Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – The Returner’s Entrance Exam (6)

Translator notes:

[1] Wow this guy’s a dickhead .

The possibility that Ajest had also returned to the past—that the spellsword

was facing a similar situation to his—had crossed Desir’s mind .

If that had happened, hypothetically, the Ajest he knew would have shrewdly

hidden that fact from others and played along as the 'present' her . Desir sought

to find out the truth through their battle .

And now, he had confirmed that this Ajest had not come from the future .

This Ajest was very young . Her prowess in magical warfare, her ability to form

counterattacks—she was strong, but her abilities and experience were

incomparable to the Ajest he knew .

Desir hijacked the Magic Arrow in front of Ajest’s massive assault . “Trajectory

adjustment!”

Desir turned his arrow around to collide with the next one in line—and each

one of Ajest’s lethal arrows rammed into each other, exploding on impact .

'Tsk . ’ Ajest went to draw her sword when she realized what was happening . . .

but she reacted too slowly .

By the time she unsheathed her sword halfway, Desir had already passed her—

and now he stood, looking at her with amusement, from the finish line .

| The clear-objectives of the Shadow World have been met .

| The Shadow World will be terminated .

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| Please wait while the entrance exam results are calculated .

***

"As expected, the same thing happened again . "

An icy aura rose from below the stone-paved floor of Hebrion Academy .

Somewhere deep within the recesses of the school, a group of people had

gathered . Most were professors of Hebrion Academy—some hailed from the

Western Kingdom .

Hebrion's Dean, Justin, stood at the head of the table—he grasped a gavel in his

hand and started at the parchment in front of him .

"So far, no commoners have been selected to enter the Alpha Class . " The

Swordsmanship professor, Kellivan, briefly summarised the outcome of the

entrance exam up until that point .

A decent number of the present individuals demonstrated their enthusiastic

approval—in particular, Head Professor Pugman vigorously nodded his head .

"Of course that’s the case . The Alpha Class only has places for the glorious

nobility . It is not for the likes of commoners that are incapable of receiving a

proper education . " [1]

Professor Pugman, intoxicated by the pleasure of his own words, was unaware

of Professor Brigette’s face stiffening across from him . "Those commoners

should thank us for even being admitted to Hebrion Academy in the first

place . "

Justin pounded his gavel . "All quiet . This is the final student for consideration . "

The dean read aloud the document before him . "1st circle mage, Desir Arman"

The members of the audience murmured between themselves . "Ah, this is that

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student . . . . "

"The one that bested the Spellsword . . . "

Justin interrupted their musings with a question . "From what I hear, this

student is a 'recommended commoner . ' Who recommended this student’s entry

into Hebrion?"

A hand rose from among the professors: Magical Science Professor Brigitte . "I

gave the recommendation for that child . "

"On what grounds?"

"He has studied magic theory for a long time and his willingness to study has

remained strong . As such, I wholeheartedly recommend him . I very nearly took

him in as my personal assistant instead of admitting him as a normal student . "

"How did you come to know this child?"

"I met him by accident in an orphanage from the ruined country of Eolleta . "

"Eolleta . . that is . . . "

"Yes, Dean, it is indeed the place that you are thinking of . "

"Ahem . " Justin cleared his throat .

He turned to the supervisor . "What were the results of his pre-test?"

"Magic aptitude, D-rank . Though we gave him the rank of 1st circle mage, it

seems that was only a tentative rank, to meet the bare minimum requirements .

His mana is very unstable and impure . By all accounts, he seems like a

completely talentless student . "

"Is that how you see it? Please take a look at this . Assistant, if you could play

the video . " At Justin's request, his attending assistant placed a crystal ball on

the center table .

22

As the attendant injected the crystal ball with magic energy, the ball emitted a

short fizzle, and a video began playing in the air .

It was a recording of Group D’s entrance exam—everyone concentrated on the

video as it played from start to finish .

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

| The clear-objectives of the Shadow World have been met .

| The Shadow World will be terminated .

When the video ended, everyone in the room wore expressions of surprise .

Even some of the Magical Science Professors stood with their mouths agape,

while others were cleaning their glasses multiple times as if they had seen

something wrong .

Even professors who didn’t specialize in magic could tell that Desir’s display

was exceptional .

Justin broke the silence . "Now . What are your thoughts?"

A professor in the crowd raised his hand and queried . "This is amazing and all . . .

but is something like this even possible?"

A 2nd-year Magical Sciences Professor answered: "No . That should have been

impossible for even a 3rd circle mage . That grease magic can only be utilized

across a flat plane, so you can’t apply it to a three-dimensional object . Perhaps

he is modifying the magic algorithm . . . . but if he did that, then that child must

possess incredible analytical skills . "

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The Tacticians Professor spoke with his hands on his head . "His battle sense

and use of psychological warfare were excellent . He conserved his own

strength to surprise his opponent at the end—his strategic prowess was

exceptional . "

"I agree, it’s as if he were a veteran who had spent his whole life on the

battlefield . I’m no expert on magical combat, but his tactics were impeccable .

It’s like he had complete control of the flow of battle . "

"To think that there was someone among the commoners with this level of

training . . . I don’t know what to say . "

"Of course he’ll be admitted to Hebrion . But why did you ask us to discuss it,

instead of just declaring the decision, Dean-nim?"

"That is because after seeing the video, Professor Brigitte advocated for this

student to be placed into the Alpha Class . "

" . . . . . . !" It was like someone had just thrown cold water had been thrown on the

group . The electric atmosphere had been replaced by a chilly silence .

After what seemed like hours, one professor raised their hand to speak .

"Esteemed Dean-nim . "

It was Head Professor Pugman .

"As you know, there are regulations in place for this sort of thing . Rules dictate

that class placement is based on skill . Here, we place the best students in the

Alpha Class, and the less experienced in the Beta Class . By differentiating these

students, we allow them to receive an education best suited to their skill . "

Justin leered at Professor Pugman . "What are you trying to say . "

"To enter the Alpha Class, a student must demonstrate exceptional skill .

Objectively, only 2nd circle mages and above have a shot at it . As a 1st circle

mage, Desir does not possess the requisite magical repertoire . I think it is still

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too early for him to be admitted to the Alpha Class . "

"Hmm . . . . . "

"That’s a good point . "

Here and there, different voices spoke up in agreement .

But none of those affirming voices belonged to Brigitte . "How funny, Professor

Pugman . "

All eyes in the room zeroed in on Brigitte . "Even after defeating the 3rd circle

spellsword, Ajest Kingscrown, you assert this child is inferior just because he’s

a 1st circle mage . That stinks of a repulsive personal bias . "

"A 1st circle mage has their limits! No matter how much good their calculative

skills are there is a limit to their development in magic!" Pugman protested .

"Quit looking for excuses . You have a different motivation . "

A different motivation .

Brigette knew that different motivation all too well .

"You're only against this because he is a commoner . Isn't that right? Professor

Pugman Pasehl Napoleka . "

Pugman shook his head . "You’re mistaken . I solemnly swear that when

considering this case, unrelated factors such as identity did not unduly

influence my opinion . "

"My oh my, is that so? Just a moment ago, you were bragging that the Alpha

Class has no place for the likes of commoners—and now you claim to make a

fair and unbiased decision without consideration to identity?"

Pugman and Brigette’s confrontation had presented a quandary before the

committee .

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Professor Brigitte was one of less than 10 people on the continent to have—as a

commoner—risen to the level of a 5th circle mage .

Pugman Pasehl Napoleka was the heir to the title Duke of Napoleka, a family

second only to the Royal family itself .

Their arguments represented a fundamental clash of values .

The sound of Justin's gavel brought the argument to pause .

The Dean spoke with a grave tone . "There will be silence . Time is wasted on

arguments . Let us decide on the matter . We will now judge whether student

Desir is to be admitted to the Alpha Class or not . "

It was the final judgement—everything was to be decided here .

Brigette cast her vote in support while Pugman casually cast his for the

opposition, as though there was nothing more to see .

Justin tallied and announced the results . 18 votes in support, 22 against .

"1st circle mage, Desir Arman . By rights, he should be admitted to the Alpha

Class . However, because Professor Pugman believes his circle is too low, he is

to be admitted to the Beta Class . "

Justin inserted Desir's application into the box labeled 'Accepted' .

"Of course, for a commoner . . . . . "

"No matter how impressive his skills are, being admitted to the Alpha Class

straight out of the entrance exam is . . . . absurd . ”

Brigitte protested the outcome . "Dean-nim! If you were aware of what goes on

in the Beta Class, you would never make that decision!"

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"The decision was made by a majority vote . I cannot overturn it . " Justin rose

from his seat, indicating that he would entertain no more arguments .

"If he is as exceptional as you have said he is, he will prove himself during the

Promotion Exam . If he really possesses those skills—as you claim he does—that

should be a simple matter, no?"

"H-however . . . " Brigitte stuttered .

"Enough, let's see ourselves out . "

At a wave of the Dean's hand, the room’s torchlights extinguished themselves .

As though the darkness itself had closed her mouth, Brigitte fell silent .

And like that, the meeting adjourned .

March had arrived, heralding the spring season . The willow trees had turned

green, and the blooming forsythias gave off a warm glow .

The results of Hebrion’s entrance exams were to be released today .

In the middle of a corridor in the academy stood a bulletin board . Upon that

bulletin board were the names of all the prospects who were admitted to the

academy, as well as the classes to which they had been assigned .

The first half listed the students admitted to the Alpha Class, the second half

listed those in the Beta Class . Desir found his own name exactly where he had

expected to find it . "Just as I thought . "

The academy had assigned him to the Beta Class, despite the fact that he had

beaten Ajest and secured 1st place . Though he knew it was bound to happen,

confirming it with his own eyes left him with a bit of a heavy heart .

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"As expected—they didn’t disappoint me . "

Beta and Alpha .

Hebrion's split its students into these two halves . The system was intended to

allow students to receive the education best suited to their skill level .

With each student being assigned to the class most appropriate for them, this

individualized method of admission resulted in the best-possible learning

outcomes for all the students .

No . . . ‘should have’ resulted . . .

Desir grit his teeth . ‘But now, that honorable intention is nowhere to be seen . ’

In the beginning, Hebrion had successfully implemented that system . But now,

so long after its inception, things were different .

Technically, Hebrion Academy still placed the most skilled students in the

Alpha class . But most of those students were nobles who had been

systematically trained from the beginning of their education .

That’s why the Alpha Class had an aristocratic, superiority-obsessed air to it .

And in that sort of atmosphere, a commoner with the appropriate skills would

sometimes rightly qualify for the Alpha Class—but they would always be

pushed back into the Beta Class .

Just like they had done to Desir .