Main Quest

Inside the barrier.

Lairn stood in front of the hall's entrance in a spotless white robe, silently watching the examinees gathered outside the barrier.

However, when Lairn glanced to the side, he noticed that his senior disciple beside him seemed distracted, looking utterly absent-minded. Curious, he asked,

"Senior Disciple? Is something on your mind?"

"Ah?"

Guter was briefly startled at being called, then came back to his senses and nodded.

"Yes, I was thinking about something."

Guter raised the unusually thick Magic Book in his hand toward Lairn. "After all, I made such a bold claim to Teacher that I'd master this knowledge within three years."

"I sounded so impassioned back then, but now that I think about it, I can't help feeling uncertain."

"It is an exceptionally difficult task," Lairn agreed.

Having once served as a Court Mage, Lairn had personally participated in the deciphering and study of Mythical Era Magic. He knew full well how difficult it was.

Judging by the thickness of this Magic Book, even by the standards of modern genius mages, it would likely take two or three years to fully master it—assuming there were no obstacles in language or comprehension and that one was already familiar with every magical theory mentioned in the book.

But the one in his senior disciple's hands was not a Magic Book written in this era. It had been written during the Mythic Era.

Over that vast span of time, no one could determine how many changes language, vocabulary, and symbols used to convey meaning had undergone.

Take the magical notes of Sage Evisy from the Mythic Era, unearthed from a tomb several decades ago. No one could understand the information recorded in them anymore. The language was even older than ancient Elvish.

And their contents were almost entirely codes made from various illustrations. People of that era liked recording magic in all kinds of codes, making them extraordinarily difficult to decipher and study.

As far as Lairn knew, after decades of fruitless attempts, the Empire's relevant personnel had commissioned someone to send a handwritten copy to Holy City Hutrall in the Southern Countries, hoping to enlist Bishop Heiter's help in deciphering it.

And everything mentioned so far was merely the difficulty of understanding the Magic Book itself. Learning the magical theories of the Mythic Era was no easy matter either.

Before Archmage Frieren established the foundation of human magic during the Unified Empire period, the magical theories humans possessed had actually been extremely chaotic and disorganized.

Though their core principles were the same, each was mixed with subjective and theoretical elements, making them exceptionally difficult to learn.

"Senior Disciple, if you're troubled by it, why not explain things to Teacher and admit your mistake?"

"With your talent, Senior Disciple, and Teacher Serie's guidance, around five years would be more reasonable."

"No."

Guter shook his head. "It's already too late. I now have a reason why I must complete it on time."

"Let's not talk about that. Lairn, do you think Teacher will be able to find a suitable disciple today?"

One hour earlier.

After Guter made his promise to Serie and accepted Teacher's request to assist with the examination, the system issued two notifications.

Ding!

Main Quest activated. (Completing Main Quests may grant items and chances to draw, strip, grant, copy, or upgrade talents.)

Main Quest: Three Year Period

Requirement: Complete the initial portion of the introduction to [Cursed Reversal Magic] within the agreed time limit.

Rewards: System Probe Module, Talent Draw Chance x1, Talent Copy Chance x1

Main Quest: Maintain the Examination (Part One)

Requirement: Assist Teacher Serie in completing the First Mage Examination held by the [Continental Magic Association]. (Note: This Main Quest has two stages: [Oysaster Branch Examination] and [Holy Capital Hutrall Headquarters Examination].)

Rewards: Random Otherworld Item x1, Talent Draw Chance x2

If they had been ordinary system rewards, Guter would have let it go.

If he failed, then as his junior disciple Lairn had suggested, it would not have been a big deal to apologize to Teacher Serie and admit his mistake.

But this promise had activated the system's Main Quest, and the reward for the Three Year Period was even a system function module.

Though Guter did not know what information the System Probe Module could uncover, there was no way he would pass up an opportunity to strengthen his golden finger.

Besides, Guter was not entirely without confidence in his Three Year Period promise.

Thanks to several years spent living in the Monastery, as well as his experience copying countless ancient books, the language barrier when reading books from the Mythic Era was not as great as he had imagined.

As for talent, his already decent aptitude as a mage, combined with the boosts to intelligence and comprehension from the Disciple of the Mythical Archmage trait, made him outstanding even among human mages.

And most importantly, he had the "Magic Old Timer," Serie, at his side to answer his questions and clear up his doubts.

With all those favorable factors combined, the Three Year Period task was exceptionally arduous, but not entirely impossible.

Besides, the various rewards for completing Main Quests gave Guter plenty to hope for.

Talent Trait Draws, Talent Trait Upgrades, items from other worlds—any one of them might provide tremendous help in completing the Three Year Period.

No matter what, he would try until the very end.

"Senior Disciple, are you asking whether any examinees can pass Teacher's interview today?"

"I think it's quite likely. Not only have nearly all the talented mages nearby rushed over, but considering the manpower shortage during the association's early days, Teacher will probably take in a few more people as circumstances allow."

Lairn answered Guter's question seriously, but his senior disciple beside him suddenly thought of something else.

Looking at the dozen or so mage examinees outside the barrier, who had lined up early in the morning, Guter took the ring from his pocket and handed the Barrier Terminal to Lairn.

"Senior Disciple, what are you—?"

"Maintain the barrier for me. I'm heading out for a while. I'll be back in about an hour."

"Huh? O-Okay."

Although Teacher had instructed both senior and junior disciples to remain here and maintain order at the examination site, the somewhat timid Lairn could not bring himself to say anything. He could only take the Barrier Terminal from his senior disciple.

After leaving the Examination Hall, Guter did not hesitate. He headed straight for the largest bakery in town, took several Hutrall Silver Coins from his robe, and handed them to the clerk. He bought two large baskets of freshly baked long loaves, totaling at least thirty or forty.

Having gotten up early without eating breakfast, Guter immediately picked up a loaf and stuffed it into his mouth, carrying the bread toward the examination site as he ate.