The Exam

Leus walked into the Guild, his eyes swept across the interior. His first impression was ...

'It looks just like a cafeteria'

The hall stretched wide, resembling a bustling dining area with its open layout and lively atmosphere.

Long rectangular tables lined both the right and left sides, filled with people chatting, eating, and discussing plans.

At the far end of the hall stood four reception desks. Behind three of them were female receptionists, each busy with their own tasks, their polite smiles never wavering.

At the fourth desk sat a man with sharp eyes, his demeanor more serious.

Leus took a deep breath, letting his gaze drift across the room, absorbing every detail ...

His attention first caught on the right end of the hall, where there was a large wall with numerous posts, likely mission notices or bounties.

His eyes trailed northward, noting a set of stairs leading up to a second floor ...

'That wall must be where the Missions are posted' He thought, making a mental note to check it out later.

On the left end of the hall, a stall caught his eye ...

The stall was cluttered with various items—stone-like objects, gleaming swords, heavy armor, and other curious trinkets that glimmered under the soft light.

Behind the counter sat an elderly man, casually flipping through a newspaper, paying little attention to the people around him.

‘A shop, I suppose.’

The room buzzed with activity ...

Most of the adventurers sat in groups, their numbers ranging from three to six.

They huddled together, deep in conversation or planning their next mission.

Only a handful sat alone, their eyes distant, quietly observing or simply waiting for something ...

After Leus was done looking around him he looked forward, at the reception desks

'Three females, each one with a different hair color ... interesting'

As for the male, he had red hair, like one of the females. And the other two females had blue and brown hairs.

Blaze and Leus walked towards the desk that had a red-haired female behind it ...

As they walked forward, Leus noticed that many people were looking at him ...

Some only glanced and then whispered to each other, while others fixed their gaze on him without averting their eyes

'I think those who glanced are talking about my hair color, while the others are focusing on my aura'

That's what he guessed at least ...

A specific man pointed at Leus and spoke in an enthusiastic tone

"That's a pretty good catch, Blaze"

When the man said that, some of the people who were looking at Leus with interest looked at the man with disdain, and simultaneously, the whispers increased ...

Blaze nonchalantly kept walking forward toward the receptionist, ignoring everything ...

When he reached, she welcomed him with a smile

"Welcome, Sir Blaze"

"Hello, Lisa"

"How can I help you today?"

Blaze glanced at Leus and gestured to him with his hand ...

Leus understood the gesture and moved forward

"I want to register as a member"

Lisa eyed Leus up and down, and she immediately noticed his sword

She opened a drawer and brought out some papers then asked

"As a Knight, correct?"

"No, a Warrior-Mage"

Hearing that, the flicker in her eyes changed

"Warrior-Mage, you say ..." She murmured

She turned to Blaze for confirmation, and he nodded at her ...

Lisa looked back at Leus

"Are you aware that to gain this role you have to pass a test?"

"Yes"

"Very well, give me a moment"

After she said that, she got up and walked to a door further behind her, knocked on it, then entered ...

A few minutes later, Lisa came out of the room accompanied by a man who walked with measured confidence, and they both walked to Leus

Lisa stepped forward and introduced the man

"This is Master Ishaan Inferno, The Guild's Deputy Master.

He also oversees the management of exams and the selection process for special roles."

Leus's eyes immediately settled on Ishaan ...

Ishaan was a tall, red-haired man with eyes the color of molten fire.

His body was well built but looked physically weaker than Blaze's.

He looked quite confident, even a bit condescending, which made Leus feel a bit wary.

Resting proudly on his chest was a red emblem. The Emblem had an intricate drawing of the Guild's building with bright orange flames both above and around it.

He wore a long, flowing red robe, the fabric rich and finely embroidered, giving him an air of nobility.

Overall, he looked prestigious, with a touch of majesty.

Seeing the robe, Leus was almost certain that Ishaan was a magician

'A textbook magician'

'He looks exactly like how you'd imagine a noble magician'

'Maybe he's Ignatius' son? Or brother'

Ishaan inspected Leus for a moment, then he spoke in a neutral tone

"Introduce yourself"

Leus stepped forward

"My name is Leus Inferno, and I want to be a member of the Guild, a Warrior Mage"

Ishaan looked at Blaze

"Long time no see, Blaze. Is he your son?"

"Indeed"

Ishaan nodded and looked back at Leus

"I can tell from your aura that you are a Knight. But a Warrior Mage? You must pass the test"

"I understand, I'm ready."

"Follow me then."

Ishaan walked towards the stairs and went down, and Leus and Blaze followed him underground ...

'Interesting ...'

'I didn't notice that there was an underground floor here'

While Leus was thinking that to himself, he heard noises behind him, so he turned around

'What the -'

There were many, MANY, people following them ...

Seeing Leus' confused expression, Blaze spoke

"They are coming to watch"

Leus furrowed his brows

"Watch?"

"Yeah, there's no reason not to. Some people are interested, others are just bored"

When Leus thought about it he realized

'That's ..... not surprising honestly'

'Well ... I guess it doesn't matter anyway'

After going down, they entered a hall as big as the hall above them, but it was mostly empty ...

Ishan looked at Leus

"This is the training hall."

He pointed at the middle of the hall and said

"Walk inside the circle"

Leus looked around him ...

On the wall beside him, there were many different swords, long ones and short ones, and also wooden ones.

In the middle of the hall, there was a complicated-looking magic circle, its diameter was around 30 meters.

Ishaan picked up one of the wooden swords ...

"The magic circle will generate a barrier that will stop all the magical attacks from exiting it, so you can attack inside it without any worries."

He walked towards the circle

"The exam is simple. First, you have to attack me three times with magical attacks and I'll evaluate the strength of your attacks. After that, I'll attack you three times with the sword. If you block two hits out of the three, you succeed."

Leus took a moment to process what Ishaan said then nodded

"I understand"

Leus moved forward and stood at the edge of the circle, while Ishaan stood in the middle of it ...

Ishaan kneeled and put his hand on the floor ...

Seeing that, Leus immediately activated Mana Vision to see exactly what he was doing

'Oh ... He's charging the circle with mana, just like how I charge the stones that illuminate my room.'

After Ishaan was done, a dome appeared above the circle, and Ishaan walked to the other end of the barrier.

Now, there was a distance of about 30 meters between him and Leus ...

The crowd gathered around the dome to watch ...

Usually, they'd bet on outcomes, but because Leus came with Blaze, an Elite Knight, it was clear that Leus would pass.

The only question was how well he'd do, and that's what people were talking about.

Leus could hear the people talking about him; some were interested, some didn't care much, and some were downright rude ...

But regardless, it didn't bother him; he never cared what others thought of him ...

'Just focus on the goal'

Ishaan’s voice cut through Leus' thoughts

"Attack whenever you are ready"

Without hesitation, Leus reacted ...

His mind sharpened into focus, and with a swift motion, he silently summoned three spells, releasing them all at once with deadly precision.

There was no warning—only the sudden onslaught of power.

Hydraulic, Dagger, and a Fire Ball

The spells tore through the air at an incredible speed, surprising everyone watching ...

But Ishaan was no amateur ...

Reacting in an instant, he raised his hand, summoning a stone wall that erupted from the ground with a resounding crash.

The Dagger clashed against the stone with a sharp metallic clang, shattering upon impact, while the Fireball exploded violently against it, sending flames licking up the sides.

Leus’ eyes narrowed, watching every move Ishaan made, trying to analyze his magic

'Is that... a stronger version of Shield?'

Ishaan's stone wall seemed different from Leus', but Leus didn't know exactly what was the difference ...

As the smoke cleared, something caught Leus’ attention.

'The Hydraulic seems to have passed ...'

'Its sheer speed had probably allowed it to reach Ishaan before he activated his wall ...'

Yet, as it neared its target, it vanished without a trace.

Leus hadn’t seen what happened, but he knew that Ishaan had blocked it—somehow.

The room fell into an eerie silence, thick with tension, while both the men stood still, their eyes locked in an atmosphere charged with anticipation ...