"Hello."
Su Cheng offered a polite greeting. "That's me."
The man tilted his head to examine her, his gaze carrying a hint of criticism.
His expression was lazy and loose, but the lines of his features were quite sharp. Three flame-shaped golden-red magic crests adorned the corner of his eye, gleaming alongside the pigeon-blood ruby on his earring.
"Have you always been Special Grade?" he asked seemingly casually, glancing at the badge on the girl's chest. "How are you only Second-Tier?"
Su Cheng: "...No."
For most people, their resonance level was fixed during their first test. Only a very few might experience a secondary change as they grew older.
This change would only increase, never decrease.
However—
Even if one tested with Special Grade talent from a young age, to become an apprentice mage at seventeen or eighteen without the guidance of a famous teacher or the use of rare resources was already quite impressive.
After all, the study and advancement of elemental magic also required high levels of comprehension and understanding.
If someone was slightly dull, even with high talent, they might not necessarily be able to learn it.
But Cross Star Academy had a large number of geniuses, so it was perfectly normal for their standards to be higher.
Su Cheng: "I used to be High Grade. Later, I felt something shift, so I went to get tested, and sure enough, it had gone up."
The red-haired man nodded. "You major in wind magic? Do you know any Third-Tier spells?"
Su Cheng: "...No."
If she did, she definitely would have ranked up first and come here wearing a Junior Mage badge.
The red-haired man glanced at her. "You didn't just get your apprentice badge either. Why not try for a Third-Tier spell?"
Su Cheng: "I've been too busy."
Starting off by killing someone, then dealing with a succubus and a dragon knight, followed by breaking off an engagement and completing a contract with a deity. What else could she do?
The red-haired man frowned, seemingly displeased with this answer, and let his gaze sweep over her once more.
"Tsk," he commented casually. "You don't look like much either."
Su Cheng also stared at him for a few seconds. "So this is how your prestigious academy's entrance exam works? Just 'looking' is enough? That's certainly very efficient."
The surroundings instantly fell dead silent.
The mages organizing scrolls at the tables all looked over. Some showed expressions of wanting to watch a good show, and the Grand Mage who had guided her in earlier even smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Hmm?"
The red-haired man crossed his arms. He didn't look angry; he merely gave a huff of laughter.
"Bring it on then. Let's see what skills you have besides that mouth of yours."
He paused. "My name is Xiao Yun. You might see my name in some textbooks. You can call me Professor or Your Excellency, whatever you please—"
Through his open collar, half of a tattoo on one side of the man's chest was faintly visible.
On his full, muscular chest, fine pitch-black lines twisted and turned, outlining the shape of a large, round lepidopteran wing. The black lines extended in a radial pattern from the base of the wing to its edges.
A butterfly wing?
Su Cheng's gaze paused, and she couldn't help but let her eyes drift further into his collar.
She mainly just wanted to see the rest of the tattoo.
Xiao Yun snapped his fingers. "Miss, eyes up here."
Su Cheng raised her head.
The red-haired man looked at her with a half-smile.
Su Cheng coughed lightly. "Right, okay, I can call you whatever you'd like—"
The mages in the lounge whispered to one another, and someone couldn't help but let out a muffled laugh.
Xiao Yun stared at her for two seconds. "So shouldn't I also be informed about how I should address you?"
Su Cheng then realized that after she used a respectful honorific, he had immediately changed his tune as well.
The mages in the distance were still whispering, and some couldn't suppress their amusement looking at the two of them, probably still thinking they were just joking around.
"His Excellency Xiao Yun is in a pretty good mood. It's rare to see him talk so much with a new student..."
"Well, a triple-element Special Grade is rare, especially since her attributes match his..."
"Then maybe she'll become his direct disciple in the future..."
"But the Deans might..."
"Although triple elements are rare, she's only Second-Tier. It shouldn't be that special..."
They conversed in low voices.
"I'm Su Cheng," the young girl smiled, curving her lips. "If you want to call me Your Excellency or My Lady, that is of course fine too—"
Someone over there laughed again.
For an apprentice mage without an aristocratic title to say such things in front of the renowned Grand Magus Professor of the Court of Mysteries seemed a bit arrogant.
But they only took it as a child's joke.
Xiao Yun looked at her thoughtfully.
"...Ha, just kidding," Su Cheng said with a beaming smile. "Just calling me by my name is fine."
Xiao Yun remained noncommittal. He turned, kicked open the door to another room, and went inside. "Keep up."
Su Cheng adjusted her mood and walked over.
Lin Yun wasn't a proper elemental mage; he relied entirely on cheating with his cheat-like old man. She couldn't be like him; she had to take this seriously.
Inside the door was an empty and spacious hall.
These were special spaces opened up by magic. They wouldn't remain in the guild permanently and would disappear after the enrollment period ended.
Even so, she was still somewhat amazed.
On all four sides were tall hexagonal stained-glass windows, interlacing emerald green and golden blue. Bright lamps hung high on the domed ceiling, and the crystal glass radiated with flowing colors in the lamplight.
Jade-white pillars were entwined with palm leaf carvings, and the obsidian floor was polished to a brilliant shine, as clear as a mirror, reflecting both of their silhouettes.
"Since you're a ranked mage and your resonance level is qualified, let's test your comprehension—"
Xiao Yun walked to the center of the hall, the ruby pendant at his ear swaying.
He swiped his hand, and dense, gold-stamped text appeared in mid-air.
"This is a wind-element spell created by our former Dean. You need to learn it on the spot. The timer starts in five seconds."
As his voice fell, rings of light waves rippled across the obsidian floor, and a massive cyan magic circle emerged.
Wind sprites came galloping over with joyous laughter, dancing and leaping around the edges of the ring-shaped magic circle, their numbers growing rapidly.
Su Cheng's expression turned serious.
With a magic circle that gathered elemental sprites, the difficulty of casting spells would be greatly reduced.
However—
This spell looked quite troublesome.
Su Cheng didn't dare waste time. She stood beneath the floating text and began to read carefully.
It not only contained the incantation for the spell but also provided an analysis of the magic, as well as tricks for channeling mana, and so on.
"Time's up."
After about ten minutes, the text in the air disappeared.
This little amount of time was only enough for her to memorize the contents; she hadn't had a chance to try it at all.
Su Cheng took a deep breath and rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Can I now—"
"No," the man beckoned her with his finger. "Next, I will attack you. You must find a way to defend yourself and simultaneously cast the spell you just learned."
Su Cheng froze.
For elemental mages, especially low-tier ones, the environment for casting spells was extremely important.
The success rate of a spell greatly increased when the body was kept still and focused entirely on the incantation.
It was an entirely different story in the middle of a battle.
However, this was an exam, and she was in no position to negotiate. She had just frowned and nodded, not even having the time to speak, when three wind blades shot straight at her face.
Su Cheng dove to the side clumsily, feeling them brush right past her arm, instantly slicing her sleeve open.
Su Cheng: "..."
She cast Wind Step and leaped three meters away.
The wind blades thrown from the opposite side became increasingly swift, with a dense barrage of air blades shooting toward her one after another.
Su Cheng tried to cast a spell while dodging.
However, this spell was not simple. The slightest distraction would cause the barely gathered elemental spirits to scatter and return to the vicinity of the magic circle on the ground.
Moreover, while Wind Step made her body lighter, it didn't mean moving required no physical stamina.
After only a few minutes of this intense exercise, Su Cheng started to pant.
She already had to split her attention to dodge the wind blades, and now, affected by fatigue, casting the new spell became even more impossible.
Even though this exam seemed to have no time limit, she was only going to get more tired. Soon, she wouldn't even be able to dodge the wind blades.
Generally speaking, if one mastered a spell proficiently, they could cast it silently without chanting aloud.
But a newly learned spell definitely required vocal chanting, and the pace couldn't be too fast.
She ran through the incantation in her mind, estimating it would take at least seven or eight seconds.
During this time, she had to focus entirely on casting the spell.
It would be even better if she didn't have to move.
What if she risked getting hit by the wind blades?
As long as she wasn't struck in a vital area, getting injured wouldn't matter. The Church's temple was nearby anyway; she could just go find a cleric to heal her.
She could afford the fee, regardless.
However—
Su Cheng couldn't shake the feeling that she had overlooked something.
As a wind mage, she was naturally more sensitive to spells of the same element cast by others. Looking at those sharp blades flashing with azure light, she gradually realized something was wrong.
Wind blades were composed of wind spirits.
In the sensory world of a resonator, the rhythm of wind spirits had a specific cadence. Different forms and distances would yield different feedback.
She could feel it even with her eyes closed.
These wind blades seemed dense and numerous, but they were actually fired in batches.
She counted silently in her head and found that the attack frequency remained constant; the intervals were identical.
Yet—
Her perception of them kept shifting, flickering in and out of existence. What did this mean?
...Some of the wind blades weren't wind blades at all!
They were either other spells disguised as wind blades, or they didn't exist at all—perhaps some kind of illusion!
Su Cheng abruptly stopped in her tracks.
"Winds of the firmament, heed my call..."
She began to chant in a low voice.
Over a dozen wind blades shot straight at her face. Su Cheng stood motionless, letting them strike her body.
Then, they shattered into a sky full of pale azure motes of light.
"Manifest at the convergence of the torrents, tear flesh and bone asunder, let the blood run dry—"
The wind spirits shrieked as they rose, as if drawn by an invisible force, surging from all directions to weave and converge into a high-speed spinning wind vortex.
The vortex, nearly ten meters in diameter, swirled in the center of the hall, devouring the surrounding air and sweeping up all the incoming wind blades.
Countless currents of wind ground and pressed against each other, emitting sharp hisses like a nest of snakes.
Su Cheng looked up in awe.
...She couldn't even believe this was a spell she was capable of casting.
The effect looked like it was at least Tier Four.
Before she could feel proud, a headache struck, and her mana output abruptly cut off.
The massive wind vortex in the air began to collapse. Frantic air currents burst outward in all directions, shattering the stained glass windows and smashing into the ceiling and pillars.
She stumbled back a few steps, feeling the world spin around her. Her strength felt completely drained. Dizzy and seeing stars, she barely managed to keep from collapsing onto the floor.
Forget it.
Su Cheng gave up trying to endure it and simply sat down, propping up her forehead and panting heavily.
A few seconds later, the wind vortex completely dissipated.
"...A bare pass."
Xiao Yun walked over at a leisurely pace, his leather boots clicking sharply against the obsidian floor tiles.
Su Cheng's vision was still a bit blurry. She only saw the hem of his gorgeous mage robes swaying, revealing long legs encased in leather.
The red-haired man approached and stood before her, his tall figure casting a shadow over her.
"Can you still move?"
Su Cheng reached out to push herself off the ground, but her head was still swimming. She swayed and slumped back down.
"No," she said, holding her forehead. "Please let me sit for a moment, I'll be fine soon."
The red-haired man offered her his hand.
Su Cheng: "Wait a minute, really, don't pull me!"
Before she could finish her sentence—
Xiao Yun grabbed her shoulder and hoisted her up.
The moment the future professor let go, Su Cheng's legs gave out, and she stumbled forward.
She instinctively raised her hands to find some balance.
However, they were too close. As her hands grasped forward, her fingertips pulled open the collar of his robes, brushed past his sharp collarbone, and landed squarely on his full pectoral muscles.
The muscle beneath her palms was firm and warm, rising and falling slightly with his breathing, and highly resilient.
Her fingers curled unconsciously, her fingertips sinking into the grooves of his muscles, feeling the steady, powerful heartbeat within his chest.
The red-haired man's body stiffened.
Immediately after, the originally smooth texture suddenly tensed up, like awakened lava solidifying into iron; the muscles abruptly became rock hard.
And that pitch-black butterfly tattoo, looking as if it were about to take flight, was completely exposed.
