Here is my attempt at translating Chapter 17 into English:
Frang Lurankis was confident she would become the perfect scorer of this exam.
No, more than confidence, it was conviction.
There could be no other genius like her.
Someone from a Magic Tower, having graduated the academy and entered.
Moreover, a promising talent the Magic Tower cherished.
Expected to become the youngest elder.
While others took their first steps as magicians at the academy, she had already been sprinting at the Magic Tower.
The academy entrance exam was nothing.
"It's not difficult at all."
However, there was one oddity.
The boy sitting right in front of her was solving the problems at a similar speed to her.
...Just looking at him, it's true he seems like the studious type.
'But he can't surpass me!'
Under that resolve, she was rapidly solving over a dozen types of exams.
The boy in front of her was solving his exam paper at a similar pace.
She wanted to have a conversation with him despite her pride, but conversation between examinees was prohibited until the written exam ended.
While that was happening, her curiosity and frustration only grew.
"The final exam is magic studies."
The end of the hellish relay could be seen.
As a magician, moreover one from the Magic Tower, this was the exam Frang was most confident in.
She glared at the boy in front of her and thought.
'You definitely can't beat me at this!'
The boy didn't seem to have any traces of mana at all.
Meaning he was just a slightly clever fellow.
But as if he knew something about magic, the moment the boy received the exam paper, he began haphazardly solving it at full speed.
Much faster, wanting to solve it faster than him, Frang took a deep breath the instant she arrogantly received her exam paper and looked at the first problem.
'Fundamentals of the 4 main elements combined? What academy would give this as an entrance exam?!'
As she checked the other problems just in case, she found herself repeatedly gasping for air.
Problems even Magic Tower elders would cuss out covered the paper from start to finish.
The reason no one had ever gotten perfect scores wasn't because there was some secret.
They had simply made it insanely difficult.
Frang began solving from the first problem, her hands trembling.
But still, she was a magician with pride, so even as she felt her mind splitting, she forcibly unraveled the twisted problems one by one.
Hyper-focusing to the point of not hearing any sounds around her.
Reaching the very end, with only the final single problem left, Frang sighed.
"...Phew.... I can't solve this problem."
A description of magic's pinnacle.
Truly, if one could describe it, they would be acknowledged as a high-level magician even if they hadn't reached the pinnacle.
Moreover, completing this description could mean one had reached transcendence.
Only a handful of Archmages on the continent had reached the pinnacle.
She neatly gave up and looked at the boy in front of her.
He had nearly reached the end as well, but was still solving the problems.
'At least I'm ahead of him in the magic field.'
Just as she was proudly thinking that, Frang sensed something off.
What the boy was doing wasn't checking answers, but seemed more like he was writing about something.
And the only descriptive question in the magic studies exam was the last one about describing magic's pinnacle.
"That can't be..."
"Examinee over there, be quiet."
Frang was admonished by the proctor but couldn't close her gaping mouth.
The moment the boy set down his pen, the proctors came to collect the exam papers.
As they gathered them one by one, took the boy's, then finally got to Frang's,
"W-Wait a moment!"
*Swipe!*
Frang pretended there were questions she hadn't checked on her own paper, taking the exam paper below hers from the proctor.
The answers she had imagined were all written on the exam paper.
While even that was unbelievable, something more impossible came into view.
The very last part.
Describing magic's pinnacle.
The ultimate magic that would make one an Archmage if they just knew of it.
"Ah...."
Seeing that, Frang was filled with awe.
Something not even elders,
no, something even the Tower Master couldn't teach.
It wasn't perfect.
However, among what she had seen so far, it was a technique nearing the pinnacle.
*Flap-*
"You cannot change exam answers after the exam has finished."
Although the proctor took back the exam paper, Frang could not forget the technique she had just seen.
Blankly frozen, she realized the boy was looking at her from right in front.
As he turned away, he muttered.
"You noticed it."
Frang was far too shocked to even stand up.
**
Magic's pinnacle.
Something I had seen numerous times fighting for my life against the hero party's Archmage.
Thanks to that, dark magic had considerably progressed.
Being able to practically implement magic that was otherwise fantasy,
was because I had seen the pinnacle.
"To think you noticed it."
Honestly, ordinary people or even fairly talented magicians wouldn't understand just seeing it.
I only barely grasped it after dying dozens of times tasting it.
To discern it was the pinnacle from seeing it just once, one would need to be an absurd genius for that to work.
"How could I not know that guy?"
Minimum Tower Master, maximum Archmage.
It would be difficult not to know such a monster.
As expected, this was also one of two cases.
Either she had died, or lived an ordinary life.
And the latter case didn't even need considering.
In an age where a country collapsed and the world was destroyed by the Demon Lord, there was no quietly secluding themselves despite having power.
So in other words, she had died.
Far too early.
"I wonder why she died."
This was another issue to look into step by step.
Of course, it could be because there were so many casualties at the academy this time.
She might have been swept up among them as well.
After I finished the exam and exited, waiting Caron came to receive me.
"My Lord, how was the exam?"
"Hard to say."
"Cheer up. The academy written exam is famously difficult. It's normal for nobles to enter the nobles class if they don't prepare separately."
I probably got decent scores since I cheated for everything, but I couldn't say I did 'well'.
There was just one I had seen well.
The magic studies exam.
I was confident I would get perfect scores on this alone.
Moreover, Caron didn't know I was taking the practical exam.
If she had known, she would have comforted me saying I could make up for it there.
"I planned out everywhere we can go play until the exam finishes. If we go around here to there, I think you'll be able to enter right as the exam ends."
"By the way, I applied for the practical exam too."
"What? You can't, the practical is dangerous!"
I didn't expect she would forbid me, but it made sense if I thought about it.
Judging externally, since I was just an ordinary noble who wasn't a magician or knight, it did seem dangerous for me to suddenly take the practical.
"Don't worry, there's no danger. Anyway, I plan to quit midway if I feel it's risky."
I had no plans to actually do that of course.
I had to get top practical scores to make things easy moving forward.
"Uuu.... Alright."
"Use the remaining travel funds as you please and head back. You need to properly rest and recover since it's a long trip."
"I will see you at the territory."
Caron bowed her head to me and stepped away.
Despite the lingering reluctance and worry on her expression, since she couldn't stop what I had decided to do, Caron quietly left.
"Practical exam participants! Gather here please!!"
The practical began right after the written exam ended.
While the written exam was in an external academy building, the practical took place inside.
The number of people was distinctly reduced compared to before.
While there were many intelligent people, individuals with powerful combat ability were limited.
The vast majority of those were nobles.
In the guaranteed environment, only nobles could invest all their time solely into themselves.
Or wealthy commoners with a lot of money.
I saw familiar faces.
Starting with Swordstar with his stylish looks and seeming charisma.
Lancestar who I had seen during exam registration.
The girl with the large pointed hat I had cheated off of.
And beyond them, walking ahead of everyone was a most noble figure.
The hero.
Her I had seen last, before my regression.
To think I would see the hero during her girlhood here.
I let out an amused snort.
It was her budding era of that absolutely unyielding existence, so it felt subtle.
As I watched the hero, perhaps sensing my gaze, the hero turned to look at me.
And even with a fleeting glance, the hero's emotion towards me was...
considerable hostility.
"...What did I do wrong?"
I had committed many wrongs before regressing, but I wondered if the hero actually recalled them.
Unless that was the case, it would have been difficult to harbor such hostility.
While wondering about that, someone approached me.
"Argal!"
Vivid pink hair. Blazing crimson eyes.
Seeing me, she immediately smiled.
Raeli Karis.
It had been quite some time.
"Hey there."
"I heard you got kidnapped on your way back to the territory and were gravely injured?"
"It wasn't anything to worry about."
"Liar. If that were true, why are you taking the practical?"
Then Raeli examined my hands.
Having not stabbed myself with the dagger recently and with the healing going well, only smooth skin was visible on my unblemished left hand.
She quietly murmured.
"It's... healed."
"Things heal with time passing, right?"
"Whether it healed or not, are you in any condition to take the practical?"
Raeli's question was simple.
In other words, did I have sufficient ability to fight and defeat the monsters that appeared in the practical?
I nodded.
"Plenty."
"I can't believe that at all. If it seems risky, I'll protect you."
"There's no need for that."
"No, definitely."
I sensed an odd fixation in her gaze.
"I'll protect you."
"No, I don't need..."
"I'm protecting you."
"Alright."
I promptly agreed since refusing here seemed like it would lead to endless wrestling.
Only then did Raeli show her radiant smile.
"Examinees, please follow me!"
"Let's go!"
The proctor led us, controlling us to the academy's physical measurement room.
Raeli grabbed my hand and pulled me forward.
Was there a need to hold hands too?
I didn't really understand.
But I let her lead me as she wished.
And at that time.
**
Since entering the practical exam hall, Frang had been looking for that boy.
To exchange even a word with him if possible.
To obtain even a single clue if possible.
She should have caught him in the written exam hall, but while she was blanking out, the boy had immediately left the exam hall.
However, she ultimately couldn't find him even after leaving outside, and the time for the practical exam to begin had arrived.
Frang had been driven to the point of even giving up on the exam out of sheer unfairness.
More than anything, having missed the clue of the crucial 'pinnacle'.
"Ah, no. I can't forget my original goal."
There was a second method.
Becoming the hero party's Archmage.
This too was a natural path to acquiring the pinnacle and becoming transcendent.
"Or that boy might be in the practical exam hall too!"
Since he had taken the written exam, it meant he could take the practical too.
Thus from the moment she energetically entered the practical exam hall, Frang busily looked around.
Her efforts weren't meaningless, as she soon found the boy.
Dark hair, dark eyes.
His face seemed somewhat pale, perhaps because he was unwell, but that wasn't important.
The moment Frang discovered him, she tried to run over and grab him, but someone else cut in first.
"Argal!"
A pink-haired noble girl.
A sword at her waist revealed her to be a knight candidate, but that wasn't an important fact to Frang.
Since the opportunity to speak to him had been snatched away.
"Oh no...."
But she could still hear parts of the conversation between the two nearby.
While she couldn't make out everything clearly, listening intermittently, Frang couldn't help but sigh at the sheer absurdity.
That girl said she would protect Argal?
Thus, she naturally uttered those words.
"Who's protecting who?"
Since she had said it so openly, Raeli turned to face Frang.
"What did you say?"
"I said who's protecting who?"
It was obvious fact to Frang.
A magician who knew of the pinnacle wasn't at a level to receive protection.
Frankly speaking, it was humiliating.
However, Raeli heard those words differently.
She had failed to protect Argal.
And because of that, Argal had been gravely hurt.
She had rather been protected by Argal.
It provoked her pride which bore that dishonor.
Fury filled Raeli's eyes.
To be Continued...