The entrance to the Imperial Academy was lavishly decorated, with gates of pure mithril and walls shaped by earth mages to seem like golden wings, with feathers pointing away from the gate. Though they were partially for aesthetic purposes, the materials also had a function; gold and mithril were some of the metals most compatible with enchantments. And this property was exploited thoroughly; so many enchantments had been woven into the structure that even a non-mage could feel the magic saturating the area.

The mithril gates were far more impressive than the golden walls. Mithril was notoriously rare, though nowhere near as rare as adamantium or orichalcum, and to have such large gates made from the material was a testament to the wealth and power of the Academy. Even the forging of the gates would require at least a fifth-tier smith; working with mithril was an extremely complicated and difficult process. This was also the reason that there were no guards; enchantments would make it even more difficult for any thief to steal any gold or mithril, and they would have to be both a sixth-tier smith and a third tier enchanter.

Fenrir approached the gates while holding hands with Yerin. The girl had randomly grabbed his hand as they were walking, and ever since then he had heard her mumbling things like "I just wanted to make sure you didn't get lost..." under her breath, along with the whistling sound of a kettle slowly coming to boil, steadily increasing in volume.

And then...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"[1]

Yerin screamed and threw him right over the gate, past the line. After flying in a perfect arc, Fenrir crashed face first into the stone floor, forming a small crater upon his impact. Afterwards, he gracefully stood up and, with a flash of light, the damage to the floor was fixed.

Turning, he ignored the stunned line of examinees and cocked his head.

Is this some form of human ritual? The boy wondered.

Yerin stomped past the queue, no one standing in her way due to her status. Grabbing Fenrir’s hand again, she pulled him straight to the first test- a mana measuring stone.The stone was alchemically made from various precious metals and mana sensitive gems.There were even trace amounts of orichalcum within it. As such, it was extremely valuable, and usually, only highly ranked nobles had access to commodities of its kind. The Academy was one of the few places where a commoner would have access to a measuring stone; it was no exaggeration to say that it was the most influential places in the continent, as denoted by the mithril gates.

The examiner, upon seeing Yerin, bowed respectfully.

“What can I do for you, Heir Aelis?” he asked, his tone submissive.

“She’s taking the examination,” Yerin responded curtly, pushing Fenrir towards the examiner. Nodding formally, the examiner gestured to the stone.

Fenrir looked at the examiner for a moment longer than would normally be expected. Or more precisely, at his uniform. Hmmm, he thought, so that person really does attend here...

“Please inject as much mana as you can into the stone,” said the hooded man, moving to monitor a glass screen connected to the stone, on which several readings were displayed. The readings were categorized into the elements of magic: earth, air, fire, water, light, dark, holy, death, nature, and origin.

Fenrir took a quick glance through time to see what the other examiners had done, then mimicked their actions: he placed his hand on the stone, and inserted just the right amount of mana to grant him a passing grade, mixing in impurities so that his mana was of average quality. The stone glowed for a moment, and then light travelled through the pipes connecting it to the screen.

“Average grade, passing quantity. No attribute,” the examiner announced, glancing at Fenrir and shrugging. He disliked those who entered the academy solely through connections; normally, the woman before him would barely be accepted into the academy. However, taking into account that she was with Yerin Aelis, who was renowned for her skills with a spear, it was likely that her potential as a warrior was higher than her power as a mage.

Yerin dragged Fenrir to the warrior examination, which took place in an arena. Her face still slightly tinged red, she once more cut the queue, leading the cloaked “girl” to the examiner. The warrior examination was a duel format; a participant fought with an examiner, in this case an upperclassman named Jusen who had a somewhat strange aura; almost as if he didn’t belong in the world at all. Fenrir cocked his head, considering how much of his full strength he should use to pass the warrior test. Originally, he had intended to display spear skills on the same level as Yerin’s, but the examiner’s aura put him on his guard.

Perhaps I should display barely passable strength, so he doesn’t make note of me…

Just then, Jusen glanced at Yerin with a lustful gaze that seemed to be licking her body. Yerin tensed, and was about to strike him down, but Fenrir subtly grabbed her hand, restraining her. For some reason, she started turning red again. Perhaps she’s like the Jofkem? They change colors too… but they have a much wider range of colors… let’s see, red would be… anger? It’s true that she would be angry in this situation, but what about the other times? Fenrir though idly as he stepped into the arena. He had changed his mind; something was telling him to completely crush the examiner. [Avīci: Immortal’s Hell]

He was Fae, after all.