It was a beautiful dawn.
"Who are you?" one of the knights asked, crossing their spears to block the massive double doors.
The knight studied the two of them and, noticing their ragged clothes, thought, "What is a peasant doing here at Robert’s Magic Academy?"
One of the figures pulled back his hood. It was Jin Claye—the student who ranked first in the trials of Robert’s Magic Academy.
The knights imdiately lowered their spears and opened the doors. Behind them stood an iron portcullis, serving as extra protection. They turned the windlass, and the portcullis slowly rose.
Gabby led the march, still riding the walking horse. As he approached, the knights crossed their spears to block his path. One of them said, "Show your identification card."
Gabby lowered his hood and tossed the card into the air. It spun midair before one of the knights caught it and examined it.
The knight looked at the na and thought, "Jin brought his fiancé? But the na sounds like a boy’s..."
He then said aloud, "You may enter, young lady."
Gabby continued forward on his horse, unfazed. He didn’t care that he had been misgendered—again.
Gabby thought to himself, "After four days of riding, we’ve finally arrived at Robert’s Magic Academy. We passed a few Magic Towers along the way, but he never once ntioned his land of barony."
Gabby looked out over the academy, sprawled across a vast, elevated plain. The buildings were massive and connected by arched bridges and glass-covered walkways that shimred with enchantnts.
The academy’s walls were made of pale stone that glowed faintly under the sun, etched with rune stones that pulsed with a soft, steady light. At the center of the campus stood a tall pole, flying a massive banner. On it were the images of a red dragon, it was a phoenix.
About one kiloter away from Robert’s Magic Academy, a massive magic tower rose into the sky. It was built from a strange, smooth, transparent tal that shimred. The tower was made up of many stacked floors, each stage floating slightly apart, connected by glowing bridges of light.
A brilliant red rune stone was vertically embedded along the tower’s spine, glowing with a deep, pulsing light. As the rune stone shone, its rays passed through the transparent tal, scattering and reflecting in every direction. This made the entire tower glow beautifully, like a giant lantern of magic and glass.
At the very top, the largest rune stone of all pulsed like a heartbeat, sending waves of magic through the air. Its light was so strong, it lit up the clouds above.
Gabby thought to himself, "A wealthy Magic Tower with advanced magical and engineering design."
Since Gabby had enough rest and food during their journey, all he needed was a cold bath.
Thanks to Jin’s influence, he was allowed to use the academy’s public bathing room. After his bath, a maid handed him a clean outfit: a white linen long-sleeve shirt and a pair of calf-length pants that matched perfectly with his leather high boots.
Once he was ready, the academy maid escorted him to a room where the examinees were gathering.
As he entered, Gabby looked around and thought, "Empty seats. Of course, the exam isn’t until this afternoon."
Following the instructions, he took one of the empty seats at the front.
A few minutes later, sothing caught his attention—a powerful surge of mana. He turned his head and saw a girl with long red hair. She wore a white linen long-sleeve shirt as an undershirt, a brown leather corset with a matching belt, calf-length pants, and high boots with a beautiful sword resting on her hips.
Gabby narrowed his eyes slightly and thought, "She has massive mana for soone her age... and she’s emitting a golden mana."
After a few hours of waiting, more and more examinees arrived. Most of them were mages, wearing long robes and carrying staffs.
Since almost everyone ca from noble families, they quickly ford social circles, showing off their backgrounds to gain attention and popularity. Gabby didn’t care. He simply leaned back in his chair, resting his arms and pretending to sleep.
But then, sothing caught everyone’s attention.
A tall, lean young man entered the room, escorted by knights. He had sharp eyes with slitted pupils, spiky blonde hair, and a pointed nose. A muzzle covered his mouth, and manacles with chains bound his wrists. The room fell silent as all eyes turned to him.
No one knew who this guy was, but everyone could tell—he was a criminal. And not just any criminal, but a notorious one. The fact that he was participating in the Trial of Robert’s Magic Academy left everyone stunned.
As the knights stepped forward, they removed the muzzle from his face and unlocked the manacles from his wrists.
He didn’t speak.
He just grinned.
It wasn’t a friendly grin—it was sharp, wild, and dangerous. And whenever an examinee dared to look his way, he t their gaze with a death glare so cold and fierce it made even the proudest nobles look away.
Robert’s Magic Academy wasn’t exclusive to mages. Anyone could enter, as long as they passed the Trial. But to think that even a criminal—soone like him—was allowed to take part? It was almost unbelievable.
As the clock struck noon, a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties entered the hall.
He wore a long, flowing red robe with a hood that reached down to his boots. Beneath the robe, he had on a fitted tunic and dark trousers, with a phoenix insignia pinned to the left side of his chest. His hands were covered with fingerless gloves.
He walked slowly, yet with a quiet elegance. Though he wasn’t injured or disabled, he leaned on a staff, using it like a cane to support his lazy, unhurried steps. The staff tapped softly against the floor with each movent.
His na was Professor Odel. Academy’s Vice President. He scanned the crowd with a lazy gaze. He thought to himself, "Good, even numbers."
He exclaid, "This academy does not care for your bloodline, your titles, or your past victories. We accept all—mages, swordsn, archers, priest, even criminals. You will face trials that will possibly kill you."
The examinee was tensed as the swallow their throat.
"Welco to Robert’s Magic Academy. Your future begins now—only if you survive."
Fear overco their dreams so so of the examinee with no guts withdrew even before the trial began.
He added, "This trial is done in teams of two. You must eliminate four hundred goblins together. If your partner dies during the trial, your task becos harder—you’ll need to kill six hundred goblins alone to pass."
"To return, use the sa teleportation magic circle. But rember, you must return within fourty eight hours. If you don’t, you fail."
"We are not responsible if you die during the trial. So, start finding a partner now. You have ten minutes."
The room erupted into motion.
Examinees scattered quickly, many already having soone in mind. Nobles paired with nobles, mages with warriors, and friends with friends. Within monts, most had already ford their teams, chatting quietly or preparing their gear.
Gabby, however, remained seated—calm and unconcerned.
He scanned the room, trying to find a potential partner. But every ti he t soone’s eyes, they quickly looked away. So whispered. Others simply ignored him. To them, he looked too quiet, too relaxed—too weak.
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