Orceta, occupying the west of the continent, was a time-honored kingdom that had maintained its name for nearly a thousand years.

With the city of “Orchen” located in the northeast as its capital, if one were to ask people at home and abroad what place best represented Orceta, the name “Zenios” would pop out first.

Zenios, an academic city situated in the west-central part of Orceta, was famous for the school of the same name. It had been founded about 130 years later than the Royal Orchen Academy, but it produced far more talented individuals.

Those talented individuals varied greatly, ranging from the King of Orceta to wizards, knights, administrators, artists, merchants, all sorts of pseudo-intellectuals, sycophants, smooth-talking swindlers, and various intelligent criminals.

Aside from the fact that they had graduated from the same school, they seemed to have no other connections, yet they shared one thing in common: a deep affection bordering on blind faith. Even the high-ranking figures who had been fiercely contesting the vacant throne for several years would grow momentarily warm and cheerful whenever Zenios became the topic of conversation.

Thus called a true educational institution that valued the pursuit of learning above a person’s status or background, Zenios bustled every year with prospective students seeking to take the entrance exam with a determination to learn.

Since enrollment was possible starting at age thirteen, most of them were kids whose baby fat hadn’t quite worn off or who were just starting to experience voice cracking. Distracted by the notoriously brutal entrance exam, they often forgot that “Zenios” referred not just to a school, but to the entire city.

That meant all the faculty buildings weren’t neatly gathered on a single campus; rather, the entire city itself was the school. Based on the central square, where the library and Sunflower Hall were located nearby, the buildings of the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty, Arts Faculty, Swordsmanship Faculty, and Magic Faculty were situated clockwise.

Dormitories, shopping streets, restaurants, bookstores, parks, and more were evenly distributed among them, making it fair to say that half the city consisted of school affiliates, while the rest were merchants doing business targeting them.

Now then, which faculty was the most famous in this prestigious Zenios?

Everyone was divided in their own opinions, but in the end, they would choose the Magic Faculty with a resentful expression. This was because, compared to Magic Faculties across the entire continent, its academic achievements were overwhelmingly superior, and its standards were incomparably exceptional.

Students of other faculties secretly felt proud of that fact, too—just without saying it in front of the Magic Faculty. To that extent, the numerous talented individuals who had driven the reputation of the Magic Faculty had entered, graduated, and spread their names across the continent.

Just when things had quieted down a bit recently and jealous, insulting murmurs of “The Zenios Magic Faculty has lost its edge now, too” could be heard intermittently, the faculty was turned upside down by the appearance of a fifteen-year-old genius.

Not only a perfect score on the written entrance exam, but a relentless feast of bonus points that even professors, said to be beyond human levels, had barely ever given out. Sitting calmly in the interview room, he engaged in a debate on equal footing with the professor—he was truly a mouth-watering talent.

Noah Heyworth, the promising prospect who entered amid everyone’s expectations, had one fatal flaw, however.

“Instead of barking noisily, if you have eyes, look at the formula you wrote down. Don’t you see you missed a sign? And what on earth did you do that it took five lines to solve this? If you apply ‘Alenga’s Theorem,’ it ends in a single line.”

“What kind of thought process does it take to ruin an entry-level potion like ‘Mood-Boosting Potion’? I don’t get it. Do you possibly have dyslexia? Or is it an intelligence issue?”

“I was about to go blind reading the beginning of the report you wrote, so I just rewrote it myself. It lacks depth, and the direction is off, too. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what you were trying to say.”

“I don’t want to hear trash logic, so get lost. I’m afraid stupidity might rub off on me if I talk to a moron who doesn’t even know where the hypothesis they set up went wrong.”

Right after admission, students had been desperate to talk to him somehow. This was due to curiosity directed at the freshman admission top scorer, alongside his dazzling appearance as if a statue had turned into human form.

Naturally, it wasn’t long before their curiosity began to be smashed to pieces one by one. Barely half a year into their first year, Noah shocked everyone with a scathing tongue that inversely mirrored his handsome face and neat attire.

And that wasn’t all. Seeing his magic skills—which wildly exceeded expectations in every class—equipped with advanced knowledge far beyond his level, even those who had been considered local prodigies inevitably had their morale thoroughly crushed.

People who felt a sense of alienation because his excellence wasn’t just ordinary began to subtly avoid him. Understandably so, because the moment you stood next to Noah, even an ordinary student would instantly degrade into a blockhead.

Even though they were still young undergraduate students, being wizards, they were armed with strong pride and stubbornness, refusing to admit it even when they were wrong. Thus, coexisting with Noah was impossible, which in some ways was only natural.

It took exactly one year for everyone—from upperclassmen to underclassmen—to be worn down and fall away before his universal rudeness, ear-bleedingly spicy tongue, and abnormal superiority. By the end of winter break in their first year, Noah had become the biggest attraction and Public Enemy Number One of the Zenios Magic Faculty.

Despite this, there were always weirdos with astonishing adventurous spirits wherever you went, and despite the numerous ghost stories floating around like urban legends, there did exist challengers who declared they would become his friend.

At one point, a certain senior had almost come close to being that, but rumors circulated that it ultimately failed for some reason. However, because those people quietly graduated, no one knew the exact ins and outs.

“Well, so Heyworth-sunbaenim, who turns twenty-one this year, is sometimes spotted in the Magic Faculty building as a research student in Advanced Tool Studies. How is it? I did some hard investigating for you, is it a bit helpful?”

“Alina Bailyn. You’ve completely ruined my appetite…”

Rosia lowered her half-eaten smoked salmon sandwich onto a handkerchief with a dubious expression. Her mouth felt as dry as if she were chewing sand.

Entering early spring, the sunlight landing overhead was warm, and the breeze tickling her cheeks was lukewarm. It was the kind of weather perfect for sitting on a bench and eating lunch like a picnic. In a little while, magnolias and cherry blossoms would be in full bloom, making the city even more vibrant.

However, she couldn’t afford to enjoy the spring peacefully. To think she was grouped with that senior, Noah Heyworth, for a whole year of group projects. She had thought she had lived a relatively good life so far—why on earth such a trial in her graduation year?

Three days had already passed since she ran into him like a bolt from the blue, making it Thursday already. According to the group project rules, they had to meet at least twice a week and spend a minimum of one hour together.

Rosia hadn’t dared to seek him out first, and the senior had shown no signs of life either. Did he even have any intention of participating in this class? No, why on earth did he show up in an undergraduate class to begin with? Didn’t he already take it?

Should she go check out the Advanced Tool Studies lab tomorrow, just in case…? Regardless of how he felt, she absolutely had to pass “Understanding Others” properly. I mean, spending another whole year here just because of this class was… Rosia let out a heavy sigh with a tearful expression.

Even though she received a partial scholarship, Zenios’s tuition was still expensive. Thanks to her parents, who ran a moderately well-known dress shop in the capital, she was paying her tuition on time, but it was still a tight squeeze.

Moreover, besides financial issues, there was another reason she had to graduate this year without fail. It was her younger brother by four years, Yulik. Knowing full well that he was busy helping out with their parents’ business—designing and sewing clothes—while preparing for the Zenios Arts Faculty entrance exam made her feel that way even more.

It would be wonderful if he became a new art major freshman next year just as hoped. Of course, by then she should already be graduated so she wouldn’t have to shell out double the tuition fees.

“If I’d known this, I wouldn’t have gone drinking the day before the semester started, right?”

Alina smiled stealthily and glanced sideways at her. The moment she saw that sly grin, strength went into her hand, causing the filling of the sandwich she had just picked back up to squeeze out halfway.

“Who was the one who dragged away someone who said she was going to bed early because she had a morning class?”

“Rosia Willen, who legally became an adult last month and can now drink alcohol—this was irresistible.”

Her black eyes sparkled with mischief. Rosia half-heartedly glared at Alina acting smooth, then burst out into a small laugh. Seeing how Alina, despite looking like that, seemed to feel a certain sense of responsibility for the oversleeping incident, buying her lunch and trying to cheer her up, she couldn’t help but smile because it was sweet. Well, she wasn’t the type to get angry over trivial things anyway.

She had grown close to Alina since the autumn semester of her first year and remained close friends right up until now, facing graduation. Until the end of her second year, they went to school together every day, but with their entry into the third year, their classes split as they chose different majors. She chose Potion Crafting, and Alina chose Magic Theory.

She had wondered if it would be okay to choose such complex and difficult majors given Alina’s lazy personality, but Alina’s brain turned over surprisingly fast, and she always finished her assignments on time. Her grades were quite near the top, making it almost phenomenal.

Come to think of it, Alina had taken “Understanding Others” early before becoming a third-year. Must be nice. If she had known this would happen, she should have just taken it in advance, too.

“Anyway, I don’t know…”

Rosia rummaged through her pocket and pulled out the round badge given by Professor Lorpine. The silver lettering on a dark blue background glowed faintly in the sunlight. It bore none other than her and Senior Heyworth’s names.

This was why it was useless to try and lie about strictly following the rules of the “Understanding Others” class. This badge, which was also a magical tool, was an item shared between partners; when it detected another matching pair within a certain distance, it automatically recognized the owners and recorded the date and time.

Of course, cheap tricks like keeping just the badge close while the people stayed far apart didn’t work either. She had heard that historically, many students had taken up the challenge to test the badge’s performance. However, without a single exception, it ended in a disastrous failure with a score of zero and a “Fail to Complete” judgment. Because of such rumors, she didn’t want to do anything useless.

“Still, you’re the most optimistic and kind of eccentric person among the ones I’ve seen, so it’ll probably be okay…”

While Alina offered words that hovered somewhere between comfort and an insult and patted her shoulder, a letter made of light flew in from far away and stopped right in front of her.

It was a method wizards frequently used when sending and receiving messages with each other within a short distance. Because the form could be modified in various ways, overly creative or funny appearances were often seen—such as a roaring paprika, for instance.

“Oh, is this a love letter? Finally, spring days for Rosia?”

“What love letter? This year, I’ll be lucky just to crawl low and wish for graduation.”

“Why? You’re secretly quite popular.”

“No way…”

Even though she said that, she was secretly looking forward to it a little. Such a neat letter shape, at that. Alina was always creating weird marine life and sending it, causing her to freak out more than once or twice.

[After 5 PM today. Advanced Tool Studies Lab]

The moment Rosia raised her hand and touched the envelope, the glowing letters floated softly into the air and then slowly faded. A strange silence hung between the two of them.

“Ah, I guess not. Looks like a duel challenge.”

Smiling awkwardly, Alina cast a side glance at her and took a bite of her ham and cheese sandwich. Her eyes were full of prayers for eternal rest. Rosia buried her face in both hands.

Will I be able to go there and come back alive…?