Chapter 123 - Magic Academy Entrance Exam (Part 1)

  Nathan Evenhart:

  “Hurry up, Nate! You’re so slow!” Chloe shouted as she darted ahead, running full speed.

  “Chloe!” my aunt called out, her voice stern. “Aren’t you fetting something?”

  We were in the Royal Capital, preparing for the entrance exams of the Apsalon Magic Academy. The pce was a massive building serving as a magical academy in the capital and was being used as the exam ter for Apsalon admissions. Anyone looking to ehe academy had to gh their kingdom’s capital rather than traveling all the way to Apsalon. One of the bes of having the exam in the capital was the ease of transportation, thanks to the underground systems simir to ships that used flooded tunnels, eg the kingdom’s capital to the maiories of the duchies.

  I’m already 15, and so much has ged sihe st time we spoke—and not just my body... because I hit puberty for the sed time in my life. But I'm talking about everything that ged for me since awakening my Special Eyes and disc I possessed all the elemental powers of nature. I became much closer to Cyl due to her ability to unicate with me directly, and I eventually had to expin to my family that I could uand her. It took a while for them to believe me, though, since Cyl still growled or made strange noises when talking to them, and those sounds were now more intimidating thanks to her body's ges.

  I went through puberty, and apparently, so did she? The difference is, she has a deeper voice than mine when making those beastly sounds... I mentiohat to her once, and she spped me, so I’ll keep that to myself from now on.

  Over the past few years, I’ve been training with the Legacies and perfeg things I didn’t know. I had training in eics, administration, poisons, pnts, etiquette, survival, bestiaries, and many other subjects. At least I got to practice magic by learning some elemental knowledge from each of them. Even though I’ve applied my uanding of Aura and my unique way of using Thunder, I wao study hoerson’s magic behaves. I also trained with my mother and Professor Adrihna i of golem creation. Adrihna spent a lot of time helpih the use of my Special Eyes as well.

  My Special Eyes granted me the power of a summoner, allowio use the elements for both attacks and transf them into elemental creatures. Since my eyes are categorized under Summoning, rather than my Mana Gem, I’m not as versatile as Chloe or my mother in golem creation, and my creatures aren’t capable of casting plex spells. But I won’t brag too much about what I do. I summoal soldier warriors that obey my ands as servants. I call them ‘Titans,’ as a tribute to my old friends from another world.

  My golems aren’t as se as those my mother, Chloe, or Adrihna summon, but they’re 'alive' and love battles.

  I guess they take after their owner…

  I ’t learn golem spells either. Chloe, for example, knows a ton, including how to create a frozen knight or even a frozen wolf. As for me, I only gee the same basis. They are summohrough my eyes, and I have up to five active golems at a time, while Chloe and my mother summer numbers and even bigger golems. My mother is even more special as a full summoo the point where she covers the fortress grounds with pnt-based golems that act as extra soldiers.

  And I have a sixth golem…

  This sixth golem is a secret I’ll reveal to you at the right time. Let’s just say it's the bination of my five golems—a monstrosity I named ‘os.’ This was the name of my great friend from the other world; she was the mother of the Titans. I thought it was a fitting reference, especially since os was torn apart and thrown into Tartarus, and my sixth golem is the fusion of the powers from the olems. A fitting tribute to the woman who was my best friend in another life.

  Cyl has been helping me as much as she with the Celestial Eyes, though everuggles since she doesn't fully have access to all of her powers—just the basics. She has a strong grasp of the Aspect of the Body and the Aspect of Life, but when it es to the others, she ’t use them sciously. We cluded that her abilities are likely blocked due to the process of 'Iance', as she’s still undergoing ges in her physical form. The Celestial Eyes will probably be the st thing she fully unlocks.

  At the age of 12, I became a ‘man’ acc to this world’s s, or at least I took a major step toward adulthood. They celebrate when children reach 12 here, and you receive a special gift from your family. My mave me a ste bracelet, Adrihna gifted me a spellbook focused on pnt and light elements, along with a house in the elf kingdom, and my aunt gave me a special sword fed from the metal of the Infernal s. Sifu told me the shape of the sword is called a ‘katana,’ and as soon as I received it, I had a rather wicked idea.

  I asked my aunt to dismahe gift she had just given me—food reason, of course. We separated the bde from the sword and modified the hilt. With the pure Akonium stone Adrihna had given me, a bcksmith, an engineer, and I worked together on something special. We rebuilt the hilt, embedding the Akonium stone i, ensuring the band aerodynamics wouldn’t be affected by the added weight. The result was that if I ever threw my sword, I could make it fly bay hand usiromagism.

  Genius, right?

  Nouting Akonium to make the sword fly stantly would fail due to the instability of the mana, which would damage the stone over time. But by filling it with eleagia and linking it to my hand like a mag… you imagihe result. If the sword is far from me, I simply activate the mana stored in the Akonium, and it flies directly bato my hand, ready for battle. The sword is alositioned perfectly, ensuring I grab it and be instantly prepared to fight.

  The bde itself retains the effect of the cursed reli the . My auio was quite a challeo avoid breaking the entment and that she had to spend a fortune on magical seals and runes, but she said it was worth it si was for me. She kept half of the , and my half became this sword. Anyone who touches the bde, even without being cut, feels a burniion, which I use to mess with my oppo’s mind, making them feel intense pain. Sifu mentiohat it resembled a cursed sword because of the ’s entment, and I adopted that name for it. My katana is called the 'Cursed Bde.'

  We discovered over time some other rather sinister bes from that cursed metal, but I’ll expin more about that aime.

  "You fot my kiss, dear. You o say goodbye properly," my aunt called out to Chloe.

  Chloe blushed with shyness but kissed her mother on the cheek. " I go now, Mom?"

  "Yes, go ahead, and good luck, my dear."

  I tried to leave, but a hand caught the bay neck.

  "And where do you think yoing, Nathan Evenhart?" my mother said.

  I looked at her.

  "I want my goodbye kiss too," she said with a smile.

  I said goodbye to my mother, and she wished me luck.

  "Do what we agreed on, okay? No drawing attention," she said to me.

  "Don't worry, I won’t cause any trouble."

  She sighed. "I have a feeling saying that will only make you cause more trouble..."

  I tried to leave, but another hand grabbed the bay neck.

  What did I do now?

  "Nate, use only the thunder element like we agreed, and don’t let aake the elemental sto if they ask, or they’ll find out your secret," my aunt said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Adrihna will be there to help you."

  I nodded, but as I turo go, she stopped me and looked at my face.

  "Your eyes are beautiful, but you know where the real issue lies, right?"

  "My hair..."

  Every day, more silver strands were showing up. I’d been cutting them out, but it was getting to the point where more and more kept appearing.

  "I’ll try to find a solution to keep your hair dark before the csses start, but it’s likely that what Adrihna said will e true—your hair might turn pletely silver at some point."

  The solution we came up with was to buy a special dye for me. The problem was that High Elves have a stronger affinity with magic, so even their hair has a certain magical vitality, making regur dyes iive. The only optio was ented dyes, the kind noblewomen ordered at high prices. I could walk around the house with silver streaks in my hair, but since I’d be living at the academy, I o keep it dyed.

  "I uand that one reason I shouldn’t tell anyone I’m a desdant of a High Elf is that an elf like that falling in love with a human hasn’t happened sihe founding of the kingdoms, but what’s so special about this elf that Adrihna insisted I keep it a secret?"

  "It’s not time for you to know yet... and no one’s ever awakehis much elven blood like you have. We’ll keep this secret—for your own good," Aunt Margie said, and my mother nodded in agreement.

  I trusted their judgment sihey loved me and wahe best for me. My pn was to avoid drawing attention, and I didn’t want ao find out about my peculiarities. I would dodge Ryan once I got to the academy, but I knew I’d see him again when I turned 20 and would have to find a way to ge my eye color back to what it was when he updated my records. My hope rested in Adrihna, who said that by the time I turned 20, she would have already found a way to solve all my problems. I didn’t ask how she would work that magic… but I chose to trust my teacher.

  "Let’s go!" Chloe appeared and started pulling me along.

  "Wait!" I tried to say, but she yanked harder.

  I hurried to keep up with her pace.

  "Bye, kids. See you ter," they waved as we headed toward the exam room.