“He managed to destroy all six golems!” the students shouted in disbelief.
“I can’t even remember the last time someone wiped out all six… and he’s a magic swordsman on top of that!”
“Wait, doesn’t that technically make him the strongest student in our entire school right now?”
Excited murmurs rippled through the academy as more and more students leaned out of their windows. Even some of the professors shook their heads in surprise. The commotion had reached such a level that teachers from nearby classrooms were starting to step outside just to see what all the fuss was about.
“Well, well,” Lady Rockbeth said with a warm smile. “I have to admit, that was impressive. Perhaps there is a reason why these students are transferring here. And it looks like we still have more left to see.”
Liam, beaming with pride, returned to his group with a spring in his step. He was ready to high-five everyone and bask in the glory of his performance…
Until he saw that look on Raze’s face, calm, controlled, but visibly unimpressed.
‘Right… I shouldn’t overdo it,’ Liam realized quickly. ‘If I celebrate too much, it’ll look like I just got lucky. I need to act like that was normal. Like it’s just something I do every day.’
“I could do that a hundred times over if I had to,” Liam muttered confidently as he took his place beside the others.
“You did good,” Beatrix said. “Quick thinking, seriously.”
Liam couldn’t help but grin. He tried to keep it cool, but the smirk spread across his face anyway. In that moment, he was especially glad Beatrix had come along with them.
Then, it was Safa’s turn.
Unlike the others, she walked forward without any nerves at all. Her expression was calm and composed. And truthfully, she had no reason to be nervous, because out of everyone in the group, she was one of the only ones who could actuallyuse magic.
“And what is your magic core?” Luka asked as he raised his hand and reset the test field. The golems returned, and the ground reformed smoothly under his control.
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to do much with my magic,” Safa answered honestly. “That’s because my core… is Light Magic.”
A hush fell over the area. Even Luka, usually so unreadable, froze for just a second.
Raze, watching closely, understood exactly why.
Light Magic was rare. So rare, in fact, that students who possessed it were often fast-tracked into top programs. There usually wasn’t even a need for them to complete standard entrance tests. Light Mages were in high demand across every major guild, academy, and magical institution.
They were treated like treasure.
“I see,” Luka said eventually. “You’re right. This kind of assessment would be difficult. Still… I’d like to see a display of your abilities, if that’s alright.”
For a brief moment, he even considered injuring himself, just a small cut on the arm, so he could see if she could heal it. Or maybe ask her to cast something on him directly.
But Safa was already moving. She raised her hand and tapped the side of her temple.
Light began to gather in her eyes. It shimmered in the irises, glowing faintly, like divine embers taking shape. The power focused in her gaze was intense but controlled.
Then Luka did something unexpected.
He gasped, audibly, and even took a step back, his mouth slightly open.
“You… you have the God Eyes…” he whispered. “You actually have them…”
His voice shook slightly as he quickly straightened his blazer, brushing off invisible dust. “That’s enough. You can stop. Please… return to your place.”
Safa blinked, surprised by the professor’s reaction. She didn’t fully understand just how rare her power was or how it was perceived by others. But Raze had told her beforehand that if she simply showed her eyes, she wouldn’t have to worry about passing.
Now, she was starting to realize just how true that had been.
“Feel free to get back in line,” Luka said again, adjusting his coat even though it was already perfectly straight. He was clearly rattled.
“Wait… what? We’re not even going to see her cast anything?” one of the students complained.
“Did he just let her pass like that?”
“I’ve never seen Professor Luka act like that,” a teacher muttered from the sidelines.
“Yeah. He always makes students perform something. It’s his thing. If you fail, he sends you home right then and there, no second chances. I wonder what she did that let her skip the test.”
“What do you mean?” one student asked, eavesdropping nearby.
“I mean Luka doesn’t make exceptions. He only accepts students that can prove themselves in all areas of magic. And if you can’t, you’re gone. Honestly, I think the academy sent him out today planning to reject these transfers. Bringing in a whole new group in the middle of term? Big hassle. But… he hasn’t rejected a single one.”
Back on the field, everyone had taken the test now, everyone except one.
A lone white-haired boy.
“The last one. You’re up,” Luka called out.
Raze stepped forward, walking calmly toward the center of the arena.
None of the others looked worried, not even slightly. Luka noticed it, too. Their confidence in this boy was obvious. And Raze himself? He didn’t show even a flicker of hesitation. There was something in the way he carried himself that made it clear, this student was different.
Not just calm.
Completely fearless.
‘The real reason we’re doing these assessments,’ Raze thought to himself, ‘isn’t just to enter the academy. It’s to be selected. To represent this school in the Magical Exchange Program.’
‘If we want that… we can’t just pass. We need to stand out.’
And now, it was time to show why he would be chosen.
****
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Professor Luka had to admit, he was impressed.
These students… they weren’t anything like what he had expected. As he stood in silence, watching the white-haired boy approach, his mind replayed everything that had happened up to this point.
‘It makes sense now,’ Luka thought. ‘If that girl truly has the God Eyes… then she would’ve seen the flow of mana within the magical circle. That’s how they escaped the trap.’
It was disappointing, in a way. He had hoped at least one of them had deciphered it through logic, intuition, or raw magical perception. But now it seemed it was all thanks to a rare ability.
Still, his assumptions had clearly been wrong.
‘When Alen told me he had a few potential students to send over, I assumed someone had twisted his arm. A favor, perhaps. So I agreed to assess them. But I had already made up my mind, I was going to reject every single one of them.’
Now, that no longer felt like an option.
‘At this rate, I can’t fail them. I’ll have to speak with the principal. These students are… different. Special.’
Luka’s eyes landed on Raze, the final student to be tested. From the moment they met, Luka had sensed something in him. Confidence. Stillness. Power.
But unfortunately for Raze… Luka had made another decision.
‘I can’t pass all five students. If I do, the principal will think I’ve lost my edge. I’ll look soft. No, I have to be stricter with this one. The most promising one. I’ll scrutinize every detail. One flaw, and I’ll use it.’
Though there were still multiple stages left to the assessment, Luka was the kind of man who trusted his instincts. Once his mind was made up, it was hard to change it.
He would judge Raze harsher than the rest.
If there was a single misstep, one reason to fail him, he wouldn’t hesitate.
“State your magic core!” Luka called out.
Raze raised his hand slowly. He had already made his choice.
He wasn’t going to use something predictable, no wind, no fire, nothing common. If he was going to stand out, he needed to shine.
From his shoulder, faint blue sparks began to swirl. They traveled down his arm, wrapping around it like coiled thread, until they condensed at the tip of his finger into a crackling orb of blue lightning.
“My magic core…” Raze said calmly, “is Lightning Magic.”
With a flick of his hand, the bolt shot forward. It zipped through the air and pierced the first golem, tearing a fist-sized hole straight through. The lightning didn’t stop. It surged through the second. Then the third. All the way through to the sixth.
But Raze wasn’t done.
He raised his hand again, and the single bolt of lightning curved upward, hovering in the air above the targets.
Then, with a subtle motion, he spread his fingers apart.
The bolt split, fracturing into six distinct strands of lightning.
With a downward swing of his hands, each bolt shot downward, slamming into the golems at once. The instant they hit, the rubble crackled with energy as arcs of electricity danced across the field, connecting the remains and sparking across the entire area.
By the time the lightning faded… nothing remained but rubble and scorched earth.
A silence settled over the grounds.
“Man, of course he had to go overboard,” Liam muttered, exasperated. “Of course the actual mage had to flex. He really couldn’t hold back?”
“I think…” Safa said softly, watching Raze from the sidelines, “Raze is impatient. He wants to get to the Central Academy and find his target. As soon as possible.”
Luka, who had reacted with awe when Safa revealed her God Eyes, now found himself physically stumbling backward. His legs gave out as he fell to the ground, staring wide-eyed at the student in front of him.
“That level of magic…” Luka whispered. “It can’t be. Was that… a Four-Star lightning spell?”
Raze met the professor’s gaze and shrugged.
“Close,” he replied. “It was a Five-Star Lightning Spell.”
Gasps echoed across the field, even among the staff in the distance.
“I’m a direct pupil of Alen,” Raze continued. “He’s been training me separately from the other students.”
It was a lie. But a necessary one.
There was no way someone like him could be unknown in the magical world, not with that kind of talent. This was the only story that made sense. Otherwise, the questions would never end.
And truthfully, it worked.
Luka was at a loss. He had prepared to nitpick every spell, to critique every gesture, but there was nothing to criticize. Raze wasn’t just good.
He was on Luka’s level.
‘How can I not accept a student like this?’
And that raised another question, one that Luka didn’t like.
‘If he’s this talented, why isn’t he already at the Central Academy? Why is he here?’
Whatever the reason, Luka couldn’t ignore it. Raze and Safa were talents so rare, so powerful, that questioning their story almost felt like a waste of time.
He needed to secure them. Fast.
Scrambling back to his feet, Luka did his best to compose himself. His voice trembled, just slightly.
“We’ll… proceed to the next part of the test. I just need to make a few preparations,” he said, brushing off his coat even though it was spotless.
Up in the classrooms, the watching students remained eerily quiet.
There were no cheers like when Liam had unleashed his move. No excitement. No jokes.
Just stunned silence.
Because most of them couldn’t even understand what they had just witnessed.
At one of the windows, a teacher with long dark purple hair leaned against the glass, eyes narrowed in deep thought.
Her name was Panla.
And she specialized in Lightning Magic.
“That spell…” she murmured. “How does a student that young know a spell like that? Who is that kid?”
*****
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After the overwhelming display of power, the students who had witnessed the spell began murmuring among themselves. The spell Raze had used, its scale, its control, the sheer impact of it, was something they typically expected from professors or battle-hardened mages.
Even then… not all professors at the academy could pull off something at that level.
So what was a student doing here, casually casting a Five-Star lightning spell like it was nothing? And why wasn’t he at the Central Academy, where talents like that normally went?
“Isn’t this going to cause a problem?” one student whispered.
“What do you mean? Why would having talented students be an issue?”
“Think about it,” the first student said. “We already have top-tier students here, people who’ve worked hard all year to secure their spot in the magical exchange. It’s a prestigious event. Only a handful of us are chosen to represent the academy.”
“Now these five transfer students show up, right in the middle of the term… and they’re just going to take those spots? You think everyone’s just going to accept that?”
There were several nods and murmurs of agreement. Even if no one said it aloud, the resentment was starting to build. It wasn’t fair. But at the same time, it was.
Because when it came to choosing the best… the choice was obvious.
“But seriously, why wouldn’t someone like him go to the Central Mage Academy if he’s that strong?” another student asked.
“Why are you asking me?” the annoyed classmate replied. “You think I’m friends with the guy? Try predicting the future with your fart magic, Fart Boy.”
“Wow, says the guy who uses fire magic to heat up frozen chicken nuggets. Speaking of which, hand them over. I know you brought some.”
“Maybe…” another girl said dreamily, her eyes sparkling. “Maybe it’s because his rival is at the Central Academy. They couldn’t be together yet. They’re destined to meet again, two souls, fated to clash! He’s just biding his time, perfecting his craft here!”
Whether they understood the real reason or not, one thing was clear, these five transfer students had arrived, and they were going to change everything. The structure, the balance, even the status quo of the academy itself.
,
Back on the field, Luka stood silently in the center, watching the five of them line up in front of him. He seemed deep in thought, and none of the students dared to interrupt.
In truth, Luka was still deciding what to do next.
There was a full assessment process he could run them through. A series of trials meant to test their aptitude. But after what he’d seen? They had already proven enough to earn their spots.
Still… he didn’t want them to get comfortable. He couldn’t allow them to walk away thinking they were untouchable. No matter how talented they were, this academy had its own standards.
He needed to remind them why this place mattered.
“Alright,” Luka said finally. “Although this may not follow the usual format of our assessments, I’ve thought of a challenge, one final test. This will be the deciding factor for whether or not you’re accepted into this academy.”
All of them, except for Raze, swallowed hard.
The assessment wasn’t over. And at any moment, their act could fall apart.
“In the past,” Luka continued, pacing slightly, “combat was just one part of a mage’s education. Some academies focused more on theory, others on defense or utility magic.”
He stopped and turned, his voice growing firmer.
“But that has changed. Now, all academies prioritize combat, because of one growing threat.”
His eyes met each of theirs, one by one.
“The Dark Guild.”
A heavy silence followed. Luka’s voice lowered.
“With the resurgence of mages practicing dark magic, academies are preparing their students for what’s to come. The peace we’ve known may not last. Our future mages must be ready to fight. Ready to protect themselves, and others.”
What Luka didn’t realize… was that the founder of the Dark Guild was standing right in front of him.
Raze.
And while the guild hadn’t made any new moves since the academy raid, Luka had no idea that its actions had only ever targeted specific groups, each handpicked by Raze himself. If anything, the fear that had spread across Alterian was exactly what Raze had intended.
However the Dark Guild wasn’t as wild as people thought, but it was unprecedented times even while the Dark Magus was around, he had never had an entire guild supporting him, so he understood the fear.
With a wave of his hand, Luka caused massive stone walls to rise from all corners of the field. They expanded rapidly, enclosing the grassy training ground in a massive rectangular arena. The towering walls cast deep shadows over the center of the field.
At the same time, every student who had been peeking from windows or watching from afar suddenly lost their view.
“What the, no fair! Did the professor block us out on purpose?!”
“Of course he did! Probably sick of your fart wind magic making noise.”
“Oh please, like your fire magic’s any better. You’re only good for reheating chicken nuggets!”
“That doesn’t even make sense in the context of this conversation!”
“ENOUGH!” Professor Panla snapped, her voice sharp and commanding.
She had finally lost her patience.
“All of you! Back to your seats! You’re far too distracted.”
The rest of the teachers followed suit, calling for order as the students groaned and slouched back into their chairs. But even Panla couldn’t help but glance out the window one last time, clicking her tongue with frustration.
‘That old fool… couldn’t he let us watch a little longer?’
Back inside the newly formed arena, Luka stood tall, his voice echoing off the stone.
“If you wish to be accepted into this academy,” he said firmly, “then the only way forward…
“Is a battle with me.”
****
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Raze was a Seven-Star Mage, one of the highest-ranked magic users known in the world, and with the experience he carried, he stood above nearly anyone who dared to face him. From battling countless powerful mages to even surviving a death match against the Grand Magus himself, Raze had more than earned his title.
If he wanted to, he could defeat Professor Luka in less than a minute. In fact, he could do it with his hands tied behind his back and eyes closed.
And if Raze used both his magic and his Qi?
The fight would be over before Luka even blinked.
Still, Luka wasn’t some random mage on the street. He was a seasoned battle mage, someone selected for his strength and sharp instincts. He was certainly more formidable than the guards outside Alen’s mansion, and that made him an excellent test. Which is exactly why Raze decided to stand back and let the others gain some real experience for once.
He had already fought his wars. They needed this.
“We have to fight him?” Dame thought, tensing up as he looked at Luka. “This is going to be tricky… We’ve got to go all out, without actually going all out.”
Before anyone could speak, Luka stomped his foot on the ground with force. The arena rumbled, and five enormous slabs of rock shot up from the earth. Then, with a single wave of his hand, he hurled each boulder at one of the students standing before him.
Just like in the earlier trial, the group acted fast.
Dame and Beatrix spun their arms back and unleashed their signature “Windy Qi” strikes, their fists blasting clean through the incoming rocks and sending sharp fragments flying across the field.
Liam, always the performer, raised his blade and fired off a Crimson Slash. The red arc tore through the boulder aimed at him like it was nothing, and continued onward, slicing through the air and heading straight toward the professor.
But Luka had anticipated that.
Using a burst of wind magic, he launched himself sideways, dodging the slash entirely and landing lightly on his feet.
Safa, however, was the only one who didn’t shatter her boulder right away. Instead, she caught it with both hands, her heels digging into the dirt.
‘I could just sidestep this,’ she thought, her fingers trembling under the weight, ‘but I need to act like someone who only knows magic. I have to do this the right way.’
Her hands began to glow with a brilliant light.
She could’ve crushed the boulder with raw force. But she knew this was her opportunity. If she wanted to grow stronger, she had to understand her magic, not just rely on instinct.
‘I need to use the energy like I would my fists,’ she told herself. ‘Radiate it outward… but force it into the cracks first…’
Light surged from her palms, snaking into the rock’s tiny fractures.
Then,
CRACK!
The massive stone shattered into dozens of glowing shards that tumbled to the floor.
It was an impressive display. Especially for a Light Mage.
Not only had she summoned a large amount of mana, but she had controlled it precisely. That kind of focus was rare.
As the final boulder barreled toward Raze, he calmly raised his hand and exhaled. A mist of frost swept from his mouth and fingertips, coating the rock mid-air. The frozen boulder clattered to the ground like brittle glass.
Luka narrowed his eyes.
‘Did he know I was going to follow up with something else? That’s… impossible. Isn’t it?’
But he didn’t let up.
The shattered debris from the first round of attacks began to swirl. Luka whipped his arm to the side, and suddenly a twisting tornado of wind lifted the fragments high into the air and spun them around the students like a storm of razors.
Stone fragments whirled through the air at blinding speed, slicing the skin and drawing lines of blood across their faces and arms.
“Safa!” Liam shouted, trying to get to her.
But before he could, a stone wall shot up in front of him. He slammed into it and stumbled back. Then, more walls rose on every side, four in total, boxing him into a perfect stone cage.
‘I could break this! I want to break this!’ Liam clenched his fists. ‘But I can’t give myself away, not yet. This is so frustrating!’
All around him, the others were being hammered by the wind and flying debris. Luka wasn’t stopping.
‘They need this,’ Raze thought calmly, watching from the side. ‘They need to think. Not just fight. This isn’t about power, it’s about adaptability. Strategy.’
None of them had expected Luka to use the first attack simply to soften them up.
Now, with the debris storm swirling violently around them, they had no choice but to use their most powerful moves to break out.
But Luka had timed everything perfectly.
As Beatrix and Dame readied their Qi-enhanced strikes to escape the cyclone, Luka hurled more stone, massive chunks, right into their attacks.
The rocks exploded mid-air.
The fragments merged with the wind, creating an even more chaotic vortex of sharpened debris spinning around their bodies. Every movement now risked another wound.
“It seems none of you are truly using your heads,” Luka called out, his voice calm but cutting. “So… let’s make this more interesting.”
He raised a chunk of stone above him and broke it apart into dozens of smaller pieces, each the size of a fist.
The shards floated around him, suspended in the air as if he were using telekinesis.
Then, he snapped his fingers.
Flames erupted from his other hand and latched onto the rocks. The fire clung to the stones like molten glue, transforming them into burning projectiles.
With a sharp motion, he sent the flaming rocks raining down.
The sky lit up.
It was like a meteor shower, one aimed directly at the group.
A large cluster targeted Safa.
She raised her glowing arms and tried to absorb the energy, channel it, redirect it, but the heat was overwhelming. She managed to deflect some, but not all.
One of the rocks struck her arm. Another grazed her face, leaving blackened scorch marks across her skin.
But Safa stood up.
Tall. Defiant.
The professor blinked.
The burns on her arm… were healing.
Right in front of his eyes.
‘That kind of healing speed…’ Luka thought. ‘If she can do that to herself, she can do it for others too. If this were a real battle, she’d be reviving her teammates constantly. That kind of support magic… it’s dangerous. But they’re not coordinated. They don’t fight as a unit.’
The power was there. The potential.
But they still lacked one thing,
Unity.
And that was something Luka was going to exploit for as long as he could.
*****
****
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