Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 73

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 73
The afternoon theory lesson posed no difficulty for Liriope either.
“Listen—if you want to walk out of here alive in a week, memorize every single Magic Circle on these pages.”
After lunch, Cameron tossed a thick tome to each of the assembled children.
“Just cram as much as you can into your head, and when the pressure comes, something will spill out. Now we begin! In one hour, I’ll test what you’ve absorbed. Those who fail will face punishment.”
When she opened the weathered book—creased and soiled from years of rough handling—each page was packed with intricately drawn Magic Circles.
At first glance some resembled one another, yet not a single pair was identical.
“You want us to memorize all of this in an hour?”
“That’s impossible…….”
Liriope found herself oddly moved as well, running her fingers across the grimy pages.
‘Haven’t seen this in a long time.’
Equations arranged and constructed according to rigorous principles, rendered in dozens, even hundreds of precise lines—the Magic Circles glowed with an almost ornamental beauty.
Since Belegoat had emphasized Lethal Magic in its instruction, this tome focused primarily on Magic Circles of varying destructive power.
Moreover, these weren’t standardized foundational circles—they were Applied Magic Circles.
In simpler terms, they were vastly more complex and difficult.
Naturally, they lay far beyond what a novice could hope to master; each individual circle was dizzying to study.
And yet Cameron was demanding children absorb several hundred of them in a single hour…….
‘It’s simply impossible from the start.’
Still, such an unreasonable demand served a clear purpose: to crush the spirits of children newly arrived at the Northern Magic Tower, and to break them in through violence and fear.
“Enough. Now the test begins.”
Time dissolved in an instant.
When the hour expired, the test commenced without mercy.
Since no one was expected to pass, an absurdly brief window had been given to inscribe nearly four hundred Magic Circles.
The moment time ran out, the test papers flew away of their own accord.
Moments later, automatic grading began in midair.
Flash!
“Tch, what are these scores? Pathetic! Maggots feasting on corpses would show more promise than you lot.”
Red error lights flickered across each test paper, stinging the eyes with their relentless flashing.
Some children hadn’t memorized a single circle from the target three hundred eighty-nine. Most had managed to draw only one or two.
“What? Wait, is the grading malfunctioning?”
Then suddenly Cameron’s eyes widened in disbelief, his brow furrowing as he summoned one test sheet closer for renewed inspection.
But when he confirmed that all three hundred eighty-nine Magic Circles inscribed there gleamed in brilliant green, his words caught in his throat.
The moment he identified whose test sheet it was, Cameron’s lips twisted slightly.
“You—have you perhaps seen this Magic Tome somewhere before?”
Liriope met his cold gaze and answered.
“No. I’m seeing this book for the first time today.”
“Ha—that’s amusing. So you’re claiming you memorized all of this in that brief span? Does that sound remotely plausible?”
At Cameron’s sharp interrogation, Liriope tilted her head quizzically.
“I’m not sure why you’re asking that. Wasn’t this the book you gave us, assuming we could memorize it all in an hour?”
…….
Cameron’s eyes kindled with a strange light, as though her impertinent words had scratched something raw within him.
Liriope simply blinked at him with seeming innocence.
Cameron wavered—was she truly daring to challenge his authority, or was her guileless expression clouding his judgment?
“……All right. Good. Your name is Liriope, yes? I’ll make sure to remember you well.”
After this ominous whisper, swift judgment descended upon all the children.
“Unfortunately, the rest of you have failed. The Northern Magic Tower has no use for dropouts. I shall teach you all a lesson personally.”
The moment Cameron’s words ended, a black Magic Circle materialized beneath their feet.
“What—what is this! Ahhhhh!”
At once, Chains erupted from the circle, dragging the children downward.
Splash!
In an instant, frigid water poured into their noses, mouths, and lungs.
As they gasped and clawed at their throats, white foam bubbled from their lips and surged upward.
Whether they were in the sea, a lake, or some vast tank filled with water, there was no way to tell.
The children thrashed instinctively to survive, but with their bodies bound and darkness pressing in all around, they couldn’t even gauge which way the surface lay.
Some among them tried reflexively to conjure any Magic at all, driven by survival instinct. But their Mana felt sealed; nothing happened.
This is it—I’m going to die……!
When that despair reached its peak, the black Magic Circle yanked their feet again.
“Gasp, gasp! Cough……! Cough, cough! Retch……!”
The soaked children sprawled across the floor, retching water from their bodies.
Some expelled the meager food they’d consumed mere minutes before.
In the sealed chamber, the reek of brine and vomit twisted together, clouding the mind with nausea.
“Collect yourselves! I’m granting you another chance. In one hour, we test again.”
Another merciless command fell.
The children barely had time to steady themselves before the next test began.
Those who’d been dazed moments before fumbled the books open again, then began memorizing Magic Circles with desperate urgency.
[These filthy Belegoat dogs. Like the cesspool they are, trash from top to bottom, nothing but trash.]
Ode’s voice, laced with contempt, echoed suddenly in her mind—and in a world where every moral framework had twisted, its cold rationality seemed almost strange.
“Making these wretched creatures fit for human society will be a long, painful road. All of you, focus! And Liriope—you passed. Go back to your quarters.”
Liriope turned her gaze from the suffering children, gave Cameron one cold stare, then turned to leave.
The next day’s routine was much the same.
In the morning, the children entered the Cube Chamber again for Contamination Adaptation Training. Liriope, too, was tested once more by the relentless Cameron.
This time she had to remain locked inside for three hours continuously.
Throughout, Liriope secretly channeled Purification Magic to rest, undetected by Cameron.
“Ow, it’s hot! Pfft, pfft! Why did the tea suddenly get so scorching?”
And she took covert petty revenge on him.
“Argh! What’s going on, the chair leg just broke? Damn my back! What a cursed day!”
Cameron, contentedly sipping his tea alone, never discovered why misfortune kept befalling him.
During the subsequent theory lesson, a different book was distributed instead of the Magic Tome.
“This contains everything you need to collect from the Contaminated Holy Ground. Should you gather practical animal or plant materials, magical relics, or Magic Stones, bonus points will be awarded—so commit this to memory. It’s explained simply enough that even a blockhead could grasp it, so make sure it stays in your heads!”
Again, one hour was given. Again, every failure meant the water torture.
And again, Liriope was the sole one to pass.
By now, Cameron had abandoned all pretense of composure.
“Ho……so it’s you again. Remarkable, truly remarkable……. That you claim to be seeing this book for the first time today, just like yesterday’s tome—it’s almost impossible to believe.”
Deep suspicion began to carve itself into his eyes.

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