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Chapter 2
Orcheta, occupying the west of the continent, was a historic kingdom that had maintained its legacy for nearly a thousand years.
Although it had the city of ‘Orchen’ in the northeast as its capital, when domestic or foreign people were asked to name a place that represented Orcheta, the name ‘Genios’ was the first to pop out.
Located in the mid-western part of Orcheta, the academic city of Genios was also famous for the school of the same name. It was established about 130 years later than the Royal Orchen Academy, but it produced far more talented individuals.
Those talents ranged widely, from the King of Orcheta to Mages, knights, administrators, artists, merchants, all sorts of know-it-alls, sycophants, and even smooth-talking swindlers and various intelligent criminals.
Seemingly having no connection other than graduating from the same school, they shared one commonality: a school spirit so deep it bordered on blind faith. Even the high-ranking officials who had been fiercely fighting over the empty throne for years would briefly become harmonious when Genios was brought up as a topic.
Thus, Genios, called a true educational institution that valued academic training over a person’s status or background, was crowded every year with prospective students seeking learning and taking the entrance exam.
Since admission was possible from age thirteen, most were children who still had their baby fat or had just hit puberty. Distracted by the notoriously difficult entrance exam, they often forgot that ‘Genios’ referred to the city as well as the school.
This meant that all the faculty buildings weren’t prettily gathered on a single campus, but rather that the entire city was the school. Based around the central square, which housed the library and Sunflower Hall, the buildings for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Swordsmanship, and the Faculty of Magic were located in a clockwise direction.
Dormitories, shopping streets, restaurants, bookstores, and parks were evenly distributed between them, so it was safe to say that half the city’s population was school-related, and the rest were merchants doing business with them.
Now, if asked which faculty was the most famous in such a renowned Genios…
Opinions varied, but eventually, everyone would choose the Faculty of Magic with a resentful expression. When looking at Magic Faculties across the entire continent, its academic achievements were vastly superior, and its level was excellent to the point where comparison was impossible.
Students from other faculties were secretly proud of that fact, too. They just didn’t say it in front of the Faculty of Magic. Countless talents who drove the reputation of the Faculty of Magic had entered, graduated, and made their names known across the continent.
Just as things had quieted down recently and jealous insults like “Genios’s Faculty of Magic is washed up now” were occasionally heard, the faculty was turned upside down by the appearance of a fifteen-year-old genius.
A perfect score on the written entrance exam was a given, and he received a feast of bonus points that professors—known for not being human-level in their grading—rarely gave out. Sitting calmly in the interview room, he debated on equal footing with the professors, making him a talent that truly made mouths water.
However, Noah Hayworth, the promising prospect who entered with everyone’s expectations, had one fatal flaw.
“Don’t bark noisily. If you have eyes, look at the formula you wrote. Can’t you see you missed a sign? And what did you do that it took five lines to solve this? If you apply ‘Allenga’s Theorem,’ it ends in one line.”
“Through what thought process do you have to go to ruin a basic-level ‘Mood-Boosting Potion’? I don’t understand. Do you have dyslexia? or is it an intelligence issue?”
“My eyes nearly rotted reading the beginning of your report, so I just rewrote it. No depth, wrong direction. I couldn’t figure out what you were trying to say at all.”
“Get lost, I don’t want to hear your trash logic. I’m terrified that stupidity is contagious if I talk to a moron who doesn’t even know which part of their own hypothesis is wrong.”
Right after admission, students were anxious to talk to him somehow. This was due to curiosity about the top entrant of the faculty, as well as his dazzling appearance, looking like a statue turned into a human.
Of course, it didn’t take long for their curiosity to be shattered one by one. Just half a year into the first year, Noah shocked everyone with a biting tongue that was inversely proportional to his handsome face and neat attire.
Was that all? After seeing his magic skills that far exceeded expectations in every class and his possession of advanced knowledge beyond his level, even those who were called geniuses in their hometowns had no choice but to feel discouraged.
He wasn’t just outstanding; he was abnormally so. People, feeling a sense of alienation, began to slowly avoid him. It was understandable, as standing next to Noah turned even an ordinary student into a complete fool in an instant.
Although he was still a young undergraduate, he was armed with the strong pride and stubbornness befitting a Mage and hated admitting when he was wrong, so it was, in a way, natural that coexistence with Noah was impossible.
It took exactly one year for everyone to fall away before his rudeness—which was equal to all regardless of hierarchy—his venomous tongue that made ears bleed, and his abnormal superiority. By the end of the first year’s winter break, Noah had become the celebrity of the Genios Faculty of Magic and the number one person to avoid in the shortest amount of time.
Nevertheless, there were always oddballs with an extraordinary spirit of challenge wherever you went. Despite the countless ghost stories floating around like urban legends, there were indeed those who threw down the gauntlet to become his friend.
Rumor had it that a certain Senior almost became something close to that but failed due to some reason. However, since they graduated quietly, no one knew the exact circumstances.
“So, Senior Hayworth, who turns twenty-one this year, is occasionally spotted in the Faculty of Magic building as a researcher in Archeological Magic Tools. How about it? I investigated hard for you; is it helpful?”
“Alina Bailin. You ruined my appetite…”
Rosia put down the half-eaten smoked salmon sandwich on her handkerchief with a reluctant expression. Her mouth felt rough, as if she were chewing sand.
The sunlight falling on her head as early spring began was warm, and the breeze tickling her cheeks was mild. It was perfect weather to sit on a bench and eat lunch like a picnic. Soon, the magnolias and cherry blossoms would be in full bloom, making the city even brighter.
But she couldn’t enjoy the spring with peace of mind. To be partners with Senior Noah Hayworth for a group project for a whole year. She thought she had lived quite kindly so far, so why this trial in her graduating year of all times?
It was already Thursday, three days since she had run into him like a bolt from the blue. According to the rules of the group project, they had to meet at least twice a week and spend a minimum of one hour together.
Rosia didn’t dare to go find him first, and there was no news from the Senior either. Did he even have the will to participate in this class? No, why did he appear in an undergraduate class in the first place? Didn’t he already take it?
Regardless of him, she absolutely had to complete ‘Understanding Others’ properly. Attending school for another year just because of this one thing was a bit…
She sighed deeply with a tearful face.
Even though she received a partial scholarship, Genios’s tuition was still expensive. Thanks to her parents running a fairly well-known dress shop in the capital, she was paying tuition on time, but it was true that things were still tight.
Furthermore, besides the financial issue, there was another reason she had to graduate this year. It was because of her younger brother, Yuric, who was four years her junior. It was all the more pressing because she knew well that he was preparing for the Genios Faculty of Arts entrance exam in between busy moments helping their parents design and sew clothes.
It would be great if he became a freshman majoring in art next year, as he hoped. Of course, by then, she should have already graduated so that there wouldn’t be a case of double tuition expenditure.
“If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have drunk alcohol the day before classes started, huh?”
Alina smiled slyly and gauged her reaction. As soon as Rosia saw that slithering smile, strength went into her hand, and the contents of the sandwich she had just picked up again popped halfway out.
“Who was the one who dragged out the person who said she was sleeping early because of morning classes?”
“Rosia Willen, who became a legal adult as of last month and can now drink. I couldn’t resist that.”
Her black eyes twinkled with mischief. Rosia pretended to glare at the cheeky Alina but ended up chuckling. Despite how she looked, seeing her buy lunch and try to cheer her up, likely feeling some responsibility for the oversleeping incident, made Rosia smile at her commendable effort. Well, she wasn’t the type to get angry over trivial things in the first place.
She had become close with Alina since the fall semester of their first year and remained friends until now, as they approached graduation. They went to school together every day until the end of their second year, and as they entered their third year and chose different majors, their classes diverged. Rosia in Potion Making, and Alina in Magic Theory.
Rosia had wondered if it would be okay for someone with a personality that loved laziness to choose such a complex and difficult major, but Alina was surprisingly quick-witted and finished assignments on time somehow. Her grades were also in the upper ranks, which was even marvelous.
Come to think of it, Alina had taken ‘Understanding Others’ early before becoming a third-year.
“Anyway, I don’t know…”
Rosia rummaged through her pocket and took out the round badge she received from Professor Lorfin. The silver letters on the navy background shone faintly in the sunlight. It was her and Senior Hayworth’s names.
Here was the reason why lying about following the ‘Understanding Others’ class rules wouldn’t work. This badge, which was also a magic tool, was an item shared with a partner. When it detected the other paired badge within a certain distance, it automatically recognized the owner and recorded the date and time.
Of course, the trick of keeping only the badges close while the people stayed apart didn’t work either. She heard that historically, many students had issued challenges to test the badge’s performance. However, without a single exception, they ended in heroic failure, receiving 0 points and a ‘Completion Impossible’ verdict. Because of such rumors, she didn’t want to do anything pointless.
“Still, you’re the most positive among the kids I’ve seen, and you have a bit of a nutjob side, so you’ll be fine…”
While Alina tapped her shoulder saying words that could be comfort or an insult, a letter made of light flew from afar and stopped in front of her.
It was a method frequently used by Mages to contact each other within a short distance. Since the shape could be varied, excessively creative or funny forms were often seen. For example, a roaring paprika.
“Oh, is it perhaps a love letter? Is spring finally coming for Rosia too?”
“What love letter. This year, just lying low and graduating isn’t enough.”
“Why? You’re surprisingly popular.”
“I’m not…”
Even though she said that, she was inwardly a little expectant. Such a neat letter shape. Alina often sent strange marine creatures that had freaked her out more than once or twice.
[Today after 5 PM. Archeological Magic Tools Lab.]
As soon as Rosia raised her hand and touched the envelope, glowing letters floated in the air before slowly fading away. A strange silence hovered between the two.
“Ah, I guess not. Must be a duel challenge.”
Alina, laughing awkwardly, glanced at her sideways and took a bite of her ham and cheese sandwich. It was a look praying for the repose of the dead. Rosia buried her face in her hands.
