The crowd started to talk about the arrival of flashy carriages. The heroes have come to the academy.
"It's the heroes! They have come to enroll in the academy?!"
"Wait! Those are all the flags of each kingdom in Delios!"
"All of them gathered here in Gressaia?!"
It had been a talk for all the people inside the city.
Hanz who was riding the same carriage as Celestine wondered why she asked one of the soldiers to fire an arrow to the sidewalk.
The moment the arrow flew through the air. It bounced back as if it hit something. But, Meltiz's hero and the soldier was pretty sure that there were nothing there.
Celestine had a smile on her face and her eyes were locked to that direction as if she was looking at something.
"Princess Celestine?" Hanz wanted to have some of her attention. He was in love with her. He wanted her to look at him like that as well. How her eyes sparkled and her smile was full of joy.
"Yes, Hero?" She replied a little bit late.
"Is this the place where you learned magic?"
"Yes, I was sent here when I was fifteen. The great academy of Gressaia. The founder was the greatest magician of all time Gresham the Child of Magic."
"He built this academy with the intention of spreading the history of the great war. The founder Gresham wanted humanity to continue to strive to unravel the mysteries of the world."
"That includes the existence of the monster king, a being that appeared in the past five hundred years."
"The monster we, the heroes must defeat?"
"That's right. You'll know more about the world in this academy. They hold incredible historical information that will serve as your guide with your conquest."
"The elves suggested to gather the heroes in this academy for a specific time duration. I'm guessing about a year or half."
The principal has arrived to greet them personally. He welcomed them with utmost hospitality. All of them looked gallant and the aura that surrounded them was charismatic.
Unlike the common folks, they were far more important than any of the applicants. They were directed to their personal dorms and skipped the test for qualification in order to enroll.
Wilhelm was a bit disappointed that none of them took the assessment. The exam was the first step to get to know the academy but it seems like none of them were interested.
Well, it didn't concern him so he didn't mind but one of the heroes seemed to be interested, he was from Meltiz. The hero that Celestine was tasked to look after.
Wilhelm guessed that Celestine advised him to go and try the exams after all, Celestine also values the basics as much as Wilhelm. Also, Hanz having an interest in the princess would want to impress her
as much as he could, so he agreed with her as she told him that she would want to see his results.
The other heroes didn't seem to mind him joining for the exam, it's not like they were unqualified. Their status as heroes were already known to each kingdom and just by carrying those titles was already enough to pass the qualifications.
The examination was simple, they will test your capabilities, talents, and abilities. And since the great academy of Gressaia was originally a place to learn magic, it was expected that the exams are all magic related tests.
Wilhelm knew the flow of the examination and was confident that Runa would pass all of them. He did not reveal any contents of the test to Runa because he believe that it would be a waste of experience for the girl.
The first examination is to determine the capacity of a person's mana. They use a scroll that scales the mana capacity, it has a specific number of circle lines inside it with a scale of one to ten.
In order for it to work, the participant will place his hand on the scroll. To pass this test, one must at least reach the fourth circle easy at looks but about a quarter were already disqualified. Runa had to clench her cloak to make herself feel less anxious since only about a couple more people were ahead of her.
Here we go, this is the moment where the test begins! Runa was told to place her palm at the surface of the scroll. A weird feeling she felt when a mysterious force seemed to invade her body, resonating with her mana.
She had fill six circles and was the very first girl to hit that score. She is happy to pass the first test. However, one of the proctors was one of the elderly who was present when Wilhelm returned to the academy. The old man knows the difference between talent and hard work, he can tell that Runa was one of the hard workers.
"If you want to be his student you should work even harder. Achieving six circles is not something that you should be contented with!" Despite his sharp tone, Runa could tell that he was a kind elder. She could feel his kind nature.
Runa gave her a smile, "Yes! I will work harder!"
The elder hid a smile and shooed her away. Runa was to move to the next room when the crowd started to cheer. The hero has passed the first test achieving nine circles! All of the participants that were present were impressed by the result.
"Achieving 9 circles?! As expected of the Hero! His mana capacity is out of this world! He had the highest score out of all the participants!" Praises were given to the hero of Meltiz.
"Ahahaha, Thank you for your kind words~" He was humble, and people started to respect him. His charisma is so strong.
"Uhm, Elder... Is it praiseworthy to reach the ninth circle?" Runa asked, curious how the scaling really works.
"Heh! Of course, it is! Being able to reach the ninth circle means he has a very large mana capacity. The scroll was designed by the great founder Lord Gresham, the function is very simple. The scroll will determine how much mana you have. As you know, using magic consumes mana, and having a big mana pool means that you could use magic a lot more than those who have a small mana pool."
"To make it more simple, if a fire spell costs a hundred mana and the user has a thousand worth of mana inside him. You could say that he can cast the spell ten times. Reaching the ninth circle means that his mana is comparable to thirty normal mages."
"But, that's nothing~ I've witnessed someone who filled the scroll. Including the blank spaces that were outside the tenth circle. If the hero could barely reach the ninth then he has a long way to go!"
"How many circles did Master Wilhelm fill when he enrolled in this academy?"
"Oh? Wilhelm? His mana when he enrolled in this academy was around seven."
"I guess heroes are in a different league after all," Runa commented.
"HAHAHA! Oh, you got it wrong kiddo~ How old do you think the hero is?"
Runa tilted her head, she then examined the hero's face and came up with an answer. "Around twenty?"
"As you can see, he is undoubtedly an adult but he only reached the ninth circle... Wilhelm filled seven circles when he was six years old~ The hero may be a league of its own but if were to compare him to your master then he is nothing more than a child!"
The elder speaks so proudly of Wilhelm.
"A mage's mana grew over time, the more we practice the larger our mana pool becomes, the more spells we could use... Imagine if a mage had filled the seventh circle at the early age of seven. How old do you think Wilhlem is, right now?"
Runa doesn't know. She couldn't answer his question. Now that she has thought about it, she clearly doesn't know other details about Wilhelm. Aside from his personality, hobbies, favorite food, and sleeping schedule. She knows nothing of him.
"Oh my god! You are his student but you don't know how old he is?! Do you even know his birthday??"
Runa shakes her head.
"I don't know how you became his student but you should at least know some details about him..."
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Sigh~ Wilhlem is twenty-three years old and his birthday is the first day of the new year... Anyways! Going back, Wilhelm was cultured by us old folks that were present inside the principal's office. Dean, Maribeth, and the others. We dedicated ourselves to training him. So that he will become the strongest mage in his generation! And, we are proud of what he has become... But the little runt didn't want fame and played everything lowkey! Oh, such a waste of boasting material!" Runa could sense that he just wanted to boast about being one of Wilhelm's teachers.
The participants who passed were guided to the next room. "Thank you, Elder." She said.
"Anyways! Be sure to pass your remaining test! Also, my name is Horus."
Runa smiled at him confidently. "I will! See you around Grandpa Horus!"
That damn sweet smile had landed a critical hit on the old fella. Grandpa? That was the first time someone called Horus that. So, that's what it feels like to be a grandpa, it feels nice~ Or so he thought, nevermind having grandchildren, the old folk don't have any children.
Because of his sharp tone and fierce looking eyes, people tend to misinterpret his intentions, and children who are the same age or younger than Runa were all afraid of his opressive aura. It was something very new to him that a young girl like her didn't show any signs of being afraid or awkward around him.
"Little boy's student huh, I like her... If she passes the test I'll grab her to be a part of my class." He gave out a snicker. The participants that were around him at that time were creeped out by him.
...
The next test is the aptitude test. This is the final test that will determine which department you'll be assigned to. Passing the first two test means that you're already qualified to enter the academy.
Runa was down surprised to see the number of applicants reduce for about two hundred person.
The participants were lined up in four different rooms. It was to speed up the process. Runa entered the second room and there were four instructors inside, each of them holding a crystal cube.
"Participant number 67, please stand at the center."
The center has this magic circle printed on the floor. She stood at the center and slowly the cube they were holding shines with a bright silver ray of light that were hitting the pointed corner of the magic circle Runa was standing.
It was pretty, she could feel the magic that was flowing around her. As soon as the light touched Runa, the silver ray of light slowly got mixed with a dim shade of blue. Like a harmonious blend, they were beautiful.
"You have a high aptitude with water and light magic..."
The last test is to test their magical skills. Runa was inside a very spacious room almost large enough to have three dormitories. The floor was full of small pebbles and each wall was braced with dark silver metals.
Runa spot targets marks a few yards away. Other participants have already begun to shoot their magic attacks to hit their targets. One thing that took her interest was how they chant their spells. Can't they just imagine their attacks and fire them? Or is it required to chant for this test?
Runa never once chanted when she used her magic, everything they did was a bit strange for her.
While it was about her time for the test, Runa once again saw the hero from Meltiz standing a few meters to her right. The hero was preparing his magic spell and he didn't use any chants to cast his magic and shot a large fireball that almost burned everything that met its way.
The firepower was worth the praise. He clearly held back after firing a ball of flames but the target mark were all burned to chars.
Runa had already prepared a few sentences to describe her spell but because she saw that it was fine to use magic without casting, it was a relief for her.
She was nervous but it was not enough to make her turn away. She just had to clench her cloak and release a sigh. She who had not been the confident girl had to believe in herself just like how Wilhelm believed in her.
"Participant number 67. You have two minutes to destroy the targets. Good luck."
Just like how she practiced every day.
Focused, her surroundings became quiet and the sound of water drops was all she could hear. Then, the sound of the seashore. The constant slamming of salt water to the fine sand. Water... She created water thrice her size.
Now that she has water, what she had to do next is to hit the target. But how? As far as she had practiced, all she knew was to control water by making it float. Wilhelm hadn't taught her any attack spells. It was all up to her imagination. The first thing that came to her mind was to throw the water at the target.
But it won't destroy the target mark if she would just throw it. It needed to be powerful just like how Celestine threw her magic at Runa the first time they met. It didn't need to be destructive like the fireball the hero shot.
It just needs enough force to destroy her targets. Just like how Celestine threw her lightning strikes, fast and powerful... Firepower, that's what she needed. Pour enough mana in her attack and she'll be able to destroy the target. The water that was floating on top of her was divided into three and each of them was fired at a very fast speed.
With enough mana and visualization, Runa used her mana to speed up the accelerate the speed of water magic.
The loud break of the target was all she could hear. With that she had destroyed one of them, but there were two more targets to destroy. Runa increased the mana she poured into her second shot. She was curious about how much damage she could inflict on the target.
The second target was at even worse shape that it almost break it to a thousand pieces. That was the outcome Runa wanted, she now knows how much mana to pour in order for her to destroy the target.
The hero of Meltiz, Hanz was amazed that someone other than him had destroyed all the targets and it was someone younger than he was.
"That was amazing!" Hanz praised her.
"T-thank you..." Runa was overjoyed, that one of the heroes praised her.
"My name is Hanz, the hero from Meltiz... It's a pleasure to meet you."
"My name is Runa."
"Would you like to be friends with me?"