Continental Magic Association, Library.
Yuna, wearing a pair of round glasses, was burying her head in studying a magic book with rapt attention. Her fingertips turned the pages, and two green braids slid down her back, swaying slightly.
The name of the book in her hand was: New Ordinary Offensive Magic and Defensive Magic.
Beside it was another: Magic of Levitation and Flight.
Time passed quietly, bit by bit. Figures moved about within the library, but Yuna remained seated there, reading.
It wasn't until evening that she closed the two books she had finished reading.
Taking off her glasses, Yuna leaned back against the chair. Her braids swayed in the air for a moment as she interlaced her fingers and stretched her arms upward.
"Mmph..."
These two books were new publications by the Continental Magic Association. The explanations of magical principles within them weren't particularly profound, but the depictions of magic circle compositions were very clear and detailed, making them very suitable for beginners to learn.
The Ordinary Offensive Magic in the book was a type of beam-style magic with extremely strong piercing properties. Its destructive power was no weaker than Severance Magic. Although Severance Magic might be stronger in terms of piercing, Ordinary Offensive Magic was more suitable for Mages in long-range combat due to distance limitations.
Defensive Magic was quite simple; it existed to defend against this kind of offensive magic. However, constructing a defensive barrier consumed a lot of mana and would have a very minute delay depending on the individual's casting speed.
Levitation and Flight Magic, meanwhile, allowed a Mage to levitate and fly in the air personally. The faster the flight speed, the harder the mana was to control, making high-precision rapid flight almost impossible to achieve.
What concerned Yuna greatly was this Ordinary Offensive Magic. Its effect was clearly the Killing Magic that Qual, who was by Nanoda's side, used on the battlefield. It was just that this magic was now being presented within the human magic system.
During her three years at the Continental Magic Association, Yuna had studied magic while successively obtaining the certification of a Third-Class Mage.
It had to be said that, aside from the occasional lectures held by Second-Class Mages within the Association, the Association's library was also a treasure trove for learning magical knowledge. There were many magical tomes here that did not exist in the outside world.
Currently, within the Association's system, Mages were divided into various hierarchical grades. The most numerous were Mages below Fifth-Class, totaling nearly a thousand people.
Mages above Fifth-Class generally had the ability to hold their own, but there were no more than three hundred of them.
Among them, there were only ten Second-Class Mages. These ten Second-Class Mages could all be considered semi-apprentices of Serie, and all possessed outstanding natural talent.
As for First-Class Mages, no one in this generation had yet achieved this accomplishment. The most circulated rumor among Mages was:
Whoever could gain the recognition of that Serie would become the first First-Class Mage and the new President of the Continental Magic Association.
Yuna was not interested in the vain title of President; she was merely curious about how strong the Mages were under such a ranking system.
And tomorrow was the assessment for Second-Class Mages. In the past, only one Second-Class Mage would emerge from a hundred Third-Class Mages, yet the Association had fewer than fifty Third-Class Mages, so a phenomenon where no one passed often occurred.
Yuna put the two magic books back in their original places, left the library, and returned to the inn she had booked. Although her days at the Continental Magic Association had been very fulfilling, the money she had brought with her was running low.
Having left Gaderia for so long, she missed Nanoda and Aaron very much. She decided that after attempting the Second-Class Mage exam tomorrow, she would go back to Gaderia to visit.
*
The next day, at the Second-Class Mage examination venue. In an open-air field resembling a colosseum, about thirty Third-Class Mage examinees gathered together.
Yuna stood at the back of the crowd, cheering herself on in her heart.
A humanoid clay golem, fully over five meters tall, stood erect before everyone. Standing on top of the head of this faceless, burly-looking golem was a young man draped in a white robe.
The man scanned the crowd below, the corners of his mouth curving into an arc. He pointed the thick, long staff in his hand—inlaid with a massive gem and wrapped with copper chains at the edges—toward them.
"I am the Second-Class Mage, Lerne. The Second-Class Mage test begins now!"
"The test is simple. Whoever can withstand my offensive and satisfy me, or manage to hurt me, will be considered to have passed."
"You may cast your spells with ease of mind, because I am stronger than everyone present! You can all come at once!"
Young and aggressive, Lerne was extremely confident and arrogant; he did not put these Third-Class Mages in his eyes at all.
Born of nobility and naturally a magic genius, he was ahead of many of his peers and had reached the standard of a Second-Class Mage early on. Currently, he was developing toward becoming a First-Class Mage in order to gain that person's recognition.
Do not look down on the difference of just one class; it might be a massive chasm.
Yuna sensed the powerful mana emanating from Lerne but was not afraid; she was one who dared to challenge.
Lerne indeed had the capital to be arrogant, but he had to face thirty Third-Class Mages.
At the edge of the examination field, a middle-aged man also draped in a white robe held his forehead helplessly.
"Really... Grandmaster, are you sure about letting him run wild? Although he became the Chief at a young age, still..."
This middle-aged man was also a Second-Class Mage, but in terms of talent, he was far inferior to Lerne and had been stagnant for a long time.
Beside him, a golden-haired elf was sitting cross-legged, watching this scene with keen interest.
"Although he is still some distance from my standards, there is no need to worry. He ranks well even among those with magical talent I have seen. You would be better off paying attention to protecting those examinees."
While evaluating him, Serie also felt some regret in her heart. If Lerne were allowed to experience a war with the Demon Race, his abilities might have grown even faster. As a human Mage, Lerne would inevitably become renowned.
It was a pity that Lerne was born at the wrong time. He was a good seedling for war, yet he happened to achieve success in the era after the Demon King's death.
"Yes."
The middle-aged man respected Serie greatly. He spoke no more and settled his mind to watch.
Just a single golem and one Mage gave Yuna the oppressive feeling of facing an army.
Just as she was considering tactics, some Third-Class Mages had already taken action with their staffs.
Some floated up, aiming offensive magic at Lerne on top of the golem, while others approached the golem, attempting to destroy it first.
Beam after beam of offensive magic with different attributes and colors were fired, but all were blocked by Lerne's defensive magic. Those that hit the golem merely scraped up some smoke and dust.
The golem had been buffed with over a dozen enhancement spells, appearing impregnable.
Standing atop it, Lerne waved his staff and launched a counterattack.
Hard-taking these Third-Class Mages' moves was just to test their strength.
Although there were still some who hadn't made a move, Lerne already had a general idea in his heart.
"Nothing more than this."
____
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