Aethernea : Soulbound [Book 1]

Episode 12 Part 3 - Sign Ups

In the previous episode:

Elaru and Kiel make it to the sign ups just in time. They meet Ahon and Rau who are assistant professors supervising the entry exam sign ups. Kiel starts filling the forms and has trouble deciding which practical exam to apply for.

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He continued down the list, often stopping to cross over a scenario that he thought was impossible for him.

Soon enough he was left with only a few options. Most of the left over options were vague and Kiel couldn't tell exactly what skillset would be necessary.

There was only one scenario where the required skillset was quite clear – "Battle Royale". Obviously, the test would require him to show his combat prowess.

He was alone most of the time with his only opponents being trees, so he found it hard to gauge his own battle capabilities.

Still, Kiel felt that this was the test he had the highest chance of excelling at.

The magic that he was the best at was acceleration magic. And even if he couldn't beat his opponents, he could at least run around fast enough to avoid their attacks. In the worst case scenario, it could turn into a battle of attrition, and since Elaru's mana pool was larger than most people, he would win when his opponents ran out of mana.

Kiel circled the "Battle Royale" option, satisfied with his choice. He wasn't useless after all. He even had a few days before the exam, that he could use to brush up on his skills and prepare.

His satisfied smile quickly left his face when he turned the next page of the sign up forms.

He needed to report his "special skills" so that Muni could prepare to test his speciality. Special skills were different from the practical exam. You could get special points only if you had extraordinary, rare abilities. The main purpose of this test was to give peerless geniuses a higher chance to be accepted into the university and separate them from everyone else.

There was a large list of offered "special skills", such as "Aethernea wielder", "Possesses flawless recollection", and "ingenious breaker".

Kiel went over the list quickly. His heart tightened.

Elaru made it sound like all his problems would be solved if he had enough mana. When he finally felt a sea of mana rolling through him, he felt like he could do anything. That he was now better than everyone else. He even entertained the thought that he would score the highest on the exam and make his family shocked. He thought that these exams would be his stage. That he would show everyone that he was a genius mage. He would finally get the respect he deserved.

Looking at it now, if he didn't ace the practical and if he didn't apply for a special exam, he couldn't hope to reach the top 10.

He would pass the exam but he would at most be above average among other nobles.

In fact, his grandfather might even say that his performance embarrassed their family name. He might even be ridiculed in the end.

His fist clenched. He wouldn't be able to surpass his ass of a brother. He would always be in his shadow.

His knuckle turned white and he was slowly losing all feeling in his hand.

When his eyes passed over "pure mana wielder" entry, he gritted his teeth. He was a pure mana wielder, but he couldn't let anyone know about it. It felt unbearable. Those 25 points were so close yet out of reach!