Chapter 907: Armin's Background
Chapter 907: Armin's Background
While Chad and Denise watched the examination in order to ensure that nothing went wrong and also to find a good seedling, Armin continued on with his task.
He had just consumed a diluted blood of an Asura... A single drop of Asura's Blood was able to make 10 liters of these potions. The vial he consumed only contained 20mL of this potion, and it also had various ingredients to ensure that its effects were good enough for the human body.
Well, after Shane learned that the Asura was the origin of the Dark Arts, it was natural that he'd take advantage of this. Because of that, he envisioned that all Dark Arcanists who would practice the Path here would become better.
Of course, with the Towers they obtained in the Celestial Prison Realm, Vale could actually decide to teach all the Arcane Paths in the Marshall Academy.
However, the problem would still be the existence of great teachers. After all, even if he had the resources, he couldn't just let anyone teach the young students. Education wasn't just about reading and writing, after all.
Anyway, after Armin consumed the potion, he immediately felt its effects.
He planted his feet firmly, struggling to keep his balance as the examiners watched in silence.
'It's really strange...' Armin frowned as he did his best to concentrate and not lose consciousness.
After all, he had a feeling that he would fail the exam and be placed in the lowest class if that happened.
Since he was already here, he wanted to at least attend Class 2 or 3! The Class 1 might be impossible for his average talent, who had to rely on the Philosopher's Elixir to obtain a physique that could practice the Arcane Arts, but he believed that he should have the ability to at least get into the second class!
Nonetheless, Armin soon felt a ringing sensation in his head as the strange disorientation clouded his mind, making it difficult to focus. He could only close his eyes and wait for everything to subside.
'I can do this...'
Armin breathed deeply and steadied himself with his willpower...
This willpower was formed from many days in the orphanage where he had no food to eat and had to rely on salvaging food in the trash cans. During that time, the invasion of strange beings from a different world was happening, so most of the volunteers who had been helping their orphanage didn't have the time to care for them.
The government subsidy was also non-existent aside from the rundown building they're using to cover their heads.
'I have suffered more than this... This is nothing...' Armin told himself.
Then, minutes seemed to pass in slow, distorted waves. At last, the sensation began to fade, and his vision cleared. He opened his eyes, steady on his feet.
"Well done, you've lasted a lot longer than we expected..." the examiner remarked, giving him a nod of approval. The others only lasted a minute or two before their bodies gave up. From this, they could tell that the person's Phantasm State wouldn't last 10 minutes in normal cases. However, in Armin's case, they believed that even without the assistance of their Academy, Armin would be able to train his Phantasm State to a degree in that could last for 30 minutes after about five years or so.
"You showed impressive resilience. We'll skip one of the tests we prepared because your body is still being nourished by the potion. Let's proceed to the final test, so you can fully benefit from that potion you just consumed."
"Thank you, Sir..." Armin gently nodded and expressed his gratitude. Though he had no idea what test he skipped, he was happy to know that this was for his benefit.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
'It seemed that I did well digesting the potion...' Armin was certainly proud of himself because of this...
He then looked at the last examiner. He was a tall, thin man with piercing blue eyes and gestured to the floor...
Armin wasn't too focused on the floor a while ago, but now that the man has gestured to it, He realized that he stood near a complex, arcane circle drawn on the floor.
Symbols he couldn't understand glowed faintly along its edges, exuding an eerie energy. "The final test is of courage," he said. "Step into the circle. This spell will surround you with a projection of your deepest fear, an illusion crafted from your own subconscious. Overcome it, and the test is complete. Right... In case you think that this is just to scare our students, this test will help you learn difficult or even those Forbidden Spells in the future... You have to remember that even if Forbidden Spells are prohibited, they are only for those evil people who would use them for their own selfish benefit. However, if you passed various tests from the Headmaster, restrictions would slowly be lifted..."
Armin was shocked after hearing this. Although he had no concept of how great these Forbidden Spells were, he believed that these Spells were incredibly powerful and could harm a lot of people, which was why they were forbidden in the first place...
Though he never thought of learning it before, he suddenly felt excited hearing this and nodded to the examiner.
Armin swallowed hard. There was some excitement, but still, nerves were prickling at the thought of confronting his greatest fear.
'What do I even fear anyway?' He wasn't sure what he would see here, but he somehow felt that whatever the result was, he would be able to achieve a good result.
'Ahh...'
Then, as he was about to get engulfed by the Arcane Circle's power, Armin recalled the only item in his possession that came from his relative...
Although he had no recollection of his parents, a man named Eustace had recently come looking for him and gave him a gold-plated timepiece, informing him that it was from his
great-grandfather.
This followed a series of fortunate events, such as being the only 12-year-old who had been luckily selected in the Orphanage to consume the Philosopher's Elixir.