Chapter 32 : The Competition I

"Hi," Vega waved his hands awkwardly, looking at three people before him.

After Professor Addilyn left the vicinity, the three inner apprentices stayed, looking at him weirdly.

"Stop it! We already know each other, don't we?" Nora always started with her high-pitched intonation, which sounded angry happy. He thought Nora was still outside picking some herbs but turned out she was back.

"I know. It's just that we never saw each other after that first time. I don't even know where you live."

"That's easy. All of us live in the highest level of accommodations. All of the high-level apprentices live there, even the intermediate-level ones. What we are curious about is: why are you still living in the lowest level?" Sein put his hands on his waist, looking pointedly at him.

Vega shook his head. "Uhm, because it's expensive?"

"Yes, but still, there's barely any mana in the lowest level. I'm surprised that you'll be able to advance fast without any ambient mana. So do you use all of your crystals to meditate?"

Vega shook his head. Even though they were his acquaintances, he wouldn't tell them about the hidden cave outside. That's only his secret with Wyatt and probably Dion. He promised himself to tell the noble after the competition was over.

"Anyway, congratulations!"

"Yes, congratulations, Vega," said Philip. Finally, the burly guy said something.

"Thank you."

"I hate it here; the sand feels weird. How about we all go to our usual place? Oops, sorry, Vega! By the lake, here!" Nora showed him a map of the academy. But this one looked better than the one he got the first time he arrived.

"Okay, then I'll meet you there. I already planned to move to higher-level accommodations too. I'll register first and go there."

After bidding his goodbyes, Vega visited the master in charge of the apprentices' accommodations. Even though he still had his deposit to stay in the room, one magic crystal was not worth the price anymore.

Paying 300 points for a month to stay at the highest level, Vega grumbled while holding his medal to pack all of his stuff. Luckily, his space ring made everything simple. After looking at the wooden door that brought him many memories, he followed the path going to the highest level of accommodations.

The pathway brought him around the forest and finally to the place hidden within a formation. And after putting his shiny golden medal in the formation, Vega looked around the place that had been hidden from him this whole time.

A massive clearing had several stone houses five times the size of his previous accommodations. He took a deep breath and sensed the thick mana surrounding the place. Even the ground brims with live grass from getting the abundant mana.

One lake stood at the edge of his vision, surrounded by several houses bigger than the rest.

Vega reached his own place, and the pulsing glow in his medal stopped. He put all of his stuff inside and headed toward another door at the back.

This house was one of the most expensive houses and cost him all the contribution points he got from killing the boars alone. Of course, it stood closest to the man-made lake, where the edges were filled with several plants and flowers. The place looked totally different from the whole academy. The only place that could compare to this were the adepts' areas he visited when asking Mistress Vin for a sigil.

Threading the winding stone pathway under the neat, lush trees, Vega finally arrived in the clearing, where the inner apprentices were chatting while having their own version of lunch.

"Hi everyone! How do you get the food from?" He asked, drooling at the different toast varieties with juice and grilled meat stuffed inside.

"Ah this? "Just hold your medal and ask from the list there."

Vega did so, and in his mind a menu appeared, showing variations of expensive food he could get for free. Of course, the menu had more expensive items that he could pay for himself, but he didn't have any more points and chose the free option.

"So this is the benefit of becoming a high-level apprentice."

Sein burst out laughing, and Nora even spilled her food. But Philip, even though he had a huge muscle, still held his laugh gracefully.

"You're a little ignorant, aren't you? Whatever you do when you come to the academy, lock yourself in the room and meditate every day."

Vega scratched his head, embarrassed. Ever since his first separation from Dion, he had a lot on his mind, and most of the time he was stuck outside. Even without Dion's help, he would've missed his first free class.

'No wonder the apprentices prefer to spend their time here instead of being outside. Is there anything else I'm missing?'

"It's okay. You have more time to finally enjoy your high-level apprenticeship. So do you have your own three-dimensional spell yet?

Vega shook his head. The library was still forbidden for him. He still had two more days before the competition started. It was plenty with the help of his artifact. "So what is this three-dimensional spell about?

"You can control the soul aspect of the spells." Surprisingly, Philip was the one who answered him first. "So you can even use the additional benefit outside your normal capabilities. For example, the famous one is the healing-based spell of the plant element. Besides attacking the other properties, the rejuvenation properties can also be used here. The chaotic property of the fire element can also make your target feel aggressive by changing your mood."

"Okay, I understand. I have some questions about the nature of our spell, like why we have to learn different spells even though, if we are creative enough, we can try to control the spell ourselves?"

Everyone looked at Sein. Sighing Sein answered, "That's related to our limit and the spell backlash. Yes, you can, for example, make your own fire wall yourself without reading the spells relating to it. Still, it's an arduous process to figure out the delicate balance so the newly-created spells won't overdraw our source too much. There's a benefit toward the spell models you learn with the fundamentals of sigil-crafting."

####

Vega sat together with his mentor, overlooking a massive stone platform clearly just erected with magic. He still felt the shimmering mana emitting from the platform.

As one of the higher-ranking members, his mentor sat on top, but with her power as an elder, she could oversee the platform even from far away. That was not the case for him. Without being an adept, his physical senses are still stuck at an ordinary level.

"How about your spells? Did you master them?"

"Just about. Mentor, why do we have to learn spells if we can shape the basic control? Philip, the crafter's inner apprentice, told me it's difficult for us to manage how much mana we need to have when creating entirely new spells without any guidelines, and he also mentioned something about sigils.

Professor Addilyn looked at him sideways. "Yes, he's true, you know. His background as a member of the Goldenheart family told him that much about sigils. Some of his ancestors are one of the elders at the Eighth Flame Academy who focus on crafting. To answer your question, we didn't actually need any spells, but the guild recommended we learn spells by memorizing the sigils, so the knowledge didn't disappear, you know?

"What actually is a sigil? Is it similar with a talisman?"

"Not really, no." "You know language is the oldest form of magic, right?"

Vega shook his head. He never heard of it in any books; probably he would find it in some other books on the library's second floor. He only went there yesterday to choose his three-dimensional spell. The library had nothing related to sound magic, so he chose condensed air. One of the basic spells in the air element that can be versatile enough to use.

The spell model or the sigil he had to memorize were a little complicated. He had to focus on three images at once, and when they were combined, they showed a whole different image altogether. He didn't really understand the concept, but after finally getting the spell to work, he can create airborne bullets that are stronger than metal. The problem was that it took a lot of his mana to condense the air because it wasn't natural for the air to do so.

The more pressure he applied, the colder the air became. He hadn't had the chance to try it, but if he created an air barrier made of air, it could even extinguish the fire. The same process explains why he needed a lot of mana to convert water into ice because of how much pressure he gave the air around him. But the sigil was too complex to be applied to create a spell sigil.

He was about to open his mouth to ask his master, but a noise from the bell stopped him.

"Welcome elders, masters, mistresses, and apprentices. Today we're going to finally have our yearly competition!" A booming voice traveled around the air clearly with the help of magic, stopping any commotion.

The familiar voice came from Master Grondor, who stood on his flying magic item. It resembled a huge bird made from paper-like materials. When he came circling the platform, Vega had the chance to see it closer, and it was actually made from a creature's hide.

"One by one, your name will appear on the board; don't worry, your medal will turn hot if you didn't read your name, so you won't have the chance to miss the competition on purpose." He looked around at the apprentices who stood on the lower area.

"As usual, you can concede defeat when you think you can't take it anymore. By then, and only then, the judges here will stop any attack that's still in progress. Each winner will move on to the next stage of the competition, and you have a whole day to rest before the second round begins! For the rules of the second round, I'll tell you later, when you reach the second round. With that, I declare the competition begins!"

The huge board hanging on top of the edge blinked and showed the first two apprentices who would start the competition.

A red robe flashed and showed the silhouette of a female apprentice wielding a huge hammer. With her hood on, Vega couldn't see clearly what she looked like, not that he could see from that far.

Another silhouette jumped onto the platform, nodding to everyone, and put a huge barrel of water in the corner of the platform. He only wore a simple grab covering only his legs and torsos.

Both apprentices bowed toward each other, and the bell rang, signaling the start of the fight.