The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 70

The test for Team A, the advance team, was over.

Even though it had been over for more than 10 minutes, the venue was still buzzing with the aftereffects of the magic displayed by the Team A students.

Not to mention the magical families and the Eight Great Schools, even the students from the 16 Middle Schools and the young lady from the Panton family had shown great skill.

“Hehe, Genius Ludwick is really interesting to watch.”

A beautiful woman with wavy brown hair smiled, watching Rain organize his writing tools, his back soaked with sweat from overexerting himself for the first time in a while.

The desk she was sitting on belonged to Wiber. Wiber, who had been lamenting his preliminary round elimination with his hand on his forehead, glared at her.

“Get lost before I tear that mouth of yours, Nora.”

Her name was Nora Redon, and she was always smiling playfully.

Although she hadn’t had any contact with Rain until now, she had been competing for the top spot in the rankings.

Nora nonchalantly licked her upper lip at Wiber’s threat, the smile disappearing from her face.

“I wonder if Wiber, who couldn’t even make it to the finals because Genius Ludwick stole all the judges’ attention, can really do that with his skills?”

Wiber’s eyes narrowed.

The magical power of the two rising stars clashed in the air, and sparks of magical energy flew everywhere.

“…You bitch. Fine, just go.”

Wiber was the first to withdraw his magic. He was too tired to waste his emotions on anyone right now.

And it was best not to get involved with the Melebe School, which was the only one of the Eight Great Schools that aimed for slaughter with magic, if possible.

Then, as if nothing had happened, Nora smiled again. She got up from the desk, waved her hand in a friendly manner, and turned around.

“Don’t be too upset, Wiber. I’ll take care of Genius Ludwick properly in the finals.♬”

While the disciples of the Eight Great Schools and the 16 Middle Schools were having such a sharp conversation, Rain was also surrounded by his friends, talking.

“Bringing that ridiculous magic to the scroll test, are you crazy?”

Krista questioned him with a dumbfounded expression. Rain just shrugged.

“I’ll be careful next time.”

“You need to realize the seriousness of this! You were lucky to pass! You’re making mistakes like this because you were out playing around with a girl—a, a tutor—during the exam period!”

She was scolding him, but perhaps because Rain Ludwick had made it to the finals, her expression was very bright.

“Ugh! You’re so noisy, really. I’ll be careful next time.”

On the other hand, Gertrude, who could be said to be in the loser’s group, sighed with a pessimistic face.

‘If I weren’t in the same year as these people, I would have easily made it to the finals.’

The final exam rankings, excluding the top 30 students who made it to the finals, are determined by the number of scrolls sold.

Here, Gertrude Panton’s sales were 66 scrolls, and she would probably easily take 31st place unless there was an upset.

On the other hand, Logan, with only 18 scrolls, would be lucky to be in the middle ranks…

“Does the world not yet know the beauty of muscles? Or is my magic lacking?”

Logan muttered this, unable to understand his failure. Illyin, from the same Chaihark School, sold 58 scrolls.

“Hey, Logan! Aren’t you screwed? I don’t think the vice-principal will let you off easy…”

And Kasena Page was watching those scenes from afar with envious eyes.

‘Will I ever be able to join them?’

Madelia, as if reading her daughter’s thoughts from her expression, smiled and placed her hand on her head.

“There’s no need to be impatient, Kasena.”

“I, I wasn’t impatient! What nonsense are you talking about, hmph!”

Around that time, the teaching assistants were running around, ordering the Team A students to leave the Dragon Blood Arena. This was because the tests for Teams B, C, D, E, and F had to begin immediately.

“I’m just, just a little worried! Whether I can do well.”

After seeing the skills of the top-ranked students, even more so… Kasena’s hands were trembling as she struggled to get up with her crutches.

“What this test requires of the students isn’t just what kind of magic they’ll use on the scrolls, but also that kind of imaginative aspect.”

Lunen, the mustachioed man from the Special Affairs Department, summarized his impressions while looking down at those scenes from the audience seats. He had taken the same test here before, so his feelings were special.

“That’s right. No matter how well-prepared you are with magic suitable for the test, there are always variables that arise.”

Variables that occur in daily life were a difficult problem that magicians had to live with for the rest of their lives. It was the magicians who had to solve those variables.

‘Therefore, one of the most important qualities for a magician is the ability to cope with such variables.’

The actual battle is not as simple as a math problem. There are often many cases where the answer and solution are not fixed as one.

There, Rain Ludwick proved it with an overwhelming performance: that he was born with such qualities.

That’s why, even among this brilliant golden generation, Rain Ludwick was the one who was getting the most attention.

“Director, we have to bring Rain Ludwick! He used multiple calculations! He will be the light of hope for our Magic Engineering Research Department!”

“At that rate, he’ll definitely reach the realm of the Archmage.”

“Send a grand gift to Kevan Ludwick. He’s a student, so it’s good to be on good terms with the head of the family. Most descendants of powerful families follow the decisions of the head of the family.”

That’s why he felt a little creeped out. Everyone here had recognized Rain’s value from the performance he had just shown.

But Doran Slade?

How did that man recognize Rain Ludwick’s aptitude even before he showed this? Even before he took the midterm exam.

“Unfortunately, he’s not just getting good attention. It’s the privilege of being at the top, I guess.”

Lunen said that, gesturing slightly with his chin towards the southeast audience seats. A large man wearing a suspicious hood was glaring at Rain Ludwick.

Any other magician would have just thought he was a weirdo, but the magicians of the Special Affairs Department, who had special intuition, were different.

They had been hunting black magicians and had a sharply honed intuition.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Tirintid, who had been watching the man’s movements even earlier than Lunen, who was a year younger than him, yawned annoyingly and stretched.

“Ugh, I thought I could get some rest, but it’s already time to work again.”

* * *

“It’s really Page…”

“The rumors were true…”

“What has she been doing for the past 10 years…?”

Unlike Team A, the rearguard was largely composed of students with low social attention, so most of the attention was focused on Kasena Page.

“I heard she transferred to [the academy].”

“Then what level of skill will she have?”

Surprisingly, there wasn’t much animosity.

What is the Page family? Aren’t they the descendants of the founder of magic left on this land?

They are also an elite clan that has never failed to produce excellent magicians in the long history of the Empire.

Skill is skill, but the influence they have had on the magical world is unparalleled. No matter what school or family.

“The current leader of the Magic Alliance, Madelia Page’s own daughter… It’s obvious without looking. She must be an amazing person. Like Rain Ludwick, who pretended to be incompetent.”

However, the students who had watched Kasena for two weeks had a different opinion. They were starting to feel animosity one by one.

‘She has no magical skills at all…’

‘A special transfer using her family name…’

‘Hmph, good for her…’

Krista Warden, who entered as the top student in the regular admission, goes without saying, and even Rain Ludwick, who was famous as Genius Ludwick, took the additional exam and entered, so what is that?

“Hmm, her reputation isn’t good after all.”

Gertrude Panton, who was good at reading the atmosphere around her in the student-only audience seats, shook her head sadly.

“I thought Krista was just picking on him because of a man problem. How many female students has he been seducing, that womanizing young master? He’s getting so much jealousy.”

“What?”

“Me, a man problem?! What are you talking about?”

Rain and Krista raised their eyebrows at the same time. Krista looked quite embarrassed.

“Oh, did I say something wrong? It’s a problem related to Rain, isn’t it?”

“Well, strictly speaking, it’s not wrong, but don’t say things that people will misunderstand!”

Only after Gertrude was chased away by Krista did the surroundings become a little quieter. Logan approached and stood next to Rain.

“There’s definitely a lot of talk.”

“I have no choice but to endure it. They’ll think I’m here without qualifications.”

Just like Lynn did in the past… In that era, there were many magicians with Glados (4-star) rank who had a lot of practical experience besides Lynn.

‘For example, there was Ulan Page, who reigned as one of the best magicians of that era.’

Lynn, who had no experience or fame, and only obtained the 4-star rank at a young age, became a member of the Hero Party, so she was bound to be the target of countless animosities.

Lynn’s early actions were also proof of her value: that she was a suitable person to be the Archmage of the Hero Party…

‘Rista told me not to worry about it, but how can I not worry about it?’

Whenever I meet guys who have made a name for themselves in the magical world, they glare at me as if they’re going to eat me.

Ulan Page, who could be said to be the most dangerous competitor, was such a great person that he recognized Lynn without any particular conflict.

Come to think of it, I did owe the Page family a debt back then… After Ulan recognized Lynn, the number of people who acted up decreased significantly.

“Well, how about I scare them a little so they don’t do petty backstabbing?”

“Stop it. It’ll only backfire.”

You have to prove it yourself here, Kasena. That I deserve to be in this position. That I am qualified enough.

[The exam time is 90 minutes! Start the calculation right now!]

As soon as Vice-Professor Kyle’s command was given, the students who were assigned to their respective seats hurriedly began to scribble on the parchment with their brushes.

“Oh, Verni of the Ermont School is drawing a 3-star magic circle!”

“Hoo, it looks like Krutis is thinking of using 2-star magic too.”

The students belonging to the 16 Middle Schools drew splendid magic circles, receiving cheers from the audience.

“Then what about Page’s daughter… Hmm?”

By Professor Kyle’s clairvoyance, Kasena’s desk was enlarged from the window floating in the air. The expressions of the people who saw it with vague expectations varied.

“Hmm?”

“Just one magic circle?”

“A descendant of a noble family is only at the 1-star level?”

Ordinary people or beginners in magic tilted their heads as if they were puzzled or sneered with contempt, but those with magical understanding had to blink their eyes in surprise.

“No, it’s not just 1-star. Look at the shape of that magic circle! It’s trapezoidal!”