How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 131

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (131)

After Ascanien entered the exam hall, 30 seconds passed before an announcement came that the test would begin.

Around us, curious questions mixed with laughter were exchanged about the results.

“How many minutes do you think he’ll take?”

“10 minutes? 30 minutes?”

“This guy thinks everyone will take 10 minutes just because he took 10 minutes.”

“Ah, I’m going to come in last place. At least that guy…”

CRASH! Whoooosh—!

[If you remain in me and my words remain in you.]

The moment flames rose up his arm, the students’ laughter stopped.

A student who had been giggling next to Leo just moments before unconsciously opened his mouth.

Red magic is considered the exclusive domain of Pleroma along with Vitriol.

Of course it was just a rumor, but most people still believed it.

However, seeing this scene now, no student thought of anything like Pleroma.

‘…The color…’

All the hues that could emerge from the red spectrum mixed together in a colorful display, flowing along the staff. It clearly had the form of fire, but the light flowing around it made it look almost like divine power.

“Hey, that guy…”

Suddenly the broadcast camera went black, then returned with static crackling.

[…ask whatever you wish.]

ROOOOOAR—!!

With an explosive sound, flames engulfed the exam hall. At the same time, shouts erupted from the waiting students.

“Didn’t he say he never learned it?!”

“What?! Wasn’t this his first time using it today?!”

“…”

The student unconsciously gulped.

‘…Wait. What is this really?’

Are my eyes deceiving me?

This is the magic that guy uses?

It didn’t make sense. This was completely Ascanien magic.

Of course Lucas was also an Ascanien, but naturally that wasn’t the meaning behind this thought.

Ascanien magic is famous for being spectacular. The fact that magical power takes on various colors means the user’s level is high, so Ascanien-born mages, whether direct or branch family, were welcomed everywhere.

But if this was really that guy’s true ability, then not only the branch families but even the main line of the family – Georg Ascanien and Adrian Ascanien – would all fall short of such evaluation.

Only then did he recall the relief and mockery of adults from childhood, saying that the one who was a spitting image of Ascanien’s founding mage was actually from Pleroma or whatever.

The student who had been staring blankly at the screen finally turned his head in bewilderment.

“Hey, Leo…”

Leo was smiling faintly while watching that screen. It was a smile that even conveyed a sense of exhilaration.

‘…Why is this guy, who usually scowls at the mere mention of Ascanien?’

As soon as he thought that, Leo looked at him with an indifferent expression as if asking what was wrong.

“What?”

“…That guy right now… No, didn’t he never learn magic?!”

“He didn’t. Surprising.”

“…”

This wasn’t magical power that could be dismissed as just ‘surprising.’

Honestly, as just a student, he couldn’t judge things like technique. Such things didn’t even register in his vision.

Right now, only two impressions were etched in his mind.

The color of the magical power and the scale of magic wielded without exerting any effort at all.

Unlike the students who had run around dealing with attacks, he was pushing forward with magical power without exerting any effort from the spot where he first stood.

“…”

Ascanien is a family that’s been said to be slowly declining.

First, it was due to Georg Ascanien’s pathological lethargy and tyranny, and second, it was because of that Pleroma.

No, since Georg Duke’s illness came after Lucas Ascanien’s nature was revealed, it would be fair to say that Ascanien’s decline was entirely due to that friend.

But ironically, thanks to that, Ascanien would not fall.

Beep—

[The exam has ended.]

[58.33 seconds.]

“…”

Only silence lingered in the exam hall.

It was harder to find someone with their mouth closed, but no one made a sound.

The grade announcement that had come immediately until now was heard only after a long while.

[…Overall 1+. Good work.]

* * *

I let out a light laugh.

‘1+.’

Thanks to the combined report scores at the end of the semester, I barely avoided failing, but Luca always received 6-, the lowest score in practicals.

Not just Luca, but I did too throughout the first semester.

‘Thanks for the generous evaluation.’

At that moment, a familiar yet strange notification sound was heard.

Ding—!

Affection 50 achieved (50/300)

Huh?

“…”

I stared at that window with my mouth open.

It went up by 50 all at once?

Even closing and opening my eyes, what I saw remained the same.

Suddenly, the thought of trying to raise affection on a wide scale flashed through my mind.

‘…Aha.’

Easy.

Not just the theater stage, but this is also a way to raise it on a wide scale when you think about it.

Even without the recognition of ‘good,’ it seems about +1 can rise from impressions like ‘unexpected.’

The moment a laugh fundamentally different from before emerged, I quickly covered my mouth.

I became conscious of the camera after that.

‘…’

There are all kinds of people who laugh at empty air.

The moment I composed my expression and opened the door, I almost bumped into someone standing right in front of it.

Before I could step back, another popup window appeared at just the right time.

Affection 60 achieved (60/300)

Why is this one delayed? Is it because of the Imperial Newspaper broadcast delay?

Then, Elias grabbed my shoulder with an expression like he had found something to tease me about.

“Luca! You’re in a good mood~? You are, right?!”

“No. Suddenly?”

“You smiling after getting 1+ just now was all caught on camera. How did you live being frustrated all this time when you kept getting 6-~ Feels refreshing, right?!”

‘Ah.’

Everyone will misunderstand like this.

It was because I gained 15 points and got about 1/6 closer, but there was no way to explain that. Fortunately, I wouldn’t be seen as a crazy person laughing at empty air.

“Luca, you can smile. You protected my 10,000 pel. If I win, I’ll give it all to you!”

“Wasn’t it 10 errand tickets?”

“It’s also an undeniable fact that Team 1 has gotten closer to passing because of this.”

It’s so absurd I can only laugh.

Where on earth did you place that bet?

“Where did you bet? It can’t be at school.”

“Hmm~ There is. A gathering of life’s losers.”

“Why did you bet on it?”

“Those guys were talking trash about you! We need to clean out wallets of guys like that to make it worthwhile.”

“Right. What did they say?”

“….”

What did they say that he won’t tell me about it.

I took advantage of Elias playing dumb and knocked his arm away.

Once I escaped from his antics, I finally realized that the exam hall was as quiet as a mouse.

“….”

Dozens of students and faculty members who were there were frozen in place, staring at me.

Obviously that wouldn’t be the case, but their reaction was exactly like I had done something wrong.

I simply looked back at them.

As the silence continued, Elias spoke in a voice now devoid of playfulness.

“You’re the first to break the 1-minute mark, Luca.”

“….”

I finally nodded my head slowly.

That’s right. Most students finished their exams around the 5-minute mark.

Moreover, the me they had seen so far was someone who used magic to the extent of barely sparking flames, practically a non-mage.

I should have realized it from when they bet on my failure.

That wasn’t just a misunderstanding from the Knight Department and Administration Department, but the sentiment of the entire student body.

Around the time I finished understanding, Elias patted my shoulder and grinned.

“So let’s do the 1st and 2nd rounds together!”

“Hey, you already teamed up with me.”

Leo’s complaint could be heard from afar.

At just the right time, the sound of another student finishing their exam could be heard.

Beep―

[5 minutes 55 seconds.]

[Overall 2-. Thank you for your hard work.]

* * *

I thought I had barely escaped from that shocking atmosphere, but the rumor spread throughout the entire school in less than an hour.

No, the entire school wasn’t the problem.

[Lucas Ascanien, Imperial 2nd Education Institute Magic Practical Evaluation 1+ Grade]

The Imperial Newspaper had uploaded a broadcast video cut to show only my exam scene along with an article.

‘This is newsworthy?’

Really?

Are they not joking?

“The majesty of Ascanien… On one hand, nationwide fear of blood-sucking still remains… What do they want me to do. Pick just one.”

Elias followed me while reading the article.

From the day I decided to take the exam, no, even before that, Elias had been gradually warming up and now he was just constantly following me around.

It probably wouldn’t look particularly strange.

Elias was originally the type to drag students around as he pleased even if he wasn’t close to them.

Thanks to such behavior, suspicion was reduced, which was fortunate.

Then Elias spotted an Administration Department student passing by in the hallway and said with a smile.

“Failure~?”

“….”

The student looked at my face and then quickly walked away with an expression that seemed troubled.

From the reaction, it seemed like a student who had participated in the bet with Elias.

“Write your name down and wait~”

Elias giggled and cupped his hands around his mouth to shout.

After all 37 students finished their exams, we returned to the classroom.

Even though everyone was seated, both the Professor and students were surprisingly quiet.

The Professor, who had been silently looking at the record sheet, raised his head.

“You all worked hard taking the exam. First, I’ll announce Class 2’s average score. With an average of 2- grade, it’s two levels higher than Class 1, which received an average of 3 grade. However, in our class’s case…”

The Professor looked at Narke and Elias in turn as he continued.

“Since we had the transfer of exchange student Narke Farnese and Class 1’s Elias Hohenzollern, we had many students who achieved top scores.”

It was true that the average score increased because Elias, who was Class 1’s practical exam top scorer, came to our class.

But regarding Narke’s part, everyone probably couldn’t agree much.

Class 1 also had an exchange student selected from the Papacy to begin with.

That side also used divine power just the same, and from what I heard students chattering about in the hallway, they had already received a 1+ grade.

“Leonard Wittelsbach and Julia Zehringen received top scores as always, but most students’ scores dropped by one or two levels.”

It’s because of practical experience.

Until now, these guys had never faced something that spewed Vitriol. Most practical training was also individual training, not training against people.

‘Come to think of it, today is Sunday.’

Tonight I need to stop by Bavaria to do some purification, check the situation reports that will be piled up at headquarters, and handle the numerous questions from the imperial government that came to the advisory committee.

‘I still haven’t extracted the divine power to go into the medicine for Tuesday’s distribution.’

Other mages who use divine power are also extracting divine power daily to send to the country, but actually that amount isn’t sufficient.

I’ll have to extract like crazy in the dormitory and send it.

Then the Professor called me.

“And, Lucas Ascanien.”

“Yes.”

“You had never learned magic before. Did you perhaps learn magic at Ascanien?”

“I had not.”

The Professor nodded as if he expected as much.

“I participated in grading the magic theory part. At least in my part, I had no choice but to give full marks. The results according to the spells cast were precise, the delay time was very short, and the method of maintaining magic in response to attacks was perfect. Seeing that you received the highest score means the other professors gave the same evaluation in each part.”

“….”

I smiled and waited for his words.

‘…I deliberately lowered the output though…’

It seems that point didn’t show in the results.

Everything else except output was as I had learned it, so he could make that judgment.

“The time it took you to finish the exam was 58 seconds, right?”

“Yes.”

“All grade levels took the same exam, but there aren’t even 10 students who finished the exam within 1 minute. How could you produce this result when you’ve never learned magic?”

From his tone, it’s not a real question. The Professor probably has some idea, but wanted to hear the answer from my mouth.

The students’ gazes also turned toward me.

“It’s thanks to focusing on theory.”

“You produced this result just by studying theory?”

“Yes. I haven’t actually used magic much. It hasn’t been long since I learned my core was healthy, and thinking that my magic might cause confusion, I studied focusing on memorizing magic formulas rather than directly using magic.”

From somewhere came a deflated, hollow laugh.

The Professor’s eyes pierced toward me.

It’s a bit uncomfortable, but when applied to the situation, it’s not entirely wrong.

The students have been learning magic for almost 15 years, but I’ve only been learning for four months total.

To narrow that gap, I continuously studied theory even during class, and thanks to that, the time to catch up with them was greatly shortened.

Ding―!

Favorability +1

‘…He believed me.’

More than that, does this now even appear before my eyes?

Then the Professor’s serious voice could be heard.

“Do you know what a 1+ grade means? You have now surpassed students who have made blood-curdling efforts from the 3rd Education Institute onward, just by studying theory.”

“I was just lucky, I still have much to learn.”

“Situational judgment and quick thinking are not luck but your abilities. Even if people learn the same theory, how they use it in what situation, with what intensity, and how much they modify it differs from person to person.”

“….”

“Student Adrian Ascanien was the same way. He could reproduce magic he’d only glimpsed once exactly as it was, no, even more powerfully, as if he’d been using it for decades.”

As I just smiled, the Professor encouraged me with a laugh.

“You have that talent as well. Of course, there were many rough edges, but those can gradually be improved through future effort. I look forward to it.”

* * *

Unlike the Professor’s evaluation, most of the students’ assessments were that I had pushed through with sheer magical power.

‘It wasn’t completely just brute force with magic though.’

But I understand.

Since the cameras flickered multiple times due to my magic, it’s likely that only the overwhelming quantity stuck in their minds rather than my strategy.

What kind of analysis could they do in 58 seconds anyway.

Also, it seemed difficult for them to accept that such results came from theory alone.

‘I don’t really care though.’

Getting recognition from the kids isn’t my goal anyway.

“Oh~ how many is that now in total?”

Elias teased from beside me.

And even though there were students making such claims, I could tell how the real flow was going by the urgent actions of students who had to consider practical benefits.

Thinking this, I peeled off the note stuck to my desk.

Partner requests that I hadn’t received even once yesterday were continuously coming in.

It meant that people’s perception of me was already changing.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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