"Are you interested in advanced magic theories, young master?"
"What?"
"I saw a magic theory book beside your bed this morning."
"Oh… that? Yeah, I uh… use it to fight insomnia. It works like a charm. Haven't gotten past page three."
"..."
Two people were chatting as they sat across from each other inside a carriage. These two were Leon and Myra, who were on their way to an interview at Eclipse Institute.
They weren't heading directly to the Eclipse Institute, but rather to the Headmaster's private residence.
Yes, the Headmaster would conduct the interview at his own residence.
"Anyways, the Duke suggested that you take fine-quality wine, young master… are you fine visiting him empty-handed?" Myra asked.
Leon nodded.
"Yes. Believe me, if I give the Headmaster anything today, he'll take it as a bribe."
Even though the Headmaster of Eclipse was someone who wouldn't be pleased even if someone brought him a castle.
"We are here," announced the carriage driver.
From the window, Leon glanced outside.
The grand estate of House Nightson caught his attention. As grand as the royal castle, adorned with white marble and dark blue rooftops, the Nightson estate was one of a kind.
Established not long after the Valentine Dukedom, House Nightson attained the status of Marquess because of their renowned contributions in the field of magic theory and spellcrafting. Generation after generation, they revolutionized the world with their groundbreaking research.
Stepping out of the carriage, Leon couldn't help but feel anxious.
He was about to meet the Headmaster of Eclipse Institute, who was also the current head of House Nightson.
'Still though, isn't it too much for him? Managing both Eclipse and his house… how does he do it?'
Leon knew one thing: the Headmaster had no choice but to force himself to do both.
"..."
Just thinking about the Headmaster's condition made Leon wince.
'Well, that's his problem, not mine.'
"Let's go," Leon said, glancing at his maid.
They both reached the front door. The guards standing there exchanged looks as they noticed the crest on Leon's coat.
After entering, they were greeted by two elderly maids.
"Please come this way."
Leon and Myra followed them to the first floor. There, the maids gestured toward a room at the center.
"He's waiting for your arrival in his study," one of the maids said. "However, your personal maid is not allowed inside."
Leon didn't mind, so he told Myra to wait for him in the hall.
Myra politely bowed before she followed the maid downstairs, leaving Leon alone.
Before knocking on the door, Leon revised the plan in his mind.
'The Headmaster is a clever man. Any slight flinch in my wording, and I'm done for.'
With that in mind, he knocked.
"Come in."
A cold, elderly voice of a man came from the other end.
"..."
Leon, despite having confidence in his plan, hesitated before pushing the door open.
Creak—
What met his eyes was a room scattered with coiled papers, metallic springs, and gears on the floor.
Despite all that, the room was well furnished. A man around his sixties, with black hair streaked with purple strands, was seated in a leather chair behind a huge study desk.
He wore round glasses over his aged eyes, his wrinkled hands scribbling on the pages he kept flipping.
As Leon walked in and his vision landed on the man, a translucent screen appeared between them.
———「Analyze」———
◆ Name: Raizen Nightson
◆ Level: S-
◆ Rank: Breaker
◆ Mana Core: White
◆ Core Level: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
◆ Race: Human
◆ Age: 63
◆ Affinity: 🔒
Note: Target's rank is higher. Affinities are locked.
————————————
The information flashed before Leon's vision.
"..."
Leon had only thought about analyzing him before his skill triggered automatically.
'That's handy.'
Ignoring the information, Leon politely bowed before the Headmaster.
"It's an honor to meet you, Headmaster Raizen."
Raizen didn't look up. He simply pointed his finger toward the table situated in the corner of his office.
"You may begin." Raizen said, "and try not to waste my time."
Leon glanced at the glass table he was pointing at. A single paper lay on it.
Walking over, Leon picked it up. The paper had three questions on it, with enough blank space for the answers.
'A test?'
Clearly, Raizen wanted Leon to answer all the questions.
Without thinking further, Leon sat on the sofa beside it and started scribbling down the answers.
The top two questions were simple. They asked about basic mana circuits and magic formulas—and why one needed to imagine them before casting any spells.
They were easy for Leon to answer, as he was the one who had designed the power mechanics of this game in the first place.
Then he proceeded to the third question.
'I knew it…'
He grinned, seeing progress in his plan.
The third question was different from the other two; it was more complex to answer.
Q3: What possible methods should one use to reduce the spell casting time?
For Leon, the question was rather simple, but the answer to it was something that hadn't been discovered yet.
Surely, Leon knew the answer, but the man seated in his study didn't.
This question had once come up in the forums for Rebirth of the Fivefold Calamity: Why do spells take time to cast in-game?
But the actual reason was something more technical. Each spell triggered over a million lines of code. To hide the overall rendering and execution delay, the developers masked it with in-game animations, like characters drawing complex magic circles and chanting spells—making it feel like a natural part of the magic system.
They existed because there was no other way for the developers to conceal the lag.
'How sly of him to add it in the entrance test.'
But that was the real world. This was a fantasy world, where magic actually existed. So, there was a way to reduce the casting time.
And Leon had the answer.
"Should I answer it?" he muttered.
'I mean, I could always scribble "just be faster" and call it a day…'
But, he had to impress Headmaster Raizen.
'This is the only way.'
To pass this entrance test and win Raizen's attention, he needed to reveal his S-ranked intelligence.
"Heh…" Leon chuckled.
'What would I even gain by keeping it hidden?'
Leon loved being praised by others. Even in his old life, he took pride in his intelligence and achievements.
And along with those glories...
He had become addicted to them.
'The old me is dead. Now, all I am is Leon Valentine.'
The most mocked and utterly trashed character in the game.
Leon glanced at the Headmaster, who wasn't even paying attention to him.
"Alright then…"
'I'll let him take a peek at this new Leon Valentine.'
After writing the answers, he set the pen down with a sigh.
'Let's hope this doesn't break the old man's brain circuits.'