I managed to complete the entrance exam for the Department of Magical Machinery in less than an hour.
The exam given by the professor was actually very simple by Winters family standards—assembling a magical device from a pile of scrap materials.
In the test room, which smelled of oil and metal, there were only twenty people. The time allowed was three hours. However, I didn't need that long.
I wiped a little dust off my gloves. On my desk, a small spider-shaped doll was now moving nimbly and obeying my voice commands. The doll was made from the remains of a broken clock gear and a used mana core.
"Perfect," I muttered.
Without waiting for the time to run out, I immediately left the test room.
I had only one goal: to find Leon.
At first, I thought he would enroll in the Magic Engineering major like me, considering how smart and tactical he seemed. However, I didn't expect him to enroll in the Pure Magic major instead. Although I was a little disappointed that we weren't in the same class, at least our department buildings were next to each other.
As soon as I stepped out into the main corridor, I saw someone waiting for me.
She stood silently near a pillar. Her short orange hair was striking, but strangely, the people passing by didn't seem to notice her.
"Congratulations on your success, Lady Seraphina," she greeted me with her characteristic broad smile.
It was Nia. My personal maid.
To the average person, Nia looked like a clumsy and fragile lowly maid. A girl who would probably cry if you yelled at her even a little.
But I knew the truth. Behind that innocent smile, Nia was the sharpest knife the Winters family possessed. She was an assassin who could break someone's neck silently before they even realized they were being attacked. She knows exactly what I'm thinking, especially when there are bugs I need to get rid of.
"Is Lady going to meet Leon?" Nia asked, getting straight to the point.
I raised my eyebrows. "Is there a problem?"
"Nothing serious. It's just that..." Nia shifted her body, inviting me to walk. Her face was still expressionless, but her eyes sparkled with interest. "It turns out that all the new students in the Pure Magic Department are undergoing a survival test in a simulated world. And Mr. Leon, he's not an ordinary person."
"Oh, interesting," I smiled. "Can we see it?"
"Of course. The academy is broadcasting it live in the Main Hall so other departments can watch."
We walked towards the Main Hall.
My guess was right. The place was already packed. Hundreds of students from various departments gathered in front of giant hologram screens floating in the air.
Each screen showed a different participant's point of view. Some were fighting goblins in the ruins, others were swimming away from sharks in the ocean.
However, one screen caught the attention of several people. It was the screen showing the thickly fogged forest.
"Look at that guy," came a mocking voice from a male student near me. He pointed to the screen showing Leon running stealthily. "He's just been running the whole time! What a coward. Why doesn't he just fight back?"
"That's right," replied his friend. "It's just a normal forest. Why does he look so wary? It's embarrassing."
I narrowed my eyes and felt a slight urge to tell Nia to cut out their tongues.
"A normal forest, you say?"
A professor in a white lab coat—one of the developers of the simulation world—walked over carrying a data board.
"Just so you know," said the professor firmly. "The Simulation World algorithm adjusts the difficulty level based on the participants' potential. The Foggy Forest is the Highest Difficulty Level."
The student who had been scoffing fell silent. "W-what?"
"Lost in the middle of the forest. The oxygen is thin. And the monsters are always aggressive," continued the professor, pointing to the data on his board. "Of the 478 participants, only 37 entered the Fog Forest. And do you know how many have died in the first hour?"
The professor held up two fingers. "Twenty-five people have logged out. Their mental state is shattered."
Silence fell over the crowd.
"So," the professor continued, looking at Leon's screen enthusiastically. "The fact that this kid is still standing without a scratch. He knows the battlefield very well. Especially since the Mist Forest has limited visibility."
"He's managing his stamina."
A new voice was heard. This time it was a calm and authoritative female voice.
A senior student responded to the professor's statement. She was wearing a Pure Magic Department robe with a silver badge on her chest. Her long purple hair was tied neatly.
"Senior?" whispered several new students timidly.
The purple-haired girl stared at Leon's screen with analytical eyes. "The purpose of this test is to survive, not to hunt monsters. He knew he couldn't win against the monsters there with basic equipment. So he chose to run. He hid his presence perfectly. Didn't you realize from the start that he didn't even step on a tree branch?"
The girl smiled faintly. "That kid, he's hiding his strength."
I listened to their analysis with overflowing satisfaction.
"Did you hear that, Nia?" I whispered softly. "My eyes never lie."
***
Time kept passing.
Four hours in the real world meant weeks had passed in the simulation.
Most of the hologram screens were already off. The participants had fallen one by one due to exhaustion or being eaten by monsters. The Main Hall, which had been noisy, was now silent and tense.
All eyes were on the few screens that were still on. One of them was the screen showing Leon.
His condition on the screen looks pitiful. His clothes are covered in mud. His face is gaunt, his lips cracked. He looks extremely hungry.
"He's reached his limit," comments the purple-haired girl. "It's been more than 20 days in there. Without proper food, his concentration must be fading."
On the screen, Leon was cornered by the riverbank.
Four Shadow Wolves, monsters that made many seniors shudder, had surrounded him.
"It's over," muttered the boy in front of me. "He's surrounded by four of them. There's no way out."
My heart was pounding. Come on, Leon. Show them.
We watched Leon fight.
And it wasn't the battle of a wizard I knew. It was as if he was used to situations like this.
He took down the first wolf with his dagger. He shot magic at the ground to create mud that trapped them.
"Oho, that's interesting!" exclaimed the professor who developed the simulation.
"What the..."
"Who that's guy?!"
But then, Shadow Wolf unleashed his ultimate move. A purple energy ball.
An explosion occurred. The screen shook.
Many spectators covered their mouths, thinking Leon was finished. But when the smoke cleared, Leon was still standing.
And that was when the moment that made the entire hall hold its breath happened.
Leon dropped his magic wand.
"He gave up?" someone asked. "He threw away his weapon!"
"No," I muttered softly.
On the giant screen, we saw Leon raise his right hand. He formed his fingers into a pistol shape. He pointed his index finger at the raging monster.
No spell. No wand.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Bullets shot from his fingertips. Fast. Precise. Deadly.
"Magic without a wand?!" The purple-haired senior girl jumped in surprise. "And he cast them in rapid succession without pause?! Isn't that impossible?!"
In a matter of seconds, the Shadow Wolf exploded.
Leon won.
He sat under a tree, panting. The audience in the hall was still frozen in silence. They had just witnessed something impossible for a new student to do.
But Leon wasn't done yet.
On the screen, he looked up.
He stared straight at the forest canopy. It was as if he was staring straight at us. The corners of his lips lifted, forming a cold and defiant smirk.
He raised his finger again. Aiming at us.
"Enough peeking," I could read his lips.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
The giant screen suddenly went black. Completely dead.
The silence in the Main Hall broke into mass commotion.
"What happened?!"
"He shot the camera?!"
"How did he know there was a camera there?!"
"Impossible!"
Amidst the chaos, I just stood still. My body was shaking. Not because I was scared. But because of the euphoria that exploded in my chest.
He knew we were watching him. He knew, and he had just declared war on anyone who dared to pay attention to him.
"Nia," I whispered, my voice trembling as I held back the crazy laughter that wanted to come out.
"Yes, Lady?" Nia smiled for me.
"Make sure..." I swallowed hard, my feelings exploding and hard to explain. "Make sure no one approaches him after he leaves the test. I really want to bring him to the Winters family."
Nia gave a faint smile. "As you wish, Lady."
*****
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