(EP-46.2) Method #3

046 – Correct Way #3

“Sparring?”

I glanced around.

On the stage that was prepared, I could see people holding various weapons and clashing against each other with a clattering noise.

━Kkeuaak!

━Keuhok!

While I was drenching in cold sweat at the scene of wounds and bleeding, the Proctor explained.

“There is no other way to prove your skills as effectively as sparring.”

I thought so too.

But, if I got in between these warriors and Champion candidates, I would surely be out within 5 seconds.

If I was confident and capable of this kind of confrontation, I wouldn’t have wasted my time with such a cumbersome physical exam.

“Is there any other way other than sparring? I really want to attend the academy! For me and my Queen!”

Seeing my desperate and heartfel plea, the Proctor sighed and said, “This is a secret, but….,” before whispering something in my ear.

“If it doesn’t work out, you’ll be able to get a job as a faculty member here at Ark.”

“A faculty member?”

“Mr. Gospel has a lot of practical experience, so I don’t think you’ll have a hard time.”

So staying not as a student, but a faculty member…

If nothing worked out, I had no choice but to use that method to remain with Aira.

However, if I became a faculty member, I wouldn’t be able to attend lectures with Aira, and it would be impossible to see whether she was receiving a good character education or not.

What if Aira went on a rampage in the classroom during my absence?

Even now, I was worried at what the lone Aira might be doing….

Flip.

“This is a faculty interview paper. Would you like to take a look, Mr. Theo?”

The kind blonde lady Proctor handed me a piece of paper.

“It seems that we have misunderstood Mr. Theo before. I never thought that you would be such a scholarly and administrative man.”

While listening to her compliments, I looked at the paper and found that there were a lot of things that looked like test questions.

… Was this some kind of job interview?

The contents were as follows.

━Who was the first Archmage to achieve Rank 5?

━Who killed Deerbound, the Deer King of Ancient Ungalt?

How would I know this? There was no way I could know such detailed things that did not even appear in the original novel!

It was then…

“I’m asking why my answer is wrong…!”

A loud shout made me turn my head.

I saw an orange-haired girl wearing a nun’s robe, with an arrow-like tail that swung from side to side.

“This Marmar has already said the answer…!”

It was the Imp Marmar.

“Marmar, what are you doing there?”

“Oh…! Comrade…! It’s nice to see you…!”

Marmar’s eyes widened, as if she was very fortunate to have found me in this unfamiliar situation.

As I approached Marmar, a middle-aged man sighed while holding his wrinkled forehead.

“Ms. Marmar, This is not the correct answer. Do you really not know who killed the Deer King?”

“I, Marmar, did not kill the Deer King! I have never even seen a deer, let alone the Deer King! Marmar claims innocence!”

… What was going on here? Who killed what and who was innocent?

I looked at something like an answer sheet that Marmar had, just in case. It was a test paper for employment as a faculty member, the same one I received earlier.

━Who killed Deerbound, the Deer King of Ancient Ungalt?

Answer: I did not. I’ve never even seen him.

━Who was the first Archmage to achieve Rank 5?

Answer: The first Archmage.

━Who built the pyramids of Angkar 2,000 years ago?

Answer: He died a long time ago.

“I, Marmar, answered all the questions honestly…! It wasn’t Marmar who killed the Deer King…!”

… This was quite problematic.

I took the heated Marmar to a quiet place, away from the eyes of the crowd.

“Marmar, what happened?”

“Comrade, like what you said, I’m entering Ark. But I can’t be a student so I planned to enter as a faculty member….”

“Well…”

Obviously, I was scheming to sneak Marmar into Ark.

After all, the Ogre Gorgor and the Imp Marmar were my underlings.

I thought that they might be able to dig up someinformation about the Academy and find something related to the ‘Taboo Legacy’.

“But I couldn’t solve the damn questions…!”

“I see. But why are you talking in such a weird way?”

Marmar talking in third person bothered me.

Was she doing this on purpose?

Marmar then looked around and whispered quietly.

“I found out that there is a secret society of Nymphs here in Ark. I’m pretending to be a Nymph to get in there. Nymphs usually say things in this strange way!”

“A secret society of Nymphs? And you’re pretending to be a Nymph to infiltrate it?”

“Yes! That’s what it is. You have to train regularly to get used to it. And it’s not just a secret society. Angmar is among the first 10 people who founded this secret society 30 years ago! Great information, isn’t it!?”

“Angmar? Didn’t the Angmar’s die off 50 years ago?”

“Everyone thinks so… But, did you know about the rumors that Demon King Solomon might have a son?”

“What!?”

I felt my eyes flash.

Demon King Solomon Angmar had a son?

“Uhm, Mr. Theo.”

However, this chat quickly ended thanks to the white robed Proctor approaching.

“Comrade! I’ll try to sneak into this school somehow! Alright, see you later!”

“Uh, yeah…”

No matter how you looked at it, she was a bit weird.

Now, I was having second thought about bringing her here…

“Mr. Theo, your break is over. We’ll take measurements of your vision and eyesight. Now, just read the letters I’m pointing to here. This is the last test.”

Whoshuk.

The book that the Proctor opened had numbers created by colorful circles. Was this some kind of color vision test?

“17.”

“How about this?”

“It says 81.”

“Then what is this?”

“It’s 54.”

“There’s no problem with your color perception. Alright, can you read this?”

Palak-.

As she turned the page, I saw writings that would only appear in old books.

The words were very blurry and crooked, but not unreadable.

“Bottis.”

“Um, then move onto this…, no, wait… What!?”

Then, as if she was shocked, the Proctor did not continue turning the page and instead asked.

“What did you just say!?”

“I said ‘Bottis’.”

“Is that truly so!?”

What.

‘Are you messing with me?’

Without saying anything, the Proctor flipped the thick book over, showing its back.

She then showed me something like a seal with a bunch of magical pictures in a strange circle.

“Do you see any letters written on the border here?”

The circle had an outer part, similar to what you could see in a pizza. Like what the Proctor said, there were letters written there.

“Sag… are? Sagare?”

“Sagare? Is it really written that way?”

The Proctor looked at me with confusion. Her blue eyes had a slight sense of doubt and wonder.

I peeked at the circle again.

Only then did I realize that I had read those letters in the wrong order.

“It’s not Sagare, it’s AGARES.”

The moment said word was spoken…

The letters seemed to emit a flash of light, before slowly losing their power, leaving only meaningful numbers behind.

「One step closer to the mysteries of the world.

Gained job experience for ‘Mage’. +50」

‘This is making the Mage experience go up!?’