CHAPTER 28: The Result

With a smile, Ashen nodded in return, leaning as far as he could into him the comfortable and foamy chair, compared to the ones at the back which were simply made of wood, concluding that Makin couldn't hurt him here, while making a promise to himself that instead, he was going to make him pay.

Natal then suddenly began talking about the girls in front of them and how they always seemed to want to stick to Anared while Ashen listened wondering if it would be best to tell him that they most likely stuck to his best friend mostly because of him,

This continued for a while until Headmaster Dramus finally stepped on the stage, and towards the stand where the magic item called "Speaker" was permanently placed while Headmaster Aleesia, the head of the third years took a seat behind him as she supervised all that happened knowing fully well that unless something tragic happened she couldn't interfere, as she couldn't help but hope that something out of the ordinary did happen,

"Welcome back …I hope everyone is well-rested," Dramus began diving straight into why they were all there with no intention of spending an additional minute than he needed to,

"Can everyone that got a globe please step out…your names are already registered with me so anyone that decides to pull any sort of prank would face something worse than expulsion," The Headmaster sternly explained, satisfied to see students jumping on their feet, before heading towards the stage,

"I guess I should go…Still, this doesn't mean that if Anared doesn't pass, I won't leave…" Natal sighed before getting on his feet,

"Congratulations," Ashen said with a big smile on his face right before he watched Natal walk out of the row and head to the stage, regardless of the fact that it was a clear contrast to how he felt.

Natal got to the stage in no time after climbing the stairs leading to it, alongside all the students who were able to get a globe, and Ashen was greatly annoyed to see Makin and Wein among them, as they also stood proudly on the stage, while Dosan who sat behind Ashen simply leaned back into his seat, not caring about the results since he was from a very wealthy background, and getting into a new school wasn't going to be a problem for him.

"There were 25 globes in total and these were all the students that were able to get them," Headmaster Dramus explained as he pointed to the students standing on a straight line right beside him,

"Of course, I'm not heartless enough to only give 25 students the chance to pass the exam in a total of 150 student," Dramus continued as the remaining students who sat in their seats all sighed a breath of relief, leaning forward in anxiety to ensure that they didn't miss a word the headmaster said, including Ashen.

"…The exam wasn't only to foster your competitive spirit and for me to be able to comprehend how advanced your magic skills have become but also to communicate the fact that a mage cannot do everything alone. Some of the students standing beside me were only able to get the globes because of some help no matter how little it was," Dramus said before taking a pause and looking at the eager eyes of the other students that stared expectantly at him,

"Seventy-five students will pass the exam to move to the third year and the twenty-five students beside me will decide the other fifty," the headmaster slowly explained and murmurings of confusion began to spread across every area, as even Aleesia who sat behind him on the stage couldn't help but squint her eyes together, as she wondered what Dramus was up to,

However, Headmaster Dramus simply turned to the students on the stage before opening his mouth to speak "Each of you, will step forward and choose two people, calling out their names while I record it of two people who they think should pass the exam," He announced and way before he finished speaking the silence in the class shattered like glass as some students with sombre faces erupted in glee influencing even their friends sitting next to them,

"I will say this again. I don't care if five people helped you get the globe, keep in mind that you can only choose two," he commanded in a tone that didn't leave any room for an argument. But this didn't dampen the spirits of the second-year students of the academy in the slightest, as traces of hope could be seen on their faces including Ashen who saw Ara on stage as well as Natal, wishing that somehow one of them would choose him,

"First person-Makin," the headmaster said, as Ashen watched him step forward and call out names,

"I choose Dosan and Taurin," Makin said, Ashen not in the slightest surprised to notice that Dosan continued sitting in his seat with no reaction at all almost like he expected it while Taurin, yelled loud enough from the back seat where she sat for him to hear her screams even as Shella who sat beside her could already feel her heart thumping in fear of not being picked as she began muttering to herself,