Kalin Magic Academy is known as the finest magic academy in the Djage Empire. It was located in the eastern part of the n.o.ble sector, roughly ten kilometers from the Imperial sector. It was founded 400 years ago by the Imperial Family, who continued to fund it. The academy"s grounds were extremely large, with a diameter just over two kilometers. It was in fact larger than some smaller cities within the Djage Empire, and within its grounds were many shops and services like a regular city would have. There were restaurants, tailors, bars, and anything else a student could possibly need.

The main gate of the Kalin Magic Academy was extremely impressive, standing fifteen meters tall and forty meters wide. On each side of the gate was a huge statue of a lion wreathed in flame, the symbol of the Djage Empire. In addition, the entire gate was covered with magic runes and circles that hinted at powerful protections.

Currently, the area outside the main gate of the academy was full of young people waiting to take the exam. There were three distinct groups of people: the n.o.bles, the commoners, and a much smaller group of Imperial n.o.bles. Even though the t.i.tle of n.o.bility was granted to all mages, there was still discrimination between the groups. The n.o.bles believed they were better than those who were born commoners, and in turn the Imperial n.o.bles believed themselves to be better than the lesser n.o.bles.

The Djage Empire was comprised of three kingdoms and twelve dukedoms, which meant there was a large number of n.o.bles throughout the Empire. However, Imperial n.o.bles were a step above the regular n.o.bility, and were all known for their high magical talent. Being an Imperial n.o.ble had many advantages, such as tax exemption and guaranteed positions within various governmental organizations. Many of the Imperial n.o.bles believed that their status gave them greater intelligence and increased magical prowess, and that they were superior to the remaining citizens of the Empire.

In contrast to the rest of the applicants, Shad was in a corner waiting for the gate guard to open the door. Even though he was the Fourth Prince, the protections placed upon the gate were indiscriminate in their activation, and if he tried to force entry they would activate.

Finally, the main gate of the academy opened and two people came out. The first was an old man wearing a blue robe. His pure white hair was neatly combed, and his deep wrinkles clearly indicated old age. Within the folds of his right sleeve, he held a staff which was used to support his body. The second was a savage looking middle aged man with a long sword strapped to his back, covered in scars. He looked like an experienced warrior, while the old man looked like a experienced mage.

They stopped in front of the crowd of people, and the old man smiled and said, "The graduation a.s.sessment for junior mages will begin in the next few minutes. All of you present your student ID to me and follow me to the first exam site. I am pretty sure you all already know, but the exam is divided into three parts: the written exam, magical combat exam, and the monster hunt exam. You only need to pa.s.s two of the three to graduate to a senior mage."

Mages from 1st cla.s.s to 3rd were known as junior mages, while 4th through 6th cla.s.s mages were known as senior mages. In order for a person to fully become a 4th rank mage, they needed to perform a 4th cla.s.s magic spell and have sufficient mana to cast the spell without an repercussions or mana deficiency.

4th cla.s.s magic spells were very rare, and unless one joined a powerful school Or a powerful n.o.ble family, it was almost impossible to find one. Even if a 3rd cla.s.s mage somehow obtained a 4th cla.s.s magic spell without the help of one of these schools or families, they would still need instruction from an experienced mage or teacher to guide them through drawing the runes and the correct meditation technique. For this reason, many n.o.bles, especially those who were raised from commoners, allied themselves with the more powerful n.o.ble families to gain access to these rare spells and meditation techniques.

Shad walked up to the old man and presented his ID when it was his turn. It was a platinum card inscribed with runes and had his name on it.

"Little brat, you are back. I thought you already quit the academy," said the old man with a mocking smile.

"Old man, I see you are still alive. You should be more careful about moving around with that frail body of yours," answered Shad with a mocking smile in return. He did not answer the old man"s question but taunted him instead.

"Oh ho, this old man is only 250 years young. I still have plenty of time left to live. Do you want your great grandfather to die that young, little punk?" asked the old man as he poked Shad with his staff. "Anyway, I am looking forward to your progress during those two years of training," said the old man as he headed back inside the academy.

This old man was Franklin Djage, the dean of Kalin Magic Academy and the grandfather of the current Emperor of the Djage Empire. For some reason, he and Shad were like oil and water, and no matter the circ.u.mstances they"d never been able to get along.

Shad did not dwell on his reception too much and simply followed the group of people throughout the school. Ever since he was a kid, this old man always treated him as an adult, rather than a child like his mother or his family. It was as though he could see through his soul and discern his true age, which always gave Shad the creeps. Fortunately, he didn"t have any ill will towards Shad, but if he did there was nothing Shad could have done to stop it. He was one of the ten 9th cla.s.s mages throughout Egul, and as such was one of the strongest mages in the world.

The large group finally made it to the exam site and entered the exam room. The written exam soon started, and and the room was soon full of the sound of scratching paper. Most of the questions were fairly simple and oriented towards the theory of magic, such as the basic formula of a magic circle, and the strengths and weaknesses of each of the standard magical elements. Every student hurried to finish the exam within the allotted time, except for Shad. He was quietly snoring in his seat with the exam paper as a pillow. The other students who saw him briefly wondered what he was doing, but they did not have time to waste worrying about him and were soon back to answering their questions as quickly as possible.

Shad really couldn"t be blamed for sleeping through the test. Not only was he still tired, but he didn"t know at least eighty percent of the questions. He always knew he would fail the written exam anyway, so he was relying on the magic battle exam and the monster hunt exam. One of the reasons Shad decided to train on his own in the first place was because the magic education system focused on learning the largest variety of spells, and placed very little emphasis on their practical use. Shad found this idiotic, so he decided to train on his own.

Most mages think having more spells available to them makes them more powerful, but they can normally barely reduce the casting time of their spells. Shad on the other hand was the complete opposite, he spent most of his time learning how to modify his few spells and shortening his chants so that he was a master at the spells he knew.

"Time is up, everyone put your pen on the table and I will come by to collect your tests," said the teacher. Everyone did as instructed, and when the teacher collected Shad"s paper he didn"t say a word, as though this was completely normal.

"Now, you may all go to your rooms to rest and prepare yourself. The magical battle exam will begin in two hours," said the teacher as he left the exam room. As soon as he left, all the students began to talk with their neighbors and compare questions from the test to try and gauge their performance. Meanwhile, Shad did not linger in the exam room and headed outside immediately.