Chapter 179: The Classic Talent Test

“Only the smartest and most talented people can get in!”

Laxana said, puffing out her chest and tilting her chin up.

Her violet eyes sparkled with pride, as if she were the most outstanding representative of the Magic Division herself.

“Wait,” Wendy said, quickly raising his hand to interrupt Miss Klein’s self-praise.

“You mentioned three branches: Holy Studies, Magic, and Military?”

“Yes, what about it?”

Laxana tilted her head and responded as if it were a matter of course.

Wendy frowned slightly.

This was a bit strange.

In his memory, the class system in the game Witch’s Conquest was very clear.

The Central Academy corresponded to the three basic classes: Priests who mastered holy power, Mages who communicated with elements, and Warriors who tempered their bodies.

Where did this Military Branch come from?

Where did the Warrior class go?

“How old-fashioned, Prince,”

Laxana said, putting on an expression of someone dealing with an ignoramus.

She explained,

“The essence of a high-level Warrior is to use magic to strengthen the physical body, greatly enhancing strength, speed, and recovery. We Mages, on the other hand, channel magic to communicate with natural elements outside the body to produce various effects.”

“One is internal, the other is external. Both trace back to the use of magic, so they’ve long since converged into the category of Magic Warrior.”

Miss Klein seemed to get tired of talking.

She swallowed her saliva, paused, and continued,

“The Military Branch only split from the Magic Division in the last few decades. It specializes in researching how to combine magic with military formations, tactics, and equipment. They train Commanders and strategists. Pure Magic Warriors are still under the management of our Magic Division.”

Wendy was enlightened.

He immediately thought of the terrifying, world-destroying magic that surrounded Astreia when she entered her Witch State.

It turned out that wasn’t just raw power, but a form displayed after taking the path of a Magic Warrior to its extreme.

***

Led by Laxana, the three of them passed through the busy corridors of the castle and finally arrived at a heavy wooden door carved with intricate Magic Patterns.

This was the office of the Magic Division’s Dean—Layana Klein’s territory.

The air was permeated with a faint elemental energy; ordinary students couldn’t even get close without permission.

After all, Wendy and Astreia were special admission students who had arrived after the start of the semester.

To handle the enrollment procedures, they naturally had to go through the most influential back door—the Dean herself.

Laxana pushed open the door and walked in first.

The spacious and bright office didn’t have the cluttered feel one might expect, with piles of parchment and ancient books.

Instead, it looked more like a luxuriously decorated reception room.

At that moment, her mother, Layana Klein, was chatting happily with an elderly woman dressed in holy red robes with a kind face.

Wendy’s pupils contracted imperceptibly.

He recognized her at a glance.

That elderly woman was the Dean of the Holy Studies Branch of the Central Academy, Aurelia Cathy.

She was a core NPC in the Witch’s Conquest game, responsible for the Priest class advancement and quest lines.

What was she doing here?

“Oh, my dear daughter! You’ve finally brought the distinguished Prince and Princess!”

Upon seeing the three of them, Layana stood up with a grin, lacking any of the stiff air of an academy dean.

With a casual wave of her hand, the magic elements in the air quickly condensed, conjuring three magnificent chairs with velvet cushions in front of them.

“Come, come, sit.”

“Mother, this is Dean Aurelia of the Holy Studies Branch,”

Laxana introduced politely.

“Greetings, Deans,”

Wendy and Astreia said, bowing slightly.

“No need for such formalities,”

Aurelia said, nodding with a smile.

Her kind eyes swept over the two of them, lingering noticeably longer on Astreia.

After a brief mutual introduction, Layana couldn’t wait to pull out a transparent crystal ball the size of a human head from under the table.

Her face was full of the excitement a merchant has when seeing a fat sheep.

“Your Highnesses, although you are special admission students, we still have to follow the standard procedures.”

Layana placed the crystal ball in the center of the table and said with a smile,

“Don’t be nervous. It’s just a simple test of your magic talent and elemental affinity. It will help the academy arrange suitable tutors and courses for you.”

She looked at Astreia and made a “please” gesture.

“Princess Astreia, you go first.”

Astreia glanced at Wendy before reaching out her hand, slowly pressing her palm against the cool crystal ball.

Wrrr—

A low resonance sounded.

Inside the crystal ball, a cluster of brilliant golden light, as dazzling as the sun, lit up first.

It was scorching and righteous.

But immediately afterward, deep within that golden light, a strange shade of dark purple quietly emerged.

Like ink dropping into clear water, it rapidly spread and tainted the surroundings.

Gold and purple, sanctity and descent—two diametrically opposed powers intertwined and collided frantically within the small crystal ball.

Yet, they maintained a bizarre balance, eventually forming a magnificent and dangerous nebula.

The entire office flickered under the light of the nebula.

“Whoa!”

Layana couldn’t help but exclaim, her eyes flashing with wonder.

“Seeing it again, it’s still so fascinating. Absolutely top-tier talent! Aurelia, look! We’ve struck gold this time!”

Aurelia’s smiling expression had long since vanished, replaced by a look of gravity.

She stared at the churning purple within the crystal ball as if trying to see through it.

“Alright, it’s your turn, Prince,”

Layana said, finally prying her gaze away from the crystal ball to look at Wendy, who acted as if this had nothing to do with him.

Her smile grew even more radiant.

Being able to personally mentor a student with both light and dark attributes was an honor any Mage would seek for a lifetime.

Her mood was so good she felt like she could fly.

Wendy felt helpless and sighed inwardly.

‘Here it comes. The public execution I can’t avoid.’

He knew the background of this body very well.

A mascot of a fallen kingdom who was useless except for being good-looking—what magic talent could he possibly have?

He probably couldn’t even make the crystal ball light up.

Under the gaze of the three ladies—four eyes in total—Wendy slowly reached out.

He imitated Astreia and pressed his palm against it.

The scene he expected—one where nothing happened—did not occur.

The moment his palm touched the crystal ball…

The interior of the crystal ball, which had just returned to tranquility, suddenly turned pitch black.

It wasn’t the darkness of ordinary light being blocked, but a pure chaos that seemed capable of swallowing everything.

No light, no sound, no elemental fluctuations.

It was like the singular point at the dawn of the universe, or the void after the end of all things.

The smile on Layana’s face froze instantly.

Aurelia stood up abruptly from her chair, leaning forward to stare intensely at the crystal ball.

Laxana instinctively covered her mouth, her violet eyes filled with terror.

Astreia frowned and instinctively moved a step closer to Wendy.

Her muscles tensed slightly as she entered a state of alertness.

This eerie darkness lasted for less than three seconds.

Crack.

A faint sound of shattering rang out as a fine crack appeared on the surface of the crystal ball.

Then, the cracks spread like a spiderweb, rapidly covering the entire sphere…