He was a cousin to the current head of the Levalin family and had served as the Imperial Royal Mage.
"What, Abad, Chelsea, and Celia are all entering Lumeren in the same year? Hahaha! As a fellow citizen of the Empire, this is truly a joyous occasion!"
Abad, the son of the head of the family, is sixteen, and Chelsea is fourteen.
From the Empire's perspective, it is a good thing that three representatives of the nation are entering in the same year.
However, for the two families competing for the position of the highest noble family in the Empire, it could be the start of a blood-curdling competition.
"Abad will likely top the Western entrance exam."
"Is there a reason for your confidence?"
"Abad and Celia are both capable of vying for the top spot."
Rosse glanced at Alb, the examiner standing on the podium.
"This exam is unusual. There are many variables. And Abad has Chelsea."
He meant that the two siblings would cooperate to bring down Celia.
Chelsea is one of the top five candidates in terms of ability.
If she helps Abad, Celia would have no way to counter.
'In many ways, it's disadvantageous... but it's not necessarily pessimistic.'
They also had a joker.
As Gis thought of Leo, he smiled meaningfully.
At that moment, a giant square magic mirror appeared in the air.
Oh- The audience gasped.
It was a magic that allowed one to see inside the Hero's World.
The exam situation was being broadcast here.
The magic mirror glowed, and an image appeared.
The moment he saw it,
"Haha-!"
Gis burst out laughing without realizing it, and Rosse's eyes widened.
Though no sound could be heard, a girl with light blue hair was screaming.
She was hanging in the air, bound hand and foot, with a bonfire burning beneath her.
A white-haired boy, holding a vine, was laughing wickedly as he adjusted the rope.
***
When Chelsea regained consciousness, she found herself hanging in the air, bound hand and foot.
"What, what is this?"
"Awake? Now, let me ask you. Will you cooperate with me? Or not?"
"I'll make you regret binding me like this and not just disqualifying me."
Chelsea, speaking venomously, summoned her mana.
'Wh-Why isn't my mana moving?'
She felt something around her suppressing her mana.
"Could it be a mana seal?"
"Right. I drew it."
"Are you a sword mage?"
"No. I don't have mana right now. So the seal isn't that strong."
"Ugh! I didn't think you'd have magical knowledge! But I can break a mana seal without mana!"
"Sure. But only if you can concentrate properly."
"What? Eek-!"
The heat from her buttocks made Chelsea panic.
As Leo lowered the rope, the presence of the bonfire became apparent.
"Wait, stop! Ahhh! Don't lower me!"
"So? Will you cooperate? Or not?"
"As a Levalin, I won't cooperate with a Zerdingger!"
"Fine? Even if your buttocks are burned, I won't know?"
"Ahhh? Stop! Stop it!"
Chelsea struggled.
The heat rose up her buttocks.
She tried to break the seal urgently, but it wasn't easy.
A mana seal requires considerable magical knowledge.
Even a seal without mana needed high concentration to break.
Of course, if Chelsea were a more experienced mage, it wouldn't have worked.
But she was inexperienced compared to her abilities.
Leo had seen through this.
Chelsea's face turned pale.
'The entrance exam can be seen from the outside! If others see this!'
There's no greater humiliation!
Whoosh-!
The hem of her dress caught fire!
"Ahh! It's hot! Stop! Stop it!"
"Swear on your family's name that you'll cooperate."
"I will! I will! I swear on the Levalin name, so please stop!"
Tears welled up in Chelsea's eyes as she pleaded.
'Kids are easy.'
Heh heh- Laughing, he pulled the vine.
Chelsea, who had barely escaped, extinguished the fire, sobbing.
'No, surely no one else saw this? Yes. They probably didn't. The exam just started, so they were probably showing other candidates.'
But to her great dismay, the first image broadcast was of Leo and Chelsea.
***
'Hmm.'
Alb sighed with a lack of enthusiasm.
The Hero's World now unfolding was special to him.
The first page of his hero's tale.
The reason he became a hero.
Watching the candidates struggle in that world, Alb thought,
'They're all so weak.'
Alb clicked his tongue in annoyance.
A hero is someone recognized by the gods.
So people think heroes are noble and valiant.
Of course, there are such people.
But at least Alb was far from that general image.
He was neurotic and efficiency-driven.
He disliked inefficiency.
He also disliked inconvenience.
That's why he created this exam.
Survival in the Demon's Forbidden Land.
Those who survive are strong.
It's a simple yet effective way to distinguish the wheat from the chaff.
And its effects were evident.
Eliminating competitors.
Surviving by fighting monsters.
These were the two choices given in the exam.
Most candidates chose to eliminate competitors.
'How foolish.'
They probably thought it was the fastest way to climb the ranks.
And the monsters in the Monster Forest.
Orcs, goblins, and gnolls are not a significant threat at the candidates' level.
Of course, trolls are dangerous, but they are rare and hard to encounter.
The two mistakes the candidates made were:
First, they didn't fully understand the information.
Alb explained the exam content but never mentioned the passing criteria.
In other words, they should have realized that eliminating competitors wasn't the only way and moved more cautiously.
Second, they misjudged the Monster Forest.
Many powerful nations have failed to conquer this forest.
Even low-level monsters would tire one out if fought endlessly.
Fighting each other instead of cooperating in such a situation would lead to total annihilation in a real scenario.
'Of course, if one has overwhelming strength, one can both eliminate competitors and slay monsters.'
Alb smiled, looking at the magic mirror.
A girl with black hair and red eyes, surrounded by a flame aura, was visible.
'Selia Zerdingger. Just as rumored.'
Selia was facing three trolls.
Behind her, a boy with light blue hair was casting a spell.
'Abad Levalin is the same. The Empire has a bright future.'
These two, who were sworn enemies, met for the first time in the Hero's World.
Possessing the overwhelming strength to pass the exam alone, they chose cooperation over competition.
Because they saw through the exam.
'They should be fine. It might even be hard to distinguish between them.'
He wore a satisfied expression.
Thinking that the top two spots would definitely go to these two,
The screen changed again.
A candidate was fighting an orc, reflected in the magic mirror.
'Was his name Leo Frob?'
The first candidate caught on the magic mirror.
And the most outrageous candidate in this exam.
Most people considered Leo, who tried to burn the Levalin family's daughter, a lunatic.
But Alb gave Leo a high score.
'No matter the method, getting Chelsea Levalin to cooperate is a positive point.'
So he was looking forward to what Leo would show in this exam.
And what he was showing now exceeded expectations.
No, even a hero like him was surprised.
'Selia Zerdingger's power and elegance are unmatched, but...'
With minimal movement, Leo's skill in beheading orcs exuded a seasoned air.
'An unexpected dark horse.'
***
Pfft-!
"Chuaak-!"
Leaving the orc with a pierced heart behind, Leo spun his body.
The sword naturally came out.
Swinging the sword with centrifugal force, it cleanly severed the head of the orc that was about to attack from behind.
Upon encountering ten orcs, Leo immediately charged forward.
Orcs are intelligent monsters and would form a formation if given the chance.
He acted quickly to prevent that.
While Leo was cutting down the orcs in front, Chelsea cast a spell.
"Wind Arrow."
She fired the completed magic.
Pew pew pew-!
"Kuaaaah!"
"Chuaek!"
The orcs, pierced by the magic, screamed.
Seven orcs died due to the magic.
Leo cleanly sliced the neck of the last orc and wiped the blood from his sword.
Then he walked ahead without a word.
Chelsea, following behind, muttered to herself,
'The battle is easier.'
Even if she aspired to be a battle mage, a mage is still a mage.
The most efficient tactic is to let a skilled warrior handle the front while focusing on firepower support from the back.
And Chelsea felt that her coordination with Leo was excellent.
She was frustrated when she was forced to form a party with Leo, but after three battles, she felt it was a good decision.
It wasn't just about fighting monsters.
Leo cleverly herded the monsters to a spot where her magic would be most effective.
Magic is a wide-area attack.
Naturally, the more enemies are clustered, the greater the effect.
"Pretty good, handling orcs without using aura."
"I don't know how to use aura."
"What?"
"I haven't learned it yet."
'Is it possible to move like that without using aura?'
While she was puzzled, she also understood why she had been caught earlier.
'He didn't use aura, so I couldn't detect his mana.'
Chelsea placed her hands on her hips and wore a triumphant expression.
"Revealing your secret like that! How foolish!"
"You can't subdue me with your current skills, so no worries."
"Hehehe! Just boasting."
"I'm just stating the facts."
Leo said indifferently.
"Honestly, you have great skills."
"Huh?"
"Your mana is strong, and you know various spells, right?"
"Being honest, it doesn't hurt me to praise you."
Though she said it coolly, she felt good about the unexpected praise.
"But that's the problem."
"Huh?"
"Your skills are too good, so you can't properly utilize the essence of wind magic."
Chelsea's combat style involves overwhelming the enemy with powerful magic.
That's not the essence of wind magic.
"Our family's pride is wind magic. Discussing wind magic in front of a Levalin is laughable."
Chelsea sneered.
Leo's current statement was unacceptable to her.
She cast a spell in Runic and pointed her staff.
"Wind Break."
"Keeeeeer!"
A rough blade of wind flew into the bushes, tearing apart a troll that was hiding.
The troll, which had fallen to the ground, twitched and then lay still.
Chelsea had cast a higher-level spell in advance to show off her strength and intimidate Leo.
'Just because you know a little about magic, you act up! You must be shocked by this!'
Chelsea wore a smug expression.
But Leo looked at her with a bored expression.
"Wind magic isn't used like that."
The greatest strength of wind magic is its unpredictability.
Simply overpowering with force is the least effective way to use wind magic.
Chelsea's face turned red with anger at Leo's words.
She turned her head as if she didn't want to hear it.
'Well, I can't use magic now, so it's understandable that I'd sound ridiculous.'
In his past life, he might have, but now he hadn't yet learned magic.
Leo smiled and suddenly stopped walking.
Chelsea's eyes widened.
The area was littered with troll corpses.
But the state of the corpses was strange.
They looked as if their life force had been drained, leaving them shriveled.
"What happened to them? There are no monsters in the Monster Forest that drain life force."
Chelsea examined the corpses with a puzzled expression.
Leo, who had touched the corpses, narrowed his eyes.
'Could it be?'
"We should join up with Selia and your brother first. I think I understand the rough passing criteria for this exam."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Looking at Chelsea's surprised expression, Leo smiled meaningfully.