56 Ch 48 - The Center Of Attention (Part 1)

The divine flames were already used up and not even a single spark was left within the amphitheater. The candidates had a good harvest and many candidates had unlocked their true potential thanks to the extortion… I mean the blessing ritual, duh.

Many of the candidates had already reached 1st tier mage stat right off the bat.

They are already able to create pure mana orbs and control them to some degree. This already puts them ahead of the rest of the candidates who would still need to train and learn to just feel the inner workings of mana meridians before they could create mana orbs.

The 1st tier mage candidates were already on cloud nine as they proudly showed off their mana orb creation skills to the other 0-tier mage candidates. The ones who couldn't get an epiphany from the divine flames were bummed out, especially those who were passed out during the blessing ritual. They could only grit their teeth and look at the other candidates with envy.

The amphitheater had now turned into a street show as the mage candidates who gained benefits from the divine flames tried to practice and display their skills.

They weren't only brazenly showing off, some of the 1st tier mage candidates were also competing with other fellow 1st tiers mage to see who could create a bigger mana orb.

Creating a mana orb would be a spherical ball of pure condensed mana which is the most basic creation a 1st tier mage can make.

At this moment the amphitheater was filled with small orbs of mana balls in the hands of these mages. Some of the mage candidates started passing out from overexerting themselves to create a bigger mana orb than possible. Soon the red cape mages stepped in and stopped these unrestrained young mages who were clearly exhausted from their mana supply.

The red capes were also acting quite strange. They were roaming around and carefully studying the candidates with stone tabloids in their hands.

The red cape mages were quite neutral and only stepped in if the candidates were pushing themselves too hard. They were walking around and observed each and every candidate as they displayed their skills, temper, and personality. They then would scribble something on a stone tabloid and move on to the next candidate.

The ranking process had already begun!

These red cape mages were moderators who had begun to score the candidates and separate the cream of the crop from the rest of us. Only the top candidates will be able to get inside the big mage academies, getting access to top-tier mana arts, resources, and gears to become the best of the mages.

To exact revenge on this mortal body, only the best resources and skills could help me get me in the best shape as soon as possible.

Not only do I want to get back my strength but I also want to access top-class information as to how to travel from the mortal realm back to the demon realm. Also, what is the agenda of the 12 virtues lurking in the mortal realm? I don't buy their pretext of protecting the mortal realm; there must be something even deeper. There is so much that I am still in the dark about.

Currently, I should just focus on scoring higher than the rest of these candidates. If I want a chance at claiming a seat in the big mage academies, then I must somehow stand out from the rest of these loser 1st tier mages and make a name for myself.

Don't get me wrong, I am not cocky as there are even a few top-tier skilled mages who were able to create shapes other than mana orbs. Some even created cubes, discs, pyramids, and even long sticks. These candidates were ahead of the regular 1st tier mages but they got nothing on me though.

I guess I should also show off my abilities and gain the attention of those red cape mages.

"Hyah!" Suddenly there was a loud grunt beside me.

Following the noise, there I saw Tracker with a ferocious look stretching one of his hands and staring at his palm like a maniac. He had this crazy facial expression while breathing heavily and sweating like a faucet. It was as if he was about to burn a hole in his hand just staring at it.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked.

"Don't disturb me, I am so close to creating a mana orb, I just feel it in my bones," muttered Tracker.

"Stop making shit up. You have to feel mana in your inner meridians and not in your bones."

"Come on! Cut me some slack, not everyone here's a gifted genius. A little insight from a 1st tier mage will be more insightful instead of mocking my attempt" Tracker was upset and looked in my direction with furrowed brows.

I let out a sigh,

"Let me show you how it's done."

I then stretched out one of my hands, my palm facing upwards.

Tracker stopped his nonsense and peeked at my hand curiously.

"You should first be able to feel the inner flow of your mana meridians, only then can you actually be able to manifest mana to your will. Once you can do that you must then try to channel the mana according to your will and concentrate on what you want to do."

I then concentrated my mana within my meridians and channeled it towards my fingertips. There was a warm tingling sensation that traveled from my chest towards my hand and reached the tips of my five fingers.

In the next instance 5 small orbs of mana formed at the 5 tips of my fingers.

Tracker had his jaw wide open as he stared at the orbs as if it was delicious candy.

"Benjamin! You really are a 1st tier mage, I still can't believe my eyes. Although there are 5 orbs, they are tiny compared to other 1st tier mages but it is still amazing."

My eyebrows twitched listening to his comparison.

"You know how the saying goes, it's not just about the size but the skill of how to use it, hehe," I said out loud and proudly.

Soon nearby candidates also turned their attention toward me.

Although none seem to catch on to the joke that I just made. These guys are still brats and don't seem to know that joke as of yet. Whatever.

I let out a cough,

"There are some bozos here who can just create some mana orb and think they are the shit. Watching these simpletons make a big deal of something so small matters turns my stomach upside down! Let the pro show how mana actually works." I said out loud in an arrogant tone.

Candidates soon flocked around me and they even ignored the other 1st tier mages fooling around.

Even some of the 1st tier mages who heard me stopped their mana art practice and looked in my direction with rageful eyes as if they would eat me.

"Who the heck is that guy!"

"I don't know. Never seen him before."

"He's talking nonsense, look at those tiny orbs. Even my orb is better than that.

"And he still has no shame to boast about such a little thing."

"This must be some joke, let's just go."

But I let them talk smack and continued,

"Well mana orbs are the most basic ability that every 1st tier mage can make but controlling them is the tricky part. Once you create a mana orb don't let the link between the orb and yourself break. You must still be in control of your mana creation to get the most out of it. Creating more orbs is actually more difficult than creating one big orb. More mana orbs mean you need more concentration. Here my 5 orbs are still hovering at the fingertips steady as a rock."

Candidates listened attentively.

Even some of the upsert 1st tier mage who was about to leave stopped and listened to me curiously. Finally, all eyes were on me.

Soon the nearby red cape mages also gathered around and started observing my act. About 3-4 mages were watching me carefully while diligently scribbling on the tabloids.

With a smirk, I continued,

"Once you are able to master your control to create multiple orbs, you can go to the next level"

I moved my fingertips in a circular motion and the mana orbs hovering on the fingertips started moving in a circular motion. I concentrated all my attention on the orbs and the speed of the spinning orbs increased even more.

At a point it was just a blur, the orbs started losing their shape and had finally condensed into a big disc ring-like shape hovering above my hand. The ring-shaped mana was denser and big almost the size of my hand. I grabbed the mana disc ring.

"As you can see exactly how I changed the form of this mana orb into this. This is exactly how mages use their basic skill and manipulate mana to a point so as to give them a form to use it into either offense, defense or support abilities." I turned to the audience and a smile appeared on the corner of my mouth, "But there's more-"

Saying so I stretched my hand backward like a catapult putting every strength I had.

But I didn't immediately release it.

"It's better if you take a few steps back, Tracker!" I said out loud.

Tracker and the rest of the candidates were also surprised and quickly got back.