Year 348 of the Great Sundering Era, 2nd Month, 29th Day of the Astral Reflux Cycle.
Since Magnus wasn't attending the Live Examination with Celia this time, he didn't need to maintain the pretense of being present at the event. This allowed him to freely leave the dorm building wearing his mask, fully embracing his persona as Cain. Even though he had set out a bit late, Magnus could already sense a stark contrast compared to when he was accompanied by Celia to the Academy Arena.
As he walked, students heading towards the arena made way for him. Some did so out of anxiety, while others simply wanted to avoid crossing paths with Cain, whose personality remained an enigma. After all, there was absolutely no benefit in pissing off a Pseudo-Master level mage. Still, despite that, their hushed conversations filled the air like muted whispers.
"Holy shit... that's him, that's Cain!" Said a Knight Division student who was walking with the rest of his faction to the Academy Arena. Their faction hadn't made it past the preliminary rounds, so all of them had been present to watch the first round, which of course meant they had all gotten to see Cain go up against Gozif. It was a fight that had made waves throughout the academy, with news of the match reaching everyone.
Whether they were a knight or mage, a student at the Apprentice-level or the Adept-level, or even a professor, practically everyone had heard about Cain at this point, the youngest Pseudo-Master level student in the history of the academy. A title like that carried a lot of prestige, of course; however, at the same time, it only meant more and more gazes had landed upon this black horse.
"Man, it almost doesn't feel right to call him a mage. I mean, did you see how he beat Gozif? He was one of the strongest knights in Resir's Faction, and Cain still managed to overpower him physically," another Knight Division student in the same faction added while watching the masked figure known as Cain walk by.
"Yeah, there's no doubt he's going to win," a Mage Division student stated confidently. But this sparked a bit of disagreement among the group as another student chimed in.
"Actually... I wouldn't be so sure." Although the Live Examination didn't allow officially evaluated students Adept-level and above to participate, those who'd never been evaluated could still compete. That was why Magnus, who was unofficially considered to be at the Pseudo-Master level, was still allowed to take part. Until the Live Examination ended, he was technically still classified as an unranked to Apprentice-level mage.
That's what the student who had chimed in was referring to as he continued, causing the others in the group to look at him.
"I'm not saying there's another Pseudo-Master level student in the Live Examination or anything. But... we shouldn't count the other faction leaders out just yet. I mean, practically all of them are part of families with extremely unique legacies. Who's to say there isn't one that could bridge the gap? After all, we all saw their matches, right?" The group surrounding the student thought about his words for a moment before nodding slowly.
"I guess you might have a point," one of them said.
"Yeah, plus both Cain and his faction leader are still in the Live Examination. There's hardly any faction leaders weaker than their members, so who knows how-" The student who was speaking immediately closed his mouth and stopped walking, freezing up like a statue. Seeing this, his fellow faction members looked around and realized a masked figure was staring right at them as he walked by.
"Crap..."
"He heard us!"
Immediately, the entire group scurried off, heading down an alternate path that led toward the Academy Arena. Magnus hadn't been watching them out of hostility; in fact, he hadn't heard most of what they said, but he did manage to catch that one last bit. Since he had left to take care of Celia, he wasn't around to watch the remaining matches. And although he didn't really mind since none of the matchups interested him, it did mean he missed out on observing the other faction leaders' abilities.
Hmm, that's interesting. I thought after my match against Gozif, there wouldn't be any more debate about whether or not I could win. But I guess even Luden hadn't gathered much information on the other faction leaders' capabilities, so who knows? They might have just been gossiping, but it would be pretty interesting if there really were students I could test my abilities on and go all out against.
Continuing to mull over what the students had said as he approached the Academy Arena, Magnus heard a familiar woman's voice through the Sigilbrand on his hand. It was the same woman who had guided him during his first match.
"Excuse me, Cain, can you hear me?" the woman asked.
"Yeah, I hear you. Is there a problem? My match hasn't started already, has it?" Magnus replied.
"No, the matches haven't started yet. However, we need all the competitors who made it to the second round to gather on the field. If you could, that would be appreciated," she said, which surprised Magnus a bit.
They want all the second-round competitors to gather on the field? But why? They said the Live Examination was using a bracket format, right? So it's not like they would suddenly turn it into a free-for-all.
Although Magnus was curious, he told the woman on the other end of the Sigilbrand that he would be there. She thanked him and ended their communication. He had already memorized most of the Academy Arena's layout from his last visit and added it to his mental map, so he didn't need her to guide him this time. After arriving at the arena and entering through one of the four looming entryways, he began making his way through the halls to one of the field's entrances.
He didn't run into anyone on his way, and as he walked out onto the field, he was once again greeted by the sight of countless students and professors watching from their seats. And of course, sitting above them all, he saw the Headmistress, the Vice-Headmaster, Eveline, and one more person he didn't recognize. It was a man who had taken the last seat, which had previously been empty during the first round of the Live Examination.
Unlike the other three, this man wasn't dressed in robes or long clothing. A dark fur cloak wrapped around his neck, matching his hair that was tied into a ponytail. Underneath, he wore a set of dark steel light armor covering most of his body, aside from his arms, which clearly showed he had a muscular build underneath it all. As for everything else that wasn't armored, it seemed to be using some kind of colored leather or fabric.
And if all that wasn't enough of an indicator, Magnus noticed the man's hands were covered in gauntlets that were clearly made for striking, not protection. If Eveline and the Headmistress carried an aura that made others apprehensive and nervous, and the Vice-Headmaster had one that made him seem reclusive and cut off, then this man's aura was on full display for anyone to see.
He was no mage; he was a knight, through and through.
The moment Magnus stepped onto the field, he felt the man's attention shift to him, along with the focus of every spectator in the audience and the participants waiting on the field. Among the familiar faces he noticed were the twins Syrna and Sylas, Blair, and, of course, Luden. Seraline was there as well, but she seemed to be busy dealing with Tascen, who was hovering around her, sort of like a fly-around fruit.
To Magnus's surprise, though, he also noticed that Velis, Tascen's cousin, was there as well.
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Oh right. I guess if she only lost to me and then went on to win two other matches, she would still qualify for the Live Examination.
Moving on from them, Magnus also noticed a few others, like Resir, who was glaring at him with unmistakable animosity.
Despite Gozif's loss, his faction's reputation hadn't suffered as much as expected. This was largely because Magnus was seen as too powerful to be defeated by most students. As a result, many had practically dismissed Resir's faction due to Magnus's presence. Still, when it came to factions, it was always worse to be written off than to just lose. One could recover from losing by simply winning in the future, but being ignored made it infinitely more difficult to gain more members. As such, Resir had already marked Magnus as a target in his mind.
In contrast, Jalud didn't seem to care at all and didn't even glance in Magnus's direction as he arrived. The only person who seemed neutral was Zilen, who politely nodded at Magnus. Aside from them, their faction members were obviously also present, along with other talented and fortunate students who had made it this far without being part of any faction or encountering a faction leader.
Still, the number of participants in the Live Examination had dropped to thirty-two students.
"Hey, you made it; that's good," Syrna said as she approached with Sylas in tow.
"I wouldn't miss it," Magnus replied through his mask filter.
"Huh? Oh, no reason. It's just that you left so quickly after your match; some were concerned you might have worn yourself out with that display and wouldn't recover in time for today's round," Syrna explained, with Luden adding his thoughts as he joined them.
"People tend to come up with imaginary scenarios that benefit them when their backs are against the wall. It's best to pay them no mind," Luden remarked. Magnus simply nodded; he wasn't that bothered by the rumors circulating about Cain. As long as it didn't affect his life as Magnus, he could either just tolerate them under his mask or snuff them out himself without worrying so much about the consequences.
"I can't blame them, though," Blair chimed in as he joined the group.
"Thanks to your performance, we've shot up to the top of the list for factions expected to win the Live Examination. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some of those rumors trying to downplay you came from other factions trying to level the playing field. Everyone wants to align with a Pseudo-Master level member now," Luden remarked. In just one day, Cain had become the prized asset of Luden's faction, attracting everyone's attention.
Magnus stared at Blair for a moment as he was speaking. Honestly, he still had no idea how to handle the situation with Blair, and he hadn't spoken to Luden about it yet either. It was all quite strange. He couldn't say he liked Blair, not after learning about what his family did as a business. But at the same time, he couldn't say he hated him either. Perhaps it was because he hadn't witnessed it firsthand, leaving a disconnect in his mind.
I guess the best way to describe it is that I just feel indifferent. I wonder... does that make me a bad person?
As he asked that question to himself, Magnus noticed Luden approaching and whispering in his ear, "I've already talked to Blair; he won't be bothering you or your maid again. Just do your best to keep your head on straight. You missed a lot since you left early, and I don't have time to catch you up on everything."
Listening to Luden, Magnus looked at him for a moment, letting out a soft sigh before nodding in agreement. Luden was right; he could deal with Blair later. For now, he needed to stay focused. He had already been caught off guard by Gozif because he let his mind wander too much. He wasn't going to make that mistake again. So, as he resolved himself to stay focused, Magnus noticed Eredim and ten other figures—likely academy staff—teleporting onto the field.
Eredim stood not far from Magnus and the others, while the academy staff positioned themselves around the arena and looked as if they were getting ready for something. At the same time, Eredim cleared his throat, pushed up his glasses, and began addressing the crowd, his voice acting omnipresent.
"Once again, I'd like to welcome everyone, whether you're participating or spectating! Today marks the second round of the Live Examination, and as many of you may notice, things are a bit different compared to the first round. If you've been part of a previous Live Examination, you'll know what to expect. But for those of you experiencing it for the first time, allow me to explain."
Just as he had during the previous round, Eredim conjured a ball of light in his palm and tossed it high into the air, where it expanded into a magically visible screen, viewable from every angle. Initially blank, the screen soon displayed a visual demonstration of Eredim's words as he began explaining the second round of the Live Examination.
"Similar to the first round, the second round will follow a bracket format for the matchups. However, unlike the first round, all matches of the Live Examination's second round will occur simultaneously." Upon hearing that, the various students who were experiencing the Live Examination for the first time—Magnus and the entirety of Luden's Faction included—seemed surprised.
"All at once? That sounds like it could get chaotic," remarked Sylas skeptically, prompting disagreement from his sister.
"I think it sounds exciting," she countered with a smile.
"Well, that's not surprising; you're easily entertained," Blair interjected with a smirk, earning chilling glares from both Syrna and Sylas. Unfazed by the students' reactions, Eredim gestured toward the academy staff surrounding the field, who were preparing to invoke some form of magic.
"The central area of the Academy Arena will be linked to an Alternate Space. For those unfamiliar with the concept, think of it as a separate dimension. Once the link is established, participants on the field will be automatically transported there in pairs, where they will commence their matches." The term 'Alternate Space' resonated with Magnus; he recalled encountering it a bunch of times while he was researching alternate worlds and whatnot, trying to find a way back home.
If I'm understanding it correctly, the basic idea involves using Spatial Magic to stretch open a hole in space, essentially creating a temporary spaceless void surrounded by the condensed space that's been displaced to form the hole in the first place. Then, you either cut out another space of equal size from elsewhere or create one from scratch to fit into the empty hole, effectively embedding space within itself. The condensed space acts as a barrier, preventing the separated spaces from recombining while also maintaining mutual stability.
The concept seems straightforward, but the fact that there are ten mages surrounding us right now means it must be pretty challenging to create one.
After going over the concept mentally, Magnus continued to listen carefully as Eredim began to describe exactly what kind of Alternate Space they were being sent into.
"The Alternate Space is divided into sixteen different areas, one for each of your matches, with each area having its own unique environment. Although no living creatures exist within this Alternate Space, the environments themselves can be quite hazardous. All of you participating, keep that in mind as you're facing one another," Eredim cautioned as his gaze swept across the participants.
"As for the matches themselves, each pair will have one hour to engage. If there's no clear victor by then, the winner will be determined based on the damage dealt. Similar to the first round. Now then, are there any questions?" Eredim asked, and, surprising enough, Seraline of all people raised her hand.
"Yes?" Eredim prompted.
"If we're going to be in an Alternate Space, how will you know if our matches are finished before the hour mark?" Seraline queried, to which Eredim offered a brief explanation, the screen hovering in the air above him updating to match his words.
"Both the Headmistress and Vice-Headmaster have assisted in casting a large-scale sensory spell over the entire Alternate Space, which allows the academy staff to observe everything that happens within. This means you will still all be monitored, just as before. This also means none of you should think of this as an opportunity to act... unsportsmanlike. The purpose is to test your adaptability in unfamiliar environments," he emphasized before looking around for further questions.
After a moment of finding none, he concluded, "Very well then, let us begin."
With a flick of his finger, Eredim adjusted his glasses and teleported off the field, while academy mages initiated the spell they had prepared since they had taken their positions.
"Well, this should be interesting," Luden muttered to himself as he watched the space around them warp.
"Let's just hope none of us end up on opposite sides," Sylas added.
"Well, I can think of one matchup I'd be perfectly fine with," Syrna remarked, glancing over at Blair, who just smirked in response.
I definitely didn't think I would be getting teleported to an alternate dimension when I woke up today. Though then again, thanks to Eveline, I'm starting to get pretty used to that.
As Magnus thought this to himself, he observed everyone around him disappear into streams of light, including himself, as space warped to its limits until he could see his own back. For a few seconds, he was blinded by the sudden flood of light invading his eyes, only for it to gradually fade, allowing his vision to return.
Damn, that was bright!
Blinking a few times, Magnus felt the ground shift loosely under his feet as he looked up into an open blue sky and an intensely bright sun.
Oh, you've got to be kidding me.
Getting a clear view of his surroundings, he saw that he had been transported to what appeared to be a vast desert. In every direction, he saw either oceans of sand or towering rock formations jutting up from beneath the dunes.
You know, I really don't like sand. It's coarse and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere.