Chapter 55 : Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Entrance Exam (3)

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The day of the entrance exam finally arrived.

I woke up at dawn, sat cross-legged, and felt the mana in the air.

Even the atmosphere of Ostrum, the city of magic towers, was filled with highly pure mana.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath in and exhaled.

But this wasn’t mere breathing.

It was the act of drawing in the ambient mana through respiration.

The mana from outside would circulate within my body, becoming part of my energy.

“Are you confident?”

Eidon, who had entered my room unnoticed, asked with concern.

I paused my training.

It didn’t matter—I needed to prepare to leave anyway.

I smiled brightly at Eidon and answered.

“I can do it.”

Eidon let out a groan before adding,

“It’s good that you found your own way. But whether the examiners will accept it is another question.”

“Didn’t you say it was interesting, Eidon-nim?”

“It is. But mages are picky. Some examiners might disqualify you for not following the orthodox method.”

Mages were valued everywhere, but their demeanor was universally off-putting.

And, as Eidon taught me, the ones who disliked mages the most were other mages.

“They’re a bunch of dogs.”

“You’re a mage too, Eidon-nim.”

“Anyway, if you can’t pass with your method, it just means the examiners are that mediocre. I hope these ones have proper discernment.”

“I hope so too.”

“If it doesn’t work out, I’ll pull some strings to…”

“I’ll pass.”

I was confident.

I had found my own way, as Eidon advised.

“Then come to the inn’s entrance in 30 minutes.”

Eidon left the room, his face still etched with worry.

* * *

Eidon escorted me to the exam venue.

The ice flower brooch on his chest, a symbol of the Frost Magic Tower, glimmered.

“You can do well, right?”

“You’ve said that over a hundred times this morning alone. I can do it.”

Eidon’s repetitive nagging wasn’t just annoying.

I knew how much effort he’d put into teaching me.

Walking with him, I could feel the mages’ gazes toward me shift.

Eidon’s reputation as a promising mage in Ostrum’s past clearly wasn’t exaggerated.

“I should’ve been an examiner.”

“Come on, trust me. I’m really going in now!”

“You can do well, right?”

He must’ve said that nearly 200 times.

I didn’t reply, just waved at Eidon.

“Do well! Report to me right after!”

With Eidon’s encouragement, I entered the Ostrum Public Mage Library, where the exam was held.

“I’m here for the entrance exam.”

“Your name?”

“Polarin.”

“Ah, here you are. Head to the basement level.”

The entrance exam’s format hadn’t changed since its inception.

It was about drawing on a sand plate, as Eidon had shown me.

Though everyone knew the process, there was no need to hide it, yet the exam was conducted privately.

The basement level of the Public Mage Library, where the exam took place, was a stark space with only a platform, devoid of furniture or decorations.

Candidates gathered, their faces tense with nerves.

Some were visibly trembling, taking deep breaths to steady themselves.

The scene wasn’t unfamiliar.

Those preparing for the Adjak family’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony wore similar expressions, calming their breaths.

The candidates’ ages varied, but most looked younger than me.

Considering the requirement of reaching Third-Rank to take the exam, most were likely prodigies in their hometowns.

Those who enter the magic tower without taking the exam are on a different level, aren’t they? The world is full of talented people.

Hoo.

I took a deep breath, steadying my mind.

The thought of competing with so many talents inevitably made me nervous.

Soon, the examiners ascended the platform.

Some wore the stereotypical mage attire of cloaks and tall hats, others donned casual robes, and one even wore a uniform-like outfit.

For a public appearance, their lack of uniformity was quintessentially mage-like.

“Oh… the examiners.”

The candidates murmured with admiration.

But my reaction was different.

With goals distinct from those gathered here, seeing magic tower mages didn’t stir much emotion.

If anything, I was slightly disappointed by their apparent lack of caliber.

The examiner from the Frost Magic Tower has two petals. The others don’t seem impressive either… Huh?

Among them, one figure caught my eye.

A mage with jet-black hair and dark eyes.

She exuded an aura stronger than all the other examiners combined.

Her energy was so immense it was hard to gauge.

Stronger than Pinnon.

Perhaps even Derix.

Not as strong as Tayon, but I couldn’t be sure.

I couldn’t tear my eyes from the powerful examiner.

Then her gaze met mine, and our eyes locked briefly.

One second. No, maybe two.

Though fleeting, I recognized her identity.

The Empire’s Fourth Princess, who left the palace to reside in the magic tower—Labella Oriandeus.

One of the key figures in Ostrum Eidon had mentioned.

She’s practically a Tower Master. Why is she here?

Her skill and renown far surpassed the other examiners.

Labella, turning her gaze away, sat in her assigned seat as if nothing happened.

But a gut feeling struck me.

I sensed she knew who I was.

Whether that instinct was true, I’d find out during the exam.

“Well then, let’s begin.”

The eight examiners took their seats.

Without pleasantries, they started the exam.

“Please do your best!”

“No chatter. Begin.”

“Yes, yes!”

The exam involved using internal mana to draw precise patterns on a sand plate.

The first candidate, starting with an enthusiastic greeting, managed to release mana and wet the sand plate.

But that was it.

Perhaps from excessive nerves, their hands trembled, mana flow stopped, and the pattern couldn’t continue.

The next candidate, and the one after, failed to complete their drawings.

Some were disqualified for drawing too crookedly, others for insufficient mana to imbue the pattern.

Failures piled up.

Despite being prodigies from various regions, few succeeded in drawing the patterns.

“Fail. Next.”

“Please, one more chance!”

“Enough. Next person.”

As no one passed, the examiners, initially focused, began to lose interest.

Some dozed off, others read books, and one even played with fire at their fingertips out of boredom.

Labella, likely due to her imperial etiquette training, sat upright, watching the candidates, though she seemed disinterested.

One examiner, irritated by the sluggish pace, stood and said,

“Next—no, let’s do two at a time now.”

The exam sped up, but still no one passed.

Eidon’s claim that it wasn’t difficult felt so far from reality that I was bewildered.

What? Was Eidon just a genius?

Reaching Third-Rank wasn’t easy.

It required effort and talent.

That talent meant an affinity for mana.

Only those who could intuitively feel and bond with mana could reach Third-Rank.

But being a mage required more than just being “close to mana.”

Third-Rank candidates kept failing.

I realized magic was a field where late starters struggled to bloom without early training.

To pass the entrance exam, three patterns had to be drawn.

Yet, those who reached the second pattern were few enough to count on one hand.

I understood why the examiners were bored.

The faces of those awaiting their turn grew increasingly tense. Some gave up mid-exam and left.

…Then my turn came.

I looked at the sand plate before me.

The first pattern was a donut shape—two overlapping circles.

It looked simple but wasn’t easy. It required drawing perfect circles without distortion.

I glanced at the examiners.

They didn’t seem to expect much from me, their boredom unmasked.

Even Labella, who had just met my eyes.

I stimulated my Dragon Heart, gathering mana at my fingertips.

“Huh?”

Some candidates, sensitive to mana, gasped as they felt the exam room’s mana surge.

The examiners’ reactions shifted too.

I sensed their previously indifferent gazes converge on me.

Ignoring their responses, I focused on the mana at my fingertips.

Whoosh.

White mana poured onto the sand plate, shapeless, far from a donut.

It wasn’t much different from my training with Eidon.

The examiners’ fleeting anticipation faded, replaced by sighs of disappointment.

Someone shouted,

“Next.”

But I didn’t lift my hand from the sand plate.

I was still manipulating mana.

As an examiner began to speak irritably,

“Next candi…”

“Wait.”

Labella stopped him.

As Eidon said, my ability to control internal mana was lacking.

But that didn’t mean I was poor at mana control.

Like when I extracted demonic energy from Derix, I could freely manipulate mana outside my body.

I applied that skill to the mana spilled on the sand plate.

Pulling the mana toward me, I shaped a round outline and carved a small hole in the center.

A perfect donut appeared.

One examiner, startled, leapt from their seat.

“N-next! No, move to the next pattern!”

I grinned.

Then I reached for the next sand plate.

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