Today was the last afternoon before the trimestral field test.
Alex was sitting on the bed, and of course, he was training.
After some more time, he opened his status window.
—STATUS—
Name: AlexanderRank: Apprentice Mage (6.8%)Age: 15Mana: 1227 / 1227
Mana Gathering: Wind Gathering (Beginner), Water Drop Meditation (Beginner)Mana Control: Senturion Control (Master – 7.65934%)Mana Sense: None
Elements:
Wind (Novice – 64%)
Water (Novice – 41%)
Skills:
Windslicer (Beginner – 100%)
Watershield (Beginner – 100%)
Windslicer Barrage (Apprentice – 15%)
It had been almost three months since he last opened it.
After advancing in rank, his mana gain had doubled — before, he gained 1 mana every 0.1% of advancement, now he was gaining 2. This number would keep multiplying by 2 with each rank, so a novice mage would earn 4 mana every 0.1%.
He had also finished Windslicer Barrage last week. The spell ended up being apprentice-level after some tweaks to the magic circle. The first version was a novice spell, but the mana cost was so intense that Alex had no way to use it.
After reducing the power and range slightly, he managed to lower the control requirement a bit, which in turn made the spell usable.
Now he had to spend 50 mana per second to cast Windslicer Barrage — without the mana cost reduction from Senturion Control.
The windslicers produced by this spell were weaker than the original, but he could use it indefinitely as long as he had mana — which, with his current Senturion Control, was a little over 27 seconds.
Marc, on the other hand, had been working on upgrading his current Fire Fist, managing to bring it to apprentice rank as well.
The atmosphere was serious — after all, tomorrow was the test, and they wanted to shut the nobles up with results.
After having dinner, the duo went to sleep.
The next morning, Alex finished copying down the last novice-rank potions from the alchemist. He now had hundreds of novice-level formulas, yet he was nowhere near done. The alchemist's writing speed had been so astonishing that Alex still didn't know how the man had written so much in just hours.
After showering and having lunch, Alex and Marc went to the academy.
There, by the front gate, was Scarlett waiting for her class.
As soon as Alex and Marc approached, she greeted them with a slight smile.
"Hello, kids, did you sleep well?"
"Morning, teacher, we did," Alex replied with a straight face. He still hadn't forgotten the heated discussion they'd had, but after a month, they could interact naturally again.
After all the classes gathered, they waited for the headmaster.
When he approached — carrying a staff — he simply waved it, and all the gathered students vanished.
The next moment, they appeared in a forest.
Alex didn't know where they were, so he just looked around, trying to get a sense of the terrain.
"Okay, kids, I'll explain the field test," the headmaster said without even greeting.
"The teachers will be giving you an enhanced bracelet. This item will allow you to collect points by killing monsters. So the test is simple: hunt.
"The bracelet also has a retrieval function connected to your vitals, so the moment you're injured enough, it will teleport you to the academy infirmary, where a team of healers will be waiting."
He continued:
"Also remember that what counts is the last hit. Stealing prey is allowed, but no fighting among students. Trying to hit a student wearing the bracelet means automatic suspension, as does attempting to remove the item before the exam ends. Potions are also not allowed."
After explaining the rules, each class teacher began handing out the bracelets.
Alex put his on and immediately felt a faint connection with it.
Once everyone was ready, the headmaster gave his final instructions:
"The test duration is one day. You'll spend the night here, and tomorrow morning you must all return to this spot. Otherwise, the bracelet will trigger, and you'll be automatically suspended. Now—you may begin."
As soon as the words left his mouth, all the students started running into the forest.
Alex and Marc stayed together. As they ran, they came up with a plan — head to the heart of the jungle to hunt stronger monsters, taking turns on kills, and maybe… play a little with the nobles.
Not long after, they found their first monster — a Stonejaw Lizard.
The creature's only dangerous trait was its mouth, which held a special kind of saliva used to dissolve minerals — one could imagine what that would do to flesh and bone.
Alex took a defensive position, using Watershield, since Marc's Stoneskin would prove useless against that corrosive saliva.
They held their ground, adopting a simple strategy of defense and counterattack.
The Stonejaw, not being very intelligent, pounced straight at Marc — but it was swiftly repelled by Alex's water shield.
Marc seized the opening and countered with Fire Fist, striking the monster's side.
"Boom!"
After the upgrade, the damage was vastly increased, but the monster was tenacious.
Alex followed with a Windslicer aimed at its eyes.
The creature shrieked as it was blinded, and soon after, they finished it off.
The last hit was Marc's — he took the points.
Overall, the first fight hadn't been too mana-heavy, so they continued, killing a few more monsters here and there, collecting the cores when tey could and keeping the last-hit ratio roughly 50/50.
As time passed, they had to stop to recharge mana. The process was slow, so they took turns — one meditating while the other stood guard.
A couple of hours later, their mana was full again, and they resumed their march.
About twenty minutes later, they found their first "human" prey — a couple of teens fighting a monster. They had no strategy whatsoever, just throwing every spell they knew, like they were showing off.
"You sure you want to do this?" Marc, the more righteous of the two, asked carefully.
"Yes. Aren't you angry at what they've put you through? All the insults, the looks, even mocking your dead family?" Alex was angry for both of them. Unlike Marc, he wasn't kind — he saw himself as a mirror, reflecting whatever he received. If he received hate and bullying, he would reflect hate and bullying.
"Besides, it's not like we're gonna kill them — just unqualify them," he said, trying to downplay the fact that they were about to set the nobles up with monsters.
But their conversation was cut short by an unfathomable sight.
The nobles, after finishing their fight, actually took out mana potions and drank them.
Alex and Marc looked at each other.
"You need any more explanations?" Alex asked sarcastically, his tone dripping with indignation.
"No," Marc replied coldly. "We'll shower chaos on this bitch."
His righteous soul was now burning at the sight of such blatant cheating.