It has been seven days since Alger's journey towards Stormhollow began. Fortunately, during that time, they did not encounter another Tempest wolf. After they crossed the forest, they encountered no dangers at all.
Mr.Orchard, the trader whom the headmaster had persuaded to help them, was very quiet at first. But after a day or two, he started to engage in their conversations. He was an old man who had traveled all over the country, his stories kept them entertained during the ride.
Alger utilized this free time to get comfortable with his new sword and conjurer powers. Now that he was a conjurer, he could do so many different things: he could run extremely fast, he could jump extremely high, he could fuse Element with his blade to release a slice of wind whenever he wanted to, and his body was now capable of housing more Elemental Energy. The difference in strength between an Awakened and a Conjuror was a lot.
The food during the ride... wasn't the best. They had to eat stale bread for lunch and dried meat jerky for dinner. But it was all going to end today... because they had finally arrived at Stormhollow, around an hour before noon.
Stormhollow was a massive city....
The outskirts of the city were comparable to the city center of Zephyr. There was a massive palace built out of white marble in the center of the city... it was the palace of the Eastern king.
Mr.Orchard was kind enough to drop them near the outer edges of the city. Mr.Orchard was travelling North, towards the Northern territory. Although it wasn't a large detour, to go through the capital of the Eastern territory would have still costed him at least a day's worth of travel time.
"Mr.Orchard, thank you very much for the ride, we are going to miss you very much!", said Ivy in a somber tone
Never once did I hear 'thank you' in that tone....
"Ah kids, don't worry too much, we'll meet again for sure! I should get going then, I still have a long journey ahead of me."
After Mr.Orchard left, they still had an hour left until noon, when the entrance exam would begin.
"Well, I'm heading to the university, getting there before time is not going to hurt....", said Dawn.
I guess I'll go with him....
The University was situated on the eastern edge of the city, close to the outer boundaries. Since they were in the southern part of Stormhollow's outskirts, it would take them around twenty minutes to walk there.
"Alger and I are going to explore the capital, you can go Dawn.", said Ivy with her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Alger slowly turned around to look at her.
"Why in my right mind would I go shopping with you—an hour before the most important day of my life?!"
Ivy held his hand,
"Wh-what? You're seriously leaving your best friend behind... when you have a choice to stay?!",
Huh?! Best friend?! In what world???
"Yes! That's exactly right. We're leaving you behind if you're not coming...."
***
The university stood on the outer edge of Zephyr, where the cobbled streets gave way to soft hills and open sky. Its Romanesque architecture made it look like it belonged to another era entirely—tall arched windows lined the stone walls, framed by thick columns that supported its grand, rounded façade. There were multiple towers around the building, not sharp like spires but wide and domed, each crowned with a bell. The university seemed to rise from the earth itself, not built... but unearthed.
The building and parts of the grassy field in front of it were surrounded by an iron fence, which opened up at a golden gate.
When Alger first laid eyes on the building, he stopped walking.
From afar, the University might have looked a little small, as it was not surrounded by any other buildings, but in reality, it was almost as big as the white marble palace that stood at the centre of the city.
"...So this is it," he whispered to himself.
And then, without realizing it, he smiled. Just a little.
They slowly walked towards the golden gates.
Alger was surprised to see no guards. But at the same time, it made sense.
Yeah.... who in their right mind would try to break into a place filled with mages.
As they walked in, they saw people.....
A sea of young teenagers filled the grassy field in front of the university, their voices blending into a low, restless murmur. Most of them looked around fifteen or sixteen.
Alger could tell just from looking at their clothes—fancy jewelry, silk clothes, expensive weapons. The people here were not from a small city like him; they were most likely the kids of nobles and merchants.
There was a stage, right in front of the building, which was plain—just a raised wooden platform. A faded banner with the word 'East' written on it, in the runic language of Mytherra, flapped above, half-caught in the breeze.
The teens stood scattered, bunching into groups or drifting alone, all facing the same direction. Some whispered to friends, others stared up at the stage, silent. There was laughter... and anxiety. Hope... and doubt. And over it all, the looming shadow of the university watched in stillness.
Most of them looked ordinary... and weak, apart from one person. A girl stood slightly apart from the crowd, a quiet presence amid the sea of restless teenagers. Her hair was black with streaks of silver running through. Her hair fell past her shoulders like strands of moonlight.
Her features were delicate: a smooth, pale face framed by gentle bangs, a small nose, and lips that rested in a calm. Her eyes were striking—as black as a starless night sky.
She was standing alone; nobody dared stand around her. She was lost in her thoughts, but at the same time, she was calm and observant.
She wore a long trench coat, light blue and slightly oversized, with sleeves that fluttered at the edges. A thin leather belt cinched it at the waist. Even though she wasn't wearing any fancy jewelry, everything about her posture spoke of her confidence.
"Alger, do you think it's love at first sight?" said Ivy, her voice laced with amusement, the corner of her mouth curled in a mischievous grin.
Alger choked on his breath. "Ye—what?! No!" he blurted, his eyes wide as if he'd just been accused of something criminal. "I'm just... I'm just keeping note of all the strong people, alright?! Just... strategy and observation!"
Ivy laughed, low and light. "Mm-hmm. Sure. Strategic note-taking... sure...."
He gritted his teeth,
Damn it... I'm being framed...
There were still 30 minutes left before the exam would start. So Alger had to prepare. The headmaster told him that the exam would be something physical, which wasn't a huge hint.... but Alger had to be prepared, for all that matters, he might have to fight other aspirants in the exam...
He still couldn't ignore the presence of the girl; her hair looked weird. Of course not as weird as Alger's, but still weird.
Up until now, Alger had never seen anyone with white or silver hair. It wasn't something he thought about often—just a quiet absence, like a color missing from the world. He wasn't sure why that was the case... no one in the orphanage, no one in the city, not even among the adventurers or merchants passing through.
But now, after sixteen whole years, that silence was broken.
He saw her.
It wasn't fully silver—just streaks that glimmered like moonlight woven through dark strands—but it was unmistakable. The first glimpse of silver in his life, standing quietly in the crowd like a misplaced thread in a tapestry. And for some reason, he couldn't look away.
Over the course of the half an hour, the number of potential mages just increased. Around 200 teenagers had gathered in front of the stage, not as many as Alger had expected, but still a lot.
He was quietly keeping track of everyone around him. Aside from the girl, there were a few other promising mages in the crowd—one of them, a young boy with short blonde hair.
At first glance, he looked completely ordinary. His posture was poor, his sword was rusted and dull, and his clothes were cheap and dirtied from travel. Just another face in the crowd—weak, forgettable.
But as Alger watched him... something shifted.
The boy looked up and met his gaze.
There was something in his eyes—something carefully hidden. A flicker too calm, too knowing. It was subtle, but Alger felt it immediately.
Something was off about him.
After waiting for a moment,
Four men walked up to the stage. They were wearing a uniform. A long, dark blue blazer with a lot of different badges on their chest.
A skinny man who looked to be in his 20s walked in front of the stage, his golden hair fluttering in the wind as he spoke....
"I am Tempest Conjuror Waye Smith. I am an instructor for Conjurors at Eastern University, and today I am going to act as the Examiner for the aspirant mages with the Tempest Element."
"I am Terra Conjuror Darian Clayborne..."
"I am Inferno Conjuror Ronan Vale...."
"I am Aqua Conjuror Silas Dorne..."
Huh? Are there 4 instructors? Why....
Waye Smith stood forward and instructed everybody to stand in files, with respect to their Element. Alger had to part ways with Ivy and Dawn.
The mysterious girl was standing in the column corresponding to the Inferno Element. And the blonde boy had vanished... nowhere to be seen.
Alger was standing near the end of the row, around 30 people were standing in front of him, and 10 were behind him.
After the crowd settled down, Waye Smith spoke....
"The Eastern University is one of the four Grand Universities of Mytherra, and as most of you already know, the Entrance exam is not going to be easy...." He paused
The crowd went completely silent.
For today, you are going to be fighting the instructor with the same Element as you...."
Before he completed his sentence, everyone went out of control
"Huh?! You must be kidding!"
"Yeah! How are we supposed to defeat a Conjuror!"
"The exams are supposed to be hard, not impossible!"
"How are Awakened supposed to defeat Conjurors?! It's Unfair!"
....and so on.
But Alger had realised.
He only told you to fight them. Of course, you can't defeat a Conjuror with years of experience.
"We are going to grade you out of 40 on your performance... of course, if you are able to defeat us, you get a perfect score, but I doubt that will happen. As to how we will grade you, it depends upon various things, your skill with the weapon of your choice, your proficiency in Element, your basics of combat, and how well you can implement Element in your combat style."
The crowd slowly calmed down after hearing that.
"Let's begin, shall we?"
Terra Conjuror Darian Clayborne stood forward and Conjured 4 rings made of brown bricks on the grassy field. Each ring was around 15 meters across.
The rings served no purpose other than being a visual indicator of where the fight is going to be held. And to warn people not to step anywhere close to the ring.
Waye Smith teleported down to the centre of the ring—at least that's what it seemed like, in reality, he just used his Conjuror abilities to jump forward towards the ring.
The first fight was about to begin...