49 Foundation Test

As the group was led around the interior of the school , Nodus could feel that Lulu was feeling down because her parents were leaving today and decided to slow down so Lulu could catch up. "Huh?" Feeling a warm and soft hand around her own , Lulu realized after looking up that it was Nodus. With a blush , Lulu let him hold onto her hands as they followed behind Kathrina and the girls.

Kathrina led the girls to the left hall where the foundation and first grades class room were situated. The hall had many painting and windows for decoration while beside every class room door had a duty board. "This board is where you can pick up a little task issued by the teachers or other students for money." The school had a decent treatment toward the poor people who couldn't afford food during their stay and because of that , the vice principal herself came up with this idea.

"Wow! Teacher is amazing!" The two girls who held onto Kathrina hands were admiring the gentle teacher that is cold to everyone else. Listening to the conversation , Nodus finally understood why the poor family would waste all of the savings to bring their child into this school , it turns out even if the child came without a penny , he or she could still make as much as the parents by doing duties. 'Hmmp.. Without discipline , how one could be strong..' Compared to his training camp that had less than 1% of surviving rate , Nodus simply shook his head and wondered if the entire continent had any strong people like those ancient cultivators.

Going through all the class room and arriving at the end of the hall that had a big empty doorway on the walls , Kathrina told them that it was a courtyard for anyone who wanted to take a break or eat outside. The courtyards were separated in grades so they won't meet any senior of the 2nd grade and higher because they all had their own with a purpose. The school permits official duels between students as long a teacher is present so alot of the students compete against each other and most of the times , they were in the same grades.

As the day went by , the foundation exam arrived , with Ali and Mimi showing the potential of manipulating mana by a magic scroll measurer , the teachers passed them both and placed them in the ranking list. "Great! I knew you two would easily pass." Lulu held onto her friends hands and was brought by Kathrina to a big courtyard with a stone platform in the middle.

"This will be where your final rank will be decided , just do the same thing with the scrolls , you each get a offense , defense and a weakening scroll." The teacher who sat in the front seats was explaining to her students how the battle would be judged. Both students would have 3 scrolls , one in each hands. After explaining for a while , Kathrina told them how simple it would be to win.

"So if your spells hit them at least once , you will pass and if you both use the offense scroll it will depend on who has a better mana affinity." Looking at the two attentive girls , Kathrina stroked their head and smiled. 'This tournament is so simple..It was like playing rock paper sicssors'

The tournament court was quickly being filled up by many people , nobles , commoners and even the royal families were here. The richest people had the front seat while the poorer ones had to sit in the back as they wait for their child to go through the duels. "First , Number 49 and 22" The bald man in a weird jester dress stood on the edge of the squared platform as he shouted loudly the numbers of the contestant. "Nilo you can do it!" A female voice could be heard as a young boy made his way up the platform. Nilo had a innocent look and wore a eye catching magician robe that had his family logo on the back cape. "Woah the cape is so cool.." The poorer ones were filled with envy as they thought the rich had it good.

Another young man in black who sat beside a old man stood up and made his way on the platform. Looking back , he only received a nod from the stern looking old man and turned his focus onto Nilo. Receiving the three scrolls from the jester jury , the boys stood on the opposite of the platform as they stared at each other. "Start!" As soon the contestant heard the loud voice of the jury , the young man in black reacted first by casting mana into a red looking scroll , seeing the offense scroll , Nilo lifted his defensive scroll and did the same thing. Pow! A red sword and a green shield silhouette toward each other and shattered upon impact slightly closer to Nilo.

Without any hesitation , the young man in black repeated once again the same thing."Hmmp I won't repeat the same mistake." Nilo failed to gasp the spell last times so now he decided to go with the weakening scroll that could destroy the sword and hit the young man in black. While slower than the sword , Nilo still managed to cast a blue anvil that shattered the sword and quickly flew toward the magician in black. With a victorious smile , Nilo face quickly changed as he saw the young man in black held up his other hand with a green shield fragmented the anvil and headed straight toward Nilo. "Argh.." Without any times left , Nilo was hit by the shield which made him slightly glow in green and it quickly dissipated into the sky.

"What! He manage to quickly cast the offense scroll while simultaneously fueling mana into the shield scroll? Did he predict this?!" Most of the teacher who was sitting in the front roll were shocked by the young man in black. "No , I bet after the first offense scroll , he then simultaneously chanted mana into both once again." A young handsome teacher was holding his chin as he calculated the young man's action. Hearing the handsome teacher comment , they all came into a agreement , the teacher himself was a genius from his generation so his prediction should be closer than theirs. "You are right teacher Ken!" A middle aged man with a mustache replied while two were female teacher fawning over the teacher. "Teacher Ken is a genius and geniuses think alike , right Baeries?" The chubby female teacher nodded along her cute female friend.

Witnessing the short but intense fight , Ali and Mimi became less confident with themselves. "Don't worry , he can chant both spells but so what , you two can do it too!" Kathrina already knew about this year tournament content so she cheated a little bit and made the two girls split their focus on mana and element affinity. "Just pretend your wind and earth elements became mana." After giving the two girls her last tips , the jester jury called upon the next contestant.

As the times went by , the sun was almost at the highest point in the sky. " Number 91 and 104." Mimi abruptly stood up as she heard her number and went onto the platform against another cute girl that was around 11 years old. "Ah.. good luck!" The blonde girl shouted loudly as she prepare to fight her opponent. "You.. too!" With a puzzled expression , Mimi replied back as she held the offense scroll up. "Start!" As the jury shouted , the teachers shook their head at Mimi action. "This.. silly girl revealed her first move to her opponent.." The young blonde girl was also confused but decided to cast a offense spell as well. "A contest between strength!" The two red sword flew out with Mimi's being much earlier. Cling!! The red sword easily shattered it's foe as it headed toward the blonde girl. "Ahh..I lost.." The blonde girl ran toward Mimi , took her hands and shook it before going down the platform and returning to her seat.

"You did good Lydia.. don't be disappointed , she's a elf so she has a better start than you.." The beautiful blonde woman was stroking her cheek while comforting her. Who would of known that Mimi just started her magician path a couple weeks ago unlike the rich people who cultivated their children at a young age. "You did it Mimi!" Ali held onto Mimi who was slightly confused about her interaction with Lydia. "Mhmm! I am sure you can do it took Ali!" After a couple of duel , Ali was called up and easily won against a young boy who couldn't cast two scroll at once like the young girl. Witnessing a fourth genius , the teachers noted down Ali as they would try to take her as their direct disciple later on.

As the tournament reached the end , Mimi was ranked first with Ali in the third rank , beaten only by the young man in black who went in first while the fourth one was a young girl who wore a veil with the fifth one who stood out more than the rest with the ragged , worn out magician robe."A round of applause for the champions of the foundation year!" Thousands of people from the crowd clapped their hands that resonated even on the main street that was outside of the academy tall fences. After the jury placed a soft wrapped clothes to the top 5 , the crowd began to disperse and left the school field.