Entrance Exam

'Let's test my personal invention!'

Zane had created a spell of his own the past month, a dark magic spell. So far, it had worked perfectly, but he was still brainstorming a good name for it. So far all he had was…

'Rebound!'

"Pew!"

He "fired" his finger gun, and the boy he was aiming at suddenly flew to the right, slamming into the wall, before flying to the other side, and back and forth. The boy didn't even get a chance to let out a sound as he was slammed and bounced off all the walls, being reduced to a red paste.

The last boy screamed before running harder.

"I'll let him reach his house before I finish him off." Zan yawned, surveying the mess he made. "I'll clean this up quickly."

He clapped twice. "Hygiene." 

All the dirt, blood, dust, and anything else that would be suspicious to an investigator disappeared, leaving the playground just as it looked before Zane entered the area, minus the group of boys, of course.

"Now we follow him."

******

The last survivor of Zane's murder spree finally reached his house. He slammed open the door, and immediately called his parents. So what if he was 20 and still lived with his parents?

"Mom! Dad!" 

The boy kept shouting until he saw the light upstairs turn on. 

"What!? What is it?" The boy felt a little relief when he saw his father begin to descend the staircase to turn on the light.

If he could tell his parents about the new Dark Mage, then they could go to the guards and be saved-!

The boy's thoughts were interrupted as he saw the darkness around his father move.

"Dad!" 

"Huh? Ack!"

The boy was powerless to do anything but watch as the darkness turned into spikes and fired into his father, who let out a scream of pain and fell down the stairs.

The boy was about to check on his father when he heard the door slam behind him. He turned around to see Zane, his red spellbook floating behind him.

No other option, the boy got on his knees and cried, begging Zane for mercy.

"I-I'm sorry…" He sobbed. "Please, just spare me and my mother… Huh?"

The boy felt a drop of liquid fall on his head. He touched it to see what it was, only to see blood. Looking at the ceiling, he saw a thick spike of darkness piercing it from the floor above, dripping blood.

As the boy realized what happened, he curled into a ball and cried uncontrollably.

"You don't get mercy." Zane slowly crouched down, his hand brimming with dark energy. He grabbed the boy's neck, which began to corrode upon being touched by the dark energy. "You don't deserve mercy." 

The boy gurgled and choked some more before finally giving up. Zane let go of his neck, stood up and let out a sigh.

"Hygiene." 

As the bodies and blood began to disappear, Zane was happy he was able to accomplish some form of revenge, despite how small-scale it was.

Zane rubbed his face and groaned. 

"5 more families to go before the night ends." He walked out the door of the house, shutting it behind him. "Don't want any loose ends."

******

"Is this really the only place they could have gathered us?" Zane complained.

Currently, he was deep inside The Capital. He, along with around a hundred people or so, were gathered in front of the gates of the Royal Academy for Mages. The gates were tall and imposing, hiding the beautiful buildings of the academy behind.

"The academy is massive…" Zane accidentally bumped shoulders with a boy next to him. The boy gave Zane a look of disgust before wiping the spot where their shoulders met.

'Screw you too, pal.'

In a different part of the crowd, Lanius stood with Lisa. He was shaking with excitement, while she was just waiting to get it over with.

"Let us in already…" She groaned.

"Yeah, let us in! I'm ready to become a mage already!"

Lisa stuck a finger in her ear as Lanius yelled at the gates in excitement.

Near the back of the crowd, a boy with red hair and eyes was holding 4 mini books, flipping through them one by one. After picking one he was satisfied with, he tucked away the other three.

"Firenze. Are you ready?"

The boy looked to his left, seeing a boy with black hair wearing a beanie. They gave each other a serious look.

"Always." Firenze answered, making beanie boy nod. 

"Good. We can't mess this up."

After another half hour or so, and the crowd of aspiring Mages becoming more impatient, the gates finally opened, silencing the crowd.

A man in a luxurious blue robe with gold trimmings walked out, clutching a black pole that had a blue gem on top. He had messy, silver hair and silver eyes, but otherwise he looked young.

Zane noticed that many of the people around him looked starstruck, one girl near him even began drooling. He himself of course had no clue who the guy was.

'...Is this guy important or something?'

"No way…" On the other end, Lanius was trying his best to not let his jaw hit the floor. "That's Leo the Silver Lion, a Master Mage! He's gonna be our proctor?" 

"At least it's not some random nobody." Lisa crossed her arms.

"Hello, boys and girls!" Leo waved a hand, greeting the crowd. "I understand that everyone standing here is all awakened, and are aspiring Mages. For those that don't know me, I am Leo, and I will be administering the exam to all of you today."

Cheers rang out throughout the crowd. Zane rolled his eyes. 

"If you will all follow me so that we may begin." 

With Leo taking the lead, the crowd split into a neat line before following. He led them all into a building, taking them all to an auditorium. After everyone was seated, Leo took the stage.

"Now, before we start, I want to make sure you all know the rules." Leo cleared his throat, the gem on his staff beginning to glow.

"The exam will be split into different sections." Leo's voice was now amplified, traveling throughout the room. To Zane, who was seated near the back of the room, it sounded like Leo was right in his ear.

"As you all know, the Royal Academy for Mages is to ensure that all awakened learn and understand their responsibilities in being able to wield mana, and to train them so that when they go back out into the world, they will use their magic ethically and intelligently." 

He paused.

"Which means that if you fail the entrance test, you have two options. The first is to live your life as normal without further exploring your magic. The second is to seal your magic completely to ensure you aren't a threat to others."