Offer a Tribute and Become an Archmage - Chapter 186



Only Noblemtl

Offering Tribute to the Archmage Chapter 187

The Door of Proof [3]

Episode 187.

The test supervisor’s name is Modert.

It’s a model of havenauer.

Born as the third son of the County of Hafenauer, Modert was an elite who became a court magician at a young age.

Born into the Hafenauer family, where primogeniture is the rule, becoming the head of the family was a long shot even for someone with excellent magic and intelligence, and as a result, the only thing Modert could completely excel in was magic.

It was just magic.

Becoming a court wizard entails working for the kingdom, but in return, you are given ample support for your studies. The role of a royal magic exam supervisor was also one of those duties.

I had to do it even though I didn’t want to.

Even so, it’s only once every three years.

It was something that only took one day of hard work.

‘It’s trivial. It’s trivial.’

Modert, who looked down at their answers, graded them by giving immediate answers to the answers each of them had written with great care.

“rust.”

He handed the candidate a green brooch while looking at his answer, even though he didn’t know his name.

“ah…”

The look of disappointment is evident.

Among them, there are those who look at him as if they are going to kill him. However, to Modert, these people are no different from puppies.

To Modert, the white wizard with the white spear, the level of the applicants was no different from that of a child just learning to walk.

Even if a child who is just starting to walk scrunches up his face and glares, no adult will find that threatening.

“rust.”

“jean.”

“jean.”

Trash rusts.

If appropriate, please.

He gave a red brooch to each answer and graded them smoothly.

Of course, there were some who obtained a white brooch.

Even Modert showed his respect for their shining talent.

But that only lasts for a moment.

The time spent answering and grading questions, which were tiresome and tedious, only bored him.

Magic is a personality.

If magic is boring, then the people who have it are boring, and the answers they give are boring too.

The reason Modert posed this question was to more effectively and easily understand their potential and talents.

-Hello, Director. My magic is a magic that washes away sweat, and to do this, I needed painstaking, detailed efforts and constant repetition to master it. Since I was young, I was called a genius, so I honed my magic so that I could help many people without difficulty. And now, I help many people with this magic. That’s why I think my definition of magic is ‘the importance of sweat’! Thank you.

-Loen Demoriti.

‘I don’t know what kind of nonsense this is.’

“rust.”

“Why, why!?”

“Because it’s trash.”

“Even if you are a court magician, it is not right to say something like that…”

Modert cursed with his eyes.

The unknown candidate ran to receive the brooch with tears in his eyes.

And that was when it happened.

‘Here comes another idiot.’

A latecomer came to the testing center.

The guy asked me this and that in annoyance, then sat down and closed his eyes.

Modert wasn’t interested either.

People are surprisingly ignorant and uninterested in others. Wizards are even more so.

He was a hard worker who would worry about his magic while grading answers. He was also a wizard who had been blocked by a wall for a long time.

A polite boy arrived in front of Modert, who was worrying about his own Akan.

He took the test paper, looked at the words, and made eye contact with the boy.

‘The writing is a mess.’

It’s not easy to write this badly, but you did it. I tried to figure out the meaning behind the writing, but the letters were so messy that I couldn’t concentrate.

But it’s not to the point where I don’t know what it means.

Short and concise.

‘Better than that guy earlier.’

Rather than a long-winded piece that sounds plausible, something short and concise like this is better.

At first glance, it was a pretty unique answer.

What is the definition of magic?

What does the kingdom want from a wizard who defines magic?

When Modert posed this question, he thought of many different answers. However, he did not expect to receive such a bold answer.

So I was worried.

‘If it is meant to be arrogant, then this answer deserves a green score. No, it is disqualified.’

A wizard cannot help but be arrogant.

The reason is simple.

Because it’s special.

Being able to be special by one’s very existence. Most wizards naturally become arrogant because they can do things that others cannot.

It is also a natural human characteristic.

That is why the kingdom does not like arrogant wizards. Arrogance creates enemies for itself, isolates itself from the world, and lives as it pleases. No matter how wise and strong a person is, a tool that cannot be used becomes a burden.

Tools that are difficult to handle tend to end up in storage or thrown away.

In that respect, the boy’s answer is a failing grade.

‘But. If it is not arrogance.’

This is a very good answer that defines magic itself.

Whatever one does, one must prioritize knowing oneself.

If you don’t even know what you want or what you want to achieve, you can’t do anything properly.

Magic is even more so.

Each wizard has a different magic.

No magic can be the same.

Just as people’s appearances are similar yet different, so is magic. Nothing is the same, and that is magic and a miracle of this world. From that perspective, this answer can be said to be an answer that contains insight that penetrates the very foundation of magic.

‘If you don’t know yourself, you won’t know magic…’

The only one in this world.

Magic is you, and you are magic.

The direction of all life.

What hangs at the end of it all is this guy called possibility.

Magic and people. These two are the same, yet different, and have the same outcome.

Possibility. It was a possibility.

It’s an obvious fact, but it’s also a truth that many wizards forget.

If you can’t become one with magic, your level as a magician will be fixed.

If this is what you are trying to say about the truth of that realm, then this answer is one that goes beyond white and could even receive the highest score, black.

‘Did he really mean it like that?’

It wasn’t an answer that a boy who still looked young would give.

‘That’ realm was not yet at a level that a young boy could think about and discuss.

So Modert had no choice but to ask.

“Why did you write this answer?”

If it was the former, he should have given him green to get rid of his arrogance, but if it was the latter, he should have personally given him black and not spared his praise.

“Let’s wait a moment,” said the boy.

“Because magic is a miracle.”

Modert’s eyebrows furrowed.

Magic is a miracle.

It’s a very common and obvious question for wizards. I didn’t ask to hear an answer that everyone would know.

“What I mean is…..”

But soon Modert stopped.

‘I am magic and magic is miracle.’

The boy said that the definition of magic was himself.

But they say magic is a miracle.

This is no different from saying that you are a miracle.

A given fact.

But the truth we had forgotten.

‘The birth of a human being is easy to see, but this too can be called a miracle.’

Among countless probabilities, I am the only one who was born.

I was born with magic.

Meeting many people and learning knowledge.

Making connections with different people.

The product of such a miracle encounters another miracle and discusses miracles.

Miracles, possibilities, human life!

This world was, in fact, a product of miracles!! Modert took a step back without realizing it.

‘A boy who looks like my son has already realized this truth?’

It was amazing.

No, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

“What if a miracle and a miracle meet?”

Modert forgot that he was taking a test and asked the boy.

It was an extremely personal question, a selfish desire to relieve the frustration that had been blocking his path for a long time.

Modert, who had been loyal to the kingdom as an overseer for many years, was also a magician. Like a thirsty person seeking a well, Modert was immersed in the dazzling enlightenment the boy had given him.

The boy answered Modert’s question very simply.

“When miracles meet miracles, it becomes a blessing.”

“blessing…”

“Yes, God bless you.”

“God’s… blessing…!!”

Modert’s blood boiled.

My heart was pounding so hard and I was covered in a cold sweat and itchy feeling all over my body.

‘Miracles and miracles. This is God’s blessing. How could this be! Is this boy really well-versed in theology?’

It was creepy.

It seemed as if the wall that had blocked magic had disappeared like fog.

‘blessing.’

Yes, that’s right.

Modert recalled his childhood.

Every wizard has their first magical moment, when they use magic.

So did Modert.

The moment I first used magic.

‘I was purely happy.’

Just using magic itself was an absolute pleasure.

As time passed and Modert’s knowledge of magic accumulated, magic became increasingly frustrating and self-destructive to him.

I wasn’t happy at all.

Of course, it was because Modert himself found magic difficult and wanted to delve deeper into it and understand it.

“Magic is unchanging.”

It is I who has changed.

Magic, miracles, were still bestowed upon him as blessings.

He just realized it.

‘Magic is a miracle. But that miracle contains human life.’

That’s Akan.

“iced coffee…”

Modert simply felt this moment of deep emotion without being constrained by anything.

It was not tears but joy that flowed from his eyes.

*

‘What, why is it like that…’

Suddenly the supervisor burst into tears.

Just like during the Proof Gate, the supervisor shed tears during this test as well. Ronobe was starting to get scared of the court magicians.

‘Do wizards originally cry a lot?’

I don’t know about pretty women, but I didn’t like the fact that old men kept crying in front of me.

Rather, it was scary.

But, as a supervisor, I couldn’t just tell her to stop crying and hand me the brooch.

I waited calmly for the supervisor to finish crying.

‘I don’t know, just give me blue…! I don’t ask for much!!’

Even if you receive a blue, you still have a chance to receive a white medal if you score high on other practical and sparring tests.

I didn’t really expect much from the writing in the first place.

“I made a fool of myself. I’m sorry.”

“No. So…”

“Okay, I have to grade it.”

The supervisor looked at each brooch placed before him.

Green, blue, red, white.

There were only four brooches.

It was strange that there was no black, but he didn’t care. Ronobe unconsciously glanced between the blue and red.

The supervisor chuckled, perhaps noticing her intentions.

“How humble.”

“yes?”

The supervisor’s hand reached out to the brooch on the table.

no.

I tried to take it but I put it back.

“…?”

“I never thought I would be given this.”

The supervisor’s hand soon found itself in the inside pocket of his coat.

And then he handed me a small wooden box.

“That is the kingdom’s tribute to you.”

“yes?”

Ronobe opened the box with a bewildered heart.

There was a brooch inside.

This is not a mass-produced brooch, but a black brooch with a subtle sparkle.

“omg!”

It is a color that is so enchanting that you almost get lost in it.

“Congratulations. You must be the boy wizard who defeated the famous wizard of the empire. If black doesn’t suit you, who else will? Hahaha!”

Modert spoke as if he was relieved, and held Ronobe’s hand affectionately. Ronobe was momentarily delighted at being held by a young man, and wanted to shake it off, but remained still.

“Someday, I hope to repay this debt to you. If there is anything the Counts of Hafenauer can help you with, come see me, Modert.”

“Yes? Oh, yes…”

It was a remark that made me tilt my head, but I didn’t refuse it because they offered to help me.

‘I don’t know why he’s doing that.’

Anyway, I got the highest score!

That too in the written exam!!

Right in front.

I was almost caught by the guards at the Gate of Proof, but I got a perfect score on the practical exam?!

I feel like this might be the highest point I have ever experienced in my past or present life.

My mouth was already itching, wanting to quickly brag to Yonterion.

“Okay, see you next time.”

“Of course. I hope so.”

Ronobe smiled brightly as he was escorted to the next testing room by the supervisor.

“The next test is a practical test, right? Then maybe we’ll have to catch monsters or something.”

But it’s a test, so I wonder why they would make us do something so dangerous.

And then we arrived at the place.

“mirror?”

Each mirror had its place.