Second World

Jack asked the natives for direction to the Archmage Academy and went directly there. It was nearby the dilapidated hut which was the entrance to the Order of Magi.

”Let me guess, the Archmage Academy was overseen by the Order of Magi faction?” Jack asked Peniel.

”Yes. Just like how League of Champions is in charge of all the four academies branching out of the Warrior class.”

”Wow. So, you do get me to join the top-tier factions of both my classes.”

”You donʼt say.”

Jack observed the building in front of him. At least it was not another dilapidated hut. The building size was still small though, unlike what you would have expected as a place that could hold many people or as a venue of a test. Heck, the Mage Academy was much larger than this. But he had learned from entering the Order of Magi that space physics didnʼt matter to these mystic people.

The building, though small, was mystifying. It had an irregular shape with a floating roof that defied the law of physics. The surface of the wall itself seemed to be constantly shifting. He could not get a clear grasp of what type of material was used. Sometimes it looked like woods, another time concrete, then it appeared as metallic, then glass, then brick, and so on. Jack decided to just not look at it after a while.

Jack walked towards what he thought was a door at first, only to find out it was an opening on the wall, with nothing to see from the other side.

”Well, whatever,” Jack said and then stepped into that opening. He came out into an empty round space with nothing but beige color. ʼHey, isnʼt this…ʼ

”Ah, mister Storm Wind, welcome!”

Jack turned around and saw Janus. ʼMan, is this guy everywhere?ʼ

”Um… Iʼm here to take the Archmage trial. Do I have to transform myself into a mage first?” Since Janus had known about his two identities, he just asked him directly from the get-go.

Janus chuckled. ”Itʼs ok. You can take the test as you are now.”

He made a wave and a golden portal appeared in the middle of the room. ”Just go in whenever you are ready.”

”Am I only allowed to use Mageʼs spells in the test?” Jack asked, remembering the Order of Magiʼs challenge spaces.

”Do you expect you will be having a battle for the test?” Janus asked back.

”Uh, yeah…”

Janus simply smiled. Jack remembered again that the Mage class trial didnʼt involve any fighting. So, this Archmage trial could probably be the same. Anyway, one way to find out.

He was just about to enter the golden portal when he stopped and asked Janus, ”Iʼm just curious. Are you also watching the entrance to the other trial academies? The Elementalist, Summoner, and Warlock?”

”You can go there and see for yourselves if you want to know,” Janus replied with a smile.

ʼI donʼt have that much free time,ʼ Jack said in his mind.

He was about to step into the golden portal but it was Janus that stopped him this time. ”Wait! No helper,” Janus said as he created a bubble of air that trapped Penile in place.

”Hey!” Peniel protested.

”There is no need for that, you know. She never really try to help me with a test. She likes to see me struggle,” Jack said.

”Hey!” Peniel yelled again.

Jack then entered the golden portal. He came out inside another spherical space. Smaller, but didnʼt appear as empty as the beige space he came from. The spherical wall of the space was full of drawings, or runes to be exact. A series of runes with a multitude of lines connecting each other. It looked very much like a haphazard of multiple rune diagrams laid on top of each other.

Jack looked around. There was nothing else. He figured these runes on the wall should be the test material. He studied them. This series of runes were like a puzzle. It could be moved around and set into different positions to form a proper rune diagram. He of course did not know how any of these rune diagrams was supposed to look like in their final setup. The clue was on the multiple connection lines which the runes could be moved around.

He also found out that to move the runes, he needed to activate them by forming the runes imitating the drawings, just like how he draw the runes for his spell formation. Some runes could only be moved if he activated and moved other runes at the same time.

They were like a more chaotic version of what he did with the diagram that imprisoned Pandora.

After studying them for a while, he smiled. Under normal circumstances, he would need lots of time for trial and error to get to the right diagram. He would also be struggling to control multiple runes at the same time. But with Hundred Synchronous Thoughts, this problem was alleviated.

He also had no problem knowing which path and position the rune should be placed on. Thatʼs because he already had the ability to sense mana. It was clear as day to him.

”This is… a piece of cake,” he said.

Janus and Peniel were chatting as they waited for Jack. He still didnʼt let her out of the bubble, though. Peniel was complaining about it all through their chat, but the purple-haired mage just laughed her off.

The golden portal had disappeared when Jack stepped into it. Now, it suddenly appeared again. The bubble that trapped Peniel burst with the reappearance of the golden portal.

”Oh? So fast?” Janus said with surprise.

Jack came out of the golden portal soon. Though Jack looked the same, Janus felt the change inside Jack.

”I must say, Iʼm rather astonished to see you clear the trial this fast,” Janus said.

”Hehe. Itʼs a walk in the park,” Jack said proudly.

”Really? Hm… I guess I should increase the difficulty.”

”Eh? No, no. Donʼt do that. This difficulty is fine already. This test simply suits me. It is by no means easy,” Jack said. He was not selfish enough to cause others to be unable to pass the Archmage trial.

”Well, anyway. Congratulations on becoming an Archmage class,” Janus congratulated. ”You wonʼt regret this class.”

”I hope so, but I have a question,” Jack said.

”Shoot,” Janus said.

”I got this Call Familiar spell for passing the trial on the first try, but when I try to cast the spell, nothing happens.”

”Ah… Thatʼs because you have to get a familiar first,” Janus replied.

”Where can I get one?” Jack asked.

”The Mage academy where you took your previous class trial has the facility. They have a decent selection there. You can go there and buy one, then use the magic furnace there to make a contract to bind with the familiar.”

”There is a selection?”

”Yes, there are different types of critter that you can bind a contract with to become your familiar. The most common ones are imps, sprites, pixies. These are all available in the Mage Academy.”

”Well, then while you are at it. How about you give me tips on which familiar I should choose?

”That will depend on your preference. Do you want a boost in your offense, defense, healing, movement, or such? Speaking of which, you already have the perfect material for a familiar.”

”I did?” Jack asked with a confused expression.

”Yeah.” Janus turned to Peniel. ”I wonder why you didnʼt tell him?”

”Tell me?” Jack turned to Peniel as well.

Peniel was silent as she was being stared at by the two men. After a while, Janus showed an expression as if he realized something and said. ”Iʼm sorry. Perhaps you are unwilling. Forget I ever said anything.”

Jack also seemed to realize. He turned back to Janus and asked, ”which familiar can help with healing that is available inside the Mage Academy?”

”If you are talking about healing then the best is…,” Janus had instinctively turned to Peniel as he was saying. He stopped and then continued, ”pixie! You can buy a pixie and bind with it.”

”I see, after that, I can summon it when I fight?”

”A familiar is not something that has a duration. Once you bind with it, it will follow you constantly, like…” Janus had turned to Peniel again. He hurriedly forced himself back again. ”Like a small companion,” he continued.

Jack nodded.

”Donʼt treat it like an Archerʼs pet, though. A familiar does not have any standard attacking capabilities, except if it possesses offensive skills. It mostly just provides buff while it stays by your side. It has one innate skill at your spellʼs starting level. Every five-level increase of your spell level will provide your familiar with additional skills.”

”So, at max level, my familiar will have five skills at its disposal,” Jack said.

”Well, ainʼt you good at counting,” Janus mocked.

”As pleasant as I am in chatting with you, I will take my leave now.”

”See you again then.”

”Okay, see you when I visit the Order of Magi again.”

Janus shrugged, ”Hm… perhaps sooner.”

😉