Chapter 30
A heavy silence hung over the massive courtyard. The remaining participants—barely over a hundred out of the original thousand—stood frozen in anticipation. Sweat dripped down their foreheads, their bodies aching from the grueling trials they had already endured. And yet, here they were, facing the final challenge, the one that would determine their place in the legendary Wizard Knight Academy.
Tryin, the leader of the White Dragon Squad, stood tall before them, his silver hair glinting under the midday sun. His piercing black eyes scanned the crowd, measuring their resolve. The tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a blade.
Finally, he spoke.
"The next trial," he began, his voice echoing through the courtyard, "will be quite simple."
Murmurs spread among the exhausted participants. Some of them sighed in relief. A simple trial? After everything they had been through? This had to be a joke.
Tryin continued, "This trial is… just a question."
Silence.
Then, an eruption of confused whispers.
"A question?"
"That's it?"
"How can the final trial be something so… ridiculous?"
Many of the participants stared in disbelief. This was the final test? After facing death-defying challenges , and brutal combat, they were now being asked to answer a question? It almost felt insulting.
Blaze furrowed his brows. This didn't make sense. He had expected something terrifying, something physically demanding. But this? Something wasn't right.
Tryin raised a hand, silencing the crowd. His next words sent a shiver down their spines.
"But this is no ordinary question. It is a question of magic, of history, of the very foundation of wizardry itself. If you answer correctly, you pass. If you fail…" His voice trailed off, leaving the unspoken consequences lingering in the air like a dark cloud.
The crowd grew quiet. Their expressions shifted from skepticism to unease.
Tryin's lips curled into a smirk. "Here is your question."
The courtyard seemed to shrink as the anticipation mounted. Everyone held their breath.
"In the ancient days of the First Wizard War, a legendary wizard known as Magnus Arkanis sealed away the Chaos Flame, a force so powerful it could unravel the very fabric of magic itself. The records of this event are scattered, lost to time. My question is this…"
His gaze sharpened.
"Where did Magnus Arkanis hide the Chaos Flame?"
A wave of silence crashed over the participants.
Eyes darted from one student to another. No one spoke. No one even dared to breathe too loudly.
The Chaos Flame?
Magnus Arkanis?
Even the most studious wizards-in-training had no idea. The event Tryin referenced was a mystery, an old legend that had barely any surviving records. Even those who had spent years studying magic had no clue where the Chaos Flame had been hidden.
Blaze swallowed hard, his mind racing. This question… it's impossible!
He clenched his fists and waited for his system to provide an answer. Surely, like in the third trial, the system would come through. It always did.
But there was nothing.
The system remained silent.
His heart pounded. Wait… the system doesn't know either?
His frustration grew. This was bad. No one here knew the answer. Not the strongest fighters, not the most gifted mages, not even the so-called geniuses who had dominated the earlier trials.
They were all stuck.
Just as the realization set in that this could be the trial that eliminates everyone, a voice broke the silence.
A loud, confident, utterly ridiculous voice.
"Hah! I got it!"
All eyes turned toward the speaker—Kaito, known to many as The Comedious One.
Blaze's stomach dropped.
Kaito grinned, hands on his hips, puffing out his chest like he had just solved the greatest mystery of all time.
"The answer is obvious," he declared dramatically. "Magnus Arkanis hid the Chaos Flame… IN HIS PANTS!"
For a moment, the world stopped.
Blaze swore he heard a bird fall out of the sky.
Tryin's face remained completely unreadable. His piercing black eyes locked onto Kaito, unblinking.
The participants stared in horror, as if Kaito had just signed his own execution. Some tried to stifle their laughter, but it was impossible. The sheer absurdity of the statement was too much.
Blaze covered his face, barely holding in his groan. This idiot is going to get himself vaporized.
Then, Tryin moved.
In an instant, he vanished from his spot and reappeared directly in front of Kaito. The sheer force of his presence sent a gust of wind blasting through the courtyard.
Kaito's smile faltered. "Uh… I mean… haha, just kidding?"
Tryin lifted his hand, a flicker of raw magic gathering in his palm. The air crackled with power.
Everyone took a step back.
Blaze swore this was the end. Kaito was going to be incinerated.
Then—
Tryin burst out laughing.
The entire courtyard froze.
The legendary headmaster of the White Dragon Squad—the man feared across the continent—was laughing.
Kaito blinked. "Uh… am I dead?"
Tryin wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling. "That is, without a doubt, the single most ridiculous answer I have ever heard in my lifetime. And I have lived long enough to see a man try to summon a dragon by clapping his hands three times and chanting 'here, lizard, lizard.'"
The crowd was stunned.
Kaito grinned. "So… does that mean I pass?"
Tryin's laughter stopped instantly. He leaned in close.
"No."
Kaito paled. "Oh."
Tryin straightened, regaining his imposing presence. He turned back to the rest of the participants. "Well, it seems no one here knows the answer. That is unfortunate." His eyes glowed with something unreadable. "But… it also proves something important."
The students waited, barely breathing.
"Magic is not just about knowledge," Tryin said. "It is about determination, about seeking answers where none exist, about pushing beyond what is written in books." His gaze swept over them. "The fact that you all refused to simply guess or lie shows wisdom. But wisdom alone is not enough to be a Wizard Knight."
Another pause. Then, his lips curled into a smirk.
"Fortunately for you, I did not say this was a pass-or-fail question."
Blaze's eyes widened. Wait… what?
"Congratulations," Tryin announced. "You all pass the final trial."
A stunned silence. Then, the realization hit.
The courtyard erupted into cheers and relieved laughter.
Kaito let out a deep sigh, clutching his chest. "Oh, thank the magic gods, I thought I was gonna die."
Blaze exhaled. This trial had been a test of wisdom and patience, not knowledge. Tryin had played them all.
And just like that, the path to becoming a Wizard Knight had been cleared.
Blaze couldn't shake one thought, though—if this was just the entry trial, what awaited them inside the academy?