Chapter 8: Chapter 8. The First Day at the Academy (1)

“That guy came first?”

“He looks so shabby…”

“Oh, isn’t he the one who argued with the terrorists on the boat two days ago…?”

Listening to the voices coming from all around me, I climbed onto the stage.

…But did my clothes really look shabby? Back where I lived, this would have been considered perfectly presentable.

“Wait over here. When it’s your turn, read out the oath.”

“Understood.”

I stood off to one side as instructed.

There were quite a few people onstage besides the man conducting the ceremony.

They were probably professors from the academy’s ten departments.

“…”

I could tell they were all silently studying me.

Were they taking an interest because they knew I’d placed first in the entrance exam, just as Kaisel had said yesterday?

And…

An old man sat in a chair with a stern expression.

I had never seen him in person before, but I recognized him at once.

Yosteras, dean of Ars Magna Academy.

Dean Yosteras was the highest authority at the academy.

Like Kaisel, he was one of the continent’s Ten Great Mages, but his standing was on an entirely different level.

Apparently, outside the academy, he was treated with the same respect as a king.

“Everyone, rise.”

The seated new students all stood at once.

Watching them from the stage felt strange.

“Dean, if you would.”

“…”

Yosteras slowly rose from his chair and stepped forward.

He was over a hundred years old, but his steps were still firm.

“One hundred and fifty-four.”

The students looked puzzled at his opening words.

They had no idea why he had suddenly mentioned that number.

“That is the number of students who failed yesterday’s entrance exam.”

“…!”

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

“The 1,021 of you here in the square may not know it, but there is quite a commotion outside. They’re demanding to know why we made them come all this way only to reject them.”

At that, everyone began glancing behind them.

But whatever was happening outside the square couldn’t be seen from here.

“The parents of those who failed are even worse. Most applicants to Ars Academy come from the upper classes, and many assume their family’s power or wealth will resolve the matter. But that will never work here.”

Yosteras spoke in a solemn voice.

“At Ars Magna Academy, outside power and wealth mean nothing. Only one thing matters.”

He raised a wrinkled finger and tapped the side of his head.

“Your brain.”

“…”

“The brain that makes you an intelligent being. That alone. Which is why our entrance exam weeds out those whose brains fail to meet even our minimum standards.”

What score had you needed to avoid failing?

I was a little curious.

“From now on, the academy will regularly assess how well your brains perform. I hope you will prove that yours are far superior to those of the students we rejected.”

With that, Yosteras swept his gaze over the crowd.

“Can you prove it?”

“Yes!”

The new students answered in unison, and Yosteras nodded in satisfaction.

“By my authority as Yosteras, dean of Ars Magna Academy, I hereby admit all 1,021 new students.”

“Yeaaah…!”

A thunderous cheer erupted.

Everyone here was now officially a student of Ars Magna Academy.

“Next, the new students’ oath. Will the student representative step forward?”

As Yosteras stepped back, I moved forward to take his place.

The oath was already laid out for me.

“…”

I could feel the professors’ eyes on my back.

Kaisel and Horizon were probably watching me intently, too.

And they weren’t the only ones. All 1,020 of the other new students were focused on me as well.

This is a first.

For eighteen years, I had lived quietly, doing little besides reading.

Never in my life had I been the center of so much attention.

But I’m not particularly nervous.

The novels I’d read often described people feeling nervous when standing before a crowd.

Yet I wasn’t feeling especially nervous now.

If anything, I felt calm.

Probably… because I have a goal.

That was right.

I had a goal.

I’m going to rise to the top… of this incoming class.

My first goal was to finish the first year with the highest overall evaluation score.

If I did, Kaisel would reward me.

I would get to read one of the Six Forbidden Books.

Uncle expects a lot from me.

Taking first place in the first-year overall evaluation wouldn’t be the end of it.

If I kept meeting Kaisel’s expectations after that, he would keep rewarding me accordingly.

In that case… I’ll give it a try.

Feeling calm, I raised one hand and began reading the new students’ oath.

“I swear.”

All the new students raised their hands and repeated after me.

My life at Ars Magna Academy had begun.

---

The top class of first-year students was assigned to the First Student Building on the east side of the academy.

After the entrance ceremony, the students placed in the top class gathered together and headed there.

“Hey, Eriol. You were amazing up there. You were so calm when you read the oath! I would’ve been stammering with nerves.”

Kane chattered away with a hand on my shoulder.

“You don’t seem like the type to get nervous over something like that.”

“No, I get nervous more easily than you’d think. I’m pretty sensitive.”

“That’s the funniest joke you’ve told me so far.”

“It wasn’t a joke!”

Walking beside us, Senia covered her mouth and laughed at our exchange.

“I thought you looked impressive, too, so composed. I’m sure everyone was impressed watching you.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be so sure.”

I turned my head slightly and caught sight of Monark glaring at me as he walked a short distance away.

The stone that juts out gets chiseled down. The more I pulled ahead, the more people would resent me.

“By the way.”

I lowered my voice.

“Can I ask you two something?”

“You asking us a question? That’s unusual.”

“What is it?”

Glancing around, I asked cautiously.

“Do my clothes… look shabby?”

“…”

“…”

Kane and Senia fell silent.

Surely that silence didn’t mean…

“E-Eriol. They aren’t particularly shabby. I think they’re nice and neat.”

“Y-yeah. It’s a clean, simple look. Nothing wrong with that. Compared to what’s in fashion now… you’re about ten years behind, though.”

“…”

I wanted to drop out.

“H-hey, Eriol. How about we go shopping for clothes after class?”

“Yes, there are lots of clothing stores in the shopping district…”

“Forget it.”

I shook my head.

“From now on, I’m only wearing my uniform.”

“Eriol…!”

Apparently, our uniforms were already waiting in the dormitory. I could just wear mine.

Starting tomorrow, I would live in my uniform, after class and on days off alike…

“Oh, we’re here. This is the First Student Building, isn’t it?”

Senia raised her voice, apparently trying to change the subject.

The First Student Building had a distinctly old-fashioned air and looked as though it had been standing for many years.

“The classroom for the top class is… on the third floor.”

We entered a spacious classroom.

Unlike the building’s old-fashioned exterior, the classroom felt clean and modern.

Once we had found seats, some other students approached us.

“You’re Eriol Valencia, the one who led the oath earlier, aren’t you?”

“Nice to meet you.”

They were a boy and a girl, both with red hair.

“I’m Karis. I’m from the family of Count Morpheus, in the east.”

“My name’s Milia Morpheus. This is my twin brother. He’s the older one.”

Apparently, the twins had entered the academy together.

But for twins, they didn’t look particularly alike apart from their hair color. Karis, for instance, had a muscular build, while Milia was relatively petite.

“And these two are…?”

“Oh, I’m Kane Trigger. Looking forward to getting to know you.”

“I’m Senia Artian. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

We introduced ourselves and exchanged greetings.

“I wonder what classes will be like on our first day.”

“Oh, Karis. Surely they won’t make us start lessons on the very first day.”

“Ha ha. I just want to get a look at the dormitory already.”

“I’m curious about the dormitory, too.”

While we were chatting, a neat-looking young man entered the classroom.

It was the man who had conducted the entrance ceremony.

“You all seem to be getting along already.”

Smiling, he stepped onto the teaching platform.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Klein Halution, the professor in charge of the first-year top class.”

“…!”

He hadn’t been introduced at the entrance ceremony, so I hadn’t realized. That was Klein Halution?

“Eriol, do you know who he is?”

“He’s currently the youngest professor at the academy. I believe he’s twenty-seven this year.”

“A professor at twenty-seven… Impressive.”

Karis sounded impressed by my answer.

But I knew someone more impressive still.

My uncle Kaisel had become a professor at twenty-three.

“You must all be tired after the entrance ceremony. So there will be no lessons today. I’ll let you leave early.”

“Yeaaah…!”

The students cheered.

Some, like Kane and Milia, even threw both hands into the air in celebration.

“However, you do have homework.”

“Awww…!”

This time, they groaned.

Surely no one had expected homework on the very first day.

“Don’t worry. It isn’t especially difficult, and it’s a problem you’ll all work together to solve.”

With that, Klein held up a sheet of paper.

“This sheet is filled with text. However, it is written in third-generation ancient formula language.”

Third-generation ancient formula language.

It was a formula language used long ago, when scroll magic—casting spells by recording spell formulas on paper—had been popular.

“If you decipher it, you’ll find the title of the material we’ll be using in tomorrow’s lecture. Your homework is to borrow it from the library.”

“Professor! We can’t decipher third-generation ancient formula language!”

“Of course I know that. But the library has formula language dictionaries.”

Klein looked unperturbed.

“In other words, this assignment is intended to teach you how to use the library.”

“Oh…”

“To study magic properly at Ars Magna Academy, you must be able to make good use of its libraries. This assignment will help you develop the library skills expected of the top class.”

It was effectively a practical exercise rather than homework.

Apparently, Klein preferred to let students learn for themselves by solving problems independently.

Not bad.

I didn’t know how to decipher third-generation ancient formula language, either.

It used the same characters as Standard Scholarly Language, but the way you read it and so forth were completely different.

In any case, learning how to decipher it through this exercise would be useful later on.

“Now, I’ll give each of you a copy of the problem.”

Klein handed the papers to the students in the front row.

They each took a sheet and passed the rest to the rows behind them.

“Professor, do we only need to borrow one copy?”

“Yes. The library doesn’t have multiple copies of that book anyway.”

Listening to the other students question Klein, I took the sheet Milia passed back from the seat in front of me.

Checking the basic grammar will be more efficient than diving straight into a dictionary. There’s bound to be a book on the basic grammar of third-generation ancient formula language. I should look for that in the library first.

Planning how I would go about things in the library, I looked down at the sheet.

The writing was even more densely packed than on the entrance exam. Still, with the whole top class working together, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

“…?”

Just then,

something struck me as odd.

“Eriol, what’s wrong?”

Karis looked over at me, but I kept frowning at the sheet.

Something was strange. I had never studied third-generation ancient formula language in my life…

Why can I understand it?

Something inexplicable was happening.