The written exam began.
The exam took place in a classroom. With over thirty students spread out in a spacious and quiet room, there was no issue in maintaining distance to prevent cheating.
Over thirty students, with a pencil in hand, earnestly looked at the test papers. Naturally, I was also filled with determination.
However, my intelligence quotient had already reached 60.
Thanks to reading books intensely whenever I had the time, I had managed to greatly surpass my initial score of 50. This allowed me to easily recall the answers to the questions written on the paper.
In terms of strengthening the intelligence quotient, just attending classes a little bit increased the level. Just like in past lives, simply studying caused it to rise.
But this is a world based on a video game. For some reason, reading books accelerated the speed of intelligence quotient more than studying.
Therefore, while increasing my magical abilities during the week, I awaited the natural recovery of my PM while reading books. Even during breaks on free days, I read books and, without realizing it, had read most of the books in the Duke of Lunacelia’s mansion.
The results of this were clearly reflected on the test paper in front of me.
The time for the exam was fifty minutes. There was a substantial number of questions for each subject, but surprisingly, I had finished completing all the answer spaces with time to spare.
Occasionally, I glanced at nearby students who continued to concentrate, moving and stopping their pencils frantically.
As a precaution, after a quick final review, I spent the last ten minutes thinking about the next exam.
The next one will be the “magic exam.”
***
The first exam has ended.
The sound of the bell echoed throughout the school, signaling for the teachers to collect the answer sheets.
Stretching her rigid back, Professor Theresa announced, “Students, please proceed to the next exam location. The ‘Magic Exam’ will be held in the ‘Second Training Area.'”
The students who had submitted their answer sheets began to leave the classrooms one by one.
Our class, “1-1,” was in the second building.
The “Second Training Area” was in the building adjacent to the right when looking from the front. I gathered my belongings and left the classroom, feeling a slight sense of excitement and achievement in my chest as I headed towards the third building.
***
The “Second Training Area” is one of the Academy facilities, which was also used as a venue for the entrance ceremony.
It is primarily used for magic training. In the game, this place is used to enhance magical ability.
There were already many students gathered at the location. They were not just from class “1-1.”
Students from all five classes were there. Of course, there were also individuals related to magic.
“Hello, Hermes! It’s been a while! I’ve been feeling lonely lately not seeing you around here. You’re always somewhere, aren’t you?”
“Leah… It has been a while. I’m glad to see you’re well.”
This was the truth.
Originally, even though she was the main heroine with whom I shouldn’t get involved, her existence held great significance in this world we lived in.
At this moment, the protagonist might be trying to conquer other heroines, but even so, I had no intention of deeply involving myself with Leah.
At least during the preparation period for the “Ranking Exam,” I intentionally avoided getting close to her.
Did she notice that or not? Either way, she seemed somewhat annoyed with puffed-up cheeks. It was a bit troublesome because she looked cute.
“You should have told me that earlier! I wanted to practice magic with you, Hermes!”
“…With me? Isn’t there someone else you’re more interested in?”
“Someone I’m interested in? For example?”
“You know that guy over there.”
I pointed in a direction. Amidst the crowd, I could see a boy with brown hair.
That boy is the protagonist of this world, Atlas-kun.
With a common appearance that could blend in with the crowd and an ordinary build. Furthermore, with equally common hair color, it was almost a miracle to have found him so quickly.
However, his talent was real. Although I didn’t know how hard he had worked, Leah couldn’t deny the advantage of being able to use magic from all attributes.
As she extended her gaze to where I pointed, she seemed not very interested and simply said, “Oh, Atlas-kun…”, without showing a strong reaction to seeing the protagonist.
Intrigued, I tilted my head.
“That reaction… are you not interested? Doesn’t he have aptitude for all attributes magic? For you, who loves magic, I think he’s an unmatched presence.”
“Well… yes. Certainly, at the beginning of my enrollment here, I was very interested. ‘There’s a genius here greater than me!’ I thought. But he is… bad, bad. Despite having talent, it’s a waste.”
“Eh? What do you mean by that?”
“He… isn’t interested in magic. Despite knowing how incredible he is to other mages, he lacks any hint of ambition. I think he’s a good person on a human level, but in terms of interest in magic, it’s a bit doubtful. Frankly, I prefer Hermes, you do have ambition.”
“Really…?”
What a surprise!
I was quite surprised to hear that kind of comment.
The protagonist has no interest in magic. Despite having aptitude for magic from all attributes?
If that’s the case… at least Leah’s magic-focused route has disappeared.
The route with her has a simple and easy progression to conquer compared to other heroines. Therefore, conquering Leah would require a significantly high level of magical ability.
With almost zero interest at this point, it seems that there hasn’t been much improvement in magical ability.
So, is he trying to conquer Freya or Aurora? For now, it reassures me to know that there won’t be conflicts if I get along well with Leah.
I don’t want to deal with male envy.
“Oh, it’s my turn soon. I must go! Even after I finish the exam, I’ll be here until I see Hermes’ results. Count on me!”
With that, she ran off.
Watching her beautiful black hair sway from side to side, I had a slight headache thinking about the future developments. Undoubtedly… Leah’s interest will focus on me.
Still, I have no intention of lowering my goals at this point.
I also headed towards the reception to confirm my turn.
***
In the “Magic Exam,” it was my turn.
After learning Leah’s exam results, which had been conducted shortly before, the room was filled with excitement.
And it was understandable.
As I had predicted, she had mastered her intermediate magical skills in each attribute. By effortlessly demonstrating the four intermediate magics she possessed, no one could contain their applause.
And she, on her part… as she had previously claimed, was watching me closely from a short distance. Her bright eyes seemed to pierce through my mind, causing me some unease.
However,
“Now, Hermes von Lunacelia. Please begin your exam.”
The examiner, a merciless teacher, signaled the start of the exam.
I took a deep breath and started with the intermediate fire magic spell, “Blazing Flame.”
The undulating flames seemed to want to consume a space of about twenty meters around me.
After successfully casting an impressive intermediate magic spell, following Leah, one of the teachers applauded me.
However, my exam was not over yet.
Once the flames extinguished in the air, I cast the intermediate water spell, “Water Strike,” towards the training dummy in front of me.
A mass of water impacted the target, exploding with a thunderous sound. It had considerable power.
At this point, the room, which had been silent in the face of the unexpected display of magic from two different attributes, began to buzz with excitement.
As the applause grew more frequent, I started to hear scattered praises.
Nevertheless, I ignored all of that and continued to cast spells in rapid succession.
Intermediate wind spell, “Night Storm.”
Intermediate earth spell, “Earth Block.”
Intermediate light spell, “Sacred Relic.”
Intermediate dark spell, “Eternal Darkness.”
“What…?!”
Amidst the flurry of intermediate spells, the bustling air in the room completely calm, leaving everyone speechless, as if they couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed.
Only I, with a serene expression, addressed the examiner.
“Um… I’m done. Is everything alright?”
“Eh? Ah… Yes, yes! No issues at all! Hermes-sama, please proceed to the next exam room!”
“Thank you very much.”
Expressing my gratitude, I moved away from the center.
Having performed a striking series of spells, I had managed to captivate quite well.
The examiners were so surprised that they ended up using formal language with me in the end.
This impact was bound to explode once I left the exam room.
Indeed, as I made my way towards the “First Training Area” for the final “Fencing Exam,” a distant sound resembling an explosion was heard. Probably, someone had exclaimed “What?!” in surprise.
Without paying it much attention, I promptly headed towards the next exam room.
