The Last Apprentice of Magic

CHAPTER 5 — THE TEST

The alarm bell rang before sunrise, its deep chime rolling across the academy grounds and pulling the dormitories out of their uneasy silence.

Fred was already awake.

He stood beside the window of his dormitory room, staring toward the enormous black bell tower in the distance as another deep vibration passed through the glass.

The bell rang once, then twice, and finally a third time.

A moment later, every magical screen throughout the academy illuminated simultaneously.

FIRST-YEAR PRACTICAL EXAMINATION — MANDATORY

A second message appeared beneath it.

LOCATION: CONTROLLED MAGICAL FOREST

Fred's eyes narrowed as he read the announcement.

A survival examination was normal. First-year students were expected to demonstrate their ability to handle real magical environments under controlled conditions.

What concerned him was the final line.

STUDENT ASSIGNMENTS HAVE BEEN FINALIZED.

His wrist bracelet vibrated.

Fred lowered his gaze and checked the display.

TEAM 17

His expression changed almost immediately when another notification appeared.

ZONE: BLACKWOOD SECTOR — RESTRICTED TRAINING REGION

Fred stared at the message for several seconds.

The Blackwood Sector was not supposed to be used for first-year examinations.

He knew that because he had spent most of the previous night reading through the academy's examination regulations. Restricted regions were reserved for advanced students, where the creatures were stronger and the environmental conditions were considerably more dangerous.

His dormitory door suddenly slammed open.

Kael stood in the doorway, already dressed in his combat gear.

"We're in the Blackwood Sector."

Fred looked at him.

"You noticed too."

Kael's usual confidence had disappeared, replaced by a grim expression.

"Apparently, we're the academy's favorite experiment."

Before Fred could respond, another voice came from the corridor.

"Or someone wants us dead."

Elara stood behind Kael, her arms folded across her chest. Two other students accompanied her—a thin boy named Simon and a nervous-looking girl named Nia.

Neither of them looked particularly pleased to see Fred.

Simon glanced at him and frowned.

"He's on our team?"

Elara gave a small, irritated sigh.

"Unfortunately."

Fred did not react to the comment.

Kael, however, gave both of them a warning look.

"We don't have time for this. We need to understand what we're dealing with before we enter that forest."

A loud horn sounded outside before anyone could continue the conversation.

The examination had begun.

---

Twenty minutes later, the forest gates opened.

Hundreds of first-year students stood behind the enormous reinforced barrier, their weapons and magical equipment prepared for the examination. Beyond the gate stretched a vast sea of dark trees, their branches twisting together beneath the pale morning sky.

The Controlled Magical Forest was one of the academy's most important training facilities. Magical beasts lived within its boundaries, but powerful barriers prevented them from escaping into the surrounding grounds.

Under normal circumstances, first-year students were sent into the outer zones, where the creatures were carefully monitored. Their abilities were documented, their locations were tracked, and the examination staff maintained constant communication with every team.

The examinations were supposed to be dangerous, but they were never supposed to be unpredictable.

Fred found that distinction troubling.

Predictability meant that someone had already calculated the danger.

He stepped toward the gate with the rest of Team 17 as a professor raised one hand to address the assembled students.

"Your objective is simple. Enter your assigned zone, retrieve one crystal, and return to the extraction point."

A magical map appeared above the crowd, displaying the different examination zones and their corresponding routes.

"Your bracelets will monitor your health and location throughout the examination. If you encounter a creature beyond your assigned threat level, retreat immediately and follow the emergency instructions."

Fred studied the map before glancing down at his bracelet.

Something felt wrong.

He activated Magical Observation.

The world immediately seemed to sharpen around him.

The forest barrier, which had appeared almost invisible to the naked eye, became a complicated network of glowing magical lines. Energy flowed through the barrier in carefully controlled patterns, reinforcing the boundary and maintaining the containment field.

Fred's eyes moved slowly across the structure.

Then he noticed something.

There was a distortion.

It was tiny and almost impossible to detect, but it was there.

[Environmental anomaly detected.]

Fred's breathing slowed.

[Analyzing...]

The information flickered before settling into place.

[Magical disturbance: 87% probability.]

Fred looked toward the forest.

Someone had altered something.

"Fred?"

Kael's voice pulled him out of his concentration.

Fred deactivated Magical Observation and looked toward him.

"What?"

"You've been staring at the forest for ten seconds."

Fred hesitated before answering.

"I think something is wrong."

Elara sighed beside them.

"Of course you do."

Fred ignored her.

The enormous gates began to open.

"Let's move."

Team 17 crossed the threshold.

As soon as they entered the forest, the towering trees seemed to close around them, swallowing the noise of the academy behind them.

---

For the first fifteen minutes, nothing happened.

That was what worried Fred most.

The farther they traveled into the forest, the quieter their surroundings became. The usual sounds of magical wildlife were gradually replaced by an unnatural stillness.

There were no birds calling from the branches.

No insects buzzed through the undergrowth.

Not even the usual rustling of magical creatures could be heard among the trees.

Nia finally broke the silence in a nervous whisper.

"Where is everything?"

Kael tightened his grip around his weapon and scanned the surrounding forest.

"Stay alert."

They continued forward, keeping close together.

Then Fred suddenly stopped.

The others nearly walked into him.

Elara frowned.

"What now?"

Fred pointed toward the ground.

A footprint had been pressed deeply into the mud.

It was enormous, with three distinct claws extending from the front. The impression was deep enough to sink several inches into the earth.

Simon swallowed nervously.

"That's not a Forest Fang."

"No," Fred replied.

Kael crouched beside the footprint and examined it carefully.

"What made it?"

Fred activated Magical Observation.

The Codex responded immediately.

[Unknown magical signature detected.]

Fred felt his stomach tighten.

"Something the academy hasn't recorded."

Kael stood again and looked at him.

"Are you sure?"

Fred nodded.

Before anyone could say anything else, a sharp sound came from the trees.

Crack.

Every member of the group froze.

Another branch snapped.

This time, it was closer.

Elara immediately raised both hands, and flames gathered around her fingers.

Kael stepped forward, positioning himself between the others and the trees.

"Stay behind me."

Fred stared through the gaps between the trunks.

At first, he saw nothing.

Then something moved.

A creature slowly emerged from the shadows.

It was a Forest Fang.

Normally, the creature was considered a manageable opponent for first-year students. It was dangerous enough to test their combat abilities but weak enough that a properly trained team could handle it.

This Forest Fang was different.

Its eyes were completely black.

Dark purple mana pulsed visibly beneath its skin, following the veins that covered its body. Its claws were nearly twice the length of those belonging to an ordinary Forest Fang.

It stood motionless, staring at them.

Fred's Codex activated.

[Target detected.]

[Species: Forest Fang.]

[Warning.]

[Magical structure altered.]

Fred's eyes widened.

"Don't attack."

Elara turned toward him.

"Why?"

The creature suddenly disappeared.

Kael barely had time to raise his weapon before the beast slammed into him with tremendous force.

BOOM!

The impact sent Kael flying backward. He crashed through a tree and landed several meters away.

"Kael!"

Elara thrust both hands forward and launched three firebolts toward the creature.

The Forest Fang twisted through the air with unnatural speed, avoiding all three attacks before landing effortlessly on the ground.

Fred watched its movements carefully.

Something about them bothered him.

The creature wasn't moving randomly.

There was a pattern to its movements.

A deliberate sequence that Fred had never seen in any of the academy's records.

"Left!" Fred shouted.

Kael rolled across the ground just as the creature lunged toward him. Its claws tore through the space where his head had been moments earlier.

"Now!"

Kael reacted instantly.

He swung his weapon forward, and lightning exploded across its surface before surging into the creature.

The Forest Fang screamed as the electrical energy coursed through its body.

For a moment, Fred thought the attack had worked.

Then the creature slowly raised its head.

Instead of collapsing, it smiled.

Fred's blood ran cold.

"That's impossible."

Elara glanced toward him.

"What?"

Fred stared at the creature's wounds.

They were already closing.

"Forest Fangs don't regenerate."

Kael looked at him while keeping his weapon raised.

"You're saying someone changed the examination?"

Fred shook his head.

"I'm saying we're not supposed to be fighting these monsters."

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Kael slowly tightened his grip around his weapon as he stared at the creature.

"Then what are we fighting?"

Fred looked beyond the Forest Fang and toward the deeper part of the forest.

The darkness between the trees seemed to shift.

"I don't know."

A tremendous roar exploded across the forest.

The ground trembled beneath their feet, and the surrounding trees shook violently as a flock of birds burst from the canopy and fled into the sky.

Fred's expression darkened.

"But I think we're about to find out."

---

Across the academy grounds, Professor Vale stood in front of a magical monitoring screen.

The display showed the locations and vital conditions of the examination teams.

One signal suddenly flickered.

Then weakened.

Vale's eyes narrowed.

"That's strange."

Another professor approached the monitoring station.

"What happened?"

Vale placed one hand against the display and examined the unstable signal.

"The forest barrier just fluctuated."

"Can you restore it?"

"I don't know."

Before the other professor could respond, the screen abruptly went black.

Vale's expression changed.

"Open the emergency channel."

The professor immediately began working with the control panel.

"We can't."

Vale turned toward him.

"Why?"

The professor's face had gone pale.

"We've lost communication with every team in the Blackwood Sector."

Vale stood completely still for a moment.

Then he pushed away from the monitoring station so quickly that his chair fell backward.

"That sector is supposed to be isolated."

"I know."

The academy's warning sirens suddenly erupted across the grounds.

---

Inside the forest, Fred felt a deep vibration beneath his feet.

At first, it was so faint that he wondered whether he had imagined it.

Then the ground trembled again.

Leaves began falling from the trees around them.

Kael looked around, his weapon still raised.

"What was that?"

Fred did not answer.

Something enormous was moving through the darkness.

It wasn't running.

It wasn't rushing toward them.

It was walking.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

One of the trees ahead bent sharply.

A second tree followed.

Then something massive pushed its way through the forest.

Fred could not see its body through the dense darkness.

He could only see two enormous eyes staring at them from between the trees.

The Codex suddenly flashed across his vision with such intensity that it nearly blinded him.

[WARNING.]

[High-level magical entity detected.]

[Threat assessment unavailable.]

Fred's heart began pounding.

Before he could react, every bracelet in the group activated simultaneously.

A new message appeared across each display.

[EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.]

Fred stared at the words.

His face went cold.

The examination was over.

Whatever had entered the forest was not part of the test.