As the three mages vanished down the stairs, I turned to the giant herbalist who was still standing nervously in a corner of the library.
"Stay here until I return. Do not enter the alchemy lab."
"Y-yes, my lady!"
Jansen bowed deeply.
Leaving the terrified man, I descended down the stairs into the magic training hall.
The facility truly had been improved.
The entire place was shaped in a large dome.
A circular field bordered with crystal pillars was installed at the center of the hall.
The pillars shielded the hall from any spell casted within the field.
The forged land's power was what made the pillars so there was no way for me to study it for alchemy.
Previously the pillars were just peculiar runes carved on the border of the training hall. Unexaminable as well.
Grand bronze gates leading to isolated training chambers were scattered along the hall's circumference. Each of the chamber was a smaller model of the central training dome.
Those rooms would be useful now given the presence of more mages in the forged land.
But we would not need them for the moment.
Yuxia, Matrias, and Vallerynne were waiting for me at the center field.
Supposedly, a mage would be standing outside the field by the crystal pillars, and cast their magic inside the protected space.
But that procedure was only necessary for a large spell like a Fifth Circle. The sort of spell which could harm its caster if they were within the casting zone.
At this testing we would not be casting such spells.
I examined each of the wildling.
None of them was carrying anything like a wand or a staff.
Some mages would wield magic artifacts that held additional mana reserve or would amplify the strength of their spells. Sometimes an artifact did both.
Magic artifacts were perceived as a sign of weakness, however. Since mages with small amount of mana or poor in casting strong spells would often be those that kept the useful objects.
The stronger mages would only use such artifacts when it was truly necessary. When they needed to cast a spell with all their strength.
Which brought me to an idea.
We would eventually need magic artifacts for the trials. We could never be too prepared.
I had the necessary knowledge of making them. But I would need another trained mage-engineer to help with the crafting.
The Weekday Dungeons did not provide us with the necessary materials to make magic artifacts too. I had asked the gatherers.
Hopefully the Weekday Dungeons would develop once we climb higher in the tower.
In any case, the fact that the three wildlings in front of me were not carrying any magic artifacts showed their confidence in spell-casting and their mana reserve.
Their clothing were also not magic-enhancing attires like my black and white dress which promoted mana generation.
The fabrics of their clothing were only resistant to mana radiation breakdown. The clothes would simply not be ruined by the spells they casted.
Attires for fashion purposes only.
I already sensed it from them. These wildlings had tremendous mana reservoir despite only reaching level 2.
Each of them could cast a Fourth Circle spell before experiencing Mana Overflow. Yuxia could even cast it three times or a Fifth Circle spell once before he collapses.
However, having a vast reservoir of mana in your vessel was just one thing. Knowing how to effectively and efficiently dispense your mana and utilize it was a whole different matter entirely.
There was someone from two thousand years ago who had an ocean of mana reserve. They could rival the Great Bromstead and Her Highness Samesta with that potential.
But no matter how hard they learned and trained, they could barely lift an apple with a telekinesis spell for a few seconds. Let alone casting a more complex form of magic.
The mage's skill was so insignificant that their whole identity was forgotten despite their tremendous potential.
Now I would have to see whether these wildlings deserved such fate.
"What do you wish to see from me?"
Yuxia asked confidently as I approached them inside the field.
He went on.
"I once melted a frozen lake. Froze a river. Tore down a hill. Scorched a plain. Flooded a forest. Forged a tornado. You name it!"
"What is your strongest element? The one you have the most affinity with."
I asked straightforwardly.
He was offended when I did not gape at his tales of artificial-disasters.
"Well, I'm most attuned to wind. But that element is boring. You can only make explosions with fire after all!"
"Very well. I shall observe your skill in fire elemental magic."
"What do you want me to cast? A Fourth Circle? I also know Fifth Circle spell."
He asked with a confident smug.
I shook my head.
"You won't get much chances casting those spells in the trials. A Third Circle and below are what you will be using the most."
Yuxia clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Pathetic. How am I supposed to show off my greatness with a simple Third Circle spell? But if you insist."
The eastern man stepped away from us and turned the other way toward the empty ground ahead.
"Cast the spell in the shortest amount of time possible. I would like to gauge your casting rate."
I told him.
Yuxia snorted at my instruction.
"Oh you'll be amazed by how fast I can cast my spell. You'll be left speechless by my 'wildling' prowess."
The elementalist proceeded to close his eyes and raised his hands forward.
[Maha Jwala]
Three crimson magic circles patterned with fire runes emerged and rotated around the elementalist.
The way the runes were arranged on the magic circles was different from how I would arrange mine. As expected from a wildling with his unconventional method.
A faint heat started to radiate along Yuxia's surface.
The heat grew and grew till tongues of flame manifested around him.
The tongues grew till they formed into thin trails flying about the air.
The thin trails grew into thicker trails which swirled around the caster.
The swirl of trails grew into rushing blazing currents.
The raging moving fire flowed to the front of Yuxia's palms, forming into a ball of flame.
The ball grew larger and larger, the intense heat it emanated burned the ground around Yuxia.
The fireball started spinning it began making a high-pitched hissing noise.
Once the ball spun wildly, Yuxia opened his eyes and activated the spell.
[Ignite]
The ball of fire burst forth as a devouring pillar of flame.
[Enflare]
The pillar exploded near the end of the field, sending intense heatwave back toward us.
[Arise]
The raging fire swirled around a center and rose like a burning tornado.
Eventually the flame dissipated and the coolness of the magic training hall returned.
Yuxia's confident smile was brighter than ever.
"Impressive, right? I managed to make a good time too. Usually it took longer for me to cast it. But I rushed to show you how fast I could cas--"
Before Yuxia could finish his sentence, my forehand struck his face with the entire force I could muster.
The eastern man collapsed to the cold tiled floor.
His long silky hair disheveled. Blood was trickling from his lips to his colorful wide-sleeved robe.
The forged land's power soon healed his wound, but his lips and chin were already stained crimson.
Vallerynne and Matrias gasped in shock of this sudden assault.
{W-what's happening here?!]
The fairy arrived and shouted in panic.
I made a waving motion with my hand to tell her to go away.
"Stay out of this."
I did not raise my voice but for some reason the fairy flinched in horror.
[A-as you wish!]
She said before quickly disappearing.
I turned my gaze back to the man I struck.
"Five minutes…Five whole minutes…"
I said slowly.
My hold on my temper was slipping away with each word uttered.
"…for a…Third…Circle…spell…"
Eyes widened in shock and horror, trembling hand feeling the bleeding lips, Yuxia looked up to me like a man witnessing his own death.
"Five minutes for a Third FUCKING Circle!"
Yuxia jumped at my rage.
"Is…is five minute…not fast enough…for you?"
The 4-star elementalist asked in a horrified trembling voice.
I chuckled upon his question.
"You're as useful as a scarecrow in battle. All you're going to do is stand around just like how a scarecrow would. Your comrades will be long dead by the time your spell is ready."
"Then how fast should I cast my spell if you know so much?!"
Yuxia asked. There was a tinge of anger in his voice now.
"Ideally, in an instant. But at this point in the climb, if you have capable comrades by your side, five to ten long seconds is adequate for a Third Circle spell."
"TEN SECONDS?!"
Yuxia repeated bewilderedly.
I also heard Matrias gasping at my reveal. Which signaled me to move on to the next testing subject.
"Matrias, cast the strongest offensive spell you can create in five seconds."
"FIVE SECONDS?!"
The middle-aged man gasped again.
"Very well. I'll be lenient. Ten seconds."
I said, which made him flinch hard.
Matrias then closed his eyes submissively and raised his hands toward an empty space.
[Maha Indra]
He chanted.
A pulsing wave of mana started to gather at the tip of his fingers.
In ten seconds he activated his spell.
[Strike]
A 2-feet lightning bolt flickered from Matrias's hands and vanished just as quick as it appeared.
All the spell did was disturbing the dust around the man's boots.
In battle, all it would do was to make a goblin feel a sharp sting and turn it infuriated.
I refused to be drown in anger again so soon.
"In my magic academy, we had a saying, 'No matter how great, no matter how mighty, no matter how divine a spell is, it is useless if it can't be casted on time.'"