It had to be known that spirits were every mage’s ultimate dream! As long as one could communicate with an elemental spirit, even if the person could not recite the long, tedious, and tough to remember incantations like a textbook, they would still be able to make use of magic comparable to it.
It was said that among the four founders of the Holy Institution, only two possessed a spirit.
Faced with the students’ reverent gazes, Hydin played it down. “Want to see it?”
Rui Meng and Aridi cried out in delight.
Hydin stated, “You’ll be able to see it when you’re as powerful as me.”
Rui Meng and Aridi’s shouts of joy were violently cut off.
Di Lin and Xi Luo looked towards the sky. They just knew this would happen.
“Next,” Hydin looked towards Rui Meng.
Rui Meng took a deep breath. His hands fit together, and he started mumbling to himself. The soil beside his feet slowly started moving. With him as the center, it slowly pushed forward along his side. This phenomenon lasted for approximately several tens of seconds before Rui Meng put down his hands in fatigue.
Hydin raised a brow. “You’re using incantations, why do you need to fold your hands?”
Rui Meng raised his stiff hands and wiped at the cold sweat on his forehead. “Nervous.”
Hydin cocked his head. “I’m quite curious if you’ll still be able to invoke magic with your hands tied up.”
Rui Meng replied. “That depends on whether my hands are tied in front of me or behind me.” If his hands were tied in front of him, he could still join them.
Hydin was speechless. He turned and pursed his lips at the remaining three people. “Stand forward, let me take a look at your aptitude.”
Suo Suo glanced timidly at Di Lin.
Di Lin smiled encouragingly.
Only then did Suo Suo follow behind Ning Ya and Santu’s Jeffery to step forward.
Hydin first placed his hand before Ning Ya’s forehead. “Close your eyes, slow down your breathing. Use your heart to look upon the world of your surroundings.”
Ning Ya closed his eyes in accordance with these words.
“What do you see?”
“Nothing,” Ning Ya answered honestly.
“Then what do you feel?”
“There seems to be something underneath my feet…moving?” Ning Ya was uncertain.
Hydin released his hand. “Your sensitivity to the earth element is far above that of the other three elements.”
Ning Ya said in surprise, “Earth element?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“That appears to be the case at the moment. It’s fine if you want to choose other elements, but the result might not be as remarkable as you choosing to practise earth elemental magic,” Hydin completed his duty as a tutor as if he was reciting from a book. Then, he revealed his inherent nature by saying, “Your aptitude is relatively ordinary.”
Ning Ya smiled without concern. “Many thanks to Tutor.”
Hydin looked towards Suo Suo. “It’s your turn.”
Suo Suo nodded rigidly and closed his eyes extremely slowly.
Hydin placed a hand before his forehead. Immediately, his brows wrinkled, and a glittering spark of fire suddenly spurted from the palm of his hand.
Di Lin, who had been paying close attention to Suo Suo from beginning to end, didn’t even think as he stretched out a hand and dragged Suo Suo into his arms.
“What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?”
Hydin and Di Lin glowered at each other simultaneously.
Suo Suo opened his eyes and looked blankly at the two men standing opposite each other in confrontation.
Hydin snorted coldly. “If I wanted to kill him, would your obstruction be of any use?”
Di Lin’s actions were done entirely out of instinct. Only when reason returned did he recall that given Hydin’s strength, there was completely no need for him to lay his hands on Suo Suo. At the very least, there was completely no need for him to lay his hands on Suo Suo in front of them.
The look on his face vanished and he released Suo Suo, apologizing sincerely. “I was lacking in manners.”
Hydin didn’t appreciate it. “Looking at your rabbit-like reaction just now, you should have gone to Saint Sauvy, that place for fleas.”
Suo Suo asked, “Why is Saint Sauvy’s Glorious Institution a place for fleas? Isn’t it the most outstanding cradle for knights in the entire Continent?”
“Are knights not fleas?” Hydin asked back as if it were a matter of course.
Suo Suo was dumbfounded.
Di Lin apologized and then raised his head, saying boldly and confidently, “I believe that Tutor has your own reasons for everything you do. But I sincerely hope that you will explain your actions just now.”
Hydin narrowed his eyes. “What if I don’t want to grant your wish?”
Di Lin’s expression didn’t change. “There is nothing more I can do.”
Hydin gaze streaked across his face coldly before landing on Suo Suo. “You were struck with a restraining spell.”
The color of Suo Suo’s face changed. “Restraining spell? Is it fatal?”
“Not fatal,” Hydin saw him relax slightly and then said another phrase out of ‘goodwill’. “But you’ll become handicapped.”
Di Lin saw Suo Suo’s face turn a deathly shade of white and couldn’t help asking, “Does tutor mean that he will encounter physical problems?”
“I wasn’t referring to physical problems, but that he will never be able to sense or communicate with the elements in his lifetime if the restraining spell is never released,” Traces of a pondering smile could be glimpsed at the corner of Hydin’s mouth. “I am extremely interested to learn the reason behind this.” Based on the extent to which the spell had integrated with his body, it should have already been in existence for many years. But this youth should have only been a child that many years ago…
Putting a child under a restraining curse and cutting off his interaction with the elements – there were only two possible reasons for this. The first one was that the other party did not want this child to become a mage. The other possible reason was that there was no choice but to cut the child off from the elements.
Di Lin probed. “Does Tutor know the identity of the person who cast the spell?”
“No,” Hydin replied bluntly.
Di Lin and Suo Suo were struck by a moment of disappointment.
There was still a possibility of solving this enigma if they knew of this person’s identity.
Hydin spoke again, “But I can make a rough guess.”
Di Lin’s eyes lit up. “Who is it?”
“An unrefined old man who likes to draw yet draws very terribly,” The corner of Hydin’s mouth curled. He didn’t seem to want to engage in a deep discussion about this matter. “We’ll end here today. I will announce the names of those who qualified tomorrow.”
Jeffery, who had been given the cold-shoulder at the side, wanted to speak but was still slower than Di Lin, who took a wide stride forward all of a sudden. “Tutor, then Suo Suo…”
“He isn’t my student yet,” In a nutshell, Hydin hadn’t yet taken on the task of bearing this burden.
Di Lin wanted to say more but Hydin had already vanished from his spot.
Ning Ya stood at Jeffery’s side and asked in a low voice, “You haven’t been tested right?”
Jeffery revealed a smile even uglier than if he were crying. “It’s fine. Even if I haven’t gone through the test, the institution will still assign another tutor to me.”
Ning Ya looked at him sympathetically.
Probably no one would be willing to be skipped over without having even undergone the test.
Only then did Di Lin regain his senses. He looked at him with some remorse. “He might give you another chance tomorrow.”
On the contrary, having so many people console him made Jeffery feel overwhelmed by the favor. “Actually, it’s no problem. All tutors are the same to me. Besides, it’s not my first time being overlooked.”
The last statement ought to have been said with great resentment but was uttered by him in an exceedingly serene and natural manner. It was evident that the word ‘overlooked’ had already deeply penetrated his life and bones and was no longer painful.
Di Lin was aware of Santu’s rather awkward geographical location. As it was sandwiched between the Continent’s strongest countries, Kanding Empire and Shamanril, it frequently took on the role of cannon fodder during battles between the two countries. It was the same in the Holy Institution. Moreover, owing to the fact that Saint Sauvy’s Glorious Institution had been established within Santu, the people of Santu were more appreciative of knights. Magicians were not prevalent.
Therefore, to the nobility of Santu, not only was it not a cushy job to be studying at the Holy Institution, it was even considered arduous.
Jeffery’s nomination for entry into the Holy Institution indicated that his clan was not powerful enough in Santu.
Rui Meng noticed that they weren’t speaking anymore and couldn’t resist asking. “Then what should we do now?”
Suo Suo suddenly glanced to the side. “Xi Luo disappeared.”
Not only had Xi Luo disappeared, even Aridi had also vanished.
Di Lin had no reaction to this. To him, it was better for Xi Luo to be gone. He now anticipated Hydin kicking Xi Luo out, so that he could peacefully stay in the Institution and study magic with single-minded devotion.
Ning Ya said in a low voice, “I heard that Prince Xi Luo’s tutor is the great mage, Chai Fu’ang·Menreira.”
Di Lin lowered his head in thought. “The Chai Fu’ang·Menreira ranked fourth in the Continent?”
Ning Ya nodded.
Rui Meng remarked, “Looks like Xi Luo won’t be under the same tutor as us. No one will give up such a good tutor.”
Their premonition was very accurate.
The next morning, the mark on Xi Luo’s tent had changed, though the one on Aridi’s still remained the same.
Di Lin’s group of people sat at a corner near the mass of tents and shared their various snacks while waiting for Hydin to make his appearance.
Rui Meng stated, “I really want to know what the other new students do every day.”
Suo Suo echoed his words. “When they came back yesterday, their clothes were full of tiny scorched holes.”
Di Lin and Ning Ya had heard of the Holy Institution’s education methods but didn’t shoot their mouths off.
Rui Meng lowered his voice. “Do you think the Holy Institution is pretending to recruit new students?”
“Then what are they doing in reality?” A somewhat nasal voice asked faintly.
Rui Meng continued without the slightest bit of awareness. “Hard labor?”
Di Lin stood up with a whoosh and greeted respectfully, “Sir Tagilis.”
Rui Meng turned and was struck dumb by the handsome man dressed in a wide black mage gown, bathed in the rays of morning sun.
The author has something to say:
Seven roles in the class–
Xi Luo: Senior who is outstanding in his studies but was unexpectedly retained
Aridi: Follower of senior
Di Lin: Responsible class monitor
Ning Ya: Deputy class monitor who assists the class monitor
Suo Suo: Obedient, well-behaved student
Rui Meng: Rebellious troublemaker
Jeffery: Invisible student who won’t be found out even if he skips class
Poor Jeffery
Classroom roles, lmao!
The author’s note~ I like their perspective roles, hahaha (≧▽≦)