The last regret

"Welcome to the magic division trails."

"I am Galdor, the chief of the magic division and the headmaster of The Royal Arcanum Academy."

All the candidates for the magic division test were gathered in a vast hall; unlike the other tests, the magic division trials would start after the participants finished their other trials, so Artus had to wait for some time in the hall.

In front of them, on a high stage, stood a man. At most, he looked like he was in his forties, but everyone knew his actual age was much older than that; he had short white hair and a beard and wore a silver robe and dark gray cap. His robe was inscribed with magic symbols and fastened with a leather belt.

Around his neck, there were three amulets, which were filled with jewels and magical symbols. Also, he wore a ring on his left hand and held a large wooden staff in his right hand.

"It's important to mention that this trial is for people who have yet to become mages; you are not required to cast spells whatsoever. We will evaluate your potential as a mage."

"Of all the people who came today to the academy, only ten percent are able to participate in the magic division trials."

"Of those ten percent, only ten percent will be accepted to the magic division."

His presence was overwhelming; his voice was loud, reaching every corner of the hall. He was overflowing with power.

"The magic division trials will consist of four stages, each one of them will test different qualities of the ma."

"The first one is knowledge; mages need to be well versed in several subjects; we will be testing your knowledge in general topics and magic-related subjects."

"The second one is mental strength; warriors fight with their bodies while mages fight with minds; you will enter the chamber of illusions where you will be assaulted by illusions which will mimic your deepest nightmares."

"The third one is perception; in order to utilize magic power, mages need first to be able to sense it. Your ability to sense the world energy, Aether, will be tested."

"The fourth and final one is magic affinity; we will test your ability to gather and harness the Aether in the surrounding environment.".

"We will be starting the test of knowledge now; elders from the scholar's division will examine you."

"All those who have already taken and passed the scholar's division trail are exempted from the first stage and will be allowed to move directly to the second stage; please wait in the resting area while your colleagues finish their test."

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Artus sat down on a chair in the resting area; he ate the meal provided by the academy and started planning for the future.

He closed his eyes to check his inner word; dozens of light blue dots were moving around; since he entered the academy, he turned off NuroFusion's automatic energy gathering; he couldn't afford to be discovered by one of the elders.

He also was able to dominate the scholar's trial with the help of NuroFusion; he had gained so much information by analyzing the environment.

It was a good thing that he left a good impression on Corwin in the scholar's division trail; he could visit the scholar division in the future, and if he was able to access their library, he could gain something.

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"The first stage is finished; we will start the second stage now."

Artus was looking around at the other people around him; it seemed only a few people were not able to pass the first stage; it was expected; after all, for people who are aiming to become mages, studying theoretical knowledge was the easy part of the process, so most people were well prepared.

"Each one of you will enter the chamber of illusions."

"Inside the chamber. Your mind will be assaulted by various illusions".

"These illusions will become more fighting with each second passing; the more time you're able to stay inside, the higher your score will be."

"There is no specific duration that is considered as a cut point for passing the test right now; we will determine that after the test according to the average duration that all of you spent inside the chamber and the longest and shortest durations."

"Do your best".

All the candidates were given random numbers to determine the order in which they would enter the chamber; luckily for Artus, he was one of the last few people.

Artus used NuroFusion to calculate the time each contestant spent inside the chamber so he had an idea about the average time and the highest time. This was important because he wanted to pass the test, scoring one of the best ten in terms of duration; since he had a particular trick that made him confident in staying inside for how long he desired, he did not want to miscalculate and draw too much attention to himself.

Finally, it was his turn; up to this point, the average duration that people spent was around four minutes, and the longest duration was twelve minutes; the guy who stayed for twelve minutes seemed to be well-versed in illusions, so Artus decided to stay inside the chamber for nine minutes.

Artus entered the chamber and sat on the ground; a white light blinded his sight, and then his surroundings changed; he saw himself wearing a suit and a white lab coat, sitting in his office in the Eclipse Core nuclear research facility.

In front of him were various documents about the ongoing projects. He took a sip of coffee from the cup and continued working on the projects.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"enter"

A young female researcher entered the office, walked in, and sat on the chair.

"Dr. Jeffrey, thank you for your help; I was stuck with the cooling system issue."

"After your explanation, I made huge progress on the project."

She said with a sweet voice and a smiling face. Her eyes were staring at Jeffrey, particularly shining like stars.

"Welcome".

Jeffrey said in a bland voice, he had not left his head from the paper he was reading. Since she entered the office, he has not looked at her even once.

Her expression turned somewhat sad; she held her hand into a fist tightly, and her eyes shone with determination again.

"Dr. Jeffery, I admire you very much; you are smart and calm, hard-working, and you treat everyone respectfully. All the other teachers would agree with me".

"Is that so? Thank you".

"Oh…. I have some other issues that I need your help to understand…. I feel that I have been bothering you a lot lately...".

"How about I invite you out tonight to make it up for you….and you can help me with some parts of the project".

"Can't go, busy with work."

"Send me an email about the issues that you have…. I will look into them when I have time".

"Oh…sorry for taking your time".

Her voice contained disappointment and sadness; she left the office and closed the door. Not even once had Jeffery looked at her.

She did not talk to him after that. He did not receive any emails that day.

 A blind light filled the entire space, and Artus had returned to the chamber of illusions. He kept silent for some time.

"So, it will start by showing regrets…. huh".

"NuroFusion…how much time has passed in real life?".

"Around thirty seconds".

"I am not interested in seeing more regrets, let alone nightmares; I was given a second chance in this life…. I will make full use of it…. I will never have regrets again…".

"This will be the last regret".

"As for nightmares and personal fears…. not interested to see them…. after all, none of them will come true in this life".

Artus said in a determined voice.

"NuroFusion shut all sensory receptors, isolate any mind…. notify me when nine minutes have passed".