BXBX NOVEL Chapter 11: The Test
Even Kyle wasn\'t left out, \'After coming this far, this man comes here and tells us we might not be going to the academy. What the hell?\'
The dean allowed them to vent their frustration for some seconds before he continued,
"Silence."
His single word ceased all the murmuring around as his presence was made known again. Everyone felt like their body was not in their control, as they couldn\'t talk no matter how they tried.
"Back to what I was saying. While you were chit-chatting, I took a count of you all. In total, there are 532 awakened with me. Thankfully, there are no imposters or I would have stained the earth. So, out of 532 of you, I\'ll be taking back 400 of you!"
The crowd tried to murmur once again but was immediately warned by Michael.
"I didn\'t ask for your opinions here, guys. I\'m the one calling the shots. Yes, 300 is a large number, just happened to be the number that came first to my head. So I guess you\'re lucky because it could have been any number."
"Now back to your test, you all would be given an equal chance to qualify. I just need the most determined ones amongst you. Being a mage is a perilous journey to embark on. The best mages aren\'t the most talented whatsoever, but those willing to give their all into becoming stronger."
"Before we begin the test, you were given 5 days after your awakening before this day. Most of you used that time wisely to learn how to cultivate, why others didn\'t even bother themselves. So, with this, I\'m eliminating everyone who hasn\'t saturated their body with enough mana to complete the Awakening stage," Michael began.
Kyle heaved a sigh of relief as he had completed the stage, which meant his academy hopes were still alive.
\'I hope the others cultivated too, I wouldn\'t want them to be eliminated,\' he muttered internally.
"I like this your generation of mages. Of all of you here, just 28 awakened hasn\'t saturated themselves," Michael came again.
Gasps came from everyone around the crowd, some were confident about having themselves saturated while others didn\'t even know if they were.
"To the 28 of you. Rise!" he waved his hands as if instructing the earth to rise.
Pillars began to emerge from the ground, raising some of the kids high.
Kyle did a quick count after realizing he was not raised, and they were 28. \'These should be the ones.\' He quickly looked around to see if any of his townsmen was raised up and thankfully there wasn\'t.
"To those of you being eliminated, Vyne would continue to support you outside the academy. We will do our best to help you on your path to becoming a mage. Who knows? You could even come back to the academy. But unfortunately, at this moment, this is where your academy journey comes to an end. Adios!" Michael concluded, waving his hands at them.
The hawk came once again and took them off the pillars before flying away.
"It feels so sad to say goodbye," Michael revealed, using his hands to wipe his eyes. "Sadly, there\'ll be lots of goodbyes to say today, because there\'re still 204 of you who won\'t be following me back."
"Now we\'ve gotten rid of the unserious ones, let\'s remove some more. Being a mage requires discipline as well as determination. To test your will, you all are going to have to battle fear and stay determined. I don\'t know what your fears are, so I\'m gonna use a very common fear— The fear of heights."
Michael waved his hands once again, making cylindrical pillars made of earth begin to rise from the ground. Each pillar carried an awakened.
The pillars which had a diameter of barely 30 centimeters continued to rise, easily reaching 200 feet above the ground before it came to a stop.
The dean flew up above the ground, reaching eye level with the awakened before continuing, "First of all, if you fall from this height, you will certainly die. You can save yourself the risk of death by asking me to free you. But beware, doing that would result in you being disqualified. Good luck! Try not to look down!"
Most of the awakened were already scared shitless when the pillars brought them up, some were scared to the extent that they were already crying to be brought down. Of course, their requests were carried out without delay.
Immediately the dean had told them not to look down, some who had been putting on brave faces couldn\'t help but falter after seeing the heights.
Kyle was among those who had instinctually looked down after being told not to, he originally thought he had it in him not to be scared of heights. But what he experienced was a height he had never been even in his wildest dream.
\'There\'s no problem, soon, most will be eliminated and he\'ll have no choice but to release us. I won\'t fall, just have to keep my balance,\' Kyle continued to reassure himself, he looked to observe his peers.
Riya didn\'t seem to falter but even went to the extent of assuming a Yoga pose on the pillar!
Anne stood with her arms crossed, as indifferent as ever.
Orion closed his eyes and didn\'t look like he planned to look down. Overall, he was composed.
Zack? He was laughing at the others with his hands on his chest.
Kyle continued to endure, seconds seemed like minutes, and minutes like hours before Michael\'s voice boomed again.
"So that\'s the last one," he said while using his air magic to control the descent of another kid. Despite his warning, many had jumped out of fright. At least, he wasn\'t evil enough to let them be.
"Congratulations to the rest of you Academics!" Michael came, making the pillars slowly descend.