Sustaining The King's Life 112 Let The Exam Begin!

"Yes." The professor said. "This is an artificial dungeon created by the professors by the spells made by Magierstadt itself from scratch."

"Uh-uhm, is this building a part of the academy?" Asked one of the students from the back.

"No," the professor answered. "This place existed in a different dimension. Think of it as the king's Nusquam, except this one, has an established building and can be considered as a living s.p.a.ce."

The professor walked down to the stairs. Faustina couldn't believe what she had heard. Did Magierstadt just replicated one of the magic spells in the Opus . . . and had just revitalized it into a more powerful one? Faustina eyed the professor keenly, who had now stood before them with an intimidating aura Faustina couldn't explain. She carried an air around her that spoke of power and magnificence. Is this how mages are?

"This is called the Dark Castle, where you can find artificially-created monsters such as goblins, trolls, orcs, and even ghosts"—a girl let out a silent freaked-out sound—"but worry not. As I have said before, you, our future students, will not die here."

"H-how is that, Professor? We're going to battle monsters . . ."

"Hah! The professor said they're artificially created, right? They won't be able to hurt us. Have you been listening?" Barked a male student wearing a fancy ring to the girl who asked.

"The monsters are ABLE to hurt you," Professor Yoan corrected. "But not to the extent of you, dying."

"Then how are we going to be able to know who's going to pa.s.s? If we get injured?"

Faustina blinked. She glanced at the girl who asked. She was small in stature and was wearing a large witch hat. Faustina remembered her. She was the one who wanted to be on Ianua I.

"Mana?" Faustina exclaimed suddenly, blurting the first thought coming to her head, meaning to answer the girl who asked. The girl, including the students, paid attention to her after she gave a presumption, which, how it looked like, turned out to be the answer.

The professor nodded.

"That's right. Mana will be the deciding factor whether you pa.s.s or not." The professor explained. "When you reach a certain mana depletion rate from the battles without going onto the last level of the dungeon, then you do not pa.s.s the exam. AND REMEMBER. Mana crystals are absolutely forbidden. Once you are caught using one, you will never be able to take this exam anymore. EVER."

The students began to drop their mana crystals to the ground, a grave look in their expression after they did so. Faustina thinned her lips. Without mana crystals, the regeneration speed of mana would be decreased by eighty percent. It would be almost impossible to restore mana at this rate.

Mana is something that couldn't be regenerated by any spell, but there are crystals that act like energy drinks which would refill one's mana. The mana of a person is based on their magical and physical strength combined—and conveniently enough, a normal person couldn't see other people's mana. But that would differ when one permits their mana to be seen. In Faustina's case, it would be a huge problem, considering she has a seal. But Sheila had taken 'precautionary measures' and had concealed her very ident.i.ty to the professors in Magierstadt.

"If they see you, they will only see a normal amount of mana," Sheilalev says back when Faustina was still staying in the castle. "But if they look deeper, they will see through the spell. This is why you have to decrease your presence. Do not, at all costs, put yourself into the spotlight to avoid suspicion. Magierstadt professors are keen-eyed to those who look different. But since you are going as a Feuerlon, they might pay you no heed because they are under the radar of Feuersturm. But that doesn't mean they will completely ignore you."

Faustina clenched her fist. If the deciding factor is about mana depletion, then doesn't she hold a huge advantage? They told her she possessed a great amount, after all. If the people in the castle were right, then she, for sure, is pa.s.sing the exam.

"But then, I shall remind all of you that defeating orcs and monsters wouldn't be enough to pa.s.s the exams. They will just regenerate after a few minutes of defeat." The professor said. "Your mana gets back as time pa.s.ses; so we made it harder for you, students."

Faustina and the others fidgeted anxiously. Then how can they advance to the dungeon's last level if the monsters are undying?

"But then, that would only happen if you stall on a certain floor of the dungeon." The professor exclaimed. "This would be a battle of speed and strategy."

"So we just have to go to the last floor to pa.s.s?" Asks a girl who had a stunning red hair. She was also surrounded by men who obviously were admiring her beauty. "Without fighting?"

"Yes," the professor answered. "You only have to advance to the dungeon's last floor, after all."

"Then we can just run away?"

"I guess that'll be easy."

"But let me remind you that these monsters would not let you pa.s.s easily." The professor clarified.

Professor Yoan smiled. "And one more thing."

Silence.

"The Dark Castle is made specifically to inhabit the royal family." Says the professor. "The Undead Royals."

"The undead . . . royals?"

"They are what you can consider as bosses," the professor exclaimed. "The undead royals composed of the Undead Maid, Undead Princess, Undead Prince, Undead Queen, and lastly, Undead King."

"If a student gets into a certain chamber inhabited by the undead royals, then they can be considered unlucky. The undead royals lurk in whatever room they please because they are actual inhabitants of the castle. If you find them, you have to make them disappear by finding their weak spot."

"Will you tell us their weak spot, Professor?"

"No," the professor said, which had led the students' shoulders slumped. "—but I will tell you how to locate them. Each of the royals has a certain insignia of Magierstadt's firefly. Use a spell to destroy the insignia and you are all good to go."

"Again, the rules are simple. Get into the last floor, and consider yourself pa.s.sed." The professor smiled. "Oh, and before I forget. The last floor is where the Undead King resides. He is the only royal who never leaves his chambers."

"Now that I have said the instructions," the professor thumped her staff to the floor. "Let the exam begin!"