"The first is Maria Helmsworth. Step out, please." Legris Damien stated.
I could see the eyes of everyone bulge in shock. Their faces moved in strange ways, making me wonder if everyone knew the person Legris was referring to.
Their widened eyes were all focused on a girl who stood among the countless others seated. Not only were their eyes on her, watching every move she made, but the lips of people also began moving and I could hear those close to me make hushed statements.
"Hey, that's her, isn't it? She's... the real deal..."
"To think they would call someone like her first."
"Shit. If she goes first...no matter what I do, it'll be seen as trash!"
'Hmmn... sounds like we have us a genius here.' I reasoned, deducing that much from all I heard.
My eyes narrowed as I focused on the young girl who was already moving close to our examiner. Since she backed me, all I could see was her long flowing silver hair. Her frame was slender and tall.
Her outfit was one befitting of the child of high nobility and I could sense an air of elegance from every step she took.
She had to be from a Duke's family at the very least.
With the way everyone talked about her, and the confident stride she possessed, this Maria Helmsworth girl had already entrapped my interest. I was curious about what she had.
"Now then, as already stated in the instructions, show me your most impressive feat." Legris Damien said.
His voice wasn't loud since he was only addressing the young lady, but through the use of enhancement magic, I was able to improve my hearing and sight to a considerable degree.
'I can read their lips and listen in to their conversation.'
Now turning sideways, a distance from Legris, I caught a glimpse of her face. It was extremely beautiful. No, if there was a word that transcended that, then it would better fit the woman I laid eyes on.
Her gleaming blue eyes accentuated the clear hair she possessed. She had a place complexion with very smooth skin, nearly like a frozen sculpture of beauty.
I quickly shook my head, bringing myself out of the trance that I appeared to be stuck in. While she was a beauty and a rumored genius, in the end, it mattered not to me. What was more of a concern would be the magic she could display.
"Since the time is short, I won't be able to show you my best spell. I'll compensate with one that can fit into the limit set. Is that fine?" She asked, her voice silky smooth, yet having a serious tone of purpose.
"Of course! Your time starts now." Legris Damien remarked.
The moment he said this, the girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her lips began moving rapidly, indicating she had commenced casting the spell. Judging by the speed of her lips, they weren't normal. She was too fast.
'She's using enhancement magic to quicken the speed of her chanting. That's impressive.' I smiled.
Mana began surging from within Maria, and wind began swirling around the area where she stood. White light enveloped her and the winds became even fiercer, twisting and turning.
The crowd could feel the pressure from where they sat, watching the magnificence of her spell. Before long, the wind had already become a whirlwind of considerable mass. It was nearly ten-foot, with a huge mass that encircled Maria entirely.
"[Sylph's Whisper]!" She declared.
The whirlwind increased in tempo and twisted faster. Suddenly, she pushed her hands forward, sending the twister to Legris' location. The wind instantly moved from her surroundings and lunged at our examiner.
>FWOOOOOSHHHH!!!<
The powerful tornado neared Legris at a frightening pace, but he maintained his ground, not flinching for a second.
As soon as it got into close proximity to him, the vast cluster of twisting wind instantly scattered, nullified within a moment.
The scattered wind rushed at everyone in the audience, causing us to slightly shiver due to the chilly wind.
Maria Helmsworth looked surprised by the ease with which Legris dispelled her spell, but quickly got over it. Of course, I was smiling the whole time. It was a foregone conclusion that none of us present could create any spell to actually harm our examiner.
"Maria Helmsworth. The second phase of your exam has been concluded. You may leave this hall and head to the door straight to your right. You will undergo the third part of your exam there." Legris said, pointing to a hallway far to his left and her right.
Sure enough, such a hallway didn't exist before. However, within an arena with a time-slowing effect, a hidden passage appearing suddenly was no surprise.
Maria nodded slightly, not speaking another word as she departed to the hallway. While many may not have noticed, I saw her fists clenched tightly, most likely due to dissatisfaction on her part.
'Did she expect her power to have a better effect on Legris? How childish...' I smiled, watching her disappear into the hallway.
Her spell, [Sylph's Whisper], was a Basic one. Of course, it belonged to the highest class of Basic spells, and judging by her use of it, she had reached the point of near mastery over it. However, compared to that, her adversary was a senior lecturer. Judging from the impression I had of him, it was certain that the man could use Advance Magic as well
She stood no chance, to begin with.
"Next up, we have Mattias Desmire." Legris Damien declared, reading from the long scroll he had in his hands.
And so, another candidate appeared. His appearance wasn't too shabby, and no real attention was placed on him. This meant his skills were either mediocre or underrated.
Apparently, it was the former. Perhaps it was due to the performance given by Maria Helmsworth, but I found his spell too lacking.
Still, to my surprise, Legris didn't make any expression of disappointment. He maintained his poker face and repeated what he told Maria.
"Mattias Desmire. The second phase of your exam has been concluded. You may leave this hall and head to the door straight to your right. You will undergo the third part of your exam there."
Since the audience didn't look disappointed as well, I chalked it up to my high standards and reasoned that the boy probably also passed.
Returning to the list he had, Legris began calling names again.
"Next, we have..."
