Multiple humanoid clones were erected above the soil. Even Cyziel was covered by Clay. Every student surrounding the arena was genuinely focused at him. It even took the attention of some other teachers and students. Afterwards, the clay clones broke and Cyziel was nowhere to be found from his initial place. He reappeared in the corner of the arena were another clay clone broke down.
"Did I do it right?" Cyziel joyfully asked. He thought of the time when he was still a kid and learning something new was kind of his hobby.
Larka was speechless. Her mouth opened wide but no words came out. It took her a few seconds to calm down. "It's perfect. You passed!"
Larka was actually quite angry. She has plans for Cyziel but she didn't know that he would do something this flashy. She even wanted to stop Cyziel after he filled the arena with soil. The amount that he generated was already enough for him to cast a level five spell. It needed more essence than the boulder that Agnar casted. He then casted multiple clay clones even though one clone would already suffice. Moreover, he casted a burrow earth spell and relocated himself to another clone.
Larka stepped closer to Cyziel. *We will talk again later. Don't take other exams yet but you could watch!* She whispered.
Cyziel nodded as he stomped the ground. The soil immediately dispersed into earth essences as he jumped down from the arena.
Everyone was looking at him with awe and suspicion. They were not familiar with him. They haven't sparred with him before but they knew that they have another amazing classmate. The reactions for those competitive people are different. They knew that they have another enemy to beat.
"You lied to me! So that's why you are not practicing!" Bachus shouted. "Are you some kind of special student that the school has hidden?"
Cyziel laughed. "No. What nonsense are you saying. I am a new student didn't I tell you that?"
"You must be the son of some noble from the capital! Someone like Galos!" Bachus crossed his arms, trying to make sense of what was happening.
"I don't know what you are talking about! I don't even know who is that." Cyziel continued laughing as he walked away planning to watch the other exams.
Bachus followed before Cyziel, making sure that his other classmates are able to see that the two of them are close.
Meanwhile, another commotion was happening. It was even louder compared to the commotion Cyziel caused and it was happening where Vera was located.
Inside another Arena, Ru just performed her spell that she has only practiced today. She didn't know how she was able to master it but since the day that they were able to escape the labyrinth, she has been feeling confident. Their instructor performed 6 different spells. Two level 2 spells, two level 3 spells and two level 4 spells. She already knew the level 2 spells but she was surprised that she was able to easily perform the level 3 spells which she was not able to do before. She spent most of the remaining time learning the level 4 spells.
"Ru! That was a really big improvement! Previously, you are only able to cast level 2 wind spells but now you are able to cast a level 4 spell wind blast!" The instructor with Ru remarked. It was visible that she was from the teeny race due her height partnered with the wings of wind that she is currently using flying above the arena.
Ru exhaled. She was tired due to the amount of essence and energy she needed to cast the spell. "I was really just lucky Ms. Hannah!"
"Nonsense! Successive Breeze spell is the most basic level 4 spell but wind blast needed you to condense your wind essence and you performed both!" Instructor Hannah shook her head. "I really underestimated you. You will be considered to be placed in the elite students which means your merit points are also increased."
"Thank you Instructor!" Ru bowed down before jumping down from the Arena. She then ignored the crowd in front of her and went towards Rika.
"Congratulations!" Rika hugged Ru, feeling proud of her best friend. "I knew you could do it even while we were just practicing! Vera is already really good and now you! I feel like I am being left behind!"
"No! No! That is already my best!" Ru shook her head. "I will feel embarrassed if you compare me to Vera."
"Hmph! You are looking down at yourself! After surviving just these past days, I think we deserve this." Vera interjected, suddenly appearing within the crowd.
"Vera! Where have you been? Instructor Hannah has been looking for you! She thought you skipped class!" Ru shouted.
"I was just trying to practice somewhere quiet and-" Vera smiled proudly. "I was also successful."
"There you are Vera!" Hannah shouted. "You are not skipping the promotion exam. Aren't you?"
Vera shook her head. "I'll be taking the test." She then entered the Arena.
"Alright! Go cast your first spell!"
Vera knelt down with one knee then slowly stood up while raising her two hands. "Iara Riclus Laxae!"
An invisible wall made of fast moving but heavy winds started to condense, dividing the arena into two. On the right side was Vera while on the left side was Hannah. Hannah pointed her finger at the barrier then multiple rock bullets started to bombard the wind wall but all the bullets was stopped or flung away.
The spell that Vera casted already caught the attention of most of the people in the area because it was a level 5 spell. She is the first of the current batch of new students who was able to cast a spell of that level. It was also at this time that Cyziel arrived in the crowd to watch her.
Hannah was fiercely looking at Vera and it took her a moment to speak. "Alright. That is enough. Cast a Swift Gale next!"
Vera dispersed the wind wall then started to ponder. She knew about the Swift Gale since she has actually read already most of the book but she haven't able to practice it yet. She tried to remember the magic words for it and the required basic formations for it and due to her high memory, she was able to recall all of it. "I'll give it a try."
"Do you need some rest?" Hannah asked.
Vera took a breath then shook her head. "No. I still have enough energy to cast it." She swayed her two arms backward and closed her eyes. She kept that position for awhile. Wind essences and aether energy could be seen gathering on her hand. "Iara Faest Galin!" She swiftly swung her arms forward like birds flapping their wings.
Strong winds appeared covering the whole arena that instructor Hannah needed to cast a wind barrier to protect herself from getting hurled away. The barrier surrounding the arena also seemed to be strengthening itself to contain the force of the spell.
The wind didn't lasted long and it suddenly disappeared. Vera fell down the ground in a crawling position, gasping for breath. It took her 3 minutes to be able to stand again but no one was berating her. Everyone only quietly watched her. She was able to see instructor Hannah smiling at her.
"Congratulations. As the first one to reach a magic class of five with the wind element, you have a large chance to be on top. You should keep this up."
She was finally able to cast a level 5 spell. She thought that their life and death experience was really not bad anymore. Did undergoing those things pushed her to break her current limit? It should be noted that instructor Larka thought that Ru would only be taking level 3 exams while she would be taking a level 4 exam. Moreover, the element of wind was not her greatest affinity. It was fire.
She then felt the intense looks of the people around. She first saw Ru and Rika and smiled at them. She then looked far away then saw Aqola with his eyes wide open. After seeing each other eye to eye, Aqola shivered and turned his back. She then looked at a girl with a green curly hair before focusing to a cloaked guy. Finally, he saw Cyziel in the crowd smiling at her then she sighed.
She looked back at instructor Hannah. "Thank you instructor but being number 1 has become a bit far fetch to me right now but of course I will still try to fight for it."
Hannah jerked backwards, surprised at what she heard. "This is really weird. Everyone is too humble today. I didn't think to hear that from you. Nevertheless," Hannah looked at instructor Larka who was hiding in the crowd. "Your class might be winning today's interclass competition."
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"Of course. What did you expect from a student of mine!" Larka laughed, trying to hide her own amazement. She left her own arena when she saw that Vera was finally taking the exam. When she looked for her previously, she saw Vera practicing the spell and saw what Vera planned to cast for the exam.
"I just wish that the competition would be interesting." Hannah said before turning to Vera. "Vera go take some rest. You don't want to miss the competition. Okay next student!"
"Cyziel! Come follow me!" Larka shouted, seeing Cyziel in the crowd.
Cyziel followed behind Larka, leaving Bachus by himself. "Instructor. Did you just leave the other students? Who is taking their exams?"
"Ah! Even a student is reprimanding me!" Larka laughed. "I told them that we are taking a break first. Anyway, what do you think of Vera? You didn't even seem to be surprised."
"What's there to be surprised? She has great talent." Cyziel calmly replied.
Larka struck Cyziel at the back with her palm, causing him to almost tumble. "You are sounding more and more like an old guy. Have you forgotten that you are only able to cast a level 4 spell. Do you have no competitive spirit? Wait! Vera introduced you to me. Are you two dating?"
Cyziel got flustered. "No! No! Is that appropriate for you to talk about?"
Larka rubbed her chin. "You two are definitely hiding something and both of you are my best students so you should be more open to me. I would be supporting you. You know?"
"Ah you can think anything you want." Cyziel sighed.
"Is that how you talk to your teacher?" Larka laughed. "Anyway, watch that girl in the arena. She is another one of the people you should watch out. Her name is Morgan. I previously mentioned her before."
The two arrived to another arena. The one standing in the arena was the green haired girl that Vera looked at. She has a pale colored skin and a small face which made her look cute. Contrastingly, she is emitting an antagonistic atmosphere that would make it hard to approach her. She is really not that different from Vera.
Cyziel scrutinized her for a bit before smiling and nodding his head. He thinks that she might really have been a great competition for Vera but nothing for him to be really concerned about.
"Hey. Are you taking this seriously? Don't tell me you fell for her? Oh! She is really pretty but Vera won't really like that." Larka chortled, trying to tease Cyziel.
"Bah!" Cyziel scowled. "Teach. You are the one not taking this seriously. I am legitimately trying to observe her!"
Larka chuckled. "Look she is starting to cast her spell."
Five large spherical mass of water started to form around Morgan. It is a Water Prison spell that is meant to trap and suffocate its target. Morgan looked at her instructor for approval before dispersing the magic.
Her next task was to cast the spell drizzle. It is a weaker version of rainfall but all weather changing spells requires a huge amount of aether energy to be casted. Luckily, the target was just within the arena. After a minute, she was able to successfully conjure low lying clouds above the arena that caused the drizzle to fall. She was the 2nd student that was able to pass the 5th rank promotion exam.
"So what do you think about her?" Larka asked.
"Not bad. She got great affinity with the Aether to be able to cast a weather spell." Cyziel remarked.
"Just not bad? You are pretty arrogant you know!"
"Hey! You are the one who asked me about my opinion!"
*Oh look! She is looking at you!* Larka whispered.
Cyziel smiled at Morgan who initially nodded to instructor Larka before sizing him up. She then looked away and ignored his smile. "I think she was more paying respect at you instead of looking at me." Cyziel said.
"Oh! She is definitely wondering why I brought you with me. That girl is smart you know. If you do not know yet, I also perform fire classes which both Morgan and Vera have affinity with."
"Oh! Then let me attend your classes next time."
"You also have an affinity with fire? I can't really wait to finish testing your fundamentals! Anyway, we could check the fire class right now. I think instructor Sara is handling it today."
"Sara?" Cyziel pondered, having heard the name before.
"Oh you know her?" Larka asked inquisitively.
"Yeah. She was there when I enrolled."
"Oh is that so.. Anyway let's go. Coincidentally, there is another one you should know." Larka walked away while thinking about what Cyziel just said. If Sara processed his enrollment then did he also get a scholarship test?
Cyziel followed her again. "Shouldn't you get back to your own arena?"
Larka's thoughts got disturbed by Cyziel's question as she remembered something else. "We won't take long! Anyway, there is another group of students that are observing you. Didn't you notice that?"
"Oh! You mean the group of Aqola? Should I be concerned?"
"You should be careful of that guy. He might not be the strongest but that guy is really cunning and vicious."
"Hmm... So you actually know that guy is up to no good." Cyziel smiled.
Larka frowned. "The instructors are not stupid you know! We just don't have enough evidence to kick that guy."
The two walked to another corner of the indoor training area. There is another arena and Cyziel saw instructor Sara in it. He also saw his two friends standing beside another guy. The guy was cloaked similar to Volus but the color of his cloak was violet instead of black which is quite eye-catching.
"Cyziel! You are actually also here!" Ortix walked towards him and Volus followed.
Sara was able to notice the arrival of Larka and Cyziel due to Ortix and she immediately paused and smiled at the two.
"Cyziel. Are you here to take the fire promotion exam?" Sara asked, she has long been curious on how Cyziel would perform regarding magic. The next text during the scholarship exam was actually the fundamental exam that Larka performed on him.
Larka looked at the Sara who casually greeted Cyziel. She surmised that Sara already knows his potential but she wondered why didn't she take her under her own class.
"Ha. So you actually really know about him." Larka scoffed.
"I already know what you are thinking but I already got three great students under me so I gave him away and I assure you that my class would astound you." Sara remarked.
"Oh definitely not!" Ortix uttered.
"Shut up Ortix! I told you to be more confident about yourself."
"Oh I definitely am confident. I'll beat up everyone except-" Ortix closed his lips seeing Cyziel shook his head. "Ah! Yeah of course. Our class would definitely be number one!"
Cyziel was able to perceive that the cloaked guy was fiercely staring at him. The guy understood that the two instructors was indirectly praising Cyziel causing him to be alarmed. Additionally, his two new classmates who just started a few weeks ago was able to catch up to him. For example, Volus was already able to cast level 4 Fire spells and he learned that his affinity for light and dark was even higher than his fire affinity.
On another hand, Ortix was already able to cast level 4 wind spells and the news of him beating up Jaza was already known to a lot of students. If another student was actually also as strong as the two then getting to the top of the batch would even be harder for him.
"Cyziel. Let's go!" Larka uttered. "We'll see you later at the main arena."
"Meet you guys later!" Cyziel uttered as he went away going back with Larka.
"It seems that you already know the other 2 new students but the one I wanted you to see was actually the cloaked guy at the back. That is Elvin. His advantage compared to Vera and Morgan was his experience. Both his father and brother are high ranking members of a large expedition group. He probably also passed a rank 5 exam."
"Oh! Good for him!" Cyziel nonchalantly replied.
"Nothing really scares you huh? Okay I need to go back to handle the exam. Here take this. This might help you." Larka activated her watch and sent another E-compendium to Cyziel. It is a book called advance magic for combat.
Larka got back up the arena and Cyziel saw Bachus with some other people coming to him.
"Cyziel! My friend! Where did you go with instructor Larka?" Bachus chortled.
"Just watched the other arenas!"
"You didn't try to take the other promotion exams?" Bachus asked.
"Maybe next time!"
"You should know that the more elements that you are able to certify your rank then the more merits that you could get!"
Well! I think that is quite obvious but it might be too much for the others if I immediately show off. Though next time, I might skip and go for really high rank spells. Speaking of which, I actually should have done level 5 spells. Cyziel pondered, thinking that the most important thing for him right now is to learn as much as he can. "It's fine. I probably need to practice some more for other elements."
"I would actually like to introduce you to our other classmates. They would like to ask for your guidance!" Bachus moved aside, presenting 4 other people. One was a guy who seemed to really want to fight while the other 3 where girls whose eyes are shining brightly as they looked at him. One thing for sure is that it would be really problematic for him.
Cyziel coughed. "Ehem.... Instructor Larka actually ordered me to practice for the interclass exam so maybe some other day."
Bachus twitched. "You are joining the interclass exam? Really?"
"Yes. Yes. So I need to go." Cyziel elegantly turned his back and swiftly walked away.
"Wait! Wait!" Bachus shouted but Cyziel suddenly disappeared.
"Bachus!!! You said that you would introduce him to us!" One of the girls shouted.
"He really seems so cool!" Another one commented.
"Yeah! He would be a great sparring partner!" The guy added.
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In another part of the area....
"How? How did those guys survived?" Aqola tightly closed his fist.
"I heard that one of the bandits was killed." Makan commented.
"That is impossible! How could they kill those bandits! Didn't you said that even the scout is far stronger than us." Zaga shouted, disbelief filled his eyes.
"It is possible if you think about it. Vera just passed the 5th rank exam. If that Cyziel is actually just as strong or stronger than Vera then it really is possible." Watako felt that Cyziel was really not someone simple. He felt relieved that they actually survived because he really didn't have any issues with them but at the same time, he was scared of the possible consequences of their actions.
"Are you still going on about that? Do you really think that guy would be as strong as Vera? I already told you that Vera is an anomaly even for us Lucris!" Zaga really didn't want to accept that another guy would have beaten Vera. He already placed in his mind that it would be him that would humble that cousin of his.
"You really think too high of your cousin. She might have become your personal demon." Myla chuckled. "Anyway, we could try to interrogate Jaza. He might know more about this."
"Shut up!" Zaga shouted.
"Be quiet!" Aqola calmed himself down. "Alright. We will talk with Jaza first. For now, lay low. They probably do not know yet what we did. There is no reason really to fear them."
Aqola knew that he is really only tricking himself. He is not stupid to not understand that his opponent this time are not simple. It is a different thing if he didn't try to kill them. He could just act innocently but this time, he might need to go all in. If ever those people learned of what they did then they might really become a threat to him.