"Now, I will start calling names. When
you hear yours, come out side and place
your hand on this alter." Professor Leo
affirmed. "Victoria, luthor, come out." He
said.
Victoria walked out, approaching the
stone circle, and placed her hand. The
sigils on the alter illuminated, displaying
the unit figure above it.
"3,050 units, Mage Apprentice. You may
return back to your position." She
stepped back and returned.
"Next, Hunter Leif." He stepped out, his
unfriendly face still set as he placed his
hand on top of the alter and lit up. "3,150
units, Mage Apprentice." He also
returned to his position.
"Harper Sebastian, step out." She
leaped out of the crowds, walking
arrogantly, placing her hand on the stone
circle. "3,000 units. Mage Apprentice,"
she slightly sneered, returning to her
position at a slow pace.
"Nest,Griffin Dominic." He walked, his
shoulders and head held high towards
the stone circle; he placed his hand on it
as instructed. The sigils on the alter lit
up. "3,200 units. Mage Apprentice." He
turned back to his position; his eye
overlooked both Drake and Mark.
"Ronan Smith, step out." He strided
towards the stone circle and did the
same, placing his hands on it. "3,500.
Mage Apprentice." Everywhere became
buzzy like a beehive seeing someone
with a bit of a strength gap. Ronan turned
towards Drake's position, putting his
right hands into his pocket, and sneered
at him. He turned away, returning to his
position.
Next is Mark Fist." Both him and Drake
turned to each other as Drake nodded to
him slowly. He walked with a charismatic
aura blowing around him. He placed his
hand on the alter, which illuminated.
"3, 200. Mage Apprentice." He turned to
his position near Drake as he smiled at
him.
"Liam Rafe." Professor Leo called out.
Liam walked to the stone circle, following
the usual procedure. The stone circle
glowed. "3,000 units. Mage Apprentice."
Professor Leo announced, and Liam
returned to his position. Several
students were also examined, with the
average results ranging from 2,700 to
3,000 units.
After three hours. "Alexandra Drake."
Professor Leo called. Drake signed
heavily and walked forward, following the
routine. The stone circle illuminated, and
given professor Leo a hiccup, his eyes
widened. A meteor crashed into the
room, leaving a crater of stunned silence
in its wake.
Everyone stared at Professor Leo's
shocking reaction. Drake turned to him;
he wondered why the sudden outburst.
"Drake, can you be honest with me? How
were the three mana rings around your
heart skilfully developed, successfully?"
Drake was left speechless, as the
question caught him off guard. He was
pondering how to scape through the
situation when Ronan interrupted.
"Professor Leo, don't you think it's
wrong to evaluate his mana capacity with
revealing the results?" He scoffed,
already having a rough idea about what's
going on.
The room instantly erupts in noise.
"Yes, why did you pause instead of
calling out his results?" One of the
students yelled.
"I'm sure there's something wrong with
his mana pool." Another voice added.
"This happens when people treat the
academy as their pleasure dome."
Another student muttered. Whispering
of disapproval filled the air.
Professor Leo signed heavily. "Quiet."
The room fell silent. "1, 500 units. Mage
Apprentice," he announced.
The stone circle mechanism assesses
a mage's mana core capacity by
analysing the total amount of mana it can
hold. To fully comprehend the capacity
of a mage's mana core, the mana pool
must be completely filled.
Drake's mana pool is completely empty,
as he hasn't yet developed an
assimilation technique. The 1,500 units
displayed as his mana pool capacity
result stem from the spherical barrier
surrounding the crystal in his heart,
which serves as his mana pool. This
barrier itself is composed of pure mana.
Drake returned to his position as if
nothing had happened while other
students mocked him, pointing fingers
and laughing disgracefully. Xena
reaching her limit was about to unleash
her rage at them when Drake interlocked
his fingers with hers, calming her down.
"Hum," professor Leo cleared his
throat. "Listen to me attentively." All the
students tried, holding back their
laughter as they attempted to focus on
what Professor Leo had to say. "This
massage is for all of you. None of you
should try to develop the fourth ring for
the time being. Since you are all below
4000 units. Just focus on developing
your skills while practicing with your
current tier, as all physical training will
commence from tomorrow henceforth.
That's all I have for you." Professor Leo
locked eyes with Drake for a moment and
left.
Everyone started to leave the room.
Drake and Mark also emerged, only to
find Ronan and Griffin standing at the
doorway, looking menacing with their
arms crossed.
********
Flash back to the day of the admission
evaluation.
After the evaluation, students started
moving towards their respective
dormitories.
Ronan approached Griffin. "Hey, I am
Ronan." He said and smiled at him
sinisterly. "How may I help you?" Griffin
responded with a heavy voice.
"Cool down, man. I'm here to offer you
a profitable deal." Ronan crossed his
arms. "I noticed that you have some
grudges with that guy called Mark." He
raised his head up, fixing his gaze with
Griffin.
Everywhere turned mute for a moment.
"What does that have to do with you?"
Griffin broke the silence. "You see, I also
have scores to settle with his friend,
Drake. Why don't we work together? I
think this deal is beneficial for both of us;
what did you think?" Ronan stretched
out his hand for a handshake. Griffin
hesitated for a few seconds, then took
his hand.
Fast forward to the day of the dining hall
incident.
Before lunch, somewhere outside the
lecture hall. Ronan called Griffin to a
corner. "Hey, why did you call me over
here suddenly?" Griffin complained.
Ronan pulled him to a corner. "Be
patient; I need you to create an
opportunity where you give Drake an
unaware attack." Ronan suggested.
"Why that? Don't you think we're putting
ourselves at a disadvantage by getting
on the other students bad side?" Griffin
annoyingly restored.
"Hey, keep it quiet. People are
watching." Ronan cautioned. "There's a
saying, 'Know your enemies well before
you go to war with them.' You have a
rough idea about Mark's strength, but
Drake's strength is still unknown." Ronan
elucidated and leaned against the
building wall.
"Then why don't you do that?" Griffin
creased and frowned at his face. "I can
only count on you; if I carried it out, my
actions would be obvious, and he might
avoid taking action." Ronan explained.
"Okay, fine," Griffin reluctantly agreed.
*************
Back to percent.
The atmosphere crackled with tension
as both sides locked eyes. Drake and
Mark,who believed that Griffin attacked
Drake out of animosity towards Mark,
immediately understood the motive and
perpetrator behind those actions at the
dining hall.