(EP-46) Method #3

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Most villains could be considered meticulous workers.

They had to make strenuous efforts behind the scenes to achieve their evil goals.

Such villains would not tolerate stagnation and always try to develop themselves steadily.

Naturally, I, Theo Gospel, was the same.

I had always been overshadowed by my betters, like Queen Aira and Elga. But, the time had finally come to show what kind of villain I was!

"Now, No. 66, Mr. Theo Gospel. Please come this way and stand on the hatched line."

Hearing that, I got out of the queue and stood in front of the starting point sprinkled with white lime.

This was the gymnasium. A place to measure one's strength or to compete against others.

Now, I was faced with another opportunity to test my limits!

━Look, is that 'the' Theo Gospel?

━'That' Demon Monk? I heard he was eight feet tall and had six arms.

━This guy is around the same age as us… Isn't he someone else?

━Hmm, why would he come to Ark?

I could hear murmurs of interest from behind.

Though, the rumors about me were quite bizarre…

"You need to cross that line over there, 100 meters from here. Alright, get ready-."

Dang-.

"Heup!"

As soon as the ball was raised, I sprung my legs with all my might and ran. My goal was the finish line in front. The sensation of my body moving through the air was vivid!

━Look at that-.

━Wow-.

At the same time, there were several voices of interest.

… The reason was probably because after taking off, I slowed down immediately amidst ragged breaths.

"Heu, heueut, hieek…!"

I only ran for 100 meters but it felt like there was a hole in my chest. This was my current strength…

"… Alright, Mr. Theo Gospel. 100 meters in 21 seconds. It is the lowest score among the records I measured today."

21 seconds?

━That's his limit…?

━What did I just see…?

People started muttering. They must have already lost the will to laugh at my record. It was that unimpressive…

But, I was feeling quite happy.

I had improved a lot!

When I first woke up in this body, there were times when I would run out of breath just by walking.

Just going uphill or walking up the stairs would make me gasp for air. It felt like I was moving a rusted body that had not been used for a long time.

"Mr. Theo, it's time for pull-ups."

"Huiek…!"

"… You only did one."

I didn't even get one before. So I'd clearly made some progress! 

"Huuu-."

With just a few simple physical tests, my body was already exhausted.

While I was leaning over the mat and gasping for air, the white robed Proctor looked at me and clicked his tongue.

"That is all, Mr. Theo. From your results you're not qualified to even enter the lower dormitory, therefore your admission to Ark itself is rejected."

"...."

… Was this for real?

I strived to change the course of the story and made Aira go to the Academy, and it would just end up with me not being able to enter myself? 

Did this mean that I must go back to Angmar alone?

If I returned to Angmar without Aira or Elga, what would I even do there?

━Theo, why did you leave our Queen Aira, huh?

Who could tell if I would be preyed upon by those waiting for such an opportunity to deal with me.

I urgently asked the Proctor, "Can I really not enter the academy?"

"Mr. Theo, you said you're a Half-Nymph, yes? It's the first time I've seen a Half-Nymph. But I do know that Nymphs generally have low overall physical strength."

"Ah…."

I guessed the reason why I was so weak was due to me being part Nymph, a little fairy…

With this thought, my eyes got dizzy.

Was being a Half-Nymph all disadvantageous?

Suddenly, I felt resentful at the figure of my father, whom I had never seen before. Why the heII did you make me a Half-Nymph?

Why would you even think of making a baby with a Nymph? Nymphs could only look, at best, like middle school girls.

'Wait, don't tell me….'

「You have calmly judged the situation!

You have gained experience points through the talent "Calm Thinking".

All job experience +5」

Oh my god!

I couldn't help but feel that, sometimes, some things were better left unknown.

As I was about to question my existence, the Proctor said.

"Mr. Theo is a Half-Nymph, so maybe you can show your talent in magic or mysticism. Let's move to a more specialized testing location."

* * *

It was said that Nymphs possessed basic knowledge about magic, since they were like fairies or spirits of nature.

Just like how the long-eared Elves had a natural talent for archery and swordsmanship, Nymphs were said to have an innate talent for druidic and simple magic.

So, I guessed this was why I had this job called 'Mage'. It was only level 1, though…

Anyway, what could I even do as a Level 1 Mage?

"Move this coin to the opposite cup. It's a simple telekinetic experiment. Those with a talent for magic can do it easily."

"Ughhhh-."

As instructed, I tried transferring the coin.

Alas, no matter how hard I tried, to the point that veins started popping on my forehead, neither the coin nor cups moved. How the heII could you use this daɱn magic?

"Hmm, strange. It's the first time I've ever seen a Nymph without magic capabilities. Maybe a Half-Nymph is different…."

It seemed that, in many ways, even the Proctor was confused.

I failed all the tests…

I didn't even have the basic knowledge of magic…

What even was I?

Was this truly House Angmar's last hope?

"Then I really can't attend the academy!? I came here to be an aide, to help people! What will happen now!?"

I looked at the Proctor while trembling with anxiety. At times like this, a Nymph's unique sparkling eyes were my last hope.

The Proctor looked as sweet and kind as a kindergarten teacher, so I was certain that my Nymph Eyes would move him!

"What will happen!?"

"Ugh…."

Seeing my pitiful expression, the Proctor uttered a small groan of pain. He looked around before quietly telling me.

"Then, would you like to try sparring?"

"Sparring?"

I glanced around.

On the stage that was prepared, I could see people holding various weapons and clashing against each other with a clattering noise.

━Kkeuaak! 

━Keuhok!

While I was drenching in cold sweat at the scene of wounds and bleeding, the Proctor explained.

"There is no other way to prove your skills as effectively as sparring."

I thought so too.

But, if I got in between these warriors and Champion candidates, I would surely be out within 5 seconds.

If I was confident and capable of this kind of confrontation, I wouldn't have wasted my time with such a cumbersome physical exam.

"Is there any other way other than sparring? I really want to attend the academy! For me and my Queen!"

Seeing my desperate and heartfel plea, the Proctor sighed and said, "This is a secret, but….," before whispering something in my ear.

"If it doesn't work out, you'll be able to get a job as a faculty member here at Ark."

"A faculty member?"

"Mr. Gospel has a lot of practical experience, so I don't think you'll have a hard time."

So staying not as a student, but a faculty member…

If nothing worked out, I had no choice but to use that method to remain with Aira.

However, if I became a faculty member, I wouldn't be able to attend lectures with Aira, and it would be impossible to see whether she was receiving a good character education or not.

What if Aira went on a rampage in the classroom during my absence?

Even now, I was worried at what the lone Aira might be doing….

Flip.

"This is a faculty interview paper. Would you like to take a look, Mr. Theo?"

The kind blonde lady Proctor handed me a piece of paper.

"It seems that we have misunderstood Mr. Theo before. I never thought that you would be such a scholarly and administrative man."

While listening to her compliments, I looked at the paper and found that there were a lot of things that looked like test questions.

… Was this some kind of job interview?

The contents were as follows.

━Who was the first Archmage to achieve Rank 5?

━Who killed Deerbound, the Deer King of Ancient Ungalt?

How would I know this? There was no way I could know such detailed things that did not even appear in the original novel!

It was then…

"I'm asking why my answer is wrong…!"

A loud shout made me turn my head.

I saw an orange-haired girl wearing a nun's robe, with an arrow-like tail that swung from side to side.

"This Marmar has already said the answer…!"

It was the Imp Marmar.

"Marmar, what are you doing there?"

"Oh…! Comrade…! It's nice to see you…!"

Marmar's eyes widened, as if she was very fortunate to have found me in this unfamiliar situation.

As I approached Marmar, a middle-aged man sighed while holding his wrinkled forehead.

"Ms. Marmar, This is not the correct answer. Do you really not know who killed the Deer King?"

"I, Marmar, did not kill the Deer King! I have never even seen a deer, let alone the Deer King! Marmar claims innocence!"

… What was going on here? Who killed what and who was innocent?

I looked at something like an answer sheet that Marmar had, just in case. It was a test paper for employment as a faculty member, the same one I received earlier.

━Who killed Deerbound, the Deer King of Ancient Ungalt?

Answer: I did not. I've never even seen him.

━Who was the first Archmage to achieve Rank 5?

Answer: The first Archmage.

━Who built the pyramids of Angkar 2,000 years ago?

Answer: He died a long time ago.

"I, Marmar, answered all the questions honestly…! It wasn't Marmar who killed the Deer King…!"

… This was quite problematic.

I took the heated Marmar to a quiet place, away from the eyes of the crowd.

"Marmar, what happened?"

"Comrade, like what you said, I'm entering Ark. But I can't be a student so I planned to enter as a faculty member…."

"Well…"

Obviously, I was scheming to sneak Marmar into Ark.

After all, the Ogre Gorgor and the Imp Marmar were my underlings.

I thought that they might be able to dig up someinformation about the Academy and find something related to the 'Taboo Legacy'.

"But I couldn't solve the damn questions…!"

"I see. But why are you talking in such a weird way?"

Marmar talking in third person bothered me.

Was she doing this on purpose?

Marmar then looked around and whispered quietly.

"I found out that there is a secret society of Nymphs here in Ark. I'm pretending to be a Nymph to get in there. Nymphs usually say things in this strange way!"

"A secret society of Nymphs? And you're pretending to be a Nymph to infiltrate it?"

"Yes! That's what it is. You have to train regularly to get used to it. And it's not just a secret society. Angmar is among the first 10 people who founded this secret society 30 years ago! Great information, isn't it!?"

"Angmar? Didn't the Angmar's die off 50 years ago?"

"Everyone thinks so… But, did you know about the rumors that Demon King Solomon might have a son?"

"What!?"

I felt my eyes flash.

Demon King Solomon Angmar had a son?

"Uhm, Mr. Theo."

However, this chat quickly ended thanks to the white robed Proctor approaching.

"Comrade! I'll try to sneak into this school somehow! Alright, see you later!"

"Uh, yeah…"

No matter how you looked at it, she was a bit weird.

Now, I was having second thought about bringing her here…

"Mr. Theo, your break is over. We'll take measurements of your vision and eyesight. Now, just read the letters I'm pointing to here. This is the last test."

Whoshuk.

The book that the Proctor opened had numbers created by colorful circles. Was this some kind of color vision test?

"17."

"How about this?"

"It says 81."

"Then what is this?"

"It's 54."

"There's no problem with your color perception. Alright, can you read this?"

Palak-.

As she turned the page, I saw writings that would only appear in old books.

The words were very blurry and crooked, but not unreadable.

"Bottis."

"Um, then move onto this…, no, wait… What!?"

Then, as if she was shocked, the Proctor did not continue turning the page and instead asked.

"What did you just say!?"

"I said 'Bottis'."

"Is that truly so!?"

What.

'Are you messing with me?'

Without saying anything, the Proctor flipped the thick book over, showing its back.

She then showed me something like a seal with a bunch of magical pictures in a strange circle.

"Do you see any letters written on the border here?"

The circle had an outer part, similar to what you could see in a pizza. Like what the Proctor said, there were letters written there.

"Sag… are? Sagare?"

"Sagare? Is it really written that way?"

The Proctor looked at me with confusion. Her blue eyes had a slight sense of doubt and wonder.

I peeked at the circle again.

Only then did I realize that I had read those letters in the wrong order.

"It's not Sagare, it's AGARES."

The moment said word was spoken…

The letters seemed to emit a flash of light, before slowly losing their power, leaving only meaningful numbers behind.

「One step closer to the mysteries of the world.

Gained job experience for 'Mage'. +50」

'This is making the Mage experience go up!?'

To read up to 300 chapters. patreon.com/Daoist02