The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 11

The Reincarnated Great Mage of the Hero Party – Episode 11

11.

“The irony of history never changes, it seems.”

Madellia Page, the president of Delaiten Academy, sat in an office where sunlight streamed dazzlingly through arched windows on all eight sides.

“I don’t know why, but talent always seems to concentrate in one area during any given period.”

The document she listlessly placed on her desk contained the personal records of the incoming freshmen.

“Hubert of the Rohinum School, Lillian of the Rivendell School, Kayden of the Harimun School, Nora of the Melev School, Logan of the Chaihark School…”

All five individuals President Madellia named emotionlessly were, astonishingly, magic apprentices renowned as rising stars from the empire’s eight great schools.

“Five rising stars entering at the same time… this might truly be a first.”

The timing of each school accepting and graduating students was bound to vary. But was it common for the age range of top disciples to align so perfectly?

“The Warden Margrave sent a remarkable child, but she might find it overwhelming on her own.”

The rift between the magical families and the eight great schools was frighteningly deep.

After becoming adults, they might not express it as openly as they did during their student days, but the tightrope factionalism within the Magic League was still rampant.

It was the same even during the selection of the Magic Star of the Hwangha Executive Office, a magician directly under the Emperor.

“The faculty intervening in student disputes isn’t a pleasant situation, but we can’t deny that this is a special circumstance.”

In front of Madellia’s desk stood a female magician with a gentle expression and half-closed eyes.

It was Caroline.

Once Madellia’s disciple in her youth, and now the mentor of Krista Warden.

“Inform the professors and instructors: Demain-2 [a code name]. Observe them closely and subtly intervene when necessary. Prevent any unnecessary conflicts.”

Normally, she would have nodded immediately, but Caroline hesitated slightly.

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure if it’s too early to make such a judgment.”

“Hmm?”

“This year, it seems Krista isn’t the only genius from the magical families.”

It was a strange statement. Madellia tilted her head in response.

Unlike the eight great schools, the magical families were clans. Only direct descendants could carry the name of a magical family.

This was both a symbol of honor and a shackle, as it also meant that the magical families had limited human resources.

“Did someone I don’t know come to our school this year?”

“No.”

“I thought only Krista Warden and Lane Ludwick came.”

“Yes.”

“So, you’re saying Lane Ludwick… this child you passed during the additional exam is a genius?”

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you directly. You must have met him at the Sega Council [a governing body]. I was the same until I saw it myself.”

“You haven’t changed your habit of beating around the bush, Cat. You know I hate that.”

Madellia sighed, and Caroline hesitated slightly before opening her mouth.

“In my humble opinion… well, it doesn’t seem like we need to provide much help. I’m also curious to see how the two of them will handle this situation.”

Hoh… Madellia glanced at Caroline’s expression for a moment before checking the academic administration chart. Then, she slightly raised her eyebrows.

“We won’t have to wait long for the results. Owen is their homeroom teacher.”

Owen, Caroline nodded as if in agreement. Wasn’t he the notoriously strict professor who had expelled 21 students last year alone?

“Yes, if he deems them worthless, he’ll expel them quickly.”

* * *

After the entrance ceremony, Lane received his class assignment handout and moved to the Dragon Slumber Hall (龍眠館) [Yongmian Hall], the 1st-year undergraduate building.

The pure white structure was shaped like a dragon lying prone and sleeping. The worship of dragons, absolute lifeforms, was the same for the witches and wizards of the republic who wielded magic.

Karenden, the Black Sun who created magic, was also the creator of the dragon race.

[Clear River (淸江)]

Walking along the corridor where the blue spring sunlight slanted in, he was able to reach the classroom located third in line.

“Clear River, Clear River… this is it.”

After comparing the Clear River written on the handout with the Clear River on the sign, he slid open the back door.

The classroom structure was simple yet elegant.

Desks were arranged in a total of four rows in a stepped formation, with elegant curves in the chairs and supports. The curtains hanging from the arched windows on the left side of the classroom fluttered in the spring breeze filled with floral scents.

‘Where…’

The assigned seat was on the window side at the very end of the left row. As he sat there, resting his chin on his fist, a familiar face soon came and sat next to him, grinning.

“The heavens are truly heartless. It seems they intend to make you compete with Krista Warden, this recommended student, from the very beginning of the semester.”

As soon as his eyes met the sneering guy, his mouth hung open in a daze. Oh, gods, please. Why did his first partner have to be this….

“To roughly translate Miss Krista’s words, it would be something like, ‘I’m really happy to be sitting next to you.’”

That was said by a female student with a playful impression and elegantly braided hair. He had seen this girl at the Sega Council as well. He naturally glanced at her name tag to confirm.

[Gertrude Fenton]

The Fenton barony was a magical family in the east that served the Warden family. Each magical family had two or three subordinate families.

“Ahem, of course, I’m happy. So happy I could dance. Because I can crush this guy’s arrogant nose from day one.”

As the refreshing spring breeze shook the curtains by the window, the scent of a distant past tickled the tip of his nose like pollen.

– Why, Keyes?

It was a small city located somewhere on the Adrion continent. Keyes approached me from behind as I leaned against the fence of the village school, watching the children play.

– Do I want to go to school too? No. There’s nothing to learn even if I go. It’s just a waste of time.

Keyes was mute, but his expressions were so diverse and honest that we could communicate with just our eyes. Our party was all like that.

– Is it because you’re not confident in making friends?

Freede chuckled and came to my right, leaning her back against the fence.

She was bandaged on her arm after suffering a fatal wound in the battle to save this city (it was fully healed with magic two days later), and her eyes, as she looked at the children, sparkled with a gentle smile unlike her usual self.

While Freede and Keyes watched the children with affectionate smiles, Leesta, who came to my left, gave a refreshing smile.

– Rin, school is not just a place to learn academics.

– Then what do you learn?

– People.

Krista, is this a place to learn about someone like this? Do I really have to learn?

Just as he was making a desperate expression, the front door, which only professors and instructors could enter, slid open, and an earthquake occurred in the pupils of the other students.

A man with broad shoulders and a burly physique walked silently and stood on the platform.

It felt like he should be making a living with martial arts rather than magic, and suppressed sighs leaked out from here and there.

“Is this real? A gorilla?”

“Ha… our homeroom teacher is a gorilla?”

Was he a famous person? When he glanced at Krista, surprisingly, there was a light of tension in her eyes as well.

“What kind of person is he?”

“You don’t know Owen? He’s a professor famous for giving stingy grades in the Delaiten Academy department.”

He generously handed out F grades to students, greatly contributing to their expulsion or failing grades.

“Hmm…”

Owen scanned the students sitting in the classroom one by one, then suddenly made a face as if he was carrying all the unhappiness in the world and pinched his cheek tightly.

“To think that these pathetic monkeys are the students I have to guide for a year. You’re full of crap, and I dare say, bow your heads right now?”

A chalk that floated up with telekinesis hit the forehead of a poor victim sitting in the front row, and a dull thud echoed. In the silence, all the students immediately straightened their backs.

“Do you think this situation is funny? Is it fun? You don’t know anything. Do you think everything is over now that you’ve come to university? Do you think you’ll become court mages of great nobles or build your own magic towers and live lavishly?”

“……!”

“Give those delusions to a dog. If you guys become like that, I’ll call you ‘Master.’ You’re still green, and you have mountains to learn. Are there any of you here who belong to the eight great schools?”

Then Hubert and three others raised their hands. Owen sighed as if the sky was falling.

“The most crap in this school are you idiots from the eight great schools. The bizarre formulas and confidence you brought from your schools are beyond help. Are there any from magical families?”

When Lane and Krista raised their hands side by side, Owen made a face as if he was about to cry.

“I really can’t stand it. Just look at those arrogant faces that don’t know any hardship. Go home and learn how to change your clothes by yourselves before coming back.”

Owen insulted all the students in this way, and Lane couldn’t help but express considerable respect for his linguistic abilities.

He wondered why a man with such extraordinary talent had become a magician instead of joining a religion.

Even if it wasn’t a cult, he would have made a lot of money if he had become a priest.

“My job for the next year is to train you into somewhat useful magicians. You, who are worse than monkeys. I will mercilessly abandon those who can’t keep up.”

No one opened their mouth.

Everyone was probably scared, but Owen seemed trained to find fault in any situation.

“No answer? Am I scary?”

“No, sir!”

“Then am I easy to underestimate? If so, good. I’ll give you a test right now. The last team will be deemed unfit and immediately expelled.”

Expelled?

Was it that easy to do?

Owen turned around and instantly drew a magic circle on the blackboard, then began to fill it with runes.

‘That is…….’

The boy raised his eyebrows.

Presenting a magic circle and runes was like presenting a math problem. The method to solve it, the solution, was free.

“The time limit is 20 minutes. Start solving this problem now.”

Owen smirked.

“I will expel those who cannot solve it within the time limit, or those who solve it the slowest, as promised.”

When the students only blinked, Owen burst out in anger.

“What are you just staring at? The test has already started! Pair up in teams of two! Even monkeys can solve a 2-star magic if they put their heads together, right?”

Then the students hurriedly took out writing tools and began to transfer the magic circle onto the Korean paper.

Krista was the same.

‘The shape of the magic circle is a double fan shape. The runes used are Evaporation (蒸) [Zheng] and Departure (逝) [Shi]…….’

It grants the properties of ‘Evaporation (蒸): spreading into steam’ and ‘Departure (逝): going and disappearing’ to the wind attribute.

‘The formula that must be used to manifest the magic is…….’

There were three main ways to use magic. One was written calculation and hand seals, and the other was mental calculation.

If mental calculation was the realm of geniuses, written calculation was the realm of mediocrity, which meant that even dullards could use 2-star magic if they solved it with written calculation.

Of course, it would take several times longer.

“Help me. We’ll build a basic formula with matrices and then find the answer with a cubic function.”

“Matrices here?”

The boy chuckled.

“Do you have a hobby of living harder than necessary?”

“I won’t forgive you if you hold me back. Solve it now.”

From the side, the boy, who had been watching Krista with interest, scratched his cheek.

“You’re really desperate?”

“I have to be desperate. I have to be desperate in everything, because I have to be at the top.”

From the gestures of her hand, which was writing mathematical solutions without hesitation on the magic circle on the Korean paper with a brush, he could glimpse the weight of the family she carried.

Krista Warden was the third daughter of the Warden Margrave.

The Warden family had produced two sages and rose to the position of a magical family, but for the past 100 years, they had been on a downward spiral without producing a single suitable talent.

The eight great schools had been sending jeers, saying that the Warden family was now over, or that there were now only four imperial magical families.

Krista was born amidst such misfortunes of the family.

Her two older sisters were not just mediocre, but dullards, so the Warden Margrave was betting everything on Krista.

‘The revival of the family must be in my hands…….’

The magic circle was rapidly filling up, and Krista said without taking her eyes off the Korean paper.

“Have you found the function answer?”

“Here.”

And Lane, who perfectly kept pace with that speed, which was several times faster than the other students, made Krista raise the corners of her mouth as if she was satisfied.

“Good, then now……!”

But there was someone who was unpleasantly watching the situation. It was Hubert.

‘They’re showing off.’

The Rohinum School was the school of wind.

The secret technique was Soundless and Colorless (無聲無色) [Musei Musoku].

A school secret technique that made the sound and color of magic disappear. Because the traces of magic disappeared, even skilled magicians could not detect the existence of the cast magic.

Hubert, a rising star, had already reached the level of mastering the basics of that technique.

‘I don’t need grand magic. There’s a risk of getting caught… and it’s not like I’m using it on a person in the first place.’

When the spring storm of swirling petals blew in the courtyard, a magic circle silently bloomed and shattered in Hubert’s grasp.

‘If I just mix a little sharpness into the wind……!’

The wind entered through the window, and the curtains fluttered vigorously.

And the wind that arrived at Krista’s desk by the window bent the Korean paper fixed with a paperweight here and there…….

“Uh……?”

A sound of something being scratched hard was heard, and the paper tore with a rip, splitting the magic circle that only needed the last number to be filled in.

“W-wind……?”

Krista’s breathing was rough, as if she was clearly embarrassed. Without realizing it, her thoughts leaked out as a monologue.

“I can’t use this magic circle anymore. I have to start over from the beginning…….”

Written calculation was done with a brush imbued with magic power, and if this magic circuit was physically cut, the magic would not be activated normally. A typical example was when the paper was damaged like now.

‘The secret of the Rohinum School…… playing childish pranks.’

The boy could see the faint afterimage of magic power remaining in the wind. It was thanks to Bell Siderius’s opening ability. A short sigh escaped.

‘What’s left by doing this? These days, things are amazing.’

At that time, Krista, with a desperate expression, reached out to Lane’s desk.

“Korean paper, give me yours!”

“?”

“We have to hurry! There’s no time!”

She had to redraw the magic circle, engrave the runes, and fill in the mathematical formulas.

There were only 8 minutes left.

Even though she had used 12 minutes, the solution was already in her head, so if it was within 8 minutes, somehow…….

– Krista, I’m sorry that your incompetent father seems to have made you suffer too much.

Even if only one line of consciousness was cut off due to the frustration of misfortune, it felt like tears would pour out.

She had to be the best.

She had to be the best to make the family the best again, but she couldn’t receive an expulsion order from the first day of university…….

“It’s impossible. You won’t be able to make it in time with your method.”

“What?”

“Giving up quickly is also the right answer.”

“You─”

“─If you’re going to do it that way.”

Before Krista, who was about to grab the boy’s collar, could be surprised, the boy picked up the brush.

And with a single stroke (一筆揮之) [Ippitsu Keishi].

With a touch that was as artistically beautiful as it was perfect, the senses that had become familiar with drawing thousands and tens of thousands of times instantly drew the magic circle and runes on the Korean paper.

“If you panic so easily just because the other person broke some magic, you can’t work as a magician anywhere, right?”

“……!”

“Remember well. To become a strong magician, you must remain calm at all times.”

In the world where Rin had lived, even 8 minutes were not given.

The crossroads of the game were always a minute and a second.

What if you were even a little late? The word expulsion could not be used even as a joke. The result was only death.

“I’ll lead this time, so you keep up. Just don’t hold me back.”