After hearing his words, June slowly turned his head to Lawrend and smiled awkwardly.
"Lawrend, can you help me out?" June asked with an embarrassed look on his face.
"..."
Lawrend was speechless. He didn't expect June to bet on him like that. His lofty image of him inside his mind slowly crumbled into pieces.
"*Cough* If you want, we can share," June said after seeing his silence.
"I wanted to ask, what's the use of a Mana Stone?" Lawrend asked.
He caught a glimpse of one before, but he couldn't remember the exact use of it. He only remembered that it was a solid form of mana.
"He doesn't even know what a Mana Stone is. What a joke, June," an instructor said in a sneer.
"Knowing what a Mana Stone is, is not a requirement to be good at magic," June replied coldly.
"Alright. I agree with your bet. This little kid must've tricked you," the instructor with a leaf on his back said.
"Me too. Let's all bet and make June broke," an instructor chipped in.
Soon, all of the instructors in the room made a bet with June. Seeing the huge amount of fortune on the line, he felt dizzy.
"L-Lawrend, a Mid-Grade Mana Stone is commonly used as a form of currency between mages. It can be used to build magic circles and craft magic artifacts," June explained to him in a stutter.
"I see. So in total, you bet 2,300 Mid-Grade Mana Stones from the 46 instructors in this room. I want 80% of the winnings," Lawrend replied.
"8-80%!? What if I somehow lost by some unfortunate luck? Are you gonna contribute anything?" June asked him with wide eyes.
"That's not gonna happen," Lawrend replied calmly.
"You…" June stared at Lawrend's eyes solemnly.
His entire fortune was on the line. He couldn't mess up to only get 20% of it if he won and lose all of it if he lost.
"Fine. 50%," Lawrend said after seeing the uncertainty in June's eyes.
"Phew… That's better," June replied in relief.
What Lawrend just did was a simple trick. He blatantly took a high share and made him think that it was worth it since he had the confidence to win. Then, when June was weighing the odds in his mind, he lowered it drastically to make it fair in June's eyes.
Even though Lawrend would not be providing any Mana Stone if June lost, he still got half of it. If that wasn't amazing, what is? He was basically getting free money without any risks.
"*Cough* The two of you are shameless enough to discuss your shares as if the two of you already won," the instructor with the golden leaf embroidery said.
"Hahahaha! This is our confidence, Galak," June replied with a boisterous laugh.
"Hmph. Let's see," Galak snorted as he stared down at June while he rubbed his white beard slowly.
"How do I do the test?" Lawrend asked June.
"Alright. Test Master, let's start," June said.
Galak, who had been in the crowd of instructors walked out and smiled at Lawrend.
"He's the one testing me??" Lawrend asked in confusion.
"You do not have to worry. Everyone here can bear witness to what I'd do. If there's any problems, you or anyone in this room can complain to the Purple Thunder Grand Mage," Galak answered calmly.
"Relax, Lawrend. I know him very well. He won't trample on his own dignity for 50 Mid-grade Mana Stones," June replied.
"I see." Lawrend nodded his head in understanding.
He wasn't expecting the one to test him to bet against him. He must be pretty confident in the difficulty of the test.
"We already heard and saw your theoretical capabilities. Even the Purple Thunder Grand Mage acknowledged it. That's why you have already passed the test to become a Second-Year," Galak proclaimed.
The instructors in the room weren't shocked. They calmly watched the proceedings as they already knew about that.
'Hm?'
Lawrend raised an eyebrow in surprise. If that was the case, how were they still so confident in betting against him? He simply showed that he doesn't know what a Mana Stone was.
"For your test to become a Third-Year, you have to show us your strongest Beginner Mage spell," Galak said.
Lawrend walked towards the center of the room and the instructors parted ways. They all walked back and gave him a wide space in the center.
Aezel, Aleshia, and Elena were watching from the side with bated breaths. As for Ramiela, she was calmly watching as if she didn't care about any of this.
"Where do I aim it at?" Lawrend asked.
"Aim it at the copper spike above you. It will light up a magic circle and if you're able to light it up halfway, then you pass," Galak replied.
Lawrend raised his head and looked above him. There was a rounded copper spike and faint magic circle markings all over the ceiling.
Lawrend lifted his hand and pointed his palm towards it before closing his eyes to concentrate. He sensed all of the golden lightning mana inside his body.
"+Shock… ARC+!"
*BOOM*!
A powerful shockwave exploded outwards from Lawrend's outstretched hand as a thick beam of divine lightning shot out.
The instructors in the room raised their hands and released a short burst of purple lightning that counteracted the shockwave.
Meanwhile, the magic circle on the ceiling started glowing as mana traveled along its circuits and slowly made it full.
*Crackle crackle*
The magic circle that wasn't supposed to be fully activated, started to activate. A powerful pressure exuded from it as it started sucking in the lightning mana from the surroundings.
"Holy sh*t! The magic circle actually started!?" Galak cursed in disbelief.
"More importantly, that was Klustervius' magic spell, wasn't it?? How did that kid get it!?" an instructor shouted beside Galak.
*Boom*!
A soft purple shockwave exploded from the center of the magic circle.. It covered everyone and extended outwards.