Vale expected to be called first and he was already prepared to go up.
However, to his surprise, Professor Stella shifted her gaze from him and called for Neil Sommerhalder instead!
"Haha… As expected…" Neil laughed as he went to the stage.
He was laughing since the students in other classes thought that he was the best student in Class 2. As he was the first one to be called, they all paid attention to him, and he liked the feeling of being in the limelight.
Vale was stunned for a moment, but after understanding what was going on, he simply chuckled and watched Neil.
In any case, he still hadn't decided which of his Dark Spells he should use. To be exact, he had two options and he was still unsure which one he should use to show off in front of these students and professors.
"Professor Stella was having fun… She might arrange for you to be the last examiner, Vale." Chad muttered as he also realized what the professor was thinking.
"Well, she's saving the best for last…" Aubrey teased…
"I think that Neil was really working hard… He might have a better Spell Mastery than me." Vale calmly said but even Lisa scoffed at him after hearing this.
"That's impossible. I heard that Neil had his soul drained after he used a Forbidden Spell…" Lisa softly muttered.
"Right, a few of his Spell Models were even destroyed in the process. I wonder why he did that." Chad added.
"Didn't you hear that he was accusing Vale that he had done that to him? Oh… Vale, since you're here, can you tell us now if it was really you?" Aubrey asked with a teasing smile. She certainly doesn't think that it was Vale's doing so she was just laughing it off.
'I extracted his Energy Points and took one Spell Model… However, it seemed like it has been exaggerated into soul-draining and multiple Spell Models being destroyed.' Vale mused as he shook his head at Aubrey's question.
The only Spell he took from Neil was the Moonlight Curse.
Anyway, he shifted his gaze to Neil…
His Darkness Manipulation Spell was certainly good. Although it wasn't better than Leo and Luna's performance, it was still eye-catching. Using this Spell, he expanded his shadow and turned it into a giant. It covered not only the whole stage but also the walls behind him.
No other students have than something similar so it caught everyone's attention.
The others even started hesitating about what they should do later.
"Should I also create something similar? I thought of making a cape, but I don't think I could do it better than the others. Perhaps I should try copying this guy instead?"
"Heh… Expanding the shadow seemed easy from your perspective, but that's more difficult than making a cape or a sword. Just stick to your plan."
"That's true… Just do what you're used to. If you don't perform well, you'll get a lower grade, and those 2 Contribution Points will be gone."
"Hmph! Even if I do my best. I don't think I'll get that 2 Contribution Points anyway…"
"I'm thinking the same thing. Might as well try something incredible to get a higher chance of being selected."
Vale heard their words, but he didn't think too much of it.
He was too focused on what the giant shadow could do… He expected it to do something incredible than just being huge, but to his dismay, after it expanded, Neil simply canceled the Spell.
'That's it?' Vale felt a bit disappointed.
In the end, it was just a huge empty humanoid shadow that could be used to darken the surroundings. Of course, the others didn't feel it was strange since controlling such a huge shadow was also a huge burden to the Arcanist.
After this, Neil continued to use his second Spell.
Perhaps, he would use his Moonlight Curse if he still had that Spell since it had an excellent special effect once it was activated. However, since he no longer possesses the Spell, he had to cast a different one.
It was Rotting Chains!
Six chains made of dark fluid appeared from the ground… The chains were thick and oozing with the power of corruption.
"Awesome!"
"What a great Spell!"
Reid and Junius praised their friend as soon as they saw the terrifying Spell manifesting on the stage!
"Mhmm… It's at the peak of Elementary Realm. Not bad." Aubrey gently nodded. This is already very impressive since they're only in their second year.
The Sommerhalder family was indeed right to send Neil to the Dark Arts Academy instead of the Rune Arts Academy.
Neil went off the stage with his chest held up high as he felt satisfied with his performance. Well, many others had also clapped for him after seeing his Rotting Chains.
Unfortunately for him, Warren Lawstein was the next student who was called out, so Neil's performance was immediately forgotten.
Warren had used his Darkness Manipulation Spell to create a Full-Body Armor!
The Armor wasn't intricately designed, but it was certainly a sight to behold. His performance was probably better than Leo and Luna!
As for the second Spell he used, it was a Spirit Hand that could move quickly within the limits of his magic zone. It was quite underwhelming, but it was a good performance nonetheless.
Chad Bulmung followed next, and he didn't even try that hard. He only played around with the examination as if the result didn't matter to him.
"Double Sword!" Chad shouted as two swords made of Darkness appeared. He waved it a few times before feeling satisfied and canceling the Darkness Manipulation Spell.
His second Spell was only a Dark Mist Spell, which he was really adept on. It was the same Spell he used when he fought against the Evil Creature in Serenity Hall.
Again, his performance was quite average. Although he should be able to do better, he seemed to be holding back.
'Is he injured? Perhaps, he doesn't like to stand out?' Vale mused.
***
Several more students followed until only five students were left for Class 2.
That would be Dalton Stranway, Lisa Grayback, Aubrey Hall, Leonore Roland, and Vale Chambers.
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