The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 36

While everyone in Group A was engrossed in their exam, Lilian spoke up from the last row of Group B.

“I’ve never lost before.”

“……?”

“When I unleash my full potential, I’ve never lost to anyone. I couldn’t afford to lose. I was beaten to a pulp if I did.”

Lilian’s voice was as still and sharp as a candle flame.

“Why have you been hiding your talent until now?”

“I wasn’t exactly trying to hide it. I just didn’t feel the need to show off.”

“Figures, only a young master from a powerful family would think that way.”

Flames flickered ominously in Lilian’s eyes.

“My father is Dadan Karain. You can tell just from the name, he’s the famous Headmaster of the Rivendell School.”

The surname Karain means ‘flame,’ and it has been passed down through the descendants of Orbos Karain, the founder of the Rivendell School and one of the three great archmages.

The Rivendell School exceptionally upholds bloodline succession, with the position of Headmaster always being passed down to Karain’s descendants.

Rain raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. Gertrude snorted as if it were ridiculous.

“Aren’t you, who’s sneering at Rain for being a young master from a powerful family, also a lady from a great background?”

“A lady? I’m not that kind of person. I should be seen as an object instead.”

“An object?”

“I’m not a ‘daughter born’ from my father and mother’s love, but a ‘tool created’ for a single purpose.”

A tool?

Rain and Gertrude exchanged puzzled glances.

“For example, I’ve been confined to my room since I was young, receiving only magical education. I’ve never liked magic, but I’ve lived like that my whole life.”

As a tool, I couldn’t produce inferior results.

The punishment for that was immense.

They would bring Lilian’s mother before her and torture her by searing her skin with flames.

“My father is more of an expert in flames than anyone else. He knew better than anyone how to inflict pain without causing serious injury.”

The story is getting serious.

This is a story from a completely different world than the Osarius School I was in…….

Rain swallowed hard and asked.

“……If you don’t take the top spot, will the same thing happen again?”

“That old man? No, he can’t anymore, because I’ll kill him if he does.”

Gertrude narrowed her eyes. Isn’t Dadan Karain a Glados (4-star) mage? Is she saying she can beat someone like that now?

“I will graduate with overwhelming grades and be recognized by all the students of the school. So, my ultimate goal is to kick my father out of the school.”

“Hmm…….”

“I’m telling you this as a warning. Don’t block my path. If you get in the way of me taking first place, I won’t let you off easily.”

As Lilian was about to leave after saying that, Gertrude Phantom snorted.

“How ridiculous. Give up on dreams like that. Lady Krista is holding strong. The genius of the century recognized by the magical world, you know.”

“Krista Warden? That hothouse flower is no match for me.”

“What?! Hothouse? Our Lady?”

Rain’s voice cut off Gertrude, who was getting worked up.

“I roughly understand why you’re aiming for first place and how desperate you are.”

“…….”

“But after hearing all that, it doesn’t sound like a desperate enough reason for me to give up the top spot.”

Lilian’s brow furrowed, and sparks seemed to fly from her dark eyes. Rain calmly concluded.

“You see, I’ve made a friend wait for too long.”

“A friend?”

“If I make her wait any longer, I don’t know what nagging I’ll get from her.”

Was it a declaration of war?

Lilian stared into Rain’s eyes for a long time, then sighed softly and turned away.

“Then you better be careful not to catch my eye in this exam.”

* * *

Group A’s exam ended.

The two people who ultimately earned an S grade were Krista Warden and Hubert. The points were 361pt and 338pt respectively.

As soon as Group A came out of the barrier, Group B, under the guidance of the assistant, finished preparing to enter the barrier.

“Please select a location to move to.”

When entering the illusion barrier, examinees must choose where to start the exam, from area A to area H.

‘A dimensional gate transfer method…….’

Rain’s eyes flashed sharply as he scanned the information of the transfer points displayed in the air.

‘The area to move to is your choice.’

Areas like open fields or the mountainside have many treasures and monsters, but there is a high risk of getting caught up in battles from the start…….

On the other hand, forests or mountain peaks may be relatively safe at the beginning, but they have the disadvantage of being unfavorable for earning points.

While he was running the calculations in his head, a beep sounded. The wind swirled, and other examinees began to disappear one by one, enveloped in light.

[Current Remaining: 48 people.]

Area A is the mountainside.

Area F is the mountain open field.

These two areas are the largest, so many monsters and treasures are located there. Many students will choose them.

Areas B and C are mountain peaks.

Being located at the top gives a visual advantage, but there is a risk of being surrounded by other students.

And areas D and E are forests.

The place that suits me well now is…… well, where should I go? Rain closed his eyes for a moment, just a moment, and took a deep breath.

[Current Remaining: 26 people.]

And the moment he opened his eyes again, his eyes shone quietly. Just like back then, when he roamed the battlefield as a great archmage.

Well, let’s begin.

* * *

All of Group B’s examinees have finished their dimensional transfer. The results are quite interesting.

Thanks to the Clairvoyance magic, the battlefield information was displayed largely in the air. Then, area F, located in the center, was enlarged.

“Lilian, like Krista Warden, chose area F from the start.”

“It’s an expression of confidence. It’s the most dangerous place, so it’s the place where you can aim for the highest score.”

High risk, high return.

There are many competitors as there are many treasures and monsters……. Elin rested her chin on her clasped hands and thought.

‘And…….’

Being the center of transportation, there is also the advantage of being able to move easily and quickly to any area.

“In contrast to Lilian, the area chosen by Rain Ludwig is very modest.”

The window disappeared from area F (open field) and showed the outskirts of area E (forest), the most remote area.

“His intention is to avoid combat as much as possible, accumulate points steadily, and survive, right?”

“Hmm, it’s unexpected, but it’s not exactly a bad decision.”

That’s what the professors evaluated, but the students who were waiting for the fight of the century only expressed disappointment.

“Hey, what a bore.”

“It would have been fun if the two had clashed from the start in area F.”

Regardless of such jeers, Rain made this choice because he knew his limits clearly.

‘To get a high score close to an S grade, you must avoid combat with other students as much as possible.’

There are limits to both magic power and stamina.

Brushing through the bushes, taking the treasure from the treasure chest hidden inside, picking up a suitable branch, and nodding.

“How is it? Isn’t he a really annoying brat to watch?”

In response to Elin Ludwig’s words, Professor Caroline, who was closely watching the situation, replied.

“Indeed. He’s too cautious. Even with the skills to defeat the rising stars of the Eight Great Schools, he’s still like that?”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Rain encountered another examinee on the battlefield.

“……!”

“……!”

The examinee’s eyes widened with bewilderment for a moment.

She was also a skilled person from a mid-sized school belonging to the Eight Great Sixteen Mediums.

Magic power began to condense fiercely in her palm. Caroline’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

‘Well, what will you show us this time? You even got an S grade from Senior Kyle, didn’t you?’

Everyone in the room held their breath, and the place became quiet at once.

“No?!”

At that moment, an incident occurred that was so bewildering that Caroline shouted without realizing it.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Is this real?”

It didn’t take long for everyone who had vague expectations for the rumored promising student to doubt their eyes. It couldn’t be helped. Because.

“He, he’s running away?”

Elin also muttered blankly.

That’s right. Rain Ludwig…… is running away at full speed from the scene.

The moment she saw that scene, Krista tilted her head so far that it was 180 degrees instead of 90 degrees.

“Is he kidding me?”

What is he doing? Everyone is watching, what’s with that annoying joke?

‘Have you forgotten? You are the heir to a powerful family.’

Among the students, there was only bewildered murmuring, but when Head Professor Marchena burst into laughter while holding his stomach, suppressed laughter was heard here and there.

“That guy, he’s just like that damned Scalzi’s grandson. What a peculiar guy!”

“Head Professor, is this a situation to laugh about?”

“What’s the problem, you punk, huh? What’s so disappointing about it? It’s become more interesting, hasn’t it.”

“The exam should be solemn, how can it be fun!”

Ignoring the other professor who was scolding him from the side, Marchena looked at the clairvoyance window and raised the corners of his mouth with interest.

‘Conserving power…… that brat is aiming for something big. I don’t know what it is, though.’

Rain Ludwig created a strange situation, but the students belonging to the Eight Great Sixteen Medium Schools began to take the lead in PT [Point] acquisition one by one.

This place is a mountain rich in nature.

The red broad-leaved trees that only grow in the Red Mountain Range, the atypically huge roots protruding, the unkempt mountain paths put a strain on physical strength, and the cries of the mythical beasts eat away at mental strength.

The top ten examinees collecting treasures or hunting monsters in such an environment were captured by Clairvoyance.

“The highest score per unit time is lower than Group A, but it’s still excellent.”

The current first place is Gertrude Phantom, the young lady of the Phantom baronet family. No one doesn’t know that she is also an excellent magician who was hidden by Krista.

Like Krista, Gertrude, who grew up in the eastern highlands, was freely roaming the mountain paths based on her overwhelming physical strength and accumulating points.

“The 2nd place group behind her isn’t bad either.”

“I hope they don’t get too caught up in the pace of the leading group. If they overdo it, they might miss the chance when the leading group makes a mistake.”

“But where is Lilian from Rivendell?”

Following that, from 11th to 20th place.

But strangely, no matter how hard they looked, Lilian’s figure could not be seen in any ranking.

“Kyle.”

At Marchena’s call, Vice Professor Kyle immediately used the magic tool linked to Clairvoyance to display the ranking table.

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

“Is this correct?”

The professors stammered, doubting their eyes. It couldn’t be helped. Because.

“The points are…… 0pt?”