Two hours later, only four examinees remained in Exam Area 73.
It's going much better than I expected, Colt thought.
He hadn't assumed it would be this easy to filter out so many, but they were gone in just two hours.
What surprised him more was that two others besides Niter had passed. He thought only she and he would make it through.
Still, the exam wasn't over yet.
"Now that the preliminaries are over, let's begin the real exam," the teacher said, catching everyone off guard—except Colt.
He had already guessed this would happen.
No matter how fair the earlier tests had been, some standards had to be met to enter the top academy.
And this was the part where most commoners failed.
No new tools were brought in this time. The teacher simply said, "Show me a mid-low level spell with at least two different attributes."
There was no trick to it. It was straightforward. But the academy didn't accept students with only one attribute.
That policy had always been controversial, since the number of attributes one could use was determined at birth.
Still, the best academy in the country had to maintain its standards.
Fortunately, all four examinees passed.
Niter went first, casting a light beam again, then lifting a stone with earth magic.
The next two followed, each showing two simple spells with different elements.
Then, the teacher turned to Colt.
Up to this point, he'd impressed her in every test. And as a teacher, she genuinely hoped he would pass this one, too.
The academy needed people like him.
Even if he only had one attribute, she was already thinking about going to the headmaster to plead on his behalf.
Fortunately, a small flame formed in Colt's hand. Then it shifted, rippling into water that flowed around his fingers.
Since this was the first time Colt cast a spell, everyone, including Niter and the teacher, was shocked to see instant casting.
Even Niter, who didn't need to chant, needed time to focus her mana. Of course, a teacher of the top academy could also instantly cast mid-low-tier spells.
The teacher let out a quiet breath of relief to see he had two attributes, but then, she couldn't help herself.
"Is that it?" she asked before she could stop the words.
She realized her mistake immediately.
"Teacher, didn't you say two attributes were enough?"
"Ah—sorry. I thought you'd have more, and maybe... show something more." She was already used to his flair for dramatic displays.
Colt, of course, understood exactly what she meant.
And this was just what he'd been waiting for.
"Well, I could show you," he said with a smirk, "but do you have enough time?"
"What do you mean? How many attributes do you have?"
Colt grinned. "All of them."
***
Attributes…
When an Artean was born, regardless of race, they might or might not have mana circuits in their body.
Bloodline played the biggest role in this. A child born to two parents with mana circuits almost always inherited them.
But even then, the quality of those circuits varied, again depending on the bloodline.
There were ways to develop one's circuits through training, but a clear difference remained between a good circuit and a bad one, no matter the effort.
That quality came down to the width of the paths the mana traveled through.
The wider the path, the more mana could pass through.
As for attributes—those were also determined at birth.
Fortunately, most Arteans inherited one attribute from each parent, so having two attributes was common.
But Colt was different.
He wasn't an Artean to begin with. He had only come here to play a game.
It was all thanks to Zeno, the gaming capsule that let players dive into the world of Arte.
The first time Colt entered the game, Zeno created a replica of his body in Arte.
And like every other player, when he chose a class that required mana, he received a mana circuit—one of the highest possible quality, though untrained.
Along with it came four basic attributes: fire, wind, earth, and water.
Among Arteans, three attributes were uncommon while four was rare.
In the entire recorded history of the continent, there had only been one person known to possess more than four.
But when he learned about this, Colt could cast more than four attributes.
He didn't understand why at first. So he tested it, experimented, and observed other players.
Eventually, he found the reason.
As a player, he could learn skills by using skillbooks.
And when he learned a skill tied to a different attribute—for example, lightning—he also gained that attribute permanently.
Even though Colt didn't rely on preset skills and instead developed his own spells, he ended up learning skills from every attribute, even the rarest ones.
And now, after returning to the past, he still had all of them—because he hadn't come back in his original body.
He returned with the replica body that Zeno had created.
That was the only way he could bring his powers back in time.
***
The teacher didn't force him to show anything else.
She thought that if he was telling the truth, it would break her heart.
The two attributes were more than enough to pass, and the instant casting had already been more than enough showing off.
There were a few more tests that required specific abilities or spells, but all four of them still passed every one.
After that, the teacher announced the end of the physical exams, and an arrow formed above each examinee's head.
"There will be a one-hour break. Go wait in the waiting area. After that, the written exam will begin in the room your arrow is pointing to."
They thanked the teacher and left, one by one.
---
The academy grounds were less crowded now that most of the candidates had been eliminated.
Well, probably only a few nobles had been eliminated, but there were fewer than one-fifth as many commoners as before.
More of them would be eliminated since only 250 students entered each year.
In the meantime, nobles had grouped together, chatting while some commoners listened in from a distance.
Since almost all the nobles at least knew each other and could talk easily, the commoners—most of whom had come alone or lost their friends in the exams—stood around in scattered spots, watching and listening.
"Leina told me she was in the same exam area as Seila Springold. She said Seila's a genius and is sure she'll be the top student."
"No way, the second prince entered this year too. Every royal family member so far has joined as the top student."
"But I heard a rumour saying that Seila was a genius mage with four attributes."
"That only helped in two of the tests. The second prince has three attributes, and one of them's rumored to be a rare one.
And the best part is, he is a warrior! He didn't become a mage like the first prince, even with his skills."
Colt didn't listen to them. He headed straight for the food stalls near the waiting area.
There were plenty to choose from, but he stopped at the fried chicken stall when he spotted a familiar face.
"Looks like we're in the same classroom this time, Lady Seila," he said. Their arrows were pointing in the same direction.
"Huh? So you passed. Good for you," she replied with a real smile. It was the first time she had ever smiled at him like that in this life.
Is it because I passed that I was rewarded?
She had already ordered her food.
"Can I get one too?" Colt said, handing a gold coin to the man selling fried chicken in cups. "I'm also paying for the lady."
Seila frowned. "There's no need." She was actually surprised that a commoner could even have a gold coin, let alone spend one so casually.
But she still didn't want him to pay for her food.
"Please let me, Lady Seila. It's a thank you—for letting me ride with you on the way to the city," Colt insisted.
She looked at his face, then sighed. "Sure, whatever. Let's go. Hei and Myrin are over there."