Chapter 25: The Actual Assessment Begins

The professor had said that [Fireball] and [Flame] are two fundamental forms of blue fire magic. The former is flame with a fixed shape, while the latter is flame without a fixed shape.
As for blue fire magic, although the academy requires students to master these two basic forms, it does not demand proficiency in their corresponding advanced and derived spells, as that is far too difficult.
Even with just these two most basic forms, there are dozens or hundreds of subsequent spells. Each spell has its own elemental arrangement and incantation. Without dedicating over a decade to this art, it is clearly impossible to master them. Even among great fire mages, who can guarantee they know all fire spells?
In Jiang Zhe’s view, both Fireball and Flame have very limited damage. Even though Jiang Zhe once hit Professor Hodde with a Fireball, according to the professor, such a spell “at best can only stir up dust.”
During his six months in Riox, Jiang Zhe gradually learned some knowledge about blue fire magic…
[Fireball] is an advanced version of [Small Fireball], with increased power by one level. However, this does not mean Fireball is stronger than Small Fireball. In fact, Small Fireball can also be called [Fire Bomb], characterized by rapid attack, high temperature, and burning effect. Fireball simply transforms the rapid attack of Fire Bomb into an explosion—nothing more. Yet the power of this explosion is far from satisfactory.
[Flame] is an advanced form of [Small Flame], a spell without a fixed shape, similar to ordinary flame. Compared to Fireball, it has many disadvantages, such as weaker damage, rapid heat dissipation, and difficulty in controlling its spread. Nevertheless, Flame is a continuous spell, a trait that Fireball is far from matching.
According to the academy’s assessment rules, passing [Small Flame] is very simple—just being able to produce even a trace of flame counts as passing. But [Flame] is different. Anything from the size of a palm to something overwhelming can fall under the category of Flame.
Because it is flame without a fixed shape, [Flame] has many more derived spells than [Fireball]. [Spewing Fire] is the most basic application of Flame, allowing the caster to emit large amounts of flame from their palms. [Flame Torrent] is an advanced version of this spell, far surpassing the former in terms of both damage and the speed of emission. Moreover, this type of spell has a special application: mimicry, represented by the fourth-level spell [Mimicry: Fire Snake].

In the realm of blue magic, spells related to summoning are not called “summoning” but rather “manifestation.” For example, the fire horse used by Professor Hodde long ago to pull a carriage is, in proper terms, “Manifestation: Fire Horse.” The “summoned creatures” thus created are given the typical appearance of their respective types, but they are not physical entities. If the caster has strong control, they can quickly reassemble even if dispersed, making them an effective means to hold back opponents.

Generally speaking, “Fireball” and “Flames” are two different applications within blue fire magic. The former focuses on causing damage and strikes, while the latter is aimed at restraint and creating barriers.

As the saying goes, you can’t have your cake and eat it too—this is also true in fire magic. Many magicians have tried to combine the two, but all failed. High damage implies that the magic cannot lose energy, and if it doesn’t lose energy, it cannot be considered a sustained spell. Thus, the “Fireball” approach cannot achieve manifestation or barrier creation, while the “Flames” approach can never reach the high damage level of the former.

Here, it’s worth mentioning that if Fireball is long-range damage, then Flames is short-range damage. The former requires a high level of spatial awareness from the caster, while the latter demands strong control.

※※※

On the day of the academy event, the weather was exceptionally clear. The bright sun shone high in the sky, and a gentle breeze blew across the face without causing discomfort. The air around was fresh, slightly moist, with a hint of damp earth, mixed with the fragrance of some flowers and plants in the academy—just like after the first rain in spring.

Like other students, Jiang Zhe and his companions also went to the back of the ancient castle, in front of the northern forest. Perhaps due to Professor Hodde’s advice from long ago, or maybe because Jiang Zhe himself wasn’t interested, he had never entered the forest. However, he had heard that some first-year students, out of curiosity, sneaked into the forest at night and were caught by the night-duty professors.

What exactly was in the forest? Jiang Zhe didn’t know, nor was he interested in finding out. But he had heard Scott mention a few things.

The forest was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see. Around its perimeter grew some evergreen plants—just ordinary trees, similar to those on Earth. If there was any difference, it was that the trees here were extremely tall and dense.

A section of the area from the periphery inward, which we might as well call a “shallow forest,” has relatively ample light. At first glance, it’s filled with plants whose names one can’t recall; occasionally, there are one or two plants that resemble sunflowers. As long as one is careful, no real danger arises.

Some animals live in the shallow forest, but most of them are quite gentle, such as long-eared rabbits. They are usually white, though a few have red fur. They often gather in groups of a dozen or so, and when the students pass by, they quickly hide behind trees or in ditches, peeking out with their small eyes.

There are also chirping birds that aren’t shy. They stand on tree trunks with tilted heads, watching the students below—seemingly cute, but actually not.

At least, Jiang Zhe really hated these creatures, those annoying ones that dropped bird droppings.

“Hehe, don’t be upset. This is how the white chirper birds show affection. They’re usually very gentle and endearing. I once had one… Of course, when raising one, you have to keep an eye on your teacup…” A professor said with a laugh, probably noticing some freshmen being annoyed and embarrassed by the white spots on their magic robes.

As they went deeper into the forest, the gentle animals became rarer, replaced by some carnivorous reptiles, such as snakes!

Perhaps due to his nightmares about snakes, Jiang Zhe felt some fear and disgust when he saw those spotted creatures, especially when he saw a tree covered with a dozen snakes—it gave him a creepy feeling.

Besides these, Jiang Zhe and the others saw a wolf with grayish-white fur under a tree. It seemed quite small, like a puppy, squinting as it watched the students not far away.

“Damn!” A professor near Jiang Zhe muttered under his breath and rushed forward. The little wolf, sensing someone approaching, quickly turned and ran away.

Later, Jiang Zhe learned that it was a lost pup, usually living with its kind in the dense forest at the edge of the shallow forest. It was a nocturnal animal and hard to spot during the day.

What the professor wanted to do was drive the pup back into the dense forest in a friendly manner, so as not to attract a large pack of wolves.

After all, dark magicians aren’t necromancers—they have a “basic” respect for life, at least when relations are friendly.

Of course, don’t think that dark mages are the same as those kind white mages who cherish life. The “minimum respect” dark mages show for life is to give it an end that allows it to “express its own value.”
Like alchemical materials, for example?
Jiang Zhe and the others had already walked a long distance through the shallow forest; further ahead lay the dense forest.
Unlike the shallow forest, the academy strictly prohibited entry into the dense forest, as it was not only poorly lit and prone to causing people to get lost, but also inhabited by fierce carnivorous animals. Long ago, it had been used by dark mages to keep wild beasts, as they needed their fur, bones, and blood for magical research.
After the ancient castle was converted into an academy, that area was left unused for a long time.
Of course, the Rexx Academy had considered restoring that area, but first, the dense forest was too overgrown, with insufficient light and fierce wild animals, making it extremely dangerous to enter recklessly. Second, no significant use could be imagined for that forest.
So, the mages of Rexx thought it didn’t matter much, and the matter was left unresolved.
However, there was another legend suggesting that the dense forest used to be the dwelling place of reclusive dark mages who studied unknown magical arts. Some even claimed to have seen synthetic beasts there—though we’ll leave that aside for now.
This event took place in the shallow forest. Well, actually, all such events in history have taken place in the shallow forest.
Actually, calling it a shallow forest isn’t entirely accurate, as there weren’t just trees there; occasionally, one could see patches of flat grassland or a lake. Going further, one could even see a desolate plain covered with rocks.
According to the professor accompanying them, this was deliberately created by the Rexx Academy, as this event was a form of assessment. Choosing an environment favorable to oneself is the most basic knowledge for a mage—of course, if you’re a great mage or have enough ability to create a barrier to create a favorable environment for yourself, you can ignore this rule.

“Clap, clap, clap!” Professor Manhert, the one in charge of regulating the educational rules at Rex Academy, stepped forward to the large group, clapped his hands, and said in a deep voice, “Alright, this event will take place right here. Before we begin, let me emphasize once again: the academy hopes that all participants compete fairly and avoids any unpleasant incidents. I’d like to remind the senior students that this is a competition for the entire academy, including first- and second-year students. To them, you are stronger, and bullying the weak is not something to be praised. Therefore, the academy stipulates that students in fourth year and above must not use magic above level four when encountering juniors—they are prohibited from casting curses and strictly forbidden from using control-type mental magic…

Also, I believe every team member should have received an emerald-colored communication stone and a white magic stone representing their eligibility for this event… In case of danger, getting lost, or being trapped, please use your communication stones to contact the academy. Of course, those who misuse them for fun will have one to ten basic points deducted from their annual evaluation. Remember, these are meant to protect your lives—the professors don’t have much time to play around with you.

As for the white magic stone, it represents your eligibility for this event. After the two teams fight, the losing side must hand over this stone and shatter it in front of the winner. Oh, and there’s also the magic map on you—use it to follow the directions indicated by the powder to return to the ancient castle. If you want to withdraw, you can do so as well. Of course, if a senior student withdraws without reason, the academy will deduct three basic points from their annual evaluation. Any questions?” Perhaps due to the wind magic he used, Professor Manhert’s voice carried far.

“No, Professor!” Compared to the calm demeanor of the seniors, the first-year freshmen were extremely excited.

“Very good. Then, the professors, get ready… Students, the event starts in ten minutes!”

After Professor Manhert’s speech, most of the students dispersed. The seniors went first to secure advantageous positions, while the freshmen, full of joy, searched the magic maps for the hidden magical items—after all, most of them saw this as just an event, nothing more.

As professors of the academy, they were required to supervise the event and ensure the safety of every student. However, before leaving, Professor Hodde still caught up with Jiang Zhe.

“Be careful, Thors!”

Jiang Zhe curled his lips in response to Professor Hod’s ‘malicious’ smile.
What does it mean to lose face if you can’t hold out for two hours? And what does it mean to lose face that you’ll lower my annual evaluation score?
It’s infuriating!
“It seems Professor Hod really values you, Thors!” Scott said with a smile.
“Hmph,” Jiang Zhe grunted indifferently, looking around at the area that had been filled with students but now only had the three of them left. He sighed and said, “So, what do we do now?”
“Do we even need to ask?” Allen said with a grin. “Hurry up, Scott, get out the map. We…”
“Shut up!” Scott interrupted Allen with a frown, speaking in a serious tone. “Someone like you will definitely be the first to leave! Don’t forget what’s written in the Mage’s Beginner’s Handbook: As a mage, you must first ensure your own safety before thinking about defeating your enemy… As first-year students, we’re very weak, with few offensive spells. If we encounter higher-grade teams, it will be extremely difficult to win!”
“Hey!” Allen was clearly upset and about to say something when Jiang Zhe pressed his shoulder.
“Allen, listen to Scott!”
Glancing at Jiang Zhe, Scott pushed up his glasses and analyzed, “Of course, we’re not completely without a chance. First of all, Thors is almost at the level of a third-year student… Thors, you take care of the attacks, while I and some idiot will handle the distraction!”
“Hey, what do you mean ‘some idiot’?” Allen asked, tilting his head in dissatisfaction.
“What do you think?” Scott sneered twice and whispered, “In a duel between mages, terrain is crucial. Unfortunately, there’s no terrain suitable for Thors’s fire spells… But it’s good this way; we won’t keep running into other teams. Allen, you’re not wearing armor under your robe, are you?”
“No!” Allen shrugged, then suddenly reached his hand out from under his robe, grinning. “But I brought two gauntlets…” As he said this, he clenched his fists together, producing a metallic clang.
Jiang Zhe was speechless upon seeing it.
Once, Jiang Zhe had tested the durability of that knight’s armor with a fireball. The result? The armor wasn’t damaged at all except for some dust—it was likely enchanted knight’s armor…
Such knight’s armor, whether in terms of weight or price, was beyond the reach of ordinary people…

While Jiang Zhe was examining Allen’s bracers, Scott had already chosen a route on the map to follow through the forest. After all, as first-year students with relatively weaker abilities, it would be foolish to travel in open, flat areas.
“Crack, crack!”
Stepping carefully over the thick fallen leaves in the forest, the three of them moved forward cautiously. Personally, Scott hoped to avoid all other teams during this initial phase.
At that moment, scattered explosion sounds and shouts could already be heard in the forest—it seemed other teams had already encountered each other. After all, though the forest was vast, the locations where magical items were hidden were much smaller. With thousands of students at Rexx Academy, it was inevitable they would run into others.
According to Scott, since there was a gap in strength, they could only make up for it with endurance—preserving their strength to deal with the opponents they would face. After all, the closer they got to the hidden items, the more other teams there would be.
With this in mind, the three of them deliberately avoided areas where other teams were more concentrated, heading instead toward more remote spots—they were moving toward the most remote marked location on the magic map.
Perhaps blessed by the goddess of luck, Jiang Zhe and his companions didn’t encounter any other teams along the way. Even when other teams approached, they detected them in advance—probably low-grade students who didn’t know how to hide their traces.
But as usual, luck often brought misfortune…
Jiang Zhe and his companions reached the marked location and found a gem embedded in a tree trunk marked with a fork. What kind of gem was it?
It was thumb-sized, completely translucent, glowing with a fiery red light. Upon closer inspection, the interior of the gem appeared to flow like liquid—clearly, that was the essence of the gem.
Firestone!
The favorite gem of fire mages!
“Good luck, buddy!” Allen said cheerfully, patting Jiang Zhe’s shoulder.
But before he could finish speaking, Scott pushed his glasses up and whispered, “I don’t think it’s luck…”
Jiang Zhe, still amazed by the gem’s brilliance, raised his head in confusion. Following Scott’s line of sight, he groaned inwardly.
In the distance, three girls dressed in magical robes were approaching. Without even mentioning anything else, just the girl at the front—with fiery red hair and an air of nobility—was the last person Jiang Zhe wanted to see…
Lavia Phaularia, that arrogant and highly self-important noble girl.
How could it be her?!

To be honest, Jiang Zhe didn’t want to meet her not out of dislike—after all, he didn’t feel any aversion or other emotions toward her. He simply couldn’t stand the hostile look in her eyes when she stared at him.
“Yeah, it’s fire red stone, Avi!”
“Is… is that so…”
“Avi?”
Allen scratched his head, sounding a bit incredulous. “Hey, how could we run into this?”
“It’s not strange. We could think of it, and so could others,” Scott said softly, taking off his glasses and wiping them with a handkerchief he carried. “What do we do, Thors?”
What to do?
Jiang Zhe really wished someone could tell him the answer right now!
“Uh, you’re the one from that fire magic class…”
“Trying to befriend us won’t work,” the girl with short hair said in a delicate voice. “Consider yourselves unlucky for finding something we like. If you hand over the fire red stone, we might consider letting you go!”
“Hey, girls should act like girls, right?” Allen muttered softly. Next to him, Scott put his glasses back on, remaining silent the whole time.
After staring at Ravia for a long time, Jiang Zhe glanced down at the fire stone in his hand and said indifferently, “You want this? Fine, here it is.”
“Huh?” The two girls across from him were clearly surprised. Amidst their joy, they heard Ravia say angrily, “Are you insulting me? Rude commoner!”
“Hey!” Allen nudged Jiang Zhe with his elbow and said in a strange tone, “Dude, quite graceful… too bad they don’t appreciate it…”
“Avi?” Clearly, Ravia’s two companions were also very surprised.
In silence, Ravia slowly raised her hand and pointed at Jiang Zhe. “If you win, you take it; if you lose, you stay!”
“Hey,” before Jiang Zhe could speak, Allen scratched his head and said hesitantly, “I don’t want to fight a girl!”
“What do you mean by that?” The girl with short hair was clearly upset by Allen’s tone.
“Sigh, it seems inevitable…” Seeing Ravia’s firm attitude, Scott sighed softly and looked up. “Then, how shall we do it?”
Ravia turned to whisper a few words to her two companions. Then, the girl with short hair pointed at Allen. “That tall one, I’ll make you regret what you just said!”
“What tall one? My name is Allen…” Muttering, Allen reluctantly followed the girl.

At the same time, another girl also pointed at Scott, “That one with glasses!”
“…” Pushing up his glasses, Scott walked aside on his own. The girl was stunned for a moment before following him.
Thus, only Jiang Zhe and Ravia were left… One-on-one!
Jiang Zhe hesitantly glanced at Allen and Scott as they left. It wasn’t out of concern for them, as he knew their abilities well; he just felt a bit troubled. He hated trouble the most…
“Do you want to show off your composure? Or do you really not care about your opponent right now?” A voice filled with anger came through.
“That’s not it,” Jiang Zhe shook his head and explained, “I just think…”
“What do you think?”
This girl is too domineering, he thought. After hesitating, he frowned and said, “Do you really want to fight? Honestly, I don’t want to fight…”
“Are you saying I’m not good enough to be your opponent?” Clearly angered, the girl’s furious gaze toward Jiang Zhe carried a hint of humiliation.
“That’s not it. You misunderstood…”
“I hate your look!” Interrupting Jiang Zhe’s explanation, the girl gritted her teeth and said, then frowned as she recited a few spells. With a whoosh, a circle of flames erupted from the ground beneath her feet. The crimson flames ignited the air, emitting a hissing sound.
“…” Jiang Zhe frowned and tilted his head, feeling at a loss as he watched the flames spread around.
As mentioned earlier, the range of damage from these flames is very limited. I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to walk into their flames. Logically, the best approach in such a situation is to keep a distance, so the opponent can’t use their tricks.
Perhaps noticing Jiang Zhe’s strange expression, Ravia blushed with shame and stubbornly said, “Since this is a duel between magicians, let’s use the trees on both sides as boundaries, with twenty yards in front and behind… If you’re a coward who dares not accept a woman’s challenge, you can refuse…”
A woman? You’re still early for that, right?
Besides, these rules clearly favor you, don’t they?
For a moment, Jiang Zhe shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“Will you accept? Apprentice magician Thos!” Feeling the heat on her face, Ravia bit her lip and stubbornly declared, “This is a challenge from me, Ravia Phaularia!”
Jiang Zhe remained silent. Although he had said he wanted to see the mysteries of magic, that didn’t mean he liked getting into conflicts. Well, not that he disliked it, but he found such situations troublesome, especially when the opponent was a girl.

With a slight sigh, Jiang Zhe reluctantly said, “Can I just give up?”
“You!” Perhaps Lavia misinterpreted Jiang Zhe’s words, and her face turned red with anger, tears of shame and defiance glistening in the corners of her eyes.
“You coward!”
“Call me a coward then…” Muttering in resignation, Jiang Zhe took out the scarlet stone from his pocket and held it out to Lavia, his intention clear.
“You!” Lavia’s eyes reddened with anger as she trembled, staring at Jiang Zhe defiantly. “You, who are so highly regarded by Professor Hodde—Sos, are you really a coward who can’t even accept a challenge from a woman? You coward! You’re a disgrace to the Academy of Riox! If you refuse this duel, I’ll spread the news, and everyone in the school will know there’s a first-year student who’s too cowardly to accept a woman’s challenge!”
“Whatever you want.”
“You bastard! You coward! You scum! You… you… ugh…” Lavia had never felt such humiliation before; tears streamed down involuntarily, but she quickly wiped them away once she regained her composure.
“…”
Trouble! Jiang Zhe sighed in frustration, frowning and saying irritably, “Okay, okay, I’ll accept it! Do you really need to cry?”
Lavia, who was quickly wiping away the tears from her eyes, froze for a moment before saying angrily, “Who’s crying? I just… I just…” She calmed herself down and spoke seriously, “I’ll fight you, risking my dignity as a mage. So please don’t insult me with half-hearted efforts! And… I sincerely apologize for my behavior earlier!”
“Hmph,” Jiang Zhe snorted dismissively, “If you get hurt, I won’t be responsible!”
“You’re too arrogant!” Lavia, who had still felt some guilt, became furious upon hearing this. “Then go ahead and try to hurt me!” She took a deep breath, and complex spells emerged from her murmurs, turning into crimson runes that wrapped around her body. Below her feet, a red pentagram began to form slowly.
A barrier? Jiang Zhe was stunned, his expression turning serious.
Even the most basic barriers aren’t something she could master right now, are they?
This guy…
I knew this would be troublesome!

Sighing helplessly, Jiang Zhe kept his left hand, wearing a white glove, in his pocket, but slowly extended his right hand. After reciting a few incantations, a faint ripple appeared above his right hand. With this ripple, the fire elements around him rapidly condensed. Due to their extreme density, the process of condensing the fire elements, which resembled small vortices, could even be seen with the naked eye. Soon, a fireball composed of interwoven purple and red flames slowly took shape, hissing as liquid flame dripped downward, scorching the ground beneath Jiang Zhe’s feet. A difference in quality? Glancing at the fireball in the distance, Lavia bit her lip in frustration. I must defeat him at all costs, for the sake of a magician’s dignity! Damn him! I… won’t lose!