Chapter 43
All the first-year Magic Department students were gathered in the main auditorium of the Magic Hall.
Seated on temporary chairs, the students read over their notes with tense expressions.
“Ugh! I’m so nervous! My stomach hurts!”
Carr tossed several homemade stomach remedies into his mouth.
Seeing that, the surrounding students rushed over and bought his remedies.
“You’re doing good business even at a time like this.”
“My test scores are probably doomed, so I might as well do my best here. But Leo, I guess you’re not nervous since you’re such a top student?”
“Not really.”
“Who says ‘not really’ and acts so calm?”
Carr grumbled enviously, glancing at Chloe, who was sitting in the front row.
Chloe had looked like a wreck throughout the exam period, but today, she was dressed very neatly.
It wasn’t just Chloe.
All the Magic Department students were dressed up today.
The original magic presentation wasn’t just a test, but a chance to present their achievements as magicians.
Choosing the path of a magician meant it was inevitable to attend magic theory symposiums.
So, this was also practice for future presentations.
At that moment, the auditorium doors opened and three magicians entered.
All of them were dressed impeccably and wore strict expressions as they walked up to the podium.
“It’s been a while, Professor Len. Oh, you’re a full professor now, aren’t you?”
“Hehe. It’s good to see you again. Yes, I’m a professor now.”
Professor Len greeted them warmly, then stepped onto the podium and addressed the students.
“Alright, everyone, attention.”
Professor Len stood on the podium, getting the students’ attention.
“I’ll introduce these people. From the left: Lilda Pedni, Aydman Slak, and Shin Huzda. All three are your seniors, having graduated from Lumene’s Magic Department three years ago. Today, they’re not here as seniors, but as judges to evaluate you.”
The students’ eyes lit up at those words.
Professor Len was very popular among the Magic Department students.
His good looks and kind personality helped, but more than that, he was famous for being an excellent teacher.
But above all, he was known for being an extremely strict grader.
That’s why he was a daunting judge.
So, hearing that the judges were recent graduates and not Professor Len put everyone more at ease.
Carr was pleased. “Oh~! Lucky!”
“I don’t think that’s something to be happy about.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Professor Len specifically brought in outside judges. Do you really think it’ll be that easy?”
“…”
Carr’s face turned a bit uneasy at that.
Meanwhile, the three graduates sat at the judges’ table in front of the podium.
With paper and pens out, they looked ready, so Professor Len picked up the list and began calling names.
“Eliana Laden.”
Creak—!
At that, Eliana walked up to the podium.
“Hello, seniors. I’m Eliana Laden from Class 5! It’s such an honor to meet you.”
“We’re glad to meet you too, Eliana. We look forward to hearing your presentation,” Lilda Pedni said, pushing up her glasses and smiling gently.
Eliana twisted her body shyly and smiled as cutely as she could, almost as if asking, ‘You’re not going to be harsh to a cute junior, are you?’
“Leo, seeing her act like that makes me feel sick,” Carr muttered.
“Endure it.”
“Well then, please take care of me.”
“My main attribute is light.”
“Oh, that’s a rare [Magic Power] attribute.”
The seniors showed interest, and Eliana celebrated inwardly.
‘The mood is good~’
“If you add a ‘flame’ magic spell to the light magic system like this, you can fire a powerful ‘heat ray’ spell!”
Eliana gestured with both hands at the magic system she had diagrammed on the blackboard for the graduates to see.
After emphasizing a few points, she put her hands behind her back and smiled shyly.
“That’s all.”
After her presentation, applause erupted among the students.
Lilda, sitting on the far left, pushed up her glasses and spoke.
“It’s true that among light attribute magicians, many choose a powerful ‘laser’ as their original magic. In the past, original magic really was something unique to yourself… but nowadays, with the era of heroes, passing down powerful magic is expected, so original magic itself doesn’t have to be that special. But you do need some originality in the process.”
At some point, her eyes went cold as she looked at Eliana.
“What makes yours different from the typical laser-type magic?”
“Um… Well, that… it’s related to my family’s secret magic formula…”
“A formula related to secret magic. That’s complacent.”
Lilda clicked her tongue and began pointing out every flaw in Eliana’s spell formula.
In the sudden tense atmosphere, Eliana broke out in a cold sweat as she struggled to answer.
“One last question. Eliana, what tier do you aim for with this magic?”
“Uh, I… I haven’t decided yet.”
Eliana fidgeted, avoiding Lilda’s gaze.
“It’s good to have big dreams, but you should only present something you fully understand. Do you think we came to watch a school talent show?! C-! Next!”
“Eek!”
Suddenly, Lilda’s eyes widened as she shouted, and Eliana flinched and hurried off the podium.
The other students’ faces stiffened.
To them, Eliana’s presentation seemed impressive.
But a C-?
Len crossed his arms as he watched.
‘She’s doing well. It’s time they felt what a wall is.’
Back when Len was an assistant professor, he’d invited graduates who were especially strict about magic theory as judges.
The reason was simple.
At first, first-years always struggled with Lumene’s class difficulty.
But by midterms, they began to adapt.
In a short time, their skills had grown tremendously compared to when they entered.
It was the time when the entire first year tended to get overconfident and arrogant.
At times like this, if you don’t rein them in, they’ll start to neglect their studies—Professor Len knew this well from years of experience.
‘There are plenty of professors who let the talented ones rise and don’t care about the ones who won’t make it… But leaving behind the ones who *could* succeed just doesn’t sit right with me.’
Len believed it was also an educator’s job to provide new challenges so students would keep aiming higher.
‘Honestly, expecting first-years to complete their original magic is impossible.’
The assignment was mainly to emphasize the importance of original magic.
No matter how talented the mages entering Lumene were, there was no way they could complete an original spell—a feat other mages spend their entire lives on—in just a few months.
‘Well, there are a few geniuses who can do it.’
Len glanced at a few students.
Meanwhile, the presentations continued.
“I expected this year’s first-years to be special, but their level is really lacking.”
“In terms of originality, they might even be worse than previous classes. Well, the higher-ups only said they were special because of their ‘combat skills.’”
Lilda and Shin Huzda spoke loud enough for others to hear.
They, too, knew their roles thanks to Len.
Of course, even they felt attached to their juniors.
They wanted to praise them for doing well, but for the juniors’ sake, they willingly played the villain.
They, too, had suffered from overconfidence when they were first-years.
As the first-years were thoroughly brought down to earth by the graduates, Len called out the next student.
“Abad Lewellin.”
At those words, the graduates’ expressions changed.
The most powerful nation on the Western Continent.
It was only natural to feel anticipation when the heir of the Lewellin family, the pinnacle of magic in the Lordren Empire, was called.
“The name of my original magic is Tempester.”
Abad stepped onto the podium, gave a brief greeting, and began his presentation.
Everyone was in awe as they listened.
Abad’s magic was, quite literally, a force of nature that maximized the power of wind to the point of a natural disaster.
“When fully completed, its expected tier is the highest rank.”
The students buzzed at his words.
‘It’s the ultimate magic that truly represents him.’
“Ugh, he’s so annoying but so cool! Which makes it even more annoying! But still, he’s cool!”
“Pick one.”
Carr crossed his arms, and Leo burst out laughing.
Female students watched Abad’s bright smile with admiration.
Chelsea’s eyes sparkled as if to say, ‘My brother is the best!’
‘Leo’s magic system is amazing, but my brother’s not far behind! Haa~ Who should I root for?’
“Amazing. As expected of the heir to the Lewellin family.”
“A magician’s original magic should encompass their values, philosophy, goals, and direction—and yours fits that perfectly.”
The graduates couldn’t stop praising Abad.
“There’s always a monster like this in every class. Abad Lewellin, you get an A+.”
Abad stepped down from the podium to a round of applause from the graduates.
“Phew~ I feel sorry for whoever’s up next!”
“Next presenter, Carr Thomas.”
“Gasp!”
Carr, who’d been laughing moments earlier, went pale.
A few students gave him sympathetic looks.
Like livestock heading to slaughter, Carr went up and, as expected, returned in a miserable state.
Carr, looking completely drained, was comforted by the other students.
Meanwhile, Chelsea also presented.
While Abad showed overwhelming destructive force, Chelsea’s original magic was a field spell that could control the surrounding area with wind.
“Amazing.”
“It’s hard to believe she’s only fourteen, even if she is a Lewellin. A!”
“Thank you.”
Chelsea smiled brightly and bowed, then left the podium.
After Chelsea, only two presenters remained.
“Next presenter, Leo Plov.”
Creak—
At that, Leo stood up.
All eyes were on him.
Before going up, Leo made eye contact with Chloe, who was standing at the very front.
He waved with a smile, but Chloe just stared at him.
Feeling slightly awkward, Leo stood in the center of the podium.
“The original magic I prepared is a non-attribute magic system.”
“A non-attribute magic system? What’s that?”
Lilda adjusted her glasses, puzzled by the unfamiliar concept.
“It’s simple. Existing spell formulas all have attribute manifestation formulas, right?”
“Of course. That’s the minimum requirement to cast any spell.”
Shin Huzda answered immediately, as if stating the obvious.
Leo smiled at that.
“My original magic is a spell system that can integrate all attribute manifestation formulas.”
“What?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
The three judges looked shocked, and the students were all dumbfounded.
Professor Len glared at Leo.
“Leo Plov. So you’re saying… you’ve created an entirely new magic system?”
Aydman asked for confirmation, and Leo shrugged.
“Yes.”
