Chapter 94: The Miraculous Speed of Meditation

On the second day, within the trial grounds of the Dark Arts division.

The Dark Arts division was one of the major branches of the Magic Academy, and its trial grounds were even more advanced and spacious than those of the Necromancy division. When Brian arrived at the Dark Arts trial grounds, he found that a crowd had already gathered inside—some were students preparing to undergo the tests, while others had simply come to watch the excitement. The place was noisy and bustling.

Vannie, a teacher from the Necromancy division, sat with several instructors from the Dark Arts, busy registering the details of students who would be tested. The old witch Camilla from the Dark Arts, still under the watchful eye of Brian’s Primordial Demon, was teaching in her classroom and had not appeared here.

Brian looked around and saw only two familiar faces from the Necromancy division: Amy and Athena. He walked over to the two girls.

“Hey, you’re here for the test too?” Amy called out to Brian, waving.

Brian nodded. “Yes, I’ve never gone through one of these tests before. Is there anything I should pay special attention to?”

“There’s nothing much to worry about,” Athena explained, glancing at Brian. “They’ll test your mental strength, then you demonstrate a few spells for them. Oh, and as Necromancers, we also have to show our ability to control summoned creatures—it’s not complicated. Only the progression to advanced mage is more complex. Besides these basic tests, you need to master various skills and understand magical theory, and finally complete a practical assignment. Only after passing everything do you officially graduate.”

Standing at the edge with the two girls, Brian observed the proceedings. He noticed that the Dark Arts students were each demonstrating their spells according to the rules, after which several teachers would ask questions about their understanding of their current magical abilities. The teachers would then evaluate their performance.

“Brian, are you here to be certified as a magic apprentice?” Athena asked, seeing Brian silently watching the students in the trial grounds.

“No, I’m here to see if I can advance to junior mage,” Brian replied, glancing at Vannie seated upright above.

“What? You must be joking! If I remember correctly, just a few months ago you were a menial in the Necromancy division. How could you be advancing to junior mage so quickly? That’s impossible,” Athena exclaimed, staring at Brian in astonishment.

“No way!” Amy also cried out softly in surprise.

Brian smiled and nodded affirmatively. “I’m just giving it a try. There’s no guarantee I’ll pass.”

Even with Brian’s explanation, Amy and Athena could hardly believe he was here to advance to junior mage. The two girls bombarded him with questions until it was Amy’s turn to be called.

“Good luck, Amy. I’m sure you’ll succeed this time and become a junior mage,” Athena encouraged her, and Brian also offered his best wishes.

Amy stepped forward and first tested her mental strength. Then she cast three spells every junior Necromancer should master: Soul Pain, Bone Spear, and Zombie Summoning. She controlled the zombie to attack targets in the trial grounds, and finally answered several questions about her magical insights from Vannie and the Dark Arts instructors.

After a brief wait, Vannie announced, “Congratulations, Amy. From today, you are a junior mage. Your records at the Magic Guild will be updated today.”

While Amy celebrated, Athena stepped forward for her own test. She followed the same procedures, but perhaps due to nerves, her Bone Spear spell shattered midway, and she stumbled over some of the magical questions.

As expected, Athena was told she hadn’t passed the test and returned to Amy’s side, dejected. Before Brian could comfort her, Vannie had already called his name from above.

Brian walked into the trial grounds with composure, causing a stir. The Dark Arts students nearby, seeing Brian—previously a menial—appear in the hall, were astonished and whispered among themselves, most of them watching with mocking curiosity.

“Don’t be nervous,” Vannie called encouragingly from above. “Just follow the steps as before. I believe your abilities are enough for you to advance to junior mage.”

The first step was a test of mental strength. Brian focused his mind and faced the Mindstone, made from special magical materials, as a Dark Arts instructor held it to measure his mental power.

As soon as Brian concentrated, thanks to his brain’s untapped potential, the process was remarkably swift. Other students had seen the Mindstone gradually brighten, bit by bit, until reaching a certain brightness and stopping. But Brian’s situation was different. Within two breaths, as he gathered his mental strength, the dim Mindstone lit up instantly, skipping the gradual process, and stopped at a steady brightness.

“What’s going on?” Several Dark Arts teachers in the stands were visibly astonished, as if they hadn’t expected such a strange reaction from the Mindstone.

“His mental strength is at the level of a mid-tier mage. Incredible!” The teacher holding the Mindstone was even more stunned as he read the numbers displayed, suddenly crying out.

Brian withdrew his mental strength. Seeing the surprise on everyone’s faces, he tensed inwardly. He had worried that his mental strength wouldn’t be enough and so had exerted himself fully. He hadn’t realized his concentration would be so quick. Remembering Vannie’s advice yesterday to keep a low profile, Brian could only smile wryly and suggest, “Perhaps there’s a problem with the Mindstone? Would you like to try another?”

“Nonsense,” the Dark Arts teacher snapped, glaring at Brian. “The Mindstone couldn’t possibly be faulty.”

“He suffered Soul Pain from our Necromancy division before, and was mentally unclear for a while. That may have made his mind a bit unusual. I don’t think everyone needs to make such a fuss,” Vannie said from the stands, casting Brian a stern look as if reproaching his showiness, then smiling as she explained to the crowd.

“I see. I think I heard about that before. I never imagined the Soul Pain spell from your Necromancy division could have such effects. Fascinating,” the teacher holding the Mindstone remarked with a strange expression.

“If you’re interested, Professor Alex, I can cast it on you as well. But I can’t guarantee you won’t end up insane!” Vannie teased with a laugh.

“No, no, I don’t have the nerve. All right, this test is concluded; you may proceed to the next step,” Alex, the Dark Arts instructor, nodded to Brian without further comment.

Athena’s nerves had caused her errors, but Brian, having weathered many storms, possessed remarkable composure and showed no sign of stage fright.

He executed the three spells a junior mage should master with exceptional skill, without the slightest hesitation. When the zombie appeared, Brian’s control was clearly superior to Amy’s—the zombie’s movements seemed almost agile rather than clumsy, surprising everyone.

As for the magical theory questions, Brian handled them with ease. Most of the questions came from Vannie, who knew Brian’s level of mastery and asked only a few of the questions he had posed to her days earlier, allowing him to pass without trouble.

As expected, Brian easily qualified as a junior mage. Vannie smiled and announced, “Congratulations, Brian. From today your records will be entered at the Magic Guild. You are now a true junior mage. There may be many junior mages, but it’s a promising path for the future. With your talent, I’m sure you’ll achieve much more!”

With Vannie’s blessing, Brian left the trial grounds in high spirits and headed straight for the Knight Academy, intending to trade his black iron ore to Lawrence for gold coins.

The method Chu Canglan had provided for awakening the Five Element Zombies required some special materials, some of which Brian had heard of and knew were expensive even in this world. He realized that to forge an Earth-armored Zombie would demand a large investment of gold, making coins a pressing concern.

But halfway to his destination, Brian’s Primordial Demon noticed that Duke, who had lingered in the Wind division, suddenly left alone at midday, heading toward the Knight Academy as well. Brian, who had planned to seek Lawrence immediately, decided to pause and observe Duke’s movements through his Primordial Demon.

After Duke arrived alone, he met with Eric, who had been missing for several days. Besides Duke and Eric, there was another man with them: Clark, the Earth Knight whom Brian had met in the Shadow Forest. This surprised Brian greatly.