Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

Having already experienced the Federal University of Magic’s notorious exams once, the freshmen weren’t too flustered despite the vicious difficulty of the final exams.

Rather, as the exams continued, a strange phenomenon was observed where their expressions brightened instead of becoming more distressed.

Ding dong—

When the bell officially announcing the end of the final exams rang, all the students finally went wild.

“It’s over!”

“That was disgustingly difficult. Professor Ehrlich, do you hate giving good grades that much?”

Screams filled the lecture hall where the [Type II Magic Studies Practice] exam was held. The gloomy atmosphere from the midterm exams was gone, replaced by students busy venting their energy by throwing thick textbooks and the like.

It was natural. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

The end of the final exams meant the end of the summer semester.

It meant the arrival of a two-month-long vacation.

Meanwhile, I quietly caught my breath while observing the frenzied students. I didn’t have much energy left to vent.

“…Somehow managed to get through it.”

That was all that escaped my lips.

After the midterms, I spent time on ‘walking practice,’ leaving less time for studying, and the practice was only finished just four days before the exams.

In that situation, I chose the best option available to me.

That was to stay up for four nights.

However, I didn’t literally eliminate sleep. I had been scolded by Susan and Lena for ruining my body.

As a result of studying while taking breaks here and there, I was able to finish these final exams somewhat decently.

Of course, I’m not entirely without complaints. Even now, I feel like confronting Louise about ‘failing to adjust the difficulty again.’

But now I know that scores aren’t that important.

Knowledge.

And experience.

I felt it keenly at the debate. To truly become a magic scholar, you need rich knowledge and experience more than higher scores.

Obtaining a degree (diploma) within three years.

Entering the doctoral program.

What kind of research to conduct, how to proceed, whether to receive guidance from a professor, and so on. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

With various concerns uncharacteristic of a freshman swirling in my head, the exams were relatively secondary.

Moreover, I still had academic schedules left.

“A mock duel…”

I recalled the memory.

The kind senior I had seen at the debate, Johannes Born, who had approached me two days before the exam, rubbed his palms together.

I thought about ignoring him, but considering the favor of the explanation I received at the debate, I listened to his story.

To summarize, it was like this. Two groups, the Black Shield faction, an authoritarian group from prestigious schools, and the Silver Arrow, mainly consisting of students from other regions, were holding something called a mock duel, and he was asking me to participate on the Silver Arrow side.

It was a request for help, as our situations were somewhat similar.

However, business-minded people typically dislike unpaid labor.

My answer was this:

Only after promising to form a close alliance and the transfer of advanced magic textbooks for upper-year students did I accept participation in the mock duel.

Anyway, with my head full of such things, I didn’t have the energy to shout freely.

It was when I was blankly staring out the window, resting my chin on my hand, trying to get a little rest.

Suddenly, a familiar face caught my eye.

Brown hair. A composed posture contrary to her delicate frame.

She was leaning on a cane.

“…Ah. Right.”

Only then did I remember. It wasn’t just the summer semester that was ending along with the final exams.

#August 25th. Clear.

I stepped out of the lecture hall.

The sunlit campus. Among the impressive scenery of green fields and students frolicking like wild animals, a bench caught my eye.

More precisely, I saw a female student sitting there.

I didn’t call out her name or anything, instead silently sitting down on the other end of the long bench.

Only then did the conversation begin.

Julia smiled at me.

“You finished the exam early?”

“What about you? How did it go?”

“I’ve always been confident in theory, so… You probably lived up to your top student reputation, as usual, Eugene.”

“Well…”

It was hard to give a definite answer.

More than that, it was difficult to focus on small talk right now. There was something right beside me that caught my attention.

The wheelchair was gone.

The chair with large wheels and the blanket to cover under the skirt were nowhere to be seen, and only an expensive-looking silver cane was leaning against the bench.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, Julia covered her bare legs with both arms and said.

“…My. If you stare so intently, even I might feel a bit embarrassed, Eugene.”

“Stop joking around. How is it, can you walk comfortably?”

I asked, ignoring Julia’s playful words. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Julia then dropped her pretense and stood up from the bench, taking a couple of steps.

It couldn’t be called natural, but at least she didn’t look like she was about to fall.

“The [Walk Assistance] magic is working well. I’ll need to carry a cane for a while until I get more used to it, though.”

“I see. That’s good.”

“It really is.”

I narrowed my eyes.

There was still something unsettling.

As the head maid had mentioned, Julia’s condition wasn’t limited to her legs, so there was a possibility she might collapse if she pushed herself too hard.

But.

“Look!”

Twirl—

Seeing Julia’s smile as she stood on one foot and twirled like a ballerina, it seemed I could set aside excessive worry.

I finally lifted the corners of my mouth.

“Julia.”

“Yes?”

“I was a pretty good aide, wasn’t I?”

Julia’s body trembled slightly.

She stopped twirling and stood still for a moment, then responded with a gentle smile.

“…It was the best choice.”

The summer semester was ending.

This also meant the end of the contract.

The place where the contract was made was her mansion, but we hadn’t decided on a place to end it.

Moreover, although the summer school schedule was concluding today, so the contract should also end today, I still had one schedule left: the mock duel.

It seemed we would have to postpone it slightly.

“About the contract, I’m sorry but I have something to do today, so later…”

With such thoughts, I opened my mouth.

“Eugene. Due to my schedule, regarding the contract, not today but at my house…”

At the same time, Julia also suddenly spoke.

Our words overlapped.

I asked, puzzled.

“Schedule?”

The dueling ground where the mock duel would take place was on the hill behind the university campus.

Originally, combat magic was long prohibited in the civilian sector due to its danger, and after the emergence of firearms, the military use of magic began to develop in combination with mechanical elements.

Therefore, old combat magic represented by [Shoot] and [Barrier] had long since entered the realm of entertainment.

The mock duel was also part of this entertainment.

The recreation of magic scholars, who tend to spend most of their time sitting at desks, usually evolved in the direction of playing outdoors, so the battlefield for mock duels became set as mountainous terrain rather than wide open plains.

“Is this the place?”

And now.

I had come to the entrance of the hill to participate in the mock duel.

“I didn’t know a place like this existed. Walking really is nice. We can even push through the bushes.”

With Julia, that is.

There was a simple yet difficult-to-understand reason.

Just as I was participating as the first-year king of the Silver Arrow faction, Julia was also participating as the king of the Black Shield faction.

When I asked about how she came to join the faction people she had previously avoided, Julia just smiled sweetly without answering.

That’s how we got here. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

A considerable number of mock duel participants were already at the gathering point.

Noticing me from the side wearing Silver Arrow badges, Johannes waved his hand to greet me.

“Eugene! Over here.”

Instead of immediately joining the faction, I looked at Julia beside me.

She was standing firmly on her two legs, though leaning on a cane. Judging by the light emitted from the brooch on her chest, her magical power reserves seemed ample.

I said.

“Don’t overdo it. It’s your first time walking on mountainous terrain.”

“My. Are you perhaps worried about me?”

“Yes.”

Right after, her amber eyes widened slightly.

“The contract isn’t over yet, is it?”

“…That’s true. You be careful, too, Eugene. They say [Shoot] magic is weak, but it can be quite painful if you get hit multiple times.”

“Alright.”

With those words as our last, Julia and I joined our respective factions.

Not long after, all hundred or so mock duel participants and the student affairs staff acting as judges arrived.

Perhaps forced to take on this job, the staff member, with a thoroughly tired expression, began explaining the rules.

“Uh, as you all know, the rules are simple. The usable magic is limited to [Shoot] and [Barrier]. If you fail to defend against [Shoot] and are hit on any part of your body, you must leave the battlefield as you are eliminated. The duel ends when all soldiers are eliminated or when the faction’s king is eliminated, and the scores are calculated to determine the winner. The scores are as follows:

When a soldier eliminates an enemy soldier: 1 point.

When a soldier eliminates the enemy king: 25 points.

When a king eliminates an enemy soldier: 0 points.

When a king eliminates the enemy king: Immediate victory.

That’s all. Now, would both factions please take their positions at the bases prepared on the hill? I will blow the whistle in 30 minutes to signal the start of the battle.”

I moved to the Silver Arrow faction’s base with Johannes, listening to his explanation of the strategy.

“First of all, we’re at a disadvantage.”

The explanation started with such a hopeful statement.

Although the Silver Arrow had also gathered 50 upper-year students known as model students, it was unreasonable to compare with the human resources of a faction that imposed strict restrictions from the time of joining.

“The problem is that while school grades and magic casting ability don’t always correlate, they often do. So, they will definitely attack aggressively. I’m expecting their strategy to advance to where the king is in one breath and end the duel.”

“Then what’s our strategy?”

“Defense.”

Saying that, Johannes looked around.

“Effectively repelling attacks using terrain, cover like trees and bushes, and elevation differences. That’s our strategy.”

It sounded plausible, but given the actual difference in strength, it wasn’t an easy strategy to succeed with.

Johannes smiled awkwardly.

“Haha, I’m kind of anticipating it. We’ll probably be pushed back from the start. That’s why your role is important… How about it? Think you can do well?”

He asked about my abilities.

I answered him truthfully.

“I can cast magic faster than even renowned magic professors.”

“…Great!”

Johannes smiled brightly and began to lead the force of 50 people.

He set up a frontline to counter the advance and formed cover teams of five people at various points in the faction.

As the king’s position was at the very rear of the faction, I could closely observe our allies moving in perfect order. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

You’d think there might be some slackers, but all 50 were giving their all for victory.

It made sense.

The opponent was the Black Shield faction. This was a chance for payback for the past days of being looked down upon just for their origins.

About 20 minutes passed like that.

Tweet—

As soon as the whistle signaling the start of the battle blew.

“[Shoot]!”

The front lines of both sides sprang out and chanted the same activation phrase in unison. Their voices became a chorus echoing through the hills.

After about five seconds of silence, dozens of blue beams were fired towards each other’s factions.

No, it might be inaccurate to call them beams. Although very fast, they were large in volume and affected by gravity.

It was closer to a battle between archers than infantry combat.

A moment passed.

BABABABABAM—!

Most of the beams were blocked by the [Barrier]s deployed simultaneously, but there were exceptions.

“Ugh!”

“Ah, damn it!”

Shouts were heard from our faction. Some had been eliminated.

There was no status board to check the score, but the state of those leaving the battlefield allowed us to guess the current situation.

I counted the number of people.

One student wearing a Black Shield badge. Four students wearing Silver Arrow badges.

This was the result of the first clash.

Right after, the melee began.