1 vs 1 Battle (Part 1)

Those who passed were directed to go elsewhere. Meanwhile, those who failed were asked to leave the room immediately. The test venue quickly emptied after more than three-quarters of the participants had finished being tested by the person in charge. After waiting for some time, Elijah finally heard his name being called by the person in charge of their group.

"Elijah."

Elijah came forward and then placed his hand on the transparent glass ball quietly. Slowly but surely, Elijah felt his mana being sucked into the glass ball automatically. The transparent glass ball kept filling up until it crossed the red line and only stopped when his mana was almost depleted. The person in charge didn't change his expression as he noted something on the sheet he was carrying. "You passed," he said in a flat tone.

Elijah nodded, equally unconcerned, and then directed to go to the path taken by those who passed before him. Not to forget, he was also given a blue liquid that restored all his mana in an instant. Such MP-restoring potions were usually very expensive if sold elsewhere. But in that place, they were given for free to prove how serious the Academy of Sword and Sorcery was in handling their admission issues.

The long tunnel led him to another place. And from a distance, Elijah could already hear the bustling sounds that filled the place in front of him.

Once Elijah reached the end of the tunnel, the bright light that suddenly hit Elijah's eyes made the teenager squint his eyes to adjust his eyes to the light in that place. The sounds of the crowd that had only been faintly audible were now clear after he came out.

All the participants who passed were brought to a place like an open arena that could be watched by many people. Then, in the center of the arena, there were two large stages where a pair of mages and a pair of warriors were fighting on each stage.

Elijah already knew what the next test would be just by looking at it. After measuring the mana capacity of all participants, the final step before being officially accepted as a student of the Academy of Sword and Sorcery was a one-on-one battle with fellow participants.

In the bleachers surrounding the arena, the academy seniors had gathered to enliven the test atmosphere. The noise Elijah had heard earlier was coming from them. These people had come to cheer on their future classmates, as well as to see if there was anyone among them they should be aware of in the future.

Of course, the teachers and the Head of the Academy of Sword and Sorcery were also present to oversee the test this time. They sat in the highest seats in the audience. Their job was to judge the eligibility of someone who had passed all the tests. They would decide whether someone should be put into a special class or enter a regular class prepared by the academy.

For Elijah, who had to raise his level as quickly as possible, the only way to gain strength quickly while studying at the academy was to enter the special class that was created every year. Elijah heard that the special class students would be assigned to complete a mission every year. So for Elijah, who needed a mission to raise his level, even without the system mission, entering the special class was still his priority.

"Are you part of the group of mages?"

After Elijah stood up and stared at the crowd for a while, an organizer from the mages' group came to him in a hurry. Elijah replied to the organizer's question with a nod. Then after that, the organizer brought Elijah to sit on the bench that had been provided in the arena for the participants. That way, each participant could immediately climb the stage once the other participants' battles were over.

The entrance test to the Academy of Sword and Sorcery was worthy of being called the most prestigious test on the Rhodes Continent. Those who fought on the stage put on such a good show that some might be able to beat the battles that could be seen in ordinary arenas. Elijah must not underestimate the participants who had successfully passed the academy's first test. No matter where Elijah looked, be it the warriors or the mages, they all had a good fighting foundation before going on stage.

Not to mention, most of them were above level 15 like himself. Even though they were all new prospective students. However, it felt like the place was already like a professional battle arena because of the level of difficulty they had to pass.

Fortunately, even though they organized each participant to fight against each other, they had prepared the best healers manning the arena to make sure the injured participants could get medical treatment as soon as possible after the fight. There were no casualties in the test, even though both sides fought with all their strength. That was possible because the organizers standing guard near the stage would immediately stop the fight if they came to see that the situation had gotten out of control.

"Damian!"

Just like in the test room before, the atmosphere in the arena immediately turned boisterous when the elven prince was called by name by the organizers. Damian climbed the stage as soon as his name was called. But unlike before, the elf no longer looked confident, especially when thousands of pairs of eyes were staring at him openly this time.

"Elijah!"

Elijah was a little surprised when his name was called, but that didn't stop him from getting on stage immediately. Elijah's goal in this world was simply to complete as many missions as possible and become strong enough to kill the Demon King. Whether it was a prince or a princess, Elijah would not hesitate to defeat anyone who tried to stand in his way of completing the mission given by the system.

"I will defeat you."

"I think those are my words," Elijah replied calmly. The two faced each other on the stage quietly. They waited until the organizers gave the signal before the fight finally began.