Witchbound Villain: Infinite Loop

The written test took an hour. Yvain thought it would have more variety of topics, but apparently there were more questions about Force and Vision in it than anything else.

No matter where you go, power would be the most important after all.

Yes, today, Saint Lucia Academy had spread its focus on searching diverse talent through various subjects like science, history, geography, languages, mathematics, and social sciences, but it might only cover fractions of the courses.

But this was traditionally a magic academy, after all.

Most of the children enrolling in this academy were from noble or influential families who already got their basic education through tutors at home anyway. And usually, the commoners who got the opportunity to enter this academy could do so thanks to their magical talent, not from excellent basic knowledge.

So, in a way, the written test was just a formality. Yvain didn’t take it seriously, only answering questions that seemed interesting to him. After they took the papers away, the real test began.

"Go to the Romeuf Stadium if you want to enter the Force Magic Department, and to the Lucia Stadium if you want to enter the Vision Magic Department!"

"Excuse me, if we fail the test for one, can we try the test for the other department?"

"The test will be held until the afternoon, so if you fail one test, try the other. I suggest you go to the Force test first, so if you fail, you can then enter the Vision test."

“This is Saint Lucia Academy and you still ask that stupid question? Did you not prepare yourself beforehand?”

“Ehehe, my father forced me to take the test…” a certain red haired boy foolishly remarked. After that, he went toward Romeuf Stadium, like suggested.

Yvain wasn’t far. He was just observing around, though. Quite the commotion…

“Sir Sator?”

Yvain turned to the voice behind him. He raised his eyebrows at Blair Inkor, who had just found him again after the written test.

“Your Highness, we meet again,” Yvain smiled. “How did you do on the written test?”

“It was just normal,” Blair answered shyly.

“Right. It was just normal indeed,” Yvain agreed.

Blair raised her head to look at the pret—handsome boy in front of her. She had said it was normal because she expected the test to be quite difficult, even for her. However, the boy seemed really nonchalant about it.

“What department are you going to enter?” Yvain asked.

“Umm,” Blair hesitated to tell him at first. “I'm going to major in Vision art.”

“Oh,” Yvain tilted his head, showing interest. “Have you awakened your Vision, Your Highness?”

“Yes,” Blair nodded. “I awakened my Vision two years ago.”

“So young!” Yvain praised.

“T-that’s not that impressive...! You know how the young King of Edensor awakened his Vision when he was only four,” Blair blurted out about that person again.

She grimaced slightly. She didn’t want to be seen as a magic nerd who dared to compare herself to that magic genius, the ‘Little Merlin’, not in front of this new acquaintance she had just made.

“Well, that’s different. I—I mean, he had a great master, so he could awaken early,” Yvain said, his tongue slipping.

“But isn’t that the youngest recorded age of awakening in history?” Blair blinked at him.

Yes, it was.

But Yvain didn’t like this conversation about him to continue. He felt a bit self-conscious and guilty.

“Ah! Look, the crowd has thinned out. You can go to the Vision test now,” Yvain said, continuing, “I’ll go to the Force test. I know you’re guaranteed a pass if you’re awakened, but still, good luck!”

He was right. There weren’t as many people left, so the corridor wasn’t as densely packed as before. Blair wasn’t sure, but she felt that Yvain could have gone earlier despite the crowd. She wondered if he would still have waited if she hadn’t called out to him earlier.

He talked and waited with her because he didn’t want her to get shoved by the crowd like earlier…

"Such a gentleman…" Blair whispered under her breath as she saw him left.

***

In the heart of the Saint Lucia Academy stood one of the sturdiest stadiums ever built, a hub of mystical anticipation and academic competition.

The stadium, bearing the name of the revered Apostle Romeuf, exuded an air of ancient wisdom and power, or so the brochures claimed. 

At the stadium's northern side stood a looming statue of the very Apostle himself, casting a stern gaze over the bustling grounds. The apostle's presence seemed to say, "I may be stone, but I'm judging you all." 

In front of the imposing statue lay the examiners' place, a spot where the all-important test scrutinizers perched high and mighty, ready to let their power trip commence. Their seats were polished to a blinding sheen, reflecting both the sunlight and the nervous sweat of hopeful magic wielders.

As expected, there were considerably more people who went to Romeuf Stadium.

Well, they were still 12-year-olds, 13, or 14 at maximum. Rarely was there anyone who could awaken their Force or Vision at that age. So the tests were designed to be passed even without Force or Vision awakening.

But that didn’t mean that they were easy either.

Saint Lucia Academy was traditionally a magic academy. So it would only make sense if they only accepted children who had the potential to awaken their magic.

But how would you find that potential?

For Force art, it’s straightforward.

“For those of you who just arrived, raise your right hands, now!”

Upon entering the stadium, they were all instructed to raise their right hands. From above, an enchanted bracelet flew onto their wrists. Yvain immediately knew it was mainly for protection when it landed on him.

"Observe your bracelets! You will notice that you have been assigned different colors. Kindly move towards the examiners near the flags that match the color of your bracelet!"

There were almost 200 children in the stadium, spread across five different colors: blue, red, green, yellow, and purple, with each color group comprising around 30-40 children.

Yvain received a red bracelet.

“Lucky,” he muttered upon spotting the examiner with the tall red flag - Princess Nahwu, the only elf of her generation enrolling in the academy.

The one his ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa’ had told him about.

“Huh?! T-that’s an elf? W-wouldn’t it be more difficult to pass with an elf as an examiner?!” 

Yvain turned to the boy next to him, realizing it was the red-headed boy who had inquired about the tests in the corridor earlier.

“Ugh, I don’t know anyone in the red group either… what do I do…?” the boy ruffled his own hair in frustration.

His actions drew attention in the crowd; some looked at him strangely, a few even casting sneers, noting his apparent cluelessness. He was likely a commoner, yet it seemed odd for him to be unprepared.

Logically, wouldn’t he be one of the most ready, being a commoner?

Well, it wasn’t his concern.

"Red group, come closer!" 

He walked toward Nahwu alongside the other members of the red group. Once everyone was within earshot, the elf princess announced the rules of the test.

"Your time is one minute, and your goal is to reach a three feet distance to the flag. If you reach it, you will pass," she explained.

After ensuring everyone understood, she continued, "The bracelet on your wrist is enchanted with a protection spell, but one attack will break the spell. In that case, you can choose to keep pushing forward or give up because I will continue attacking you if you don’t."

Yvain glanced at the other groups and noticed that the test varied depending on the examiners. However, it was essentially the same 'capture the flag' type of challenge.

The blue group's examiner was a sword user, while the green and yellow groups were spear users. The purple group's examiner was a dagger user.

"Alright, choose your weapon. Whisper your preferred weapon type to your bracelet, and it will summon it for you," Nahwu instructed as she prepared her bow.

Yvain recalled his bet with Burn. The man said he would give him anything he wanted if he could pass the entrance test without using his Vision.

Well, he could still go to the Vision Department test because it didn’t require him to awaken or use his Vision, but he chose to go to the Force test anyway.

Because there was a second part to that bet.

"If you can pass the Force test, I will teach you my Force magic.”

Emperor Burn’s Force magic.

.

.

.

.

.

.

--------------------------------------------------

Yvain: Food!

Evan: Power!