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Land of Magic 1
“I knew you’d be here.”Hadjar was sitting on the edge of a cliff, his feet dangling in the air. There were clouds below him, and birds and other, much stranger, winged creatures occasionally flew past. Behind him stood a black passage in the mountain that served as the entrance to Underworld City.Two months had passed since his conversation with Rahaim. During that time, he’d become accustomed to his new abilities as a Heaven Soldier. He’d managed to grasp his new power, and the sharper senses that came with it. Even the odd change to his thinking was something he’d learned to deal with, for the most part.Nowadays, while looking at an object, Hadjar’s thoughts would often stray and turn into some deeply philosophical musings. Even the simple flight of a bird could make him wonder about the depths of the Sword Spirit’s and the Wind Spirit’s path for hours.He pondered Rahaim’s claim that, whatever he did in the future, he would never be able to return to the Wind Spirit’s path. Ther
Land of Magic 2
The dragon’s heart had granted Hadjar his third rebirth. It had renewed his body and spirit. The countdown of his age had begun from scratch. A similar thing had happened to Einen. His inhuman, purple eyes had been a gift from a Rainbow Fish. He’d earned this honor by rescuing a tiny fish out of a fishing net. He’d ended up rescuing one of the ‘children’ of that Rainbow Fish. Beasts on the path of cultivation could also have regular offspring, but they did so very rarely. His new eyes allowed Einen to see through the shadows.“I’ve already passed a similar test,” Hadjar said, recalling his examination when he’d joined the army of Lidus. “The artifact that was used there could only tell if a person was older or younger, but not their exact age.”“With all due respect to your ancestors, Lidus is truly a barbarian kingdom. I’m sure the best School in Darnassus has a slightly better artifact,” the islander emphasized the word ‘slightly’ in a mocking manner.Hadjar looked at his friend wit
Land of Magic 3
“You don’t look like you can afford a piece of my elephant’s dung, let alone a seat. Get out of here!”Hadjar and Einen looked at each other, shrugged, and demonstrated that they had the necessary funds. The guard grumbled something and directed them to a person responsible for the sale of passenger seats. By nightfall, the formalities were settled and the friends had a private coach at their disposal. Unlike Rahaim’s caravan, it wasn’t drawn by desert mules. In fact, nothing pulled it at all. It rested on the back of a huge elephant.***A journey that might’ve taken at least two years in a simple caravan lasted only a month and a half. On the morning of the fortieth day, after descending from their coach, they found themselves on the border between the desert and the Eastern provinces of the Empire.After thanking the caravan driver for taking care of them, they untied their desert ravens and rode toward the hills to the west. The sand was gradually replaced by dry ground. Small bus
Land of Magic 4
Any practitioner or cultivator from outlying kingdoms could find everything that they’d ever dreamed of here.However, the prices made the friends’ hearts weep. For some of the Technique scrolls, the merchants would ask for up to a hundred coins; for artifacts at the Heaven level — one hundred and fifty coins was the minimum. The prices in the alchemy shops started at one thousand coins.“Today is the fifth day of the exams...” everyone murmured.“The penultimate day!” Someone added excitedly.“Cultivators from all over the country have come to the city to try their luck!”Hadjar and Einen were upset to find that they’d arrived on the fifth day of the exams. When they’d left Underworld City, they’d calculated their travel time so that they would reach the capital with time to spare. If everything had gone smoothly, they would’ve arrived a week before the start of the exams. Unfortunately, due to numerous delays along the way, they were almost late.The majestic gates of ‘The Holy Sky’
Land of Magic 5
Upon hearing the herald’s words, people started moving toward the gates. The elf girl soon disappeared into the crowd. Hadjar decided to hold off on asking Einen about the elves for now. They had far more important issues to deal with first.After shaking off the dirt (which only ended up staining their clothes further, making the friends’ appearance even more unpleasant), Hadjar and Einen joined the crowd. ‘The Holy Sky’ School allowed spectators to attend the exam as well. In fact, it even encouraged it: each spectator was someone who might go on to spread the word of how the best of the best of the younger generation had come to their School to participate in their trials. After all, you could never have enough prestige.“Watch where you’re going!” Hadjar was shoved in the shoulder.“Master, you’ve been dirtied by the masses.”A white silk handkerchief was handed to the young man who had pushed Hadjar. He wiped his hands carelessly, and, after throwing the handkerchief away, he mov
Land of Magic 6
The crowd divided into three parts. The first and most numerous part moved toward the arch of plain stone. Another herald was standing beside it. He was wearing gray clothes without wrinkles, and he had gray hair.“If you wish to take the ordinary disciples’ apprentice test, please come here.”After exchanging glances, Hadjar and Einen joined this crowd.A still wide, but much less numerous, stream of people moved toward the arch in the center. It was golden, with a huge hieroglyph etched in the middle, and it stood behind a herald in blue robes — a slender and beautiful middle-aged woman.“The trial for fully-fledged disciples will begin soon.”There were only a few people walking through the last, jade arch, which was being overseen by a man in black. Among them, Hadjar noticed both the elf girl and the young man from the Predatory Blades clan. He wasn’t surprised to see that they had chosen this particular test. It was the most prestigious position new students of ‘The Holy Sky’ Sc
Land of Magic 7
Mentor Jean was right: Markin didn’t want to waste his precious time on menial work, and neither did dozens of other Mentors and inner circle disciples. That was why the school recruited so many pseudo disciples. They weren’t allowed to attend lectures, visit the libraries, the Treasury, or the Armory. They couldn’t even walk around the School grounds freely. Only a faint hope kept these wretches from abandoning their hopeless pursuit.Those who became ordinary disciples almost never progressed further. It was impossible for people of their level of power and talent.Suddenly, several people caught Markin’s eye. Despite the fact that Dalit was already using seventy-five percent of his maximum power, about a dozen examinees were still able to stay on their feet and seemed to be fighting against the pressure.Every year, some modestly talented people came here, only to perish in the Forest of Shadows or the Valley of Swamps.“That’s enough, Dalit.”The personal disciple of one of the Sc
Land of Magic 8
“The steles you see before you are incredibly strong. Anyone who can even scratch one will be granted one of these.”Mentor Jean held up his hand. A triangular medallion glinted between his fingers. Made of silver, it had a small stone in the center of a complex pattern. Another wave of whispers rose up among the examinees. It was their first time seeing the medallion of ‘The Holy Sky’ School and it was difficult for them to believe that all they had to do to get it was leave the slightest of cuts on a stele.“Excuse me, honorable Mentor Jean,” a young man of about fifteen stepped forward. “Did I hear you correctly? In order to become a disciple at your school, I only need to scratch this stele?”“Yes, that’s right, young warrior. Just keep in mind that you, like everyone else, will only have one try. So, I would advise you to use your strongest Technique.”The examiner’s response still didn’t calm the young man down.“What about an artifact? Can I use my artifact?”“Yes, you can,” Me