Chapter 4: Pass? Or...

"My… examiner?" says Arthur confused. Now that I think about it, the Vice-headmaster noted there is a test. So, the written and practical tests are, in fact, one test.

Arthur looks down at Naia's foot. She looks down as well. "Ah," she says, looking at a skull. "This is the corpse of the examinee who arrived before you."

"Corpse!?"

"Yes. This young boy could not handle my 'test'. It is quite unfortunate." She walks closer to Arthur. "So, are you prepared?"

"Prepared? For what"

"For the exam, of course." She points to the page on the ground. "Pick up your exam sheet. We will play a little game called Scholar Sword & Shield."

Arthur picks up the page and says, "It's blank."

"The page is imbued with both your mana and mine. When I ask a question, it will appear on the page. And when you give the correct answer, your answer will appear under the question. It will continue like this until all the questions have been answered."

"And how many questions are you asking?"

"There will be ten questions."

Arthur remains quiet for a while. He looks at the corpse on the ground and asks nervously, "What are the other rules?"

Naia smiles, "If you answer correctly, you get a free attack on me. Of course, I will defend against your attack; however, if you answer incorrectly, I get to attack you."

"Can I defend myself when you attack?"

"Yes. If you didn't defend yourself, you would end up like the boy before you. But you can't move your feet from where you're standing. Be idle, like a statue," she says, smiling.

"I see. Second question, since this is a written and practical test, am I tested on magic used to damage you?"

"No, you pass when I give my stamp of approval. If you decide not to attack me, you can still pass. However, you will have to survive through all ten questions. So, any other questions?"

I understand why the previous examinee died. He must not have gotten here long before me, meaning he never reached the tenth question. I need to be careful, thinks Arthur. "No, I have no more questions. Even if this game is dangerous, I must pass it to become a student here."

"That's the spirit," says Naia, excited. "Well then, let us begin. The flower to your left," she says, pointing to a patch of flowers, "give its name and its effect."

Arthur looks to where her finger points. A yellow flower with black polka dots? 

Arthur's eyes widen, and before he jumps away, Naia says, "Moving from your spot is forbidden in this game."

Arthur, concerned, says, "Devil's Tongue. This flower is called Devil's Tongue."

"Correct," says Naia. "And?"

"Devil's Tongue releases an aroma which causes paralysis."

"Wonderful. You're quite knowledgeable. So, are you going to attack me?"

"Yes. I will attack you with my full force."

Arthur takes a deck of cards out of his pocket and scatters it in the air. Naia looks up at the cards. The scattered cards fall slowly to the ground. Arthur extends his arm, catches one card between his index and middle finger and smiles. "This game is over. Reveal yourself, Joker," he says, showing Naia the Joker card he grabbed. A spirit appears behind Arthur. This pale spirit is dressed in tattered white clothing. Its hair is unkempt, and its eyes are bloodshot. It wears a sickening smile that sends chills down Naia's spine.

"W-what is that?" asks Naia, frightened.

"This here is Joker. He is the spirit that governs over probability."

"Probability?"

"You see, my magic is something quite unusual. Have you ever heard of Probability Magic?"

"Probability Magic? I've never heard of it before."

"It's simple. With my magic, I can manipulate the concept of probability. Like this. Joker, target my enemy." Joker stretches its arms out, and daggers appear in both hands. It runs to Naia with its tongue flapping up and down like a dog's.

"Water Magic: Water Shield!!" A thin barrier of water shoots from the ground and morphs into a long shield before Naia. "Your summoning's attack is too straightforward," she says.

Arthur smiles. "That shield won't help."

The daggers phase through the shield, and Joker slices through her abdomen. After cutting her, Joker disappears with a sinister chuckle. Naia feels her body hesitantly, and asks, "There's no wound where I was cut. What did you do?"

"What I did, you will soon realise," he says, remaining silent.

Naia clicks her teeth. "Fine, then I will ask the next question. There are hundreds of magical attributes; however, they all originate from one source. Where does all magic originate?"

One source, she says. Azrael told me I should not reveal what he told me, so the answer she wants is, "Magic all generates from the Goddess of Life, Gaia."

"Correct." Naia grits her teeth.

"I won't attack this round."

"I see, then let's continue…."

The questions continued. Arthur answered each question she asked perfectly. However, the Devil's Tongue's effects are starting to spread throughout his body.

"So, what is the final question?" asks Arthur desperately as sweat drips from his brow.

"Yes, the final question. I can see you are quite desperate for it. Why wouldn't you be? You still need to submit that paper to the Vice-headmaster. However, if you are paralysed, you won't pass the exam." She smiles, "Well, it's not like I will do something like suddenly forget the last question. So, you needn't worry, boy."

"That's great… So, what is the final question…?"

"It's nothing difficult. All I want from you is my age."

"What? Your… age…?" Is this a trick question, questions Arthur? He wracks his brain and finally decides on an answer. "You're 26," he says confidently.

Naia smiles. "Incorrect." She laughs maniacally and screams, "Now, grit your teeth, boy!! Water Magic: Supreme Arts – Sea Dragon Roar!!" Water gathers from the moisture in the air and plants around us. The air dries, and the plants wither. The water forms a giant dragon behind Naia. "Good boy," she says, petting the serpent's head. "Now, attack him."

The dragon breathes in the dry air. Its body glows blue, and its chest expands. The dragon releases a jet of water, targeting Arthur.

"That will not work," he says, smiling. The jet of water aimed at Arthur suddenly bursts and spreads everywhere. Like rain, the water showers over the plants and a small rainbow forms within the greenhouse.

"W-what happened?" asks Naia. She turns around, and the water dragon squirms, "This is…." The dragon bursts, spreading water everywhere. She glares at Arthur and says, "This is mana disruption."

"Correct," says Arthur, smiling.

"But how? Your magic is not…." Arthur points down to her feet. She looks down, and her eyes widen. "N…netrite," she says, shocked.

"Yes, netrite. The flower which causes mana disruption."

"But when?"

"Since the beginning. You see," says Arthur, walking closer to Naia, "I knew from the beginning that there was only one test. And thanks to the transparent glass of the greenhouse, I also witnessed your 'game' with the previous examinee. After his defeat, I made my appearance."

"So, you grabbed Netrite – which grows near the entrance – and spread it on the ground, where you assumed I would stand. But why did you attack me in the first round if you did all that?"

"That was for insurance."

"Insurance?"

"My magic, as I've said before, is Probability Magic. I can manipulate the probability of attacks hitting me."

"I see. Your attack decreased the chance of my magic hitting you, thus increasing the effects of the Netrite. I also see why my shield did not block your attack. Your magic is a Homing Spell. A spell which will hunt down a specific target. Offensive and defensive magic does not work on homing spells; therefore, this game had a victor since you entered this garden."

"So, do I pass or…?" asks Arthur, handing her the exam sheet.

Naia smiles. "You pass," she says, stamping the sheet. Arthur leaves the garden, and Naia falls to her knees. "You never told me he would be this interesting, Azrael."

Now, all I need to do is get this to the Vice-headmaster. Arthur walks around until he finds the Vice-headmaster's office. "Here it is," he says, standing before the door.

He knocks, and a voice says, "Enter." He walks in and sees Vice-headmaster Elizabeth hard at work, sorting stacks of papers. "Are you going to stand there in awe, or do you have something to tell me, Arthur Pendragon?"

"How do you…? No, knowing this is the best magic school in the Sapphire Kingdom, I wouldn't expect anything less."

"As expected, you are among the first to appear before me. So, I take it you passed the test?"

"Yes," he says, handing her the exam sheet.

"I see," she says, scanning the page. "You got the stamp of approval from Professor Naia. This means you have passed the entrance exam. Welcome to our academy, Arthur Pendragon."

Arthur stands there quietly. "Did Azrael…?"

"Yes, Professor Azrael has passed the exam for lecturers."

"I see," he says, smiling. "Of course he did."

He leaves her office. Now, what shall I do? Vice-headmaster Elizabeth said I could observe the other exams but must not get involved. At that moment, Arthur heard a loud explosion outside the administration's office. He runs outside, towards the source of the blast. He arrives at an arena where a pile of bodies lie motionless. Atop this pile of corpses is Azrael, yawning.

"He's showing no mercy," says a man in the audience to Arthur.

"Who are…?"

"The name's Ubel. Ubel Zagan. I am this academy's headmaster."

"Headmaster!"

"Shh," he says. "Looks like the next victim is stepping up."

Arthur looks at Azrael's next challenger. "She's the girl from earlier," says Arthur.

"State your name," says Azrael.

"Is it not courteous to say your name before I say mine?"

"True. I apologise. My name is Azrael. And you are?"

"Karren Silverwood."

Azrael stares at her. "Are you not surprised?"

"Surprised?"

"An eighteen-year-old is a lecturer at this academy." She stares at him indifferently and Azrael cracks a smile, "Well, why would you, when you've been lying in wait since before the first victim appeared? So, you won't find it all that surprising, right?"

"She did the same thing I did," whispers Arthur.

"So, Ms Silverwood, since you've watched each of these examinees fail, why do you think they could not pass my test?"

Karren walks around the arena's edge, circling the mountain of corpses. Azrael's eyes cautiously follow her slow movement until she stops and picks up a page. "I see," she says, "This page is blank. It must be imbued with magic which creates questions when asked by the examiner using their mana and the examinee's mana when they answer the question."

"Wow," says Azrael, surprised. "Did you hear my conversations with the previous examinees? Or," he says, scanning her unguarded body, "Are you actually quite knowledgeable about this testing method?" Sweat rolls down her cheek, and she glares at Azrael cautiously. Azrael's eyes squint as he thinks for a brief moment. "Well, it doesn't matter either way. What does matter; however, is the question you haven't answered yet."

"You asked why the other losers failed, right? It's simple." She bites her thumb. Her blood drips to the ground, and a massive magic circle appears. "They failed because they were weak." The magic circle cracks and shatters like glass. "What!?" she screams, surprised.

Azrael looks down on her from above, disappointed. "So," he sighs, "you're no different from the others." He gets up and glares at Karren, "Well, this is unfortunate. I had high hopes for you." He jumps from the corpse pile, walks to her, and says, "This arena is enchanted with magic nullification." He walks up to her face and whispers, "So long as we stand in this arena, your magic is useless."

She smiles and says, "I know." She grabs Azrael by his shirt and throws him over her shoulder. He lands on the ground with a loud thud. "I was waiting for you to come closer," she says stepping on his chest.

Azrael smiles. "Finally," he says, laughing. Karren looks at him, confused. "Oh, sorry. I am not laughing at you." He points at her foot and she gets off him. "Each examinee," he says, getting up, "fell into despair when they discovered they could not use their magic. Seeing a magician despair because they can't use their mana is not uncommon. But you were different. I have high hopes for you in this academy." He extends his hand. She looks confused at first, then he looks at the exam sheet in her hands. After handing him the sheet, he stamps it and, with a smile, says, "You pass."

"Passed?! Just from throwing you!? But you asked no questions?"

"Oh? But there's a question right here," he says, showing her the exam sheet and pointing to the question. "Why do you think they could not pass my test?" he reads.

"T-That counts?"

"Yes. So long as you answered at least one of my questions correctly and got my stamp, you pass," he says. "However, if you want to continue our match, I don't mind."

"No, no, no," she says, frightened. "I'm happy with this."

"Hmm, he won't show me his nether arts," mumbles Ubel. "What a disappointment," he says as he leaves the arena.

Azrael looks at the audience, glaring at Ubel as he leaves.

That man... it would be best not to show him my nether arts. Though he can't use it, there is no telling what he will do to learn the secrets of nether energy. Arthur waves at Azrael. If he finds out Arthur's real name, he will try to get his hands on 'that'. I must protect Arthur at all costs to prevent this world from ending.