"How are you going to break the seal on your magic?" asks Arthur.
Azrael thinks for a while. "The Seal of Yahweh completely sealed my life energy. If we find someone with mana equal to mine, that could theoretically break the seal."
"But don't you have an infinite source of mana?"
"Nothing is infinite, Acheron."
Arthur remains quiet for a while before saying, "Can you not call me by that name?"
"Why?"
"My…" He hesitates for a second, before continuing, "I just prefer being called Arthur, that's all."
Azrael stares at him, suspicious. "If that is your wish, I shall call you Arthur instead."
"Thank you," says Arthur, relieved. "So, you want to find someone with an equal amount of mana as you. Have you thought about asking for help from the other Primordial Gods?"
Azrael's face grows grim. "They will not aid me."
"How do you know that?"
"We Primordial Gods have agreed not to interfere in the others' business."
"But if a Primordial God can only activate this seal, one of them must have broken that agreement."
"I concur; however, I shall continue abiding by this agreement regardless."
"Then what will you do about the seal?"
"There is a presence that I felt in this town; it has the presence of a God."
"A God's presence!?" exclaims Arthur.
"Yes. I plan on investigating this matter; however, there is a slight problem."
"A problem?"
"The place this abnormal mana originates is the building centred in this town, the Magus Academy."
"The Magus Academy!? No wonder you have a problem. Only students and lecturers are allowed on the Academy's premises. And you say this presence is in the Academy."
"Not in. Under. The presence I feel lies deep under the Academy."
"That makes it harder. I doubt new students and lecturers are allowed to know the academy's secrets. So, what's your plan?"
"I have a plan; however, I will need some time for this plan to take action."
"How long?"
"Half a year. In the meantime, we need to improve your strength."
Arthur looks at Azrael, surprised. "My strength? Why do I need to get stronger?"
Azrael dittos Arthur's expression. "You have pled allegiance to me, have you not?" Arthur nods his head. "Then you need to improve your strength."
I will face Azazel head-on; however, I do not know the strength of the army Azazel has mustered. Therefore, I must ascertain Arthur's full power. I see great potential in him; he needs only a proper educator.
From then, Arthur's hellish days of training began. Days turned into weeks. And weeks into months. In the blink of an eye, half a year passes.
"Well then, Arthur, today is the day. Are you prepared?"
"Yes, Lord Azrael."
Year X963 of the Genesis Calendar. The first day of the year marks the day of the entrance exams for the Magus Academy.
"I know magic – which exceeds this world's knowledge – by many centuries. Becoming an instructor would be the best solution for me. And being eighteen means I'm not eligible to become a student. However, you would need to become a student, Arthur. We must gather information from both the staff and the student sides of the Academy."
"I understand."
"Good." Azrael smiles, "You have grown, Arthur. You are unlike you were six months ago." Azrael's compliment brings a bright smile to Arthur's face.
I am lucky the Magus Academy needs recruitment. That said…
—Magus Academy: Staff test venue
"We are delighted to witness such a large group of professionals interested in our Academy's vacant post. I am the Headmaster, Ubel Zagan."
This headmaster's attire screams wizard. His purple cloak and wizard's hat. His long grey beard and fiery eyes. And that massive aura he's showing off... Azrael looks around. I see. No one is frightened. Can they not see it?
"I would like to begin the selection if everyone is prepared." Azrael can feel the headmaster's eyes on him.
One of the applicants raises his hand. A man in a black suit wearing glasses says, "You say selection, but I believe this Academy only wants the best of the best."
The headmaster continues staring at Azrael. "Yes, we only want the best. Therefore, we will conduct a 'test' to see whether you are truly the best."
"A test?" says the man, confused.
The floor suddenly disappears. All the applicants fall to the depths of the abyss. Azrael and a few others use their life energy to coat themselves from the fall's impact. Others were not as forth thinking, such as the glasses man from earlier, who fell to their death. They land in an ample open space under the Academy. Azrael feels the ground, "Cobble stone? Is this man-made?" he asks. A large holographic projection of the headmaster appears in the sky.
"W-what's going on," screams one of the applicants, who coated himself a second too late and broke both his legs.
The headmaster looks at the corpse of the applicant from before and laughs. "You said the Academy chooses the best. Magus Academy trains the best. And to train the best students, you need to hire the best lecturers. We don't need weak cowards to lead our student populace." The ground quakes and a roar echoes throughout the expanse. The applicants' faces all turn pale as they see a creature with wings spanning over ten metres. Its skin is covered in blue-black scales, its eyes are piercing, and its voice is ear-wrenching.
"A… A Dragon!!"
The headmaster smiles, saying, "Only the best can overcome the Academy's pet. Good luck."
When the hologram disappears and the dragon charges forward, the applicants run away. I thought these people were professionals, thinks Azrael as he watches the applicants run like cowards.
"Professionals?" snorts a man dressed head to toe in bright jewels that gaudily decorate his snow-white robe. "What about these cowards makes them professionals? I swear, the standards for wizardry have dipped."
"I concur," says a woman dressed similarly to Ubel. She sighs, "At this rate, I will never find my knight."
"Your... knight?" asks the gaudily dressed man.
"Yes," she says, sighing, "I need a knight who is more powerful than I am to wed me. But if my generation of peers are this cowardly, I'll have to find my dear knight from the student populace."
"Well, being a 30-year-old witch can't—"
The woman wacks the man over the head with her staff. "How dare you assume I'm thirty?" she asks pouting. "I'm still in my twenties for your information." As the man and woman bicker, the dragon comes within striking range and strikes the ground with its arm. The man, woman and Azrael leap out of the way. "How rude."
"Yeah! We were talking!"
Azrael sighs. "So, who wishes to attack first?"
"Hmm?" The man and woman look at each other and the woman says, "Well, I'd love to fight this little lizard but it seemed as though the headmaster wished to see you in action."
"Yeah," agrees the man. "I can sense that you're suppressing quite a large amount of life energy. Not as great as the headmaster's but still frighteningly large."
"So, you both sensed his mana as well?"
"How could I ignore it when he was blatantly showing it off like that?" sighs the man.
"Well, I guess we're at an impasse," says Azrael.
"An impasse? What do you mean?"
"There's only one spot, correct? If I defeated the dragon in one attack, you both wouldn't have a chance at getting the position."
"What a cocky brat," says the woman, annoyed. "Fine, you want us to show off—" She shoves the end of the staff into the ground and says, "Drown in this torrent. Water Magic: Tsunami." Her body glows a faint blue colour. Deep within the hollow expanse, everyone's ears catch a peculiar sound.
"Wha…"
"AAAHHH!!"
An enormous tsunami washes in the applicants who ran away. The tsunami parts before touching Azrael, the man and the woman and rejoins when it plunges the dragon into its raging charge.
"Great," says the man. He closes his eyes and chants, "Oh Light, by my command, pour your wrath on my enemies and smite them. Holy Magic: God's Thunder Clap." The jewels on his necklace glow yellow, which wraps around his body like armour. Azrael looks up at the sky above the dragon. Black clouds form above the drowning dragon and release a massive thunderbolt, striking the water enveloping the dragon. The dragon roars in agony as the electrically conducted water softens his scales. "Now!!" he screams, "Use your magic, boy!!"
Azrael takes a step back. "Let's see if you can withstand a nether attack." He takes a deep breath, extends his left arm and stretches his right arm back. "Endless flames of Hell, scorch mine enemy into ashes," he says. His suppressed nether aura concentrates in his left hand and from this concentration, a black bow slowly forms. In his right hand, an arrow materialises. "Nether Arts: Flame – Hellfire." He releases the arrow, sending it through the water like a thunderbolt. It pierces through the softened scales and strikes the dragon's heart. The dragon spews blood and a second later its body is engulfed in blue-black flames. The flames burn the dragon until its ashes wash away with the tsunami.
The flashy guy whistles as he walks closer to Azrael. "That was quite the spectacle. But what is it that you used."
The witch walks closer to Azrael and says, "Yes, I am also quite curious about what you used to defeat the dragon."
"I used nether energy."
"Nether energy!!" screams the two in unison.
"Even hermits who isolate themselves for centuries can't use nether energy. Yet an eighteen-year-old can. Just who are you?"
"Only those born from the underworld can use its life energy," he whispers.
"What did you—"
"Excellent," interrupts the headmaster, clapping his hands.
"So, you appear in the flesh?" says the witch.
"Cielo Dominic, Naia Ren, and Azrael. You three have passed the test."
"All three of us?" asks Cielo, the gaudily dressed mage.
"Yes. Honestly, my Academy lost a lot of personnel during a recent expedition. Finding replacements has been draining. However, after seeing you three in action, how could I not have seen anything except a saving grace? Well, three in this case." The headmaster giggles. He extends his hand and says, "Welcome aboard." Despite the headmaster's relaxed presence, Cielo and Naia do not lower their guard. They are wary of his immense aura.
Azrael takes Ubel's hand. "You will not regret this," he says.
"I hope so."
—Thirty minutes after Azrael passed his test. Inside the Academy's auditorium.
"Welcome to our academy, examinees," says a woman with golden hair and blue eyes. Her white knight's armour clatters as she moves to adjust her mic. "My name is Elizabeth Blade. I am the Vice-headmaster of Magus Academy. You all are taking the entrance exam to become students at our Academy. Three thousand five hundred and seventy-nine examinees. This is astounding; however, only one hundred of you will be admitted into the Academy." The students start chatting amongst themselves, restless. "Quiet!!" screams Elizabeth and the chatting instantly stops. "The test will be written and practical. Okay, start!!"
The examinees look at each other confused. One of the students raises their hand. "What do you mean to start?"
Elizabeth sighs. "It means the test has already begun," she says. She turns around and starts walking away. Before she leaves, she turns to them and says, "Remember this: Nothing will be handed to you in this Academy. To become the best wizard, you must find and follow the right path." She leaves after saying, "The time limit for the written test is two hours. Submit it in my office."
"What the hell!!!" yells one of the examinees.
"What should we do?" asks another.
Arthur thinks for a short while. I see. So, that's what she means.
As an idea comes to mind, his eyes lock on the girl who asked a question before Elizabeth left. She walks out of the auditorium. He follows her. After tailing her for ten minutes, she asks, "What do you want?"
"Well, I didn't know what to do and was panicking. So, I noticed you walking away. I decided to follow you because you seem to know something, seeing how calm you were."
The girl stares at him, suspicious. As sweat rolls down his cheek, she turns around and says, "Well, do whatever you want."
They continue walking. "So, did you figure it out?" he asks her. She ignores him. However, Arthur asks her again, "Hey, did you figure something out?" This time she looks annoyed. "Hey," he says again, "did you—"
"SILENCE!!" she snaps. "Your voice is grating my ears!!" She marches forward, ignoring him.
"I wonder if she figured it out," he mumbles. When we entered the Academy, they let us pour mana into an orb. It's not uncommon to apply mana from one object to another. They could have transferred my mana onto a paper. So, if I sense traces of my mana, I would 'find the right path.' Then all I need to do is 'follow it' as the Vice-headmaster said.
After following the trail of mana, Arthur arrives at a greenhouse. The sign above the door reads, "Botanical Garden." He enters and starts looking around. He spots the source of the mana trail. "That must be the exam paper," he says, walking to the paper. He reaches out to grab it.
"Hello, boy," says a woman's voice. Arthur turns around, surprised. He sees a woman tending to the flowers. She gets up and fixes her blue hair. "My name is Naia Ren. I am your examiner."