"Next," Sir Vael groaned, not even lifting his head from his hand.
Euphyne didn't just stand up; he practically exploded out of his seat. He marched to the front with his cape—if he'd been wearing one—practically fluttering in an invisible wind.
"AHAHAHA! NOW IT'S MY TURN!" he declared, striking a pose that forced everyone to squint. "My name is Euphyne! I'm sixteen, human, and the most dazzling man alive! I possess both Light and Dark Magic affinities, and I am extremely durable and strong! AHAHAHA!"
He laughed all the way back to his seat, leaving the "Elites" blinking in confusion at his sheer energy.
I looked at Elphyete. She was pale, her ears drooping. "Can we go together?" she whispered, her eyes pleading. "I'm... I'm a bit scared."
I nodded and stood up with her. We walked to the front as a pair, a silent warrior and a trembling mage. I spoke first, my voice steady and grounding.
"I'm Sogha. Sixteen. Human. I have no mana, but I am strong, fast, and skilled in combat."
I looked at Elphyete. She was stuttering, her face turning that familiar shade of pink. "You can do it," I whispered.
She took a deep breath, clutching her skirt. "I-I'm Elphyete. I'm a sixteen-year-old Elf. I have Creation Magic... but I'm weak physically."
She looked mortified as she finished, and we quickly made our way back to the safety of the back row.
The teacher finally sat up, stretching his arms until his joints popped. "Alright. Now that the pleasantries are over... I'm Vaelrith Duskbane. But just call me Sir Vael." He let out a massive, toothy yawn. "Don't expect me to like you. Expect me to make you survive."
Sir Vaelrith Duskbane didn't chant a spell or draw a magic circle. He simply took a deep, dragging breath, and the world blinked. One second we were sitting in the claustrophobic tension of the classroom, and the next, the sharp scent of fresh grass and morning dew hit my lungs. We were standing in the sprawling, sunlit backyard of the university. The transition was so instantaneous and smooth that it made my stomach drop, but Sir Vael didn't even look winded.
"Each of you will show your spirits," he said, casually stuffing his hands into his rumpled jacket pockets. "Yesterday during the entrance exams, you discovered your magic affinities, your stats, and your spirits. As you all know, spirits are the physical manifestation of your own potential." He held up three fingers. "There are three main types. First, Enhance. They don't fight directly; they just sit back and massively boost your mana, magic output, and physical limits. Second, Battle type. They manifest physically to fight the enemy alongside you. Third is Hybrid, which is a rare mix of both." He paused, his eyes sweeping over us. "But at rare times, a spirit has a Rare Special Ability, or for short, an RSA. First up... Euphyne."
Euphyne stepped forward, throwing his head back with a booming laugh. A massive Phoenix Lion materialized behind him, erupting in a pillar of golden fire. It was easily ten times his size, radiating blinding light and scorching heat that made the rest of us shield our eyes. Sir Vael barely squinted. "Enhance type," he noted dryly. "Next."
Elphyete stepped up, her ears trembling slightly. The air cooled and softened as a majestic Archangel God spirit unfolded its glowing, feathered wings behind her, bathing the area in a soothing, divine aura. "Enhance type. Next."
Celdrich, the quiet bookworm, didn't even look up from his reading.ethereal book floated behind his back, its spectral pages fluttering rapidly despite there being no wind. "Enhance type Next."
Vela crossed her arms as a sleek, crimson cat spirit materialized at her feet. It prowled around her legs, its eyes sharp and intelligent, distorting the space around it slightly with every step. "Battle type. Next."
Aria grinned brightly, and a radiant, heavy crown spirit manifested, floating just above her head and pulsing with raw, physical reinforcement. "Enhance type. Next."
Zane stood perfectly still in his heavy armor while a massive, A literal, glowing sword spirit hovered beside him, humming with a lethal, vibrating edge. "Battle type Next."
Lucian, the friendly demon, chuckled as spectral, glowing gauntlets materialized over his real hands, sparking with dangerous, sealed energy. "Enhance type. Next."
The Elf twins stepped up together. Elfrich summoned a pulsating red ball of light, while Elfhine summoned a soft, swirling pink ball of light. Sir Vael nodded. "Both are Enhance type. Next... Sogha."
I stepped forward, focusing my mind, and called upon the entity bound to me. The temperature dropped as a towering Female Demon spirit materialized at my back. Her presence was dark, quiet, and overwhelmingly dense. Sir Vael's lazy demeanor vanished for a fraction of a second. He stared at me, his eyes glowing with a faint, analytical magic as he scanned her. The silence stretched on, thick and uncomfortable, until he finally rubbed his chin.
"Why do I see... an error?" he murmured, stepping a little closer. "Mhmm. Interesting. This isn't the work of standard seal magic. If your magic was just sealed, the scan would still read your base stats underneath it. But this just says 'Error'."
"That's exactly what appeared in the text of the orb yesterday, sir," I replied, keeping my voice steady.
Sir Vael narrowed his eyes at the Female Demon. "It must have been locked by someone... deliberately," he concluded. "Well, let's just do this the old-fashioned way." He snapped his fingers, and a solid black cube materialized in the grass a few yards away. "Try to make your spirit attack this target."
I looked at the Female Demon. "Attack," I commanded. Without a sound, she blurred forward, her spectral claws slicing effortlessly through the black cube and shattering it into dust.
"Mhmm," Sir Vael hummed. He snapped his fingers again, summoning a second black cube. "Now, make her disappear, and I want you to punch this cube yourself."
I dismissed the spirit, feeling the immediate absence of her cold presence. I walked up to the cube, planted my feet, and drove my fist into it, cracking the dense material with pure, unassisted physical force.
"Good," Sir Vael said. He summoned a third cube. "Now, make her appear, and punch the cube at the same time."
I called her back, and the moment she manifested, a sudden, violent surge of strength coursed through my veins. We moved in perfect unison. My physical fist and her phantom strike hit the cube simultaneously, obliterating it entirely in a shockwave of force.
Sir Vael actually smirked, the first genuine expression he'd shown all morning. "You have a Hybrid type," he said, sounding amused. "Interesting... Now, if you have an RSA, you won't know until you accidentally trigger it."
He turned his back to us, rolling his shoulders until they popped. "Now, let me show you mine."
The air didn't just chill; it felt like gravity had violently doubled. The sky seemed to darken as a colossal entity materialized behind our teacher. It was a Divine Demon. It possessed four massive, jagged horns curling from its skull, yet a pristine, glowing angel's halo floated perfectly above them. Giant, pitch-black wings with glowing white veins spread wide, casting a heavy shadow over the entire class. The pressure it gave off was suffocating, forcing some of the other elites to take a step back.
"Divine Demon spirit," Sir Vael said casually over his shoulder, as if he hadn't just summoned a living nightmare. "Hybrid type. And it possesses an RSA."
We are all staring at this absolute monster hovering over our lazy teacher.
Sir Vael's smirk widened as he surveyed the ten of us. "By the way," he said, his voice cutting through the tension, "I've read your files. Euphyne, you have that unique EGO stat—the more you believe your own hype, the faster and stronger you get. And Elphyete... you possess The Princess of Heaven stat. You aren't just an Elf; you're a beacon for the celestial host."
He didn't give us time to process. "The task is simple. All ten of you against me. Touch me once, and you pass. Fail to reach me, and you're out of my class."
He clapped his hands.
The backyard of the university vanished. In a flash of blinding brilliance, we were transported into a void of Pure White Light. There was no floor, no ceiling, and no horizon—just an infinite, glowing expanse. "This is one of my spirit's RSAs," Vael's voice echoed from everywhere at once. "A separate dimension where I am in complete control. And Celdrich? Don't bother writing 'I win' in that book. I've already restricted your Grimoire from affecting the laws of this space."
"THEN I'll JUST HAVE TO BE TOO FAST TO STOP! AHAHAHA!" Euphyne roared, his EGO stat skyrocketing as he basked in the "divine" light of the dimension. His Phoenix Lion let out a literal sun-flare of heat, and he blurred forward like a golden comet.
"Zane! Front line!" I shouted, taking command as the only one without mana to be disrupted by the light.
Zane didn't hesitate. He summoned his Mech-suit—a hulking mass of enchanted iron—while his Sword Spirit materialized in his hand. He slammed a massive barrier down, creating a platform for us to stand on in the void. "Barrier engaged! Go!"
Vela acted next. "Space Fold!" she snapped. She twisted the distance between us and Vael, trying to bring him within reach, while Aria, the Beastkin, leaped through the distorted space. Aria was a whirlwind of steel, her spear thrusting with enough force to shatter boulders, her movements fueled by the Crown Spirit's enhancement.
But Vael moved like a ghost. He didn't even use his hands; his four-horned Divine Demon simply flicked a wing, and the air pressure alone sent Aria flying back.
"Lucian! Now!" I yelled.
The horned demon laughed, his Lightning Magic arcing across his spirit gauntlets. He slammed his hands together, activating his Seal Magic. "Lockdown!" A cage of dark energy attempted to bind Vael's mana, while the Elf Twins, Elfhine and Elfrich, moved into position. Elfhine began draining the ambient light of the dimension to fuel her brother.
"OVERDRIVE!" Elfriche screamed, his body glowing red as he unleashed 100% of his mana in a beam of pure annihilation.
The blast hit Vael's location, but when the smoke cleared, he was standing there, yawning. He had used the white light itself to absorb the impact.
"Elphyete! Use your stat!" I called out, glancing back.
Elphyete was pale, sweat dripping from her forehead. The "Princess of Heaven" stat was taxing her weak stamina heavily. "I... I'm trying!" she gasped. She raised her hands, and the void was suddenly filled with a shimmering Army of Lesser Angels. They swarmed Vael, their spears glowing with holy light, providing a massive distraction.
This was my opening. While Celdrich used his Copy Magic to replicate Zane's barriers to create a staircase for me, I sprinted. I didn't have magic, so Vael's dimensional control didn't feel as heavy on me. I focused entirely on his movements.
I dived under a sweep of the Divine Demon's wing, the wind sheer cutting my cheek. I rolled, pivoted, and launched myself off one of Celdrich's floating platforms. I was a blur of motion, dodging the purple lightning Vael casually tossed my way. I was inches away. My fist was cocked back, aiming for his shoulder.
Vael's eyes met mine. He didn't look surprised; he looked impressed. At the last microsecond, he didn't move—the space itself moved. I punched through a pocket of folded space and ended up ten feet behind him, hitting nothing but air.
"Time's up," Vael said.
He snapped his fingers, and the white world dissolved. We were back in the backyard, most of the class collapsing to their knees. Elphyete fell forward, her lungs burning from the exertion, and I caught her before she hit the grass. Euphyne was huffing, his "dazzle" dimmed, and even the Iron Knight Zane was venting steam from his armor.
"None of you touched me," Vael said, the Divine Demon fading into the shadows behind him.
A heavy silence fell. The "Elites" looked defeated. Vela was biting her lip in frustration, and Aria was stabbing her spear into the ground, annoyed.
Vael looked at us for a long moment, then smirked. "But... you all pass. You didn't freeze. You coordinated. The 'Demon-User' led, the 'Prideful' followed, and even the 'Scared Princess' held her ground until her tank ran dry. You're all interesting. A bit pathetic, but interesting."
He turned and started walking toward the school building. "Class dismissed. Get some rest. Tomorrow, we actually start working."