There was silence in the crowd. Everyone felt their lives being held in the Mage Born's hands. For beings such as them, this was truly demeaning. They were all powerful individuals, accustomed to holding countless lives in their palms. The Mage Born stood on the stage, the sword in his hands glowing silently.
Cate wasn't sure if anyone else had noticed this glow, but she had. Her eyes had always been an asset. Once she noticed the glow and saw how intently the Mage Born was looking at the sword, she understood how his new spell worked: the real words acted like an anchor for the illusory swords to appear in the real world. The Mage Born therefore had to concentrate on the sword if he wanted it to remain in this world.
Cate also understood that the Mage Born wasn't creating these swords out of nothing. This wasn't how Mage craft worked. They weren't like Sorcerers, so they had to use the natural world to create with the help of magic. This meant the Mage had to possess a great understanding of the thing they were trying to create. They needed to know how it worked and its material composition. In some cases, they even needed to know the object's history, and even more. The more the Mage knew about the object they were trying to create, the more flawless their creation would be. For the Mage Born, the sword was something he knew very well. After being taken in by the Silva Clan, he had trained with the sword from morning to night. The Silva Clan trained him exceptionally well, and for his training to be complete, they made him create several swords from beginning to end. He had learned about the different metals and their properties and even delved deep into alloys. This was how they had managed to forge him into a powerful Mage Swordsman.
The swords that everyone felt pointing at their hearts only lasted a few seconds, but most people were already covered in sweat. The Mage Born had failed to manifest the swords completely, and they didn't last long. This wasn't surprising, as this was a new spell and needed further refinement.
The Mage Born staggered off the stage and stood next to Cate. Everyone waited for the judges to make their decision. The judges discussed the matter for a few minutes before reaching a conclusion. In their eyes, Cate could see they were very impressed by the Mage Born. This was no surprise, as even seasoned Supreme magicians struggled with creating new spells, even flawed ones.
"The Mage Born passes the second test," the old judge announced in a solemn voice filled with authority.
The Mage Born remained calm and didn't even smile. Some of the participants gained hope from this judgment. If the test required the spell to be perfect, none of them would pass.
"What is the name of your spell?" the judge asked.
The Mage Born thought for a second before answering. "Myriad Sword."
The judge nodded and began recording the spell. "Your spell is of the Novice Rank, but after refinement over the years, it could possibly reach the Master Rank." Spells were ranked with similar names to the levels of magic understanding: Novice, Apprentice, Master, Supreme, Legendary, Mythical, and Divine. The Avalon Society had just gained a new spell without lifting a single finger. The judges were very happy about this.
Usually, a magician would never reveal their spell, but in this test, the participant had to write down their spell and hand it over to the judges. Cate snorted at this. All eyes turned to her. The judges and a few other people could clearly see what she was thinking, but the judges had very thick skin. This wasn't the first time they had done something like this, and it wouldn't be the last.
"Mateo Vargas," the judge called out another name.
A young man nervously moved through the crowd and stepped onto the stage.
"He is doomed," Cate murmured.
"Why do you think so?" Mary asked. She was still calm, even though Cate had yet to give her the spell she needed to pass this test.
"He is too anxious and lacks confidence. This is not the way of the magician. At first glance, magic looks like an art, but in truth, it is more of a science that requires utmost precision. Even a single word out of place can lead to death."
Cate did not hide her words from the crowd. Everyone heard them, including the judges. The judges agreed with her assessment up to a point. Even if her words were correct, they were only correct for a few people who approached magic with her mindset. To some, magic was an art. They tapped into it with dance, music, poetry, and more.
Mateo Vargas had also heard Cate's words. They pulled him out of his anxiety, which was replaced by anger towards Cate. In his eyes, she was trying to distract him so that he would fail. As he saw it, she was a truly evil person. Cate saw the look the fool gave her and shook her head.
"Begin," the judge ordered. The young man reached into the small bag on his waist, a magic bag created by Mages using space magic. It looked small on the outside but inside, its space could be large enough to hold a small house. Mateo brought out glass bottles, a black pot, herbs, and even some bones. Instantly, everyone knew that he was a Warlock. He was a man who was a witch.
Witches tapped into the magic of the world by using potions. They also had other abilities that aided them. Usually, each witch had an extra ability such as teleportation, summoning, fire manipulation, and many others, but if they wanted to use spells, they also needed to use potions to do so.
Mateo began cooking up his potion. He mixed strange liquids and added even stranger herbs .
When he was done with mixing everything ,he created a fire using using his hands and began heating up the black pot that contained everything. Usually, witches already had the potions they needed stored in their magic bags but this time around ,everything had to be prepared out in the open .
Soon ,the black liquid in the pot began bubbling .Its color changes multiple times until it settled on green.
Mateo put some of the liquid inside a small glass bottle and sealed it .The glass bottle glowed with a mysterious light that made everyone think of a forest ,untouched by man.
It was finally time for Mateo to use his new spell.