“It’s been quite some time, Lord Zis Zerdingher.”
“Have you been in good health, Royal Wizard Rozes Lewalin?”
Zis extended his greetings to Rozes Lewalin.
Rozes Lewalin, currently serving as the Royal Wizard, happened to be a cousin of the present Lord of the Lewalin family.
“Abad, Chelsea, and Selia all entering Lumeren in the same year, huh! It’s a source of pride for all of us as members of the same empire!”
The Lord’s son, Abad, is seventeen years old, while Chelsea is sixteen.
From the empire’s perspective, it’s excellent news that three promising talents are starting their journey in the same year.
However, viewed from the standpoint of the two families vying for the top position within the empire, it marked the commencement of a fierce competition.
“Abad is highly likely to secure the first position in the Western entrance examination.”
“Do you have a reason to be so certain?”
“Indeed, both Abad and Selia are formidable contenders for the top spot.”
Rozes glanced towards the examiner, Albi, standing at the podium.
“This examination is unique. It presents numerous variables. Plus, Abad has Chelsea.”
Implying that the siblings will collaborate to outshine Selia.
Chelsea happens to be one of the top five candidates.
If she lends her support to Abad, Selia stands little chance.
‘We may be at a disadvantage, but that doesn’t mean we should be pessimistic.’
Zis grinned with a meaningful expression, his thoughts drifting to Leo.
A massive, square magical mirror materialized in mid-air.
The audience gasped in astonishment.
A form of magic that grants access to the hero’s world.
The test parameters were transmitted here.
As the magic mirror illuminated, the screen materialized.
The moment they laid eyes on the screen,
“Haha!”
Zis burst into laughter, while Rozes widened her eyes.
They couldn’t hear it, but a young girl with light blue hair was screaming.
Her hands and feet were bound, suspended in the air with a bonfire blazing below her.
And a white-haired boy wore an ominous grin as he manipulated the ropes.
***
When Chelsea regained consciousness, she found herself suspended with her hands and feet bound.
“What… What’s going on here?”
“Awake, are we? So, are you willing to cooperate?”
“I’ll make you regret tying me up like this.”
Chelsea attempted to unleash her magic.
‘Why isn’t my magic responding?’
She sensed something suppressing her mana.
“A magic seal?”
“Yes, I drew it.”
“Are you a mage?”
“No, I currently possess no mana, so the seal isn’t particularly potent.”
“Ew! I never expected you to know magic! But I can break a powerless seal!”
“Of course, but only if you can concentrate effectively.”
“What? Eeeek!”
Chelsea was startled by the sudden surge of heat beneath her.
As Leo lowered the rope, she felt the intense warmth from the bonfire.
“Stop! Stop! Don’t lower it!”
“So, will you cooperate?”
“As a member of the Lewalin family, I will not cooperate with someone from Zerdingher!”
“Well, it doesn’t seem like you mind getting a bit scorched.”
“Ahhhhh! Stop! Stop!”
Chelsea struggled against her restraints.
The heat continued to intensify.
She attempted to break the magic seal, but it proved to be no easy feat.
Magic seals demanded considerable skill to dismantle, even when they were powerless.
If Chelsea had possessed more experience as a wizard, Leo’s plan wouldn’t have succeeded. However, her lack of experience played right into his hands.
Leo had seen through her inexperience with perfect clarity.
Chelsea’s face turned as pale as a ghost.
‘People can witness this entrance exam! What if they catch me in this predicament?’
The shame was immeasurable!
To make matters worse, her robe caught fire!
“Ah! It’s burning! Stop! Stop!”
“Swear on your family’s name. Will you cooperate?”
“I will! I will! I swear on the name of Lewalin, just please stop!”
Tears welled up in Chelsea’s eyes as she pleaded.
‘Easy.’
Leo chuckled and lowered the rope.
Chelsea swiftly extinguished the flames, sobbing.
‘No one saw me like this, right? Right. They couldn’t have. The test just started. They must have been focused on someone else.’
Unfortunately for her, Leo and Chelsea were the first ones to be broadcasted.
***
“Hmm.”
Albi let out an uninspired sigh.
The world of heroes unfolding before him held special significance.
It was the first page of his own heroic story.
He had become a hero for this very reason.
Watching the candidates struggle, Albi couldn’t help but think,
‘They’re all below par.’
Albi clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Heroes were revered by gods, and most people held the notion that heroes were noble and formidable individuals.
While such heroes certainly existed, Albi was far from fitting that typical image.
He was a neurotic who prioritized efficiency and despised inefficiency and bothersome matters.
This was precisely why he had designed this test.
Survival in the Devil’s Battlefield.
Those who survived were truly strong.
It was a straightforward yet highly effective test to separate the wheat from the chaff.
And the results spoke for themselves.
Eliminating rival candidates.
Surviving by battling monsters.
In this test, two choices were given.
The majority of candidates chose to eliminate their rivals.
‘They’re being quite foolish.’
They likely believed they were being clever, taking the fastest route to climb the ranks.
And then there were the monsters residing in the Demon’s Forest.
Orcs, trolls, and goblins didn’t pose much of a threat to test-takers.
Of course, trolls were dangerous but rare.
Two major errors had been made by the test-takers.
First, they had misunderstood the information provided.
Albi had explained the nature of the test but had never specified the passing criteria.
Meaning, they had to realize that eliminating competitors wasn’t the primary objective and proceed with caution.
Secondly, they had misjudged the Demon’s Forest.
Even some of the most powerful nations have failed in their attempts to conquer it with their armies.
Even when facing low-level monsters, prolonged combat can lead to exhaustion.
To make matters worse, these monsters are often at odds with each other, rather than cooperating in such a dire situation.
In a real-life scenario, they would have likely been wiped out.
‘Of course, if you possess exceptional skills, you can achieve both monster subjugation and the elimination of competitors.’
Albi grinned while peering into the magic mirror.
With black hair and red eyes, a girl enveloped in a fiery aura wielded her sword.
“Selia Zerdingher. Just as the rumors say.”
Selia was locked in combat with three trolls.
And behind her, a young man with light blue hair was casting incantations.
‘Abad Lewalin is no different. The empire has a promising future.’
These two rivals coincidentally crossed paths as soon as they entered the hero’s world.
Both possessed exceptional abilities, yet they chose cooperation over competition, understanding the true nature of this test.
‘There shouldn’t be any issues with those two. It’s challenging to decide who’s superior.’
Albi wore a satisfied expression.
He believed that the top two positions would undoubtedly go to them.
The screen shifted once more.
The candidate displayed in the magic mirror was locked in combat with an orc.
‘Was his name Leo Plov?’
This candidate had been the first one captured on the magic mirror’s screen and had displayed the most unconventional behavior throughout the test.
While many considered Leo insane for attempting to burn the daughter of the Lewalin family at the stake, Albi had a different perspective.
‘Regardless of the method, gaining Chelsea Lewalin’s cooperation is a point in his favor.’
He eagerly anticipated what Leo would demonstrate in this test.
And what he was witnessing now exceeded his expectations.
In fact, even the hero was taken aback.
‘While he may not possess the same strength and brilliance as Selia Zerdingher…’
Leo’s movements, effortlessly cutting through the orc with minimal effort, carried an uncanny sense of cunning.
‘An unexpected dark horse, indeed.’
***
Wham-!
“Chweeak-!”
Rotating his body behind the orc, whose heart he had pierced, Leo unsheathed his sword.
With centrifugal force, he cleanly severed the neck of the orc that had been targeting him from behind.
The moment he encountered ten orcs, Leo swiftly sprang into action.
Orcs were intelligent creatures, and if given the chance, they would form a formation and launch a coordinated attack.
Leo moved with speed to prevent that from happening.
As he dispatched the leading orcs, Chelsea began to chant a spell.
“Wind Arrow.”
She released the completed spell.
“Kuaaaaak!”
“Chweeak!”
The orcs howled in agony as the magic penetrated them.
Seven orcs fell to the magic’s deadly power.
Leo wiped the blood from his sword after cleanly severing the last orc’s neck.
Without uttering a word, he continued forward.
Chelsea, following closely behind, murmured to herself.
“Combat is more manageable.”
Even if she aspired to become a battle mage, a mage was still a mage.
The most effective tactic was to let a skilled warrior take the frontline while she focused on providing ranged support from the rear.
Chelsea couldn’t help but feel that she and Leo were working together seamlessly.
Initially intimidated when forming a party with Leo, she now believed it was a wise decision after experiencing three battles together.
Their teamwork wasn’t solely about battling monsters; they efficiently herded the creatures into one location to maximize the effectiveness of her area-of-effect magic attacks.
Naturally, the more enemies clustered together, the greater the impact of their attacks.
“Quite impressive, taking down an orc so effortlessly without utilizing aura.”
“I don’t know how to use aura.”
“What did you say?”
“I haven’t learned it yet.”
‘Is it even possible to move like that without employing aura?’
She harbored doubts but also comprehended why she had lost earlier.
‘Because he didn’t use aura, I couldn’t detect his mana.’
Chelsea placed her hands on her hips, looking rather smug.
“You’ve recklessly revealed your secret!”
“With your current level of skill, you can’t overpower me, so don’t worry.”
“Ho ho ho! What boasting.”
“I’m merely stating the facts.”
Leo’s voice held a deeper tone.
“To be honest, you possess impressive skills.”
“Huh?”
“You wield potent mana and likely possess knowledge of various spells.”
“Just because you’re complimenting me doesn’t mean I’ll take it easy on you.”
She spoke coyly but secretly relished the unexpected praise.
“But that’s the issue.”
“Huh?”
“Your skill is so formidable that you’re not fully harnessing the essence of wind magic.”
Chelsea’s combat approach involved overpowering her adversaries with potent magic, which did not align with the true essence of wind magic.
“Discussing wind magic in front of a Lewalin? How amusing.”
Chelsea sneered.
Leo’s current statements didn’t sit well with her.
She recited a spell in rune language and extended her staff.
“Wind Break.”
“Grrrrrr!”
Razor-sharp winds shot into the underbrush, tearing the lurking troll into shreds.
The fallen troll twitched briefly before collapsing.
Chelsea showcased her proficiency with a high-level spell she had pre-cast.
‘Think you know a little about magic and start showing off! You must be shocked seeing this, right?’
Chelsea wore a triumphant expression.
Observing her, Leo bore a cynical look.
“That’s not how you wield wind magic.”
The greatest strength of wind magic lay in its versatility.
Overwhelming with sheer power was the least effective way to employ wind magic.
Upon hearing Leo’s words, Chelsea’s expression darkened, and she averted her gaze.
‘After all, it would be absurd for me to assert this when I can’t even use magic right now.’
In his previous life, perhaps, but presently, he hadn’t yet learned magic.
Leo, who had been chuckling, suddenly halted in his tracks.
Chelsea’s eyes widened in response.
Around them lay scattered troll corpses.
However, the state of the corpses was peculiar.
They appeared shriveled, as if their life force had been drained.
“What could have caused this? There shouldn’t be any monsters in the Forest of Demons that possess life-draining abilities.”
Chelsea examined the corpses with a perplexed expression.
Leo, who touched one of the corpses, narrowed his eyes.
‘Could this be?’
“For now, it seems like our top priority should be reuniting with Selia and your brother. I think I have a rough idea of what the criteria for passing this test entail.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Looking at the bewildered Chelsea, Leo offered a meaningful smile.
“It’s about conquering this world.”
Cliche Novel 