Return of the Back Alley Wizard Chapter 30

Episode 30. This is right.

I think about it from my previous life, but it's really hard to get halfway there.

People usually think that if you just go in the middle, you can just take it easy, but that's not true at all.

You need to have an eye for reading the times and a keen mind. And that's not all. Rather, you need to be even more diligent than just giving your best.

And sometimes, trials like this come.

'Falun's reward?'

Originally, it wasn't a very desirable condition.

Although I had nothing, I never felt lacking, and when I needed something, I just shared it with those who had more. That was all.

Of course, they didn't want to share, but that didn't matter. As long as I could get it, that was all.

In this way, I am different from ordinary people in that I am not obsessed with material things.

But this time was an exception.

'Lapiter. I never thought there would be entry restrictions.'

The Lapeter Library is divided into three floors.

The first floor I can view is the lower floor.

Open to academy students and the nobility of the empire, it has the lowest entry privileges, but befitting the prestige of the Eastern Continent, the quantity and quality of books far surpass those of the great nobles' libraries.

but.

'I couldn't even find the spell in the book of grimoires.'

It seemed like I would have to go up to at least the middle or upper level to find even a clue to the fire seal… … .

'I can't get in.'

There was no way.

From the middle level onwards, only royalty, nobles, or heads of prestigious families can enter.

Of course, there were exceptions.

"Academy professors, regardless of their status, have free access to the library. They may not be able to access the upper floors, but they can access the middle floors. But that's not all."

In the Empire, and within the Academy, the professors hold immense power.

Only those recommended by professors were allowed entry into the middle class, and this was where the problem began.

Must be recommended by three or more professors.

In this situation, Professor Falun's compensation was a condition that the West could not help but accept.

'Like this, staying in the middle is difficult. Even if I try to stay in the middle, temptations come at me from time to time.'

I stared at the cross-section for a moment and then looked away.

First of all, it is better to go to the middle and put in less effort in anything, leaving aside the self-esteem.

A golem with its core exposed is less than a fist's reach, but one punch not thrown today adds up to hundreds of punches thrown over the course of a year.

If you look at it one day, it's a meaningless savings, but what if it's 10 or 20 years?

It's about living a much more comfortable life than other people.

That was why I looked at the cross-section.

It's my own effort to reach the final gate with as few golems as possible.

anyway.

'I memorized it all. The cross-section.'

It wasn't that difficult.

Why isn't there a saying like this?

Hard work cannot beat talent, and talent cannot beat enjoyment.

But I can tell you with certainty that no matter how much fun you have, you can never beat someone who is struggling to survive.

I was inherently talented, hard-working, and even enjoyed it. Plus, I knew that one mistake could mean death, so I struggled to survive.

Even these small abilities were one of the fruits of that process.

Besides these, I have also learned various skills such as flower arranging, sewing, and butchering, but I hope that I will not have to use them in this life.

anyway.

'Now I have to make a choice… … .'

Before making my choice, I looked at the students of the magical world, burning with a resolute will.

After the detailed briefing, it was time for personal maintenance.

The students were requesting supplies from the assistant professor to use in the Hall of Trials, and were mainly procuring magical materials excluding artifacts.

This was mainly the case for students who used 'mediums' to manifest magic.

Representative examples include plant wizards.

"If your skill level is high, you can manifest it without a mediator, but it's still much more advantageous to have a mediator to draw out your abilities. That's natural."

While a fire wizard holding a jewel like 'Essence of Fire' is an additional weapon, a plant wizard holding a seed or medium is a basic weapon.

However, if you use your personal resources to obtain seeds or vectors of rare plants, there is a problem of fairness.

The academy had established regulations and was providing materials to each wizard.

But, the atmosphere is quite… … .

'It's overheated.'

It is a performance evaluation, so it is natural to aim for a high score.

"Assistant Professor, could you supply me with some explosive flowers? It would also be nice if you had some ignition stones…"

“Wasn’t your main attribute fire?”

“……Oh, that’s true, but.”

“It is rejected.”

It was a request that clearly revealed his intention.

Flame Wizard and Bomb Flower.

Bomb Flower is a plant that is not difficult to bloom even if the level of rapid growth magic is not that high, and it becomes even easier if you have a firestone.

If you're good at using ignition stones, you can create a bomb flower colony with just one seed.

'So you're going to blow it all up?'

Of course, the drinker himself would not be safe either.

In other words, it is a symbol of giving up on exams and only pursuing Professor Falun's reward.

It wasn't just that student.

“Assistant Professor, as you know, we are learning alchemy together, right?”

"so?"

"I recently built a golem, but I don't have a controller. Can you provide me with one?"

"Where's the golem? Show me and I'll consider it."

“……Um, I left it at home.”

The intention is to seize control of the golems of Bona Mana Trial Hall.

Regardless of whether it's possible or not, once you succeed, you'll not only pass the exam, but you'll also catch Professor Falun's eye.

But, it was just the thoughts of an ignorant undergraduate student.

'There's no way that's possible.'

Anyway, if you just watch the scene, you'll get confused as to whether these guys are wizards or just shameless, tactless, and shameless city thugs.

My guys probably don't know how they look.

However, rather than out of shame or consideration, I guess they will try everything they can to get compensation.

But, surprisingly.

"teacher!"

Damian also called the assistant professor to see if he needed anything.

“……I’m not a teacher, but anyway, Damian? So, what do you need?”

The assistant professor who had been standing far away approached Damian and asked.

There was a clear sense of caution.

It was like looking at a goblin on the verge of exploding, or a mad goblin that didn't know where to run.

The look in his eyes grew darker at Damian's request.

“Give me some seeds!”

A guy who asks for seeds out of nowhere.

The assistant professor asked with a slight frown.

“……Seeds? What kind of seeds are you talking about?”

“Please give me some vine seeds. Just twenty.”

“…….”

There aren't just one or two vine seeds. The Academy distributes over five varieties of vine seeds.

If you go up to intermediate or advanced level, there are dozens of types.

Still, seeing as they just say 'vine', it seems like any type doesn't matter.

That was when the assistant professor opened his mouth.

“But Damian, your main attribute is…….”

"no."

“……Yeah, it’s not like there isn’t any.”

If you do one thing well, you can call it the 'main', but if you do everything well, none of it is the 'main'.

The Light of Healing was a non-attribute magic, and while Blando's vision didn't encompass all magical powers like Deculan, its versatility was extremely high.

anyway.

“But, I thought you weren’t a plant wizard?”

Damian shook his head at those words.

“You can do it!”

… … The guy who said that and stretched his hand towards the ground.

phut!

It was at that moment that sprouts began to emerge from the dry earth.

“…….”

The assistant professor kept his mouth shut at that sight.

Although it was a tiny sprout, it was amazing that it could grow into a plant without any medium.

At least it wasn't at the level of a basic undergraduate student.

At this level, it would be safe to say that he is a wizard whose main attribute is the plant kingdom, at least at the basic level.

“……Can you just give me twenty?”

“Yes! Twenty is enough.”

“Yeah… here it is.”

The assistant professor, unable to hide his uneasy expression, took out a bag of seeds from the subspace and handed it over.

Chenbi, who was watching the scene, also asked the assistant professor a question.

“Excuse me, Assistant Professor, the Coffin of Ordeals is an artificial cave, right?”

“It’s an artificial cave.”

It was an artificial environment created using earth magic and was located underground.

“Then I was wondering if there would be any restrictions on using earth magic…….”

It was a valid question.

Earth magic, too, fundamentally uses the earth as a medium. When spells are cast, they alter the terrain, so it's impossible for the Academy to ignore them.

Undergraduates create new paths to circumvent the exam, or they eliminate existing paths and arbitrarily change the shape of the ordeal.

Just in case something like this happens.

The assistant professor shook his head at that question.

"You may use it as you wish. As long as you don't open a new path, we've taken measures to ensure that any method you use will have no effect."

“Oh, yes! Thank you.”

Chenbi nodded at those words.

It seems that this was a concern for Chenbi, who mainly uses earth magic.

anyway.

Seeing Damian, who had no interest in exams, preparing in his own way, I resumed my train of thought.

'What should I do?'

If I just go halfway, I'm tempted by Professor Falun's reward. But if I try to get that reward, I'm worried about the minor inconveniences that will come later.

While those worries continued.

“Now we will assign a departure point.”

The assistant professor's voice was heard.

There were a total of eleven starting points for the Ordeal Hall. Considering the total number of magic students, each location would likely have six or seven students assigned to it.

The assistant professor displayed a pre-selected assignment list as a hologram, and the distribution of people was not much different from what was expected.

'I… … am I at departure point number 3?'

“Friend! See you inside!”

“Aster, Damian, good luck on your exams.”

While the magic students lined up according to their starting points, Damian and Chenvi also walked to their respective starting points.

A total of seven people were assigned to departure point number 3.

I went to the back of the line, but I was still having second thoughts.

While waiting for guidance like that.

“Are you Aster?”

“……?”

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts by a voice that I heard.

Only one person spoke to me, but two more followed behind. So, a total of three students were looking at me. Judging by the unfamiliar face, I doubted it was from Class M3… … Anyway, the one standing in front of me spoke.

"I'm Diva. I heard you're pretty good at it. I have a suggestion."

"say it."

Debye carefully observed the assistant professor's expression and then lowered his voice.

"I'll buy the bracelets of the losers. 30 gold each. Excluding you and me, there are only three people at the starting point… so if you take care of those three, I'll give you 90 gold."

“……Hmm.”

30 gold is equivalent to the monthly income of an average commoner family.

So, what I meant was that they would give that much money for each bracelet of the eliminated player.

When I seemed to be thinking about it, Debbie added.

"It's not such a bad situation for you, a vagrant from the Black and White Zone. The young master, who's not very knowledgeable about the world, is looking after you now, but how long will that last? It's time for you to find your own way of life."

The fact that I was a black-and-white vagrant wasn't something I had to hide. So whenever someone asked me about my origins, I just answered casually, but it seems the rumor spread quite a bit.

I thought deeply about Debbie's suggestion.

First of all, that's correct.

But it's not a completely wrong statement.

These guys are just making the most of what they have, and while other students might have called them cowardly or resented them, I actually viewed them favorably.

But this thought occurred to me.

“Why 90 gold?”

“……? Not enough? Okay, then 35 gold each. A total of 105 gold.”

“But the math doesn’t add up.”

“……?”

Debbie tilted his head in puzzlement.

I kindly explained it to him.

“You, you, you. There are three of you.”

“Yes.”

“If you include them, it’s six.”

"yes?"

Then you have to do the math like this.

"Then it's 180 gold, right? Oh, since you raised the price to 35 gold each, it'd be 210 gold. I think that's the correct calculation. What do you think?"

That's right. That's right.

Why do they value their own lives… …not their lives, but anyway, why do these guys leave out their lives when calculating?

I gave a hearty laugh at the three fools.