How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 205

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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 (205)

There were no cheers and applause that had poured out each time names were called before.

Though faint cheering could be heard from various places, everyone hesitated and stopped after reading the mood.

A tense silence flowed through the air.

The promising first place who had always received public attention for the past 10 years had given up that position to a complete beginner who had only been learning magic for 5 months.

At this obvious fact, the gazes of 1st and 3rd year students turned to Leo. Some among them also glanced at Elias and Julia.

The 2nd years had already experienced firsthand what Lucas Ascanien’s abilities were like over the past month, but students from other departments and grades, and those from the First and Third Education Institutes had not.

They viewed Lucas not as a mage, but as someone who possessed outstanding abilities yet still had the dangers of Pleroma remaining.

‘Should I be grateful for this?’

That only we 2nd year students know Lucas’s true worth for now.

Leo looked at the stage calmly.

The 2nd year qualifier position that no one had climbed yet. Lucas had the right to stand in that position first.

He forms hypotheses while not being trapped by them in his thinking. The decisive difference between him and other team members, the usefulness of that thinking ability, comes from this subtle element.

It’s difficult to completely break free from thinking once a framework has been established. Setting up hypotheses after seeing the article before synthesizing clues from victims was the cause of our Team 1’s failure.

‘…Elias must have predicted that we would be buried in the most plausible fountain hypothesis and approached the fountain.’

As expected, the school used the article not as evidence to find the source of the rampage, but as a clue to find the location of the third victim.

Anyway, Lucas defeating me and rising up wasn’t particularly unpleasant. My touch was involved in his magical skills from beginning to end, and just as I revered and trusted Nicolaus, I could easily acknowledge that his judgment in problem situations was superior to mine.

I am lacking.

I had known this since the day I first saw Lucas’s magic.

My magic is for saving people rather than attacking them. I made painful efforts to overcome this, but each time I was caught up to by my childhood friend who could easily surpass the arduous path I had walked with just a little learning. At one time, Elias was both a precious friend and a source of frustration and self-loathing for me.

Even if I died and came back to life, I would never be able to implement magical power like Lucas and Elias, and even if I devoted half my life to training like now, by my 30s, or perhaps even earlier, I would be completely overtaken by Elias and Lucas.

From that moment on, I would never be able to follow even their footsteps.

But what does that matter?

“…Is it a tie for first place again?”

“…No… It looks like he fell behind…?”

Whispers came from the other 2nd year department seats.

Leo continued his thoughts while feeling the rude gazes looking at him.

My talent with clear limits won’t change unless I trade souls with a demon, and the only thing I can do is give my best to today as if I don’t know those limits, despite knowing them clearly.

Anguish, jealousy, and humiliation are poisons that eat away at time, and being trapped in a swamp of helplessness because of them is the greatest insult I could give to my dreams and resolve. With that leisure, I will admire their incomparably brilliant talents and applaud their fierce efforts and perseverance that gave light to their unpolished raw qualities.

Showing the highest courtesy I can give to my own resolve – I will choose nothing other than that.

Suddenly the students’ gazes turned to me. The host who had seemed flustered by the silence also looked at me.

Lucas’s eyes, which had been looking down at the students with an expressionless face, turned to me. Surprise quickly filled those eyes.

I clapped while sitting in my seat, looking into Lucas’s eyes.

“…”

Elias, who had been staring at me blankly, suddenly came to his senses, cast amplification magic, and clapped frantically while screaming.

“Waaaah! Aaaaaaaah!”

“…?!”

There are 1,500 people sitting here right now, what on earth are you doing?

Just as I was about to stop him, the sound of applause soon began to be heard from the entire 2nd year section and spread to the 1st year section.

Soon the same applause and cheers as before could be heard from all around this vast First Education Institute performance hall.

“…Waaaaaaah—!”

Lucas, who had been looking at me with surprised eyes, slowly turned his head to look at the vast darkness. His expressionless face melted slightly, revealing a gentle smile.

[…2nd place.]

Only after the applause died down did the host slowly open his mouth. He looked down at the sheet he was holding once and made eye contact with me.

[Leonard Wittelsbach.]

“Waaaaaaah—!”

I smiled and stood up from my seat. Elias playfully grabbed my hand and shook it around, then hit my back hard.

Since Julia and Narke were looking at me with smiles, I briefly greeted my friends and naturally climbed onto the stage as I always had.

Standing in this position, I could see the entire vast First Education Institute auditorium at a glance. Unlike the completely dark audience seating, the stage was hot and excessively bright.

Standing in position, I looked straight ahead, unlike before.

I had no intention of making Lucas tired by shaking hands like last time. Above all, now I didn’t need to declare war in that way since there were some safety measures in place.

Then, familiar magical power spread in front in the form of sound-blocking magic.

I turned my head in puzzlement.

My eyes met with Lucas, who was looking at me expressionlessly. Only those pink eyes clearly contained laughter.

At the unexpected sight, I slowly lowered my gaze.

The hand he extended was in front of me.

“It’s really hard to beat you, Teacher.”

My eyes probably contained surprise. Lucas spoke with an indifferent face, yet still with satisfied eyes.

“It was enjoyable.”

“…”

I stared at him blankly, then smiled with the greatest respect I could express.

“Me too.”

* * *

“…”

I looked at Leo’s bright smile and became dumbfounded, letting go of his hand.

‘No, this bastard…’

I said to shake hands, not to show off how close we are to everyone. Just go ahead and advertise that we’ve been friends for a long time.

Fortunately, I could see Narke sitting in the front row urgently flicking her fingers. Cognitive disruption magic must have been cast in front of Leo.

Perhaps because he confirmed there was no lingering resentment from the exam, the host professor who had been watching us with a pleased face turned around.

[Good. Next…]

Leo quietly opened his mouth while maintaining the sound-blocking magic.

“Lucas. Who do you think will be 3rd place?”

3rd place.

Well.

I answered while scanning the students in the first and second rows of the audience, the 2nd year exam participant seats.

“It won’t be Narke.”

“Mm, you think so too. It must be Elias.”

As soon as Leo finished speaking, the host’s announcement was heard.

[3rd place. Elias Hohenzollern.]

“Waaaaaaah—!”

“Wow, what?! I’m 3rd place~?”

Elias jumped up from his seat and waved his hands frantically in all directions.

“Yay~ Thank you~! I thought I’d get 6th place but 3rd place, I had no idea…”

[Student. Please be quiet.]

“Yes!”

Despite his answer, he wasn’t quiet at all.

Elias jumped onto the stage as if he had springs attached to his feet and stood next to Leo.

“Leo! I’m 3rd place!”

“I know.”

“Shake hands with me too!”

Elias grabbed Leo’s hand and shook it.

“Good work~ You worked your brain like crazy from start to finish, I almost had my brain explode. What do you eat to live that you turn east into south~”

“Yeah, you worked hard too. Thanks to you, I got backstabbed so much that I can’t trust anything anymore, so just look ahead.”

Leo cut off his words.

When I chuckled lightly, Elias waved his hand next to Leo. Leo cast the sound-blocking magic more thickly.

“Lucas! We can continue working together until graduation from now on. I’m excited~”

“Yeah.”

Though I wonder if I’ll actually be here until graduation.

Once this announcement ceremony ends, I should check my survival possibilities after a long time.

“Who else do you guys want to go around dealing with victims with~? We probably won’t be able to come to school often from now on.”

“Hmm…”

Who else would I want to work with?

I’d want to work with the strongest students possible. If even slightly lacking students are deployed to the field, there’s no telling what they might experience. Even mages who have been in this profession for a long time return injured when they go out to the field – that’s the reality.

Unfortunately, reality wasn’t as clean as Mimesis.

Of course…

“Isn’t it already pretty much decided even without us thinking about it?”

Leo said, looking down at the students.

His serious voice, enhanced with amplification magic, spread widely.

[4th place. Narke Farnese.]

That’s right.

Who we’ll be working with is already certain.

I smiled as I watched Narke coming up here.

At least I’m relieved that such strong friends are joining the team that will face the highest-grade Rampage.

Narke, who had come up on stage, stood next to Elias and whispered.

“Haha, I guess I relied too much on my unique ability.”

“You’re 4th out of 100 people~ You shouldn’t say things like that~”

Narke nodded at Elias’s playful words.

It was natural that Narke was below Elias.

From my perspective, Team 3’s victory this time was more than 80% Elias’s work.

Throwing me into enemy territory was the worst from my standpoint, but it was the best for the team.

I briefly wondered if I could just memorize coordinates while thinking of the solution, but there was a problem with that approach.

For example, if coordinate memorization was overused, Narke could figure out the pattern that ‘Team 3 is currently thinking of important information and trying to hide it.’

Since he could read all incoming thoughts, he could read the thoughts between coordinates if he wanted to.

So it was better to make him let his guard down and strike by surprise before escaping.

‘By the way, it should be about time for me to be called.’

[5th place. Julia Zehringen.]

Loud cheering could be heard.

“Congratulations, Julia!”

Like with Leo, there was great response from the 3rd Education Institute and the 1st and 3rd year sections. It was easy to see what kind of life he had lived.

Cheringen stood up from his seat with a proper smile, clapping his hands. When his gaze turned to me, I gave him a similar smile. Then he made a high-five gesture toward where I was and grinned.

‘Right.’

Satisfying.

A team should have at least one upright person. That’s how you maintain balance.

To me, an upright person doesn’t mean anything special – it refers to those who don’t have screws loose somewhere like Elias or Leo and have fewer extraordinary aspects…

Of course, since I haven’t known Cheringen for long, I should still maintain a cautious stance toward that guy.

‘He might also be going well like Leo but be crazy somewhere.’

I can only hope that’s not the case.

Cheringen, who had come up on stage, bowed his head toward us. His reddish hair swayed.

“Haha, this feels refreshing. I’m happy to be working with excellent friends like you until graduation. Let’s do well together.”

“I’m looking forward to working with you too~”

“Wow~ All my childhood friends are gathered here.”

Come to think of it, except for Narke and me, the students have known each other well since childhood, so team life would be much more welcome for them.

Of course, if they know each other well, they’ll have good coordination when deployed, which is good for safety.

While the host was giving some other announcements, Elias opened his mouth dramatically.

“But, guys.”

“Mm?”

“Right now five of us are from Class 2. Isn’t that crazy? I’m kind of excited.”

I clicked my tongue and whispered at those words.

“Everything’s crazy… I still can’t forget drinking that fountain water.”

“Hey! That was just bottled water!”

“But you put leaves in it.”

“You also mixed in sand.”

Ah…

Why are you saying that?

Cheringen, who had also drunk that water, made a disgusted face and said.

“Ah, no wonder the taste was… So you just added flavor and filtered out the particles before giving it to us?”

“I don’t think we need to know details like that, Julia.”

I answered with a nauseous feeling.

Seeing our expressions weren’t good, perhaps feeling remorseful, Elias said seriously.

“Sorry, guys. Since it’s come to this, there’s nothing we can do about it, so let’s wash it down with whiskey later.”

“…”

“Sigh…”

At Elias’s nonsense, Leo gave him a hint.

“Just listen to the announcement. It’s the last one now. 6th place.”

“Right.”

Actually, I already know who it will be this time too.

From 1st to 6th place, they might compete back and forth, but the composition doesn’t change. Everyone probably knows.

Cheringen also responded to our words.

“The only one from Class 1. Still, it’s fortunate that our team has many friends who are close to that kid.”

As soon as Cheringen finished speaking, the host, who had been dragging out time as if building suspense for the last ranking, spoke loudly.

[6th place. Ulrike Kleist.]

“Yes~”

Someone’s green eyes sparkled in the darkness as they jumped up from their seat.

They had the same personality during the magic potion experiment competition, and they’re still the same. Both guys from Class 1 who went together were all that style. At least this time it’s just one guy, so that’s fortunate.

At the exclamation that reminded me of Elias, Leo beside me let out a deep sigh. He seemed to feel overwhelmed by the fact that he now had to live as a team with that guy.

‘Actually, I feel the same way.’

I’ll have to listen to the school’s announcement about the exact team activity methods, but I definitely know that from now on I’ll have to live rubbing shoulders with these people all day long.

At least with Julia and Narke here, I’ll trust that the atmosphere will be maintained.

“Professor! I was really surprised because I thought I was going to fail.”

[Hehe, congratulations.]

He casually spoke to a professor he was seeing for the first time today and came up on stage.

‘Thought he was going to fail?’

Well, that’s understandable.

From the 2nd to 3rd rounds, he only produced unsatisfactory results.

Ulrike was the original team leader of Elias’s team during the 2nd round. He was the one who almost ruined the team by failing to control Gunter and his friend.

He’s definitely lacking in leadership and tactics.

However, at least his practical skills were perfectly within the passing range. When I heard the story later, I was told that he single-handedly subdued three students in the sewers at the end.

While someone to devise strategies is of course necessary, since this is fundamentally a combat magic job, someone skilled in fighting like Ulrike is also essential. Although his overly cheerful personality is somewhat burdensome, he’ll be a good asset to us.

“Guys~ What’s this, you had soundproofing magic up. I couldn’t see well from over there, but were you talking the whole time?”

When Ulrike peeked over curiously, Narke, who was standing in the middle, smiled and answered.

“Haha, we had cognitive disruption magic cast!”

Is that so…

No wonder you were chattering so much.

The professor probably knew and was just letting it slide.

I think raising mages must be really difficult. There are guys who infinitely refill beer with magic, and guys who cast cognitive disruption magic and whisper during presentations…

“But you’re all from Class 2? Wow, that’s really impressive but I feel lonely. At least Elias was originally from Class 1…”

“It would have been nice if everyone was from Class 2, what a shame.”

At Elias’s unusually dry tone, Ulrike smacked his lips and silently ended the situation with laughter.

Cheringen glanced at them and smiled, easing the atmosphere.

“Haha, but since it’s confirmed like this, let’s do well going forward. Now let’s also remove the soundproofing magic. It’s time for the Team 2 friends from 7th place onward to come up.”

“Ah, right. I’m curious about Team 2’s composition.”

Narke smiled with an expectant face.

Leo flicked his fingers to dispel the magic, as if he had been waiting only for the time when Team 2’s composition and everything else would quiet down.

[…Though they showed vulnerabilities in strategic aspects, in direct combat they were very skilled at quickly assessing and subduing their opponents’ abilities in a short time.]

The commentary that had been briefly explaining the ranking criteria up to 6th place was also coming to an end.

[Up to here, from 1st to 6th place.]

With this, the 2nd Year Team 1 was formed.

Applause poured out from the audience seating.

[Next…]

“Aren’t you going to say ‘with this’?”

Elias whispered playfully.

‘With this, we conclude the announcement of 3rd Year Team 1′. It was what the Professor said every time during the 3rd years’ turn.

“I guess he forgot.”

Unlike Leo’s indifferent response, a flustered voice came from Narke.

“…Huh?”

“What?”

[7th place. Haike Einsiedel.]

“…?!”

Not expecting to be called, Haike, who had been sitting in her seat with no expression, widened her eyes.

7th place?

Haike?

Of course, she is skilled. Her unique ability was excellent too. She probably received bonus points and surpassed similar-level competitors from Teams 2-4.

Though considering there are other formidable competitors like Augustina Hildegard, Josefine, and others, that ranking does raise some questions.

‘But this is a bit strange.’

I frowned slightly as I replayed the Professor’s words.

To continue introducing 7th place, this is…

I made eye contact with our team members including Elias. The same confusion I felt was reflected on their faces.

The Professor, who had been looking at the cue sheet, raised his head to look at the students in the audience seating.

[Up to here, 2nd Year Team 1.]

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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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