Genius Gamer Reborn into a Family of Heroes

Chapter 91

Admission

The entrance ceremony for Arniel took place just a week later.

The valedictorian of the final examination was, unsurprisingly, Zelka Ainglass. It wasn’t just that he was the top student among the 8th graders, but he had ranked first overall among all students from 1st to 10th grade, making his achievement feel even more significant.

“Freshmen’s Oath.”

Standing confidently on the podium, Zelka Ainglass led the oath for the incoming students.

For those who didn’t know him well, his imposing expression and air of confidence seemed fitting for someone from the Ainglass bloodline. However, the few mages who were well-acquainted with him thought differently.

‘The Young Master seems to be in a foul mood.’

Zelka Ainglass was, in fact, extremely irritated.

During the entrance exam, which was supposed to showcase his superiority over everyone else, a commoner had dared to demonstrate magic that surpassed even his own.

That commoner was Deis, a mage rumored to have wielded the staff Mityel.

“Please don’t be too upset, Young Master. After all, didn’t he only possess 2-core level mana? With that, he won’t be able to properly cast any significant spells.”

After the entrance ceremony, Zelka Ainglass sat at a café terrace with a sullen expression, soon drawing a crowd of followers around him.

From upperclassmen in the 10th grade who had already established themselves at the school, to underclassmen, nearly thirty students gathered around him, waiting for his word.

Such was the immense influence of the Ainglass bloodline, especially for someone of the direct lineage.

“…What do you think? About that commoner’s triple spell casting.”

As Zelka slowly parted his lips, his followers seemed taken aback. None of them knew much about the student named Deis, enough to offer a proper response.

However, a few fervent followers, who had either witnessed the event firsthand or heard detailed accounts, eagerly began to speak.

“I believe he tricked the examiners. Triple casting? Even at Arniel, it’s extremely rare to see a 13th-grade graduate capable of that, and that only happens every few years!”

“Exactly! And every one of those capable of triple casting before graduation came from the Ainglass bloodline! You, Young Master, will soon be able to perform genuine triple casting. There’s no need to concern yourself with a fraud like him!”

“…”

Zelka, who had been quietly listening, suddenly narrowed his eyes.

“A fraud? Tricked? Who did?”

“P-Pardon? W-Well, the examiners, of course…”

“A commoner tricked the examiners of Arniel? How, exactly?”

The follower’s mouth snapped shut. It was a hysterical outburst from Zelka, but none of them had a satisfactory retort.

Then, one of them quietly spoke up.

“Could it have been… an artifact?”

“An artifact?”

When Zelka sharply turned to look at the one who had spoken, the follower instinctively flinched and backed away, but still managed to finish his thought.

“He… they say he already owns Mityel, right? The professors concluded that Mityel grants a special effect to its user, even when not held…”

Special effect. Zelka had heard of that. Normally, a staff must be held for its effects to activate, but Mityel supposedly granted some kind of special power to its user just by keeping it close.

“And isn’t the one who was storing Mityel the artifact master Avon? Who knows, maybe he gifted something to a commoner.”

There wasn’t a single student here who didn’t know of Avon, who was hailed as the world’s greatest artifact master.

His artifacts were considered even more valuable because he only gifted them to those he deemed worthy of challenging Mityel.

“So, couldn’t it be possible that he secretly brought in some other special artifact and used it?”

At that cautious suggestion, Zelka’s expression slightly softened.

“…That might actually be the case.”

Yes. No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense. He wasn’t from a prestigious family, and yet a mere commoner was performing a triple cast with one hand.

There must have been the assistance of an artifact, whether it was Mityel or something else.

“Using the help of an artifact during the exam is clearly cheating. Shouldn’t we protest immediately?”

“How could we, when we’re not even sure yet? Wait and see. Time will tell whether he has real talent or if it’s just a pathetic trick aided by an artifact.”

Even as Zelka said that, he was already half-convinced.

That Deis had smuggled an artifact in without anyone knowing.

Now, the most important part was figuring out how to reveal that fact.

* * *

Arniel primarily operated on a dormitory system.

Though they were called dorms, they resembled small castles, with different accommodations based on grade level, gender, and race. As expected from the world’s greatest school, many non-human races stood out.

There were giraffe-like humanoids with four ears, cat-eared humanoids, pointy-eared elves, and short, dark-skinned dwarves.

Even among this diversity, humans made up over 90% of the population.

Despite being the world’s top magic school, it was largely influenced by Ainglass, one of the five great founding families, which prided itself on being a pureblood human family.

Eighth year, human, male.

And lastly, a commoner.

[Eighth Humanion Dormitory]

When Harang found his assigned dorm, he was struck by the sheer wealth of Arniel as he took in the state of the luxurious and spacious accommodations.

He had heard that the commoners’ dorms weren’t as good as those for nobles, but even this was impressive.

After settling his belongings in his dorm, Harang carefully unpacked the artifacts he had stored in his subspace.

Although bringing artifacts into the school was strictly prohibited, Harang secretly prepared them, believing that the subspace created by the Guardian’s power couldn’t be detected by any magic.

For this mission, the family had gone to great lengths to procure these artifacts, and Harang carefully set them up in the center of the dormitory.

The artifacts included those for ‘magic wave suppression,’ ‘noise suppression,’ and ‘intrusion detection.’

The magic wave suppression artifact would prevent mana activity inside from leaking outside, while the noise suppression artifact silenced any sounds. Lastly, the intrusion detection artifact would alert Harang if anyone entered the dormitory without permission.

Of course, the dormitory already had a built-in alarm artifact, but since it was installed by the school, he didn’t trust it.

What if the school, while Harang was in class, intentionally decided to sneak into his dormitory? He wouldn’t even notice.

In addition to these, Harang installed countless other artifacts around the dormitory and carefully organized the documents for his mission.

“I’ve set the confidential files so they’ll burn and be destroyed the moment they’re touched. Since it’s an artifact from the Kaladan family’s consulting magician, it should be reliable.”

When compared to the five great magic families, Kaladan was known for its technological prowess, if not for its combat ability.

The artifacts were trustworthy enough.

After turning the dormitory into a makeshift base and performing several rounds of checks, Harang finally allowed himself to rest.

By now, the other new students were probably wandering around the school, exploring in awe.

Since Harang also valued reconnaissance, he hurried out of the dormitory, even though it was already late in the evening.

Arniel, almost like a small city, was unnecessarily vast, but it was said that there were 12 mini warp gates in the main building to transport people to different facilities.

He didn’t need a map.

He had already memorized it all in his head. But, as if to help, Eyes of Truth projected a 3D map of Arniel in the air, showing his current location as well.

Not only had Harang memorized the map, but so had the Eyes of Truth.

“I guess memorizing the world map in my spare time wouldn’t be a bad idea,” he thought, stepping out of the dormitory.

Suddenly, he sensed a presence nearby.

“……”

An ordinary person might not have noticed, but with the sharp senses of a 4-star swordsman, it was obvious.

The presence wasn’t that of a trained martial artist.

It was just someone at the level of an average person, but they were deliberately trying to hide and observe him.

Moreover…

“It’s not just one. There are two.”

The intent was too blatant for him to simply pass by. Without hesitation, Harang glanced in one direction.

Rustle!

Someone quickly hid. They probably thought they’d concealed themselves swiftly and silently, but they couldn’t fool the eyesight of a 4-star warrior.

He clearly met their eyes, and it would be stranger to pretend otherwise.

“…….”

After confirming who it was, Harang turned his head back and walked in the direction he had originally intended, without any hesitation.

* * *

Thump, thump, thump! Her heart pounded wildly.

“Haaa…”

Citrine, the princess of the Herrael Empire, cautiously poked her head out from the bushes only long after Deis had left. Unlike martial artists, mages didn’t have the ability to detect presences, so the only way she could confirm he had left was with her own two eyes.

‘He’s gone, right?’

Finally feeling relieved, Citrine brushed her hand over her chest and sat down on the spot, exhausted.

From the moment she first saw him during the entrance exam, something had felt off, so she had been secretly watching from beside the dormitory. It had already been several hours.

Even after Deis entered the dorm, he didn’t come out, and she had ended up dozing off. Before she knew it, night had fallen.

But in the end, her efforts were rewarded.

The moment their eyes met, Citrine, using the unique power of the Herrael royal family’s Eyes of Truth, was able to confirm it.

‘He’s the spitting image of the genius noble my brother described from the Kaladan family!’

Though she had never seen his face before, Citrine had developed a serious fascination with Harang Paul Kaladan, the mysterious genius boy of the Kaladan Dukedom.

‘But… his eyes are black? And his hair has streaks of white in it.’

It wasn’t just the difference in hair and eye color that bothered her—there was something else.

Harang was a genius in swordsmanship.

And yet, he was enrolling in a magic academy. How could that make any sense?

‘Besides, the overwhelming impact he showed during the entrance exam… that’s impossible, even if he had been training in magic from birth.’

Triple spell casting? Who does that? And his magical insight? Even if one dedicated their entire life to studying magic, they’d struggle to reach that level.

A fourteen-year-old who could triple cast spells and was also on the verge of reaching 4-star swordsmanship?

‘That just doesn’t add up.’

Despite these thoughts, Citrine couldn’t shake her doubts. Especially since her Eyes of Truth, which had the ability to perceive truth and pierce the soul, made her even more suspicious.

Had her ability been fully awakened, like her eldest brother the crown prince’s, she might have been more certain. But her Eyes of Truth were still underdeveloped, leaving her uncertain.

‘Fine, I’ll keep watching him from now on! I’ve got plenty of time.’

It was an utterly unreasonable suspicion, but the idea that Deis might actually be Harang made the situation even more intriguing to Citrine. Her mind buzzing with excitement, she happily skipped back to her dormitory.

After the princess left…

From the shadows behind the building, hidden in the darkness, another girl appeared.

Like Ainglass, she was from one of the five great magical families, known as the “Clan of the Blue Eyes”—Ailka of the Willed family.

She had taken the entrance exam alongside Deis, and she harbored deep suspicions about the boy.

‘He’s definitely hiding something…’

His magical abilities were beyond belief for a commoner boy, and during the mana capacity test, he displayed an eerily precise control of mana.

Not to mention, he had shown remarkable insight when he was the first to notice the sun—something that set him apart from the other candidates.

While the other examinees had overlooked it, Ailka, a member of the Willed family, which paid particular attention to mana control, had noticed it immediately.

‘Who exactly is this commoner boy?’

Ailka bit her lip slightly.

She had just enrolled in Arniel, where she should have been focusing on her studies. But now, this commoner had captured too much of her attention.