Chapter 2: The Entrance Test

After learning that the horse was gone, Anders circled the carriage in disbelief before finally accepting the reality.

Meanwhile, An Xia and Melva discovered a letter tucked into a gap inside the carriage.

When they opened it, they found it contained a message left by an instructor from Lance Magic Academy.

“Congratulations on finding this letter. That means your horse is probably gone, right?”

Your horse is gone, my foot.

An Xia’s lips twitched, but he continued reading.

“To join Lance Magic Academy, having magical talent and submitting an application is not enough. That is merely the first threshold. There are two more thresholds that follow. If you fail to pass them, we will revoke your status as new students. What you are facing now is the second threshold: the entrance test. Your task is to rely solely on yourselves. You may keep at most fifty silver coins. Then, within three days, you must arrive at Lance Magic Academy. Good luck.”

After An Xia and Melva finished reading, both the envelope and the letter burst into flames and turned to ashes.

In the next instant, the gold coins on their bodies flew out of their pockets automatically. Melva’s storage ring vanished along with them.

An Xia checked his pocket—only fifty silver coins remained.

Melva and Anders each took out half a gold coin from their pockets.

“So… can these still be used?” Melva asked.

It was her first time encountering something like half a gold coin.

“Let me see.” An Xia took the half coin from Melva and then picked up Anders’s as well.

The cut surfaces of the coins were perfectly smooth.

But there was a problem.

Both halves were oriented in the same direction.

Which meant they could not form a complete coin.

Even if they were melted down, they would yield very little gold.

Despite being called gold coins, they were actually made from a mineral known as magic copper, merely colored like gold.

“They’re useless,” An Xia said, shaking his head.

Melva fell into thought. “So the only money we have left is your fifty silver coins?”

Anders looked despairing. “We’re finished… we’re definitely going to be eliminated.”

“Calm down first.” An Xia reassured him, then turned to Melva. “Do you know anything about this so-called entrance test?”

Melva frowned slightly. “I heard my elders mention it briefly, but they did not go into detail. I originally thought it would begin after we reached the academy. I didn’t expect it to start this early.”

“It seems Lance Magic Academy is no ordinary school,” An Xia remarked. “A typical academy wouldn’t go to such lengths.”

Presumably, all the new students were experiencing the same situation as them.

At An Xia’s comment, both Melva and Anders suddenly stared at him.

“You don’t know about Lance Academy?” Melva asked, her tone strange.

“Huh?” An Xia scratched his head. “Is there something I should know?”

Anders could not help but ask, “Then why did you apply to Lance Magic Academy?”

“Because it’s close to home?” An Xia replied cautiously. He noticed the shift in their tone and began to realize something was off.

Lance Magic Academy… seemed to be quite formidable.

“Lance Magic Academy was founded thirty-two thousand years ago by a Saint-level powerhouse, the Star Sovereign Lance,” Melva explained. “Since its establishment, it has produced a total of one hundred and thirty-six Saint-level powerhouses. Even now, sixteen Saint-level experts who graduated from Lance are still active in the world.”

Anders added, “Among all magic academies, Lance Magic Academy ranks third.”

Ah… I see.

An Xia finally understood what he had done.

It was as if top-tier universities were right next to his home, but he knew nothing about them.

After finishing his exams, he simply chose them because they were nearby—and somehow got accepted.

“Alright, alright.” An Xia covered his face. “So Lance Magic Academy is actually this impressive.”

Anders sighed. He suddenly felt a bit envious of An Xia.

He had practiced meditation since childhood, barely managing to meet the academy’s requirements before enrollment.

Meanwhile, An Xia knew nothing at all.

He simply took the magic aptitude test, applied, and was accepted.

That meant An Xia’s talent was terrifyingly high.

“Alright, enough of that.” An Xia placed his hands on his hips. “Right now, we should think about how to reach Lance Magic Academy within three days. Otherwise, no matter how impressive the academy is, it will have nothing to do with us.”

“Do you have a plan?” Melva asked. “All I have left is a storage ring for clothes, and it doesn’t have much space.”

“Same here,” Anders echoed.

An Xia looked at the two of them in silence.

Melva blinked at him with her violet eyes, while Anders appeared utterly lost.

He suddenly realized that both of them were completely helpless when it came to practical matters.

“Sigh…” An Xia let out a breath. “Then let’s start by selling this horse-less carriage.”

Anders’s eyes widened. “Isn’t this a carriage from Lance Magic Academy?”

An Xia glanced at him. “Did Lance Magic Academy say we’re not allowed to sell it?”

Anders froze. It seemed… they had not.

Half an hour later, An Xia efficiently found a carriage dealer, brought the person over, and sold the carriage on the spot.

They immediately received three hundred gold coins.

The materials of the carriage itself were ordinary, but the magic arrays engraved on it were valuable—and crafted by a renowned expert.

Moreover, Lance Magic Academy had not left any identifying marks on it. Once the dealer refurbished it, it could easily be used as a luxury carriage.

“Alright, now we have money.”

An Xia tossed the pouch lightly, the clinking of gold coins inside sounding crisp and pleasant.

“I asked around. From here to Lance Magic Academy, if we hire a fourth-tier magical beast to pull a carriage, it will only take three hours to arrive.

In other words, we can stay in Leos for two days and leave on the third.”

“Is that really okay?” Melva asked hesitantly.

Anders nodded in agreement from the side.

“Then tell me—do you want to walk all the way to Lance Magic Academy?”

“…On second thought, no.”

…

At that moment, inside Lance Magic Academy.

New Student Department.

“Hey, Sezer, have you finished preparing for the entrance test?”

A voice came through a sound-amplifying magic array.

“All set, all set.” The instructor named Sezer leaned back in his chair with his legs crossed.

“Director, don’t you trust me? This entrance test will definitely leave a deep impression on those little newcomers.”

“…You’re not planning to threaten them again with having their student status revoked if they fail, are you?”

“Hahaha, you guessed it.”

“Just don’t go too far…”

“Sigh, without pressure, where would motivation come from? I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of performance these new students will bring…”

Sezer had no idea that one particular group of new students was already heading down a completely unpredictable path.