane’s genius!”

It didn’t make sense to her.

Lane had applied through the regular admission process. So why was he registered as a successful candidate for the additional exam?

“Why would the Page family be jealous of Lane, miss? It benefits them to admit a good student,” Lane’s mother, Brim, asked, tilting her head. Elin scoffed.

“Well, that human’s daughter became disabled─”

“─Elin.”

She immediately shut her mouth when Kevon cut her off, his voice cold.

“If there were any problems, Count Page would have notified me. Or Lane would have contacted us.”

It was certainly puzzling, but he wasn’t particularly worried. The important thing was that Lane had been admitted.

‘Admission, admission…’

You better be a little nervous, Lane.

That school is where the best and brightest from all over the empire flock to. From members of powerful magical families like you to disciples of the Eight Great Schools….

‘No, knowing you, I should say you won’t have a moment to be bored, rather than being nervous?’

Kevon smiled contentedly.

You were born with a stronger thirst for knowledge than anyone else in this world.

* * *

The pinnacle of intellectual convergence in the Holy Human Empire.

Delaiten.

The grounds of Delaiten were so vast they seemed boundless. There was even a rumor that Goldenrose, the fifth-largest city in the empire, was built solely to support the school’s operation.

‘School…’

Lane looked up at the main building, Dragonscale Hall, where the opening ceremony was about to begin, lost in thought. As the name suggested, a grand statue of a true dragon was wrapped around the building.

‘I never had any real connection with school.’

Not in his past life, nor in this one.

When he worked as an assistant at the Rivarden Magic School, all he did was occasionally solve problems on the blackboard and answer questions.

Could that be why a slight tremor was rising in his heart?

‘In my past life, I was raised by the headmistress of the Osarius School, and in this life, I only learned magic from my family….’

I don’t particularly feel the need to learn anything from anyone now, but still, she was waiting at the end of this path.

Lista Alter Schürpang.

You who came into my world, which was only monotonous black and white with numbers, parchment, and ink, and led me to a world of color.

– Only the top graduate of Delaiten will have the opportunity to see Lynn’s corpse.

He smiled quietly.

On the day I meet you again, I need to have at least the magical skills I had in my past life so I won’t be ashamed, right?

“Oh, there you are!”

The shrill voice that followed mercilessly swept away his pleasant thoughts.

A girl wearing a mortarboard [academic cap] neatly on top of her pure white wizard’s robe. The brooch that fastened the robe at her chest was engraved with a sleeping dragon.

This girl, who appeared before him with her dark brown bob fluttering in the spring breeze while wearing the Delaiten first-year uniform… was a familiar face, so he waved his hand first.

“Hi.”

“The showdown we couldn’t finish last time… Oh? Yeah, hi.”

Was she awkward at receiving greetings? She seemed to be muttering something, then shook her hand back with a look of speechlessness.

“Hey, look at that.”

“It’s Crista Warden.”

“This year’s recommended admission student….”

A faint smile appeared as he watched Crista Warden shrug her shoulders haughtily amidst such murmurs.

“You’re more popular than I thought?”

“There’s even a saying in our generation that anyone who doesn’t know me is a spy for the Republic. And you’re the rival that I acknowledge.”

The girl, who had been nodding repeatedly as if satisfied, suddenly widened the distance from him as if she had remembered something she had forgotten, and took a fighting stance.

“Come to think of it, what is this? Why are you acting friendly? You and I are rivals! We’re in a relationship where we have to shed blood! Come on, let’s go! Let’s settle the score we couldn’t settle back then!”

A showdown… Was I too gentle back then because I was following Friede’s teachings? 300 years ago, once I showed the difference in power, they wouldn’t even think about challenging me again.

“Ah, suddenly my stomach hurts. Later.”

He touched his stomach with his hand and turned his body. He got into school, so honestly, he had no business here. And if he had a magic battle with this girl, it would cause a lot of annoying repercussions.

“Don’t act like you’re annoyed when someone is being serious!”

Before he could even stop her, a magic circle was spinning on the girl’s palm. It was truly high-speed calculation.

At the same time as the magic circle shattered, a sandstorm raged from the main gate.

“Ugh, ugh, what is it?”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

“My eyes hurt!”

Thanks to that, the other students who were entering the opening ceremony hall coughed painfully, and Crista looked at him triumphantly.

“Hehe, do you know how much my true power is? Are you going to be serious now?”

Yeah, that’s why.

That’s exactly why.

The anger he had been suppressing exploded.

“Are you kidding me right now? Last time, my throat hurt so much that I thought I was going to die from spitting phlegm for two days!”

“Hmph…! Isn’t that your fault for not blocking it properly?”

He couldn’t even hit her, so….

A sigh escaped as he saw her cross her arms arrogantly.

“You’re putting on a real show.”

At that moment, a cold laugh erupted from behind him, laced with sarcasm.

“One is a genius young master who entered through an additional exam, and the other is the top of the class. Is this some kind of extreme comparison experience?”

Unlike Lane, who wasn’t very impressed, Crista’s eyes, staring straight at the owner of the voice, were filled with cold contempt.

‘Wuber’s gang….’

Wuber. A latecomer to the Rohinum School, one of the Empire’s Eight Great Schools, and the runner-up graduate of Delaiten Middle School.

With his brown curly hair and long, narrow eyes, he was always unpleasant to look at.

Since middle school, he had been bickering with that guy over everything. Well, mostly the other way around. With those belonging to the Eight Great Schools.

“……”

A subtle tension filled the air as Lane stared at Wuber silently. Wuber raised his chin and provoked him again.

“What are you looking at? Is there something you don’t like about what I said?”

Then the gang members standing on either side of him giggled. Lane tilted his head.

“Rather than disliking it… I was just wondering who you are to act like you know me.”

“……?”

“Do you know how to use magic? If you’re going to be serious with me, you’ll have to use some magic, right?”

In an instant, everyone watching had to shut their mouths as they felt a chill.

‘Crazy.’

Logically, it was impossible not to know Wuber in this generation. The undisputed runner-up genius of Delaiten Middle School.

‘A latecomer to the Rohinum School.’

‘First place in the general admission exam.’

A genius (天災) [literally, ‘natural disaster,’ meaning an exceptionally talented person] young master who came in through an additional exam, Lane Ludwig, was not even comparable.

“Are you….”

Just as Wuber clenched his fist, Crista burst into a clear laugh.

“Ugh, heehee, wahahahat…!”

Crista said to Wuber, whose face was flushed red, as if to make him hear.

“Ha, what are you doing not dying of embarrassment? Some idiot who messed with a guy he didn’t even know and got dumped.”

“What, you little…?!”

It was an assistant guiding the freshmen from the other side who ended the conflict that had reached its peak.

“What are you doing here? Hurry up and go in. The opening ceremony will start soon. And Crista student? You’re a freshman representative, what are you doing here! You need to prepare for the oath!”

Crista raised her finger as if to stab Lane’s eyes, as if Wuber was not even in her mind, and said.

“I’m backing down this time because I don’t have time, but next time, there’s no way! Next time, I’ll definitely settle the score!”

Crista’s words made the onlookers doubt their ears once again.

“A showdown? Crista and Lane?”

“The opponent won’t even be a match?”

“The opponent won’t even be a match, that’s ridiculous. Once you see the young master’s skills, you won’t be able to say that anywhere.”

Some of the Rivarden students smiled knowingly and moved towards the main building.

‘Those bastards….’

Amidst such murmurs, anger smoldered coldly within Wuber’s body. The gang members watched carefully, holding their breath.

‘I’ll screw him over.’

I’ll make him cry and beg for forgiveness.

There would be plenty of opportunities. And it would come soon. Because Delaiten’s educational policy was infinite competition.

A bitter smile formed on Wuber’s lips.

* * *

“We will now begin the 1388th Delaiten entrance ceremony. All freshmen, please rise.”

It’s more boring than I thought… While various school-like events were taking place, Lane couldn’t help but yawn.

The other guys seemed different, and there was a commotion mixed with pride and arrogance that they had entered the best magic university in the empire.

However, such an atmosphere in the hall changed the moment the host said these words.

“The school president will give words of encouragement and welcome to the freshmen.”

Thump, thump, thump.

The oppressive sound of military boots echoed on the platform. The leather robe fluttered elegantly with each dignified step.

The freshmen whispered in hushed voices.

“Wow……”

“Currently the best magician in the empire……”

“Madellia Page……”

A beautiful woman with light purple hair appeared, overwhelming the entire freshman class with her mere presence.

Madellia Page.

Currently the number one magician in the empire, as well as the leader of the Magic League. A direct descendant of Emitssa Page, the founder of magic, and the head of the Page Count family, the leading magical family of the empire, who has held the position of president of Delaiten for generations.

‘Ah… that hair color is still a symbol of the Page family in this era.’

Lane raised his eyebrows with interest.

Ulan Page, whom he met in Lynn’s era, also had that hair color. It is said to be a family direct lineage trait passed down from Emitssa Page’s time.

It is the same reason why Lane and Seri have black hair and red eyes.

“Nice to meet you, freshmen. I am Madellia Page, the president of the university.”

Those who had been sitting in the front row, showing off their arrogant attitudes, straightened their backs without realizing it.

“There are 233 freshmen in this place right now. Half of these 233 will not become sophomores and will be suspended or expelled.”

What… what is she saying?

Most of the freshmen who had participated in the entrance ceremony with excited hearts turned pale.

“Of the 117 who survive that way, only half will barely become juniors. And from here, only half will go through the graduation process. The number of graduates is less than 30 each year.”

“……!”

“Delaiten, which you have entered, is such a place. Delaiten is like a jeweler in that respect. To determine whether you are stones that can become jewels or not, we will constantly give you trials in the name of refinement.”

Suddenly, Madellia pointed her finger at the freshmen. Everyone, without exception.

“Polish yourselves here! Until you become jewels with your own unique characteristics from unremarkable rough stones!”

Not a lecture or a recommendation, but an order.

The top-scoring entrants showed their respective reactions to the order. Wuber, the runner-up, snorted.

‘Delaiten’s policy is infinite competition. Those who are eliminated from the competition do not even qualify to receive a diploma.’

I like it very much. Because it is a fair system that evaluates everything based solely on skill, not status.

“Let’s meet again in this place in three years. At that time, not as students versus the president, but as magicians versus magicians. I wish you all the best.”

As Madellia fluttered her coat again and went down the platform, the freshmen applauded even though the host didn’t say anything.

‘Maybe…….’

A faint smile bloomed on Lane’s lips as he clapped perfunctorily.

‘University life might be more fun than I thought?’