Before they knew it, the carriage entered a bustling commercial district, passing a variety of restaurants, cafes, bars, and specialty shops. The broad streets grew increasingly thick with the vibrant pulse of daily life.
From classical ancient architecture—such as Ikerite Central Station and Saint Brian Cathedral—to modern structures with enchanted glass curtain walls, like Hutton Pedestrian Plaza and Erica Magic Tower, the diverse architectural styles coexisted in harmony, adding vibrant touches to the Ikerite skyline.
Near midafternoon, the sightseeing carriage arrived near the academy.
The legendary Ikerite Magic Academy was situated in the very heart of the royal capital.
The academy had no enclosing walls; this entire district, along with all the buildings within it, was simply known as Ikerite Magic Academy.
Carrying his suitcase, Lanqi stepped onto the campus alongside Talia.
Before they had walked more than a few paces, a melodious tolling seemed to welcome them.
It came from the landmark red-brick clock tower, chiming just three times before abruptly ceasing, signaling three o'clock in the afternoon.
The clock tower stood tall in the center of an expansive lawn, surrounded by lush green trees. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, dappling the verdant grass in patches of bright light and shadow.
Following the map on the guideposts, he and Talia made their way past all kinds of buildings.
There was the Gothic Old Tower Library of the School of Sages, its exterior walls inlaid with exquisite reliefs, housing an untold wealth of mystical tomes within.
There was also the Victorian arena of the School of Knights, its pointed arched tracery brimming with classical elegance.
Nor was there any shortage of novel, modern structures, like the Alchemical Biology Laboratory and the Magic Engineering Research Institute, where walls formed of magical display screens reflected the blue of the sky and the silhouettes of nearby trees.
After a walk of a dozen or so minutes, Lanqi reached his destination.
It was a massive building with sleek, distinctive contours—the "Learning and Education Building," shared by both the School of Knights and the School of Sages.
Lanqi and Talia went to the second floor, to the Student Services Center.
With the friendly assistance of the staff, Lanqi quickly completed the modifications to his examination details, changing his applied division from the School of Alchemy to the School of Sages.
Next, to finalize his registration for the School of Sages entrance examination, he still needed to proceed to the third floor to complete his attribute evaluation.
With the small suitcase in his left hand and his application form and personal records in his right, Lanqi navigated the corridors until he found the Basic Attribute Testing Room on the third floor.
The spacious office was neatly lined with numerous magical instruments used for testing, giving it more the feel of a radiological clinic than a magic academy.
Generally speaking, students applying to the School of Knights or the School of Sages completed the required attribute tests well in advance when registering. Lanqi, however, was transferring midstream; by arriving just two days before the exam, he had bypassed the usual rush, and there were no other students waiting in line.
The instructor sitting behind the desk promptly turned her gaze toward the two visitors.
"My, I didn't expect to see such an impressive new student this year... Looks like the School of Sages has struck gold."
The instructor in charge of attribute testing gave off a remarkably gentle impression. The moment she laid eyes on Talia, a delighted and warm smile appeared on her face.
Just the steady, restrained, unfathomable mana radiating from Talia was enough to leave her marveling in admiration.
"It's not me taking the exam; it's him," Talia said coolly.
"Huh?"
So the one carrying the suitcase is the young master?
Behind the desk, the female teacher, whose name badge read "Teresa," quickly turned her gaze toward Lanqi.
"That's right."
Seeing the teacher's surprised look finally settle on him, Lanqi smiled awkwardly.
Talia was so used to wandering that she had brought practically no luggage at all.
Standing beside Talia in her human-maiden disguise while he carried the suitcase and held the forms, combined with her icy demeanor, truly did give off the impression of "The Young Lady and Me."
"Ahem."
Teacher Teresa cleared her throat twice, feeling rather embarrassed herself.
The misunderstanding had not been caused merely by a visual error. As mages, they trusted their perception and judgment of mana far more than their eyes.
Yet the pitiful mana fluctuation on Lanqi offered her little hope of him becoming an exceptional caster.
Even without testing via specialized instruments, a seasoned instructor like her could sense that Lanqi's mana attribute was very weak, though his spirit seemed remarkably formidable.
Perhaps he would be better suited... to becoming a priest?
After all, many of a priest's support spells did not scale with mana potency, but rather with spiritual strength.
Still, if he wished to become a member of the clergy, the Sacred Academic Research Society or the Divine Artisan Academy—both equally renowned across the Southern Continent—would have suited his talents far better than Ikerite Magic Academy.
Even so, since he had already come this far, she certainly could not utter discouraging words to a student.
Her duty at this moment was simply to help Lanqi complete his attribute evaluation.
If his composite test scores met the standard, she would process the paperwork for his formal examination.
Before long, the evaluation was conducted and completed.
Aside from an exceptionally high spirit growth potential and relatively good vitality growth potential, Lanqi showed zero aptitude for mana or strength.
Although the spirit attribute carried less weight than mana in the School of Sages' evaluation of casting classes, Lanqi's single, exceptionally high spirit score still pushed his weighted average well above the passing threshold.
Thus, Teresa began processing the procedures for his subsequent examination.
Lanqi passed the time reviewing his test results while waiting for Teacher Teresa to finish her work.
In this world's simplest "four-attribute testing method"—
The mana attribute governed the damage, healing output, and buff effects of the vast majority of spells.
The strength attribute was directly tied to physical attack power.
Spirit determined maximum mana capacity and magic resistance.
And vitality encompassed life force, endurance, and physical defense.
"Young man, what is your class?"
Teresa was entering Lanqi's specific test results into a tablet-like magical apparatus. When she reached the "Role" column, however, she looked up at Lanqi and asked.
Lanqi had outstanding survivability, yet he lacked offensive means.
By her estimation, he likely did not belong to an aggressive combat class, but rather leaned toward support or logistics.
Though Talia gave no outward reaction, she paid a bit more attention to what Lanqi's answer would be.
Because she truly did not know the answer.
Nor did she know how Lanqi would respond.
A mad warlock? A cult priest? Neither seemed quite fitting.
In any case, she could not think of an apt word to describe the deck system Lanqi currently carried on him.
"Obviously, I'm a white mage," Lanqi said with a genial smile.
Beside him, Talia felt the corner of her eye twitch involuntarily.
This fellow really dared to say anything!
Had she not spent so many years traveling the human realms, her first reaction would have been to doubt her grasp of the language rather than suspect Lanqi of being out of his mind.
Most absurd of all, Talia could not even detect that Lanqi was lying.
He genuinely believed he was a white mage.
Upon hearing this, Teacher Teresa nodded with an "I see" expression.
"So that's how it is... Actually, I'm a restoration mage myself. If you gain admission to the School of Sages, you might see me in class later on."
Such a bright, cheerful young man certainly looked the part of a compassionate healer.
Teacher Teresa smiled and handed Lanqi an exam permit bracelet already encoded with his information.
While his healing output and support effects might be quite low, spirit was tied to mana capacity. He would be able to cast spells in an endless stream, meaning his sustained endurance should be fairly adequate.
Most importantly, compared to other roles, a healing practitioner needed to possess a gentle and kind heart.
"For the formal exam two days from now, just present this bracelet on the seventh floor to participate in the practical combat simulation. The test will be difficult, but may the Goddess of Fate bless you. I wish you the best of luck."
Resting her chin on one hand behind the desk, Teacher Teresa offered a radiant smile and added a final remark.
She believed that all gentle people would be treated gently by the world.
Even if the chances of this boy standing out and passing the evaluation were slim.
"All right, thank you."
Lanqi nodded in gratitude.
Then, alongside Talia, whose eyes could hardly conceal her bewilderment, he stepped out of the building.
Chapter 15