***
The day of the exam.
From early in the morning, the area in front of the Imperial Academy was bustling with people.
The reason, of course, was the examinees.
Just as you'd expect from a prestigious academy, there are a damn lot of them.
Among them was a strange maid with particularly hollow eyes.
“Having been educated by the star instructor, Lord Raniel, I too am invincible! I can definitely crush this exam! Loyalty! Loyalty!”
“That’s all true, but, umm…”
“Yes! Loyalty! Loyalty!”
I might have pushed the training a little too hard, and the kid seemed to have lost her marbles a bit, but seeing her recite theory even in a subconscious (?) state, I figured she’d be fine for the written exam.
[So this is the endless malice of humans, Master.]
‘Should I dismantle you? You punk. You want me to show you some real human malice?’
[Malice is too harmful for a pitiful, baby-like being like me!]
The AI's way of speaking was still enough to make me lose my mind just by listening to it.
But as I kept hearing it, I felt like I had gotten a little used to it now.
Of course, that didn't mean it was okay.
“Sigh.”
I should go take my written exam too.
After sending Linia into the warrior faculty's exam hall, I also headed to the magical engineering faculty's written exam hall.
There was still plenty of time, so I walked with a light heart, as if on a stroll.
The grand academy buildings felt quite different from the city; while modern and medieval styles were mixed, they exuded the atmosphere of a university.
Perhaps thanks to the (prospective) academy students overflowing with youthful vigor, I felt like I was getting younger too.
[You are young, though?]
‘Not my physical age!’
I focused again on the scenery before me.
I could see an overflowing number of examinees, too many to take in at a glance.
Seeing their innocent and clear eyes, without a single speck of impurity in their gaze.
[They will make excellent graduate students!]
‘Where are you getting such heinous ideas?!’
[So you’re not going to recruit graduate students (slaves)?]
‘Of course that’s not it.’
As I chatted with the damn AI, I arrived at the written exam hall before I knew it.
[Exam Hall 3]
Creeak.
As I entered the assigned exam hall, a spacious interior that could easily seat over a hundred people was revealed.
And unlike outside, a heavy and serious atmosphere flowed within.
Even though there was still a lot of time left, it was packed with examinees already seated, each engrossed in looking at their handwritten notes or tablets.
Influenced by the atmosphere, I also felt a bit more serious and reviewed the knowledge in my head.
I wasn't doubting my level of knowledge, but I had only ever operated in the rural town of Leventia.
It was possible that the level of this world's prestigious academy was higher than I thought.
As I was concentrating on my final review, the door to the exam hall opened and someone entered.
“It’s okay, Karon, you can do it. First, get into the magical engineering faculty, get good grades, then transfer to the warrior faculty. If that doesn't work, minor in aura, then you can survive.”
I didn't know what he was talking about, but as he stood there with a trembling voice, chewing his fingers, the attention of everyone in the room gathered on him.
The general sentiment was to be quiet, but the three who came in after him were even more of a spectacle.
“Wow! So many people! We’re not late, are we? We’re not late, right?”
“I don’t think we’re late! Hanea!”
“I told you we wouldn't be late, Inea.”
“You’re right! As expected of Senea! You’re so smart!”
Three girls, presumed to be triplets, entered the exam hall, chattering away.
They had puppy-like features and even similar body types.
Besides them.
“Tsk! All sorts of riffraff have gathered here.”
There was a guy with an engineering student vibe who reminded me of my assistant back on Earth, giving me a sense of familiarity, a hulking figure so muscular I wondered if he had come to the wrong faculty, and an elderly man who looked so old I wondered if he was a professor.
As these boisterous individuals poured into the exam hall, the atmosphere instantly became noisy.
As I glanced around, my eyes met with a relatively ordinary-looking girl.
A girl with the classic features of an Eastern beauty, with elegant, violet-tinged black hair and slightly dreamy eyes.
Perhaps feeling my gaze, the girl gently lifted her head, and our eyes met.
“Cough.”
Then she coughed up blood and collapsed.
“Kyaaa! Someone collapsed here!”
“How much did you study to cough up blood and collapse?!”
The already noisy exam hall was thrown into even greater chaos, and the girl was immediately carried out on a stretcher.
‘What was that about? If you’re sick, you should go to a hospital, not an exam hall.’
[Could it be that she recognized Master's genius at a glance and coughed up blood in despair?!]
“…”
Right, if I become a professor, the first thing I need to do is fix this thing.
Although there was a brief commotion, aside from a health check on a few people who didn't look well, the atmosphere was quickly brought under control.
“Everyone, please be quiet. We will begin the exam shortly.”
And finally, the written exam began.
<><><>
“Everyone, please be quiet. We will now distribute the exam papers. If you open the exam paper early or start marking it, you will receive a score of zero.”
The exam papers were distributed, and proctors and professors glared, monitoring the examinees. The atmosphere was quite murderous.
“Has everyone received their exam paper? Then, we will now begin the exam.”
Shwiiik.
As I unfolded the exam paper in time with the proctor's words, the first question immediately caught my eye.
-1. Describe the tool-ification of mana, the basis of magical engineering.
The moment I saw the first question, I frowned.
‘In the first place, mana itself is a perfect tool, and they want to tool-ify it?’
Of course, I knew the theoretical answer.
But as an engineer, I couldn't accept this.
Therefore, my answer was.
-Inefficient.
Fortunately, aside from the first question, there were no other bothersome questions.
I was a little worried about the difficulty of the Imperial Academy's exam, but since it was an exam for new students, most of the problems were simple enough to be solved with mental calculation.
After writing down all the answers, I looked at the clock on the podium at the front.
Five minutes had passed since the exam began.
‘There’s too much time left.’
But I didn't know if it was okay to just get up and leave because I was finished with my exam.
If this caused a problem and my admission was canceled, it would be very troublesome.
‘Then… should I write a rebuttal for question 1?’
To be honest, if I just wrote ‘Inefficient,’ there was a high probability it would be marked as incorrect.
The reason I left it like that was because the rest of the questions were so easy that I thought my passing was guaranteed.
‘But since I have plenty of time…’
I diligently described how inefficient a task the tool-ification of mana was, and how perfect a tool mana was in itself.
Of course, I still had time left after that, so I spent the remaining time thinking about theories I wanted to research in my head.
After a long time had passed.
“The exam is over. Everyone, please take your hands off your desks. The proctors will collect your exam papers.”
The proctors moved in perfect order, collecting the students' exam papers.
“Ah, ahh. Just let me check my answers…”
“If you move any further, it will be considered cheating and you will receive a score of zero.”
Behind the minor commotion, once all the exam papers were collected, deep sighs and laments flowed from all directions.
“Ugh! The questions were so hard!”
“I shouldn't have applied to the magical engineering faculty in the first place!”
“Sob. Seriously, what am I going to tell them back home?”
“What was with that difficulty?! Was that even made to be solved?!”
I calmly got up from my seat and walked outside.
[Among those who submitted answers in Exam Hall 3, no one had a higher score than you, Master.]
When did you even check that?
[Assisting you is my job, Master! In fact, if you had told me during the exam, I could have just given you the answers without you having to go through the trouble of solving them!]
“It’s fine. In the first place, if I can’t even solve problems of this difficulty on my own, I’m not qualified to be a professor.”
[Kya! As expected of you, Master! You have a level of class that is on a different dimension from these youngsters who struggle with this much!]
“...Sigh.”
I ignored the AI, whose nonsense was gradually increasing, and headed to the academy's front yard where I had arranged to meet Linia.
<><><>
After Raniel and the examinees had left.
A proctor who was gathering the collected exam papers made a puzzled expression.
“Huh? Why is this part so packed…”
“What is it?”
As the assistant proctor approached with a tilted head, the proctor unfolded the answer sheet he was looking at.
“The answer to question 1 here is a bit strange. At first, I thought it was just scribbles…”
“The answer is written in incredibly small letters, huh? Was this question that difficult?”
The two of them tilted their heads and checked question 1.
-1. Describe the tool-ification of mana, the basis of magical engineering.
The very foundation of magical engineering.
It was a question about the most basic content that would be written in the preface if you opened the textbook.
“Was this a question that required such a complicated answer?”
“Wait a minute, the content is a bit strange. This isn’t a description of tool-ification, it’s a critique of it…”
At first, neither of them thought much of it.
But as they actually looked at the answer, they found themselves continuing to read as if possessed by a ghost.
It was because the content was so radical, fundamentally denying the ‘common sense’ they held, something they had never even considered before.
“…Does this even make sense?”
“But it seems to have a point.”
“No, but still.”
“That is…”
Just then, a professor who was passing by in the hallway poked his head into the exam hall.
“Proctors, what are you doing in there?”
“Ah, Professor. There’s a peculiar answer among the papers…”
“A peculiar answer?”
The professor, who hadn't thought much of it, laughed heartily and came inside.
The moment he saw the answer in question, he flinched and froze on the spot.
“This is…”
After a long time passed.
Others who were passing by in the hallway saw the three figures standing like stone statues and asked, ‘What are you all doing?’ as they stepped into the exam hall.
And they too, just like the others, stood there like stone statues, staring only at the answer sheet.
And so, one after another, the number of people grew.
In the end,
“Professor! I was wondering where you all were during the meeting time, but what on earth are you doing in here… Hah!”
The dozens of pairs of eyes in the exam hall all turned to look at the newcomer at once.
“W-why are you all like that? Is there something there?”
Towards the trembling professor, a chilling gaze, as if dazed or hypnotized, was cast.
“Ah, it was Professor Deiron. This is perfect timing.”
One of the professors at the very front held out the paper and said,
“There’s a peculiar answer here… Would you like to take a look?”
<><><>
A bench in the academy's front yard where I had arranged to meet Linia.
I wonder how long I had been spacing out, watching the clouds drift by without a thought.
“Ranieeeel!”
From the other side, Linia was waving her hands wildly and running towards me.
Then, when she was about 10 meters away, she wrapped her toes in aura and leaped in a single bound, landing in front of me.
Come to think of it, ever since she acquired aura, she seemed to be becoming something beyond human.
Is this what happens to everyone who becomes a warrior?
“Look at this! Me! I got an S on my aura measurement!!”
Linia spun around me, showing me her aura measurement result sheet.
The measurement was S, the highest grade.
It was a little strange that Linia got the highest grade, but considering that the magical engineering faculty’s written exam was much easier than I thought.
“Since it’s a test to select new students, the standards are probably on the low side.”
“Hey! Would it kill you to give me a compliment?! The professors around me praised me a lot!!”
Linia pouted her lips.
Is that something to be praised for? There was something else I wanted to see.
“Then let me see your written exam so I can praise you.”
“Huh? That…”
“I told you to bring it so I could grade it myself, didn't I?”
“H-here it is.”
Linia, with a guilty expression, avoided my gaze and hesitantly handed me the exam paper.
I glanced over the exam paper, and thanks to the ridiculously low difficulty, I was able to grade it immediately.
“67 points. Are you kidding me?”
“B-but people said that if you get over 60 points, you pass the standard…”
“I’m pretty sure I said that if it wasn't a perfect score, I’d confiscate your tablet.”
“N-no!”
“Yes!”
“Give me a break! My aura measurement was an S! They said that with this, I’d pass even if I just winged the practical exam!”
Linia, with tears welling up in her eyes, stomped her feet and clung to my trouser leg.
My heart weakened a little because of that, but it was at times like these that you had to be firm for the kid to grow up well!
“That’s just because the evaluation criteria are low.”
“No! The people around me definitely said I was a martial talent that comes once in a hundred years!!”
“What does that have to do with getting 67 points on the written exam?”
“Th-that’s…”
“The tablet is confiscated for the time being. You can get it back later.”
“Uwaaaah!”
Linia put her hands on the ground and fell into despair.
She looked a little pitiful, but it was a time when some appropriate harsh words were needed.
It was by no means because I disliked seeing Linia get cocky and strut around.
And it wasn't because I was angry that she got 67 points even though 98% of the expected questions I had pointed out were on the exam.
“No matter how I think about it, confiscating my tablet is unfair!”
“It’s not unfair. I stated it clearly. A perfect score!”
“I believe the practical exam should also be included in the evaluation since it's an exam!”
“Why should I listen to that?”
“Th-that’s…”
Smack!
Suddenly, an unexpected sound echoed, and Linia and I flinched.
We turned our heads towards the sound and saw a group of three or four surrounding a boy.
“A piece of trash is rolling around like trash.”
“To think that a guy like this is from the House of Count Cliché. He really lowers the dignity of the nobility.”
“A guy like you is best suited for cleaning the floor with your whole body while rolling around like this! Keelkeelkeel!”
Linia gasped and lowered her voice.
“Hah, I think there’s a fight over there! What should we do?!”
“What do you mean, what should we do? Here.”
“Why the sudden popcorn?”
“Why else? Popcorn is a must when watching a fight, isn't it?”
A look that seemed to say, ‘Did I hear that right?’ appeared on Linia’s face.
“Are you being serious? A kid is getting beaten up, we should be thinking about stopping them…”
“So you’re not going to eat it?”
“...! I have to eat it.”
“That’s right.”
We sat down on a bench with a good view of the fight and began to watch in earnest.
Around that time, the black-haired boy who was getting beaten up over there was pulling himself together and getting up.
“Y-you guys…!”
“How could a piece of trash like you be born into the House of Count Cliché?”
“I-I’m not trash!”
The black-haired boy, who was being teased, got angry and rushed at them, but when his fist touched the delinquent’s clothes, it only made a weak thud sound.
“Pfft. Did you think you could do anything to a mana-reinforced suit with your bare fists that don't even have aura? No matter how much you struggle, a guy like you can’t even do anything to this suit!”
When the boy’s attack was blocked, the delinquents chuckled and started kicking him.
“Keuk!”
“What is the eldest son of the prestigious sword house, the Cliché family, if not trash, for not even awakening his aura at that age!”
“I-I’m…”
“Shut up! You piece of trash!”
“Keoheok!”
In the end, from the delinquents' kicks, the boy once again rolled on the ground and was thrown all the way to our bench.
Then, the delinquents, who were engrossed in their bullying, seemed to have noticed me and Linia, and they approached with smirks.
“What are these things?”
“What are you staring at? Is there a show going on or something?!”
Why are these bastards picking a fight with us, who have nothing to do with it, instead of continuing what they were doing?
“Don’t mind me, just keep doing what you were…”
“You look like a frail little punk trying to act tough in front of a girl. Get lost before you get hurt.”
“Yeah, yeah. A weak-looking brat like you shouldn't get involved in warriors' business. Keuk keuk.”
“But what’s with his eyes? That slit-eyed kid looks just so…”
“Kid? Did you just say kid?”
I quietly took out one of the prototype’s built-in weapons that I had made for fun when I had free time, a steel pipe (official name - Anti-Shield Pulverizing Bat), from the Dimensional Hangar.
“W-what?! You wanna go?!”
“Didn’t that bastard just pull a steel pipe out of thin air?”
“He wasn't an ordinary person, he was a mage!”
Towards the wary delinquents, I quietly unleashed my intense anger.
“It’s fine that you’re delinquents. It's standard for an academy story to have one or two delinquent villain types like you. And I don’t care if you bully some useless extra. A male extra is none of my business.”
“What are you talking…”
“But I cannot tolerate being called a frail, willowy, engineer-wannabe, slit-eyed shorty who looks like he’d break if the wind blew!”
“W-we didn't go that far?!”
“Shut up and die!”
“Y-you bastard! You wanna go?!”
Seeing the delinquents flinch and take a defensive stance, instead of swinging the steel pipe at them.
I gently placed it in the hand of Linia, who was eating popcorn next to me.
Linia, who had been handed the steel pipe, made a blank expression.
“Huh?”
“Go! Linia!”