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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Phew. We’ve arrived!”
Splash.
Alexia exclaimed as she stepped onto the shallow, waterlogged ground.
“This place really is unpleasant no matter how many times I come!”
The wetlands.
It was a dark, humid, and muggy land 365 days a year.
At least the western desert was bearable if you avoided the sun.
This wetland was undoubtedly the most uncomfortable place to live in the Empire, no, on the continent.
“Fufu. The village is starting to appear!”
Surprisingly, there were people living in this place that seemed to have no life forms other than insects, alligators, and giant snakes.
Though not a large population, it was enough to form a village.
The one Alexia came to see was the creator of that village.
The Majin called the Madman.
“Come on! We’re almost there everyone! Shall we push on with some energy?”
“…”
“Great spirit! Let’s go then!”
“…”
Amidst the buzzing of insects, Alexia alone enthusiastically shouted and took vigorous steps toward the village.
In her imagination, after walking through this unpleasant land for days, there were always reliable companions by her side.
Soon Alexia encountered a man standing with a spear.
“Halt! This is the domain of Lord Madman! Turn back!”
“I’m a friend of the Madman! It should be fine for me to enter!”
“Don’t say such frightening things. You might end up torn to pieces beyond recognition. I’ve given my warning, now turn back…”
“What? Who’s going to tear who to pieces?”
Alexia’s brow furrowed sharply.
She was already annoyed from the long journey.
At the end of that journey, she had entered this godforsaken land and was extremely displeased.
Now her pride was being provoked by such nonsensical words, bringing her to the brink of explosion.
Normally, she would have been more patient, but right now, she felt like smashing this guy’s head in immediately.
“Fufu. It seems our friend has poorly trained these chicks? Since I’ve come after so long, I’ll take your necks as a gift instead.”
“Listen, miss. Stop talking nonsense and…”
“Hey, you sons of bitches! Get out of the way right now!”
“L-Lord Madman?!”
The guards turned around in shock.
A man with wildly unkempt hair, wearing loose clothes haphazardly, stood there shouting.
The Madman.
He had the appearance of the one who caused problems the most frequently among the Majins, and was responsible for 70% of Tilpitz’s stress.
“You’ve built a nice country, haven’t you? Are you the king of this place?”
“Don’t call it a country. These bastards just went and built a village next to where I live. It’s annoying as hell. Anyway, come in and let’s talk.”
After patting the heads of the trembling guards who were bowing 90 degrees, Alexia stepped inside.
Inside, there was indeed something resembling a magnificent palace.
Given the Madman’s terrible sense of art, he certainly hadn’t built it himself.
He must have made humans build it.
“Did Tilpitz send you? I haven’t killed a single human in the last 30 years. Really. With my old personality, I would have razed this village to the ground. Now I just throw them some work occasionally.”
“Fufu. I know. I’m not here to punish you.”
“Then what? You coming in person means it’s not an ordinary matter. But seeing as no meeting was called, it doesn’t seem that serious either.”
“I just have a few things to ask!”
“What do you want to ask?”
The Madman’s expression became strange.
She came all this way just to ask some questions?
If it was Tilpitz, maybe, but Alexia who found everything troublesome?
Something felt off.
“Have you by any chance left this place recently?!”
“Recently? I did stop by Monarch about 10 years ago.”
“More recent! In the past month!”
“Past month? I haven’t left here for at least 3 years.”
“Hmm…!”
The Madman stepped back slightly, uncomfortable with Alexia’s suspicious gaze.
Despite his playful attitude and way of speaking, Alexia was still the one boasting the strongest combat power among the Majins.
The Madman couldn’t help but feel tense at the fact that Alexia was suspecting him for some reason.
“Hmm! Questioning is boring after all!”
“You… Oof!”
Bang!
In the blink of an eye.
Literally in an instant, Alexia’s form, which had clearly been far away, was right in front of him.
Before he could even react, Alexia’s palm covered the Madman’s face, smashing the back of his head into the ground.
“What are you doing…!”
“Shh. Let’s concentrate a bit.”
He couldn’t even resist.
Despite being a fellow Majin, this overwhelming difference in power was unbridgeable.
If he struggled, he could easily break Alexia’s arm, but…
Alexia’s hand pressed down on the Madman’s skull as if in warning.
With just a little more force, she could burst his head and make him half-crippled.
The Madman could only remain still while panting heavily.
“There! Done! You stayed still so well!”
“Alexia! You show your face after so long and this is what you do?!”
“I just checked something quickly. Whether you had given away a Majin’s authority to a human.”
“…!”
Alexia smiled while wiping her hand on her clothes.
The Madman still had 100% of his Majin’s authority.
It meant he hadn’t given away even a bit of it to humans.
“Why would I give away my authority! In the first place, to do such a thing…!”
“Yes. You’d have to shave off your life force.”
“Why would I do such a thing.”
The Madman answered with a displeased expression.
Majins basically lived eternally.
They lived an eternal life without their lifespan decreasing or aging.
But the moment they gave away even a bit of their authority, from that point on, a Majin’s body would have a finite lifespan just like other living beings.
“I see. That’s all I needed to check.”
“Hey! You need to explain what this is suddenly all about!”
The Madman was at a loss.
The last crazy person to give authority to humans was that ‘Deliverer’ guy.
It had been a hundred years since they caught and punished him, so he couldn’t understand why she was doing this now.
“Even if I tell you, you won’t understand anyway! You just live here playing king!”
“Hey, I at least know the big news. These human bastards here talk too much.”
“Oh really? Then what’s the recent news?”
“They say there’s a ceasefire? Between Freya and Trude.”
“Haa…”
That news was over 2 years old…
As expected, the Madman living in this rural village and uninterested in the world wouldn’t know about Schlus Hainkel.
Alexia shook her head and turned around.
“Just know that an unusual human has appeared!”
“How unusual? Gawayn level?”
“Enough to make it so you can’t leisurely play king here anymore.”
“What…”
How could a single human affect even a Majin?
Unlike Tilpitz, who was interested in humans, talking about peace and love and whatnot, there were almost no issues that affected the Madman living quietly in the backwoods.
A person of that caliber could literally shake the continent.
“You must be joking.”
“You can think of it as a joke if you like! Well then everyone! Let’s depart now!”
“Everyone…?”
Alexia was talking to the air as if having a conversation.
The Madman watched her retreating figure, chattering away, with a pitying gaze.
He thought that the name ‘Madman’ seemed to suit Alexia better than himself.
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“Ainz.”
“Huh?”
“Do you think a two-dimensional single formula combining the core of the fire system and the ice system can exist?”
“Hmm…?”
At Schlus’s serious question, Ainz tilted his head and tried to visualize the formula in his mind for a moment, but he couldn’t quite picture the form of the formula.
“Um… I don’t think so?”
“It was a question on the Elemental Magic exam. I don’t think they would give us a question without an answer just to confuse us.”
“An exam question? Hey, then you shouldn’t be asking me!”
“There was no such restriction.”
“What?”
“It’s an exam where everything is allowed – discussion, cooperation, deception, consultation, peeking, and so on.”
“What kind of…”
Ainz was so dumbfounded he couldn’t close his mouth.
That was an exam?
Ainz couldn’t even begin to grasp what kind of ability they were trying to evaluate.
“A two-dimensional single formula combining the core of the fire system and the ice system. Drawing this was one of the problems.”
“And you haven’t solved it yet?”
“That’s right. That’s why I’m seeking your advice.”
“Hmm. Give me a moment.”
A problem that even Schlus, who was like an older brother, hadn’t solved yet?
If he could solve this first and be of help, there would be nothing more satisfying.
Thinking it wasn’t such a complicated problem and that the answer would come quickly with a little thought, Ainz…
“Ugh. Hey. My head hurts too much. This isn’t going to work.”
“…”
He gave up in less than 5 minutes.
Combining two systems of opposite properties was already not an easy difficulty, but to express that in a 2D formula instead of 3D…
He doubted if this was even possible at all.
“That was quite helpful. Thank you.”
“Huh? Schlus! Wait! Give me a little more time!”
Ainz clung to Schlus, who was trying to leave without hesitation.
Looking at it again, it seemed like the answer would come if he thought about it a little more.
Really, just a little more thought.
“Trie.”
“Oh, Teacher! You were here first?”
“Yes. Master.”
“Ah, really! I told you not to call me that…”
“This is what they call mirror therapy.”
“…Tsk.”
Trie, was it?
She was the daughter of a family in the mercenary business, and seemed particularly close to Schlus.
But what help could a woman whose skull seemed to be entirely filled with muscle provide?
“Do you think a two-dimensional single formula combining the core of the fire system and the ice system can exist?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you understand anything?”
“Was it possible to combine the cores of two systems?”
“…”
As expected.
Both Ainz and Schlus sighed deeply at her naive answer.
“Sigh. Never mind. I shouldn’t have asked you.”
“Why! What’s wrong? What is it?”
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“T-tell me once more? I think I might understand.”
“Uwahaha! You’re all here already! You diligent ones!”
A booming voice echoed through the classroom.
Sure enough, it was Sergei.
Sergei stood with his arms crossed.
He seemed to be in an especially good mood today.
“The exam time has already passed by 3 minutes…”
“First, I should give you information about the midterm! This semester, we learned about activating internal circuits to enhance your bodies during combat! And the most efficient use of external circuits, that is, magic formulas! I came up with a brilliant exam to evaluate both of these at once just last night!”
“…”
He came up with the midterm exam the day before, no, 10 hours before…?
All the students felt like laughing in disbelief.
Only Schlus remained expressionless, as if he had expected all this.
‘Does this guy take nerve stabilizers every day or something?’
Ainz seriously wondered.
“Professor… May I ask what this exam is?”
“Good question! It’s a tournament!”
“Pardon?”
Unable to understand, Trie tilted her head.
“Is it the tournament I’m thinking of?”
“That’s right! Coincidentally, your number is 32! It’s the perfect number for a tournament! Now, I’ll reveal the bracket!”
“…”
Trie was left speechless in disbelief.
This professor was holding a martial arts tournament when he was supposed to be evaluating educational standards.
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Love Sergei