Walking through the halls of the academy, two young men were walking aimlessly as they engaged in conversation.
One of them had blue hair and blue eyes, while the other had green hair and green eyes.
"Do you think the others have arrived yet?" the blue-haired young man asked.
"Freddy, you know they're already here, right?"
"..."
Freddy Siegfried, the youngest son of the Siegfried family, one of the ten great families, and a wizard of the first circle of the water and ice elements.
The other green-haired young man was Julian Reinhard, a wizard of the first circle of the elements lightning and air, likewise the youngest son of the Reinhard family, one of the ten great families of the continent.
The two walked as they conversed.
"Have you used a skill yet?" asked Freddy.
"Na, I still can't manage to learn a skill, it's very difficult," Julian answered immediately.
Looking at Freddy, Julian said:
"How about we go to the campus? There's twenty minutes left before the test starts, we can go for a few laps."
Freddy looked at Julian and nodded.
After a few minutes of walking, they left the academy and began to walk the cobblestone paths of the campus.
Freddy, at that point, admitted:
"It's really bigger than I thought."
Julian looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"That's obvious."
Of course, the academy was a mammoth size. A place where young wizards live for five years at a time has to be big enough to cover all kinds of necessities, like stores and restaurants. After all, cadets would live at the academy from first year to fifth year.
It would be rare not to come across things that are normally seen in cities within the academy.
"Hey, aren't those...?"
"Yeah."
Freddy looked at a group of five people as they held drinks.
"Let's go," Julian said, and Freddy followed.
When they reached the small group, Freddy and Julian talked.
"Were they here the whole time?" said Julian, and then the group turned their heads and looked at the duo of friends.
"When did they arrive? I didn't see them in the meeting section," Grey commented at that point.
Rather, the members of the ten families were scattered throughout the meeting section.
It was only natural that none of them were visible at that time, especially since the place was already full before the announcement was made that the cadets were to meet.
"Greetings, Princess Gloriana."
"Greetings from me as well, Princess Gloriana."
Freddy and Julian bowed at the same time, then Gloriana replied:
"There is no need for greetings. We are at the academy, and here that is not necessary."
"If you say so, we'll understand."
Looking at a space next to Emilia, Freddy sat there, while Julian saw another available space right next to a silver-haired, red-eyed young man.
Sitting down, Julian looked at the cadet next to him.
"Greetings, my name is Julian Reinhard."
"Ah, my name is Asher Frostblade."
"You look like you're a wizard, but at the same time you're not, are you or not?"
Julian asked as he glanced at Asher, who was overflowing mana all over his body.
"That's right, I'll be advancing to the second circle any minute now."
"Hey, that's awesome. I barely made it to the first circle just now," Julian said smiling at Asher's words.
"Second circle, huh?" muttered Grey under his breath.
Turning his head, Julian looked at Grey, who looked surprised. It seemed the two already knew each other, but seeing as Asher and Grey hadn't spoken to each other since Julian arrived, it seemed the two barely knew each other. Of that, Julian was sure.
"Sip."
Julian heard a sound coming from Asher, who was standing next to him.
The smell of coffee reached his nostrils at that moment.
"Sip."
Asher seemed to be enjoying the coffee, sipping it a little at a time. But Julian, being a coffee connoisseur, enjoyed it so much that he could tell which one Asher was drinking.
"Coffee beans with hints of almond and a little cocoa."
"Yes, you know quite a bit about coffee," Asher commented.
Julian, being a coffee lover, responded:
"Can I have a sip?"
"Oh, sure."
Asher passed him the white plastic cup. Julian took a small sip of the coffee.
"As always, very delicious."
"Right?" said Asher.
Nodding, Julian handed the coffee back to Asher, feeling the refreshing taste of the small sip invade his entire mouth.
No matter what quality or how poorly made the coffee is, Julian always drinks it as if it were the last thing he would ever taste in his life. Coffee is his source of flavor in life, not only for him, but for Asher as well.
"Mmm, five minutes to go," Grey said as he looked at his watch.
According to Professor Bridget, the test would be at ten o'clock in the morning, which means in five minutes the cadets should be in the testing section.
All the first year teachers would be observing the test, assessing the cadets' skill, talent, abilities, and ability, then placing them in one of the five classes.
Of course, all the cadets will be trying to be in the top spots in order to get into class one, considered the elite class.
Standing up, Julian looked at the rest, who were also standing up.
Luna spoke up at that moment:
"By the way, do you know where the testing section is?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
As expected, none of the seven responded at that point.
None of them knew where the testing section was, after all, it was barely the first day at the academy.
"Let's find a teacher," Gloriana suggested at that point.
***
—Scene change.
—Asher Frostblade's point of view.
Although the test starts at ten o'clock, first-year cadets must be in the testing section before that time.
On the other hand, the professors in charge of supervising the test are present from much earlier than the professors who will only observe to evaluate each cadet and determine which class he or she will belong to.
After the test, it will be decided by vote who will be the president, vice-president and secretary of the first year disciplinary committee.
In every year there is a disciplinary committee, and freshman year should be no exception.
Asher looked at the three male cadets walking in front of him - Freddy Siegfried, Julian Reinhard and Grey Elaris. All three are part of the Big Ten families on the continent.
"That's interesting," Asher thought.
Asher looked curiously at the scene. He thought he would only be with Gloriana, Luna and Emilia at the academy, since he didn't mind meeting more people after all. He hadn't planned on it, but by being with the three of them, he ended up making new acquaintances from the big ten families in a single day.
It was unexpected, but it didn't bother him at all.
However, there was one thing Asher was sure of:
"I'm the strongest freshman."
With all the knowledge, experience, and skills he possessed, Asher knew he was the strongest. He would even leave the others far behind if he advanced to the second circle at that point.
"All cadets, report to the testing section."
A voice echoed throughout the academy, indicating that the test was about to begin.
Asher felt different than usual, perhaps because he had entered this academy. But whatever he was feeling, it was something that finally made him feel happy for the first time.
Walking through the halls, the group finally came to an area where several cadets were huddled together, entering a particular room. Following the group, Asher arrived at where the other cadets were.
[Testing section]
Asher looked at the inscription on the top of the large door in front of him. As he entered, he saw a huge field that recreated a setting of forests, deserts, and snowy places.
"What the hell is this?"
All Asher saw was an extremely large place, even larger than the campus. In fact, this place is the largest place in the entire academy, as from the outside, the academy seemed to be endless.
Everything Asher looked at in the academy was huge.
The cadets were lined up in rows, waiting for the teacher. Sure enough, the group of eight cadets made their way to the ranks.
The cadets were at the entrance to a small artificial forest. After all, the forest, the desert and the snowy part were artificial, as looking up they could see a glass roof reflecting the sunlight, filling the place as if they were really in a natural environment.
"Is everyone here?"
At that moment, Asher looked to the front. Suddenly, a woman appeared.
"My name is Bridget. Call me Professor Bridget from now on."
Asher listened carefully to the blonde-haired, green-eyed woman named Bridget.
"The test is to demonstrate your skills: how much mana you can use, how far you can handle it, and your physical ability. You will fight each other and also some grade 9 monsters."
No one spoke as they listened intently to Professor Bridget.
"The teachers will be supervising the test, watching them as they analyze their skills. I, on the other hand, will be watching them from afar. If anyone is injured, I will intervene and they will be taken to a healer."
At that moment, a cadet spoke up:
"What are the rules?"
"Mmm, there are no rules. Just don't try to kill each other or hurt each other too much. That's all."
A fairly simple test, Asher guessed that several cadets present were not yet wizards, so they could be disqualified almost from the start. He knew that some cadets, such as the members of the ten families, were indeed wizards.
But Asher was very curious about someone.
"What will light magic be like?"
Exactly, Asher was eager to see Gloriana's light magic. Just like darkness magic, light magic is the opposite of darkness. Knowing that light is like the natural enemy of darkness, Asher was eager to see that magic.
In fact, he didn't even care about the test itself. It was obvious that he would be in first place; with his experience and being almost in the second circle, Asher had the advantage in every aspect, both magic and physical.
At that moment, Professor Bridget's voice rang out once again.
"The place where the test will take place is in front of your eyes. It is divided into three areas: the forest, the wilderness, and the snowy field, each about a hundred square meters in size."
"It's pretty big, don't you think?", Julian's voice reached Asher's ears.
"Yes, you're right. A total of two hundred square meters."
Not counting the places where the teachers will be, the area is two hundred square meters. If you add up the areas where the teachers will be, it would be two hundred and fifty square meters, a pretty big place just for a test.
"Well, lastly, no groups or duos are allowed. It's an individual test. If you are found helping each other, you will be disqualified and placed in class five."
That was to be expected, after all, being a test to determine which class the cadets will be in, it shouldn't be done in teams, especially since the teachers evaluate each cadet's skills during the course of the test.
"By the way, you didn't say what element you have," Julian asked.
Asher stared at him.
"You'll see soon enough," he replied without elaborating.
"Well, I hope you come out on top."
"Same here."
Indeed, Asher was assured of first place.
"Well, then go your own ways. When an alarm sounds, the test will begin."
Professor Bridget disappeared from the sight of all the cadets in the blink of an eye.
"How do they do that?"
Asher wanted to know how they disappear just like that, out of nowhere.
Pushing his thoughts aside, Asher looked at the other cadets who started running in different directions, some towards the desert areas and some towards the snowy field.
"I'll go to the forest."
So, running, Asher entered the forest. It wouldn't be long before he would run into some cadets before the test began, of course.
At that point, Asher kept running without stopping until....
"Boom!"
A spell, similar to a firework from his past life, exploded overhead, kicking off the test.
"Boom!"
As expected, resounding noises and explosions reached Asher's ears at that moment.
The test finally began...