Nathan gritted his teeth, focusing all his attention on controlling the mana, hoping to withdraw a bit more.
However, just then, he heard the murmurs of dissatisfaction from the crowd, followed by Sophia asking him to step down.
Anxious, yet unable to divert his focus from retrieving the mana to speak, he remained silent.
Furthermore, this unprecedented reverse manipulation of magic was rapidly depleting his mental strength, turning his complexion pale and causing veins to throb on his forehead.
His mind power was nearing its limit.
"Is... something wrong?"
Sophia approached Nathan and asked softly.
Nathan didn't respond.
"Alright, enough. Let's move on to the next one. Alex, it's your turn," Supervisor Lam announced.
Hearing this, Alex stepped forward to the magic array, began chanting a spell, ready to act.
But the next moment, he saw a small fireball whizzing from Nathan's hand, striking the stone man.
He was about to mock Nathan when his expression drastically changed.
As the fireball hit the stone man, a massive ball of flame erupted, engulfing the entire magic array in a burst of intense red light.
"Boom!"
With a loud explosion, a gigantic fire cloud slowly rose into the air.
The ground shook, and heat waves rolled out.
Caught off guard, Alex was lifted by the blast and flung backward.
Nearby candidates, too close for comfort, lost their balance and ended up sitting on the ground.
"What was that?!" Supervisor Lam leapt from his seat, staring at the fireball, eyes wide with shock.
Daniel, excited, accidentally plucked a few strands from his beard.
Five seconds later, as everyone gazed at the aftermath of the explosion, they were all stunned.
The magic array had vanished, leaving a crater over ten meters wide and five to six meters deep on the ground.
The surrounding grass was smoldering, and the soil was crumbled.
In the distance, a figure sat on the ground, charred black, with singed hair, wearing a vacant expression on a smoke-blackened face.
The other candidates were equally bewildered, unable to comprehend the situation.
Prince Baron and his entourage, who had not been paying much attention to the magic array, were startled by the sudden explosion and felt a vague sense of apprehension.
The other passersby also appeared surprised, except for Anthony, whose eyes sparkled with interest, his mouth agape as if he had stumbled upon something fascinating.
The remaining candidates, who hadn't completed their exams, looked particularly displeased, piecing together the events and guessing at the cause.
"Nathan! You did this on purpose!" exclaimed a newcomer from the magic class, voicing everyone's thoughts.
As his words spread, realization dawned on the others.
Recalling recent rumors of a significant conflict between Nathan and Alex from the Magic Research Association, they understood the implications.
While the specifics of Nathan's actions remained unclear, the destruction of the magic array meant their assessments were now jeopardized.
With the final assessments scheduled for the next day and the magic array requiring at least a week to repair, their fate hung in the balance.
If the supervisors from the Inspectorate Department decided against them, Nathan's actions could ruin their chances.
Realizing Nathan's intention might have been to thwart Alex but ended up implicating them as well, they surged forward in anger, demanding an explanation from Nathan.
"The conflict between you two should be resolved by yourselves. But to cause trouble during the assessment... Are you out of your mind?" Nearly everyone was furious.
However, they were stopped by Sophia.
With a furrowed brow and a casual wave of her hand, an invisible wall of air appeared in front of the crowd.
Unable to vent their anger on Nathan, they turned towards the two supervisors of the Inspectorate Department.
"Sir, please decide what to do! I'm completely confident in passing."
"Sir, you must stand up for us. We're not incapable of passing the exam!"
"Sir, I believe Nathan did it on purpose. You should decide how many credits to fine him..."
"Sir, I can pass too, don't believe me? I'll cast a spell right now for you to see..."
Amidst the cacophony, a sneering voice called out, "Sir, I accuse Nathan of cheating!"
The crowd turned to see the magic class newcomer pointing at Nathan, looking incredibly wronged.
In their agitation, they had all overlooked the power of that small fireball, wondering what kind of cheating could have caused such an uproar.
Supervisor Lam laughed.
Who would dare to cheat in an Inspectorate Department examination?
That would be suicidal.
Lam had been watching the whole time; there was no chance of cheating.
He taunted, "You're quite the clever one, aren't you? Either he's a fool, or you are!"
The newcomer was left speechless by the retort.
Sophia, too, was shocked by Nathan's fireball, feeling incredulous yet happy for Eris.
Seeing the dissatisfaction towards Nathan's actions, she began to explain on his behalf, trying to calm everyone down.
Just then, a tall, thin young man with a blackened face and singed hair approached from a distance.
With a menacing expression, he raised his hand as he neared the still-dazed Nathan, and suddenly, a spinning flame blade whizzed towards Nathan.
Nathan stood motionless, staring at his palm as if lost in thought, oblivious to the changes around him.
Sophia, being the closest, saw someone attacking Nathan but couldn't intervene in time.
In a moment of desperation, she let out a loud gasp, "Ah!" drawing everyone's attention.
The flame blade whistled towards Nathan, who, seemingly blind to it, made no move to defend himself.
The outcome of such a situation was predictable to all.
Although a level 4 spell, the flame blade was renowned among attack spells for its attributes.
Its nearly instantaneous attack speed and the power to incapacitate an opponent made it superior to many higher-level spells that required incantations.
As everyone watched, expecting the inevitable, a large blue hand materialized in front of Nathan, catching the flame blade in its grasp.
"Hiss~"
The flame blade, seized by the hand, hissed like a burning coal doused in water, emitting a puff of white smoke before vanishing completely.
Simultaneously, a figure appeared beside Nathan.
Dressed in a black robe, sporting a small mustache, and with a determined look in his eyes, it was Daniel!
With an angry expression, Daniel waved his hand, and the blue hand split in two.
One half transformed into a cage that swooped forward, trapping Alex, who became immobilized.
The other half turned into a blue spear, thrusting forward with a howl towards Alex within the cage.
"I was wrong!" Alex let out a wail.
"Brother, don't be rash!" Lam suddenly intervened, stepping in front of Daniel, and released a metallic jet to divert the blue spear's trajectory.
"Boom!" The blue spear grazed past Alex's scalp, striking the distant wall with a loud noise, halting Alex's scream abruptly.
Realizing he was unharmed, Alex's strength drained away, and he collapsed to his knees on the ground.
His already scorched hair was completely blown away by the forceful gust, leaving him bald in an instant, and even his eyebrows vanished, rendering his appearance indescribably grotesque and frightening.
Daniel no longer paid attention to Alex; his focus was entirely on Nathan.
Moments ago, he had thought Nathan's casting was too slow and that mastering a new method of compressing magic was futile.
But now, his perspective had been utterly overturned.
The immense power unleashed by a single fireball had left him staggered, opening his eyes to boundless possibilities.
This method of compression was like unlocking the door to a whole new domain of magic compression for him.
This young man was truly talented!
Daniel had already made up his mind that regardless of whether Nathan passed the final assessment, he wanted this young man by his side.
His gaze softened with concern.
Seeing Nathan visibly struggling to stand, he quickly gestured to Sophia, who was nearby:
"Quick! Take him to the medical center; he's suffering from mental exhaustion!"
Sophia hastily applied a wind shield to Nathan, then supported him by the shoulder, and the two hurried towards the teleportation array.