Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)
chapter-397

Chapter 397: Expedited Curriculum

People from the student union were responsible for maintaining order outside the library. Of course, they understood that it was nothing more than the reaction of collided spells, but the issue was that it was a freshman test on that day. How could a freshman execute magic of such a level?!

The student union was actually in a very awkward spot during the assessment. They had plenty of authority in previous years’ assessments, but the military’s powerful intervention had reduced them to being responsible for maintaining order at the venue. Furthermore, they were still in front of the freshmen, so they had to maintain seriousness and could not let their grievances show. That way, the student union’s authority could still be preserved.

Although it seemed as though they were responsible for maintaining order, it was actually none of their business at all. The likelihood for anything untoward to happen to new students in the assessment room was practically nil, but as luck would have it, such a scenario did in fact happen.

The training hall returned to calm after the shock and impact. Just as several student union individuals hesitated whether or not to enter, the door was pushed open from the inside and a dusty Xiao Lin staggered out. The examiner soon followed, although no one knew whether her ashen face was due to the dust or anger.

“What happened?”

Many people looked around, and everyone who caught a glimpse of what happened in the training hall opened their mouths in surprise. The structure had changed completely. As a spell training hall specially used for freshmen, high-quality spell-resistant materials were used, but most of the floor seemed to have been blown up while the roof had plenty of holes in them.

Everyone looked at Xiao Lin as though he was a monster. It did not matter what transpired within, as it was simply unthinkable for any freshmen to wreak such havoc in the assessment.

However, Xiao Lin did not say much even though he was privy to what happened. He simply looked at the woman in charge of the assessment with a probing gaze. Although the explosion was strong and the woman was still fine, the mage robe on her obviously was clearly unable to handle it. Several holes had appeared on it, and she was quite ashamed and angry when she was exposed to everyone at the moment. In any case, she was well aware that Xiao Lin would not let her leave if she did not say anything to Xiao Lin there, so she angrily dropped a sentence, “You passed!”

Xiao Lin left in satisfaction. The damage to the training venue stopped the assessment for a while and it was not possible to continue until a new venue was replaced, but none of that had anything to do with Xiao Lin, and he was also very tired after using the Ruin state. Fortunately for him however, he did not use the Dragon’s Breath Sword in the Ruin state.

He did not go directly back to the dorm, but came to Song Junlang’s logistics department. The events that morning had signified that Xiao Lin had completed his assessment, but it did not mean that his freshmen life was limited to that only. It could only be said that increasingly complicated elective courses would be provided for students who passed the first stage after enrolment.

Xiao Lin wanted to plan for the future, and he believed that Department Head Song would definitely know more about the upcoming subjects for freshman year. Besides, he was quite self-conscious about the huge version of the Flame Ball he used that day, because a spell of that level still scared him slightly.

Song Junlang was still busy when Xiao Lin arrived. The former, who was dressed in a white coat, held a few small test tubes in his hands. The test tubes were filled with a blood-like liquid, and Xiao Lin wisely hid away and came forward about half an hour later, when he finally saw that Song Junlang was all done.

“Hey? When did you come here!” Song Junlang was probably in a good mood today as he greeted Xiao Lin warmly.

“I came half an hour ago.”

“Why did you have to wait so long to come ino! It’s not like this is a tiger’s lair. What are you afraid of?”

“I wouldn’t be half as scared if this place really was a tiger’s lair, but all of this is much more dangerous than that… Ahem, but that’s not the point. Something very exciting happened in today’s examination venue.”

“You passed?” Song Junlang could tell from Xiao Lin’s expression and smiled again. “You seem kinda miserable though.”

Xiao Lin immediately recounted the situation at that time. Of course, the focus was not on how hard of a time the Mage Union gave him. For him, the only important thing was to pass the assessment, since he would not be meeting that woman too frequently in the future. Xiao Lin’s befuddlement came from the spell that he launched in the end. The destructive power it produced was quite astonishing, and If it were not for the special mage robes provided by the academy, even Xiao Lin himself would be affected.

He was lucky not to have faced the embarrassment of getting injured by a spell that he had cast, but Xiao Lin was still a little scared when he thought about it. The spell’s power surprised him, but he would rather not use it if it was derived from instability.

Song Junlang listened to it all and thought for a moment. After inquiring a few more details, he said angrily, “I’m afraid she was using a Bronze-rank spell, the Electric Blade Ball. This is an upgrade of the Black Iron-rank’s Lightning Ball. How dare she use such a powerful version in the freshman’s assessment!”

Xiao Lin tsk-ed to himself. He thought it was just a Black Iron-rank spell, but he never expected it to be a Bronze-rank one. Then again, he could block it with his Flame Ball, so could it be that his own spell had a corresponding level of strength?

However, the answer given by Song Junlang was very vague. He did not know much about Xiao Lin’s Ruin state, but he made a guess of his own. “Although you’re using a Black Iron-rank Flame Ball, it’s probably not a pure fireball. I believe you added your own understanding to the casting action. I remember you saying that you learnt it from the notes in the spell book brought back from New Washington. That means it’s not a pure flame ball. ”

Still confused, Xiao Lin asked directly, “Is this a good thing or a bad thing, then?”

“I have no idea. I’m not good at magic, but I also understand that there’s no absoluteness when it comes to spells. The overall number of spells can be considered to increase every year. One single Flame Ball spell can have various improved versions, and as far as I know, there are more than a hundred different variations and I can’t know for sure which one you’re using.”

‘Well then, it looks like I still have to study these spells myself,’ Xiao Lin thought to himself and asked about the freshman year’s curriculum. Song Junlang finally stopped what he was doing, looked at him helplessly, and said, “When it comes to things like that, it’d be better for you to ask the student union president directly. What do you take me for? How can I possibly know about the curriculum?”

“You have friends in high places!” Xiao Lin could finally say that with confidence.

The both of them stared at each other, and Song Junlang was the first to lose. He did not know whether to cry or laugh when he said, “Alright, alright. I didn’t ask about the specific curriculum, but I’m told that the courses in the second half of the freshman year will be modified compared to previous years. To be more precise, your progress will be accelerated.”

Xiao Lin remained calm. Compared with what he experienced in the past few months, speeding up the courses was not at all sufficient to surprise him anymore.