Episode 8
Tap.
When Flint Smelter tapped the air with her wand, tiny, semi-transparent mini versions of the student reps popped out from the wand’s tip.
— “Welcome to Spellmore Academy!”
— “Welcome!”
Holograms with voice support?
Well, if they had to say the same thing every time a new student arrived, they’d have lost their voices by now.
‘So second-years can use magic like this? That’s amazing.’
The avatars of the student reps floated in front of Selly’s sparkling eyes and began explaining the school system.
— “Spellmore is a six-year program.”
— “In the first two years, everyone learns the basics through common subjects. Starting in the third year, students choose a major and begin their path as professional mages.”
— “It’s a tough road.”
— “But don’t get too comfortable just because you’re first-years. At the end of every year, there’s a final exam. Students who don’t pass have to go home.”
— “That’s what we call failing.”
— “Students who survive two possible failings get to choose their major.”
— “Mr. Silvergrove, what majors are available?”
— “Why don’t we ask the teachers?”
The whole thing started to feel like one of those awkward school intro videos from orientation day…
And sure enough, awkward-looking teachers and students suddenly appeared on screen, clearly forced to participate.
The video introduced a huge list of majors, changing so fast it was hard to keep up.
What Selly did catch was that each major had its own unique emblem that students wore on their uniforms.
And also… the students all looked really different depending on their major.
The ones with crescent moons (Divination Department) had spaced-out smiles, reminding Selly of people possessed by spirits.
Meanwhile, pale-faced, expressionless students with thick glasses and gear-shaped emblems didn’t even need the emblem—their plaid shirts already gave it away.
‘Magical Engineering, huh.’
Even here, the engineering types wear plaid. Someone should just burn all plaid shirts in the universe.
By the time the video dragged on, students were starting to lose interest.
Then—
“Whoa.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up.
On screen appeared three ridiculously handsome guys—clearly picked for their looks.
‘They could totally be actors!’
Selly also stared at them, eyes sparkling.
‘Oh… never mind. Guess not.’
The good-looking men introduced themselves as Spellmore teachers and delivered their lines like someone forced them to act in a cheesy commercial.
— “You can also double-major.”
— “In theory.”
— “If you dream of shortening your life, we recommend it. But Smelter, what exactly are we recommending here?”
“It’s a video editing mistake, sorry!” Flint blushed and quickly explained. Clearly, they hid the awkward script on purpose.
— “Thank you for the info! So, if I graduate, I’ll become a mage, right?”
— “Not right away. After graduating, students must complete an apprenticeship with a master mage based on their major, where they’ll learn through hands-on experience.”
…Is it just me, or does this sound like getting dragged into grad school?
— “Please look forward to tomorrow’s entrance ceremony—the first step toward becoming a great mage.”
— “You’ll be taking the Elemental Affinity Test!”
Huh?
A test? On the first day?
Selly, panicking, shot her hand up as soon as the video ended and fired off questions.
“How’s the test done? Do we need supplies? Should we study? What do we study?”
The second-year reps, just a year older than her, smiled warmly at her nervous questions.
“No, you don’t need to prepare anything.”
“Elemental affinity is something you’re born with. No matter what you do, it won’t change. The test just figures out which element suits you best.”
“Phew, thank goodness.”
So, it should be fine… right?
She felt relieved but her heart was pounding.
‘Elemental affinity, huh!’
It was such a classic magic school thing—it made her excited.
‘I wonder which element I’ll match with?’
Maybe I’ll get two or three at once?
‘Ugh, it’ll be awkward again if people notice how much of a genius I am.’
…She giggled to herself at that thought.
Full of excitement, Selly followed the upperclassmen up the stairs.
“And lastly, we’ll show you the inside of the Spellmore Tower.”
They stopped at a wide landing that was big enough to be called a hall.
On the tall, wide wall in front of them hung a huge tapestry embroidered with the map of the tower.
The Tower of All the World’s Colors
The black Spellmore Tower had an official name.
“There are 496 floors in total,” explained Ydril Silvergrove.
Then Smelter gave the freshmen a surprise question.
“Strange, right? Why stop at 496 floors instead of making it a nice round 500?”
Everyone blinked in confusion, but Selly—standing in the back—raised her hand.
“Because it’s a perfect number!”
A perfect number is one where the sum of its proper divisors equals the number itself. It’s a super geeky math thing.
To Selly, who’s a hardcore science type, this was a super easy question.
The two student reps’ jaws practically hit the floor.
“Correct!”
Mages really are like science nerds… Selly had guessed and somehow nailed it.
“Wow… the last person to get that right was Professor Crowley, right?”
Flint, still stunned, asked, and the elf boy closed his eyes and pretended to rub an invisible crystal ball.
“I see a future where she’s trapped in the Raven’s Nest…”
The new students burst into laughter. Everyone except Selly seemed to know what that meant.
‘I wanna laugh too!’
Selly asked what the “Raven’s Nest” was, but the upperclassmen only gave her mysterious smiles and said she’d find out soon enough.
“Anyway, back on topic. As you can see, the main tower is divided into six sections.”
It was divided vertically, kind of like a social pyramid.
The bottom section was called The Abyss.
Spellmore takes no responsibility for what happens if you enter without permission.
…Seems like the name fits.
Above that, the tower was divided into:
- The Abyss of Ignorance
- The Sea of Awareness
- The Land of Knowledge
- The Breeze of Wisdom
- The Light of Truth
‘They’re totally putting all the clueless first-years in the Abyss.’
Still, just looking at the names didn’t help—there were no descriptions of what each section actually held.
“I have a question,” Selly said, raising her hand again.
“It doesn’t say what’s in each section. Is there a more detailed map?”
— Lost one…
“Ah!” Selly jumped. The tapestry had suddenly spoken.
— Where do you wish to go?
Is this some kind of fantasy GPS?
Trying to stay calm, Selly said the first thing that came to mind.
“Bed—I mean, the dormitory.”
— The girls’ dorm is on the 18th floor of the Abyss of Ignorance, east side, in the Dreaming Tower.
A little wizard on the tapestry flew to the Dreaming Tower and tapped its roof with a wand. Each tap made golden thread fireworks appear.
“Well, I guess that also explained how to find your way around. That’s the end of the tour.”
“If you have questions or need help with anything, feel free to visit the Student Council Tower and talk to us or any other upperclassmen.”
“Thank you!”
The new students thanked them and started up the stairs—but Selly approached the student reps with another question already brewing.
“Do dorms here only go by gender? Doesn’t a magic hat sort students based on their traits or something?”
Maybe it was a weird question, but for someone from Earth, it was serious.
The two reps blinked and tilted their heads at her, like it was such an obvious thing.
“I came from far away, so I don’t know much.”
That explanation seemed to click.
“It used to be like that. Long ago, there were four dormitories, each with a proud tradition and long history…”
