Nick's first instinct was to immediately delve into the mystery he'd been given. Three days felt like a long time, but he knew exactly how long it could take to decipher and activate mysterious artifacts.

Much of his first life, in fact, had been spent doing just that. Trying to uncover secrets of the ancients from what little was left of them was his bread and butter.

While the letter sitting innocently on his desk couldn't be more than a day old, it no doubt ranked among the greatest of them, considering who had made it.

But common sense won for the day, and he decided to open the acceptance letter first.

With a flick of his finger, a razor-thin wind blade appeared and broke the wax seal, releasing a faint pulse of mana he recognized as the Tower's.

A way to confirm its veracity? I doubt most of those who passed would notice, but I guess that doesn't mean they should do things half-heartedly.

The more he learned about the Tower, the more he saw it as a truly unique place. Personal talent could open many doors that would otherwise stay closed, regardless of nobility.

The way he'd been treated alone told him everything he needed to know. Every proctor he'd interacted with had shown respect, but they never called him a Lord. Only his achievements gained their recognition.

I can't say I hate it. I haven't even gotten used to being a real noble yet, and if I have to be fawned over, it should be because of something I've done, not my family's reputation.

He doubted everyone shared that view, but the Tower was a major institution in the duchy. No noble besides the Duke himself could dare attempt to interfere in its internal affairs, and even then, he seriously doubted the man would risk earning the enmity of a thousand mages.

Smoothing out the thick vellum pages, Nick took note of its quality and craftsmanship. It wouldn't have looked out of place among the most expensive pieces of stationery in the modern world, but somehow felt even better under his fingers.

He doubted this kind of luxury was used every day, but even if it was saved for special occasions, it reflected well on whoever managed the Tower's supplies.

"I can recognize a kindred soul when I see it. I'll make sure they know they are appreciated once I get in," he muttered, before finally beginning to read.

"Tower Master: Grand Arcanist Horatio J.H. Bluetear, First Mage of the Duchy of Alluria, Archmage of Alchemy, Transmogrification, and Warding.

Dear Nicholas Crowley,

We are pleased to inform you that you have passed the exam to enter the Magic Tower of Alluria. Below are listed your test records and the requirements you must follow, should you choose to join our great institution.

This letter shall work as a one-time pass into the Tower on the 27th, three days from its reception.

Please make sure to bring it with you, along with anything you might need for your daily life, as new students are required to live in the Tower during their first year.

Failure to attend the Acceptance Ceremony on the scheduled day will be considered forfeiture of your spot unless prior notice is given.

Yours sincerely,

Ebenexer Politod,

Vice Tower Master, Archmage of Summoning"

Several pages followed, filled with papers he had to sign to agree to the Tower's bylaws and material requirements, which ranged from basic clothing to casting foci if he wished to use them. There was also a section detailing the types of human, animal, or monster companions he could bring, ranging from regular servants to bound entities, provided he had the approval of a Master of the craft.

Nick skimmed the bylaws, noticing that nothing seemed overly burdensome, and more importantly, that although his official residence for the first year would have to be within the Tower's dormitories, he was still allowed to go out for more than a day as long as he got permission.

That was good, considering he now had less than a year before he needed to reach the northern city of Toneburg after reuniting with Rhea.

I will also need a couple of weeks to scout the place and determine exactly how much power Ephor Ultimer has amassed since securing the support of a ducal house and a demon.

His lips pursed instinctively at the thought of what he would have to do to kill such a person, before he pushed it out of his mind for the moment.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The last two pages contained more interesting information. The first included his test results, along with some basic notes from the proctors.

"Tower Entrance Exam Results:

Candidate: Nicholas Crowley

Matriculation Number: XY666DD1 Chapters first released on novel⟡fire.net

Theory Exam: 981 points

Rank: 2nd

Commentary: The candidate has demonstrated a thorough understanding and mastery of the required concepts, even incorporating his own personal experience and deduction. He has shown commendable ambition and awareness of his place in the world. Nineteen points were deducted for overly specific examples that, while correct, did not cite sources or major theories besides the candidate's own."

Fucking hell, of course I couldn't cite anything; I've yet to find a decent grimoire that isn't just a diary or a cryptic journal! How do they expect people to get full points if they hog all the classics for themselves?!

Despite his annoyance, Nick could see that if this were a university on Earth he was trying to get into, the lack of citations would have probably weighed quite a lot more.

He didn't like losing points for something that wasn't his fault, but the scoring system appeared to value honesty more than encyclopedic knowledge, which he could appreciate.

Does this mean Eona has memorized all the classic primers?

The girl came from a noble background, with her brother serving as Captain of a Royal Knight Company, which would naturally give her access to high-quality training.

But then again, considering that even Tim had a personal tutor, and he hadn't taken first place, maybe that wasn't all that was needed.

Really, Nick coming in second on the theory exam with only the basic magical theory taught by his mother and Alexander was nothing short of a miracle.

He couldn't even fully credit his otherworldly knowledge, given how differently magic had evolved here.

Having a high INT really is a cheat. I've been able to decrypt and incorporate bits and pieces of the local magic into my own style over time without ever having formal instruction.

"Practical Exam: 999 points (Top 10 scores in the Tower's History)

Rank: 1st

Commentary: The candidate has demonstrated to be significantly above his peers in both the breadth and depth of his magic, using elemental spells in one moment and unaspected magic in the next. His confirmed mana reserves surpass most trained mages, and his ability to adapt and fight back even under pressure has earned him open praise from Head Proctor Battera. One point was deducted for getting distracted during a duel, but Master Battera made sure to acknowledge that it was only understandable, given the pace."

"Huh," Nick murmured. He'd expected to do well, of course, but being one point short of perfection wasn't bad. "I'd like to complain, but I was overwhelmed by the exploding insects. Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now. At least I scored in the overall top ten."

He doubted that the same test had been used for the multiple centuries the Tower had existed, which meant his result wasn't quite as significant as it first appeared, but it wasn't something to scoff at either.

It will cement my status as a prodigy, at the very least.

The last page contained more instructions, from where to go on his first day to a suggestion to prepare a short speech, given that as the first-ranked student in the exam, he'd likely be asked to speak during the commencement ceremony.

Nick closed his eyes, groaning at the thought of having to do that, but he figured there was a price to pay to step into the light.

Once that was done, he neatly placed the papers on his desk and finally reached for the much more interesting scroll.

Now then, let's see what you are made of, shall we?

"This stupid, damnable… Aaaargh!" Nick growled, frustration pouring off of him in waves.

If his control weren't quite so ironclad, he was sure it would be visibly manifesting, but luckily, he wasn't that far gone yet.

"I will be soon, if this thing doesn't start reacting to anything I do!"

The scroll was still sitting innocently on his desk, as pristine as when it had been handed to him, despite all his efforts.

It wasn't so much that the damn thing was overly complicated. No, Nick had figured out exactly how it worked within the first half hour, thanks to [Empyrean Intuition], which let him look at it from multiple viewpoints at once.

The actual locking mechanism was a thing of beauty, although not overly complicated. It was basically a random mana frequency generator, which could be opened via sympathetic magic—the very first method Nick had tried, which was unsurprisingly shielded against as he didn't have the paired lock opener—or by brute force.

The problem was that while the scroll was enchanted to be quite resilient, even more so than the Tower's invitation, it wasn't entirely indestructible.

So while Nick had the means to break the lock, he would also need to exert enough force to destroy the rest of the scroll. And if he tried to just imitate the required signature, he would have to spend far more than the two and a half days that were left to do so.

Initially, he thought it would be a simple problem to solve. He only needed to manipulate his own mana to copy the inner signature, faint as it was, but after a few hours of trying, he realized that the frequency he was attempting to copy wasn't static but kept changing, which meant all his efforts had been for naught.

On a less sophisticated lock, even a rough approximation would have sufficed, but for something forged by an Archmage, only perfection would do.

The worst part was, Nick was certain there had to be another trick behind it. He doubted Tholm had sent him an impossible puzzle.

He might get a laugh out of it if he's a sadistic bastard, but it wouldn't achieve anything. I'm sure he has no shortage of apprentices to torment, and even if I fail here, I'll just accept another offer.

Tholm's involvement in the bidding war and clearing the field was something the other mages allowed out of respect. But once it was clear he wouldn't actually follow through, many would want to claim Nick for themselves.

"No, no. I can't think like that. There has to be something!"

And still, nothing came to him for several hours. It was only after he'd eaten a simple, filling dinner and was about to call it a day that Nick noticed something.

His feelings of acceptance were strong enough to cause a slight shift in the ether. Nothing particularly noticeable, and it would have smoothed out within a minute or two, but they were there, and the lock responded to them.

The signature had taken on a slightly different hue and was now shifting in a different direction than before.

Nick's eyes widened as he realized exactly how the enchantment determined the path for its "random" signature.

"Of course. Nothing is ever truly random…"

The path ahead was still long because he needed to figure out exactly how much emotions affected the signature. But if he could control it to take a specific sheen by surrounding it with just one emotion, opening it would be a breeze!

"There is one thing, though. How did Tholm know I could see and manipulate emotions?"