Arcane Heir: History's Strongest Mage

The class was silent as they stared at the crimson magic circle suspended in the air. A few seconds passed, seeming as if nothing was going to happen—a sign that not enough mana had been fed to the circle.

Michael watched on with bated breath, silently praying that he'd done enough for it to activate. If he were to fail here, his marks for both criteria's would be severely impacted, likely leading to a fail.

They only had one shot, it was now or never.

Thankfully, Charles did not step in and put an end to his exam. In fact, he was perched upon the desk, watching the magic circle with an expectant expression on his face.

In the seats, both Rudy and Melody cast nervous glances towards Michael, their worry evident.

The magic circle shuddered suddenly, seeming like it might collapse. Yet in the next moment, a white mist began to seep out from its center—its cool temperature affecting the surroundings.

A large icicle slowly reared its head from the circle, its surface reflecting the sun streaming into the classroom. It was four feet in length—its body sleek and dangerous with a sharp spear-like end on either side.

Then in the blink of an eye it fired forward with tremendous speed, whistling through the air before crashing into the opposite wall of the classroom. Upon impact, the transparent shield activated, causing the spear of ice to disintegrate into pieces.

Apart from the slow emergence of the spear, the attack was blindingly quick and devastating. If it had been a person or beast in its path, the results would have been gruesome.

Michael let out a sigh of relief seeing the tier two ice lance spell activate. He'd grown quite fond of the spell in recent times, hence why he had decided to use it for his midterm exam.

Unfortunately, the ice element required many different runes to be drawn in close proximity in the outer layer of the magic circle. While this was relatively easy when casting an incantation—it was difficult without it.

However, he was hoping that the difficulty of his magic circle would grant him additional points during the exam. After all, most would choose wind or water spells, the easiest to construct.

"Excellent," Charles exclaimed, clapping his hands together with a smile. "Head back to your seat, we'll continue with the next student."

Hearing the praise from his old tutor, Michael couldn't help but smile, feeling some pride well up from within. To be complimented by someone of the Gray family on his magic circle was definitely something to be proud of.

As he walked back up to his seat, Michael's gaze coincidentally fell upon Braydon and Craig who were sitting up the back of the class. The former was wearing a frown on his face, whereas the latter looked pale.

It only took a second to understand the reason.

The tier two ice lance was the same spell he'd attacked them with in the hall all those months ago. He had almost forgotten, since it felt like a lifetime ago.

Donning a wry smile, Michael returned to his spot beside Rudy and Melody as the next name was called up to take part in the exam.

He felt a nudge from the grinning Rudy beside him, "You had us worried there for a bit," he said with a chuckle.

"I never had a doubt in my mind…" Michael replied, his obvious lie receiving another snicker in response.

However, Melody beside him let out a small sigh, "That's why I told you choosing an ice spell was risky," she chastised. "You're lucky it worked out this time, but who can be sure you'll have the same luck for finals?"

Michael shrugged, "I should be even better by the end of next semester," he assured her. "Maybe I'll even be able to draw a tier three spell by then."

While they were busy chatting, the last student had just finished creating their magic circle. Like many others it was a simple tier two wind spell, however when it came time to deliver the mana—something unexpected occurred.

Orange mana poured into the magic circle, filling its center. However, it was far too quick and erratic, causing the sigil to shudder uncontrollably as it was force-fed the unstable mana.

CRACK

An audible crack sounded, echoing within the classroom before the orange magic circle began to crumble apart. With each rune that faltered, the floating circle turned dull and lifeless—eventually dispersing.

The mana faded into the atmosphere, leaving the student with their head lowered, wearing a depressed expression.

Charles nodded, as if he had expected the situation.

"The magic circle was sound, but it was your supply of mana that was the issue," he explained, his tone gentle. "Since you passed the first criteria, I'll give you another chance after classes tomorrow if you with to take the test again."

At his words, the depressed student's defeated expression lit up, his eyes almost flooding with tears. "T-thank you professor!" he called with excitement.

Charles chuckled in response, "While I appreciate your words, I am not a professor. Call me teacher instead."

After receiving a positive response, the man moved on, calling the next name out.

"Rudy Graves."

Rudy's body stiffened after hearing his name called. While he was the picture of confidence on their way to the classroom this morning, it was clear that he was feeling some nerves in the moment.

Michael pushed down the laugh that rose from his chest and decided to support his friend, giving him a nudge. "You got this man, just do it like you did yesterday."

"Y-yeah…" he replied softly, making his way down the stairs to the front of the class.

The guy was still stiff, as if he was walking onto the battlefield.

But Michael wasn't worried.

Rudy's mana visualization and control had improved by leaps and bounds after taking the soul pill. He had no doubts that as long as his friend kept a level head—he'd be able to pass the exam.