The four familiar magus and the newly-acquainted Grand Magus Silas would be the mentors of elite class 7 for the next year. In the midst of the group of acolytes, Emery wore a pondering expression, wondering whether the character of Grand Magus Silas was the same as Grand Magus Aimon or not.
In the meantime, Magus Minerva gave Grand Magus Silas the chromatic cube the Magus Academy used. As soon as the man touched it, a panel of information appeared for him to read.
The moment his eyes swept through the contents, Emery and the others could clearly see the progression of Grand Magus Silas' facial expressions.
"42 acolytes!" said Grand Magus Silas loudly, almost to the point of roaring.
The sourest expression Emery could ever imagine appeared on the grand magus' face, as the latter continued to read.
"What's with this class?!!" roared Grand Magus Silas. "This is the worst elite class I've ever seen!"
The loud noise instantly caused the entire class to pay their full attention to the fuming grand magus.
Grand Magus Silas tore his eyes away from the information he was reading and stared at the acolytes below with a sharp gaze that made all of them nervous.
"43 acolytes! Thirty three rank 9, nine rank 8, and… one rank 7!!!"
"..."
"WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!!"
A loud roar that seemed comparable to nature's wrath itself reverberated throughout the hall, jolting everyone on the scene. Some of the acolytes even felt as if their eardrums had burst from it.
On the other hand, a person seemed to be trembling after the grand magus shouted.
Emery looked over and saw that the person was one of the Kaleos acolytes who always stood next to Anas.
Grand Magus Silas glared at the man and said sharply. "Get the hell out of my class!"
The momentum of those words had made the already shaking man turn completely white. He was then seen scampering out of the hall.
Meanwhile, Emery could see Anas seemed to be getting emotional by this unexpected development. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do except watch as one of his men got kicked out of the class.
The grand magus seemed to notice what the acolytes were thinking as he said, "I don't care what you did last year, what you won last year: mere rank 7 for someone in the third-year elite class is a disgrace! This also included the nine people who only reached rank 8! In my eyes, you guys don't deserve to be here!"
The situation in the hall suddenly became tense, because of the grand magus' words.
Come to think about it, class 7 was definitely different from the other elite class as last year group 7 had managed to win the second Magus Game against the elites. Hence, there were previously 15 regular class acolytes, whose ability could only be considered subpar, but managed to make it into the elite class.
Grand Magus Silas then calmed his raging emotions for a bit. He then spoke again, "Do all of you not know we humans are at war?!! Do you know what happened to Grand Magus Aimon?!"
The grand magus' question immediately caught the attention of everyone. It was true they all wondered why the previous Grand Magus would no longer teach them.
Grand Magus Silas stopped his words for a second, his gaze turned sorrowful, while his tone became downcast. "My friend Aimon died bravely in the frontline last month!"
Emery and the others didn't even have a chance to process what they had just heard, when the grand magus' roaring sound once again rang out in the air.
"If you elites don't care to train seriously, then you don't belong in this class!!"
The grand magus then approached the acolytes, while also started studying the data of each of the acolytes. A while later, he pointed at two acolytes Emery knew very well. One was the large and muscular Orycon, while the other was the blue-haired acolyte wielding the ice element Micah.
"You two have reached mid stage rank 9, show me see your capability."
The previous tension suddenly turned to excitement by the sudden sparing. Even so, Emery could still notice some of the acolytes wore a serious expression, evidently thinking about the fact Grand Magus Aimon died in the ongoing war.
Still, these people were the minority, as the others were soon getting overwhelmed by the passion of the upcoming fight between the two acolytes.
One was a very skillful, lighting element combat magus. While the other was someone who wielded unique ice element spells.
This was a fight where they could see where they currently stood, as the two acolytes chosen were said to be the strongest in class.
Everyone was excited to compare themself with the two and found out their progress for the past three years. They all wanted to know how far their peers had become.
With enough focus from his part, Emery's [Spirit Reading] could tell the power of the two, but he couldn't tell how far. Fortunately, Chumo who stood next to him could do that part. He used his [Eye of the Raven] on the two acolytes and saw a much more detailed reading.
"Orycon has higher stats than Micah. He has reached his fifth pillar, while Micah has only reached his fourth."
This was information Emery and the others had learnt before. When an acolyte reached rank 9, they would have to establish the sea of consciousness within their core.
There, the acolyte then needed to create nine pillars before finally reaching the magus level.
The first to third pillar were considered the lower stage, fourth to sixth were the middle stage, while seventh to ninth were the high stage. This was the strata that generally determined a rank 9 acolyte's prowess.
"Chumo, can you tell me how many people have reached the middle stage in this class?" Emery asked in a low voice, not letting anyone else hear their conversation.
At his words, Chumo swiftly swept his gaze over everyone. His mind went into drive as he processed the information [Eye of the Raven] given him.
"Only those two people have reached the middle stage. Right behind them there are Lodos, Anas and your good friend Gerri, who have created the third pillar. As for the rest, most of them have their first pillar while some have their second."
With Chumo's help, Emery could know the approximate strength of everyone in the class. Next, he cast his eyes toward his friends and was a little hesitant to ask. However, it seemed the other four knew what he wanted to ask.
Julian was the one who spoke. "Don't look at us like that, Emery. We are all still rank 8 except our beautiful queen here."
Julian's flirting words to Klea immediately caught Thrax and Chumo's attention. The two realized something was amiss, but didn't know exactly what it was. On the other hand, Emery smiled at Klea and said, "Congratulations."
Klea was gleeful for a second, but she quickly lost the expression and said, "It's only the first pillar. Nothing amazing."
She then stared at Emery and said, "Hope this achievement please our genius acolyte."
Actually, Emery was included in the nine acolytes who were still in rank 8, but all of his friends knew his capability was more than that. In response, he could only show a wry smile, as he realized what Klea's words meant.
In the meantime, the sparring between Orycon and Micah seemed to have reached its climax, as the former used his powerful thunder spell to enhance his great sword, while Micah concentrated all of his spirit force to cast his strongest crystal into a crystal shield.
Evidently, this was a duel between the sharpest sword and the strongest shield. Tension rose to the maximum, as everyone watched the two people prepare their ultimate card. Some even didn't dare to blink their eyes for fear of missing the collision of the two attacks.
Lightning crackled furiously around Orycon's figure, with his sword completely enveloped by a small thunderstorm. His appearance right now looked as if the personification of thunder had descended upon him.
On the other hand, the temperature of the surrounding area, where Micah was, kept dropping exponentially following the creation and strengthening of the crystal shield that materialized in front of him.
Then, as if they could read each other's minds, the two launched their attack at the same time. Winds raged violently as the two attacks headed for each other.
CRACK!!
A loud crisp sound rang in the air as Orycon's attack managed to break Micah's famous crystal shield apart. The unstoppable sword broke the seemingly unbreakable shield. Moreover, Orycon's sword still carried enough momentum, as it continued towards the panting Micah.
Fortunately, Grand Magus Silas immediately took action and stopped the attack from reaching the latter. The grand magus' intervention ultimately marked the end of the fight.
It was a duel of two geniuses, however Micah, who was supposed to be one the best elite last year, was defeated by Orycon, who obviously has grown in strength a lot faster.
"Arrgghh!! I have not lost!" Micah shouted, unable to accept such a result but he was quietly silent by the grand magus stare.
Grand Magus Silas turned to the other acolytes and said, "This is the standard that I want everyone to reach to be in this class. Do you all understand?!"
"Yes, Master!" Emery and the others said in unison.
He then called on a few more names who caught his eyes: Gerri showing his ferocious fire spells against Aiko whose mobility seemingly unparalleled thanks to her particular wind spells.
In the end, Grand Magus Silas warned those who were still in rank 8 to quickly reach rank 9. This was because the difference between rank 8 and rank 9 was much apparent, akin to a gulf.
"In a fair combat, no rank 8 could ever defeat a rank 9!"
When the grand magus spoke this sentence, Emery could see that Lodos was looking at him with such a condescending attitude. His hostility apparently sprouted from his disappointment toward him, by the fact he was still a rank 8 acolyte.
Even so, Emery decided to ignore the other party. He preferred not to show off and keep a low profile, after all.
However, as he said those words in his mind, Grand Magus Silas suddenly went silent and checked the data once again. He then called the next name that would show their abilities.
"Emery Ambrose!"
The grand magus called his name, which was odd. After all, he was still a rank 8 acolyte on paper. It seemed the former had found something interesting in Emery's information.
The grand magus was about to find an opponent when Lodos opened his mouth.
"Master, please... let me be the one who fights him!"
It was apparent Grand Magus Silas was displeased with the interruption. But then, Magus Rommy stepped closer and spoke a few words to him. Emery didn't know what the magus said, but it should be something about them since the grand magus agreed with Lodos' offer.
As expected, his guess was right.
"You two seem to have a history to settle. Alright, fight and let me see what both of you are capable of."
Clearly, his plan to keep a low profile was thwarted.