> Nine four o'clock, preparation room

The simple, modern room was filled with test subjects. Some were dressed in typical magician's clothing, which consisted of rather light clothes and the often worn magician's hat. Others had more military-style clothing, which was more practical. Some cyborgs also mingled with the group, their modifications limited to limbs such as legs or an arm. More advanced augmentations were strictly regulated by the government and were therefore less common.

On the walls were screens showing the interior of the underground arena and the filled stands. In the center of the room was a holographic projection of an A.I. and around it floated a holographic information board on which some of the test subjects already seemed to be receiving information.

Zane had arrived a little late and the other candidates were already chatting about the upcoming exam. He had taken a little longer in the changing room because he had doublechecked everything, probably due to his nervousness. The only difference was the pads on his knees and the empty gun belt strapped around his right leg. Everything else was hidden under his clothes, including shin guards under his trousers. He also wore a thin bulletproof shirt under his main shirt. The ammunition during the test was only practice, but it was still quite painful to hit. Zane looked around the room as another candidate approached. "Are you ready for the third part of the test, Zane?"

"Sure, I worked hard for today! And you Nathan?" He greeted Nathan with a handshake.

Nathan was on the same level as Zane and Zero. "Of course!" He replied, his light cyan hair hanging low over his face. "You're on time for once," he laughed.

"Surprised?" Zane laughed too.

Like Zane, most of those who attended the Academy were magical. The purely military training, such as basic soldier training or controlling an ATBS, could be done at almost any Alliance military base. But magic was different. Since the military only had a few training centers for magicians, the academies usually took over the training in the more remote areas. Students came from all the surrounding areas to be taught the various subjects. These included basic magical knowledge and adventure training such as survival in the wilderness. However, the academy also often took on regular school training, which meant that the proportion of magicians at the academy was relatively small.

While Zane was an allrounder, taking both magic and combat classes, Nathan was a pure mage and only took the relevant subjects at the Academy. Zero, on the other hand, only attended the regular classes with Asagi and Carol and took only one or two extra subjects, including his paramedic training.

"Barely," Nathan smiled as the door to the arena opened and a man dressed in military green entered: the insignia on the chest of his jacket indicated his officer rank within the Alliance's armed forces. Although the Academy stayed out of political affairs and did not ally with any faction, it was not uncommon for local forces to teach and assist in training, as the Academy's work also contributed to the security of the region. With a rifle on his leg and a cap on his head, he shouted: "OK, look out people!"

"Today's combat test marks the end of your military and magical training at the Academy," he demanded the attention of the examinees, his left hand on his hip and a tablet in his right.

"Today's third part is a hand-to-hand combat designed to simulate real combat. So you will be fighting real opponents. Even if it's only practice ammunition today, don't be reckless. Understand?"

"" Yes, Sir! "The crowd replied unanimously.

"Glad to hear it. As you know, the exam will be broadcast live today and your performance will have a direct impact on the Academy and its teachers, so don't mess up my reputation and do your best! "

"Yes, sir!"

"OK then! You will receive your grade within the next few days. Any questions? No? I thought so," he didn't waste any time and continued. "Then we can start! The first is..."

⬢

"Ladies and gentlemen, the next fight is almost upon us!" The voice of the commentator, who was in the lounge area with the referees and medics, echoed through the stands and across the arena.

The arena was divided into three ovals. The spectator stands were above the fighting area, in the outermost oval. The second oval formed an empty space between the arena itself in the third innermost oval and the auditorium. This second central area served as a buffer to the spectator stands and as a lounge area for the referees during fights. In addition to the buffer, the grandstand was separated from the arena by a shield to prevent damage from possible ricochets.

"And here is our first competitor, Kouji Leander," the commentator's voice echoed as the first shadow emerged from the tunnel that connected the arena to the preparation room.

Ok, it's about time, Zane thought, still standing in the tunnel. He shivered and slapped his hands on his cheeks to calm his nerves.

"And his opponent is Zane Seranis. Say hello to them both and we wish them good luck!"

Hearing his name, Zane stepped out of the shadow of the tunnel and into the arena. The crowd of students and adults clapped and cheered. He ran nervously up the stairs to the fighting area, ignoring the crowd. He was already nervous and the crowd didn't help. When he reached the stands, he looked nervously around, hoping to see a familiar face.

"Nervous?" Kouji laughed at Zane when his eyes fell on him. Kouji stood in front of him, his piercing, ochre-colored eyes fixed on Zane. Unlike Zane, he enjoyed the attention.

"Don't worry, I'll get you on the boards right away, then your nervousness will be gone," he laughed.

"We'll see!" Zane growled at Kouji, forgetting his nervousness for a moment.

"Ready?" The referee signaled for both of them to assume fighting positions. The two went to the positions marked by a line on the floor.

"The contestants are taking their places, what can we expect from this fight?" The commentator was warming up the crowd for the fight, while Zane's nervousness was rising again.

"Zane is nervous," Asagi commented, who was sitting with Zero in the stands.

"Yes, you can see it on his face, hopefully it won't affect the fight," Zero worried.

The fight would be broadcast on the city's big screens as well as the Academy's Galaxynet channels.

Carol, waiting in the hospital's waiting room, was also glued to her PDA, watching the live stream. When a voice drew her attention from the PDA: "Carol? It's your turn," one of the nurses said to her.

"Ah yes! Here I come," she replied frantically. "Good luck, Zane," she whispered to herself as she switched off the PDA and put it in her bag.

Oh, why now! It should have been Zane's turn now, Carol thought, reluctantly following the nurse.

At the same time, in the ATBS hangar of the military base, a mechanic called across the courtyard: "Hey Tyler, I fixed it."

Tyler was sitting outside the hangar on one of the huge crates of ammunition for the ATBS rifles, his PDA in his hands. He had also opened the Academy livestream. "Ah, thanks man, I owe you one," he said as he stood up and walked towards the hangar when his PDA vibrated and he looked at it.

"Good luck, Zane," Nathan said to himself as he watched the exam with the others in the preparation room.

The referee lowered his arm. "Begin!"

"And the fight begins!" It rang through the crowd and the cheering intensified again.

Kouji stretched out his arm, magical rings with runes, called compasses, immediately forming around his arm. A compass formed in front of his outstretched hand, but in the form of a round disc. The disc was surrounded by a ring of simple runes when Kouji shouted: "Diruptio!"

As if evoked by his words, a complex shape formed in the center of the circle, a rune.

"Duplicare!" Another circle appeared in front of the first and another rune formed on it.

"Area!" And another circle appeared in front of the other two.

Zane was so nervous that he didn't notice the referee's signal and stared in Kouji's direction.

Huh? A triple match? Is it starting already? Zane thought while Kouji activated his spells in a fraction of a second.

The confirmation came directly from the voice of the commentator, which echoed through the audience: "And Kouji starts strong with a triple spell!"

In the next instant, circles of the Diruptio Rune formed around Zane.

"Shit!" They surrounded me, I was too slow! Damn it! Zane looked around, the runes all pointing at him. And I haven't even got my shield up yet!

"I'll end this with one blow!" Kouji taunted him.

"What will Zane do now? Is this the end already?" The commentator asked.

"He was too slow..."

"Do you think he'll make it to zero?"

"Kouji doesn't hold back. Zane's been training hard, but he'll have to come up with something, otherwise it'll be over in a moment," Zero lowered his arms, which he had just crossed behind his head.

The glow of the circles around Zane grew stronger, a sign that they were about to activate and unleash their destructive spells. Forming three spells at the same time was a testament to the talent of the user, but it also depended on the complexity of each spell.

Diruptio was an arcane explosive spell that could cause massive explosions, depending on the amount of energy applied. Area, on the other hand, was an arcane spell that allowed the mage to move his spells around in space, but it only had a short range. The problem was the spell Duplicare. It duplicated the previously cast spell, but it also duplicated its magic consumption. Therefore, either the magic consumption was increased or the activation time was delayed, just like Kouji had done, so that the magic energy could be absorbed from the environment.

Kouji had taken advantage of Zane's confusion and combined the spells to surround Zane with the Diruptio spells. The spells would increase each other's explosive power and cause an explosion that would defeat Zane with one blow. It was a risky spell because if Zane managed to break free, the spell would fail and Kouji would have wasted the energy. But he had insurance in case Zane tried to escape, because he could cast the spells one after the other, which Zane also knew.

"Don't you want to give up? Don't complain if you end up missing an arm or a leg," he laughed.

The glow of the compasses became even brighter. Now or never... Zane thought to himself as he began to gather magic, cursing himself for his carelessness.

A huge bang rang out across the arena and a 20 meter fireball took Zane's place as the Diruptio spells activated.

The blast and heat of the explosion ripped through the arena. Kouji's blue hair waved in the wind from the explosion as his grin turned to a look of disbelief. Zane shot out of the fireball. A pillar of ice beneath his feet catapulted him out of the blast and into the air. As soon as he was out of the blast area, Zane pushed away from the pillar of ice, which had already disintegrated from the blast and the heat.

The explosion revealed a transparent sphere around Zane's body, a magical shield. The shield protected the wizard from both magical and physical attacks, such as bullets or swords. This universal utility ensured that it became a standard part of a wizard's repertoire.

A small amount of magic was needed to maintain the shield once it was created, but more magic was needed when it was depleted.

Zane had formed the shield in the short time before the explosion, while also forming the elemental magic for the ice pillar. However, he had concentrated on the shield because, according to the rules, if the shield failed, the battle would be lost. The result was the fragile ice pillar that had thrown him out of harm's way.

"There's Zane! He escaped the explosion! What a move!" The commentator was astonished, and there was a murmur from the audience as well.

"Yay, Zane made it!" Asagi said happily and clapped his hands.

"Not bad. He used his spell to catapult himself out of the blast area. His shield must have been damaged," Zero analyzed.

"I guess your one punch didn't work, huh Kouji?" Zane laughed as he flew several meters above the arena floor. "Now it's my turn!" While still in the air, Zane extended his left arm towards Kouji and a bluish-white circle formed in front of his hand. The next moment, small ice spears shot out of the circle and flew towards Kouji.

"Zane is going to counterattack!"

"Damn it!" Kouji cursed as he dodged the stakes with a roll and sprinted to avoid the next one. The ice stakes were about 50 centimeters long and shaped like knitting needles. They could do a lot of damage, but they were not strong enough to pierce armor or the like, and they shattered when they hit harder materials like the arena floor.

Damn, the ice spells use too much power! Zane thought as he lost the pillar's acceleration and began to fall. The heat from the explosions made it difficult for Zane to form ice because of the temperature difference.

"Diruptio!" From the floor of the arena, Kouji had stopped his sprint after Zane's attack and was now standing to his right, both hands in the air. A glowing Diruptio spell had appeared in the air to Zane's right. It was three times the size of the previous ones and already glowing brightly.

Zane's eyes fell on the circle as the glow intensified and the spell activated. "Shit!" Zane crossed his arms and managed to create a thin layer of ice in front of him at the last moment. The ice was immediately shattered by the explosion, sending Zane flying uncontrollably at high speed towards the occupied area.