Into The Unknown World - Chapter 28
†††
“Does that mean that we’re limited to just one element and if we’re lucky enough, we can get two? Is that correct?” I asked apprehensively.
“Yes, smart guy! Where the god’s name did you get your powers, and you don’t seem to know that fundamental understanding?”
“….”
I swear, the more we get to know her, the more Arabella starts talking like Roe. She’s like the female version of him, while Roe is silently staring at me, grinning.
“What?” asked Roe while shrugging his shoulders.
“Don’t mind me… It’s nothing.”
“Are you all always like this?”
“Just them. They all are always like that.” Pomell responded to Oliver, who seems to be curious about us.
Right. It’s our first day and we just met, but it felt like we had been friends for years. I heaved and looked at them.
“For us staff-bearers, we can use the magic under Magical Energy Manipulation, Enchantment Magic or Nature Magic as we directly connect with the mana work that surrounds us,” Pomell added, looking at Oliver as he nods. It seems he’s asking for an agreement.
“Tell it to Sprigg,” I muttered.
“We, the so-called archaic Wand-bearers, have three main branches for the Conjuration Magic: Creation, Summoning and Teleportation Magic. The problem is that no one can touch the other branch unless you have the special skill of Cedany, but it’s proven to be extremely dangerous and very erratic.”
“Oh! Grimoire-bearers can also use Illusionary Magic or Transmutation Magic, which can alter physical and psychological traits. For instance, I specialize in Beastification, a spell that can let me change my physical body to any identified beast. Do you want to see my spell?” Roe happily offered.
“—No!!!”
We shouted together, making the other people stare at us, and then we smiled.
“Ahem. I find myself a great magic caster in my field as a grimoire-bearer with Illusive Shapeshifting, I can also change the way you look at me but not altering my physical body.” Muriel spoke breaking our laughter as she took her old grimoire with purple crystal on its lock.
“Ohhhh! Interesting. Can I see your spells?” said Roe.
“I—”
“Save it for later, Roe. It’s almost time. The instructor will start the assessment any minute now,” Arabella interrupted and said to Gloriana, “How about you?” she added.
“I trained in illusionist magic, physical deception, by the way, but it’s a secret, though,” Gloriana responded.
“That’s all right. It’s just to let us know more. After all, we’re going to be comrades.” Pomell told her.
“Oh … Crystal orbs are mostly used by mystical knights. They’re often called the mystical energy manipulation bandit, but they can only power up themselves or a nearby human. I happen to learn some self-enhancement because I have a special ability that my family call stealing. I can only do it if my weapon is the longsword.”
“Hey, it’s really intriguing. Pomell just shouted like this though, Howww?!”
“I sincerely apologise if you saw such an unsightly appearance of me. Let’s go on!”
After that, they all burst into laughter again and waited for Thea to answer.
“Uh… Uhm.”
“Please allow me. As a fellow gemstone bearer,” Donald stood up and asked Thea for permission, patiently waiting for her to get the nod. “The last two are like life and death, the Gemstone-bearers use protection magic that can heal practically with anything that has life, and the Death Sphere-bearers were using necromancy in the different directions and can induce curse and death”
“I’ve never heard anyone in this Kingdom who has used death spheres before, although I’ve heard stories perhaps from the Crusader’s Hunt. They can summon undead and be really scary and dangerous and truly horrible!” cried Roe, who seems to scare us with the Death Sphere-bearers.
“Right!”
Then a young man came up to us, holding parchment and asking every freshman to follow him. If I’m not mistaken, he’s one of the clerics who healed Cedany, but he seems to have misplaced his crystal orb, though.
“It’s fine to fear the notorious death sphere-bearers, they only practice that kind of magic since they don’t get to choose their affinities. Also, let’s all prepare, the instructor is coming to get us now.”
“Ced, you called our instructor grandfather, he’s related to you?” asked Roe, who smiled with a cheerful smile.
Cedany smiled and continued going until we reached the fourth wall and, unexpectedly, noticed the two areas light up flickering torches with fire magic on the sides. It’s like being in the village again, but the floor is hard and not watery.
“I believe you are all full and ready to fight. Come up now, young warrior Leofrick!”
The instructor is calling everyone from the Knights Division young warriors and us, young wizards. When we arrived at the raised platform near the bannisters, we waved to our new friends’ goodbye as they walked towards the other raised platform. As we proceed on the next assessment, the instructor chooses another knights apprentices that we had some freedom to continued talking about the magical affinities they were discussing. Honestly, Sprigg told me to just make them continue to gather more information.
While they’re having a discussion about magical affinities, I’ve gazed around my vision to look for the other freshmen who’ve already done the assessment, and I feel bad that no one has ever beaten the instructor since they’re all doing great with every match.
As he climbed onto the elevated platform, Leofrick lowered his head slightly and took his sword. It is a type of single-edged sword, with the tapered blade being much narrower and thinner at the peak than at the middle, often with a protruding spikelet on the smooth side of the end. The pommel style portrays a beast with a lot of conical teeth and two long front teeth which seem to be solid jaws, shielding the crystalline purple light.
“Sense magic. Body enhancement: Sensation boost!”
Leofrick raised his sword with one hand without further warning, then rushed to him and shouted his spell. This period the mana surrounding him is squeezed into an invisible shield after he invokes his enchantments.
“Six sense.”
Like all the others, like a boy who is trying to hit an adult with a stick, the instructor was able to avoid the swing of the sword from Leofrick .. While it’s admirable, he can make a stupendous battle, he is far from the instructor’s level.
“This fight looks like he’s playing with him.”
After seeing the person who made a comment on the match, I looked at my left side and I saw Alvin seriously observing the match. It honestly looks like they are only playing. By the looks of it, the instructor is provoking him by simply dodging all the attacks.
“Body enhancement: Strength—”
Leofrick was not able to finish his spell while he’s trying to swing his sword upward as the instructor hurriedly put a sword on his neck.
“He’s reckless.”
“Cut him some slack. He did great.”
I reproached Alvin quickly for his fight and saw three monsters fighting the other instructor when I looked on the other stage. I poked Roe to confirm that what I saw is true and made them watch the other raised platform where Oliver and his team is fighting. I have heard the instructor called another magic knight and defeated all of them. The only one’s left is Roe, Alvin, Pomell, and me since Thea is getting a different kind of assessment according to Alvin’s words.
“that one is a manticore, a man-eating chimeric beast,” replied Pomell.
“T-That’s Gloriana’s … f-favourite illusionary b-beast.”
“Really~?”
Roe and Arabella asked Thea with great enthusiasm about the beast and what else she could bring to life. It is called the Physical Hallucination Magic, and it can create illusions that are so realistic and powerful that they can cause incisions, blemishes and burns to appear on the target and affect the surroundings as if it were real. But she can only perform the beasts for an hour and it’s risky because she would sometimes be close to the opponent.
“You shouldn’t speak valuable information on her behalf, Thea, that could kill her!”
“It’s just us, Bella. Don’t worry. and it’s really a spectacular spell, too.”
“Not that I condemned her to reveal all that secret in one go, but it’s her sister’s magic and strategy. No wonder she doesn’t want to uncover such an important secret.”
I totally agree with Arabella not to reveal that kind of important knowledge all at once since this is her strategy that she’s using all of her life. It’s better to keep it for future battles.
“Come, young wizard, Rowan!”
“That’s Roe sir! Coming!”
He screamed energetically and marched swiftly to the elevated platform when he retrieved his grimoire from the back of his dark silk suit. I can see that Roe was howling with laughter and appeared to be relaxed as he was walking. He really likes to fight, huh. When he reached the centre, he opened his grimoire, and it floated just above his right hand, and both of them bowed slightly.
“Transmutation magic: Beastification!”
I really can’t criticize him for his enthusiasm.
After he screamed, he began to transform just like the monster from Gloriana’s magic beast. He’s really impressed with it, I think. Its face, however, is not that of a wild beast but of a man where the grimoire is located at the centre of his forehead, and it has three rows of teeth set in its upper jaw and three in the lower; these are exceedingly sharp and larger than the fangs of a cannoyt. Its ears also resemble a man’s, except that they are larger and shaggy; its eyes are blue-grey and they too are like a man’s, but its feet and claws, you must know, are those of huge drakes. To the end of its tail is attached the sting of a long and sharp black bone.
*********************************