"We're doing this in the Academy Arena? I thought it was just for classes and academy event stuff," Magnus said, his eyebrows rising in surprise as he walked beside Luden.
Just a couple of hours earlier, Magnus had found Luden to let him know he was ready to test the candidates he'd mentioned during their last meeting in the library. He was eager to wrap this up as quickly as possible, so it had only been a few days since that conversation. What he hadn't expected, though, was that the testing would take place in the academy arena.
Noticing Magnus's curiosity, Luden took the opportunity to clarify as they continued their walk.
"Usually, you'd be right, but the academy opens up the arena for reservations during the days when students have breaks. Of course, you can only request to use it if your family has made sizable donations to the academy, and your priority on the list depends on how much you've donated."
"Oh, so it's another perk for the rich," Magnus commented dryly, a touch of sarcasm coloring his voice. Luden didn't argue but simply nodded, affirming the statement.
"Exactly. Even with all our magic, creating something from nothing isn't possible. Everything from the high-grade ingredients in the cafeteria, the expert chefs who prepare our meals, to the fabric of our uniforms—these luxuries and the upkeep of the academy itself all cost money. So, why wouldn't the academy welcome donations from the myriad of eager nobles who want to secure places for their children and forge alliances?" Luden explained.
As Luden spoke, Magnus had to admit that the academy really was good at monetizing itself without actually doing much. As he mulled that over, eventually the shadow of the Academy Arena came over top of them, obscuring their view of the sky.
The area was deserted and silent, which lent an eerie atmosphere to their approach. But as they stepped into the light again upon reaching the main dirt field, the eerie feeling lifted. Ahead, two figures awaited them. Even from a distance, Magnus could recognize the distinctive strawberry-red hair of the duo.
"Oh? Aren't those the two twins from our class? I don't think I ever caught their names," Magnus mused, racking his brain for any hint of their identities. He recognized the twins, having made it a point to memorize each of his classmates visually just in case, even if he had absolutely no intention of mingling with most of them.
Still, he didn't know their names, mostly because he never cared enough to ask.
"Their names are Sylas and Syrna, from the Moring Family. They're from a knightly lineage, which you might have guessed from their uniform. They're nobles, but they and their family usually do their best to stay out of political affairs," Luden explained, catching Magnus' attention.
Once Luden finished, Magnus shot him a curious glance and asked, "Huh? If they usually steer clear of politics, why are they here with us?"
An amused smile spread across Luden's face, and he responded.
"Let's just say our families reached an understanding." Realizing Luden wasn't going to elaborate, Magnus decided not to press further. The look on Luden's face suggested that maybe he was better off not knowing anyway.
On the field, the large weapons rack was there off to the side like always, adorned with its wide assortment of wooden arms. However, Magnus noted that the twins had already had their choice of weapons in hand. They were crescent-shaped, resembling bows at a glance, and were actually armed with dull wooden blades instead of bowstrings.
Clearly custom-made, they were of a noticeably finer quality than the standard academy provisions. Sylas was wielding one nearly half the length of his body, while Syrna was dual-wielding two that were a bit smaller.
"It took you long enough; I thought you were going to have us stand here all day," Syrna chided as they all came together. She was the shorter one of the two twins. Magnus estimated their heights roughly—around five foot nine and five foot eleven.
"Sorry, I just needed to sort something out with my friend here," Luden replied, maintaining his usual polite smile as he introduced Magnus. The twins turned towards him, offering their greetings.
"It's nice to meet you," said Sylas cordially.
"So, you're the one who's going to be 'testing' us?" Syrna added, sizing him up with a keen gaze.
Interesting, so it's going to be that kind of twin dynamic? I wonder how they fight. I've never seen anyone use weapons like those, except in shows and movies.
As he mulled this over, Magnus stayed in character and introduced himself too.
"My name is Cain." The twins eyed Magnus's peculiar voice and mask, then looked questioningly at Luden. Without a pause, Luden explained as if reciting a well-rehearsed line.
"Don't mind the mask. His face was scarred in an incident when he was young, and he likes to keep his face and family name private. But he's part of my faction, so I can vouch for the fact that he's trustworthy." Syrna frowned slightly as she answered, her voice tinged with skepticism.
"Well, I don't really care if he's trustworthy. What matters is if he's strong, and from the looks of it, I'm not too sure." Sylas shot her a sharp glance.
"Don't be rude," he admonished before turning back to Luden.
"But she does have a point. According to the agreement between our families, as long as we impress you, we can join your faction. But you won't be able to give a fair evaluation of our abilities if our opponent is too weak for us to demonstrate our skills properly. No offense." That last remark was aimed at Magnus, who stayed quiet. This was Luden's moment to manage; after all, it was his faction. As for Magnus, right now he was just Cain, the stoic member of Luden's group who followed orders.
"I'm guessing you're worried because Cain is a mage?" Luden asked. The twins nodded, and Syrna chimed in.
"Of course! It's common knowledge that at the unranked and apprentice levels, knights hold a huge advantage over mages. If we face him, it won't even be a real fight." Even though Luden was also a mage, Syrna didn't hold back, since what she was saying was widely accepted as the truth.
As she spoke, Magnus found his thoughts drifting back to one of his lectures with Eredim. He had learned a lot of things he hadn't known before, with one such topic being about how mages and knights differed.
Both knights and mages start their journeys through similar stages: Unranked, Apprentice, Adept, and Master. Yet, despite these common levels, their skills and strengths varied greatly due to the way their abilities emerged.
Every being is typically composed of three elements, known as the Aspects of Being: the Aspect of Body, the Aspect of Mind, and the Aspect of Soul. Of these, the Aspect of Soul was the most crucial, serving as the cornerstone and linchpin of the others.
However, unlike other beings, knights possessed a fourth Aspect, the Aspect of Aura. For them, Aura was not simply an additional trait or superpower; it was something woven into their very being, flowing through all other aspects of their existence. And it was because of this that knights were relatively easier to train in comparison to mages. For them, training their aura is akin to muscle training—tough, yes, but straightforward, at least in the early stages.
Because of this, even the lowest-ranked knights can easily amplify their physical capabilities to superhuman levels.
In contrast, mages spent a lot of their time at the initial levels of unranked and apprentice, deeply engaged in learning about the complexities of spells, figuring out how to tap into their mana cores, and gaining control over the mana found there. On top of that, they had to learn how to apply all of this in practical and combat situations.
After all, even though mana cores were connected to them in some metaphysical way, they were not integrated as a natural part of a mage's existence, like aura was for knights. They were something foreign that mages needed to learn about and study, much like an academic subject or anything else unknown in this world.
So generally, it's only at the Adept level that mages begin to match knights in capability, and by the Master level, they often surpass them. This, of course, was where the doubts of the twins sprouted.
"I get where you're coming from, and I agree. It wouldn't be fair to judge your skills if your opponent can't challenge you properly. Actually, I've never seen Cain in action either, so this is a trial for all three of you. If he does well, great. But if he doesn't perform up to par, then I'll step in and assess you two myself. Does that sound fair?" Luden's proposition left all three of them stunned, especially Magnus. Luden, taking them on himself? He was actually interested in how he would do it.
Luden's words caused all three of them to look at him in shock, especially Magnus. Louden was actually willing to face them himself? Getting to watch something like that was pretty tempting.
Damn, I really want to see Luden fight. But… I would probably lose a lot of value to him if I didn't at least try to do my best, and that means I can't ask for as much stuff. Well, whatever, I'll get to see him fight eventually.
Syrna's face lit up with renewed energy as she shot Luden a grin.
"Getting a shot at the prodigy from the Rilhawk family? Now that's something; I can't pass that up," she said.
"I'm in," Sylas chimed in, his eyes blazing with a competitive fire that mirrored his sister's enthusiasm. With that, the twins moved to opposite ends of the field, while Luden positioned himself for a better view and whispered to Magnus as he passed by.
"They're underestimating you, or maybe I'm just too optimistic. Either way, use that to your advantage. I don't expect you to win against them, so just focus on making it a good show and lasting." After that, Luden continued on his way, and Magnus couldn't help but frown a bit.
Jeez, he asks me to test them and doesn't even think I can win. What a vote of confidence! Whatever, Basker, are you ready?
[Yes, Master, I'm ready to visualize everything we prepared in advance. But remember-]
Yeah, I know, we haven't been in a real fight like this before. We'll just have to hope for the best and pray we don't embarrass ourselves.
Taking his place at the center of the field, Magnus stood between Sylas and Syrna. On the sidelines, with a clear view, Luden raised his hand, forming a sphere of mana. Recognizing this as the starting bell, Sylas and Syrna took their stances, while Magnus fished something out of his pocket, catching Sylas's attention.
Just then, Luden launched the mana sphere skyward before it burst into a brilliant shower of golden sparks, signaling the start of the match.
"I'll end this quick!" Syrna declared, dropping low to the ground before shooting towards Magnus like an arrow. Just as she moved, Sylas finally caught a glimpse of what Magnus held—it was Rokshaata. Magnus reacted even quicker than Syrna's approach, detaching Rokshaata's projectile section and tossing it gently forward.
"Syrna, wait!" Sylas shouted, trying to warn her, but it was too late. Syrna was already mere feet from Magnus, and had struck at him, as if she were punching with one of her blades.
Even though he's a mage, his body is still that of an ordinary person. I should hold back a bit so I don't break anything.
It was in the midst of those thoughts, as she adjusted her own strength, that Syrna was hit. She didn't see it, but the pain beginning to manifest through her side was enough of an indicator. Her body was sent flying through the air for a moment, before hitting the ground and rolling.
Amid these thoughts, as she moderated her strength, Syrna was struck unexpectedly. She didn't see the hit coming, but the sudden pain on her side was a clear signal. Her body was flung through the air, tumbling to the ground before she managed to roll and push herself back up on her knees, now looking at Magnus with a mix of shock and confusion.
What the hell was that? It felt like I was hit by a boulder; I couldn't resist at all.
Her thoughts were being mimicked by her brother, who was also trying to understand what had just happened. Narrowing his gaze, he stared at Magnus and began to focus on condensing his aura. The invisible film of aura that was passively coursing through every inch of his being, protecting him and enhancing his natural abilities, began to conjugate in his eyes.
Within seconds, what had once been nearly invisible to him became clearer.
That… Is that the thing he pulled out of his pocket a second ago?
A small object, barely the size of a pebble, orbited Magnus about a meter away from his body, tracing a semicircular path around him. Each circuit seemed to realign at different points as it continued its protective dance.
Standing there, Magnus glanced over at Syrna, who was also focusing her aura into her eyes, and smirked under the mask while also letting out a relieved sigh. The tension that had gripped his heart since stepping onto the field eased with the realization that his makeshift barrier had held.
They move a little faster than I expected them to, but nothing I shouldn't be able to handle. And now that I know Rokshaata is capable of blocking their strikes, I just have to play things smart.
In comparison to Magnus, who had become calm, Syrna couldn't hold back her frustration and pointed at him accusingly while shouting.
"Hey, that's not fair! You've got some kind of magical artifice protecting you!" Magnus turned to her, his voice sounding emotionless through the mask.
"This isn't a magical artifice; it's basic psychokinetic magic. As for the thing whirling around me, it's just a metal sphere," Magnus explained, eliciting a slight frown from Sylas, who responded.
"That's impossible. You're an unranked mage, right? There's no way the academy has already taught you that kind of magic."
"Well, you're right about that. The academy didn't teach me this; I learned it out myself," Magnus replied, and then added, "If you think it's unfair, feel free to surrender."
"If you think it's unfair, you can just surrender." Those words seemed to spark something in the twins, as Syrna clenched her teeth before slowly smiling.
Those words ignited a spark in the twins. Syrna clenched her teeth, her frustration giving way to a slow, determined smile.
"Are you kidding? This just got way more interesting!" She assumed her fighting stance again, though it was a lot firmer this time around. She then glanced at her brother, who nodded back at her and reinforced his own stance. They were ready to take things seriously this time.
Seeing their resolve, Magnus braced himself too, as Basker's voice echoed a warning in his mind.
[Master, it's best if we don't drag this out. Although Rokshaata has proven to be effective, its protection won't be perfect, especially when we're moving at high speeds.]
Right. Don't worry; I don't plan on letting this fight drag on long enough for them to figure that out.