Chapter 311: High-Speed Combat

"Number 42, please enter the arena. You are strictly prohibited from carrying any magical artifacts other than your staff, or any spell scrolls. Should any be used during the examination, you will be immediately disqualified and barred from re-applying for one year."

Outside the simulated arena on the seventeenth floor of the Tower of Scholars, the broadcast array announced the summons for the examinee. Number 42, a young man of few years, walked into the circular arena with a face etched in trepidation.

A translucent magical barrier rose to seal the arena, shielding the interior from outside interference, though it did nothing to block the spectators watching from the periphery.

No sooner had the examinee stepped inside than he was forced to scramble, dodging a barrage of fireballs launched by the examiner, his hands frantically weaving magical barriers upon his staff to deflect the onslaught.

His technique was clearly unrefined; the densely condensed magical walls shattered into fragments after absorbing only a single ordinary fireball.

The mana required to manifest such a barrier far exceeded that needed to cast a fireball, and the examinee’s hope of stalling for time through evasion and parrying quickly withered.

Rolling clumsily across the ground to narrowly avoid another incoming projectile, he raised his staff, attempting to manifest a shield for the next strike.

But the magical light flickered and died, leaving his staff barren. In that moment of hesitation, the examiner’s fireball slammed into him, engulfing him in a rising plume of flame and blinding radiance.

As the fire dissipated, the examinee stood unscathed but utterly defeated. The outer layer of the two-fold magical shield provided by the examiner had been shattered, signifying his failure.

"Your strategy of stalling through evasion and parrying was sound, and you are agile enough, but your proficiency with magical barriers is far too low."

"At this rate, your mana core cannot sustain the rate of consumption. I regret to inform you that you have failed this examination. Try again next time."

The examiner, a middle-aged woman in mage’s robes, offered a brief critique before announcing the final result.

As the arena barrier lowered, the examinee exited in dejection, and the examiner called for the next candidate.

"Number 43, please enter the arena..."

After reciting the standard list of prohibitions, the examiner waited for the next candidate to step onto the field.

The examiner was a mid-tier Archmage, while most candidates seeking rank advancement were scholars by trade, possessing little to no combat experience.

Consequently, she usually went easy on them, provided they met the bare minimum requirements.

Watching the next candidate enter, the examiner raised an eyebrow in surprise. She had seen few casters dressed in such a manner; the girl looked less like a mage and more like a ranger.

Number 43, Elvia, had discarded her mage’s robe, leaving only a white and brown shirt and loose-fitting shorts designed for mobility. Her boots gripped the floor with precision, and her golden hair was pulled back into a practical, taut ponytail.

"The rules: either survive my attacks for ten minutes without your outer shield being broken, or take the initiative and break the magical barrier surrounding me. Accomplish either, and you pass."

As the examiner explained the requirements, she waved her staff, bestowing two layers of magical shielding upon Elvia.

The entire arena was suppressed by a mana-dampening array, severely limiting the tier and power of spells; shattering the fragile outer shield was, for most, the absolute limit.

"The examination begins in one minute. You may cast non-offensive spells during this time."

The barrier rose, sealing the arena.

Elvia spent ten seconds sensing the suppressed magical environment, confirming that spells above the third tier were unusable, and that the speed and power of lower-tier spells were significantly diminished.

She had watched the previous examination; evasion and parrying were theoretically sufficient to pass, and with her abilities, she could have done so perfectly.

But Elvia had no intention of merely stalling. She wanted to use this suppressed environment to test the limits of her current capabilities.

Mana flowed from her core, coalescing into spells upon her staff. Forty seconds of preparation was more than enough to cast three buffs.

Second-tier buff: Wind-Walk. Second-tier buff: Floating Stone Orbit. First-tier buff: Mana Relay. The girl applied the sequence to herself with a fluidity that drew a nod of approval from the examiner.

Acceleration, protection, and increased casting speed—these were practical choices. The examiner assumed Elvia had chosen the conservative path of stalling, and she was already performing far better than her predecessor.

The minute passed, and the chime signaling the start of the examination echoed through the arena. The moment it began, Elvia charged straight at the examiner.

"What?"

The examiner was momentarily stunned. What was this? She was a mage, not a ranger. Did she expect to dodge spells through sheer athleticism?

But soon, the examiner was forced to increase her own casting speed, for Elvia’s pace was terrifyingly swift.

Air currents swirled around the girl, providing a subtle but undeniable thrust that propelled her speed to a level no normal mage could achieve.

The examiner’s staff flickered with light as she condensed several compressed air blades. Second-tier attack: Scattered Wind Blades. The high-speed projectiles streaked toward the charging girl—a perfect counter for a swift opponent.

Fully focused, Elvia ducked low as the blades whistled over her head, dodging them with ease.

Her pre-cast Mana Relay triggered instantly, allowing her to complete her next spell while sliding beneath the path of the wind blades.

Blazing flames erupted behind her, the release of fire elements providing a massive propulsion that sent her sliding toward the examiner in a streak of crimson fire. Second-tier displacement spell: Blazing Onslaught.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Meeting her charge were several unstable, scorching fireballs—spells designed to detonate upon the slightest contact with mana. Second-tier spell: Flame Mines.

The examiner’s spells were significantly stronger than those used previously. She was taking this seriously; the young girl exerted a pressure that made her feel as if she were facing a knight attempting to close the distance, not a fellow mage.

In truth, the examiner’s intuition was correct. Battle aura flowed through Elvia’s body, reinforcing her physique; she was, indeed, a knight.

Since receiving the knight’s talent from the Golden Apple, Elvia had trained relentlessly. Even before that, she had followed Wang Yu’s advice to condition her body, laying a solid foundation.

With the guidance of a Great Knight and an endless supply of high-tier body-tempering potions, combined with her own grueling work ethic, she had reached the level of a novice knight and successfully awakened her battle aura.

Thus, the examiner was effectively testing a "candidate" whose magical prowess was suppressed but whose knightly strength was very real.

Sliding forward under the propulsion of the flames, Elvia waved her staff, and the ring of stones orbiting her body flew outward, intercepting the unstable fireballs.

"Boom!"

The cluster of mines detonated prematurely, turning into a blinding but harmless display of fireworks.

The effect of the Blazing Onslaught ended, and Elvia, propelled dozens of meters, leaped from the ground, transitioning from a slide into a sprint.

Frowning, the examiner felt sweat bead on her hand. She was under immense pressure; a veteran of many battles, she had instinctively entered a state of combat.

Chanting rapidly, she drew upon the suppressed mana to weave a spell—Earth Spikes, one of the best tools for dealing with ground-based enemies. She had to keep Elvia at bay.

The spell completed in a flash, and jagged spikes erupted from the ground, targeting any enemy advancing on foot.

Immediately after, the examiner began preparing a displacement spell: Second-tier Storm Break. It was the standard response to a melee knight—either distance yourself or be crushed.

However, a surge of mana erupted from the dissipating smoke, sweeping across the earth spikes and the examiner herself.

As the wave passed, the examiner realized that she was not just facing a knight, but a fellow mage. Elvia had seized the opening created by the examiner’s simplified, unstable mana circuits.

Mage technique: Interference. When facing an unstable mana circuit, a targeted mana pulse was enough to collapse it entirely.

Mages usually ensured their spells were stable, but when facing a charging knight, they were forced to cast quickly, relying on less stable circuits.

This was usually fine, as knights could not cast spells, but Elvia was a mage, and she exploited the flaw without hesitation.

The earth spikes crumbled into dust, and the powerful air currents around the examiner dissipated into a gentle breeze.

Elvia surged forward, the spell "Oscillating Intrusion" imbued into her all-metal staff. With an arm reinforced by battle aura, she brought the staff down, crashing it against the examiner’s mana shield, which had collapsed due to the interference.

The strength of a novice knight, the weight of the metal staff, and the powerful vibrations of the spell—three layers of destructive force were unleashed upon the shield, shattering it into nothingness.

The assessment concluded in less than a minute.