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Reborn as the Doomed Heir of a Mage Dynasty (Web Novel) - Chapter 153
Chapter 153
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
“Because only exactly half of the people here will survive.”
“Who knows. If not us, who else would survive?”
“Ah, hahaha! That’s true.”
Tsheringen laughed heartily.
He looked satisfied.
‘If it goes just like we practiced, there shouldn’t be a major problem.’
The spaces the school stored in Mimesis are truly basic spaces.
How could it not be easy when the victim honestly just stays neatly inside a building? In the field, victims don't stay put so safely. By the time a report comes in, they’ve already dashed out of the building and rushed towards places with many civilians.
‘Compared to that, this is convenient.’
“Come to think of it, Lucas, are you perhaps more nervous about the Arts Festival than the exam?”
“Ah… you heard.”
“Of course. Congratulations on getting the lead role. I felt you were really good at acting during the festival before, and I’m glad I get to see one more play with you as the protagonist.”
He sure knows how to say embarrassing things right to my face.
Expressing everything in a textbook manner is a characteristic of noble family brats, but Tsheringen was particularly extreme.
“We prepared hastily back then, so thanks for judging it favorably. But you don’t have to come.”
“Why? You must have worked hard, isn’t it better to have a large audience?”
“……”
It was a good thing I didn’t try to persuade the new generation back then. There was a high probability I would have just wasted my energy and failed to make them understand anything.
Look at this.
Unlike the old generation, he feels no doubt whatsoever. He’s just thinking ‘protagonist = good thing,’ ‘good thing = congratulations.’
‘Well, it doesn’t matter either way.’
It wasn’t exactly a role I couldn’t handle.
As I told Adelbert, when learning acting, one tries all sorts of roles.
When you even act like an animal in front of people, the fact that the gender changed doesn’t suddenly make it impossible.
It’s just the visuals that are concerning.
‘Didn’t think I’d end up trying something new even after coming to this world.’
Well, excluding my own sentiments, nothing else is problematic anyway.
If anything, it’s advantageous.
If it were disadvantageous, I wouldn’t have accepted it.
Memorization isn’t an issue for me, and there aren’t many opportunities to gather Favorability by appearing for two hours, so I just accepted it.
Let’s see how high the Impression value skyrockets.
“Just do whatever you want.”
“Hmm? Ah, we’re having an after-party after today ends, and I scheduled it for after your play finishes. Will that be okay? Does the Drama Club need to have an after-party too?”
“Probably. More importantly, you won’t be able to walk out of the school that late at night. Are you going to warp out?”
Although I often warped out late at night, honestly, it would be troublesome if caught.
Since neither the dorm supervisor nor anyone else ever visits my room, I warped out freely, but disappearing as a group like this could leave a trail.
“It’s fine. I plan to buy everything in advance.”
“Really? If it’s okay, I’ll join midway.”
Just then, the notification sound was heard.
[30 seconds until the exam begins.]
The Team 1 students were already inside the examination hall. Team 2 as well.
Therefore, two broadcast screens were currently running simultaneously in this spot.
Tsheringen’s face, which had been chatting idly beside me, turned serious.
“It’s starting now.”
[3, 2, 1. Begin.]
Beeep—
Along with the notification sound, the broadcast screen changed.
[…Attention citizens at Frankfurt Central Station.]
“…?!”
“That kind of field wasn’t in Mimesis?”
The murmuring sounds of students could be heard.
On the broadcast screen, beyond numerous passersby, the image of a large train station unfolded.
Surprisingly, both Team 1 and Team 2 received the same field, but since it was an unexpected field, nobody seemed very interested in that fact.
Our team was no exception.
Philip, unable to hide his bewilderment, shouted.
“What the? We didn’t practice anything like that! Do fields we didn’t practice also appear?!”
“Hmm…”
Tsheringen narrowed his brow.
“This… is unexpected.”
I agree.
Narrowing my eyes, I surveyed the field.
It’s not turning out as was given in Mimesis. I expected the detailed terrain to change, of course, but I didn’t expect a building with a completely new purpose to appear as the field.
Frankfurt Central Station is one of the most important train stations in the Empire, and correspondingly, its foot traffic is enormous.
Just the fact that this central station alone houses stations heading in three different directions is enough to illustrate how many people gather here without further need for explanation.
And the biggest problem is that due to the existence of magic, cities throughout the Empire expanded earlier than in the past I lived in.
Though it’s not even the 21st century, this place has already reached a population of 100 million, and everyone actively travels throughout the Empire by train.
This will likely be the largest among the building fields we’ve dealt with so far.
‘Since 20 fields were already stored in Mimesis, I naturally thought it would come from within that set. I underestimated the school too much.’
It really was too easy.
Just like theory that’s easy enough to make one drowsy transforms into problems of all sorts of bizarre difficulty levels on exam day, it seems they intend to do the same not just for written tests but for practical skills as well.
Just then, the alarm began to sound.
[A victim has occurred inside Taunus Station at Frankfurt Central Station. Citizens currently in Taunus Station, please evacuate promptly following the instructions of the station staff. Citizens heading towards Wiesbaden cannot approach the station until the suppression is complete.]
[Let’s begin.]
Leo let out a chuckle and readjusted his grip on his Wand. The wind whipping through his hair and robe was fierce. Yet, despite that, his expression was rather relaxed, which only made observers like me laugh.
If Team 2 had come out and seen this, they would have felt uneasy right from the start.
I had been watching him closely since the beginning, but not once did I sense any panic on his face.
‘This bastard, could it be?’
Did he know beforehand?
Since he likely picks up information inadvertently from the student council, he might have heard that the difficulty level would change.
Or Narce might have tipped him off.
The thought occurred that maybe he heard in advance which field he would get, but that seems unlikely. He’s not the type to accept such dishonest actions.
Anyway, so that’s why he was so persistent in verifying my situational judgment ability.
‘Because the scale wouldn’t be what we practiced.’
And, because a building with a new purpose and a new environment would be given.
Tsheringen quickly shed his surprise and began analyzing the field.
“I can already see problems now. Lucas, what do you think?”
“There are problems. That broadcast needs to be fixed first. How can they broadcast the same message as other fields when the population inside is that large?”
“That’s a relief. I also thought that part was problematic, but hearing you say it too gives me confidence.”
Just words; the guy must have already been confident in his judgment.
Tsheringen attempted a high-five.
There’s no term for high-five here, nor is there a commonly understood hand gesture for it, yet he keeps trying novel actions.
Now it just makes me laugh. This time, I properly slapped his hand.
Just then, Leo gestured to Narce.
Narce, having arrived at the plaza in front of the train station, slammed his staff onto the ground.
*Kwaaaang—!*
The screen momentarily turned pure white before returning.
Divine Power quickly flooded into the train station.
‘His skill of purifying ten thousand pyeong at once is showing.’ (*Note: 1 pyeong ≈ 3.3m²*)
“What? Is he purifying?”
Questions arose from the surrounding students.
‘Of course not.’
I know what Leo just instructed.
He’s trying to calm the citizens’ anxiety with Divine Power.
Although it’s fake footage, their actions are identical to ours, so such measures are indeed necessary.
‘Now he’ll probably use words too.’
As expected, Leo cast layered amplification magic and opened his mouth.
[We are from the Imperial Response Headquarters! The Headquarters will cooperate with the Frankfurt Central Station staff to assist with the evacuation. Please maintain order and exit the station following the instructions of the mage wearing the Imperial Director insignia.]
Leo finished speaking and gestured to two other students.
The two students entered the west entrance of the train station. That’s where the victim was, so they needed to evacuate the civilians quickly.
Now it was time to deal with the victim undergoing *Vitriol*.
Leo called Narce.
[Narce.]
Narce nodded and warped alone.
“…!”
A laugh escaped me.
The place Narce moved to wasn’t Taunus Station where the victim was.
“It’s over.”
Tsheringen muttered.
Yeah, it’s over.
In a good way.
The space Narce moved to was the massive central hall connecting the three train stations.
The place where the largest population gathers.
Leo didn't send Narce near the victim but deployed him for civilian rescue.
‘Since a Response Headquarters mage capable of using Divine Power has been deployed, the probability of accidents due to panic decreases.’
Their faith in Divine Power is strong, so it’s natural.
Students focus on processing the *Vitriol* victim as the main task, but the most important thing is overall safety.
Leo and his team will receive points for the bold decision not to use the team’s ace for *Vitriol* processing.
‘No need to watch further.’
They devised a strategy without the slightest delay in this vast space they had never practiced in before.
This team is bound to receive bonus points.
On the other hand, Team 2, which entered with them…
‘They’re in big trouble.’
As hundreds of civilians started screaming, the school authorities lowered the volume.
Crowds swarmed every door of the central building. Mages would have already warped out on their own, so they must all be the old generation.
The Team 2 leader cast amplification magic and yelled at the top of his lungs.
[Maintain order!]
[Hey, this isn’t working…! Let’s break the windows!]
[Wait. We’ll get points deducted! Better to warp them out one by one, holding hands!]
[Isn’t this situation subject to deduction already?!]
[We don’t know how many points property damage deduction will be in this field! We can just quickly subdue the victim and make another announcement, right?!]
[Ah, fuck… We’re fucked….]
Someone on the team muttered, cursing. Though only the voice was audible, I could feel they wanted to cry even without seeing them.
Following that, the sound of windows breaking was heard.
[What, who broke the window without orders? Don’t you think about teamwork?! The civilian side can still hold out!]
“That team did well during training, this is bad.”
Tsheringen frowned beside me.
No team performed poorly back then. Since the lower ranks were already filtered out in the first phase, at least the mid-rankers onwards are participating in this exam.
‘No, Team 8, which openly excluded one member, did the worst.’
The rest performed well in a standard manner, making it hard to rank them.
The unexpected variable turned people back into rookies like this.
Tsheringen muttered.
“The next teams are… Team 7, and then Team 8. I wonder who will score higher among them.”
The order is 1-2, 7-8, 3-4, 5-6, so our team is last.
Being last is a bit burdensome, but it’s good that we can watch Leo’s and Elias’s exams beforehand.
I asked Tsheringen.
“Between those two teams, who do you think will be higher?”
“Who knows.”
Tsheringen’s lips curled up.
He seemed to know that things are different now compared to a few days ago.
Now, the training for Team 1 and Team 2 proceeded as expected.
Beginning to relax a bit, I took out a cola from my bag. Tsheringen asked with a curious face.
“What’s that?”
“A carbonated drink that was imported this time.”
“Ah, really? The color looks like coffee.”
As expected, since it’s the early production stage, it’s not very famous.
Famous only in its homeland, perhaps.
“Anyone want some?”
Philip, now associating cola with that day’s memory, averted his gaze.
Since everyone was wary, I gave the cola to Melvin, who had the worst complexion, as encouragement.
Since we borrowed the 1st Academy’s gymnasium anyway, the place is huge, so no one gets caught for eating something small.
In the first place, professors from other departments who came to watch were also eating something.
Melvin, who had kept his mouth shut tight, opened the cap.
‘But why are his hands shaking like that.’
Just as I thought he was drinking well, the sound of liquid spilling on the floor was heard.
Since it’s tiered seating, the sound of water dripping came vividly from right behind my head.
“Huh… Huheooooh…”
“Is there something in your cola?”
“Ah, n-no. It’s just the first time seeing such a wide field, so I’m a bit nervous…”
At those words, Philip’s eyes widened.
“The field? Not the drink? Hey. If you tremble during the exam, you’re dead.”
“Haha, does talking like that relieve your tension? I should have said this every time.”
At Tsheringen’s words, Philip shut his mouth.
Meanwhile, the exams for the two teams ended.
The students came out of the gymnasium designated as the examination hall and sat here in the waiting area.
Unlike the atmosphere of Team 2, where a single touch seemed likely to elicit curses, everyone in Team 1 was relaxed.
Actually, in Team 1 too, besides Leo and Narce, the skills of the remaining four are no different from the Team 2 members.
We are witnessing a scene where team member luck determines pass or fail like this.
[Team 7, please enter.]
[Team 8, please enter.]
“It’s their turn now.”
I focused again on their movements.
[30 seconds until the exam begins.]
Team 7, well, let them do whatever.
I fixed my gaze on the Team 8 broadcast screen.
Elias had his arm draped around the shoulder of the Team 8 leader.
‘He’s already established strong discipline.’
The team leader was frozen with a smiling face.
Given that he’s the only one in that team relatively close to Elias, yet he’s like this…
[3, 2, 1. Begin.]
Beeep—
[Attention citizens residing in Trier. A victim has currently occurred near Porta Nigra. Citizens, please…]
Trier.
An area where Roman ruins remain, and the oldest city in this Empire.
[Hmm~ Porta Nigra? Rome is nice. It’s also nice that it’s obvious point deductions will be severe now.]
Elias grabbed the hood of Günter’s training uniform, who was standing far away, and pulled him into a side hug.
The team leader, dragged along, looked around nervously.
[Let’s do well, Germans. You know what to do, right?]
[Kn-Know.]
[Ah! Let go.]
Elias ignored Günter’s words, looked at the broadcast camera, and grinned.
[Hey, Leo! Thanks~]
[…Elias…!]
He probably means thanks for clearly showing him what needed to be done.
And, the guy from Team 2 who mentioned property damage deductions earlier wouldn’t have said that if he had seen this field first.
The newly built train station can just be repaired, but in a place littered with ruins throughout the city, the deduction for damage is much harsher.
Elias released his arms from the team leader and Günter and pushed their backs.
[Günter. Go find all the ruins and set up barriers.]
“Hmm?”
Tsheringen stroked his chin, looking intrigued.
It seems the team leader role has changed now.
Elias looked around at the students with a serious face and instructed.
[Ulrike, you handle civilian control first.] (*Note: Ulrike is a female name*)
***
Elias’s team successfully processed the victim.
Although the scores haven't been announced yet, visually, the result was the complete opposite of the joint training a few days ago.
After that, the exams for the next two teams also ended smoothly.
Of course, from my perspective as an observer, I say smoothly meaning it ended quickly; the participants themselves probably wouldn't be satisfied.
‘Because both Team 3 and Team 4 messed up more than during the joint training.’
It’s surprising how diversely they managed to mess up.
Just then, the announcement calling our team was heard.
[Team 6, please enter.]
We moved to the gymnasium used as the examination hall.
Perhaps due to tension, nobody spoke.
After a long while, Tsheringen, who had been smiling leisurely, turned to us and said.
“Our Unique Abilities are, first… lightning strike, and this one is plants, this one is clairvoyance. That’s it, right?”
“For now.”
The Class 1 Ainsidel answered in an indifferent tone.
“Since we can use the plant growth ability, it would be nice if we preferably get a field with natural elements.”
At Tsheringen’s words, Melvin nodded timidly.
“…Uh, u-hmm, then… to use the lightning strike too, we need to create cumulonimbus clouds. Warm conditions would be advantageous, right? It’d be great if something like a tropical rainforest came up.”
“Ha… Do you think our country has tropical rainforests? Did you doze off during science class?”
As expected, the one who just sniped was Philip.
As I turned towards Philip, he shut his mouth like before.
Tsheringen gave Philip a look and changed the subject with a smile.
“Genuinely curious what we’ll get~? Urban area came up twice before, and a natural field once, so I think we’ll likely get natural elements.”
Just then, the countdown sound grew louder.
[3, 2, 1. Begin.]
Kuuuuung—
The sound of wind hit my ears.
A coldness unbearable even with the winter robe struck, making my body flinch involuntarily. Judging by their states, the teammates seemed the same. No, they were worse off than me.
‘What?’
The surroundings are completely covered in snow.
Moreover, what I’m stepping on… seemed to be rock.
Even though it’s January, I’ve survived well with this robe until now. It was a robe made warm enough to ward off midwinter cold just by draping it, without needing a coat. Though the capital wasn’t that cold to begin with.
Just then, the alarm sounded.
[Attention citizens residing in Garmisch. A victim has currently occurred on the Zugspitze mountain. Citizens, please…]
A region that designates the person undergoing *Vitriol* as a victim.
Bavaria.
But that’s not important right now.
“…Zugspitze? In January?”
Someone muttered.
It's natural elements as desired, indeed.
The highest mountain in this Empire, and…
Tsheringen burst out laughing and turned to us.
“Guys, we…”
“……”
“Get to take the exam in the Alps.”
