4 Entrance Exam

Two weeks flew by. I did a lot of research on magic in my free time. I researched mostly on the true nature thing that Hades was talking about.

Your Spirito(Yes that's what it's called) is the physical manifestation of your soul. A Spirito will be represented by any creature, ranging from real-life animals to legendary mythical creatures. Examples are chimera, griffin, manticore, etcetera. The most common are animals that you would see on earth. A bird, fish, cat, etcetera etcetera. The rarest ones are a dragon, phoenix, Kraken, all the large and terrifying legendary creatures.

Not everyone can have a Spirito though. But if they do, they unlock their Spirito at the age of 10. You can figure out what kind of Spirito you have when you reach that age but in my case, I'll have to find out when I get into the school.

Personally, I think my Spirito would be an owl. Owls are the symbol of darkness and solitude.

But at the same time I hope it isn't an Owl cause what would my form look like? The wings and the talons would do me good, but would I have large circular eyes? Though the nocturnal vision would be beneficial.

This is going to be a hassle. Well, maybe the energy reader will tell me what I am. Along with my elements. But if I am an owl, I pray that I don't have ridiculous large looking eyes when I transform.

While I was waiting for the day when I can enter the adventurer academy, I have been increasing my mana span. Mana is the spiritual power that circulates through your body, and it's the source of your magic and aura. My aura is completely black, like my soul… I'm just kidding, it's mostly black but in the center, there is a layer of purple energy, orchid is the name for that kind of purple. It's like those auras you get in dragon ball, though it's not fiery and all that, it's mostly calm.

Anyway, I was able to save enough money for gear and weapons. I bought two daggers that had an explicit design. I believe they were called dragon's talons. The handle had a dragon shape, and the blades were curved just right. I also bought a ninja sword which was fully customized to my liking. The blade was completely black, and the handles had snakes patterns. They were all made with a strong metal, though I forgot what it was called.

I didn't feel the need to buy any throwing knives since I can just make them. Remember how I was granted the ability to bend shadows? Yeah, I can create small knives out of them now. I also figured out that my mana gauge is unlimited whenever I enter a shadow. And by entering, I mean entering. It took me a while to handle since I'm new with the magic stuff, but I'm a fast learner so a day or two and I can perform any kind of dark magic possible.

I also discovered that I can use lightning, more specifically, black lightning. Jeez, you might as well call me the dark knight. Not that I want to be called that.

So now I can use lightning and dark magic…

Nice.

Now magic was not the only thing I was focused on. I also did some exercises to improve my body. Every day, I would do a hundred fist push-ups because regular push-ups are too overrated, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats, and run ten kilometers. I think after working out so much, the only thing that changed about me was that I looked a lot slimmer. I still had my athletic build, but I'm still ticked off about one thing.

Why can't I grow?

I'm still stuck at 165 cm. I had stopped growing on my 14th birthday. I'm 15 years old now. Can I at least grow five more centimeters?

I'm pissed. Even Ms. Abigail is taller than me. I feel so anxious, why can't I grow? Am I gonna be a midget my whole life?

Well, ignoring Mr. Julio, he is supposedly half-dwarf, though he looks more human than a dwarf.

For my clothing, I bought steampunk pants, leather military-style boots, a black undershirt, black sleeveless gloves, and black leather armor. I also bought a black scarf to hide the scar on my neck, and it's made out of crest spider string. Crest spiders which only exists in this world have one of the toughest webs and so this scarf won't be tattered easily. I also had a few guards on my legs and my arms. They were good enough for me to move my arm as if nothing was there.

Man, when I look in the mirror, I just think 'Who is this handsome fellow.'

…

Shit, I think I'm starting to become a narcissist. Well, it can't be helped, I look amazing in black. It just suits me.

I summoned my doppelganger, who was wearing the exact same thing as me. It had everything in place. Ninja sword placed diagonally on the back and my two daggers strapped horizontally behind the waist. Alright, I think I'm set.

My doppelganger returned into my shadow and I walked down the stairs.

"Alright, I'm heading off."

"Good luck, Seiya!"

Mr. Julio said as I walked out the inn. I was also waved off by a couple more people. These past two weeks, my social skills have leveled up. I can handle a proper conversation with others now. Though sometimes my old habit kicks in where I suddenly talk ruthlessly which scares people off.

I never smiled happily before, so every time I smile, I always give off this gloomy look. You could say that I don't look approachable.

The academy wasn't far from the inn, so it didn't take long for me to get there. There were two guards at the entrance and they asked for my approval paper. I handed them my approval paper and also showed them my identification. They took a few seconds, and they eventually let me in.

In front of the entrance, there was a tent, and I was requested to go in so they could record my Spirito and the elements I can use. As I entered the tent, there was a man sitting behind the table where a crystal orb was placed. I'm guessing the crystal orb is the energy reader.

"Name?"

"Seiya Gekiryu."

He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. Then he asked me how to spell it. Well, it can't be helped, after all my name is Japanese and I don't think Japanese exists in this world. He'd ask for my birthday and I just decided to hand him my identification. My birthday is on October 23 if you wanted to ask. Oh, and yes, the calendar in this world works the same as the one on earth. All the months and days are the same. Currently, it is September 1.

Next, he told me to place my hand on the orb so I can find out what elements I can control and my Spirito. I'd place my hand on the orb and a black mist fills the orb. Then the mist changed into four colors. Red, yellow, grey, and of course, black. So that means I can use fire, lightning, wind, and dark magic.

Then the mist departed and in the middle of the crystal orb was what looked like a…

Dragon?

It was the western kind of dragon. You know, large wings and all that. The mini dragon had four wings though, and that's kind of cool.

What's this called?

"Black Dragon, huh? You are a pretty lucky kid. Unlike me, who is stuck with a damn sloth."

The guy jealously said as he recorded my elements and my Spirito. I wasn't expecting a dragon Spirito.

After that, he gave me a piece of paper with the number 21 on it and I was led to a large hall. There were other people who looked around my age hanging around. They were probably the other examinees.

It took a while for the other examinees to come in.

After moping around for half an hour, the gates began to close and then a bright light flashed from the ceiling.

Everyone including me looked up and descending from the ceiling was a large eagle emitting an overwhelming amount of light.

The light eagle shrank, and then a woman with glowing white eyes stood in front of us. Dramatic entrance, I must say.

"Welcome. My name is Trisha Kane, a Platinum-rank adventurer. You may call me Ms. Trisha, and today, I will be administrating your exams."

Her voice was so elegant and soft. For some reason, I felt enchanted, but I easily shrugged it off. However, looks like some others weren't able to resist it. She must be an angel or something if she could do that. Oh, and her rank, she's actually ranked pretty high. There are a total of 6 ranks, from weakest to strongest they are copper, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond. What? You were expecting S-rank or something like that? Well, I did hope for it, but sadly those are only ranked for monsters.

"The exam is quite simple. I have been counting how many of you there are. Looks like I'll be dealing with all hundred of you."

Trisha smiled and closed her eyes.

"To pass, you need to land at least one solid hit, last at least a minute against me, or back me into a corner. Since I am a Platinum-rank adventurer, I'll be restricted from using my weapons and magic, so I'll be fighting barehanded. For you, you may use your weapons and magic as well. The usage of your Spirito is also allowed as well."

Everybody began whispering. Crap, I just found out what my Spirito is so I haven't learned how to activate it yet. I'll just have to see how others do it.

"Number 1, please come up. Those of you that aren't the numbers I just called, please, back up."

Ms. Trisha said, and everyone shuffled back to the other side of the hall until a guy with a staff stood alone. He was unable to hide his nervousness. Well, he is going up first, I kinda feel bad since he doesn't know what he's up against. For all I know, this lady could probably be an expert martial artist.

"Damn, it's good that I'm not that guy."

"Yeah, to go up first in an exam like this is a huge disadvantage."

"Well, at least it gives us a chance to know who we're dealing with."

Everybody whispered as Ms. Trisha began to count down from three. The guy with the staff prepared a magic formation and got into a stance.

"One…"

Let's see what this woman can do.

"…Zero…"

When she said zero, she suddenly vanished, and the guy launched his attack. A fireball was shot out of the formation, but all it hit was the polish floor. Whoever cleans this place must be paid a lot to clean up the mess after the exam.

The guy was confused, but Ms. Trisha had appeared behind the guy. I don't think anyone saw it, but I did. Most would probably say she used magic, but she was moving fast. Likely around the speed of sound. She was basically a silver flash. He didn't even stand a chance.

"Apologies, but you failed. You can always retake the test tomorrow."

The poor guy. Well, there is always tomorrow.

"Now then, who's up next?"

"Me."

Everybody turned their heads, and a girl walked up. The girl had white hair tied in a side ponytail with braids, golden eyes, and smooth skin. She was donning light silver armor and a white dress bedecked with white feathers. She was holstering a sword on her hip. If I were to guess, it was probably a long sword or a rapier.

"It'll be a pleasure to have a fight with her royal highness."

Trisha smirked and got into a stance.

Royal highness? Is she a princess?

"The princess is applying here? Really?"

"Yes, I knew it was a good idea to apply here!"

"Agreed! She's so beautiful, I hope I can get her to notice me."

"I'm gonna have to show my best efforts now!"

Everybody seems to be lively. Is applying to the same school as a princess really that exciting? Well, sure, she's a princess, but even so, it's gonna be impossible for anyone to woo her. She's wearing such a stern expression. Good luck with that.

"Your father told me not to go easy on you. Is that alright?"

"No matter, you didn't go easy on that guy, did you?"

"Hehe, you are right, lady Aurelia. Now then, shall we begin?"

Aurelia drew her sword, a silver rapier, and got into a stance. Trisha began counting down.

"Three, two, one…"

Let's see what this princess can do.

"…Zero…"

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