Chapter 6: Admission test (5)

The average level at the Magic Academy is mostly around 2nd to 3rd Circle.

New students typically enter at 1st to 2nd Circle.

By second year, they are around 2nd to 3rd Circle.

And most third-year graduating students are at 3rd to 4th Circle.

In terms of levels, if 100 is considered the max level, the average student level is roughly around 30.

What about the faculty?

Except for those specializing in theory or having political backing, most are at least 5th Circle.

Even professors who seem relatively unlikable possess skills of 6th Circle or higher, so the difference between students and professors is stark.

In that sense, this party I’m currently with is clearly unusual.

‘If we fought third-years in a real match, we’d win easily.’

Boom, boom, bang.

Every time non-chant magic exploded consecutively, Devil Dogs were blown to bits.

Even ‘Lesser Bats,’ magic beasts a step above Devil Dogs—super-giant bats over 2m tall (Lv.40)—were blown away in a single strike.

If four third-year students, now graduating, formed a party to clear this dungeon, most would probably be wiped out.

Dangerous magic beasts are pouring out to that extent, yet we are clearing the dungeon incredibly safely.

“Is this really the difficulty for an entrance ceremony? This wasn’t intentionally set up like this, was it?”

The first to mention the strangeness was Princess Maella.

Since she had burst the most magic beasts on the front lines, she must have felt its abnormality more directly than anyone.

“Hoo. To this extent.”

Judging by her slightly disturbed breathing, she seemed to have used a bit more mana than the skill she outwardly displayed.

Kiaaak!!

“Burn and pierce the enemy, Fire Lance.”

It was getting to the point where skills of only about 4th Circle weren’t enough for a one-shot kill, requiring her to mix chanted spells with non-chant ones.

“It’s true that magic beasts get stronger the deeper you go into the dungeon, but it’s a bit surprising to encounter magic beasts this strong.”

Was the dungeon’s anomaly more concerning than their bickering?

It was Princess Yulien who responded to Princess Maella’s question.

“If other new students face this difficulty, over 100 of them would probably die. What do you think?”

“Difficulty adjustment.”

Sirsy replied in a calm voice, but with cold eyes, gazing at the traces left by the magic beast.

“If these magic beasts were directly summoned by the professors, then they were summoned to match this team’s level. I can’t think of it any other way.”

She spoke calmly and coolly, but it wasn’t a definitive statement.

As the conditional “IF” was included, it was merely one possibility.

“What do you think, Liliana?”

Sirsy asked me.

Unlike when she first entered, perhaps she was a little nervous, as her languid tone had quickened slightly with tension.

“I don’t know how much further we have to go, but if only magic beasts of this level keep appearing, I think we can pass the test…?”

She shrugged her shoulders leisurely, speaking at ease.

The princess and the duchess glanced back at me, frowning for a moment, but I had merely stated the plain truth.

“So, stronger magic beasts than those we’ve encountered so far could appear?”

“No way, Your Highness. This is a Magic Academy exam, and here are the successors of three of the continent’s most powerful factions.”

The Empire, the Kingdom, and the Magic Tower.

“Unless they’re trying to assassinate us, these magic beasts appearing must be intentional, right?”

“Assassination…”

It was a casual remark I made to brush it off, but it seemed to be taking hold.

“Hmm. Is that so? A scheme for the princess to pretend to fall into a trap and then kill the Imperial Princess?”

“Excuse me? That’s what I’d like to ask you!”

It seemed to have taken hold, but backfired.

‘If it’s assassination, isn’t it normal to think of an assassin trying to kill all three of us?’

Is it because I’m a spy for the Demon King’s army?

If there were a mastermind trying to assassinate the successors of all three factions, it would naturally be the Demon King’s army.

‘When assassination is mentioned, they think of rival nations instead of the Demon King’s army, the common enemy of humanity.’

I tried to steer the conversation to that inference, but it seems the rift of emotions between the Empire and the Kingdom is deeper than I expected.

‘Will it be alright? After the Demon King’s army falls, will they perhaps start a civil war among the human alliance, having defeated the Demon King’s army?’

As my favorability towards the Empire and the Kingdom steadily dropped, we arrived at a slightly wider clearing.

“Ugh, what’s that…?”

“It’s a magic beast I’ve never seen before.”

“…”

Something clearly hideous was embedded in the ground.

It looked like a plant with curled petals, and like other magic beasts, it was well over 2m in size, with long roots spreading out in all directions across the ground.

“Crazy.”

Tentacle Ivy.

It’s an ivy vine that has grown enormous by absorbing magic energy, a magic beast that detects the movement of ‘prey’ passing by through the roots spread across the ground.

Its level is approximately 50.

I wanted to complain about a Level 50 magic beast appearing in an entrance exam, but more than that, the fact that *that* particular magic beast appeared made me feel the malice of whoever set this trap.

‘It’s tentacles.’

It’s tentacles.

Among magic beasts, it’s one with particularly heinous characteristics against women; it wraps its vines around them, traps them in its embrace for life, and sucks their bodily fluids.

Its methods are too disgusting to describe in detail, but the word ‘tentacles’ seems to say it all.

“Liliana. Is that a magic beast you know?”

“No. Of course not. It just looks unpleasant.”

“…”

Perhaps because Sirsy kept a close eye on me, she seemed to assume that my involuntary reaction was ‘because I recognized it.’

“It looks incredibly grotesque, I think it would be best to burn it down.”

To somehow make her assumption a mere guess, and to escape this unpleasant trap, quick progress was needed.

“Your Highness. May I ask you to do the honors?”

“Of course. Watch closely. I’ll take care of it.”

Perhaps the princess also empathized with my discomfort, as she immediately aimed her magic staff forward.

“Flare Spear.”

As soon as four blazing spears of flame were generated in the air, they immediately plunged into the Tentacle Ivy’s body.

*Thuddddd!!*

The sight of it writhing from the unexpected attack was like hundreds of eels flopping about.

“Tsk.”

I was disgusted by the sight, but the princess seemed annoyed in a different way.

“To not die in one hit. It’s quite a tenacious fellow.”

The princess’s expectation was probably a one-shot kill.

Her thought must have been for the flame spears to pierce the magic beast, and for the remaining embers to leisurely burn the drooping beast to ashes.

“I’ll add fire.”

Pang, pang, pang!

Several fireballs launched by Sirsy landed on top of each magic beast.

The flames, synergizing with the princess’s fire, blazed even more fiercely, completely incinerating the magic beast, and its tentacle-like roots withered in the flames.

“Once the exam is over, I will formally protest this to the academy.”

Princess Yulien glared at the vanishing magic beast with cold, sunken eyes.

“They said they placed slimes or magic dolls last year, but this year they placed magic beasts like this.”

I agree.

Level scaling probably didn’t even happen, yet they put magic beasts that even third-year students would struggle against in the entrance exam.

‘Isn’t this too much? There’s no protagonist here.’

I sent a vehement curse to the master of this trap, who might or might not be watching our progress right now.

‘What kind of entrance exam is this, a magic beast terror attack?’

The princess, the duchess, and even the genius might have some inkling, but the magic beasts placed here were not summoned by professors.

They are magic beasts directly summoned from the Demon Realm, and there’s a separate summoner.

And perhaps at the end of this underground dungeon, instead of a regular tutorial boss….

Flap, flap.

“Wow.”

In the middle of a wide cavern, a colossal demon with wings spanning about 5m was flying in the sky.

“Ugh, what is this…?”

“Are we supposed to fight a demon too…? This, we absolutely have to protest.”

The princess and the duchess immediately adopted battle stances.

“…Hmm, this clearly goes beyond the exam.”

The genius also stepped forward in front of me, gripping her staff tightly.

“Stay back. That’s really dangerous.”

The sight of the girl, smaller than me, stepping forward to protect me was quite moving and heroic.

“I know it’s dangerous.”

If I intended to hide my strength, I would have said ‘Thank you’ here.

“But to defeat that, we’ll be able to get top admission, right?”

If I intend to reveal my strength, it’s only natural to start showing it to some extent.

“That’s—”

Kyaoooooh!!!!

The demon raised its head and let out a roar.

The screeching roar, like scratching a throat, was quite familiar to my ears—

“Ah, ah…?”

*Thud.*

The princess, the duchess, and even the genius collapsed all at once.

Their faces pale, they lost consciousness and began to tremble like aspen leaves, sweating cold.

“…[Demon’s Fear].”

A skill similar to Dragon Fear.

A status effect skill that emits a roar full of demonic malice, plunging ‘beings of lower level than oneself’ into fear.

[Oh? You’re fine after hearing my shout. What are you?]

“…That’s what I should be asking you.”

The tutorial difficulty is insane.

“A named high-ranking demon is in a Magic Academy entrance exam hall, right?”

[You know me?]

“Of course.”

The first gateway of the ‘Conquest of the Demon Realm’ content, which is for advanced players.

“…72nd, Andromalius.”

Its level is 72, the same as its rank.

“Thank goodness.”

I quickly scanned my surroundings, sensing for magic.

There was no one else around, no one watching with remote viewing magic, and the other three were unconscious from the status effect.

“Because you are, His Majesty the Demon King’s enemy.”

‘…His Majesty the Demon King might be watching.’