The older students brought Mal and the other examination attendees toward the middle of the field.
There were a few familiar faces. Rolam chief among them. Hypode had shown up too, a bandage around his head and a few gossipping onlookers surrounding him. He growled and the gossipers shut up.
At the center of the group, a wide circle had formed around a girl with blond hair and blue eyes. A necklace with the royal seal glimmered blue in the sunlight. She was dressed in riding pants and a short, functional tunic.
Savaly Chama, second princess of the kingdom, and someone Mal would have to keep a close eye on. In some ways they were kindred spirits, both willing to do whatever it took to achieve their goals. In other ways, well...
Mal wasn't one to judge, but wasn't executing your entire family a little extreme?
She smiled at someone and they fainted on the spot. Mal shook his head. Beautiful though she may have been, even here in school she'd develop something of a spy network that would eventually cover the entire city. A terrifying woman.
Norin turned toward them. "From here on out, Professors Igna and Vigil will be overseeing all of you. They will explain further how the exam works and what will be expected of you." The older student's eyes locked onto Mal's, and Mal got the feeling that his next words were for him specifically. "Good luck."
The older students left the field and walked off toward parts unknown.
Mal looked over in the direction of the professors. He recognized them. How could he not?
The woman to the left gave a cheery smile. "Welcome, students. It's such a pleasure to have all of you here."
She was dressed in dark black robes similar to those of the older students. Unlike the older students, she wore two gold sashes going from shoulder to shoulder, wrapping around her. Her face was thin and foxlike, her nose small and pointed. Despite the easy smile on her face, Mal couldn't help but feel that her eyes seemed to cut through them like daggers.
Professor Igna, Professor of Magic Theory and Spellcraft.
Mal recalled facing her in battle a handful of times. Despite her constant smile, she'd been one of the most downright bloodthirsty individuals he'd ever encountered. At one point, when he'd managed to have her dead to rights, he'd offered her surrender. She proceeded to break down crying, and in the split second his guard was down, she pulled out a knife and attempted to stab him.
If he'd been a split second slower, he would've had his neck cut to ribbons.
Honestly, he kind of respected it.
To her left, a man in a thick trench coat crossed his arms. As he shifted his body, Mal caught a glimpse of the space between his gloves and the long sleeves of his coat. His right arm shimmered with a metallic light. He adjusted his foot, and Mal caught the same light from his left leg.
"Professor Igna," he said. "Let's not waste time with pleasantries."
Professor Vigil, if Mal remembered him correctly. Ex-army. A mage enforcer—or combat specialist, as most people knew the term. He'd been in some sort of accident, lost, if Mal remembered correctly, for several years, before he managed to miraculously return. He was then offered this job.
Unfortunately, Mal didn't remember seeing too much of the man. He was alread old at this current point in time, with graying, greasy hair and wrinkles framing his face.
Mal's attention was drawn back to the conversation. Both Igna and Vigil had been talking, but Mal was pretty sure it was about nothing important. Probably just Vigil continuing to scold Igna while Igna played dumb.
"As you well know," Igna said, "the practical examination is changed every year to prevent students from preparing for it in advance. Last year involved a miniature tournament. The year before that, you were assigned to take care of some magical beasts."
Vigil folded his arms behind his back. "This year, you will be heading to the Steel Forest, named for the infamous steel trees that populate it. Your mission will be to obtain an artifact from the depths of the forest and return it to the extraction point, marked by a bright white flag. During this time, you will have to contend with the various natural beasts that make their home there. The three main threats you will have to deal with are Razorsnakes, Ironwolves, and Tungstenbats."
More than one student paled at the mention of the specific beasts they would be fighting. Mal wasn't too worried—the school wouldn't allow them to get killed.
…probably. Accidents happen, after all.
Still, it was surprising that they were willing to go to such extreme lengths. From what he remembered, both of those magical beasts were no laughing matter, especially for a bunch of inexperienced examinees. You would want to at least be a third year to confidently take on a Tungstenbat.
"Professor! This is far too extreme! You can't reasonably expect us to fight something like that!" someone in the back stammered out.
Vigil's eyes locked in on the person who'd said it, and Mal could feel the chilly glare even though he wasn't the direct recipient. He reached his hands up and rubbed his arms to try to get some warmth back into them.
Was it some sort of magic? Or was he just genuinely that intimidating?
"I think," Vigil said deliberately, as if tasting the words on his tongue. "That you fail to understand the situation that you are in."
Vigil turned his back on the students. His trench coat fluttered in the wind, making him look larger in volume than he actually was.
"There was once a point when the consensus was that the forces of civilization were winning," he said. "That it was simply a matter of time until we'd freed the world of the magical beast scourge. We even believed that we could take the Eastern Wastes from those abominations."
His voice hardened, and his shoulders tensed.
"We all know how that went. There's still a place and a role for the combat mage. As a graduate of Exodi, you will be expected for the foreseeable future to be prepared to take up arms in defense of whatever land is hosting you. You must be prepared to fulfill that role."
Mal looked from left to right to see that, several students seemed to be sincerely thinking it over, many looking down in thought, eyebrows furrowed together.
Mal idly noted that Vigil had left out a key piece of information. Namely, that things were getting worse, not just that they'd come to a standstill. Demon incursions were rising, and magical beasts were getting stronger. Fast. The opposite of all their predictions.
Of course, Mal knew that there was no way Vigil would tell a bunch of teenage students that. At the current moment, it was a well-kept secret among the absolute highest in authority. The panic that would be caused by the normal population knowing the truth would be disastrous.
Vigil left the students in silence to stew. Igna leaned forward, a grin on her face.
"And of course," she said, "Exodi is first and foremost a combat-oriented school by nature. If you want somewhere safer, there are a number of other academies across the continent that would suit you better. There's no shame in this. Not everyone is cut out for a role in battle." Her tone turned soft. "If you have any doubt in your heart about whether this is the right place for you, I would encourage you to turn around and head back to the gate. Alumni are waiting to receive you and arrange transportation back home, if you don't already have it prepared."
The reaction to her pronouncement was mixed. A few, like Mal, were completely unaffected by Vigil and Igna's pronouncement. Some looked determined, a fire lighting up in their eyes.
Mal noted that Rolam was one of these people.
But the majority had a distinct look of nervousness on their. A few even had quivering knees.
After several long seconds, one student turned around and started walking.
After this, it was like the floodgates opened. The crowd of students shuffled and moved from side to side to allow the retreating students to pass through. One by one, these students left until about half had disappeared.
Mal looked at the thinned-out crowd and shook his head. He didn't blame any of the students per-se. If you weren't cut out for combat, then you weren't cut out for combat. That wouldn't magically change just because you went to a combat-oriented school.
But Exodi was known specificially for that sort of thing. Why would you sign up, take the written exam, then travel all the way here and not do the bare minimum of research to understand what the curriculum and focus would be? It didn't make sense to Mal to see that level of ignorance on such an enormous scale.
Igna seemed completely unbothered by the fact that half of her examinees had decided to turn around.
"Now that that's over with," she said. "We can discuss the last topic."
Mal pushed the thoughts out of his mind and focused on what Igna was going to say. Though he remembered the broad strokes and big events, small details like this were beyond his ability to recall. It was important to pay attention where possible.
"Your success in the exam will directly impact your success going forward." Igna clapped her hands twice, and a visual diagram appeared behind her with the word "leaderboard" written out and underlined.
There were a few gasps of shock and amazement. Mal, of course, could see what was happening—it was a simple illusion spell. The level of control was impressive, though.
"Exodi Academy operates off the leaderboard." Igna's diagram created a list labeled one, two, and three, along with three different names that Mal didn't care to remember. "Those with higher positions on the leaderboard gain better sleeping quarters, longer time in the library, and easier access to the professors."
Mal had to stifle a laugh. It reminded him of what the older student had told him—how those with resources accumulate more resources, and those without remain trapped.
"Student, is there something funny about what I'm saying?"
A few students glanced back at Mal with tight frowns.
Oh, he thought. She's talking to me.
"No, Professor. My apologies," he said.
She smiled, and the tension broke. "Excellent. I hope that you're all taking this seriously, as it will determine your future at this academy."
Vigil coughed. "Now, are there any questions?"
One student raised her hand, and Vigil nodded at her. "You, with the bob cut."
"Will the headmaster be watching us?"
"He will most likely be in attendance, yes."
A flurry of whispers broke out at the mention of the headmaster.
"You know, he fought off an entire incursion by himself, right?" someone next to Mal whispered.
"That's nothing. He saved everybody retreating from the Eastern Wastes, all on his own."
Mal snorted. The hero worship was a bit much.
It wasn't like Puck didn't deserve it, however. Behind that kindly wise man façade was possibly the greatest strategic mind to ever grace Exodi Academy, even greater thatn the Princess. Mal had never had the opportunity to meet directly with the headmaster, but he didn't need to. The two had dueled on the great chessboard of countries and armies. Negotiating alliances, moving legions from place to place—from what Mal understood, Headmaster Puck was the man behind it all.
Without him, the heroine would've never been able to surpass Mal's advantage in numbers. Even a Herald is no match against an entire army.
The heroine may have been the tip of the spear, but the headmaster was the master warrior who maneuvered that spear into position.
"Next question," Vigil said.
"The important part is getting the objective done, right?" a young girl asked. "That's what determines pass or failure?"
"The method by which you are scored is not your concern. Simply achieve the goal that we have assigned to you and do your best."
The girl nodded and fell back in line.
If Mal didn't know what the older student had told him, he would've assumed that what Vigil meant was that obtaining the artifact was the important part.
"Any other questions?"
"Professor?" a familiar voice said.
Mal stood up on his tiptoes and looked in the direction of the familiar voice. It was Rolam. He had his hand up and a confused expression. Igna glanced over at him, smiled, and gave a kindly nod.
"Well, this honorable one was just wondering, Professor—" Rolam tilted his head. "How are we going to get to the Steel Forest? It's a day's travel away. Are you just going to bring us there by carriage or—"
Igna raised her hand to cover her mouth and laughed into it.
"Oh, to be a young student once more." The laughter died down, and she shook her head. "No, you're already standing on the method of transportation we'll be using."
Mal had always wondered about that. He knew what was about to happen, but the method had been a mystery to him back then. He looked down and narrowed his eyes.
Some sort of chalk. There was a little bit of magic material on it—though he couldn't name the specifics. The kind of chalk you would use for runes.
Oh. That's clever. They got us all in position using the fourth-year student guides. Well played.
Rolam's eyes widened. "What do you mean by that—"
Igna shut her eyes and held out her hands. Her body glowed with an ethereal blue light, and the tips of her hair lifted up. A moment later, the chalk underneath Mal lit up. The rune that was underneath all the students glowed the same color as Igna's form.
A student next to Mal looked down in shock. "What the heck?"
Another student scrambled backward through the crowd. Mal rolled his eyes. There was no way that student would get out. The size of the rune, based on the glowing in the distance, was absolutely enormous.
Mal felt his molecules begin to disassemble. The glow increased to a brilliant shining flare. Murmurs of panic and fear ran through the crowd, more than one student looking at their hands in confusion.
Mal shut his eyes and prepared for the familiar sensation of teleportation.
The world popped, and Mal was no longer where he once was.