Please give the novel a rating or a review on NovelUpdates
———-

Chapter 26: The Baffled Examiner

At the proctor’s command, the students of Class 13 stepped forward one by one as their names were called to take the test.

Each student unleashed his or her signature magic skill against the testing mannequin, and some even drew the magic staves their families had given them to amplify the damage.

The academy allowed this, for good equipment was considered part of one’s strength.

Lightning Magic lived up to its reputation as the highest-damage element, and the bolts the first few students summoned kept turning the mannequin blue before it returned to normal, prompting the hook-nosed examiner on the dais to declare each of them passed.

When study-committee member Kyle took the stage, he smoothed his flowing hair and pulled a lavish magic staff from his storage ring, the tip of which was inlaid with a lightning-attribute magic core the size of a pigeon’s egg.

Judging from that staff, Kyle’s family was clearly wealthy and influential.

Kyle reveled in the envious stares of his classmates, then looked at Clara, hoping to find admiration in the girl’s eyes, yet class monitor Clara kept a stone-cold face fixed on him.

She even frowned slightly, apparently annoyed that his flamboyant preparations were delaying the test.

Kyle felt a pang of loss, but he quickly pulled himself together, convinced that only he was worthy of the goddess in his heart.

He chanted a spell, borrowed the power of the staff, and hurled a lightning bolt three fingers wide at the mannequin.

The mannequin flashed red under the strike and instantly returned to white.

The crowd drew a sharp breath; he was the first in their class to make the dummy glow red… study-committee member indeed!

Kyle was quite pleased with himself, and he turned toward his goddess, hoping she would react to his display.

Yet Clara did not spare him a glance and kept whispering with the black-haired boy beside her.

Kyle fumed… what was so great about that Ashura kid?

Rumor said his ability was poor, and he supposedly spent every day with two girls from the Warrior class.

How could Clara befriend such scum? Jealousy seethed in Kyle’s chest.

Right then the host instructor announced, “Kyle passes; next, Clara!”

Hearing her name, Clara stopped whispering to Ashura, stuck out her tongue playfully, and skipped into the arena.

Her fresh, radiant beauty immediately drew every eye, for their class monitor was one of the academy’s acknowledged Top 10 freshman beauties, and it was a delight to have such a beauty as monitor.

The silver-haired girl faced the mannequin with full concentration; without any extra movement she silently recited a spell while pointing at the dummy with the index finger of her right hand, arm pressed downward.

A bolt of lightning as thick as a fist split the sky, struck the dummy, and bathed it in a bright red glow that lasted a full 3 seconds before fading back to white.

The audience stared in shock… this silver-haired girl truly had both looks and power.

A casual bolt of her Lightning Magic was far stronger than Kyle’s staff-boosted strike.

Study-committee member Kyle’s face turned alternately green and white, yet he consoled himself that it was natural for his goddess to surpass him.

On the dais the hook-nosed examiner nodded with an approving smile at the result.

After learning she had passed, Clara gave a small bow, hopped back to the black-haired youth, and the two resumed whispering.

Kyle felt as if that lightning had landed on him; his heart ached.

“Next, Na Wei!” the host instructor called.

The pudgy Na Wei walked nervously to the center, producing a magic staff that, while plain, made the hook-nosed examiner’s eyes widen in surprise.

Na Wei finished his chant, swung the staff, and a lightning bolt of the same width cracked toward the mannequin, but it veered off course.

The bolt merely grazed the mannequin’s shoulder and hit the floor at its feet, making the dummy emit only a faint, almost invisible blue glow.

The crowd broke into laughter; Na Wei blushed furiously and kept firing Lightning, but the more anxious he became the wilder his aim, and every bolt landed around the target.

The laughter grew louder; with more than half his mana gone he was sure to fail at this rate, and the instructors on the dais were already frowning.

Just then a voice shouted, “Calm down, focus! Pretend that mannequin is your favorite food!”

Na Wei’s heart quivered; he knew who had spoken and shot a grateful look back.

He turned back to the mannequin and smacked his lips in concentration.

He suddenly closed his eyes, gathered himself, and recited an impassioned Stage-1 incantation, slowly raising both hands above his head.

As the chant progressed, a circular ring of lightning formed above him, and he held it aloft while standing in the center of the arena.

When the final syllable rang out, Na Wei’s eyes flew open and he roared, “Thunder Ring Slash!” as he flung the lightning ring at the mannequin.

With a thunderous boom the ring streaked forward, and on impact it looked as though it would slice the dummy in two, burying itself in the mannequin’s chest.

A glaring red light erupted, seemingly even brighter than the glow Clara had produced, and after several seconds both the ring and the light vanished.

The students gaped, unable to believe that the gluttonous fatty had dealt such damage, while Na Wei bent over, hands on knees, gasping for breath… the skill had clearly drained him.

The hook-nosed examiner, however, looked unsurprised; the Na clan’s hereditary spell Thunder Ring Slash was indeed fierce, though the boy’s current level prevented it from showing its full might.

He said blandly, “Student Na Wei passes.”

His words snapped the students out of their shock, and they all began guessing what kind of spell that had been.

Those with family connections suspected it was a hereditary art, though their knowledge did not extend to which illustrious house it belonged.

Clara, of course, recognized the spell… nobles knew far more about one another than commoners imagined… yet she merely felt happy for Na Wei’s success.

As for that mysterious spell, she had her own, but a small test like this was nowhere near enough to force her hand.

Overjoyed, Na Wei waved his arms wildly, already planning what delicacies to order in the cafeteria to celebrate, and he dashed back to the class lineup, where his classmates no longer looked down on him.

He immediately gave Ashura a bear hug that made Ashura roll his eyes while Clara covered her mouth, giggling.

Na Wei began asking whether his family’s signature move had looked cool and domineering.

Before Ashura could shoot back a sarcastic reply, the host instructor called, “Next student, Ashura!”

All eyes snapped to him; Ashura calmly straightened his tattered magic robe and strode to a spot ten paces from the mannequin.

He reached to his spatial belt, and in a flash of white light everyone thought he had drawn a staff, only to see that it was actually a pair of twin swords.

He weighed a blade in each hand, spun them in a flower of steel, and adopted a stance reminiscent of Thunderclap Fist.

The audience looked utterly baffled… what spell required twin swords?

What kind of magic needed such a bizarre posture? Not only the students but also the instructors were full of question marks.

Ashura suddenly let out a fierce shout and lunged at the mannequin, covering the short distance in the blink of an eye.

In an instant he crossed the twin swords and slashed at the dummy’s throat, and a dull thud echoed.

The mannequin’s head shot high into the air…

———-
Support the Translation! 🌐✨

Your donations not only show appreciation but also keep the translator motivated! Every contribution helps continue bringing you more of what you love. Thank you for being a part of this journey! 💖

https://www.ko-fi.com/maxoofie