Evans took the first sheet in his hands.
"What is magic?"
"It should be a question to probe our current perspective, both objective and subjective"
He holds between the fingers of his left hand a gold pen that he took from his ring and begins to answer each question.
His first response was simple, but accurate, both objectively and subjectively, as he tried to summarize in a few words the knowledge he stored deep within his being. His first response was:
"Magic is knowledge.
Magic is creativity.
Magic is mana.
When you bring together knowledge, creativity and mana, you can crystallize the most fascinating phenomena that were previously only manifested by nature in unpredictable ways."
Evans continued to answer, in some questions he had to interpret what elemental nature a magic circle was and in others he had to find the error in a drawn magic circle.
Question 90:
What is the Sacred Temple of the Sun?
Next to the question was the emblem of the temple which consisted of a golden circle, inside which was a golden sun with a peaceful face that had its eyes closed, and below that sun were nine small white stars with a red outline.
Since the invasion of the mansion by the White Sun organization, Evans had not suffered hallucinations or nightmares.
Crackle!
Fire!
Evans felt a sudden scorching heat. He heard again those sounds that heralded the beginning of nights accompanied by those nightmares he didn't remember but that left him feeling lost and uneasy.
"React!"
Evans took a deep breath, exhaled, and answered again. He answered what he had read in some books in the duchy, because despite his vast amount of knowledge, there was nothing about the Sacred Temple of the Sun.
"The Sacred Temple of the Sun is the seat of the largest religion on the continent, whose territory is second in terms of territory; it is considered by both the kingdoms and the Razven Empire to be a powerful Theocratic kingdom. Their laws are also theocratic in nature, and they are rigorously enforced through the Holy Inquisition..."
Evans stopped, took out a handkerchief, and wiped his face. He read the next question. Since it wasn't related to the Sacred Temple of the Sun, he decided to answer it.
The rest of the questions seemed simple to him, but upon reading the last question...
"What happened in the year 1659 on the Crimorian continent?"
Evans's senses were clouding, the energy within him wanting to escape. Evans closed his eyes, used sleeping magic to calm his emotions, and before falling asleep, he cast an empowering spell. Then he stored his golden quill in his ring, turned over the pages, and waited for the professor to announce the end of the test time.
The mind sometimes tortures through the voice of a subconscious that seems to speak when one most desires to be silent.
"Year 1659"
Just hearing it made Evans hear the crackling of the fire again. He looked up at the sky visible through the glass windows of the lecture hall.
"The night sky is more beautiful."
That last thought escaped from the depths of his being, distressing him and at the same time making him feel resentment, hatred, and a desire for revenge.
Professor Nina Serender, that was the name of the inspector who had protected the passengers on the ship, shuddered at the blank, cold, and hostile look on Evans's beautiful face. "What happened to him?" Having no answers, Professor Nina just followed the student's gaze and could only see the beautiful blue sky, which at that moment was only tinged with a few white clouds. "He must have remembered something very unpleasant." At that moment, Nina recognized the student and remembered that Evans had lost an arm in an attack, and her first thought was that she had remembered what had happened that day.
The bell rang, announcing the end of time to complete the test. No one could complain or object. Just after the bell rang, the papers glittered and disappeared from the students' desks, reappearing on Professor Nina's desk. She took the exams and instructed them:
-Everyone prepare for the affinity test, then you can go to your assigned dormitories or you can tour the academy, in a week we will announce the results.
Evans watched all the students leave, there were a few excited, some thoughtful, and a few disappointed. The moment there were no students left, he left the Conference Room, walking through the hallways again, observing the surroundings while trying to calm his agitated spirit.
On a bench, in a small park, a beautiful young woman with straight black hair, emerald green eyes, white skin, and a slender figure, was reading a book that she held in her right hand while trying to formulate a spell with her left hand. "It can't be that difficult to activate a magic circle of light; according to rumors, if you use a magic that you are not familiar with, your mana is depleted, but you improve the efficiency and capacity of mana in the long term; I must achieve it," the young woman thought.
-I think that even though you are using a basic spell, whoever devised it only created it for magicians with an affinity for light; That magic circle that is just taking shape has some symbols of intermediate magic to make it efficient.
The young woman looked up and was surprised to see Evans.
-You are Princess Amelia's fiancé! -Exclaimed the young woman.
Evans smiled politely, and spoke to him:
"Nice to meet you, I'm Evans Qualty. Have I become famous?"
The young woman blushed slightly at the kind demeanor, combined with his appearance, that made Evans a dream come true for the young women who could only see him from a distance.
"No! Pull yourself together, he's the princess's fiancé; besides, he's only talking to you about magic; that's common in this genius academy," the young woman gathered her thoughts, and after a few seconds, introduced herself:
"The honor is mine. I'm Hana Nazdinia."