Chapter 18: The Exam

People had stopped coming into the waiting room a while ago. Now the calming sound of book pages being turned and notes being scribbled surrounded me. Yet I shuffled my feet around, not able to sit still. A set of new steps reached my ears. Looking towards them, I saw shiny leather boots as my sight moved further up, it went past a neat robe, finally landing on green hair. I sighed deeply. My shoulders sank when his brown eyes met mine, and he started smiling, walking towards me.

“I didn’t catch your name the other day,” he said, and sat down beside me. “You can call me Leiter.”

“Tepin”, I said in return, bracing myself for what would come next. I closed my eyes when I saw a shocked expression appear on his face. There it was, he had noticed it.

“How?” He asked.

“How what?”

“How did you improve your mana-sphere so fast?” He said wide-eyed.

“Oh that, I didn’t. I was just suppressing my mana. You know, for training,” I said.

His face visibly relaxed. Good, I hadn’t been sure that lie would work.

“You must be quite talented then, that is quite an advanced technique.” He said, laughing.

“I am not yet at the third stage, but I have already begun planning out how to compress it again.” He took a look around the room.

“I wonder how many will manage to get a scholarship. I heard that they only accept those who excel.” Leiter said.

I nodded.

“What class will you be taking if you manage to get in? Maybe we will see each other.”

“Magitek”, I said, hoping to be free of him soon.

“Ah, that’s too bad. You see, I myself am planning to join the battlemage class. It's quite a new addition. But I bet we will see each other on the campus.” Leiter said.

Why was he so interested in me?

“Maybe”, I said as a light creak reached my ears. The door to the room swung open and the sounds of quick steps announced a robed man.

“If you would all come with me.” He said. Thank the tendril, I was freed. Standing up, I followed the men out of the room.

“I wonder where the exams are held,” Leiter said behind me. I sighed. Of course, he would come with me. We had the same destination after all.

Beyond the door was a long, small steel bridge, going almost all the way to the base of the nexus. Looking down, I saw rows of brick buildings with steel roofs. I wonder what they need all these for.

“So this is where the best magitek in the world is made, what a sight.” Leiter said from behind me. Well, that at least answered my question. At the end of the bridge, a large wheelless carriage awaited us, made from steel and wood. It was decorated with copper, forming the symbol of Windbreak. It was attached to the bridge but otherwise floating in the air. The purple glow of two straight tendrils of mana reaching up into the air behind it caught my eyes.

Our little group was ushered inside the carriage, where we were greeted by two long benches. Me and Leiter entered last. I sat down at one of the windows at the end of the bench. A shake went through the entire carriage, and the air became warmer as mana flowed through the room. Looking outside, I saw we were moving upwards, guided by the two tendrils.

“We are flying!” I heard someone exclaim, while from another I could hear choking sounds.

“The exams will be held in the academy itself, isn’t that exciting, Tepin?” I shrugged, just happy that the one being sick was sitting quite far away from me. Our guide had handed him a paper bag, it wrinkled as the sick one opened it up. He used it immediately. Thankful that I did not have to smell that, I averted my eyes, instead focusing on the window beside me. Soon we passed one of the flying segments of the city, heading even further up. I blinked, trying to look at it, the light of the tendril was blinding me. But then I could see a sprawling city built on top of the flying structure. People as small as ants, were rushing between the many alleys and roads going about their day. Other carriages passed us on our journey, some going down, others moving sideways, from one city segment to another. A large stone wall started to rush past the window, blocking my view. Letting out a long breath, I turned back to the inside of the room. Everyone but the person occupied with being sick was holding their nose.

“Does the smell not bother you?” Leiter asked, raising an eyebrow. My eyes wandered to the person with the full paper back. I was about to come up with an excuse when I almost fell from the bench as a loud screech went through the carriage. While I pressed my fingers into the seat trying to stay balanced, it came to a sudden stop. With a sharp hiss, the door opened.

“Alright, everyone time to move,” our robed guide said.

Outside, an open plaza greeted us, with patches of grass and flowers, that were well taken care of. Turning my senses back on, the smell of freshly cut grass reached me. Beautiful ornate stone buildings were beyond the open space. Some of them, connected by bridges held up by pillars. I could see students sitting on benches and on the grass studying. Some had glowing rota before them as they practiced their casting. Excitement welled up in me, this didn’t look too different from back when I had studied. There was a constant slight vibration below my feet, reminding me that the academy was always moving around the nexus.

“Once we have reached the classroom where the first part of the exam is held, you are to sit down at a free desk.” Our guide said, while we were following him into one of the buildings. Inside, we did as we were told. The room we ended up in, had multiple small desks set up in an orderly fashion. A small shiver ran down my back as I looked at the pens placed on each of them. I had practiced my writing a little, but it still looked rough. There were more than enough desks for all of us, so I just sat down at the closest one to me. I took a deep breath and focused on the wooden surface before me. You can do this, Tepin.

The door to the room flew open as a tall elf with long grey hair walked in. With a flick of his hand, the doors closed behind him, a small pulse of warm mana rushing through the room.

He moved behind the podium at the front of the room.

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“Good luck,” Leiter whispered beside me, because of course, he decided to sit beside me.

“Same to you,” I whispered back, not wanting to seem mean.

A loud cough went through the room, and I turned my sight towards the professor. He stared at us with brilliant green eyes.

“Welcome to Windbreak. Today you will find out if the effort you have all spent to start this journey will bear fruit” He turned around, facing a large crystal plate behind him that was mounted to the wall. Raising his hand, tendrils of mana started to flow out of it. Little sparks jumped across the surface of the crystal mirror as the tendrils touched it. Words started to appear across the board as it glowed purple.

“You will address me as Professor Illyhed.” He said, reflecting the words now written behind him.

“Scholarships are only granted to the most promising and talented students. Look to your left and right.” The professor said, and so I did. I frowned when I turned and was faced with Leiter as he mouthed a hello. “The likelihood of the people next to you to make it is low.” A smile crossed my face, while I still had my eyes locked with the green-haired annoyance. “That also goes for yourself.” My smile faded. “A reminder. You are only allowed to attend this test once a year.” I could hear some groans echoing through the room as he said this. Taking a few deep breaths, I reassured myself. “I can do this!” Small stacks of paper flew off his podium, glowing a slight purple as they distributed themselves on our desks.

“From now on, I require complete silence from you. You may start with the test once everyone has received their copy.” Taking one more stern look at us, he sat down, opening a book. “You have two hours to complete it. When you are done, bring your test to me and quietly remove yourself from the room.” Someone raised a shaking hand. “Questions are not permitted. Now begin.” In defeat, the hand lowered again.

I focused my attention on the test, as the sounds of pens scratching across paper started surrounding me. Reading through the test, a smirk started to play across my face. Oh, I could do this! The first segment presented multiple rota and asked to explain what they do and how they may be used. Next came sequences that we had to decipher, explaining what they do if cast. There were also some basic questions, like how mana-spheres are formed and wild magic functions. Writing my name in the top left corner, I started scribbling away. The last question asked us to write down a theoretical spell of our own choosing and detailing what it does. I held the pen up to my lips in thought. What kind of spell could I present here? No doubt, most will try to depict a complex spell to try to impress. My mind wandered towards the spell I had designed to create my body, looking back down, I let out a chuckle. There was not nearly enough paper left to write that one down.

“Shush over there.” Looking up, I saw the professor staring at me. I lowered my head again, turning red. Tugging a loose hair strand behind my ear, I looked back at the paper before me. I knew what spell I could showcase. On the ship here, I had constructed a shield spell. Sure, shield spells were probably common, but I designed mine to be flexible. When cast, it would be around half a meter in diameter. It could also be moved at will. That allowed it to stay small but strong while using less mana than shields that surround the entire person casting it. I hoped it was good enough for this test. Writing it down, together with the rota sequence needed to use it, I finished the test. I gave it one last once-over and then stood up, bringing it to the professor. He raised an eyebrow when I was about to put it on his podium.

“Are you sure? It has only been forty minutes. Giving up so soon?” I shook my head and placed the test before him. He shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he said as I left the room. If my writing skills hadn’t been so rough, I would have finished even faster.

The hallway outside was empty with one exception, the guide was standing opposite the classroom. Raising a brow, he pointed towards the bench beside me.

“You may wait there,” he said in a flat tone. A man of few words. Sitting down, I looked around the hallway. Apart from the bench, there was not much to see. The marble floor was nice, I guess. Ugh, I sighed. I should have taken an example from Kaylin and brought a book. Maybe I should have asked her to lend me one. After a while of staring at the ceiling, a quick tapping reached my ears as footsteps echoed through the hallway. Looking in their direction, I saw Kaylin walking towards me. When our eyes met, she slowed down, tilting her head.

“You are already done!” She said in an accusatory tone. “I was hoping to surprise you. Wait, did everything go well?” I let out a small laugh.

“Everything is fine, the test was a piece of cake. Honestly, what I am mostly worried about is that my handwriting is readable.” I shifted towards her as she sat down beside me.

“Didn’t expect any less from you. But listen, I just learned that the practical test now involves combat.” Kaylin said, wearing a worried look on her face. “After… you know what happened back in Ina. Will you be okay?”

Her concern startled me a bit, I knew that we had grown close over the last few days. Still, it had been just a few days since we met. “N-No I think I’ll be fine. I think. Anything else I should know?” I said.

“From what I have heard, an experienced mage will test everyone in one-to-one combat.”

“Okay, okay, I think I can handle that,” I said with a half-smile.

It took a while, but in time, people started to leave the classroom. Quite a few of them looked stressed. They were frowning or staring at the floor. One even started crying when they left the room, took a look around and left.

“I didn’t expect this many struggling with this,” I whispered into Kaylin’s ear.

“Oh no, many fail this test,” said Leiter with a raised voice. I shoot an angry look at him. How did he even hear that? Before I could tell him off, the door to the classroom swung open once more.

The professor stepped out, taking a look around and nodding.

“You may proceed to the practical test now. Once that is done, we will evaluate your results.” He said. Those sitting, including me, stood up and started following him and the guide.

We were brought to a series of round buildings. The professor now standing before us said.

“You will now be split into groups of three.” Six more professors came out of the buildings behind him. “You will be assigned to one of my colleagues, who will then witness and grade your practical test.” He unrolled a scroll and started announcing the pairings.

“Miss Indrin, Miss Korn and Mister Yro please follow Professor Lydia.” He started and continued reading the groupings. My mood soured when by the end, only me, Leiter and one more person were left.

“Miss Teppes, Mister Madun and Mister Hellbur, you will be going with me.” Illyhed finished. Frowning, I walked up to the professor, with both Leiter and Kaylin trailing behind.

“Who are you, if I might ask?” Leiter asked behind me.

“A friend of Tepin”, Kaylin said.

“And you are already a graduate, judging by your cape. Did you give Tepin an advantage?” He said.

My chest started to boil as I turned around, but Kaylin answered right away.

“If you cannot be polite or have anything of worth to say, keep your mouth shut.”

An audible gulp came from Leiter, so loud, even the professor glanced at him.

Kaylin seemed much less patient than I was. The rest of our short walk into one of the round buildings, he was silent. Thank the tendril. The other student, a bespectacled young man fidgeted with his hands. It seemed Kaylin had also intimidated him.

Inside the new building, I was not too surprised to find that it was an arena. A round open space was before us with a raised platform and seats around it. We were brought right into the center of the arena, where someone was already waiting. When I looked at him, my mouth dropped open.

“Oh it’s you Kaylin. What are you doing here? You are aware that you already graduated. Right?” Before us stood a familiar black haired elf with an annoyed look on his face. I pointed at him.

“Wait, I recognize you!” I spouted out before I realized what I had done.

“Can’t say the same about you.” He spat back. Rude.

“It’s good to see that you made it out of that mess too, Dain. After I saved you.” Kaylin said, scratching at her missing arm. “And she is with me.” His eyes focused on me, and a grin formed on his face.

“Good to know. I will be your opponent in the one-on-one combat trial.” Dain said.

Beside me, Kaylin sighed, pinching her nose. That was not a good sign, was it?