A two-hundred-meter-long airship slowly descended from the sky.
The silver-blue propellers whirred, and the airship's silver hull shimmered in the sunlight. Its ergonomic lines and clean appearance inspired admiration and envy from the students below.
This is a large airship carrying the personnel of the Thetis Academy, and it also represents the Mithril Clock school, which is now the most powerful school in the Mage Alliance.
The airship landed in the center of the admissions exhibition area, then secured itself, lowered its steps, and revealed its interior, which was filled with exquisite facilities and instruments resembling the starry sky. These instruments could greatly improve the accuracy of observation, be used to study various things, analyze magical models, Alchemy artifacts, and so on.
Many of the instruments in the Mage Alliance are produced by the Mithril Clock School, which has also established numerous guidelines and set industry standards, laying the most important foundational framework for the Mage Alliance.
On this day, in addition to the Thetis Academy, which is affiliated with the Mithril Clock, representatives from the Academy affiliated with the other two major schools also arrived in the Asura District.
Among them, the Mithril Clock School's exhibition hall is like a descending airship, the Origin Hourglass exhibition hall is a huge hourglass like a volcano, divided into several layers, arranged from bottom to top according to history, and the Sun Furnace exhibition hall is a huge transparent sphere with a magnificent golden flame at its center that illuminates the night. The surging heat it emits allows every student who steps into it to be baptized by the " Blazing Sun ", restoring their spirit and vitality.
If the Mithril Clock " set the rules and direction for the development of the entire Mage Alliance, then the "Sun Furnace " school provided the driving force for the operation of the Mage Alliance.
The various power furnaces and engines developed and produced by this school of thought are used in many airships, Steam Locomotive, ships, large machinery, etc. They also produce various boiler equipment and lighting fixtures to light up the various regions of the Mage Alliance and provide heat.
Although it is currently ranked only third, it is the youngest of the Three Great Factions, with a burgeoning potential for further development.
"Are you sure, Hedra?" the teacher asked again, confirming whether the young woman wanted to apply to the Thetis Academy.
"Yes, I'm ready," Sylutia nodded in reply.
"In that case, go ahead." The teacher took out a stamp, stamped it on Sylutia's examination permit, and then handed it to her.
Picking up the certificate and the letter of recommendation that the Asura District officials had prepared for her, Tia stepped into the silver-blue airship.
There were no visitors here, only eager and expectant candidates, queuing up and praying that they would pass the exam and enter this most prestigious Academy.
As Sylutia walked over, many of the waiting students noticed her.
Without a sound, they made way for the girl, and even the students who hadn't noticed before were pulled by their companions to clear the path.
Her black hair fluttered gently in the breeze. Wherever the girl went, the students quickly fell silent and watched her walk past.
Students in the distance, unaware of what was happening, asked curiously.
"Who is that? Why is everyone making way for her? Is she someone special?"
"Don't you know? That's the infamous Untouchable Black Griffin of our Asura District, someone you can't afford to mess with." Hedra's reputation and strength are recognized by everyone. Now, even if you ask an ordinary laborer on the street, they'll know her name.
"Is it really that powerful?" The student covered his mouth slightly, somewhat incredulous.
"Yes." Surprisingly, none of these usually arrogant and argumentative classmates came out to refute him today; they simply watched silently as that figure walked through the crowd.
With her smooth black hair adorned with a simple blue iris hair clip, the girl, carrying books and proof, dressed in a quiet black dress, walked lightly towards the airship. If it were the first time seeing her, no one would associate her with any powerful nickname, and might even easily overlook this quiet and gentle girl.
But today, as she walked by, her quiet demeanor struck like a thunderclap, a solitary tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle, so striking and impossible to ignore.
After climbing a short flight of steps, Sylutia stepped into the spacious airship. A Mage dressed in a black suit and wearing a monocle was already waiting there. He took the certificate and letter of recommendation handed over by the girl, glanced at them scrutinizingly, and nodded slightly.
"Miss Hedra, please come in. You are the first examinee today. Good luck!"
He then lifted the black curtain, allowing the girl to enter the spacious area.
One by one, orange lights illuminated the path the girl was taking until she reached the center of the enormous rotunda. Then another set of lights appeared, and a group of judge Mage, ranging from Fifth Order to Sixth Order, appeared in the audience opposite her. There were seventeen of Mage in total.
"Now you can ask questions. We will score you based on your answers and performance."
"Yes."
The judges then posed a series of challenging questions, ranging from basic esoteric knowledge to the construction of practical spell models, from hands-on experiments to solving entirely new problems on the spot, and from pure mathematical analysis to real combat against formidable opponents.
"This is the second-to-last assessment. You will face a Tier 3 Blood Frenzy Beast alone. Defeat it within the time limit."
As soon as the words were spoken, a closed metal cage rose up from one side of the rotunda where the girl was, inside which a wolf-like beast nearly four meters tall was struggling and howling.
The cage opened, the chains unlocked, and the blood-red beast burst out. It first roared, then long streams of saliva flowed from its open jaws and fangs. The monster looked like a magnified Dire Wolf, but its muscles were far stronger than a wolf's and were not covered by skin, so the muscle texture could be clearly seen.
[ Blood Frenzy Beast ] (Tier 3 - Blood Law ): An experimental product that combines the bloodlines of multiple ferocious beasts. It can unleash astonishing combat power in a short period of time. It may be impossible to keep as a subordinate, but as an enemy, it is an absolute Nightmare for those of the same tier.
After the experimental beast emerged, it didn't give Sylutia much time to prepare. Its bloodshot eyes were fixed on the girl, and then it let out a chilling hiss and charged forward.
Seeing this, Sylutia opened her eyes slightly, without flinching, her eyes flashing as she analyzed the monster's condition in a very short time.
Despite being described as a third-tier knight, its speed and power far surpassed that of ordinary Knight. From the start of its sprint to reaching Sylutia, it took only three seconds.
At this moment, Sylutia's mind raced, and everything before her seemed to slow down. The Blood Frenzy Beast raised its right claw, its Sharpness claw leaving a trail of air in its wake, its tip emitting a faint red glow, Sharpness and dangerous, as it lunged toward Sylutia's face.
Avoid it? There's no time left; we have to tough it out.
The thick, black book rose up, blocking the oncoming claws.
The book cover cracked, and many pages flew out. In this brief moment of blindness, Sylutia abandoned the book and leaned back to avoid it.
Almost doing two backflips in the air, Sylutia managed to completely evade the attack. Afterward, she soared into the air, with black feathers appearing around her.
Soon, a pair of pure black wings Weaving together on her back, carrying the girl into the air.
With a flap of her large black wings, when Sylutia reached a safe mid-air, she spread her arms, and flying swords made of Magnetic Sand appeared, circling around her.
Then these flying swords were aimed at the Blood Frenzy Beast leaping below. The blades hummed, and streaks of cold light covered the swords, making them even Sharpness and Sturdiness.
----After the seventh cold light flashed across the blade, these flying swords shot out, rushing towards the enemy with a sharp whistling sound.
Silver Cold's flying sword tore tiny gashes in the Blood Frenzy Beast's body, severing its tendons, before continuing its flight and circling back, launching another accelerated dive.
Considering the opponent's body, which was as solid as steel, Sylutia did not command her flying sword to attack directly. Instead, she repeatedly tore open her wounds until she finally severed the Blood Frenzy Beast completely.
The hideous head rose into the air, steaming as it rolled to the ground. Soon after, the Blood Frenzy Beast that had been running and chasing each other on the ground also stopped moving and collapsed.
"Congratulations Hedra, on passing this assessment. The next task is the last one."
"Using the raw materials on the table without any frame of reference, please create a clock with an error of less than two seconds that displays the accurate current time."
As part of the Mithril Clock school's assessment, the final task is always clockmaking, and this time the difficulty has been raised to its highest level.
Making a clock might be something all the candidates prepared for, but how do you make your clock perfectly match the current standard time without any reference point?
This question is probably really testing whether she knows what the current standard time of the Mage Alliance is based on, and even if she does know, how she can use that source to calibrate her own clock.
The complex knowledge and theories involved involve more than ten disciplines and numerous mechanical processes, making it hard to imagine that a Mage apprentice could solve them.
They asked this question to find out the limits of this girl's abilities; these examiners would never ask such a difficult question to ordinary candidates.
Faced with such a difficult problem, even Sylutia paused briefly to think of a solution.
A few minutes later, the girl began to act. To the astonishment of the examiners, she simultaneously manipulated six pale blue Magic Hand to assist her. The tedious and time-consuming tasks were carried out and resolved in an exceptionally efficient and rapid manner with the help of these Magic Hand.
Then, each incredibly tiny part takes shape and is quickly and precisely assembled.
Before everyone's eyes, an exquisitely crafted Rotation clock tower took shape. It had six facets, each with a dial displaying the current time in different regions of the Fourth Continent.
[ Six-Faced Clock Tower ] (Tier 3, Rare); A clock tower made with exquisite and superb craftsmanship. Its interior uses the "lost Star-Gazing School " techniques to create Astrolabe, which can be aligned with the stars to determine the current location and time.
When the beautiful and exquisite Six-Faced Clock Tower was completed, all the examiners present began to applaud, praising this gratifying masterpiece.
"Now we can be certain, Miss Hedra, that you are the person we've been waiting for, the one who will bring new changes to the Mithril Clock school."
"Congratulations, Miss Hedra, you have passed all the tests."
"The gates of the Thetis Academy will be open for you."