Chapter 2: Entrance Exam
The main setting of Spell Breaker is Iris Academy, located in the Azereum Empire, which is ruled by four major powers:
The Imperial Family — the heart and symbol of the empire.
The Knights Order — responsible for the empire’s military strength.
The Mage Tower — in charge of the empire’s technology and magical research.
The Lumen Order — overseeing welfare and divine power.
These four factions rule the empire from their respective domains, cooperating while also keeping each other in check.
But no matter how much they argued or held each other in check, they ultimately existed to maintain the empire. Thus, in order to prevent internal division, they came together to create Iris Academy.
The goal was to gather the children of high-ranking nobles and have them form connections from an early age, laying the foundation for cooperation.
Because of this purpose and its academic mission, Iris Academy became an inviolable institution—even the Emperor couldn’t easily interfere.
Moreover, in line with its goal of pursuing knowledge, the academy accepted students regardless of social status, allowing talented individuals from any background to apply. This is why the protagonist of Spell Breaker—despite hiding his true status—decides to grow stronger at Iris Academy.
Being an academy for noble children, it received vast financial support from both public and private sources. As a result, some of the empire’s top scholars and warriors joined the academy as professors. Attracted by this, many talented youths gathered there, and Iris Academy naturally became the most prestigious school in the empire.
As the academy’s reputation grew, the need to distinguish between geniuses and mediocrities arose, leading to the implementation of entrance exams that tested one’s strength, magical power, and divine affinity.
And this entrance exam is the tutorial of Spell Breaker.
However, for royal family members and children of prestigious families, the entrance exam was essentially meaningless.
That’s because it was a concession made by lower-ranking nobles to convince the higher ones.
Officially, the exam was about equality and screening commoners who matched the nobles’ standards. In truth, it was just a desperate effort to get their own children accepted.
High nobles knew all this but didn’t interfere because their children were guaranteed admission anyway.
Furthermore, since Iris Academy was founded to unite the nobility, even as a disgraceful heir of a prestigious magic family, I was effectively already accepted.
All I had to do was make a little fire with my hand, and I’d pass.
Iris Academy is a place where equality is guaranteed by imperial decree.
Even the Emperor can’t interfere easily, making it one of the most securely protected institutions in the empire. Because of this, nobles rarely assert their authority openly.
But that’s only on the surface. Status hasn’t disappeared, and commoners still couldn’t escape its grip.
Many students, faced with the vast class divide they’d never imagined confronting face-to-face, shrank away. Meanwhile, the ambitious ones scrambled to build connections at the academy.
Thus, the atmosphere on exam day resembled a chaotic market.
“I’ve prepared a red carpet!”
“I brought an elixir, a specialty of my family’s business!”
“I… I have healing scrolls!”
Children of lesser nobles and wealthy merchants swarmed around the scions of prestigious families, each hoping to leave a good impression.
The nobles, in turn, browsed the offerings like they were shopping, selecting a few they liked.
But no one approached me.
Okay, I might be a disgrace, but isn’t this a bit much? I’m still technically a high-ranking noble.
As I frowned and glanced around, whispers erupted.
“Look over there. That’s the delinquent Ban.”
“Hey, keep it down! He might hear you!”
“Let him. He’s already fallen out of favor with his house head.”
“Still, what if he lashes out…”
I sighed.
In Spell Breaker, Ban’s reputation was… unique.
He’s ignored because he’s incompetent and disowned in all but name. Yet he still carries the protection of his family, making him a dangerous wildcard. People treat him with contempt but also fear—because no one knows when he’ll lose it.
I used to scoff at that setup while playing. But now, living it? I didn’t know how to deal.
Ban’s ability to maintain this kind of life… was oddly impressive.
Still, I wasn’t disappointed no one approached me. Unlike those aristocratic children, I wasn’t used to that kind of attention. It made me uncomfortable.
And honestly, I didn’t have anything impressive to offer. If I’d known I’d be pulled into the game, I would’ve memorized more.
But regretting that now is pointless. I just had to make the most of the information I did remember.
The entrance exam proceeded in numerical order, and until your turn, you were free to do as you liked.
Most used this time to form factions or network with fellow nobles, but I had somewhere else to go.
Thanks to running around endlessly from the protagonist’s POV, I knew the academy’s layout perfectly. As I made my way to my destination, I checked Ban Astrea’s status window.
[Name: Ban Astrea]
[Level: 10]
[Strength: 15 | Magic: 25 | Divinity: 10]
[Skills: Fire Magic (Basic), Water Magic (Basic), Wind Magic (Basic), Earth Magic (Basic), Dual Casting, Swordsmanship (Basic), Divine Arts – Healing (Basic), ■■■]
I’d had high hopes for a direct heir of a magic family… and immediately sighed.
What kind of life has this guy lived?
A magic family, yet… Strength 15?! And 10 Divinity?! No wonder he only has 25 Magic even at Level 10!
My head throbbed.
Characters start with 10 stat points at Level 1 and get 4 per level. With 25 points wasted on Strength and Divinity, that’s roughly six levels tossed into the trash.
This wasn’t just a bad build. It was sabotage.
In this game, your stats reflect not only your strength but your affiliation. Nobles with high rank usually specialize in one stat and ignore the rest entirely.
But Ban had a bit of everything.
This could mean two things:
Either he built friendly ties with multiple factions…
Or he pissed everyone off equally.
I hoped it was the former. But considering he’s the empire’s most infamous delinquent…
In the game, there are characters like this—entangled with various factions, triggering unique events when approached.
Those events were nightmare-level difficult, regardless of the storyline.
Unless the rewards were amazing, avoiding them was wise.
But now, I was that character.
Thankfully, his skill set was at least somewhat decent.
Swordsmanship (Basic) for Strength, Divine Healing (Basic) for Divinity—nothing top-tier, but not useless either.
And for Magic, he had all four basic elemental skills: Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth. Usually, characters could barely manage two. With proper development, he could potentially join the Mage Tower’s upper ranks.
Plus, he had Dual Casting—letting him cast two spells at once, a must-have for any magic build.
Not bad for a delinquent, honestly.
Still… if he worked that hard, couldn’t he have spent his stat points better?
And then… one last skill.
[Skill: ■■■]
[Type: Passive]
[Effect: ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■. ■■■ ■■■ ■, ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■.]
A hidden skill. Name and effect, both unreadable.
Hidden skills are unlocked by fulfilling certain conditions.
In my experience, they’re almost always beneficial—if you can uncover them. So someday, it’ll come in handy.
As I closed the status window, I arrived at my destination: the indoor training room on the academy’s west wing.
Surrounded by sturdy iron walls, it had a grassy floor and a ceiling open to the sky, letting in warm sunlight.
And in the center stood a girl swinging a sword.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Her blade cut the air with sharp force. She’d clearly been training for a while—sweat clung beneath her ponytail.
Flaming red hair, fierce black eyes—my favorite character, Reina Serenia.
If you came to the west training room before the tutorial, you could meet her.
I had a few reasons for seeking her out before the exam… but the biggest one was simple:
I just wanted to see her.
Not through a monitor—but with my own eyes.
And the first feeling that struck me was wonder.
Like seeing a favorite celebrity in real life. You think about it but never truly expect it to happen. Suddenly, the rest of the world faded away.
I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t think of a word. And I didn’t want to interrupt her training.
So I sat quietly on a bench nearby.
According to the lore, Reina is the last surviving member of the now-destroyed Serenia sword family—once one of the empire’s three great houses.
Her skills are already on par with a knight apprentice. She’ll pass the entrance exam easily.
But she trains anyway—because that’s who she is.
She believes true strength comes from honest effort.
That’s what made her so strong—and why I loved her story.
No matter how hard things got, she pushed through.
She was a bit too strict—refusing help even when she needed it—which made her hard to protect as a player…
But that too was part of her charm.
Time passed. Eventually, Reina paused her training and turned toward me.
“Do you need something from me?”
She wiped sweat from her neck with a towel as she approached.
What should I say?
I knew her well, but she didn’t know me. So I played it cool.
“Nah. Just came to warm up a bit before the exam. You were already here, so I waited.”
“Oh~?”
She grinned and looked me up and down.
“Judging by your outfit, you’re not just any noble… From a prestigious family?”
“More or less.”
“Then you’re basically guaranteed to pass. I’ll be passing too, so let’s get along. I’m Reina Serenia.”
Just as expected—straightforward and cheerful. I smiled.
“What? Why are you smiling? Something on my face?”
“No, it’s just…”
I’m happy to meet you in person.
I held back those words and shook her hand.
“I’m Ban Astrea. Nice to meet you.”
Reina paused, thinking… and then gasped.
“Ban Astrea?! The delinquent of House Astrea?!”
Ah. Right. I am the delinquent.
Still not used to this body.
Thankfully, Reina didn’t flinch or run away after realizing.
Instead, she nodded brightly.
“I see… so that’s why you were smiling…”
She seemed to be misunderstanding something.
Whatever it was, I couldn’t guess—so I let it slide.
“You’re not as bad as the rumors say.”
Suddenly, I was curious.
“…Can I ask what kind of rumors you’ve heard?”
“Well… minor stuff, like blowing up the ceiling during your debut party. But the main one is that you blew up part of the Mage Tower’s headquarters.”
What the hell?! The headquarters?!
“That’s ridiculous. I blew up the Mage Tower?!”
“I think so? I remember hearing you were acquitted, so it stuck in my mind.”
…
The Mage Tower HQ isn’t just a magic building. It’s a sealed repository of ancient technology and magical knowledge—a nuclear bomb vault, basically.
Damaging that place wasn’t a scandal—it was a war crime.
If Ban weren’t a direct heir, he’d have been executed.
“Ignore the rumors,” Reina said kindly. “I believe anyone who trains hard can’t be a bad person. I thought I’d be the only one training before the exam, so I was surprised. You must be a good guy.”
She smiled warmly.
That kindness—her refusal to judge others based on gossip—was one of her best traits.
Then she suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me up.
“Let’s spar!”
Reina loved dueling almost as much as training.
It was the simplest way to test progress.
Her eyes sparkled.
“You’re a direct heir of the Astrea family, right? You must be super strong!”
Nope. I’m trash…
I hadn’t even been here an hour and had never cast a spell in my life.
But Reina didn’t wait for an answer. She nodded to herself.
“You train hard, so you must be strong!”
I wasn’t even used to handling magic yet. But I couldn’t avoid the duel.
If I wanted to build a strong relationship with her, I had to show results.
Besides… seeing her eyes full of expectation made me want to live up to it.
“…Alright. Let’s do it.”
I didn’t have much—just my strategy. But I had nothing to lose.
