A woman came towards towards me. It was Lillian with her sparkling crimson eyes and a blush warming her cheeks. Her creepy expression is gone and replaced by a softer, almost shy expression.
"Ethan," she said, her voice now gentle compared to her creepiness earlier. "I... I just wanted to apologize for attacking you. I got carried away."
"What do you want? " I asked Lillian while brushing Flare aside.
"I-I "Her blush deepened as she made her eye contact at my eyes....she averted her gaze and replied. "I'll... I'll be nearby. Good luck in the trials." With a final, gaze she ran away quickly.
Weird. I wonder where her confidence went away. She almost seemed possessive. She was interesting and uncertain at the same time.
Shaking my head, I refocused on the mage exam which is on my hand and continued through the labyrinth.
I really liked the dungeon crawling aspect of this test. Hope I could find strong monster this time.
I finally made it through the final exam site. I remember Seraphina intel saying that mage exam normally has three phases. This must be the final phase.
I counted the remaining members. There are almost 200 members including that doll girl. Phew.
. Suddenly a voice echoed through the room, the Examiner Magister's, explaining the rules of this final trial: "Find the artifact of your elemental affinity and bring it back to the starting point."
Glancing around, I saw the chamber is filled with relics in a large underwater area, I realized the artifacts weren't easy to get. Some were on high ledges, filled with magical traps, and a few were even hidden behind illusions.
Lillian uses a couple of dolls to pick the relic for her. I kind of envy her. The dolls work like a remote controller toy.
Wait a minute! Wait. That's it.
Control! I suddenly got a revolutionary idea
Taking a deep breath, I focused my mana and into creating an aerodynamic plane made of water. Next is imaging what kind of aircraft is suitable for this. I need small sized one with plenty of power able to pick the relics. I created a medium sized seaplane which is strong and capable of picking objects and travel towards the ledges and can endure traps.
As I poured more mana into my conjuration, the water around me warped and swirled, coalescing into the shape I had imagined
The principle behind the creation was simple. I had used my Conjurer abilities to create something using my mana into a drawing and shaping it into the desired form.
Give me an engineering degree now.
To maintain its form and provide propulsion, I had created a series of enchantments into the seaplane's structure. I created several fans using wind elemental magic [Fan]. They consumed more mana since my speciality is not on wind magic.
I think it can work upto 5 minutes. It was plenty. Let's try the plane I made.
The mages below stared in shock as I flew into the air. The plane was easy to control since it works on mana control which is piece of cake. Let's fly to beyond.
"By the gods, is he flying?"
"What kind of sorcery is this?"
"Has he made a pact with a demon?"
"Is that a creature of the deep, taking a human form?
The stared like they have seen aeroplane for first time. I call this spell[Watermobile]
Lillian's crimson eyes widened, her doll momentarily forgotten as she watched me fly in the air. A smirk formed at her lips as she watched in glee. "Well, well, well," she murmured "I want him even more and more now." She whispered.
"You missed your chance Lillian the moment you ran away like an little schoolgirl " The doll mocked her.
"S-Shut up!" Lillian hissed, smacking the doll on its head. A blush crept onto her cheeks as she recalled the humiliating incident. "I nearly choked to death standing near him, can't you understand how hard it is?"
She seemed to talk to me but it seemed like she was anxious and hesitated a lot.
Someone has a crush on me now. Good grief
Flare, observed me with a smile, she seems amused and gave me thumbs up.
I glanced from the above. I can see total of 50 relics and guessed how many can pass now. I quickly grabbed a black and blue relics while people are cursing me. I pick up both and left back to the starting point with a grin on my face.
The examiner, a stoic woman with piercing blue eyes, examined my relics. "Congratulations, Ethan Blackwood. You have passed the final trial." She handed me a card bearing the symbol of the Royal Academy of Magic. It read:
Mage License: Ethan Blackwood
Rank: B
I frowned slightly. "Why is my rank only B?" I asked, confused.
Flare stepped forward, with a smile and reassuring me while patting while my head. "Don't worry, Ethan. B-rank is the highest rank any new mage can achieve. Your rank will improve as you complete quests, defeat powerful monsters, and report your accomplishments to the Mage's Guild."
"I see," I said, nodding in understanding.
The stoic woman whose name is 'Maeve' on her employee card said "Ethan Blackwood," she began, her voice crisp and clear,
"your performance in the trials has demonstrated exceptional potential. Based on your registration as conjurer mage, we recommend some of the jobs you can apply specializing in water magic."
She handed me a scroll detailing the various jobs available to Conjurers within the Mage's Guild.
Maeve paused, her gaze lingering on the section of the scroll that detailed dark magic. Her stoic facade gone, fear flashing across her face.
"However," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "your affinity for dark magic is... concerning."
"Such a strong connection to the shadow element is rare, almost non-existent. That is such a dangerous and yet powerful "
She took a deep breath, her voice regaining its usual composure. "As a Conjurer with a dark affinity, you have the potential to become a Necromancer, a Summoner of Shadows, or even a Soul Weaver." She said while deeply holding her breath.
"Wow. That's genius level magic " Flare commented.
Just then, two figures emerged from nearby room, momentarily breaking the tension in this room.
They are Chole and Charlie stood side-by-side, both with wide grins
"Ethan!" Chole exclaimed, rushing towards me with open arms. "We passed! We're official mages now!"
"That's great news! But... what happened to your face, Charlie?"
Now that I take a close look at it. I can see Charlie's bruised face, which was now..... with two distinct handprints on either cheek.
What happened while I was away.
They don't get along.....at all. And they are at separate examination sites too.
"So," I asked, turning to my companions, "what did you guys face in your trials?"
Chole, replied straightforward with a serious tone "Let's just say it involved a lot of wind currents, floating platforms, and a few grumpy air elementals."
Charlie, still nursing his bruised cheek, muttered, "In my case a whole lot of Chole's fists. Seriously, where did she learn to hit like that?"
"Oh! Please I almost lost my mage license due to you " Chole said hissing.
Chole handed me her Mage's License, the letter "C" proudly displayed, and Charlie showed me his as well, his sporting a "D" ranking.
As expected this guys underperformed at least by my standard. But good.
I patted both of them very well *Rub*
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