Chapter 23 - Three spells

Ring!!

The sound of alarm echoed in the whole area.

The fist of the examiner stopped an inch away from Souta's face.

"That was close..." Souta whispered before he moved away from the examiner. He patted his clothes before looking back at the examiner. He asked, "Did I pass the exam?"

He knew that he doesn't necessarily need to defeat the examiner. He just needed to showcase his skills and if his performance was good he would automatically pass the exam.

"You're good but whether you pass or not you will know it later." The examiner said with a smile. He was impressed by Souta's ability and he wouldn't deny it.

He then turned around and looked at the rest of the examinees. He opened his mouth and said, "Alright, who wants to go next?"

"I'll go!" A cold voice sounded.

Souta turned his head to look. He saw the girl with long silver hair. She's the one seating beside him in the written exam before.

"Be prepared as I will give you one minute." The examiner said as he walked towards the center of the room.

The girl distanced herself from the examiner. She just stood straight at her place while waiting for the signal of the examiner to start the examination.

The examiner set the alarm before giving her a go.

"Go!!"

The girl lifted up her right hand and her magic power flared up.

[Freeze]

The floor beneath the girl's feet quickly turned into ice. It spread out and the examiner observed the spell before he jumped backward.

[Ice Spike]

Sharp spike that was made of ice burst out of the ground.

The examiner looked at the spike coming at him. He imbued his mana in his hand before waving it.

Bang!

His force shattered the spike and he looked at the girl that was continuously casting magic spells.

'The quality of this spell is much better than the boy before.' He thought as he landed on the ground causing the ice to break into countless tiny particles.

The boy before was a fighter that was an expert in managing his spell. He knew how to utilize it perfectly. And this girl was a textbook example of a magician.

[Cold Wind]

Cold and powerful wind swept out in the area. The examiner raised his mana to protect himself from the cold wind.

"It's time for me to attack."

He took a deep breath and roared loudly that shook the entire ground.

[Tiger's Roar]

Boom!

The examinees who're watching the fight covered their ears. They felt their strength leaving their body.

[Ice Wall]

A wall of ice appeared in front of the girl but it was shattered immediately when it made contact with the sound wave.

Boom!

The examiner burst forth towards the girl leaving a trail of smoke behind him.

[Ice Blade]

A blade made of ice formed in the mid-air and the girl grabbed it before launching towards the examiner.

Bang!

The blade and the fist collided creating a loud sound.

"Oh? So you know close combat!" The examiner was slightly surprised at this development. He didn't expect the girl to know close combat.

Ring!

The alarm sounded. It means that one minute had passed since the battle started.

The ice blade disappeared in the hand of the girl and she turned around and left like nothing happened.

The examiner looked at the girl's retreating figure and shook his head. He then turned to the rest of the examinees and said, "Okay, next!"

Souta peered at the girl. He didn't expect that she was that strong. The magic spells that she cast were much more powerful than his magic spell, and it seemed that she was still hiding her real strength.

He tried to recall if there's someone that's proficient in ice magic in the powerful influential figure in the game. He recalled a lot of people that we're proficient in ice magic but nothing looks similar to her.

...

It took one hour to finished the examination. Not all the examinees demonstrated skills like Souta and the silver-haired girl. But there were also others that show skills not losing to Souta. Some of the beast folk demonstrated strength surpassing Souta.

John came inside the training ground. He went straight to the examiner and whispered something in his ears.

"Sir John, the one in the written exam, have finished checking your papers. Now, with me here, we will show you who passed the entrance examination." The examiner said in a loud voice.

John stepped forward and opened his arm, and a semi-transparent screen appeared in the mid-air. It was made of magic.

Names of examinees were written on the screen.

Souta and the other examinees checked the words that were written on the screen. In just a few moments, Souta found his name.

As expected, he passed the entrance examination.

The other examinees look dejected. They were the ones who didn't pass the exam.

"For those who pass the exam, come with me!" John said before he turned around and left.

Souta and the other examinees who passed the exam followed John. Souta looked around and just as he expected the silver-haired girl also passed the exam.

Thirty out of seventy examinees passed the exam. They were cut above the other and all have superb skills.

The group entered a door and inside there was another wide area. It was as wide as the training ground. This was the stadium of the Ladro Institute. This place could host more than twenty thousand people at the same time.

At the front, on the stage, there was a group of people who were standing on the stage. They were all wearing a black coat with black pants.

"You can pick your major course," John said to the examinees.

The people on the stage said their class.

"Swordsman!"

"Brawler!"

"Healer!"

"Mage!"

It was until that Souta heard his main class that he started to move. He looked up and saw a middle-aged man with short blonde hair. He was a professor of mage students at Ladro Institute.

Souta was major in magic spells so it's only natural that he's taking the mage course. The silver-haired girl also took the mage course.

He looked around and saw that the other people were already forming their own group. He then looked at his own group and found five people, including him and the silver-haired girl, took the mage course out of thirty examinees who passed the exam.

"I'm Bargan, one of the professors in mage course." The middle-aged man introduced himself first. He added, "Follow me!" before he started walking.

Bargan toured them around the Institute before they went to the mage building. He explained a lot of things about the Institute and history about how it was built.

The group went inside a room. The room was huge and at the corner were spell books piled neatly.

"This is the gifts of the Institute to all of you so pick three spell books there and learn it," Bagan said to them with a smile on his face. "The Institute is generous to its students so don't worry about it. As long as you study earnestly it's okay. And the Institute will not hesitate to provide you more resources."

This was what Souta was waiting for. The free gifts of the Institute. This was what he wanted. The spell books to complete the requirements in getting a class.

Thanking Bargan for the gifts, the other three went to check the spellbooks.

Souta noticed that the silver-haired girl wasn't checking the spellbooks. She was just standing there on her position looking at the spellbooks.

He opened his mouth and asked, "Do you also want to check the books?"

The silver-haired girl turned her head and looked at him. She slowly opened her mouth and replied, "No, I'm okay with leftover."

"I see..." Souta nodded and turned his attention to the spellbooks.

He didn't hesitate anymore as he went there and checked the spell books one by one.

Most of the spells we're basic spell just like his [Fire Ball], [Ice Shot], and [Light Heal]. There were a few high-level spells. But, all of these were in the range of Tier 1 spell.

Well, even if there's a Tier 2 spell here he wouldn't be able to learn it. It was because only those that promoted their class to level 2 class would be able to learn it.

Mage was just a level 1 class. There were a lot of paths after the mage but he would choose the path he chose in the game. Mage becoming a Battle Mage then a Great Battle Mage.

In the end, he picked the [Agility Boost], [Strength Boost], and [Mud Slide] spells.

The two spells that he picked were buff spells that he needed. Back in the game, he was proficient in buffing himself while adding debuffs to his opponent. He got stronger while his opponents got weaker. Even those abnormal status wouldn't affect because of his different kinds of buffs he casted on himself.

Well, he was experts in different styles as a Great Battle Mage.

"These three are the ones I choose," Souta said while looking at Bargan.

Bargan looked at Souta and then at the spellbooks that he choose. He was wondering if Souta was planning on taking a support type mage.

He was wrong at that Souta was planning on supporting himself.