Entrance Examination
The plaza in front of the Magic Tower was packed with people.
The Entrance Examination was held only once a year, and countless hopefuls had gathered to seize that opportunity.
Young boys and girls, their faces still innocent, nervously muttered spells under their breath, while older applicants leafed through thick books, reviewing passages until the very last moment.
Some traced magical formulas in the air with their fingers, while others paced anxiously around the plaza.
Examiners with sharp gazes could be seen everywhere.
They were easily identifiable by their robes, which bore the emblem of the Tenever School.
The emblem depicted a sword and hammer encircled by a magic circle, embroidered on bright silver robes.
The examiners strictly divided the applicants into groups.
"This way!"
The younger applicants were escorted to a separate examination area where their potential would be measured.
Adult applicants like Kendon and Vermoor were divided according to their chosen fields.
Kendon headed toward the examination area for support and theoretical magic, while Vermoor was guided to a wide-open field for the offensive magic examination.
Rows of sturdy iron training dummies stood there, offering a glimpse of just how difficult the examination would be.
These iron dummies had been extensively reinforced with Tenever's magic. In terms of durability alone, they were already comparable to Golems.
"That fellow……."
"Is he a Barbarian? What's he doing here……?"
Among the countless applicants gathered in the field, Vermoor stood out more than anyone else.
His enormous frame towered a head—no, two heads—above everyone around him. His sheer size was enough to draw attention wherever he stood.
More importantly, this was an examination meant to select Mages.
And he was a Barbarian.
'School of Magic, admission to a School of Magic…….'
Ignoring the curious gazes directed at him, Vermoor flipped through Hyunwoo's book.
What he was searching for was not a way to pass the Tenever School's Entrance Examination…… but something else entirely.
[#Priority List of Things to Do After Joining a School of Magic.]
He was looking up what he should do after entering the Magic Tower.
What he had confidently told Kendon had not been an empty boast. Vermoor genuinely believed he would pass.
Since passing was a foregone conclusion, his next priority was naturally to improve his abilities as a Mage.
[*First, find an exceptional Master. In most cases, the finest Master in a School of Magic is the Head of the School.
The advantage of becoming a disciple of the Head of the School is that such a position is more useful than the status of most lower-ranking nobles.
Whether you need to enter another Magic Tower or find yourself in a situation where you must visit the Imperial Palace…….
*Second, increase your Mana. Natural training has its limits. Unless you intend to spend your entire life meditating until you're a hunched-over sixty-year-old man, start searching for magical elixirs and herbs.
Mountains containing intermediate-grade or higher mana veins. Seas where glaciers converge.
The deepest reaches of volcanoes. The sacred trees guarded by Elves, and so on. The locations of major magical elixirs are recorded separately.
*Third…….
*Fourth…….
.
.
.
*Thirty-second…….]
'Hyunwoo…… You really were serious about this.'
Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, Vermoor squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.
The list of things to do after joining a School of Magic already contained more than thirty entries.
And the list continued below that. Even at a glance, there appeared to be more than fifty.
He could certainly appreciate how devoted Hyunwoo had been to becoming a Mage.
Unfortunately, there was far too much information for him to read right now.
"Hey, you there, big fellow. My shoelace has come undone. Come tie it for me."
Just then, a young man dressed in neat, expensive silk garments called out to Vermoor.
Judging by his attire, he appeared to be the son of a noble or a wealthy merchant.
"Are you speaking to me?"
"Who else around here is as enormous as you?"
With an air of complete entitlement, the young man extended his foot toward Vermoor as though addressing a servant.
"What are you waiting for? Didn't you hear me? A servant ought to be quick on his feet."
"I'm an applicant myself."
The young man's eyes widened at Vermoor's deep voice.
"A savage like you is taking the examination? Hah! How utterly absurd."
The young man snorted in disbelief and looked Vermoor up and down.
Then he abruptly turned away and stopped an actual Magic Tower servant who happened to be passing by.
Ordering the servant to tie his shoelace, he raised his chin and spoke sarcastically, deliberately making himself loud enough for Vermoor to hear.
"Tell me, has the Tenever School fallen so low that even common rabble can come knocking at its doors without hesitation? How disappointing."
The servant's hands paused briefly as he tied the shoelace. He answered in a voice that betrayed carefully restrained emotions.
"Neither qualifications nor social standing are required of those who wish to enter. There are only those who will be eliminated. Before the Magic Tower's selection process, you and that warrior stand on equal footing, young master."
"What? How dare a mere servant speak to me like that!"
"I am an employee of the Magic Tower, not your personal servant, young master. Now, if you'll excuse me."
The servant quickly disappeared before he could receive another scolding.
When the young man looked down, he discovered that his shoelace had been tied perfectly. He had no excuse to summon the servant back.
"Tch. Every last one of them……."
The young man irritably kicked a pebble near his feet.
Vermoor paid no attention to the petty commotion and calmly gazed at the iron dummies standing in the distance.
Before long, the examination began.
The applicants were called forward one by one to demonstrate their magic.
The most common spell was, unsurprisingly, Fireball. Occasionally, someone would launch a blade of wind or a spike of ice.
The passing requirement was simple.
They had to damage one of those massive iron dummies with magic.
They did not even need to dent or destroy it. A mere scratch on its surface was enough to pass the first examination.
It was a straightforward task intended to weed out those who lacked even the fundamentals.
Yet hardly anyone managed to pass.
"There's a shortage of talent this year. To think they can't even leave a scratch."
The examiners clicked their tongues and whispered among themselves.
Those who failed departed with bitter expressions, while the faces of those still waiting grew increasingly pale.
"Next! Albert!"
"That's me!"
The young man from earlier stepped forward confidently.
After concentrating for a moment, he conjured a sharp spike of wind and launched it.
The spike tore through the air with tremendous force. Its destructive power was certainly impressive.
Unfortunately, his aim was another matter entirely.
The wind spike failed even to graze the dummy's shoulder. Instead, it shot into the sky and disappeared.
"Failed!"
"Wait! Just a moment, please! You saw it clearly, didn't you? The power was more than sufficient! If it had struck, that lump of iron would certainly have been dented!"
"But it missed."
Albert protested against the examiner's cold response.
"P-Please, just once…… Give me one more chance! I only missed once! Isn't it too harsh to fail me over a single mistake?"
"Listen here, young master. Do you intend to beg your enemies for mercy on the battlefield, too?"
"What……?"
"By applying for this examination, you've declared yourself prepared to stand on the battlefield, haven't you? If you face an enemy and your spell misses, will you beg for another chance then, just as you're doing now?"
Albert's face flushed red, then turned pale.
Even so, he did not raise his voice again.
The examiner softened his tone slightly as he continued.
"Your spell has sufficient power. If you take the examination again next year, you'll likely pass. Train until you can hit your target a hundred times out of a hundred. I'm telling you this for your own good. On the battlefield, a single mistake out of a hundred attempts can cost you your life."
Unable to argue, Albert left the examination area with trembling shoulders.
Overcome by frustration and disappointment, he wiped tears from his eyes with his sleeve.
Vermoor, who happened to be standing nearby, gave his shoulder a few reassuring pats.
"Don't take it too hard, young man. I know someone who's continued taking this examination despite failing well past the age of forty. One examination doesn't determine the course of your entire life."
Had Kendon heard that, he might have collapsed while clutching the back of his neck.
Of course, Vermoor had genuinely intended those words as consolation.
Albert, however, hysterically slapped his hand away.
"Damn it! Get your hands off me! I don't need consolation from someone like you! And my name isn't 'young man'! It's Albert!"
Watching the young man storm away, apparently having recovered his energy, Vermoor let out a quiet chuckle.
His prickly temperament and wildly fluctuating emotions reminded Vermoor of an old friend who had always been quite a handful.
"Next! Vermoor, from the Snowy Mountains!"
At last, his name was called.
Vermoor slowly walked toward the center of the examination field, each step carrying the ponderous weight of a mountain range.
Everyone's attention turned toward this peculiar Barbarian.
The examiner was momentarily speechless when he saw Vermoor, as though a hundred questions had flooded his mind.
Nevertheless, he quickly composed himself and proceeded with the examination.
"What magic will you demonstrate?"
"Fireball."
A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd.
Everyone was busy offering their own theories, trying to imagine how someone of his immense size could manipulate the delicate flow of Mana.
"Did he find a Spellbook in some ancient ruins?"
"Perhaps he encountered some extraordinary opportunity while living in the mountains. They say he comes from the Snowy Mountains."
"No, if you ask me, he must have captured an enemy Mage on the battlefield and tortured him. With that enormous body and a threatening glare, I imagine he could easily force a spell or two out of someone."
Surprisingly, there was no particular contempt in their gazes.
Only genuine curiosity.
Just how had this Barbarian managed to learn magic?
Some of their guesses were even surprisingly close to the truth.
After all, his encounter with Hyunwoo had certainly been an extraordinary stroke of fate.
"Then show us what you can do, warrior of the Snowy Mountains."
The examiner announced the beginning of the test, addressing him with a measure of respect.
Vermoor nodded and pulled something from inside his clothing.
It was a stone.
A round, heavy stone that fit comfortably in his palm, possessing what he considered a 'good shape.'
He had carefully selected it while traveling throughout the territory specifically for this examination.
Confusion appeared in everyone's eyes, including the examiner's.
Why a stone?
Was it some kind of medium that stored Mana?
But it looked like an ordinary stone.
Before they could resolve their confusion, the muscles across Vermoor's back began writhing like living serpents.
He leaned his upper body far backward, then swung his left arm with every ounce of strength he could muster.
"Fireball."
An instant later, a deafening roar tore through the air and engulfed the plaza.
BOOOOM―!
The stone that left Vermoor's hand could no longer be considered an ordinary projectile.
Flying straight as a beam of light, it slammed into the chest of an iron dummy and shattered it into countless pieces.
But that was not the end.
Even after destroying the first dummy, the stone showed no sign of losing momentum and smashed through the dummy behind it.
And that was not the end, either.
It destroyed the next one.
And still, it did not stop.
The one behind that…….
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM―!
An entire row of iron dummies was utterly demolished.
Their durability, supposedly comparable to that of iron Golems, might as well have been that of dry leaves before Vermoor's 'Fireball.'
A heavy silence descended upon the plaza.
Dust slowly settled around the applicants, who stood frozen with their mouths hanging open.
The examiner felt dizzy.
Destructive power of this magnitude was not something one witnessed every day.
It was beyond even his own capabilities. Perhaps only someone of the Head of the School's caliber could produce such a spectacle…….
However, the examiner was a seasoned Mage.
Even as his mind reeled from the astonishing sight, he did not forget his duty.
He looked back and forth between the shattered pieces of scrap metal and Vermoor.
Then he squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
"Vermoor! Failed!"
It was only natural.