Book 1 Chapter 10

Episode 9

The autumn in the south was sweltering.

From the moment they crossed the southern border, it was so hot that it felt as if the season had reverted from autumn to summer.

Under such a summer-like autumn sky, the city shone brilliantly and flowed into my heart.

Emittsa Page, the progenitor of magic.

<Delaiten>, founded by her, was established in the heart of <Golden Rose>, ruled by the Page Marquises, the foremost magic-wielding noble family.

Magic Capital, <Golden Rose>.

A city said to spread out in the shape of a rose when viewed from above.

I thought seeing the capital of magic, which I had heard about since my previous life, would evoke a special feeling, but there was no joy commensurate with my expectations.

Perhaps it was because the world itself had lost its scent due to the longing deep in my soul.

[……After a journey that was neither long nor short, I arrived at <Golden Rose>, the city where <Delaiten> was founded.]

Organizing his thoughts by writing things down was a habit the boy had cherished since his past life.

Because his Headmistress Aunt used to act that way. It was one of her countless habits he wished to emulate.

Regardless of the boy's inner thoughts, the streets were bustling with crowds from early morning.

"Grimoires for sale! We have plenty of reference books compiled by pinpoint magic instructors!"

"We have magic tools that amplify magical power! This was personally brought from the labyrinth by Kat, a silver-rank adventurer!"

Merchants, magic students, and adventurers belonging to the Adventurer's Guild were often seen.

The center of magic, hence the Magic Capital.

Rumors even circulated that all knowledge in the world first passed through <Delaiten>, that is, <Golden Rose>, so the status of this city was clear without needing to be said.

"Young Master!"

"Yoooung Masteeer!"

"Young Master!"

The problem was that this fifth-largest city in the Empire often showed a rather wicked temperament to first-time visitors.

It was overly complex.

Children or those with no sense of direction would often get lost and become separated within just 10 minutes.

Not to mention on <Delaiten>'s entrance exam day, when crowds gather madly like today.

"Young Master Rain!"

"Where are you!"

"Ohh, Young Master!"

The family guards, who were yelling at the top of their lungs with their carriage stopped by the roadside, must have been facing the same crisis.

They were Ellyn Ludwig's direct guards, who had come out to meet the eldest Young Master after receiving a letter stating he would soon arrive in the city, but…

At that moment, the boy with glossy black hair was scanning the peddlers' stalls with his red eyes.

"How much is this?"

"Just 10 bronze coins, sir."

"10 bronze coins? This?"

A faint, transparent smile flickered on the boy's lips whenever he subtly asked the price of an interesting item.

"Hmm, so this only costs 10 coins…"

In the year when the flames of war subsided and the abyss was driven south, a market had opened in a riverside village near the red city of <Shuriganakus>.

Back then, Rista, dressed in comfortable casual clothes, would idly chat and joke with merchants and women, asking prices for various things.

When I asked why he would inquire about prices even when he wasn't going to buy anything, his answer was still vivid in my mind.

"- You can tell what kind of era it is by looking at the price of foodstuffs."

"- …?"

"- Those grapes, for example, cost less than two coins during peacetime. And last year, I think they soared to twenty coins. Now they're down to ten coins? Isn't that proof that we fought hard?"

For a boy who was always only interested in magic and his own affairs, that perspective was truly perplexing yet intriguing.

"So that's how one can think."

"So that's how one can see the world."

Back then, I was with Rista and other companions, but now that I'm the only one left alive to see this, a sad smile formed on my face.

"I remember it costing at least 80 coins back then."

As he placed the red gem onto the stall, the vendor cautiously spoke to him.

"Excuse me, young master?"

"Hm?"

"Wouldn't it be better if you hurried? The clock tower is chiming, you know. That means the exam is about to start…"

The problem began there.

Although the clock tower's chimes signaled urgency, he wasn't actually late.

He would arrive without being late if he walked briskly. If that wasn't enough, he could always run.

"Thief, thief!"

Someone's scream tore through the curtain of noise in the bustling morning market.

And soon, the middle of the crowd parted, and someone urgently burst through, brushing past the boy.

The boy merely glanced back briefly, wondering if some fool was stealing here, but had no great interest.

'Is he crazy?'

This is <Golden Rose>, one of the Empire's most prominent cities.

Not only are there many guards, but also mages employed by the Page family are stationed everywhere.

The thief would quickly be caught by them.

'No need for me to bother.'

Just as he was about to push through the murmuring crowd, a sweat-soaked old woman stumbled out, gasping for breath, and collapsed.

"That's not for sale, not for sale, it's a family heirloom, a family heirloom I was going to give to my grandchild who's taking the entrance exam today…"

The moment he passed by her.

In a world filled with black and white, a single brightly colored hand suddenly grasped his shoulder.

"- Help me, Rin."

It was an auditory and visual hallucination from 300 years ago, merely an echo woven by longing from the threads of memory.

But why, just why.

Why can't I move, as if my feet are rooted to the ground? Can I not escape from that intangible hand?

Why should I help?

I also have an entrance exam to take, and I need to hurry there right now.

As he turned back with an excuse, the longed-for hallucination smiled and vanished.

"Ha, really…"

The boy, letting out an annoyed sigh, turned around the next moment. As soon as he turned, his feet kicked off the ground.

Just once.

This is just for this one time.

If you ask me like this again so stubbornly, I won't listen.

I'm not sure if this expression is appropriate here, but there was already a forerunner in this chase.

"Move, move, move!"

Above her <Delaiten> school uniform, her brown bob, reminiscent of rain-soaked earth, bounced energetically.

A hairpin neatly exposed her left forehead. Pure beauty blossoming amidst ruggedness.

She was a girl possessing the natural beauty characteristic of Easterners living in the mountains, and oddly enough, she looked familiar.

'That one is…'

As a magic circle bloomed and shattered in the hand of the girl running across the rooftops, a sandstorm erupted.

As soon as the sand blocked the thief's path, it merged into two figures. They were figures of soldiers wielding spears.

Sand soldiers. Seeing that bloodline-limited magic, I became certain of her identity.

'It's the Warden family's loudmouth.'

Warden Marquisate.

As indicated by the title of Marquis, they were one of the five magic-wielding noble families, just like the Ludwigs. Their roots were in the eastern part of the Empire.

In my childhood, before regaining my memories of my previous life, our acquaintance was limited to having seen her a few times at noble family meetings.

"- You need to put in some effort!"

"- Is it good to live like a fool, doing nothing?"

"- You're a descendant of a noble family! And even the eldest son! Don't you find yourself pathetic?"

She was so loud and quarrelsome that I decided to call her "loudmouth."

Her real name was probably Krrrungs? Chris? Christa?

'But why is she already wearing a school uniform when she's the same age as me?'

His thoughts were cut short.

At that moment, a powerful storm erupted from the magic the thief unfolded from his grimoire, scattering the sand soldiers.

"Whoa, whoaaah!"

"Oh, momma!"

As many people were swept away by the storm with screams, vines shot out from the ground, catching them in mid-air.

The earth-type magic the boy instantly unleashed. As he set them down in a safe place, the boy's eyes burned red.

Bell Sidious.

'The thief is a mage too. He has quite decent magical power… What's that equipment on his left hand?'

A sequence of mathematical formulas not interpreted by Bell Sidious, it gave him an ominous feeling.

'It would be best to subdue him quickly.'

Meanwhile, the Warden's loudmouth seemed determined to show off her true power, feeling indignant that her magic had been dispersed.

"Quite something for a mere thief. In that case, why don't you try scattering this too!"

Two magic circles were born on Christa Warden's palm, then rotated, interlocking precisely.

2-star magic.

A great surge of magical power swept through, causing the air to ripple, and the stalls' awnings and people's clothes began to flap wildly.

Someone shouted.

"Wow, it's Christa Warden!"

"A magic prodigy who, at fifteen, has already achieved Limites rank (2-star) and is even eyeing the Atlas (3-star) position!"

Being able to cast 2-star magic mentally was a direct mark of genius.

Can one calculate two mathematical formulas simultaneously in their head? Because that was precisely what 2-star magic demanded of its caster.

Christa finally clenched her palm over the magic circles that were glowing brilliantly and rotating.

Chaeng, with a clear sound, the magic circles shattered, and a wonder materialized in the everyday world.

'The Warden family's bloodline limit is earth-type summoning magic…'

If the Ludwig family was called 'stealing mages,' the Warden family was called 'commanding mages.'

Goooooo…

Just as it seemed a storm of dust was raging, a gigantic figure soon descended behind Christa, exuding an overwhelming presence.

"Behold, Sandstone Golem!"

A body frame made of solid sandstone and joints that moved smoothly with the buoyancy of sand…

The magic was perfectly cast.

As if resonating with Christa's act of tossing her hair, fierce light gleamed from the golem's two eyes.

"Go on, try scattering this if you can!"

Then the thief, whose face was gaunt with visible bones, laughed sinisterly.

"With th-this, I, I won't lose to any mage!"

And the bracelet on his left hand emitted an exceedingly sinister light.

That light pierced the golem's chest, and Christa, who had momentarily gasped, scoffed.

"What are you trying to do with that pathetic stream of water? If you're going to defeat my golem, you'll need more than that—"

At that moment, the golem slammed its mighty fist into the ground, turning the area into a chaotic mess.

The target of the golem's fist was not the thief.

For some reason, it was Christa, the caster.

'Sandstone.'

Perhaps that's where the match would have been decided.

'Why?'

That is, if a bolt of lightning from a clear sky hadn't shattered the golem's fist at that very moment.

"I'll give you a tip."

Christa, who had been staring blankly at the golem that attacked her, was startled and turned around.

The black-haired boy was walking towards her. Currents crackled from his clenched fist, proof that he had used powerful lightning magic.

With an indifferent expression, chillingly devoid of emotion, the boy facing the golem spoke.

"Magic, you see. It's not about who casts it first."

"Huh, you, you're…?!"

"You revealed your ultimate move right away, that's why you were counterattacked like that."

As he said that, a new ring of light was already dazzlingly rotating on his palm.

Christa gasped.

Because the speed at which runes were carved into the magic circle and mathematical formulas were inscribed was truly instantaneous.

'Even if it's just 1-star magic…?'

And that magic unfolded before the girl could even finish her thought.

"Go, Golem!"

At the thief's cry of alarm, the golem aimed at the boy and swung its other fist.

The magic circle's shape was a circle.

The rune carved was 'Yeol' (烈, intense).

In short, the boy's magic had input the 'widely spreading' property into water-attribute magic.

Pwoooosh──!

With the magic circle's disappearance, the water that was born spread widely and poured down, directly onto the golem that was bringing its fist down.

"You were a water-attribute mage…?"

Christa, drenched head to toe from also being caught in the waterfall, asked.

"Although water attribute is the natural enemy of earth attribute… but even so, 1-star magic won't work against my golem."

The golem's defense and mobility would certainly decrease, but it was impossible to inflict a critical blow with such magic in the first place.

Pwack───!

The golem's fist, striking the ground, squelchily shattered, splattering mud everywhere.

A world instantly turned into a muddy mess.

But at the same time, it was also true that visibility was disrupted by the clumps of mud flying everywhere.

Just as he was about to seize that moment and eliminate the target with an attack akin to self-destruction, the boy's eyes glinted.

'I aimed for this moment.'

'Did he lose his own magic by having the golem's control seized?'

'Then the story is simple.'

The rings of light that began rotating on the boy's right hand were no less than two layers. The thought "How already?" couldn't even form.

'He just used 1-star magic, it couldn't have been more than 2 seconds ago?'

In the instant Christa couldn't even blink in her bewilderment, all calculations were finished in the boy's mind.

The magic circle's shape was a double square.

The runes carved were 'Yul' (律, law) and 'Gwe' (軌, track).

He endowed earth-attribute magic with the properties of 'binding' and 'flow reversal'. The mathematical formula to be mentally calculated was 'Previs Differential Calculus'.

"Solution derived, providence altered."

Chaeng… as the magic circles shattered, scattering fragments of light, countless vines surged out from the gaps in the marble flagstones.

Crackling──!

And they burrowed deep into the golem's legs, whose surface had been weakened by the water-attribute magic… and didn't stop there, but climbed higher and higher.

Groaning…

The golem convulsed violently like a beast pierced by a spear, but its movements quickly stiffened until it was utterly immobile.

"Golem, Golem!"

The thief cried out urgently, but the golem merely creaked with difficulty, unable to move at all.

And then, a final vine shot up from beneath his feet, swiftly binding the thief's hands and feet.

The binding was so strong that no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't move an inch from that spot.

The boy approached the struggling thief, who was screaming, and forcibly removed the bracelet from his left hand.

"What kind of tool is this, anyway? An artifact? It looks fascinating."

"G-give it, g-give it back! Th-that's, th-that's mine!"

"You're joking. You stole it."

To seize control of magic, isn't that a power similar to Bell Quirias?

Since there were two magic circles carved on the gem, he could probably only steal up to 2-star magic, but curiosity welled up within him.

He felt a desire to research it right then and there, but there were many eyes watching, and above all, it belonged to someone else.

"Y-you, who, who are you? H-how, how do you, c-cast, magic, so, so f-fast? D-double casting…"

Who am I? No need to know.

He hadn't intended to, but a wry smile formed. There was no need to say, and even if he did, they wouldn't believe it.

The boy flicked the bracelet upwards, and after a long arc, it soon landed in someone's hand.

It was the old woman who had been gasping for breath, chasing the thief earlier. The boy lightly gestured with his eyes.

"Take good care of it next time."

The old woman looked bewilderedly between the bracelet and the boy, then burst into tears. No sooner had she done so than applause erupted from all directions.

"Awesome!"

"That was amazing, kid!"

"Miss Warden was also amazing!"

If the family's associates had witnessed the crowd speaking informally, they might have fainted, but the boy didn't pay it much mind.

Rather, perhaps due to his experience as an orphan, he found it more comfortable when others spoke informally to him as a matter of course.

That's why he had concealed his identity as a low-status traveler throughout his journey.

As if it was not good to be the object of applause or praise, the boy quickly left the street without even revealing his name.

In reality, he was just running to take the entrance exam.

Mages and soldiers, who arrived a beat later, surrounded the thief.

"Christa."

Someone approached Christa, who was covered in mud.

She was a young woman, yet exuded remarkable experience. When she used magic, the mud that had soiled the girl's body was cleanly washed away.

"You made a mistake, didn't you? It's true you were confident, but you shouldn't have used the golem so rashly."

"I know. I'll be careful next time."

"Hehe. Quick self-reflection is Christa's strength."

"More importantly, did you see? That guy, he's incredible. His magic casting speed was as fast as Ms. Caroline's! It was astounding!"

"Hehe, I saw it too. He seemed even faster than me."

"What a joke… But what happened? He didn't seem this strong during the noble family meetings."

"Is that so? But I wonder why he was here when he should have been taking the entrance exam. The exam has already begun."

"What? Teacher, isn't there any way for him to pass? I need someone like him to ignite my fighting spirit!"

"If Christa insists that much… I'll have to check the documents first."

That afternoon, Caroline returned to her professor's office at <Delaiten> and checked the entrance exam documents.

After sifting through the documents for a long time, Rain Ludwig's name finally appeared at the very end.

Her gaze was drawn to his record.

'No graduated magic elementary\/middle school. No competition awards. No rank acquisition results…'

Up to this point, it matched the widespread moniker of "Prodigy Young Master."

"Prodigy Young Master" was a sophisticated wordplay used by subordinates to mock noble family's young masters.

However, there was one peculiar entry.

[<Rivardian> Magic School, served as an assistant to Principal Scargi Ludwig for 3 years.]

An assistant to Scargi Ludwig, under the former Magic Alliance Leader and Archmage?

As Caroline knew, that person was not someone who would casually protect family members just because they were family.

If they were useless, they were ruthlessly cast aside. How many times had she seen Senior Ellyn Ludwig scolded to tears?

'If it's true that he assisted in his classes… why is he called the Prodigy Young Master among the Eight Great Schools?'

And the skill she had just witnessed… that was definitely not a skill that could be called disastrous.

She was quite puzzled.

Puzzled and intrigued.

Therefore, she felt a desire to check it out. Regardless of the outcome…

"Assistant Baden."

"Yes, Professor?"

"Please schedule a meeting with the Chancellor. I wish to discuss an individual admission candidate."