Genius Gamer Reborn into a Family of Heroes

Chapter 89

Entrance Exam

In truth, there was a flaw in this exam. The test, which required finding the truth within an illusion, was inherently biased in favor of the Ainglass family.

One of the unique abilities passed down from the first mage, Van Ainglass, was the [Wind of Clarity Constitution].

Not only did individuals with this constitution possess an overwhelmingly greater capacity for mana compared to others, but they also had a heightened sensitivity to mana. This sensitivity allowed them to sharply distinguish illusions from reality and identify the truth hidden within an illusion.

In other words, this entire test site could essentially be viewed as a mechanism to awaken the Wind of Clarity Constitution in Ainglass family members.

If people knew that the reason for conducting such a test this year was solely for Zelka Ainglass, what would they think?

‘…Idiots.’

Watching the other candidates as they flipped over dirt or tapped on trees, inspecting everything in their surroundings, Zelka shook his head in disappointment.

‘Those guys are going to fail.’

Around twenty people had gathered in the ruins, yet none seemed to realize that with so many participants, their scores would inevitably be lower.

Even without the Wind of Clarity Constitution, Zelka was confident he could perform far better than those fools.

“Hey, look, that’s Young Master Zelka.”

“Maybe if we follow him, we’ll find something.”

“You idiot. The rulebook clearly states that once someone finds the truth, the object disappears immediately, so no one else can pick it.”

“Oh… right.”

Ignoring the babbling of those idiots, Zelka moved on to another area.

Although he could easily find the truth and pass the test at any time, he wanted to take his time in this space that had been tailored specifically for him.

‘After all, there’s only one real answer, and it’s already predetermined.’

However, no one here could find that answer. Even if Princess Herael unlocked her imperial family’s unique ability, the [Eyes of Truth], it would still be difficult for her to locate it.

The truth was so well hidden that only the Wind of Clarity Constitution of the Ainglass family could react to it.

‘Since only I can find it, I can take my time.’

With a smirk, he clasped his hands behind his back and strolled leisurely. While the other candidates crawled on the ground, getting dirt and mud all over themselves, he alone maintained the grace of a noble.

Seeing his relaxed demeanor, the other candidates couldn’t help but stare in awe.

While everyone else scrambled frantically, he alone moved with poise, as if he already knew something they didn’t.

‘Hm, what’s this…?’

While strolling through the exam grounds, Zelka’s eyes caught sight of someone.

It was Princess Herael, Citrinne.

She behaved no differently from the other students—squatting on the ground, tapping on rocks, or pulling at grass. However, there was nothing vulgar or unpleasant about her demeanor.

There was only one reason for this.

Was it because she was royalty? No.

It was because she was excessively beautiful.

Zelka smirked.

After all, he was still a man.

There was no way he wouldn’t be interested in a girl so beautiful and of such noble status.

Many of the applicants and male students at Arniel seemed to already harbor feelings for Princess Citrinne after seeing her beauty, but Zelka believed that he was the only one truly worthy of someone as noble as her.

‘She’ll appreciate even the slightest hint from me.’

Thinking so, Zelka approached Citrinne.

“Princess Citrinne.”

“Huh?”

She was still digging into the dirt when a shadow fell over her. She looked up, and her golden eyes were so mesmerizing that even the usually unshakable Zelka felt his heart skip a beat.

“What’re you staring at?”

“……”

Although the words that came out of her cute lips were rather crude, Zelka understood. He even agreed with what she had said earlier during her verbal spat with Ailka—that those born noble are noble no matter what they say. And truly, everything about her was noble.

“How can a princess so noble dirty her knees with mud? There’s no need for that. I’ll give you a hint, one just for you.”

“…What?”

Citrinne’s expression slowly twisted, but oblivious to this, Zelka continued speaking.

“I heard something the other day. It seems the young lady of the Willed family was acting ignorant and disregarding the noble bloodline of the Herrael family… Shouldn’t we make sure the hierarchy is properly established?”

Zelka had his reasons for speaking like this.

Though the five great magic families were united, there was still mutual wariness between them.

Who was superior in rank?

Such matters often rose to the surface as sensitive topics internally.

Since Willed was a rival, by currying favor with Citrinne while also undermining Ailka, Zelka thought he could kill two birds with one stone. But…

“Ugh! What a filthy way of talking. Do all Ainglasses speak like that? Wow, that’s disgusting. Even my eldest brother wouldn’t talk like that!”

“…??”

“And what? A hint? Hiiint? Ha! Don’t overestimate yourself. You act like you know everything about the world, don’t you? Think you’re better than everyone else, and that you’re above them? Ha, seriously… kids these days. Tsk, tsk.”

Citrinne clicked her tongue, tapped Zelka’s shoulder with a light thud, and walked past him.

“Get lost, idiot. Maybe your family fed you some exam information? If you want to impress a girl with those kinds of hints, why don’t you go try them on someone from Willed, since you like them so much?”

Zelka’s gaze remained fixed on the spot where Citrinne had just been. He didn’t even dare to turn around, his eyes shaking violently.

Had he ever been insulted and humiliated like this in his life?

Especially from a peer, a young woman no less.

‘…How dare she, to me?’

Grit!

Belatedly, anger surged up within him, causing Zelka to grit his teeth as he turned around, but by then, Citrinne had already disappeared somewhere.

“…Damn it.”

Zelka’s face contorted in frustration as he turned and walked toward the center. He no longer felt like taking a stroll, so he decided to find the most important objective in this test and finish it first.

At the center, where all the applicants had initially gathered, there stood a tall tower where the judges had been stationed. That was Zelka’s target.

However.

“…Who’s that?”

When he arrived at the central tower, someone was already standing atop it.

A boy with long black-and-white hair, possessing the same mysterious, fairy-like charm as Citrinne.

Thump! At that moment, a sense of unease caused Zelka’s heart to race violently.

‘No way, that guy…’

It couldn’t be.

There was no way anyone else here, besides him, could possibly find that.

Let alone a commoner, someone without the blessings of the Herrael royal family or the Willed duchy, could ever discover it.

‘There’s no need to worry.’

The commoner probably climbed up there out of sheer curiosity.

He would surely climb back down, empty-handed and foolish, while Zelka proudly pointed out the real truth.

…That’s how it should have gone.

“I will point to the sun.”

The black-and-white-haired commoner boy extended his index finger, pointing toward none other than the sun in the sky.

“Ah.”

In that instant.

The sun disappeared, the sky turned pitch black, an endless galaxy spread out, and a full moon rose, illuminating the heavens.

[…Applicant 187, Deis]

[You have reached the greatest truth, and are therefore granted immediate final approval.]

[Congratulations on your success.]

The boy, who had been quietly gazing at the full moon, glanced back at Zelka briefly, then vanished, dissolving into light.

Having found the true object, he had exited the test site.

“…Ah.”

Zelka’s face, which had been staring blankly at the sky, slowly began to crumple.

“Damn it…”

Today was supposed to be a day when Zelka Ainglass stood out as the protagonist.

But what on earth had happened to the mighty Zelka Ainglass?

‘Today is the worst day ever…’

* * *

Meanwhile, Zelka and Princess Citrinne weren’t the only ones growing anxious about not finding the true object.

‘…I have no idea.’

Ailka Willed wandered through the illusory castle, her face scrunched in frustration. For something that was fake, it was absurdly vast, making it difficult to search the entire area within the time limit.

‘Where in the world could it be?’

She had searched every point of interest she could find, but nothing seemed to be the real object.

No, she needed to rephrase that.

‘Everything looks so real… I can’t tell what’s what…’

Ailka was confused. She had believed that with her insight, she would easily be able to discern the truth within the illusion.

Was it arrogance?

She couldn’t distinguish between what was false and what was true.

She had examined all the objects that seemed special, yet this was the result.

‘Is this… really all I’m capable of?’

As the absurdity of the situation before her unfolded, her head began to throb.

Her talent had been prophesied not only at Arniel but also to become the brightest star on the Celestial Throne. And yet, here she was, stumbling in just a magic school entrance exam…

To make matters worse, something even more frustrating had occurred.

[Applicant 187, Deis]

[Having reached the greatest truth, you are granted immediate final approval.]

[Congratulations on your success.]

The sky, which had been bright daylight, suddenly turned into night, and one of the applicants was abruptly declared as having passed the final stage!

‘What…?’

When she saw the name of the successful candidate, Ailka felt dizzy.

If anyone was to be the first to pass, she had thought it would be her rival, Zelka Ainglass.

But a commoner, not even from a mage family, had passed the final stage?

‘So… the correct answer was… the sun?’

The sun had vanished when the sky turned into night. Since the object disappears once an applicant finds the truth, this dramatic change must have been the result.

‘…It must have been luck.’

Unlike the other objects, which required painstaking exploration, the sun was visible just by looking up, wasn’t it? That commoner must have simply looked up by chance and, out of curiosity, guessed the sun—luckily hitting the right answer.

‘Yes, it was luck…’

But why did her father’s words suddenly come to mind?

‘Daughter, do you know this? The circuit of a magic circle was originally composed of just one path. Back then, people didn’t have the concept of circulating mana in parallel, so they used inefficient magic.’

‘They didn’t know something that simple?’

‘It may seem simple now… But it was the person who first thought of that “simple” idea who was truly a genius.’

It was something that anyone could have thought of, yet no one did.

That’s why those people go down in history as “genius archmages.”

The moment Ailka recalled this, her body trembled as if struck by lightning.

The sun? Yes, anyone can see it.

And because of that, the school wouldn’t have placed such an easy illusion spell on it. Since everyone could simply look up and see it, the school must have engraved an incredibly complex and difficult illusion formula around it, one that no one but Zelka Ainglass could have possibly discovered.

In other words, that sun was meant to be the correct answer for Zelka Ainglass.

But… a mere commoner, this boy named Deis, solved the puzzle meant for Ainglass with nothing more than a shift in perspective and pure magical intuition.

‘…Something anyone can see, but not everyone can perceive.’

As Ailka thought this, she began to calm down. Thanks to that commoner, she now felt she had grasped the true nature of this test.

‘An ancient stone tablet? Ruins of the past? The grand statues in the castle?’

All of them were false.

The truth was hidden among them, in something so small and insignificant that it was easily overlooked by everyone… something that anyone could see, yet everyone would pass by.

Ailka’s gaze unintentionally lowered, landing on a single blade of grass growing in the field. It appeared to be nothing more than background decoration for the test stage, something of no consequence.

But to Ailka, it was clear.

She knew this was the truth.

Without hesitation, she plucked the single blade of grass and confidently declared that she would submit it.

“L-Lady Willed? You won’t get a high score with something like that.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to find a grander object…?”

Other applicants around her tried to dissuade her, but she was unshaken.

Now that Ailka could clearly see the truth, she was more confident than anyone else in this room.

“I will submit this. No revisions.”

And so, the test came to an end.

As expected, the results were…

[Magic Insight Test Results]

1st Place: Deis, 100 points
2nd Place: Ailka, Citrinne, 99 points
4th Place: Garun, 97 points

Ailka placed second, right after Deis, who had been the first to discover the sun.

‘…Tch, that damn princess.’

Although it annoyed her that Princess Citrinne had tied with her, Ailka was more than satisfied with the fact that she had ranked higher than Zelka.

Zelka, likely still in shock from having the puzzle he thought was his stolen by Deis, hadn’t even made it into the top ten.

‘It’s a bit disappointing to be tied with that obnoxious princess, but… hehe, this is still a promising start.’

Lady Ailka Willed couldn’t help but feel pleased with herself.