Heir of the Darkgod in the Holy Academy

Chapter 5: The Mana Exam & The Silent Theft

That morning, the main marble stage had been fitted with two black stone pillars etched with ancient runes.

Atop each pillar sat a massive Mana Evaluation Crystal radiating a clear blue glow—a magic-absorbing artifact that would force whoever tested it to drain their entire mana capacity down to the last drop.

Before Leon could even step onto the stage, a tall, broad-shouldered youth clad in a silver-trimmed red cloak arrogantly barged through the ranks of students.

Gavin—a 3rd-Circle fire element mage and the new right-hand man to the elite nobles—smirked villainously as he glared at Leon with utter disdain.

"Professor, grant me permission to take the exam side-by-side with this deadweight," Gavin interrupted, intentionally raising his annoying voice for all to hear.

"These evaluation stones have a dual-resonance feature, right? Let's see how fast his trashy glow gets snuffed out when paired next to my 3rd-Circle magic!"

Boisterous laughter roared from the ranks of noble students in the spectator stands.

"Hahaha! Gavin is showing zero mercy!"

"Leon's faint light will get blown out in three seconds flat!"

"Get ready to get kicked out of the academy today, trash!"

In the back corner, Valen stood leaning against the wall, pale-faced and panting heavily. The moment he heard Leon's name called, his entire body trembled violently.

He wanted to scream at Gavin to stop provoking Leon, but his throat seized up in sheer terror. Meanwhile, on the highest tier of the stands, Elena stood with her chin resting on her hand.

Her striking blue eyes locked onto the two figures stepping onto the stage. Leon walked slowly with his head hanging low, his shoulders slouched just enough to perfect his act as a timid nobody.

"Very well. If you are both ready, place your palms onto the surface of the crystals!" Professor Rowan called out sternly, holding a grading clipboard.

Gavin slammed his right palm onto the crystal with arrogant flair.

"Watch closely, Trash," Gavin whispered, grinning maliciously toward Leon. "I'm going to channel my fire magic at full power so the energy wave makes your cheap crystal crack out of sheer embarrassment!"

Bwoosh!

The crystal atop Gavin's pillar instantly burst into a blinding light. A blazing red radiance flared up, soaring high to form three magnificent, floating magic circles glowing in the air. Thunderous applause and cheers instantly erupted from the crowd.

"Incredible! Lord Gavin's 3rd-Circle fire magic is so pure!" the students praised from the stands.

Leon drew a quiet breath, placing his slightly trembling right palm onto the crystal of the second pillar. He meticulously dammed the void core in his left chest, allowing only the weakest spark of light energy from his right chest to trickle out.

Flicker...

Leon's crystal emitted an exceedingly dim, flickering yellow light, like a tiny candle dying in a cold night breeze. Only a single, faint, extremely blurry magic circle formed above the crystal.

"Hahaha! Look at that! How pathetic!"

"You can barely even see his magic circle!"

"What an utter waste of the academy's time!"

Gavin laughed triumphantly at the stark contrast before his eyes. He channeled his fire mana even more aggressively, intending to suppress the energy resonance of Leon's crystal until it snuffed out completely, utterly humiliating him.

Yet Gavin failed to notice one crucial detail. Beneath the cold marble stage, the shadow of Leon's boot stretched out invisibly. A thin, dense shadow thread slithered silently through the darkness, anchoring seamlessly into Gavin's shadow.

Void Drain.

Beneath his messy brown bangs, Leon's lips curled into a razor-thin, lethal smirk. The void vortex inside Leon's left chest began to spin slowly, generating an irresistible, eldritch suction force.

Gavin suddenly felt the surge of heat in his chest sputter. The fire mana flowing violently through his veins was forcefully yanked downward, sucked right through the soles of his feet into Leon's shadow.

"W-What is this...?" Gavin choked out, cold sweat instantly drenching his forehead.

The arrogant youth tried to yank his hand off the crystal, but his palm was stuck firm as if bound by invisible glue. Gavin's pure mana drained at an alarming rate within seconds, flowing smoothly to empower Leon's dark core.

An overwhelming sensation of hollow weakness violently struck Gavin's head, making him dizzy and lightheaded. At the same time, the magic crystal on Gavin's pillar—forced to absorb the wildly unstable, disrupted mana currents—began to vibrate violently.

The remaining fire energy inside Gavin's crystal suffered a dangerous backlash. The bright red hue inside Gavin's crystal distorted into a purplish-black, crackling wildly like a ticking time bomb.

"P-Professor! Help me!" Gavin screamed hysterically, his face instantly turning paper-white. "Something's wrong with the crystal! My magic is backfiring!"

Professor Rowan's eyes widened in shock as he felt the surge of unstable energy skyrocketing.

"Gavin, pull your hand away right now!" Rowan shouted in panic, sprinting toward the stage.

But it was already too late.

CRACK-SHATTER!

The immensely costly Mana Evaluation Crystal atop Gavin's pillar shattered into a million pieces! A violent shockwave exploded outward, throwing Gavin's body five meters through the air before he slammed violently onto the marble stage.

Thud!

Gavin spat up a mouthful of fresh blood, collapsing unconscious on the spot. His body twitched weakly, his mana drained down to absolute zero. Plumes of smoke billowed high above the stage.

Beside the destroyed pillar, Leon dramatically threw himself backward, falling onto his rear on the stage floor, his body quivering. The crystal on Leon's pillar remained completely intact—its faint, pathetic yellow glow continuing to flicker innocently.

The entire hall fell into a stunned, dead silence. Everyone gaped in disbelief at the helpless, unconscious Gavin, and then at Leon, who was cowering in terror at the corner of the stage.

From up in the stands, Elena narrowed her sharp eyes, sensing an invisible magical anomaly that had just occurred. Leon raised both trembling hands high into the air, looking at Professor Rowan with an expression of sheer panic.

"I-I'm so sorry, Professor! I only touched it a little bit! Why did Lord Gavin's crystal shatter like that?!"