33 Chapter 32 (1/2)

The last few days pa.s.sed very quickly and the time for the last exam came at last. The remaining students, 36 of them in total, were arranged into rows outside of the city on the academy's training grounds.

One student however, particularly stood out. In the back of the rows, a tall black haired man stood with his arms crossed. He seemed older than most of the other students, while the majority were only 17-20, and he also wore military mage clothing belonging to another kingdom.

The teacher in charge of the exams this year spoke up.

”Alright, listen up. This is it, the day you've been looking forward to. This final test is all that stands between you and official recognition as a mage. Looks like we have a new face too, rather uncommon for someone to join so late but the council authorized it so I'm sure you come with great references.”

Clearing her throat, the teacher resumed.

”So, it's quite simple. You'll be forming up in teams of 3 and drawing a random location written on a piece of paper in this basket here. In those locations you'll find dungeons, they're teeming with monsters and your goal is to get to the end to grab a special item we placed there. Don't worry, we scouted every location and they're all of similar difficulty. Now go on, we'll give you a quarter of an hour to form teams.”

Lucius turned to talk to Lucy.

”Hmmm, teams of three. That'll be a bit annoying, who else do you trust?”

Lucy thought long and hard about it.

”There's Clarice and while I trust her, I'm not so sure about her abilities though.”

Someone approached them and they both turned to look at the same time. It was the older mage from another kingdom.

”Hey. Looks like you're not quite sure who to team up with and I'm also in the same situation, maybe we can work something out?”

The older mage added a wink at the end of his sentence.

Lucy narrowed her eyes and looked him up and down.

”Let's see who you are. [a.n.a.lyze]!”

To her surprise, nothing happened. It was as if she did not utter the spell at all. She had only one experienced something similar, when she had tried to a.n.a.lyze the headmaster.

”That won't work, I've got an item to counter that. You'll just have to trust me.

”How can we trust you? We know next to nothing about you.”

The mage held his chin in his hand for some time in contemplation before coming up with an answer.

”Well, you could say I have a real knack for video games. I'm quite good at them.”

Lucius and Lucy's faces started out confused but the realization soon dawned on them. Seeing their faces light up, the mage gestured with his hands.

”Calm down now. Let's not give anything away.”

Lucy glared at Wilfred and murmured to him.

”You and I need to have a talk later.”

Lucius stepped between them and tried to defuse the situation.

”Alright, so let's say we team up. What do we call you?”

”I've been going by Damian lately, so that'll work.”

The rows became small cl.u.s.ters as the students discussed amongst themselves and after a few more minutes of talking, all the groups were formed. Many were rowdy however and kept trying to grab the teacher's attention, likely unhappy with their group.

”Seems you're all divided into teams of 3 now, good. I'm sure some of you are wondering why we are basing the final exam on a group effort instead of your individual prowess. The truth is out here in the real world, we rely on each other. No matter how gifted you may be, you'll have to work with other people and this is where it begins. It's important to make connections with your colleagues and this will also be drilled into you when you join the army. ”

Although a few still seemed upset, most of the crowd was happy with the explanation.

”Now make a line and come draw your location. When you have it, you may begin. You'll have 4 days from today to come back. Best of luck!”

The groups made ordered lines and proceeded to draw their location. When it came to our trio's turn, Lucius drew. Unfolding the piece of paper after moving out of the line, the three bent over to look at it.

”Looks like...Piantedi, it's to the east. Says to continue even further East past the city and that our target is a cave in the forest. I suppose that's why we have 4 days, might take some time to find the place.”

Lucy nodded and added her insight.

”I've been to Piantedi a few times. They're near the coast but they don't have a port or anything. The trade road is often used so we should be able to get there rather quickly, maybe tomorrow early in the morning if we leave right now. We should pack supplies though, just in case.”

Damian joined in the conversation after Lucy was done talking.

”Let's meet outside the city gates in an hour then? We can also discuss what you guys probably are itching for once we're on the road.”

Damian headed for the gates right away and waited for his friends to come back. Thankfully, it was shorter than an hour as both hurried up the best they could. Lucius looked at Damian not carrying anything and was puzzled.

”You're not bringing anything? It's going to be a long trip.”

”I've got everything I need stashed on my atv, hidden in the woods just off the main road. It'll be a lot faster than walking too.”

Lucy was visibly angry.