Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Strongest Sage, Recognizing the Value of the First Crest

Exam huh . . . .

Moreover, I have to not only pass it, but get the scholarship .

"Un . . . . "

This is bothersome . I'm bad with history especially . I can't make use of my past life knowledge at all for it .

I should be able to somehow pass the test about magic and such . I wasn't that good at magic circle mathematics, but there shouldn't be anything difficult in a test for 10 year old . National language is safe too . I can't read the writing right now but I should be able to in two years .

. . . . Thinking again, the only problem is history .

"Do we have a book to learn about history?"

"History . . . . ? We have some, but what do you need it for?"

"I mean, the exam will have history–"

"There's nothing like that in the Second Royal School exam y'know . "

Oh! That's most welcome!

"Then what kind of subjects they have?"

"There's classroom lectures for sure . . . . But it's not really important . The important one is the practical skill . "

"Practical skill?"

Wonder if it's with magic or something .

"Yea . Practical skill . Mathi can just concentrates on your sword skill . Can't teach ya magic and school lectures, but you should be fine so long you've got your sword . "

That isn't much of an exam is it .

I don't think I could pass without getting a high mark on at least one subject in the curriculum .

"Can I really pass with that?"

"Yea . It's kind like a trick, but I proved it myself . Want me to teach you?"

"Un . "

"The sword exam will be a practical battle with an examiner . Just beat up the guy who came out . That's the first stage . "

"Un?"

It has taken a suspicious turn somehow . Won't it be a problem if I beat up the examiner?

Rather, what's up with my father Castor's behaviors as a noble . I feel that many of them are weird .

"Now now, just wait . I haven't finished yet y'know . Here comes the important one . Once you beat the examiner, someone's stronger than them will come out . "

I see . You need to directly negotiate with that strong person and have them acknowledge your strength– .

"Beat that guy up . "

I was wrong .

It was a direct negotiation (physically) .

"That's all the strategy you need . The total score of the exam was 50, sword skill exam should worth 10 but I got 30 for mine . My score got to 35 with other subjects and I passed just fine . "

『That's all the strategy』 must be a mistake .

Or rather, you only got 5 in other subjects huh .

. . . . Well I can use magic .

I'm sure I can get some mark in the classroom lecture subjects, added with that, getting scholarship should be possible somehow . . . . is it?

I don't know if father's tactics are viable or not nowadays, but I guess there's a merit in trying if it looks like I'm failing in other subjects . This is gonna be fun .

"Father . Don't you think that getting scholarship is too harsh for a term?"

My older brother Reich said that after hearing father .

"Really? I think Mathi would easily get it once he's 12 . "

"I agree on that part, but there's no need for him to get the scholarship is there . . . . "

"Ah . That's not because of Mathi, it's the problem with our house . "

"Our house problem?"

"We got no cash . "

Un . . . .

I've noticed it somewhat .

At the very least, there's no mistake that we're not rich .

"But wasn't father quite a big earner in the past . . . . "

"Being a knight is unexpectedly unprofitable ya know . Unlike adventurers . I had got some saving myself, but it was all gone to manage the territory . "

"Father . . . . "

Hou .

Putting aside our house financial state, I see that adventurer system still exists in today's world .

For the time being, I've decided on my future career .

"Well, in short you're saying that I should get the scholarship, if that's not possible I should earn my keep myself right?"

"That's the story . As expected of Mathi, you're really perceptive . . . . Huh? Was Mathi always this perceptive?"

"He's always been smart for his age . I didn't know that it was this far though . . . . "

Alright . I'll start to earn my school expense from now on in preparation for the future .

. . . . The problem is how .

I don't see any monster around this area, so I can't save up magic stones .

It's not like I can't sell animal fur and meat, but shops that deal with that mostly don't exist in this territory town (it's more correct to call it a village than town . )

Even if I wanted to go to some big town to sell them, the current me can't use teleport magic .

It's not like I can't use Storage magic, but that magic decreases my maximum mana point depending on the capacity used . It's fine if I just use it to store lightweight things like magic stones, but it's not suited for long term storing of fur and meat .

. . . . I should make a storage container and put them there .

As long as I use the wood well, I should be able to control it to some degree even without magic tools . I'm gonna amass anything I can find, and sell them when I'm taking the exam .

"That being the case . "

After talking with Reich, father opened his mouth once again .

"Time for the training to beat up the examiner no matter which strong guy comes out . "

Thus, our training restarted .

This training continued every single day in the morning until the day I left the territory .

◇

Afternoon of that day .

Just as I've decided in the morning, before going hunting, I cut down a tree to make a storeroom to put things I've gathered .

From what I heard during lunch, it seems there's no problem in cutting down trees around this area .

"Well then . The quality of the wood is . . . . Un . It's complicated . "

Since it's not managed, it's a natural forest for better or worse .

It's not particularly good, or particularly bad .

Well, guess it's good enough .

I burnt off the tree with converged flame magic and made several planks from it .

Then I combined them using magic, creating a largish box .

I made one, but .

" . . . . This is terrible . "

I realized the value of the First Crest I had in my past life for the first time here .

First Crest is the crest suited for production type magic .

Using magic while knowing that, the results is terrible .

The bonding planes are uneven, and the amount of mana loaded in it is very little .

This box has no problem if it's only used for storing, but I'm likely going to need the help of First Crest if I want to seriously make equipment .

While thinking about that, I hunted some animals today and brought furs and preserved meat to the house .

During that time–

"I got some birds that accidentally hit some trees today too . "

"Did they got neatly skinned too in the process?"

"I'm sure that's cause they hit the trees just right . "

"Don't you think that excuse is too much yourself?"

" . . . . I do . "

"I know that you're strong . I'm not gonna complain you're hunting animals, bring them here all you want . If there's excess meat, sell it to the villagers, earn your school expense . "

With such conversations, I was authorized by my family to hunt .

Thus, my training and strengthening proceeded smoothly .

It was several years after my past memories resurfaced that a slight turning point came up .

A monster appeared in the village's forest .