As Kai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, Chloe asked.
"Are you nervous?"
"Of course! The Lumern magic exam is bound to be incredibly difficult!"
"Surely they won't give problems beyond the level of freshmen, right?"
"I envy you, top student."
Kai had barely passed the entrance exam, so he was anxious about the test itself.
It seemed he wasn't the only one feeling this way.
"Expulsion?"
"That's too much!"
"Professors have the authority to expel students. Everyone should know this, right?"
"But, without a justifiable reason, you can't expel someone, right?"
"Of course, expulsion without a justifiable reason is impossible."
Professor Ren tapped the exam paper with his fingertip.
"But if you can't even pass this level of exam, you don't deserve to study magic at Lumern."
Then, a male student who seemed to be from another department raised his hand.
"What about students who want to take magic as a minor?"
"Students can take magic classes in addition to their major."
"What about those hoping for a dual class?"
"Dual class...," Professor Ren trailed off with a smile.
"You might discover hidden magical talent in the temporary classes."
The students looked puzzled by this unexpected statement.
"Because some people have such complacent thoughts, the same exam is given to minors."
A few students visibly shuddered.
"Isn't it a disrespectful act for someone who has never studied magic to stand on the same ground as those who have dedicated their lives to it?"
Professor Ren was smiling, but his eyes were cold.
Chloe nodded enthusiastically with a sparkle in her eyes.
"The exam is out of 100 points, and you need at least 40 to pass."
The students let out a sigh of relief at the lenient cutoff.
When Professor Ren snapped his fingers, a giant hourglass appeared in the air.
"The exam time is one hour. Students who finish all the problems can submit their papers and wait outside the lecture hall."
The students took out their writing utensils.
"Then, begin."
The hourglass began to turn, and sand started to pour down.
The students picked up their quills and checked their exam papers.
The exam paper consisted of a question sheet, an answer sheet, and several sheets of paper for working out the formulas.
As Leo checked the exam questions, his face stiffened.
'Write down the effects when the given magic formulas are combined.'
He felt a headache coming on.
'What the heck are these formulas?'
If he had to pick the ability that had changed the most since his time as Kyle, it would definitely be magic.
Magic is fundamentally a field of exploration.
The basic runic language is the same, but the methods of using formulas have evolved over time.
Especially in this era, magic formulas have developed significantly due to the Hero Record.
After reincarnation, Leo had not seen any magic books, so he was essentially a novice in the current era's formulas.
Looking to the side, he saw Kai, who had been making a grim face, now working on the problems.
Chloe was writing down the answers at a rapid pace.
'These kids are smart. They're solving these complex formula combinations in their heads?'
Leo, who had been feeling frustrated, took a deep breath.
'Well, let's just get a rough idea of what the current era's formulas are like. Even if the formulas change with each era, knowing the structure can help me figure them out.'
Leo steeled himself.
'I can't be kicked out of my first class, that would be embarrassing!'
As a great hero who saved the world, he had his pride!
Leo's eyes sparkled as he solved the formulas at an incredible speed.
'Phew! Only formulas I know appeared!'
Meanwhile, Kai let out a sigh of relief.
The exam wasn't as difficult as he had feared.
He had memorized all the formulas that appeared on the exam.
The formula combinations were quite complex, but as Professor Ren had said, if he couldn't solve this level, he didn't deserve to study magic at Lumern.
'As expected, this guy can solve formula combinations in his head.'
Seeing Chloe write down the answers without any working, Leo couldn't help but be impressed.
Turning his head to Leo, he saw him moving his quill at an incredible speed.
But unlike the speed, the answer sheet was completely blank.
'What? Leo. You're aiming for a dual class, but do you lack knowledge of formulas?'
If this continued, Leo would clearly not be able to take the magic major classes.
Kai looked disappointed at the thought of not being able to take magic classes with him.
"Thirty minutes left."
'Oh no, not now. Let's just focus on the problems.'
Kai licked his lips as he watched Leo hand his answer sheet to the teaching assistant.
'He gave up. Well, he couldn't solve the first problem, so it would be a waste of time to continue.'
Kai stretched and asked Chloe.
"Hey, what was the answer to the last problem? I couldn't solve it at all."
Chloe frowned, looking annoyed, as she watched Kai shake his head in frustration.
"I didn't have enough time to finish it either."
"Really? Well, it was pretty damn difficult."
"Leo?"
"From what I saw, he couldn't solve any of them."
'So that's why he left.'
Nodding, she got up and walked over to someone.
Kai, curious, followed behind Chloe.
"Brother! Is this the correct answer?"
"Yes, it is!"
"Yay!"
Chloe walked over to where Avad and Chelsea were.
"Chelsea, hi."
"Huh? It's Kai. Who's this girl?"
"This is Chloe Müller."
"Top student from the North?"
Chelsea's eyes widened.
"Nice to meet you, Avad Levalin. Did you solve the last problem?"
"I didn't have enough time. What about you?"
"Same here."
Chloe took out her exam paper.
"I'm curious how different my solution is from yours. Can we compare them?"
"Sure, I was curious too."
Chloe's exam paper was densely filled with the solution to the last problem.
Avad's exam paper was no less impressive.
Kai whistled.
'As expected, the top students are different. If they had more time, they would have solved everything.'
"Leo?"
"He hasn't been seen since he left earlier. It looks like he couldn't solve any of the problems."
"Well, that's not a problem for a knight."
Chelsea, who knew Leo as an excellent knight, nodded.
At that moment, Professor Ren returned to the podium, and the students quickly returned to their seats.
"Thank you all for taking the exam."
Professor Ren smiled neatly.
"The teaching assistants will soon finish grading. Before that, I'll give a brief introduction to the magic theory class I'll be teaching."
As Professor Ren began his lecture, the students couldn't help but be amazed.
His lecture content was easy to understand.
They instinctively knew they had met the best professor.
'What a privilege to be able to take classes from such a professor!'
The students were filled with anticipation.
Just as Professor Ren finished speaking, a male teaching assistant entered the lecture hall.
"Professor, the exam results are in."
"Shall we let everyone check their results?"
Other teaching assistants brought a bulletin board with the exam rankings to the front of the lecture hall.
"Actually, this exam consists of forty-nine 1-point questions and one 51-point question."
As the students murmured, Professor Ren continued his explanation.
"This exam is not only to select students for the magic major classes but also to highlight the core of my class."
"Magic formulas have rapidly advanced over the past few hundred years. Thanks to this, formulas that originally required a complete understanding can now be used by just memorizing the activation conditions."
As Professor Ren spread his palm, a magic formula activated with mana.
He clenched the formula, and it shattered, sending fragments of mana flying in all directions.
"Such advancements in formulas have led to the degeneration of mages!"
The students were startled by this sudden outburst.
"The recent trend among mages is to memorize more formulas! It's certainly an easy way to use magic... but! That doesn't make you a true mage! The essence of a mage is exploration and understanding, not memorization! But what are young mages doing now? They neglect understanding formulas and focus only on memorization! The advancement of formulas has led to the regression of mages!"
Professor Ren spread his hands above his head.
A vast array of magic formulas appeared in the air.
"This is the essence of the magic formulas I created. Not just activation formulas that anyone can learn, but my own unique formulas from start to finish. Do any of today's mages study their own formulas?"
It was the essence of a unique and creative magical world.
To the eyes of a mage, Professor Ren's magical world appeared incredibly beautiful.
"The battle between mages is not just a struggle of mana, but also a competition of who can understand and dismantle the opponent's formula faster. You can't reach a high level with just activation formulas, so!"
Swish!
Professor Ren's magic formula disappeared.
"I will conduct classes to improve your understanding of magic formulas! To help you become true mages!"
Professor Ren spoke passionately to the students.
Moved by his passion, the students began to clap.
The word "true mage" was enough to stir the hearts of the young students.
Nodding at the enthusiastic response, Professor Ren pointed to the bulletin board.
"Check your scores and rankings. And students who scored below 40, I'm sorry, but please leave the lecture hall. That's all!"
The students gathered around the bulletin board.
Professor Ren, who had been looking at the students with a deep gaze, was approached by a male professor.
"Professor."
"What is it? Associate Professor."
"There's a student who got the 50th question right."
"100 points?"
Professor Ren was genuinely surprised.
'Such a talented student! Avad? Chloe? Ah! Is this finally my lifetime student?'
"It's not 100 points."
"Not 100 points?"
Professor Ren's face changed strangely.
If a student could solve the last problem, the first 49 problems shouldn't have been too difficult.
But it wasn't 100 points?
"Aha. It seems he skipped a few problems to solve the last one."
"That's not it either. Except for the last problem, everything else is blank. Look here."
The associate professor handed the answer sheet to Professor Ren.
As Professor Ren checked the completely blank answer sheet, he asked seriously.
"Who is this student?"
***
Chloe, who had checked the bulletin board, naturally looked at the top rankings.
And she was taken aback.
2nd place. Chloe Müller, Avad Levalin (49 points)
3rd place. Chelsea Levalin (48 points)
No matter how she looked, Chloe and Avad were tied for 2nd place.
And the name at the very top was.
1st place. Leo Flaubert (51 points)
Chloe, who had been checking the rankings with a stiff face, looked at the front row where Leo had been sitting.
There, she found the exam paper Leo had been working on.
She rushed over and checked the paper.
'What, what is this?'
Seeing the solution to the first problem that Leo had given up on, Chloe couldn't help but be shocked.