The Golem Mage

It all happened so suddenly that Alec couldn’t even mount any resistance as he was teleported; one moment he was sitting beside the Dean and Old Man Alderic, and the next second he was somewhere else entirely.

From the feel of it, he knew this wasn’t an illusion or the Royal Arena’s soul-essence mechanism that retrieves a mage soul after defeat.

Instead, it felt real, like he’d been teleported into a separate space, it was like entering the amulet world with his consciousness, except this time he knew his whole body had been taken, the one thing he was grateful for was that his team wasn’t far from him.

When he’d seen that light hauling mages into the air and teleporting them, he’d assumed that it was meant to root out the worthy and discard those riding on their stronger teammates, so he’d half expected them to be separated.

However, his entire squad stood in front of him, and not just them, all the participants had been teleported to the same place, and the space was crowded as people looked around the new environment, that was when they noticed an ancient-looking staircase rising high into the sky before them.

Though there were only a hundred steps, however; the first tread was wide enough to hold at least thirty people side by side, but the higher the stairs climbed, the less space each step offered, and the etched markings suggested there would be traps set along the way.

At a glance, Alec decided that if it wasn’t a trap array, then it was an illusion array; he just felt that with a setup like this, it had to be one of the two.

Just as the students began chattering among themselves, some even moved closer to the staircase for a better look until three elderly men in white robes appeared, with hands clasped behind their backs as they levitated above the crowd, looking down with clear authority.

“I will give the instructions for the first round now, all you have to do to pass is climb the stairs, anyone who cannot reach the 26th step should stop waiting for the round to finish and leave through that portal to return to the capital, as you will be automatically disqualified,” the man in the middle said, pointing to a circular portal nearby that the participants hadn’t noticed before.

“As for the other rules, they are as follows, each stone step can hold only a certain number of people, if you arrive at a step that is already full, you may either challenge someone occupying it to take over their position or skip ahead to a higher step directly, because the higher you climb, the greater the rewards, you’ll understand once you begin.” He paused.

“If there are no questions, you may start climbing now.” With that, the man in the middle ended his explanation.

It was a bland briefing, full of loopholes, and it was obvious he didn’t care what anyone thought; he even used a silencing spell to shut down any question that would be directed at him, showing just how little he cared whether they made progress or not.

Alec frowned at that, because from the moment the badges were handed out in the capital, that envoy had claimed the first round had already begun, he was sure there was more to this Hundred Steps test than they were saying; because he just didn’t believe it was as simple as climbing to a certain step and calling it done.

“Alec, I don’t know what rewards are tied to this first round, but I doubt simply by passing the base mark which is the 26th step will allow anyone to earn anything, I feel only those who secure places on the steps and can stay on it to the end will likely be rewarded”.

“Based on what that elder said, anyone who reaches the 26th step is technically qualified, but each step has limited capacity, and the higher someone goes, the fewer people it can hold.”

“So I believe only those strong enough to keep their spots at the end of the higher steps will receive rewards,” Agnes said, standing beside Alec as she laid out her reasoning.

Hearing her explanation, Alec’s eyes flickered with understanding, as it made more sense to him now why they hadn’t separated the teams, this round was about individual brilliance.

Teamwork might help, but only if those who were working together had power levels that were comparable to each other; because the stronger Mage would naturally have to climb farther than the weaker one, therefore laying bare the gap between ordinary talents and the so-called heaven-chosen.

While Alec’s group and several others were still digesting the elder’s words, a number of impatient mages decided not to wait.

They surged toward the staircase in a rush that bordered on a stampede, seeing the flood of bodies, several clan geniuses who couldn’t hold back and joined in, unwilling to be left behind.

But the instant their feet touched the first step, a thunderous bang erupted, as a powerful shockwave rebounded across the crowd, hurling countless mages backward.

Many who were caught were definitely unprepared for the backlash, and suffered internal injuries from the impact instantly.

In fact, one of the mages who’d been sent flying hurtled toward the War God Mage group, only for Agnes to thrust out her right hand, sending out a pulse of water forward, cushioning his fall and deflecting him to the side away from their group.

“Ha ha ha... simpletons. Did you really think moving first would let you surpass everyone? Only the truly strong ones can climb these stairs,” a dark-skinned, handsome young mage laughed, mocking the first wave that had rushed ahead.

When the crowd looked his way, they noticed the insignia of the Ember Citadel, one of the two premier academies of the Southern Kingdom on his robe, he was looking well-built and about six feet tall, seeing all the attention now on him he proceeded to step onto the first stair without hesitation.

When the rebound force lashed at him, he wasn’t flung away like the others had been; his body only trembled slightly, as he followed with his second foot, settling fully on the first step, and cementing himself as the first mage to stand on the staircase without embarrassing himself.

He then smiled mischiev

ously; as his bluff had worked perfectly.