All-around teacher at the magic academy

Leon led Ilya, closely following behind Teacher Lean, to the finish line.

Many teachers had gathered there. Leon's gaze swept over them and he recognized Mr. Polan and Mr. Logan. He nodded to them one by one.

He also noticed Mr. Vic, but didn't greet him. Leon said he wasn't familiar with him, but assumed the other felt the same way.

Ilya also greeted Professor Polan and reiterated his gratitude for his help.

"How do we see the students' performance?" Leon asked Lian curiously.

"The dean has a solution," Lian replied softly.

Leon and Lian's hushed conversation caught the attention of Mr. Vic, who was standing nearby, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Leon noticed this detail and stopped talking. He could almost read Mr. Vic's mind; Mr. Vic probably thought their whispering was a sign of poor manners.

Just as Leon was pondering how the dean would showcase the students' performance, the dean had already begun his magic.

Leon wasn't sure what specific magic the Dean was using, but judging from his intuition, it seemed to be a summoning spell.

His guess was quickly confirmed. A hidden portal suddenly opened in front of the dean, and a large swarm of dark creatures flew out from it. After careful observation, Leon was able to identify them.

"Are these mosquitoes?" His expression was slightly embarrassed. He noticed that the creatures the dean summoned looked extremely similar to mosquitoes, and even the sound of their wings flapping was exactly the same.

Leon stared at the large swarm of "mosquitoes" in front of him, feeling a bit itchy all over. He even felt an urge to use fire to wipe out the creatures in one fell swoop.

After the swarm of dark mosquitoes poured out of the void gate, a larger mosquito followed closely behind. Leon was certain that this was indeed a mosquito; they were very similar to the mosquitoes he usually saw, except that this one appeared unusually large. He speculated that this large mosquito might be the leader of this swarm, or perhaps their mother.

As the void gate slowly closed, the mosquitoes seemed to receive a silent command and quickly scattered in all directions.

Just then, a large screen suddenly appeared in front of the larger mosquito. Leon speculated that these screens were probably carried by the smaller mosquitoes, which seemed to be used as a means of transmitting vision.

"These are quite useful," Leon thought to himself, marveling once again at the unpredictable and infinitely possible nature of magic in this world.

...

"Hansen, I'll cheer you on!" William waved his arms from a distance, cheering him on loudly.

Hansen wasn't particularly moved; instead, he felt somewhat embarrassed, and a strange, indescribable feeling welled up inside him.

If these words had come from a girl, it might have been acceptable, but since it was William, it made him feel uncomfortable, as if countless ants were crawling on his body.

beep—

The sharp whistle pierced the air. Hansen had no time to dwell on such details; he knew he had to be fully focused and couldn't afford to fail in the first qualifying round. He didn't want to become the object of ridicule; the most important thing now was to give it his all.

As the whistle blew sharply, Hansen immediately shot off like an arrow. Like the other contestants, he did not hesitate at all and began to race along the forest path.

His starting reaction was quite quick, making him one of the best among his competitors, but there were still more than forty students ahead of him, which put him under considerable pressure.

As he ran, Hansen's mind raced, considering his next move. He knew that if it was just a straight-line race, the gap between him and the others wouldn't widen, and he wouldn't be able to showcase his unique advantages.

Hansen ran while lost in thought, casting his spells. Fortunately, he was quite proficient in wind magic and had learned some speed-enhancing spells, such as Wind Walk.

He summoned a gust of wind beneath his feet, making his movement as swift as the wind itself. At the same time, he continuously manipulated the airflow, instantly enveloping his body in the wind to gain additional thrust.

As he had anticipated, his speed improved significantly. However, he also noticed that many competitors were employing the same strategies, all using every means possible to accelerate, and no one wanted to fall behind in the race.

Hansen believed this speed was sufficient. If he could maintain it, his speed would steadily increase, so there was no need to worry excessively. He also realized that he needed to conserve enough physical and magical energy to cope with the challenges and unknown journey ahead.

Just as Hansen was pondering how to make the most of his magic, suddenly, a creature engulfed in flames burst out of the bushes in front of him, spewing out streams of scorching air towards him.

"This won't do; it'll slow me down." Hansen was alarmed; this situation needed to be resolved quickly.

He saw several students preparing to strike the creature down. Hansen, however, thought this was unwise; a direct confrontation would not be advantageous for them.

He decided to take a detour; after all, whether or not he could successfully defeat the creature, the expenditure of a large amount of magic power and precious time was not worthwhile. The academy wouldn't grant special treatment to students just because they overcame an obstacle.

Hansen stared at the creature surrounded by fire elements, feeling the scorching air it released, and quickly devised a strategy in his mind.

Just as he was about to take action, an even more intense burst of flames suddenly erupted around the creature, rapidly spreading in all directions.

The situation was urgent, and there was no time to think. Hansen immediately released a large amount of magic, summoning water elementals to resist the scorching flames. The moment his water magic clashed head-on with the raging fire, a large amount of water vapor rapidly spread out, enveloping a large area in just an instant.

"A good opportunity." Hansen's heart skipped a beat, realizing this was the perfect moment to escape. He quickly switched to wind magic, and in the instant the white mist obscured the creature's vision, he attempted to escape its attack range.

He kept casting speed-up spells on himself, trying to break free from the area ravaged by flames.

Suddenly, he felt a scorching heat approaching from behind. He immediately turned around and erected a wind magic barrier in front of him to meet the attack head-on. Using the force of the attack, Hansen was quickly propelled away, sliding a considerable distance.

Such battle scenes unfolded continuously in every corner of the forest, with each participant responding to the sudden challenges in their own way.