Unlucky start

Artus and Seers were having breakfast in the inn early in the morning.

"Lady Seers, can I ask you a question?".

Seers, who were drinking tea, put her cup down and looked at Artus

"What do you want to ask?".

"Yesterday, when you flew from the village to the academy city, I noticed that you used some kind of wind magic. Does that mean only wind mages are able to fly?".

"As you have said, Artus, I am a wind mage. All mages are able to fly at high levels by directly using their mana to manipulate the laws of the world in a certain way; it can be said that they levitate no fly. But as a wind mage, we can use wind magic to push our bodies in the air to fly even at low levels".

"Honestly, I can already levitate, but I am not skilled enough yet to manipulate the mana to levitate both of us; I can only do it on myself alone, so I resorted to using the more traditional method."

Seers said with a smile while she took another sip from the cup.

Artus had kept silent since he met Seers; he had been using NuroFusion to analyze every word she said and every action she took; his understanding of the magic and spells has deepened, although he still can't analyze her level in mana control when compared to him.

"Ok, Artus, are you ready? Today is the big day".

"I will do my best".

"Let's head to the Academy".

**************************************

Artus and Seers arrived at the academy's door; many people from all over the kingdom had gathered here today; it was a grand occasion, after all.

The place was full of carriages; there were people of all backgrounds: nobles, merchants, and commoners. There were many guards and officers to regulate things; candidates were queued in a long line.

"Artus, we have to part ways here; we don't want to raise any suspicion. I will meet you once you get accepted to the academy".

Artus stood in the line after Seers left. The line moved slowly, but that did not bother him at all; he was analyzing everything and everyone around him.

After a while, some people were seen leaving the academy; it seemed that the first patch of candidates had finished their tests, and most of them had their heads lowered to the ground; once in a while, someone could be seen running and jumping around with a smile on his face.

It could be seen clearly who failed and who passed the trials; most people were bound to leave with disappointment today.

Finally, after what seemed to be an entity, it was Artus's turn; the officer was surprised to see such a young child. He was even more shocked when Artus handed him the two invitation letters; his jaw was about to drop when he saw the magic division trials letter; after all, only about ten percent of all the candidates had the qualification to take the magic division trials. He could not help but ask.

"Young boy, where did you come from?".

"Sir, I came from a small noble at the kingdom's edge."

Artus made up some lies to make the officer believe he is a talented son of a poor noble family in the outskirts of the kingdom; it would be less eye-catching than saying that he is a commoner from some village.

After the officer verified the letters, he called for another guard.

"Escort this young boy to the scholar division trails; after that, escort him to the magic division trails."

The guard was somewhat surprised, but he did not say another word.

"Please follow me, young boy."

The guards were all polite and respectful to everyone. The academy paid great attention to its reputation, so the regulations were strict, but this guard was even more polite with Artus.

 For this guard, Artus was one of two: the son of a grand noble who managed to get his hands on two invitation letters, one of which was for the magic division trial. Or he was a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy who was bound to rise to the top in the future, so he had to treat him respectfully. It seems this guard had experience when it comes to dealing with people.

********************************

The guard escorted Artus to a vast arena; several tents were put there, and around a dozen people stood in a line in front of each tent.

Artus stood at the back of one of the lines, waiting for his turn.

The Academy acceptance trials were always grand but on a different scale this time. By opening the academy doors for commoners, the number of candidates who participated this year was a few times higher than the previous trials.

Not only that, but the scholar division always had the highest number of candidates; it was pretty easy to enter and did not need a lot of requirements, so for wealthy merchants and talentless nobles, it has always been the choice.

With the addition of the commoner, the scholar division trails became much more crowded. After all, for commoners, to become a scholar was a dream come true; they would have a good social standing and sound financial status. To aim for a mage or warrior was an unrealistic dream.

It was a headache for the scholar's division; more than 70% of the candidates wanted to participate in the scholar's division trials, so they had to devise a new method.

Instead of being interviewed by a committee of three members, they decided to make the trial an interview with one of the elder members of the scholar's division.

In that way, they would save time, even though it was not fair as it depends on who one gets interviewed with, but no one would dare to object.

Artus looked around at the other line he could see; the one he was standing in was moving the fastest; every person who entered would be seen leaving the tent in less than a minute; their facial expression was dark, anger mixed with sadness.

It seems that he was unlucky.