CHAPTER 94: Wondrous Speed In Meditation

The next day, within the Dark Major's training grounds.

The Dark Major was a major within the Academy, and its training grounds were more extensive than those of the Necromancy Major. It's area was also larger. When Han Shuo arrived at the Dark Major's training grounds, he discovered that some people had already gathered inside. There were those who were ready to take the test, and others who were just here for the show. There was a loud noise inside.

Fanny, the Necromancy teacher, was sitting with a few other teachers from the Dark Major, busily recording the information of the students who were about to take the test. The dark major's old witch Camilla was still inside the dark major, under the observation of Han Shuo's original demons, and hadn't made any appearance.

Han Shuo looked around after entering and discovered that Amy and Athena of the Necromancy Major were the only familiar people there. He started walking towards the two girls.

"Eh, are you here for the test as well?" Amy waved her hand in greeting when she saw Han Shuo approaching from a distance.

Nodding, Han Shuo said, "Yes, I've yet to pass the test. What areas should I pay attention to?"

"There's not much to worry about with these tests, it's just a matter of testing your mental strength and then releasing some magic for them to see. Oh, right. We necromancy majors also have to demonstrate the manipulation of summoned creatures. It's not terribly complicated, but the more advanced tests, such as the Adept Mage test, are more complex. Apart from these basic tests, you'll need to know all sorts of techniques and understand certain magical concepts. Finally, you'll have to complete a mission. Only when you have fulfilled all these requirements will you be considered an official graduate. Athena glanced at Han Shuo as she explained in detail.

Standing outside with the two girls, Han Shuo watched for a while and noticed that some of the dark major students were demonstrating their magic one by one according to the rules. Afterwards, some of the teachers would quiz them on their understanding of certain magical concepts at their current level and finally give them a grade based on their performance.

"Bryan, you have prepared for the apprentice level of magic, right?" Athena asked when she saw that Han Shuo didn't answer and just silently watched the performance of all the other students within the training grounds.

"No, I'm here to see if I can make it to rookie magician." Han Shuo looked at Fanny who was sitting in the distance and replied.

"What? Are you joking? If I remember correctly, just a few months ago you were still an errand slave for the Necromancy Major. How is it possible that you've become a rookie mage so quickly?" Athena raised her voice and looked at Han Shuo in disbelief.

"No way?" Amy also exclaimed quietly.

With a faint smile, Han Shuo nodded his head firmly and explained, "I'm just giving it a try and may not pass."

Even though Han Shuo had said this, Amy and Athena still couldn't believe that Han Shuo was here to attempt the rookie mage tests. The two girls chattered on and on with their questions, only stopping when it was Amy's turn to be tested.

"Good luck Amy! I think you'll be able to successfully advance to rookie mage this time." Athena encouraged Amy when she heard Amy's name being called. Han Shuo also good-naturedly wished her luck.

Amy walked out and then tested her mental strength in front of everyone. She then unleashed the three magics that a rookie mage should have grasped: Agony of the Soul, Bone Spears and Zombie Summoning. She then manipulated the zombies to attack a target within the training grounds. Finally, Fanny and some of the other Dark Major teachers asked a few questions about understanding magic theory.

After a while, Fanny opened her mouth and said, "Congratulations, Amy, you are now a rookie mage. All your information within the Magic Association will be changed today".

Athena also left for her test while Amy was still celebrating. She underwent the same tests, but perhaps she was nervous during the process, as her bone spear magic suddenly exploded halfway through. She also stumbled over herself during the magical knowledge questions.

It wasn't a surprise when Athena was told that she had failed this test. She went back to Amy's side with a depressed look on her face. Han Shuo didn't have time to speak words of comfort before his name was called by Fanny.

He walked leisurely towards the inside of the training grounds, causing a bit of a stir. Some of the dark majors standing around were quite surprised to see Han Shuo, originally an errand slave, appear in the great hall. All of them began to talk to each other in low whispers, and many of them had a mocking attitude as they watched.

"Heh heh, don't be nervous. Just follow the previous procedures and go through the tests one by one. I believe in your strength and that you can successfully advance to the rank of rookie mage." Fanny spoke a word of encouragement and had Han Shuo follow the same procedures as before.

The test of mental strength came first. Han Shuo gathered his mental strength as he faced a test stone made of special magical material. A dark great teacher then held up the test stone to measure Han Shuo's mental strength.

His mental strength was gathering at an extremely fast rate as the potential of his brain was being unleashed. The test stone had slowly brightened as the other students had their mental strength tested by the stone, until it finally stopped at a certain level of brightness.

However, Han Shuo's case was a little different. The darkened Test Stone did not slowly light up continuously, but immediately lit up in the two breaths it took for Han Shuo to concentrate his mental power, and then stopped at a certain level of brightness and did not change any further.

"This, what's going on?" Several of the Dark Great Masters showed surprised expressions as they sat on the observation table, as if they hadn't expected the Test Stone to react in such a strange way.

Han Shuo dissipated his mental energy and suddenly became a bit nervous inside as he saw the astonishment of those around him. Originally, he had been worried that he didn't have enough mental strength. That's why he used all of his strength. Besides, Han Shuo didn't know that his speed in gathering mental energy was really that fast. He had planned to keep a low profile after listening to Fanny last night. He could only smile wryly and say, "Maybe there's something wrong with the test stone, why don't you try another one?"

"Don't talk nonsense, how could there be something wrong with the test stone?" The dark elder teacher holding the stone glared at Han Shuo and spoke firmly.

"His mind was struck by the necromancy magic of Agony of Soul Torment earlier and sank into a period of mental confusion for a while. This may have caused some abnormalities in his brain. I don't think we need to pay too much attention to that." Fanny glared fiercely at Han Shuo on the stage, seeming to accuse him of bragging, and then said with a faint smile to those gathered.

"So that is the case. I think I've heard about it before. Considering that the Agony of the Soul magic of your Necromancy Major has such wonderful effects, it seems a bit interesting!" The teacher holding the test stone said with a frown and a strange tone.

"Master Alex, if you're interested, I can also cast it on you. Heh heh, but I can't guarantee that you won't lose your mind!" Fanny chuckled slightly, teasing him.

"No, never mind. I don't have that kind of courage. All right, this test is over. We can move on to the next stage of this test." The Dark Major's Master Alex didn't hesitate much longer and nodded at Han Shuo.

Athena had made mistakes because she was nervous. Han Shuo had been through a lot now and the training of his mental state was even more extraordinary. Of course, he wouldn't get cold feet.

The three magics that a rookie mage should have mastered were used by Han Shuo very smoothly, without the slightest unfamiliarity. After the zombies had been summoned, Han Shuo's manipulations were even more skilful than Amy's. The movement of the zombie wasn't clumsy in everyone's eyes, but rather gave the people a feeling of agility.

Han Shuo handled the last part of the magical theory questioning even more easily. The main questioner was Fanny. Fanny knew Han Shuo's level of grasping magical knowledge and didn't ask much. She carelessly asked a few questions that Han Shuo had asked her two days ago and let him pass easily.

Han Shuo was able to obtain the qualifications for the rank of rookie mage without any problems. Fanny smiled, "Congratulations Bryan, from this day forward, your information will be recorded in the Magic Association. Heh heh, although there are many rookie mages, you'll be able to find a good job in the future. However, I think with your potential, this won't be the limit of your abilities!"

With Fanny's blessing, Han Shuo dashed out of the training ground and headed straight for the Knight School, intending to exchange the black iron ore for Lawrence's gold coins.

Chu Cang Lan had left instructions for a combination of special ingredients to create the five elemental zombies. Han Shuo had heard of some of these materials and knew that they were quite expensive in this world. This made Han Shuo realise that he would have to invest large amounts of gold coins if he wanted to refine an Earth Elite Zombie. Gold coins became an issue he had to consider.

However, when Han Shuo was halfway there, the original demon that had been watching over Duke, who had stayed in the Wind Major area all this time, suddenly notified Han Shuo when he left around noon and also made his way to the Knight School. Having originally intended to find Lawrence, Han Shuo had to temporarily put aside his idea and used the original demon to keep an eye on Duke's movements.

After Han Shuo followed Duke to the Knight School, Duke met up with Erick, who'd been missing for a few days. Apart from Duke and Erick, there was one other person with them. It was the Earth Rider Knight Clark they'd met in the Dark Forest. This took Han Shuo by surprise.