Supreme Magus novel Chapter 75

Not even an hour had passed from the start of the mock exam, and Lith was already tired and vexed enough to seriously consider the idea of throwing in the towel and return to the White Griffon.

His teammates were so embarrassed, that despite each of them opened their mouth more than once, not a single word came out. No matter what apology came to their mind, they all sounded too little and too late, even to them.

First, they had ostracized him, then they had ignored all of his warnings until it was too late. He was the only reason why they hadn’t get instantly wiped out, despite all their undeserved confidence and embarrassing performances.

The two that had previously lost control of their bladder, had a particularly hard time watching the others in the eyes, and could only thank the academy’s Forgemasters for the self-cleaning uniform.

"I’m Visen De Brae." The first one to muster the courage to speak was the boy, once again holding out his hand. This time Lith shook it, but barely, his anger still smoldering.

"I’m supposed to be... I mean I’m a Warden." He corrected himself, laughing nervously. Visen was a fifteen-year-old, 1.63 meters (5’4") high with brown hair and chestnut eyes. He had a regular build and a small mole right under his left eye.

"As such, my specialty is a sturdy defence. Wardens can conjure several kinds of arrays with any element, we can even alter the landscape if needed.

In time of war a Warden can easily build makeshift bridges and siege towers, we are the only defence an army has against War Mages. In times of peace, instead, our role is to build dams, castles, roads, whatever the Kingdom needs. Let me show you."

Visen casted an unknown spell, and placed his hands against a wall. Then he casted another, moving around the stone pillars and strengthening the whole structure.

"See? First, I checked the stability of the ground, then I fixed things so that the cave now is safe like a natural one." He kept smiling, hoping to have proven his worth.

Usually Lith would be impressed, even taking a mental note to check out Warden’s spells.

- "A Warden that cannot even stop a Cingy despite seeing it coming from a mile away. What the f*ck has to smile for?"

Right now, it took all of his willpower to not strangle him on the spot, so he just nodded in response.

Then, the second one of the p*ssing duo stepped forward.

"My name is Milna Kratic, I’m a War Mage." She was fifteen too, 1.60 meters (5’3") high with shoulder length black hair. She had a fully developed slender body, but her round face had too many childish features to call her beautiful. She was pretty at best.

"I know what a War Mage is. My mentor is one too." Lith cut her short.

She became red from rage, but managed to hold it in.

"I can shoot down a magical beast with a single spell." She continued with a stone-cold voice.

- "You wish." - He sneered inwardly

"My name is Phloria Ernas, I am Mage Knight." She was the tallest of the group, 1.76 meters (5’9") high, with chin length black hair and the build of a professional swimmer.

"My specialty is defence too, but unlike a Warden, my skills are better oriented at covering a smaller are or a target. Mage Knights are also trained in the use of weapons." She said opening her robe, and revealing an estoc hanging by her side.

"Hi there, and thanks. I’m Belia Ulphar. As a Battle Mage, I’m a jack of all trades, or at least I am supposed to. According to my Professor, I should be able to hold my ground alone in every situation, or to support any team member needing help.

But considering my performance so far, either he is bad at teaching, or I’m a slow learner." She was 1.7 meters (5’7") high, with long blonde hair with shades of black held up in a pony tail.

Her honesty was refreshing for Lith, all the others were still kind of stuck up, flaunting their skill like it was actually worth something.

For a moment, he thought about lashing at them, reminding how useless they had been in an actual fight. But then he decided against it.

- "Calm down, old man. Rage will not get us anywhere. Besides, it’s likely we are still being watched. They can lose as many points they like with their foolishness, but there is no reason for stooping down at their level." He said to himself.

"Yeah, remember what Shakespeare said: ’All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’." Solus chimed in. "Oh, another thing, this is what I think about the test...." -

While listening to Solus, Lith took a few deep breaths to regain his composure. He extended his hand to every member of the group. They shook it immediately.

"Okay, let’s forget what happened before. Let me share with you what I think of the current situation." At those words, the other four stiffened up their expression, expecting a scolding or for Lith to brag about himself.

"First of all, never underestimate a magical beast. Their intelligence is almost at human level, if you treat them as dumb beasts, you’ll fail fast."

From the faces of his teammates, he could see that they were doubting his words, but had not the courage to say it openly.