Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

After confirming the exam location, I immediately left the reception area.

The grounds of the Federal University of Magic are vast. No matter how large and numerous the buildings are, it’s impossible to fill all of the expansive land with artificial structures.

The campus scenery was mostly dominated by green spaces consisting of grass and trees.

I noticed lone exam takers walking or groups of students gathered here and there for brief chats.

Once I put my hat back on and opened my umbrella, most of the lingering gazes gradually dispersed among the falling raindrops.

While it was largely due to my hair being physically covered…

It wasn’t just that.

Now, with only about an hour left until the exam.

It was approaching the time when there was little time or leisure to pay attention to external distractions.

Thanks to this, I was able to head into the University of Magic relatively comfortably.

After walking for a few minutes like this…

“This is it.”

Two granite pillars stand firmly even in the wind and rain.

The Gate of Knowledge.

I finally reached its immediate vicinity.

“……”

I stopped for a moment in front of it and looked up at the pillars.

20-foot-high granite cuboids. Tall if you call it tall, low if you call it low, a symbol that even felt somewhat modest, but…

For some reason, I felt as if it was a tower of learning soaring up to the sky.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt this sentiment.

While there might be exam takers who would treat the Gate of Knowledge as mere decoration and hurry their steps, the vast majority of examinees stopped once in front of the Gate of Knowledge.

I guessed the reason.

Many students in the federation can and have walked the path of learning smoothly thanks to a well-established education system.

Things that are ‘common’ and ‘obvious’ decrease in value according to economic logic.

Thus, for federation students, the pure will to learn might be quite rare.

Even for students confident enough to apply to the Federal University of Magic.

As if prophesying this, Jean-Pierre Auchelime was asking again from the entrance of the Federal University of Magic.

[Let those who wish to learn enter here]

[Let those without the desire to learn not approach]

Are you truly here for the sake of learning?

Are you prepared to continue the legacy of knowledge passed down from the distant past?

“……”

Even the students chatting in groups fell silent as mice in front of those two inscriptions.

Like opening the floodgates of a dam, after one wave of students passed through the gateway, examinees began to pile up in front of the Gate of Knowledge again.

Truly a gateway without bars.

It was in the midst of such a silence that was not silence.

Splash—

Splash!

Two water sounds echoed.

While everyone hesitated to pass through the Gate of Knowledge rashly, legs were stretched out simultaneously from the left and right of the group.

The one who stepped softly into a puddle with a splash was me.

Naturally so, as I had already answered that question eight years ago.

All that’s needed to pass through the gate is respect for the study of magic.

That’s why I took the first careful step forward.

But who would have thought there would be an examinee confident enough to pass through the Gate of Knowledge at the same time as me?

…And by splashing water from a puddle without hesitation at that.

“Whew.”

After completely passing through the Gate of Knowledge, I turned my head towards where the splashing sound had come from.

As the culprit of the splash was also looking in my direction, we were able to confirm each other’s faces immediately.

The next moment…

We both opened our mouths, pointing at each other.

“…The weird guy I saw at the restaurant?”

“Oh? The gray-haired theorist! I knew we’d meet again.”

Black eyes shone ambitiously between black hair, revealing the forehead. A handsome but somewhat brazen face.

Memories of my first day in Frauzen come to mind.

It’s clear.

That’s the guy who sat next to me and asked whether light was a wave or a particle.

I couldn’t quite remember his name, but I definitely remembered that face.

It was a strange reunion after a full two months.

Starting with the two people who passed through the gateway simultaneously, the students standing behind also rushed through the Gate of Knowledge.

The groups that had been mingling gathered again to chat while lone examinees continued to head towards the exam hall alone.

And.

Somehow, I met the weird guy from the restaurant.

“I’m Werner, gray-haired theorist.”

I was on my way to the exam hall with Werner.

Until I stepped out of the front door this morning, I never dreamed such a strange companionship would form.

Regardless of my opinion, the journey with Werner had begun.

Who would have thought we’d have the same exam location?

“Lucky us. I didn’t want to take the exam surrounded by pseudo-intellectuals hesitating at the Gate of Knowledge. I’m glad at least you’re here, theorist.”

“It’s Eugene, I tell you.”

“Is that so? Gray-hair.”

“……”

That’s not much different.

Anyway, despite all this, he seemed to like me quite a bit.

Although I couldn’t quite grasp the reason why, it’s quite attractive to be able to start a human relationship with goodwill. There’s probably no need to push him away.

I also needed some distraction from the excessive sense of solemnity on the way here.

Werner didn’t disappoint my expectations and immediately started chattering.

“I’m not particularly interested in your name.”

“After revealing your own name?”

“Didn’t I say when we parted last time? That we’d see each other again at the University of Magic.”

I think that might have been the case.

Whether I answered or not, Werner continued speaking.

“As you know, I am a genius and destined to become the federation’s top experimental magician.”

“…I don’t think I know that first part?”

“I plan to proudly take first place in this entrance exam. But what about you? Statistically speaking, you have a very high probability of failing the entrance exam, let alone getting first place.”

“……”

“Gray-hair. If you want me to call you by your name, demand it after you pass the exam proudly. No, let’s raise the bar. Try to steal my first place position.”

I was purely curious.

Where does this confidence come from?

As I closed my mouth in bewilderment, Werner smiled shamelessly.

“So, if we exchange names, it’ll be on the day the exam results come out. How about it? Isn’t it interesting?”

“Well… it is interesting. By the way…”

Half-listening to Werner’s sophistry, I glanced around.

People seemed to be whispering and looking this way strangely.

It’s somewhat different from the attitude they had towards barbarian blood. To begin with, I was wearing a hat and even an umbrella, so my gray hair wasn’t particularly visible.

In other words, this atmosphere was caused entirely by Werner.

Is this guy not an ordinary student, either?

I imitated his tone, stripped of pretense, and spoke.

“You. It seems your reputation is quite bad.”

“Ah, yes, I’m quite famous among Frauzen students.”

“In a good way?”

“In a bad way. I burned down the entire laboratory at the school I attended.”

Werner grinned literally.

“Don’t worry. There weren’t many flammable materials. Just… quite a few metal compounds. The flame colors were quite diverse.” *1

Ah.

Only then did I recall the final greeting at the restaurant.

This guy… He’s not just dreaming of becoming an experimental magician.

He’s a madman hoping to become ‘the experimental magician who will lead the most dangerous experiments’!

Just as I was instinctively taking half a step away from Werner, we finally arrived at a building.

A classical-style university building with numerous spires.

Its scale was quite large, seeming to have enough room to accommodate all the examinees lined up outside the building.

The Grand Hall. The exam venue for Werner and me.

“Is this the Grand Hall?”

“It seems so.”

We closed our umbrellas and headed to the exam location following the guidance.

About 30 minutes remained until the exam started.

As anxiety beyond tension began to set in among the students, most examinees were busy either frantically memorizing concept summaries or falling into meditation for mental stability, regardless of gray hair or whatever.

“Werner. Where’s your exam location? Mine is Hall 1.”

“Hall 2.”

I internally breathed a sigh of relief.

Somehow, I felt like if we had taken the exam in the same room, he would have kept challenging me, but fortunately, we were separated.

Around that time, Werner stroked his chin.

“Hmm.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Theorist. That hat of yours looks familiar somehow. Where did you get it?”

“It was a gift.”

“Hmm. Well. Alright.”

Amidst the nervous murmuring, we faced each other.

Isn’t it my turn to speak first this time?

“Let’s meet again on the day of the results announcement. Look forward to it. First place will be mine.”

“Haha! I told you, you’re an interesting fellow.”

I turned my back without hesitation.

Probably the same for him.

The eve was already over. Now we face the storm.

There was only one thing for me to do in the storm.

To prove that the past two months, no, the past eight years were not meaningless.

Thud. Thud.

I entered Hall 1 without hesitation.

“…?”

“What’s this? Gray-hair?”

There were some people glancing at me here and there, but I didn’t pay attention.

This is the exam hall.

The answer about my worth will be given by pen and exam paper, not by mouth.

“Now. Silence.”

Thump, thump, thump!

Three invigilators stood on the platform holding incredibly thick exam papers.

“We request silence from everyone.”

The invigilator standing on the platform – probably a professor – stacked the exam papers like a tower on the platform and asked the assistant invigilators various questions.

“How many have arrived?”

“Just a moment… From a total of 122, currently, 105 have entered the room.”

“Thank you.”

Eventually, the two assistant invigilators moved to the side and back of Hall 1, and the lone invigilator remaining on the platform soon began to emit a stern gaze.

“We will soon begin this year’s entrance examination for the Frauzen Federal University of Magic. Everyone, take out your writing utensils. Ah, and remember, the Father of Magic is watching, so don’t even dream of cheating.”

T/N

This seems to reference the flame test for metals. I recall in high school (secondary education), one of our lab experiments was seeing the colors of the flames that metals produced when heated via a Bunsen burner, and we saw how some metals produced green flames, others with red, and others with orange. Such is useful for determining the presence of metals in substances via a qualitative method.

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Two more chapters to follow for today! 

Thanks for reading, see you in a bit!