I Entered Magic Academy With F-Rank Stats

Chapter 2 - Blackthorn Arcane Academy

When Ryan opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was that the bourbon was gone from his system.

Completely.

His head felt clear.

His vision was sharp.

Even the bitter taste of alcohol had disappeared from his tongue as though he hadn’t drunk anything at all.

Ryan rubbed a hand across his face.

“I’m actually sober?”

“Open the door!”

The shout came from the far side of the room.

Ryan turned toward it—

And finally noticed where he was.

He was standing inside an enormous stone hall surrounded by more than a hundred strangers.

Some were still dressed in office clothes.

A few were wearing pajamas.

Almost everyone looked either confused or terrified.

A muscular man near the far end of the hall was pounding on a massive wooden door.

“Whoever you are, open this door right now!”

Others quickly joined him, shouting demands of their own.

Some tried calling the police, but none of their phones had a signal.

Ryan checked his.

Same problem.

Stranger still, the digital clock on his screen was frozen at 11:08 PM.

BANG!

The muscular man slammed his fist into the door again.

A scraping noise came from above.

Ryan looked up.

A stone gargoyle perched over the doorway slowly opened its eyes.

Then it jumped.

Its stone wings spread wide as it plunged toward the man below.

“Dormio.”

A man’s voice came from beyond the door.

The gargoyle froze in midair.

A second later, it crashed onto the stone floor before it could reach its target.

The massive doors swung open.

A tall man in his thirties walked into the hall.

He wore a long gray coat, and a black wand rested at his waist. His brown hair was cut short, while a thin scar ran along the line of his jaw.

He looked down at the fallen gargoyle, then at the muscular man.

“Your first day here and you’re already picking a fight with the hall guardian. Ambitious.”

Nobody laughed.

The newcomer didn’t seem bothered.

“My name is Gareth Crowe. For the next three months, I’ll be the instructor in charge of Group Seven.”

Questions immediately exploded from every direction.

“Where are we?”

“Send us back!”

“This is kidnapping!”

“Who the hell are you people?”

Gareth let the shouting continue for several seconds.

Then he snapped his fingers.

BOOM!

The sound of a massive bell rolled through the hall.

The stone beneath Ryan’s shoes seemed to vibrate.

Everyone fell silent.

“Much better.”

Gareth pulled out his wand.

A blue flame appeared at its tip.

Before anyone could react, the flame took the shape of a tiny bird. It fluttered through the air for a moment before bursting apart into dozens of glowing butterflies.

Several people gasped.

“You are inside Blackthorn Arcane Academy,” Gareth said. “This place is real. Magic is real too.”

He swept his gaze across the crowd.

“But none of you are officially students yet. At the moment, you’re only candidates.”

A woman near the front raised her voice.

“What if we don’t want to be here?”

“Then fail the entrance exam.”

Gareth answered without hesitation.

“If Blackthorn decides you’re unqualified, you’ll be sent home.”

That seemed to cool some of the anger in the room.

Ryan, however, didn’t like the way Gareth emphasized the word unqualified.

The instructor walked toward the front wall and pressed his palm against a symbol shaped like an eye.

Stone ground against stone.

Part of the wall slid away, revealing a black mirror nearly three meters tall.

Its metal frame was covered in intricate carvings of twisting thorny vines.

“The Mirror of Appraisal,” Gareth explained. “It measures your basic physical condition and your innate potential.”

He stepped aside.

“Stand in front of it until the examination is complete. Do not move until the light disappears.”

The candidates went forward one by one.

A red glow swept over each person for several seconds.

Afterward, golden writing appeared on a sheet of parchment in Gareth’s hand.

A few results earned a nod from him.

Most received nothing more than a bored glance.

Eventually, nearly everyone had been tested.

Gareth looked down at the list in his hand.

“Ryan Volde.”

Ryan stepped forward.

Gareth studied him for a moment.

“You were also the last candidate to regain consciousness after transit. Nearly three hours.”

Ryan frowned.

Three hours?

From his perspective, the trip from his apartment had lasted only a few seconds.

Before he could ask about it, Gareth pointed toward the mirror.

“Go.”

Ryan walked up to the black surface and stopped in front of it.

A red light immediately swept over his body.

Five seconds passed.

Then ten.

The examination continued.

Ryan remained still.

Gareth, who had looked half-bored until now, slowly straightened as the writing on the parchment in his hand continued to change.

Fifteen seconds.

Twenty.

Several nearby candidates began to notice.

Whispers spread through the hall.

Ryan said nothing.

Half a minute passed.

The Mirror of Appraisal was still scanning him.

And it still hadn’t produced a final result.