by Cloe D Frost
Deora frowned, his annoyance growing by the minute. “Again. How is that relevant?”
Zerel grinned even wider. “Have you ever heard of spell cracking?”
Deora’s frown deepened. “No. I am not a walking encyclopedia like you.”
Zerel’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “It is a very peculiar skill closely related to spell breaking and mystification…”
Deora scratched his head, still frowning. “What about it?”
Zerel chuckled and smiled mysteriously. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Deora shook his head annoyed. “Arrgh! If she wasn’t using the same spell as the one we gave her then naturally we need to repeat the test.”
“Wasn’t it you that told her that using an alternate trigger spell was allowed? Are you going to take back your own words?”
Deora ground his teeth. He didn’t know what sounded more unpleasant, going back on what he previously said or letting that cheater score full points.
* * *
Kiel waited in front of Elaru’s classroom for quite some time before the examinees started coming out. Elaru was among the first to emerge. Seeing her bright smile, he assumed the exam went well. He was about to let out a breath of relief when he noticed that she wasn’t alone.
A male argel with ordinary appearance was conversing with her and walking by her side. The guy seemed to be good natured and friendly, giving Kiel no good reason to hate him.
But did Kiel ever require a good reason for hating someone?
Hearing the excited voice with which the boy addressed Elaru, Kiel instantly judged he disliked the guy. Seeing him irked Kiel. He got the urge to turn around and walk away, but before he could do so, Elaru spotted him and animatedly started waving her hand in his direction.
Kiel swore inwardly. They were no longer alone. They were in public. He couldn’t give her the cold shoulder and ignore her. Right now, he was supposed to be a benevolent young master.
He plastered a soft smile onto his face and waited for her to walk up to him.
Elaru looked at him apologetically. “Sorry Kiel. I’ve made you wait.”
Damn right! I want interest on the time I wasted.
Kiel’s smile didn’t reveal his inner thoughts at all. He politely replied. “It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it.”
Unexpectedly, his statement made both Elaru and the boy next to her display strange expressions. Elaru’s face displayed a wry smile while Arion looked like he would burst out into laughter at any moment.
“Actually…it was indeed my fault…” Elaru scratched her head sheepishly. Kiel blinked a few times, confused as to why the delay would be her fault.
The boy next to her took this as his cue to step in and explain. He placed his hand on Kiel’s shoulder, in a friendly, “man to man” way. “Bro, let me tell you the great tale of how Elaru Wayvin broke the speedometer.” Kiel looked down at the hand on his shoulder, trying really hard to not display any displeasure.
Wait…she did what?!
Kiel’s eyes flashed with alarm. He looked at Elaru who was smiling wryly. And then looked back towards the boy, whose eager expression reminded Kiel of a pup, ears perking up, tail wagging excitedly.
“Totally destroyed it! The hourglass shattered, the jelly sprayed everywhere, the balls blew up in smoke. It was a bloody massacre!” He spoke dramatically and animatedly gesticulated.
“The assistant professor was too close to the speedometer so the lava-like jelly splashed over him and burned away his clothes. He went berserk and kicked us out of the room. Some of the people were so scared they ran away, tails between their legs. The rest of us had to wait forever to resume the test.”
At this point, he could no longer contain his laughter and burst out clutching his stomach.
Kiel stared at him speechless and dumbfounded. When he glanced towards Elaru, he noticed her covering her mouth with her hand, suppressing giggles.
His eyebrow twitched. What the…? Is he making fun of me? Or did that really happen?
“What really happened?” Kiel could no longer endure, and he sent his telepathic demand for Elaru to explain. Her response was simple: “Actually, everything happened exactly as he said…”
After laughing a while, the boy wiped tears from the corner of his eyes and finished the explanation. “You should have seen the sour face of Deora Thayn when Zerel Reysic gave her full points and returned her exam pass. One word – priceless!”
Kiel’s face stood frozen in a smiling expression for a while. He didn’t know what emotion would be appropriate for him to display at this moment. In fact, he didn’t know what he was feeling at all.
“What. Did. You. Do?!”
Elaru smiled sheepishly but said nothing.
“How did you break the speedometer?!”
“Naturally, I was too fast…” The statement wasn’t false, it indeed broke because of her speed. But of course, she didn’t elaborate the reason why she managed to reach that speed.
This wasn’t the right time to let him know that neither her strongest ability nor main occupation was actually tracking.
Kiel lowered his head, his bangs casting the shadow over his eyes. He had never heard of anyone breaking the speedometer before. Abnormal! You are too abnormal! From which world did you come from?!
After a while of being lost as to how to react, he decided to change the subject, pretending that nothing happened and turned towards the boy. He smiled pleasantly and offered his hand. “Kiel Rroda.”
The boy whistled and shook Kiel’s hand. “Nice! Elaru, you never told me that your friend is a Rroda.”
Elaru shrugged. “It wasn’t important.”
“Are you kidding? How many commoners are awesome enough to associate with nobles?” Arion laughed and then finally responded to Kiel. “I am Arion Urwin.”
Urwin. Urwin. Hmmm…
After a short memory search, Kiel found out why that last name sounded familiar.
Urwins weren’t a noble family. However, they were quite famous in the lands of Halnea because they owned several newspapers including the Lodge (quest seeker & quest lodge related newspaper), the Warlord (arena and warlock related newspaper), and the Sibyl (a daily newspaper covering all kinds of different news).
Kiel’s grandfather warned him to be especially vary of Urwins. You never knew if your next words would end up in tomorrow’s Sibyl.
Kiel nodded towards Arion affirmatively before turning to Elaru. He intended for them to excuse themselves and leave. However, Arion didn’t give him the chance to speak before exclaiming:
“Your girlfriend is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.”
Kiel’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly. “Not my girlfriend.” He exclaimed in his usual soft and alluring voice.
“Wow there! You sure shot that down quickly. Ouch.” Elaru put a hand over her heart and feigned pain before erupting into a chuckle.
Arion’s eyes lit up as if he just heard good news. “Only friends? How close are you guys?”
None of your business… Kiel grumbled inwardly.
Elaru cupped her chin. “How close?” She grinned brightly. “We are practically Siamese twins!”
While Arion was looking at Elaru, Kiel shot her a deathglare.
“What? Those were your words, not mine.” She responded, her eyes glittering impishly. Three days ago, when he realized he was stuck with her, he did mention something of the sorts.
Before he could find an appropriate way to disagree with her statement, Arion continued with his questioning: “So childhood friends? Awesome!”
“Not exactly.” Kiel added before Elaru could cause another misunderstanding. Didn’t she know how dangerous it was to reveal any information to an Urwin?! They could be the topic of tomorrow’s newspaper!Why, oh, why did you have to break a speedometer in the presence of an Urwin?!
Arion didn’t stop the questioning, his face still honest and friendly, making one feel like it was completely safe to reveal any information to him.<
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What flawless execution! Could this be considered an Urwin family secret skill?
“Oh? How long have you guys known each other?”
Both Elaru and Kiel responded to the question simultaneously. Unfortunately, their answers didn’t match.
Kiel retorted with “Too long.” While Elaru responded with “3 days.”
They shared a look and then saw the strange look on Arion’s face.
Kiel caved in and decided to explain the contradictory statement. “What she means to say is that we’ve been in a…long distance relationship. We only got together 3 days ago to travel to Muni together.”
Elaru snickered quietly. “Nice save! You didn’t even lie. I see you are catching on what I meant when I talked about lying with truth.” She winked at him.
Arion nodded understandingly. “I see. How long were you…long distancing?”
Is this an interview, or is it that you usually never shut up?
Elaru smirked and retorted with: “That’s a secret. Let’s just say…I know Kiel better than anyone.” She winked again. This time, Kiel wasn’t sure whether it was to him or Arion.
Either way, her statement left him speechless.
* * *
Coming up in the next episode:
Elaru’s eyes suddenly glittered mischievously. “Don’t you want to show everyone how awesome you are? What better way than to be featured in the Sibyl? If you made friends with an Urwin, you’d more easily get featured as a new rising star mage.”
When Elaru put down her gravity crystals, his thrill turned into awe: “Holy baffamoot! Can you be more awesome? What are you going to pull up next? A picnic basket? Darn…suddenly I feel hungry.”
Kady Ailert looked at the examinees smilingly. “I hope you got some rest and are now ready for the second exam. As you might already know, the second exam tests your mana control a.k.a. weaving.”
When the words left her mouth, all gazes converged on to Kiel.
Episode 42 – Mana Control Exam Start!
Episode 42 – Mana Control Exam Start!
Previously:
After finishing the exam, Elaru and Arion meet Kiel. Kiel doesn’t like Arion while Arion seems clueless of the fact and acts overly friendly with the duo.
* * *
Elaru smirked and retorted with: “That’s a secret. Let’s just say…I know Kiel better than anyone.” She winked again. This time, Kiel wasn’t sure whether it was to him or Arion.
Either way, her statement left him speechless. Unfortunate but true.
Only then did he realize how wrong it was for a person who he met 3 days ago to actually be the closest one to him. He didn’t even like the girl, and she was already the closest thing to a friend or family he had.
This was…miserable…wasn’t it?
He quickly turned around and asked in hopes of interrupting the barrage of questions. “Shall we go?” He motioned towards the staircase. They had no reason to continue chatting in front of the classroom.
Elaru and Arion nodded, and the three of them started walking towards the exit. To steer the conversation off of his relationship with Elaru, Kiel spoke up. “Did you do well on your first test?”
Luckily, Arion seemed to bite: “Not as well as Elaru. But I guess it was fine.” He shrugged.
“Don’t let his easygoing manner fool you. Other than me, his score was the highest in our group.” Elaru added.
“Oh?” Kiel smiled. “Congratulations.”
Arion smiled widely and spoke humbly. “I’m not that good really. I should be able to pass the exams, but I’ll probably be somewhere in the middle. Nothing to brag about.”
“Passing the exams is already something to brag about.” Kiel smiled warmly, while inside he was cursing. It wouldn’t be good if he passed. He is obviously overly friendly and doesn’t know when to take a hike. What would I do if he used us knowing each other as an excuse to associate with me in the future?
I don’t know if he is ignorant or thick-skinned.
“Oy, Elaru. You brought him along. Now find a way to get rid of him.”
Elaru chuckled telepathically. “What? You don’t like him? I think he is amusing.”
“He is a chatterbox that keeps asking endless questions and acting too familiar. He is also an Urwin. Enough said.”
Kiel expected Elaru to ask him what he meant by that. However, surprisingly, it looked like she actually knew what kind of business the Urwins ran.
“I thought you wouldn’t make hasty judgments on someone’s personality based on their family name. Would you want people to group you together with your grandfather or brother?”
Touché. Inwardly, Kiel frowned, however, his outwards expression didn’t change in the slightest. “Him being an Urwin is just an additional minus point. His behavior is the main issue.”
“Why is being friendly a bad thing? Afraid you’d actually gain a friend for the first time?” Kiel sent her a glare when Arion wasn’t looking. Elaru chuckled silently. “I hate to break it to you Kiel, but based on what I’ve seen, he will most certainly pass the exams. Since we’ll be attending the same university, making friends early would be beneficial.”
“We’ve already made friends. Now is the time to part ways.”
Kiel looked at Arion, who was clueless to their inner communication. “How about you Kiel? Do you mind me calling you Kiel? How did your exam go?” Arion steered the conversation back to Kiel.
How else would you call me besides using my name?
Before Kiel could respond, Arion added. “The acquaintance of this little monster and a Rroda.” He smirked towards Elaru. “You must be much better than me.”
Kiel smiled and modestly replied. “Of course, we are future fellow students, you can call me Kiel. The exam went better than expected but that isn’t to say that the rest will go the same way.”
Elaru’s eyes suddenly glittered mischievously, she continued her internal conversation with Kiel. “Don’t you want to show everyone how awesome you are? What better way than to be featured in the Sibyl? If you made friends with an Urwin, you’d more easily get featured as a new rising star mage.”
Kiel’s eyes narrowed. “Nice try. Why don’t you try getting featured and see how that goes? Rather than being featured as a rising star, you’d be featured as a clown who broke the speedometer.”
“Hey! I didn’t break it because of incompetency. It broke because it couldn’t contain my greatness. No shame there.”
The three made their way out of Red Quarters into the courtyard full of greenery. They found a nice, secluded spot under a tree and sat down on Elaru’s spidersilk blanket.
Needless to say, Arion was thrilled to see her blanket. “Aww man! That is so awesome!” When Elaru put down her gravity crystals, his thrill turned into awe: “Holy baffamoot! Can you be more awesome? What are you going to pull up next? A picnic basket? Darn…suddenly I feel hungry.”
Kiel was quick to respond with. “If you are hungry, don’t mind us. You should go grab something to eat.”Please go away.
“So thoughtful.” Arion praised. “Don’t worry man. I can handle it. It isn’t lunch time yet anyway.”
And so, the three of them spent several hours relaxing under the warm sun. If Kiel were in better company, he would have enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Instead, he spent the entire time trying to find a discreet way to tell Arion to get lost, while Arion continued being completely oblivious to it.
* * *
When early afternoon arrived, it was finally time for the second exam. The second exam for all three of them was held in the Blue Quarters, which was a building near the Red Quarters, that looked almost identical to the Red Quarters, the only difference being the color theme.
Kiel was thrilled to finally separate from the annoying blabbermouth and make his way towards his classroom. The same group of people with which he took the previous exam, were waiting in front of the classroom.
Not only were the examinees the same, when the d
oor opened, he noticed that the examiners were the same too – Rau Eryey and Kady Ailert.
Was it that his examiners for all exams would be these two?
This time, when they were invited into the room, what greeted them on the desk was a large cube made out of dark blue rock-like material that glittered dazzlingly in the sunlight. To be precise, the cube wasn’t on the desk, rather, it was floating 30 cm above it.
Every surface of the cube was covered by all kinds of delicate carvings in all shapes and sizes. Some of them made out small patterns while some of them spiraled around the cube in sharp angles like canals.
The cube wasn’t made out of a single chunk of rock, rather it was made out of many rotatable pieces like a large Rubik’s cube. By rotating the pieces, the overall appearance of the carvings would change, and no one would be able to predict how the cube would look like beforehand and prepare for that configuration.
Kady Ailert looked at the examinees smilingly. “I hope you got some rest and are now ready for the second exam. As you might already know, the second exam tests your mana control a.k.a. weaving.”
Kady pointed towards the stone cube. “This is the artifact that will test your ability. On its surface, you can see many carvings. These carvings are actually the spell pattern that you will be required to cast. You need to fill these carvings with dense mana.
However, no mana should touch or enter the cube itself. This will require a lot of precision and accuracy on your part, especially because the mana resistance of mythril, which the cube is made out of, is equal to the mana resistance of air.”
Examinees exclaimed in surprise. Some of them had suspected the material of the cube to be mythril, but most of them had never seen mythril before.
Mythril possessed the lowest mana resistance of all metals, which made it an optimal material from which to form armor, weapons, and magic artifacts. Unfortunately, it was too precious and rare which caused it to reach astronomical prices.