Dark Magus Returns

Thanks to Safa's healing abilities, nearly all of the injuries Professor Luka had suffered were gone, he was practically as good as new. Still, every so often, he'd get random goosebumps or experience a faint jolt of static running through his body. Anything he touched would spark slightly, leaving a small shock behind.

Right now, though, Professor Luka was leading the group on a full tour of the academy grounds.

The hallways were mostly empty, as the current students were still in class. It was the perfect time for Luka to show them around without distractions.

"Our facilities are still among the best you'll find in any academy," Luka explained proudly as they walked. "People always talk about the Central Academy being the best place for magic progress, but I truly believe that talented students can thrive in other environments too."

Raze silently agreed with that sentiment. Talent was talent, wherever it came from. Still, there was a reason the Central Academy had its unmatched reputation: the teachers. While the facilities at this school weren't lacking compared to Central, the instructors made all the difference.

How could any regular teacher help a Six Star Mage progress? They could try their best, of course, but if they really cared about the student's growth, the smartest move would be to send them to the Central Academy.

Even though Raze personally didn't like Ibarin, the man was a Nine Star Mage. Someone with experience, knowledge, and the ability to push others to grow.

Keeping such gifted students at smaller academies was selfish. But at the same time, it was a catch-22. How could these other academies receive better funding without talented students? How could they prove their worth without strong graduates? The problem only got worse over time, leaving some academies with no support at all.

Luka continued the tour, showing them the library, the massive dueling arena designed for spell combat, and fields at the back and sides of the school. They walked through several magical halls and even passed dining rooms where magic visibly circulated through floating trays and glowing utensils.

The others couldn't hide the excitement in their eyes. Everything around them felt magical in every sense. The sparkle of fascination was obvious.

Raze almost wanted to warn them to tone down their reactions, he didn't want them blowing their cover, but then he caught a smug little smirk on Luka's face. The professor seemed to be enjoying their awe.

When the tour ended, Luka led them into one of the academy's classrooms. It was large, with an arcane display set up on the right wall and ascending seating like a lecture hall on the left. The room was completely empty of students.

"Alright, everyone," Luka said with a clap of his hands, "although I've allowed you to enter this academy, there's still one more thing you all must participate in… the written exam."

The others swallowed hard. A written exam?

These kinds of things were for scholars, not martial artists.

Sure, some fighters might dabble in reading or writing as a hobby, but how were they supposed to pass an exam in a world they didn't even belong to?

"Based on your test results, you'll be placed into classes ranging from F all the way up to A," Luka explained. "At this academy, your class isn't determined by your magical power but by your magical knowledge. Those with less understanding will be placed in classes where they receive more guidance, more fundamental lessons to help them grow."

"And those who demonstrate higher comprehension," Luka continued, "won't feel held back. They'll be placed in environments that push them to explore deeper aspects of magic. Sometimes, even a weaker mage might discover something during study that allows them to close the gap with the stronger ones. That's why we do this test."

The students were seated far apart, several meters between each desk, to prevent even the chance of peeking. Raze was seated right at the front, closest to Luka, where the professor could keep a close eye on him.

Soon, papers were handed out. Each person received a glowing quill-like writing tool. When they pressed it to the page, magical ink appeared. The other end of the quill erased the writing with ease.

It worked like a mix between a pencil and a pen, but with far more elegance.

Safa did her best not to panic. She remembered Raze trying to teach her to read the Alterian language. She focused on using the context of the questions to guess their meaning, doing her best to find patterns. Slowly but surely, she began to write something down.

At the front, Raze was already effortlessly gliding through the questions. His hand moved with practiced ease, barely pausing between answers.

'I'm a Nine Star Mage… a former professor. I even helped write some of these tests back in the day,' Raze thought proudly. 'When was the last time I got a perfect score? This almost feels too easy.'

From the back of the room, Liam stared intensely at Raze's hand movements.

'Wait a second… System, can you analyze his hand and copy everything he writes? Just do the same thing on my paper?'Liam asked silently.

The system responded with a clear yes, and immediately, Liam's hand started moving.

'Haha! I'm going to get a perfect score just like Raze!' he cheered in his mind. 'Genius move, Liam. Pure genius.'

But not everyone had a system.

Toward the back of the room, two students were frozen in place, Dame and Beatrix. They stared at their blank papers, completely lost.

'What are we supposed to do?' Dame thought, staring hopelessly at the symbols on the page. 'We can't even read this… let alone answer anything.'

He glanced sideways and felt slightly better. Beatrix hadn't written a single word either.

'I've always been good at tests!' Beatrix thought, 'But this… this is a nightmare. I might get a zero. Can anyone even read this stuff?!'

She tried reaching out to the entity inside her, the being she had fused with, but there was no response. No voice. Just silence. No matter how hard she focused, the letters on the page made no sense.

A horrifying thought crept into both their minds.

'What if we get placed in a different class than Raze? What if we're stuck in F class? If they find out… not even Raze might be able to save us.'

Then, something strange happened.

Their hands were still near their heads, but the special writing tools on the desk started to twitch. Then they lifted off the table, moving on their own.

The quills floated down to the paper and began to write. One word. Then a sentence. Then full answers.

Both Dame and Beatrix sat frozen, stunned at the sight. Then, the quill gently tapped the corner of the paper.

'Does it want me to turn the page?' Dame wondered.

He flipped it, and heard the sound of Beatrix doing the same at the same time.

The quills continued writing, filling in answer after answer.

Quickly, they reached out and held the tools, pretending like they were the ones writing, just in case the professor looked their way.

'This has to be Raze,' they both thought at the same time. 'No one else could pull this off.'

And they were right.

Raze had already finished his test long ago, but finishing too quickly would draw suspicion. So he pretended to still be working while secretly controlling the wind around the room, mixed with several other magical spells, fine-tuned to guide the quills on the others' desks.

He was helping Safa, Dame, and Beatrix, all without a word.

He hadn't helped Liam… but only because he could already hear him writing confidently and assumed he was doing fine. Especially judging by the sound of laughter that was coming from him from time to time. It also caused an extra distraction because Liam was so pleased with himself Luka kept going over to him.

Due to his system as well, Liam was able to figure out that Raze had already finished because they had finished at the same time, so now he was just pretending to scribble about in the air. When the teacher started to move toward him Raze would shuffle his seat as a distraction to make him come back.

Professor Luka had no idea what was happening, in the grand scheme of things. He was completely unaware, confident that no one in the room was capable of manipulating such complex, stealthy magic.

'Don't worry,' Raze thought with a smirk. 'You all helped me back in Pagna. So now it's my turn. We're all getting into A class, no matter what!'

****

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