[Problem 1. A 'meteor-fall spell' with a diameter of 30m has been activated 10m above David's head. Devise a spell that can preserve David's life using the minimum amount of mana. (Note: Differences in a mage's element affinity are to be ignored.)]
The problem was simple. A giant rock was falling on poor David's head. How could David be saved with the least amount of energy?
I picked up my quill and immediately began to solve it. The meteor spell is a type of orbital mass weapon. This means it gains kinetic energy by being dropped from a high enough altitude to reach terminal velocity.
But this time, it was starting from a mere 10m up.
‘At that height, it won’t reach terminal velocity.’
If one failed to anticipate this and thought of the destructive power of a typical meteor spell, they would get the very first problem wrong.
‘An interesting thought.’
It seemed that just because the standard of living was medieval, not everyone was a fool. I devised a telekinesis spell to move David's body. Dodging would be easier than intercepting.
‘Alright, next problem.’
I continued flipping through the test paper. Most were problems about fixing structural flaws in a magic circle or improving spells. After David's meteor-dodging problem, there wasn't anything that particularly stood out.
Just as I had solved twenty of the thirty problems.
Creak.
The examination room door opened, and a blonde woman in a toga entered.
‘Is it okay to make that much noise during an exam?’
Wouldn't there be complaints about the loud sound of the door opening?
Wait.
Looking closely, that woman had long ears.
‘An elf.’
I could hear murmurs from those around me.
“... No way, is that the Dean?”
“Crazy...”
So the Dean of the Imperial Academy’s Magic Tower was an elf.
‘It would have been a big problem if she were a tenured professor.’
My attention was drawn for a moment. Still, I had to solve the problems. I lowered my head and focused on the next question.
[Researcher Joseph is about to fire a 2nd-circle spell, a fireball, at Anna. Assuming Senior Researcher Anna’s magic resistance is twice that of Joseph, calculate how much mana Joseph's fireball must consume.]
Joseph must have really hated Anna. Well, these things happen. I focused more on the information in the problem.
‘Wow. Look at all these variables.’
I hate problems like this. There are a ton of things to calculate, but the satisfaction of solving it is less.
Scratch, scratch.
It would have been nice to have a scientific calculator... but there was no way such a thing existed in this world. I used Fourier’s law to find the rate of heat conduction.
From this, I worked backward to find the necessary heat energy, then calculated the initial temperature by considering the heat that would be lost when the fireball was thrown. In this process, I used a lot of information, like the distance to the target, launch speed, air pressure, temperature, and so on.
When information was missing, I expressed the required mana as a function of the variables. And just like that, I solved it. Now Joseph would be able to effectively eliminate the senior researcher.
Just as I was about to move on to the very next problem, I saw someone in the corner of my eye. Slowly, I turned my head... ... Eyes the color of clear sapphires were watching me.
Damn it.
It was the elf Dean. Why is this person looking at me? Should I greet her? ...
No. Surely she wouldn't require something like that in the middle of an exam. Let's just focus on the problem again.
Scratch, scratch. Next problem. Scratch, scratch.
Even while I was solving the problem, I was conscious of her gaze.
‘When on earth is that person going to leave?’
It was when I had solved the last problem and put down my quill.
Whoosh.
The Dean’s shadow, which had been standing next to me, vanished without a trace. When I lifted my head, she was already heading toward the other side of the examination room. I could feel the faint residual traces of mana behind her.
‘She’s finally gone.’
I was about to let out a sigh of relief and submit my answer sheet when.
Shiver.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘I feel like I shouldn't submit my answers just like this...’
Why would someone of the Dean of the Magic Tower's stature watch me solve problems? Because I’m handsome?
No way.
‘Isaac’s’ face was well-arranged, but not to that extent.
Professors only show interest when they see potential ‘slave’ material, no, ‘graduate student material.’ I looked back at my answer sheet. ... In a world where even infinity had not been defined, it was packed with nonlinear differential equations.
‘Is it too much?’
Hmm... it seems like it might be. There’s no harm in being careful. Cross a stone bridge after tapping it first.
Become famous?
Become an object of interest? Be personally watched by the Dean of the Magic Tower? That was not my goal.
My goal was one and only one: ‘To graduate quietly, avoid the army, and live the good life.’ The elf Dean’s attention was poison. I quickly glanced around.
The proctors were busy monitoring the other test-takers. Now was my chance...
Scrape.
I lightly scraped the top of my answer sheet with my quill. Then I focused a minute amount of mana at my fingertips.
Shhh.
As if filleting a fish, I peeled off a layer of the parchment with uniform thickness. A thin, film-like layer of parchment came off, revealing a clean surface underneath. And on top of it, I once again quickly scrawled an answer that fit the common knowledge of this world.
Just like that, I submitted the doctored test paper.
A few days after the graduate program entrance exam. In the Dean’s office on the 49th floor, just below the top floor of the Magic Tower. The Dean was receiving a report on the recent exam from the chief professors.
Below the Dean were the Heads of the Schools. Below the Heads of the Schools were the chief professors. Perhaps because of the two-rank difference, the professors’ bodies were stiff as boards.
One of the professors spoke.
“This year's entrance exam difficulty was appropriate... but the examinees’ skills did not meet expectations.”
The Dean’s gaze turned to the bald professor.
Shiver.
The bald professor's chin trembled.
“Tell me the truth.”
“... That is.”
“I’m not thinking of cutting your research funds, so just say it.”
“... It seems the problems were too difficult. There were quite a few students who submitted blank answer sheets.”
Startled.
All eyes fell on the bald professor. The elf Dean before them, ‘Magarta Magica,’ was a tenacious one who had survived in the Magic Tower for the past several hundred years. Though her appearance was that of a young woman in her twenties, what was inside was a 500-year-old serpent.
It wouldn't be strange for anything to happen here. Just as the other professors became extremely tense.
Pfft.
The Dean laughed.
She said.
“The exam's difficulty was as expected. If they can’t even solve this much, they shouldn't even think about entering the Magic Tower.”
“So, you’ve all looked over the answers thoroughly, I assume?”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The professors affirmed, and the Dean nodded.
“Then, tell me who the promising prospects are this year. Starting from the far left, the chief professor of the School of Fire Element Magic.”
“Yes, y-yes!”
The designated professor continued.
“The most promising student is the only daughter of Count Everglow.”
“Wasn't the last page of that child's answer sheet blank?”
“... That's the case for most of them.”
“Is that so? Then next.”
One by one, the professors gave their answers.
“The eldest son of Baron Castaine shows promise in the field of alchemy...”
“The granddaughter of the Stonehaven merchant lord shows excellence in theoretical composition...”
They recommended rookies from among the students who applied to their own schools who were worth backing. Most were nobles or figures related to large merchant guilds. After everyone had finished answering, the Dean asked.
“Is that all?”
“Pardon...?”
“That’s strange... Never mind. All of you, go on about your business.”
Shoo, shoo, the Dean waved the back of her hand. A clear order to leave.
Bow.
The chief professors bowed their heads and retreated.
“Oh, and. Leave the original answer sheets here. I’ll look at them myself.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Thus, alone in her office, the Dean began flipping through the answer sheets, starting with the students the chief professors had mentioned.
Flip.
“What on earth did they learn at the Imperial Academy of Magic...”
The Dean grimaced. The answers were lackluster.
“That child didn’t seem like this...”
The black-haired boy with beautiful eyes she had encountered in the examination hall. He had written his answers well, but the chief professors hadn't spoken of him.
‘His name was definitely...’
Isaac Upperhills.
She had stored it in her memory, just in case.
“Come to think of it, isn't Upperhills a surname given to war orphans?”
To start as a war orphan and make it all the way to the Magic Tower. He seemed like a fellow with tremendous ambition.
‘A fellow like that is worth nurturing.’
She searched for Isaac’s name among the answer sheets.
“Found it.”
Isaac's answer sheet was in her hands.
“Let's see... Huh...?”
In her memory, Isaac had definitely solved the problems in a very interesting way... But the answer sheet before her eyes was filled with nothing but uninspired answers.
“He passed the cutoff since it's graded on a curve, but...”
The answer she had seen was not this. Even a simple fireball can produce a wide variety of results if used in countless different environments. That student had clearly been constructing a sophisticated spell, taking all those variables into account.
But the answer now was not that.
“Something’s strange.”
Dean Magica’s eyes gleamed. Mana gathered in her eyes. If she couldn't see it with her eyes, she just had to look with a light that was invisible to begin with.
The Dean's eyes functioned like an X-ray scanner, piercing through Isaac's parchment. Then, the faintly erased letters on the test paper slowly began to reappear. q = -KA (dT/dx) q= q = kA (Ti - T2) / L ST/at = a (2T/0x2) Incomprehensible symbols and formulas filled the parchment.
“Is it a code?”
It seemed so. Mages sometimes deliberately use complex symbols and signs. It was to prevent their secret techniques from being discovered.
“I don't know what it means, but he definitely got the answers right...”
It was like this for not just this problem, but all the problems. The method was a thorough cipher. But the answers were correct.
“... How on earth did he solve it?”
It wasn't a solution based on intuition. That meant he must have calculated it... No matter how much she tried, she couldn't break Isaac's code.
It was a strange affair. Her gaze was firmly fixed on Isaac's test paper. She searched through the student roster.
“... Who on earth would want to teach this kid?”
Flip, flip.
The hand turning the documents came to a sudden halt.
“What. The School of Magical Surveying?”
That was the most unpopular school in the Magic Tower, a place that had been virtually abandoned.
“Why on earth would he go to a place like this?”
To have started as an orphan and come all the way to the Magic Tower, he couldn't be without ambition... Why did he go to such a backwater place? Questions filled her mind.
She had lived for hundreds of years, but this was the first time she had seen a human like this. A smile formed on the Dean's lips.
“Hmm... Interesting.”
A few days later. Bang, bang, bang! I was awakened from my sleep by the sound of fierce knocking.
“Is Mr. Isaac Upperhills here!”
“Ugh. Who is it so early in the morning.”
I opened the door in a daze. Outside stood a messenger wearing a uniform stamped with the seal of the Magic Tower.
“What is it?”
“An acceptance letter for the graduate program of the Magic Tower has arrived for Mr. Isaac Upperhills!”
He handed me the letter with due formality.
‘As I thought.’
I had done moderately well on the test, and it was a school with no other applicants. It would have been stranger if I had failed. I read through the letter.
Written there were my assigned dormitory room number and the date I was to report to the school’s main office.
‘Crazy... It says I can start working from today.’
When there’s a phrase like this, a slave, no, a graduate student, must show their face to their professor as soon as possible. Even if the hours are flexible, a graduate student must behave as close to a ‘completely inelastic body’ as possible.
“Where is the School of Magical Surveying?”
I asked the messenger. It must be somewhere in the Magic Tower. The messenger looked flustered for a moment.
“That... The School of Magical Surveying is not in the Magic Tower's main building.”
“Pardon? Then where is it?”
“Um... well... The School of Magical Surveying was moved to the annex quite a long time ago.”
“The annex?”
“Uh... yes. That's what happened.”
The messenger mumbled his words and avoided my gaze. It probably meant they were kicked out due to poor performance.
The annex...
Then again, it made sense that a school with no money and no people wouldn't have a place in the main building. But so what. The annex is actually better.
The Magic Tower's main building is directly connected to the professors' wing, which is inconvenient. From a graduate student's perspective, the annex is better.
“Where is this annex?”
The messenger reluctantly pointed a finger toward the back of the Magic Tower, to a place overgrown with forest.
“It's... over there.”
I gave the messenger a tip, gathered my things, and headed there. I went past the grand main building of the Magic Tower and crossed a small path.
And then.
“Wow... what is this.”
There stood a neglected stone building that looked completely devoid of human presence. I stepped inside. Dust had piled so thick on the floor that even my footsteps were silent.
At the end of the corridor, I stood before a door with a worn and faded nameplate.
[School of Magical Surveying] Old notices, who knows when they were put up, were plastered all over the door.
It was a scene that suggested there would be absolutely no work to do.
“... Perfect.”
I smiled in satisfaction and grabbed the doorknob.