RMA 32

chapter 32

After Lawrence left, the exam was held again.

The masters of the mage towers agreed to give a retest to those who had lasted more than ten minutes among the remaining participants.

Meanwhile, what were the mage tower masters doing?

They had decided to check the answer sheet that Lawrence had submitted.

Lawrence would have to wait due to unavoidable circumstances, but it was advantageous for them all the same.

After all, the purpose of this selection exam was to identify exceptional talent, so they could only ask for a bit of patience.

“Wait… this… is an answer sheet written by an eleven-year-old?”

The master of the Red Mage Tower stared blankly at the answer sheet several times.

What is this familiar scent?

It felt like… the answer sheets back in the academy when a junior professor submitted them.

Neat organization and easy-to-read sentences.

Sentences that drew upon professional knowledge with perfect citations.

This was like the work of a veteran who had been stuck in a study room for years.

Even though the mage towers had plenty of talented individuals, this was extraordinary—

[“How amazing, looking at it like that. Let me see it too.”]
[“Ah, I’m sorry… it’s just so impressive…”]

If it weren’t for the sudden message magic, she might have stared endlessly.

Hesitantly, she handed the answer sheet to the master of the Blue Mage Tower.

Crinkle.

For some reason, the Red Mage Tower master seemed reluctant to let go of the sheet.

What’s going on?

The Blue Mage Tower master forcibly took the answer sheet.

And he was equally shocked upon seeing it.

“Hoo…”

He even couldn’t hold back an exclamation.

It was natural for the curiosity of the other mage tower masters to explode.

Everyone turned their eyes bright, waiting for their turn.

What on earth is this!?

“Hmm. Now I understand why Lady Medea put in so much effort.”

The Blue Mage Tower master stroked his chin as he handed over the answer sheet.

What kind of answer sheet did Loras submit two years ago?

No matter how smart someone is, the vibe drawn from experience cannot be ignored.

Listing knowledge and writing while considering the reader are entirely different skills.

Loras, Loria, and others had all demonstrated outstanding knowledge in the selection exam.

Meaning, they had excellent memorization.

But Lawrence…

“This is tempting. But…”

He had already been judged as flawed, and a secret deal had been made with Medea.

Unfortunately, Lawrence could not be taken into his own mage tower.

Tsk, the Blue Mage Tower master clicked his tongue in regret.

“Hmm, well then…”

The answer sheet made its way to the master of the Iron Mage Tower.

The content naturally brought a smile to his face.

“A child possessing both wisdom and physical aptitude…”

This was talent he absolutely had to bring into his tower.

It seemed the other masters had made some kind of deal…

He gleamed with excitement at the thought that he might finally be getting a new junior.

While they were frantically passing the answer sheet around, the proctor’s voice rang out.

The exam of those who had sweated profusely solving the questions had ended.

“All right, everyone stop. Put down your pens and submit your answer sheets.”

“……”

The children wore unsatisfied expressions.

Still, among them, some eyes sparkled.

It was the task of the mage tower masters to identify and cultivate those talents.

Yet, disappointment flickered across their eyes.

“We’ll evaluate this later.”
“Yes. Lawrence Gongja will be waiting.”
“Then, we shall move.”

Muttering softly, the Green Mage Tower master began a long incantation.

The master, specializing in magic related to movement and nature, completed the long chant.

[Mass Teleport]

7th Circle.

At the end of the overwhelming incantation, a massive magic circle formed and transported everyone remaining in the exam hall.

“…Huh?”

It was natural that Lawrence, who had been lazily doodling, was startled.

It was also natural that every mage tower master now looked at him differently.

#2

He had wondered why he was late. Perhaps it was because taking the exam alone would have been unfair.

Lawrence looked around and nodded to himself inwardly.

He had waited quite a while, but he hadn’t been bored.

Thanks to that, he was able to engrave magic circles on the artifact.

The waiting room was quiet, and no one was there except the proctor observing from outside.

He even enjoyed seeing the subtle nods of the mage tower masters toward him.

“My apologies, Lawrence Gongja.”
“I must apologize for keeping you waiting. As a token of my apology, a small gift will be given after the exam.”
“Then I shall accept it with gratitude.”

Lawrence didn’t refuse.

If they offered, he would take it.

He had done nothing wrong anyway.

The mage tower masters seemed to approve of his confident demeanor.

“Monte Mare is still Monte Mare, I see.”

“No matter how hard they try to view it without bias, he’s proving himself confidently.”

Other nobles’ children glared at Lawrence with envy, suspicion, and jealousy.

He had bested them all, yet he would even receive gifts from the masters?

That’s Monte Mare for you.

“Damn, this is nothing like what my father said!”

Some even thought this to themselves.

As they felt anger, despair, and mixed emotions, the voice guiding the next exam was heard.

“This exam is a virtual dungeon experience. You’ll get the rare chance to experience relics only revealed during the selection exam.”
“Ooh—”
“Sit comfortably here, close your eyes, and the relics will activate. Everything happening in your mind will be reflected in this crystal sphere.”
“……”

A heavy silence filled the room.

It meant that their embarrassing behavior would be fully exposed.

Frightening, but they had to endure it.

Despite the faint fear, the proctor continued.

He explained why this exam was important.

“You will face various battlefields in the future. This exam evaluates how quickly and cleverly you can respond.”

Comprehensive ability assessment. A mage must have the eye to grasp the battlefield and understand the flow of combat.

Assassin uncle. Useful as ever.

Lawrence quietly recalled past advice and listened carefully.

In short: terrain and situations are random.

No high-difficulty dungeons.

Many unexpected events; respond at your discretion.

‘Sounds fun.’

And another thing. He could learn quite a bit about this artifact.

[This relic was created by the ancient guardian, Lord Draksha.]
[Originally, it was meant to share dreams and allow lucid dreaming…]
[Humans are using it this way. Not bad.]

‘I see. I wonder who Draksha was.’

[He was a Red Dragon.]

‘Oh…’

Then Monte Mare might be a distant descendant of dragons.

Lawrence settled his curiosity and sat down.

It was time to enter the dungeon.

“Then, the exam begins.”

[Entering virtual dungeon.]
[Mental counter will not activate by user will.]

Whoooosh—

Immense mana flowed in, and Lawrence’s consciousness drifted in an instant.

It felt like falling into a deep sleep.

#3

[You have entered the Red Dragon’s Legacy: Dream Shaper.]
[All knowledge here belongs to you.]
[If recognized as the artifact’s master, permanent buffs of the Dragon Body will apply.]

Upon opening his eyes on the cold floor, Lawrence was startled by the words.

Surely, only he could see this?

Just then, the system spoke.

[Do not worry.]
[The text is only visible to the artifact user, you.]

Lawrence smiled faintly and nodded.

Now, time to observe the surroundings.

Entering the dungeon, his heart raced with excitement.

Perhaps a pure sense of adventure still remained in him.

‘I’m just a child’s body, so I might as well enjoy it.’

He had fallen into a fantasy world before, but could do nothing.

Now, still a kid at heart, he decided to indulge his adventurous spirit.

The surroundings were lit with torches, and beyond them, only pitch-black darkness lay.

But darkness was not a major obstacle for Lawrence.

[Dragon Eye]
[The dragon’s pupils can see through all things.]

‘Oh, I can see clearly.’

What monsters might lurk inside?

Thanks to the Dragon Eye, Lawrence could see through the darkness.

The structure resembled a typical monster lair.

[The trial begins.]

Clack—

He heard monsters in the distance.

From his past research into monsters, magic, and miscellaneous matters, data automatically popped up in Lawrence’s mind.

‘Kobolds. Undead too.’

The dark green glowing eyes marked them as undead.

He checked his equipped artifact.

‘Armed at 3rd Circle, but only two offensive spells.’

[Warrior’s Movement]
[Negative Energy]
[Magic Boost]
[Fireball]
[Lightning Arrow]

The only change was [Magic Boost], which increased the artifact’s power and capacity by 20%.

He didn’t plan to use other dark magic or assassin-type artifacts this time.

The goal was to enter the Iron Mage Tower, not show off his power.

These days they call it psychological “push and pull.”

Time for some mental maneuvering with the mage tower masters.

‘Let’s go.’

[Warrior’s Movement]
[Mana Boost]

Lawrence’s movements were sharper and more agile.

He stealthily approached the source of the sound and immediately cast his spell.

[Fireball]
[Remaining Capacity: 6/7]

Fwoooosh—!

A massive fireball illuminated the dungeon interior.

The undead kobolds reacted to the sudden light.

There were more than thirty of them.

“Is this really a low-level dungeon?”

Honestly, artifact, did you do this on purpose?

The artifact, of course, didn’t answer.

Lawrence simply began massacring the kobolds he could see.

Boom—!

A huge fireball exploded.

A 3rd Circle spell with an additional 20% power from the artifact.

A normal mage would have needed much more mana to achieve this effect.

“Kyeeeek—!”

The burnt smell filled the area as all the kobolds were wiped out.

Though powerful, he couldn’t annihilate all the kobolds.

Some monsters ran at him through the crimson flames.

Lawrence quickly grabbed a weapon dropped by a kobold.

Flash!

No meat left, so he had to make do.

“Kyaaek!”
“Ha, the feel of this in my hand is great.”

Watching the kobold’s head split open, Lawrence grinned wickedly.

The mage tower masters observing from outside flinched at his chilling smile.