Reborn as the Head of the Stolen Mage Family

Chapter 16

The central plaza, now calm after the commotion, was left with only the commoner children.

As Marcel and then Alexein stormed off with his entourage, the other upper-class children, sensing the mood, gradually left the plaza as well.

Finally, only the commoners remained, but the atmosphere was already subdued.

The boy who had been mocked and lost his bread, Joey, looked on the verge of tears.

“I’m sorry, Joy… because of me…”

Joey, with a tearful expression, apologized to Joy, who had retaliated against Alexein on his behalf.

But Joy, unfazed, wore a bold expression as if it were no big deal.

“Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Still… he’s the heir of House Dickens. If he bothers you after we enroll…”

“Forget it.”

Cutting off the boy’s words, Joy reached out and put an arm around his shoulder, raising her voice.

“If you’re so worried, don’t apologize—get enrolled. The more of us who make it, the stronger we’ll be. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it, Joy…!”

“Alright, everyone, what are you standing around for? Time to head to the next exam hall.”

With Joy’s spirited words, the commoner children prepared to move to the Urbent Room for the next exam.

But—

“Joy, aren’t you coming?”

“You guys go ahead. I’ll stop by the bathroom and catch up.”

“Got it.”

As the commoner children left, Joy headed not to the bathroom but to a secluded hallway.

From her pocket, she pulled out her wand and some tape.

“…”

A fleeting shadow of gloom crossed Joy’s face as she looked at the wand.

Cracked and splintered in places, the wand was in terrible condition.

She hadn’t planned to use it until the practical exam, but breaking Alexein’s juice bottle earlier had worsened the cracks.

“Please… just hold up until the practical exam… I’m begging you…”

Muttering a prayer-like plea, Joy wrapped tape around the wand.

Already patched in multiple places, it gained another layer or two of tape.

***

Examinees entered the Urbent Room one by one as their names were called.

The “magical practical” required them to perform their most confident spell before the proctors.

Accounting for 40% of the entrance score, it was the most significant exam, with only one chance to perform.

Thus, most examinees chose easy 1-star or 2-star spells.

Higher-difficulty spells earned bonus points, but a mistake could ruin the entire exam.

“Next, Marcel Kirhausen.”

“Yes.”

Marcel stood as his name was called.

He glanced at my empty seat, where only my wand remained, before entering the Urbent Room.

Meanwhile, in an empty lecture hall a short distance from the Urbent Room…

“Hoo…”

I stood in the center, eyes closed, regulating my breathing.

A deep sense of skepticism lingered on my face as I touched my lips.

“Man… living twice really brings all sorts of nonsense.”

Lying to an administrator about needing the bathroom.

Concealing my presence and mana.

Slipping into a pre-scouted empty lecture hall to lie low. to wait for Marcel’s turn.

It was skepticism about this whole sequence of actions.

And the absurdity of ‘Do I really have to go this far to make Ivan’s grandson the top scorer?’

But—

“Right… he needs to take first so I can comfortably take second.”

As I grumbled to myself, I felt Marcel begin to channel his mana.

He was preparing a 4-star light attribute spell, Serenifox.

It was a spell of far higher difficulty and harder to control than those chosen by other examinees.

‘He’s aiming to dominate the practical exam.’

Of course, he could make such a choice because he didn’t know his strength came from my mana.

And I planned to exploit that misconception a bit further.

As Serenifox began to manifest at the tip of Marcel’s wand, my eyes glowed golden.

“Hup!”

With a short exclamation, Marcel’s wand traced a bold arc.

Thump.

My mana circle responded as if it had been waiting for this moment.

It was the result of the mana powering the spell shifting from Marcel’s to mine.

Of course, Marcel was unaware of this.

As Marcel swung his wand, the entire Urbent Room was enveloped in pitch-black darkness.

“Ho… he’s halfway there.”

A proctor muttered quietly, watching Marcel through the darkness.

Serenifox absorbed all surrounding light before releasing it in a stronger burst.

For a 14-year-old mage, perfectly executing it was incredibly challenging.

The spell had two conditions for success: perfect absorption and perfect release.

The absorption phase was already worthy of a perfect score.

Now, it was about releasing the absorbed light in a single explosive burst.

The proctors’ eyes gleamed sharply even in the darkness.

And with even fiercer intensity, my golden eyes shone.

In the next moment—

PAAAAH—!

Light erupted from Marcel’s wand with tremendous force.

“...!”

The proctors, watching Marcel’s silhouette in the blinding light, quietly widened their eyes.

Despite casting protective spells on their eyes, it took time for their vision to recover.

Marcel’s Serenifox was flawless.

“Huh…”

A soft exclamation escaped Anton Lener, the senior professor among the proctors.

The other professors couldn’t hide their astonishment either.

By rule, proctors weren’t supposed to show admiration or disappointment during the practical exam to prevent examinees from gauging their performance and affecting subsequent tests.

But before Marcel’s perfect Serenifox, that unspoken rule lost its power.

The proctors exchanged glances and nodded.

They were in agreement about Marcel’s score.

“You may leave.”

“Thank you.”

Marcel bowed politely and exited the Urbent Room.

Moments later, a middle-aged male professor stood and stepped onto the central platform where examinees performed.

He swung his wand broadly.

A dome-shaped golden mana barrier flickered into view.

Its unstable shimmer, spotted with patches, showed it had been overloaded by Marcel’s Serenifox.

“Ho… this is incredible.”

“Indeed. The Kirhausen Family lives up to its name as a magical dynasty.”

The proctors marveled as the male professor repaired the barrier.

“It’s been a long time since an examinee perfectly executed a spell above 4 stars in the entrance practical.”

“Indeed. The first since Anna Lewellyn’s 4-star spell seven years ago.”

“But it still hasn’t broken Professor Arno’s 5-star record. Haha…”

“Ahem.”

At the mention of Professor Arno, Anton, the senior professor, cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Close to the academy’s board, he disapproved of the dean and professors who were the dean’s disciples.

“Let’s move along. We still have many examinees left.”

Perhaps because of this, the proctors, sensing Anton’s mood, ended the conversation without further comment.

But if Anton hadn’t been there… they might have discussed the most famous entrance practical case in academy history.

The legendary examinee who performed a 7-star spell, shattering the exam hall’s mana barrier.

Edmund von Kirhausen.

***

After Marcel’s practical, I returned from the empty lecture hall and waited for my turn.

While waiting, I learned much by observing those who went in and came out.

Alexein had performed a 3-star spell quite impressively.

One examinee was the grandson of Lyman Jenkins, a member of the Mage Council.

And the red-haired girl who showed inexplicable hostility toward me was named Joy Lixiodor.

“Next, Eddie Summerson.”

I stood as my name was called.

But my steps toward the Urbent Room faltered because of one person.

Joy, who had just finished her exam and was leaving the Urbent Room.

Her head was bowed, her face flushed.

‘What’s this? Did she mess up the practical? She didn’t seem like someone who would.’

I glanced at Joy as I passed her.

At that moment, Joy, head down and not watching ahead, bumped into my shoulder.

And—

Thud. Clatter.

Something fell from Joy’s sleeve and rolled across the floor.

“…!”

It was half of a broken wand.

All eyes waiting outside the Urbent Room turned to it.

The wand’s splintered state and layers of tape made it clear.

Joy’s wand hadn’t been broken by someone—it had simply worn out and snapped on its own.

“Pfft.”

Snickers erupted among those waiting.

The mocking laughter came from upper-class children who looked down on commoner examinees.

I picked up the broken wand piece before it rolled further and handed it to Joy.

“…”

But Joy didn’t take it, standing still and staring at one spot.

My wand, with its luxurious leather grip and ornate decorations, was unmistakably high-end.

“…Ha.”

Joy let out a short, stifled scoff, roughly snatching the wand piece from my hand before brushing past me.

I watched her retreating figure for a moment before entering the Urbent Room.

***

“Stand on the platform and perform your prepared spell. You have one chance.”

“Yes.”

I replied briefly, scanning the four proctors before me.

‘Aside from Anton Lener, they’re all new faces.’

To think Anton, a regular professor who didn’t get along with Leodimir 30 years ago, was now a senior professor.

I felt the passage of time as I raised my wand.

Unlike Marcel, who prepared a 4-star spell, I had chosen a 1-star wind attribute spell, Breeze.

In truth, choosing a 2-star or 3-star spell would have been far better for scoring high.

But I had no choice.

The spells the Kirhausen Family taught me for the practical exam were all 1-star.

Performing an untaught spell to score higher?

That would raise suspicions when the practical exam came up later.

So, I had to score just below Marcel with a 1-star spell.

I took a short breath.

Then, I swung my wand, beginning to cast Breeze.

Whoosh—

Mana gathered at the tip of my wand in response to my mana circle.

My hair fluttered in the wind.

The sound of wind filled the exam hall.

Normally, Breeze altered air currents to create a gentle gust.

But my Breeze…

WHIIIIR—! CHAAAAK—!

It roared with the ferocity of a coastal cliff’s sea breeze.

‘That’s… Breeze?’

‘It’s about to form a tornado!’

‘Did this kid obsessively practice one spell? What kind of power…’

A whirlwind began forming around me.

The proctors watched, unable to close their mouths.

Even the light dust on the exam hall floor formed a ring around me.

Without the mana barrier, the Urbent Room would have been a mess of wind.

I gauged the proctors’ reactions, timing when to withdraw Breeze.

Confirming all their eyes were on me, I—

KWAAAA—…

With a single wand gesture, I withdrew Breeze.

The whirlwind and the dust ring around me vanished instantly.

It was a flawless, clean finish.

“Ho…”

Low exclamations came from the proctors.

Not as intense as with Marcel’s Serenifox, but they were clearly impressed.

I confirmed my strategy had worked, reading their expressions.

‘Not much of a strategy, really.’

My plan to score just below a 4-star spell with a 1-star spell was simple:

A perfect finish.

It was something most examinees overlooked in the practical exam.

The sole evaluation criterion was “spell proficiency.”

Most thought “proficiency” meant “how much power a spell could produce.”

But proficiency also included cleanly withdrawing a cast spell.

So, I aimed for a flawless finish.

And, as expected—

“…”

Nod, nod.

The proctors exchanged glances and nodded subtly.

The atmosphere suggested they agreed on giving me a high score.

A stern-looking female professor with glasses quietly wrote the highest score on her evaluation sheet.

I was the first examinee she gave a perfect score to in this practical exam.

“You may leave.”

“Thank you.”

As I exited, the proctors marveled at the Kirhausen Family’s prowess.

And—

“Not only the heir but even the Tail has the qualities of a magical dynasty.”

Anton, particularly generous with praise for Kirhausen, was visibly pleased, likely due to his close ties with the current Kirhausen head.