Magus Supremacy

The huge door behind the three giant chairs, which were placed on a high balcony above the coliseum, slowly creaked open as Grey stood up, dusted himself off, and wiped away the blood that stained the corner of his mouth.

His blood boiled over at what he had just gone through at the hands of a direct descendant. Honestly, he wanted nothing more than to wipe the floor with Mada. But he knew, deep down, that the descendant was far stronger than he currently was.

"Told you he was a trouble magnet," Finral whispered as he and Ray walked over, coming to stand beside Grey, who couldn't help but keep scowling at Mada in restrained anger.

"Are you okay, Grey?" Ray asked with concern, his eyes scanning Grey over and over for any sign of injuries.

"I'm fine," Grey bluntly replied, still glaring at Mada while his mind churned, formulating a way to deal with the arrogant warrior. But every plan he came up with depended on one key factor—being stronger than the descendant.

Since no viable plan came to mind for now, he shifted his attention to the door slowly opening on the balcony.

Three individuals emerged.

The first was a man who looked to be in his early thirties. He strode out with silent confidence and sat in the middle chair, the one placed slightly ahead of the others.

This was Vice Principal Leonardo Vane.

He didn't just walk into the coliseum—he brought silence with him.

Tall and cloaked in a deep blue attire, Leonardo wore a long-sleeved shirt that fit so tightly, his muscles looked like they were sculpted beneath it, ready to burst through at any moment.

He looked nothing like an administrator. If anything, he resembled a battle-hardened veteran who had seen countless wars. His black hair, streaked with silver, was tied back into a tight ribbon that rested against his back like a blade sheathed in calm authority.

His hazel eyes glinted with a dispassionate sharpness—as though he didn't just see your face but the lies tucked behind your tongue.

Every motion he made was deliberate. Every glance, piercing. When he tapped the obsidian ring on his cane, a faint hum of Ki whispered through the air, silencing the room with a pressure no one could see but everyone could feel.

He didn't need to shout. He never raised his voice.

When Leo wanted to speak, the world leaned in to listen—and trembled when he was displeased.

That was the kind of authority the vice principal carried.

To his right stood a young man who appeared to be in his late twenties.

He stood like a wall of steel, unmoved by the murmurs rippling through the coliseum. Gunther Slade—eldest son of the principal and elite combat instructor—was every bit the battle-hardened warrior his reputation promised.

Years of bloodshed had carved muscle onto his frame, each line of power pressing against the fitted combat gear he wore. A crimson scarf fluttered behind him like the banner of a victorious general, whispering stories of battles won.

Two longswords hung from his waist, each hidden in obsidian sheaths that radiated a quiet menace.

His ash-blonde hair was swept back, exposing a sharp brow and eyes that burned like molten amber—restless, watchful, and keenly aware of every flaw. His presence struck harder than a Ki burst; even Mada, arrogant as he was, stood straighter in his brother's shadow.

That's right.

Gunther was Mada's elder brother. Both were children of the Aetherian Academy's principal. Their relationship was a unique and strange one—well, at least from Mada's point of view.

Then on Leo's left was a beautiful woman who looked to be in her early twenties—Seraphine Sage.

She sat in the chair calmly and comfortably, her long braid snapping behind her like a flaming whip. Her tunic shimmered with phoenix-feather embroidery, catching the sun in waves of orange, scarlet, and burning gold.

Students held their breath—not out of fear, but because no one could predict her next move. Her smile was wild, almost mischievous, and her bronze skin shimmered faintly with embedded fire Ki.

Her beauty stunned the applicants as they kept staring at her longer than usual, but soon enough, Leo's voice snapped everybody back to the present.

"Welcome, everybody, to the seventh assessment of the Aetherian Academy. That's right! This is the seventh assessment that's being conducted since the creation of the academy," Leo said, his voice calm and collected.

He didn't need to shout, nor did he require any special artifact or equipment to project his voice. That was because the vice principal was currently using Ki on his lungs to project his words across the massive coliseum.

"And today, we will be assessing you all to see if you are fit to join this prestigious academy. We don't discriminate here. Whether you're from a noble clan, a direct descendant, or a peasant—this assessment, and the academy itself, is open to all.

All we desire is strength, determination, and honesty. Because those are what make a human a true Yun Warrior. Speaking of honesty, that will be our first assessment." Leo smiled as he tapped a particular cane in his hands on the ground.

Clank, clank, clank!

The cane rang out, and all across the coliseum, beneath the feet of every applicant, a bright light engulfed them. Immediately, they tensed up, on guard and ready for anything, unsure of what was about to happen.

The direct descendants, on the other hand, remained completely unfazed as they calmly observed the bright light. It slowly dissipated, and in its place, a white sheet and an inked pen appeared in everyone's hand, causing several of the applicants to blink in confusion.

"Your first assessment is to write your name, where you're from, and what clan you belong to—although that part is optional in case you don't belong to any clan. And lastly, what stage of warrior you currently are. Note this: lies will not be condoned. We have our ways of verifying the truth, so be warned," Leo said with an uneasy smile on his face.

"Get filling now," Leo ordered, and instantly, the applicants began noting down their details.

"Guys, isn't this a problem now?" Grey whispered as he stared at the sheet in his hand.

"How so?" Ray asked, slowly filling in his details.

"Finral said we shouldn't use the Cromwell name, so what do we write as our last name?" Grey asked, causing Finral to look up from his sheet.

"How dense can you be that you can't think of any fake name to write?" Finral asked, almost feeling like facepalming himself.

"Thought we were going to choose the same last name or something," Grey scoffed as he got down to filling his own details.

"No way I would want to be associated with you," Finral retorted as he finished scribbling in his details.

Soon enough, every applicant had filled in their forms, and the moment they were done, the sheets suddenly disappeared from their hands, startling them slightly.

I wonder what the hell they're using to produce these phenomenal things, Grey thought.

"That concludes our first assessment," Leo announced with a smile on his face as he turned toward Gunther, who stood up from his chair and leaned on the balcony. Leo then tapped the ground with his cane, causing several lights to shine in front of the coliseum and away from the students.

"Time for the second. And for this assessment, Gunther will be supervising."