The crystal glowed black, which meant he was an E rank. Everyone was stunned. This was the first E rank among them. He was the weakest. James encouraged him, "You could one day develop and awaken a new mage seed. Just dedicate your time and strength to it."
Kyle turned around to join the others, his head downcast. "At least I got a rank this time around. This is a darn blessing," Kyle thought.
James led all the students to another gate beyond the field. They arrived at an enormous gate, similar to the first one but more secure. It had a security check that resembled a mobile device but was transparent instead of guarded. James placed a card on it. The device turned green, and the gate started to open.
"The Academy occupies the west area of the Kingdom. Although there are fewer mages in the Kingdom because some kids haven't awakened their mage seeds, the mage seed typically awakens in most kids between 13 and 15. A lot of training grounds are required. Outside the academy is a field, which we just came through. The academy has an area of about 400 km," James said.
Kyle was stunned by what James just said because he couldn't understand anything, especially the math part. About the area of the academy, Kyle knew nothing about area and diameter, but he was certain that 400 km was very wide—almost the size of two cities. The other students were also stunned, but it wasn't for the same reason as Kyle. They were amazed by the size of the academy.
The Academy stood tall, about the size of five mega mansions, rising up to around sixty-three stories. If someone were to fall from the top, their body would be in pieces upon landing.
"You will be tested for your ability and power grade. The test you took outside was just to confirm if you had awakened your mage seed. If you fail this, come back next year," James said.
The students stood on another large field. Soon after, the whole background appeared to be a hologram. They were inside the academy already, not on a field. The area was about 0.27 km wide, enough to accommodate 500 students. A large grandstand was present in the room.
A man appeared out of nowhere. He wore a black hood over his head and black trousers. The students couldn't see his face. The man clapped once. Suddenly, all the students were immediately teleported to the grandstand. The students were shocked by this sudden change of position. According to the man, the display of ability suggested he would be a Rank A mage who could use teleportation magic. James stood on the flat layer of the ground beside the man.
"The second test begins now. Two sets of students are to face off using their abilities. The winner will be accepted into the academy. Blah blah. Let's begin."
Kyle was the first to be teleported to the test field, along with another student—a male. The boy stood before Kyle, around 6 feet tall, with a lean, athletic build that suggested he was quite fit and active. His features had a striking, handsome quality, with a well-defined jawline and high cheekbones. His hair was a vibrant shade of green, dyed in a bold style that fell over his forehead in artfully tousled waves. The color contrasted beautifully with his bright, expressive eyes—a warm hazel hue.
He showed off a warm smile in front of Kyle. To Kyle, the boy looked rather annoying, and the smile seemed insincere.James signaled them to begin the match. The boy started to form a black ball in his hands. He seemed to be a Rank B with the destruction ability called the Black Void. This ability was considered one of the top five abilities in the Kingdom. He could bring the whole kingdom to the ground if only he were a Rank O user. The ability destroys and turns everything in its path to ashes.
"What the heck? Am I going to die?" Kyle thought as he stared at the boy.The system screen popped up:
[New quest: Defeat the enemy]
[Enemy count: 1]
[Soul beast: None]
[Skills: Black Void]
[Reward: 20 Exp]
Kyle noticed that the new quest didn't have a time limit like the last one, and the reward was minimal. The boy fired the ball at Kyle. He managed to dodge it, and it impacted the wall, causing a large hole.
Kyle stared at the damaged wall and sighed, wondering what would have happened to him if the ball had touched him.The boy immediately fired multiple attacks at Kyle, leaving him with no way to dodge the balls. Kyle's face fell in fear as the balls came at him.
[Invisible Shield (lv 1) activated]
The black balls were destroyed before they could hit Kyle. All the students were shocked, including James. They had never seen such a thing before. It was as if an invisible shield had stopped the balls from impacting Kyle. Kyle was stunned.
The system had just protected him. He realized that he had an ability too—the ability he gained from the system. Kyle decided to try it for the first time.A blue fireball started to form as Kyle stretched his hands forward. He aimed for the boy and fired it multiple times. The boy managed to dodge all the attacks. The fireballs impacted a wall behind him, causing less damage than the one the boy had fired. James smiled.
"A tie. You will be using soul weapons now." James said as he picked up two swords and gave each to both of them.
Kyle and the boy were confused; they didn't understand what was going on. James gave them a soul weapon to challenge each other in a sword fight since their abilities seemed to be matched.James signaled them to start again. The system screen popped up again:
[Martial Arts Skill (lv 1) will be activated]
[System will now copy opponent's moves and skills]
"I am starting to love this system," Kyle thought. He didn't understand what the system was about to display, but it was surely a benefit to him. Suddenly, everything in Kyle's sight turned white. He noticed that only the boy was glowing blue. The boy lunged toward him.