Magias Magic Academy.
Serving as the core of magical technology in the continental hegemon of Gleefia, it was a prestigious institution that had produced countless renowned mages.
Entrance examinations were held irregularly.
Whenever they took place, an immense flood of applications poured in from across the nation and beyond. After document screenings and exams, only an average of forty applicants made the cut.
To put it briefly, that was the kind of place Magias was, according to Aunt Coffey's explanation.
"The exam isn't even that hard, so there's no need to get all worked up."
"That's literally the only thing you've said, Auntie..."
The day of the entrance exam.
Riding a wave of momentum, I had traveled up to the royal capital, but my awe at the city's hustle and bustle was short-lived.
Listening to my aunt chat casually on our way to the exam hall, a wave of belated anxiety finally began to wash over me.
I used to deprecate myself by saying that whatever prodigy status I had was only by countryside standards, but truth be told, I had enough confidence in my magic to believe I could scrape into a reasonably prestigious academy.
After all, Brendan Walker's entire life up to this point had been dedicated to the magical arts.
However, I had zero experience battling tooth and nail at the very top among the absolute cream of the crop.
The bad feeling I had when we first talked about this had hit the mark.
In short, my aunt's sense of scale was just completely detached from reality.
One hour remained until the exam started.
The written test would be in the morning, followed by the practical in the afternoon.
Just a few minutes left until the special magic beast carriage bound for the venue arrived.
This was as far as my aunt would accompany me.
"I looked over your research notes, and your fundamentals seem solid enough. All that's left is the practical."
Putting the written portion aside, there simply hadn't been enough time to prepare for the full scope of the practical exam.
I was heading into this test like a clueless newborn babe, having no real idea what the academy was about to throw at me.
"As for the practical, based on our sparring match yesterday, you're reasonably strong. Even if you don't know what's coming, you'll probably manage."
Speaking of last night.
Under the guise of assessing my strength, I had a brief sparring match with my aunt, and she basically beat the living daylights out of me.
I thought I'd racked up a respectable amount of combat experience against the old man and wild magic beasts, but I couldn't even mount a defense against my aunt's spells. I was blasted a good hundred meters through the city streets, and the military police who rushed to the scene chewed us out thoroughly.
Well, at the end of the day, it proved I really was just a big fish in a small countryside pond—an absolute nobody once out in the city.
"Anyway, just give it everything you've got, Bren. You passed the document screening, so you'll be fine!"
My aunt's encouragement snapped me wide awake.
She was right.
To be honest, I had no clue how someone with zero accomplishments like me had even passed the initial screening, but now that I'd come this far, there was nothing to do but give it my all.
I'll show them what this countryside prodigy is made of!
"Auntie, I'm done moping! I'm definitely going to pass!"
"That's the spirit! Now you're talking like my nephew!"
With a wave from my aunt seeing me off, I climbed aboard the magic beast carriage.
The timid, hesitating version of myself from moments ago was nowhere to be found.
◇
"Ah, nope. I'm doomed."
That was my immediate thought upon arriving at the exam grounds.
The academy building was absurdly massive.
Calling it a school building felt like a joke—it was a colossal monolith.
By my estimate, it was taller than Tokyo Tower.
My sense of scale and the sheer size of this structure were not on speaking terms.
I see... so that towering landmark I'd been staring at ever since arriving in the capital was actually Magias.
The main gates were equally imposing, easily wide enough for three hundred gorillas to charge through abreast. The examinees streaming past carried such an intimidating aura that, to my eyes, every last one of them looked like a gorilla.
Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, my feet felt like lead.
Come to think of it, did I pack all the required materials for the exam?
Distracted by the silly worry, I stopped dead in my tracks to rummage through my bag.
"Hey."
A voice called out from behind. I turned to find a fellow examinee who looked about my age standing there—a girl with slightly sleepy, droopy eyes.
"Move."
"Ah, my bad."
I took a step aside to make way.
Without realizing it, I had ground the entire flow of traffic to a halt right in front of the entrance.
"Mm."
Without another word, the cool-tempered girl with the droopy eyes strode into the depths of the facility.
Incredible... That was legitimately the first time in years I'd spoken to a girl.
"Attention, examinees~! Written Exam Hall Two is this way~! Please take your seats quickly~!"
I turned toward the guiding voice, which sounded hilariously out of place.
Steeling my resolve once and for all, I stepped inside and headed straight for my assigned desk.
◇
"All right~! Pencils down, everyone~!"
The proctor's voice, amplified by magic, echoed throughout the hall.
The morning's written exam came to an end in what felt like a flash.
"Great work, everybody~! You all tried so hard until the very end! Were your hearts racing?! It's truly amazing that you saw it through! Make sure to give yourselves lots and lots of praise today~!"
This young proctor, who carried the high-energy vibe of a children's television host, was apparently an associate professor named Professor Yuriha.
Throughout the entire exam, she had incessantly broadcasted supposedly helpful advice like "Do your best~!" and "Don't give up until the end~!" to the entire room, which was honestly just wildly distracting.
"Now then, I'm going to start grading right away! Put your pens down and please stay in your seats!"
"Huh?"
Is she planning to grade them right here and now?
There had to be at least five hundred people seated at desks in Hall Two alone. Shouldn't we leave our papers where they are and move to the next room? That was usually how these things worked.
As the confusion set in, Proctor Yuriha's silhouette blurred.
It blurred and split into two. The afterimages of two became four, four became eight, and I gave up counting once the number crossed a hundred.
Before the hall could even erupt into murmurs, an absurd swarm of Proctor Yurihas had filled every corner of the room.
In the blink of an eye, a Proctor Yuriha was positioned neatly beside every single desk.
Are you serious? Is she actually grading them right here, right now, like this?
"Your name is... Brendan, right! Great to meet you~!"
"Mercedes! Where did you travel from today~?"
"Gerald, sharp haircut! Did the test go just as sharply~?"
"Luluck, what a lovely name~! Do you come from a family of witches, by chance?"
The Professor Yuriha assigned to my desk offered a sunny greeting, red pen poised in her right hand.
The exact same scene played out at every other desk across the room.
To be frank, it was a profoundly unsettling sight.
"Wow~! Brendan, you filled in every single answer! You did so well to finish the whole thing in such a short time~! You must have studied a ton! Good boy~!"
"Yes..."
"Look at this, and this too! Wonderfully done~! Yup, yup, completely spot-on up to the middle~! But near the end, did you rush just a little bit~? You made a couple of tiny slips~! That's a teeny-tiny deduction! But your effort gets full marks☆"
"........."
"The parts you got right, and the parts you missed—they all show where you stand right now, Brendan~! You'll do even better next time, so don't worry about a thing~!"
Shut up and just finish grading already.
"Grading is all~ done~! Wow, what an incredible score! You worked extra hard! I'm giving you a special flower stamp! Congratulations! Brendan Wal..."
Suddenly.
As if realizing something, Proctor Yuriha froze completely.
"...Is something wrong?"
"Ah, nope! Nothing at all~! Yup, yup! Number 707, Brendan Walker! You pass! You are cleared to proceed to the practical exam~! Please make your way to the Fourth Training Ground~!"
Thump.
Stamping my exam admission slip on the desk with tremendous gusto, the Proctor Yuriha assigned to me vanished like a puff of smoke.
I hadn't anticipated a cutoff system where failing the written test barred you from the practical entirely, but either way, I made it through.
Rising from my seat, I headed toward the next testing ground.
Looking around, I saw many examinees with their heads hanging low in defeat, being gently consoled by their respective Proctor Yurihas.
"Everyone~ that's all for today~! You did your best! You're all super amazing! Congratulations to everyone who passed the written portion! And to those who didn't quite make it, let's keep our chins up and try again next time~! Bye-byee!"
Leaving behind those parting words, the original Proctor Yuriha who had been monitoring us from the front also vanished into thin air.
I had known from the start that it was clone magic.
To think that not even the first one was the real thing...