The testing teams were under more pressure than they had ever been in any of the prior talent acquisition operations. The pressure that they faced from the subsequent attacks were more intense than any other attack prior.
They had gotten accustomed to being wary of militants and even mages mounting sustained attacks, but this time, the enemies came with not just armed militants, but also apprentices, and even senior mages.
RUMBLE…
Small tremors spread through the district as the powerful senior mages managed to keep their great power from harming civilians and infrastructure. They not only managed to deploy great power but also managed to keep it under perfect control, preventing any harm from befalling the people of the slums.
And yet, it left the people of the slums terrified, for they had never fathomed such a scale of conflict spanning across the slums in their entire lives. It meant that a greater amount of distance needed to be put between a block of residents and the senior mages before they were even willing to open their doors to speak to the people of the testing teams.
The employees of Trinity Housings were even shaken by the events that happened.
They gritted their teeth, continuing about with their sales under the heat of the afternoon Sun glaring down on them and clouds of dust lifted from the soil, impeding their vision and irritating their breathing.
What shook them the most was the sheer power of the mages.
They knew that mages were very powerful, of course.
But they didn't understand to what extent they were powerful, and nothing could compare to actually witnessing them in battle.
"That fucker created a flood!" one of the employees of Trinity Housings gasped with a stunned expression. "What the hell?! How is that even possible?!"
"Dammit! Now I want to learn magic as well if it's this overpowered!"
"Tsk, no wonder these fellows are so obsessed with finding magic talent."
"Focus," Dlint growled at his subordinates. "We're in a goddamn warzone and you idiots are getting distracted. Do you want to die?"
"Sorry, boss." His subordinates straightened up, immediately getting to work.
Though he said that, he understood their sentiment. Having served in the military, he had seen magetants and what they were capable of. What surprised him was how good Cæ performed in the field despite only having spent a year in magic training.
"Let's get to work," Dlint shook his head. "We need to sell as many Havens to these people as possible so that we get as many permanent customers as possible."
Trinity Housings had expanded deeper into the slums under the protection of the Elendir Institute of Magic during their operations and outside of their operations with some of their mages protecting the sales team, greatly increasingly the reach of the company within the slums as a marketplace.
The effects of the slums credit program introduced by the current administration was slowly taking effects as even residents in the more poor districts of the slums had begun gaining the purchasing power to spend money on a Haven unit.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The battle proceeded with intensity, drawing to a crawl, causing delays to the testing units and the Trinity Housings employees who followed shortly after.
And yet, they succeeded in finding what they came for nonetheless.
"Another one!" A task force member's eyes lit up with delight. "This makes the fifth elite talent that we have found in this district alone!"
Everybody's eyes converged upon a young adolescent, no more than eighteen years of age, who grew startled with all the intense attention. "W-What the hell does this even mean?"
His green eyes darted about uncertainly as he poised for action alertly, as though expecting them to gang upon him instantly.
STEP
Sorenon appeared before him, smiling at him welcomingly as he shifted his spectacles. "Tell me, Masin Lingley, would you like to become a mage?"
The young man's eyes widened with shock. "Me…? Become a mage?"
Sorenon nodded as a magic circle emerged before his eyes while he drew his wand from the holster on the utility belt of his magigear.
WHOOSH
Masin's eyes widened with shock as a ball of light emerged in Sorenon's hand.
"You have the opportunity to master this power."
Sorenon's voice was encouraging.
WHOOSH
He took to the air, hovering a few centimeters above the air.
Unlike Cæ, he hadn't been able to master flight magic at prodigious rates, just barely managing to get himself above the ground by a few centimeters after a year of training.
And yet, it was enough to dazzle the young adolescent.
"I can…" his stunned voice escaped him. "I can learn this power?"
Sorenon nodded. "At the Elendir Institute of Magic, no less."
CLASP
He drew an illusion artifact that had specifically been created to cast a life-like, powerful illusion of the Elendir Institute of Magic, activating it on the spot.
WHOOSH
Masin's expression grew stunned as he beheld the magnificent campus of the Elendir Institute of Magic in the illusion cast around him. Compared to the slums that he had spent his entire life in, the Institute was nothing short of a miraculous paradise.
"I'm in."
Masin blurted out instantly.
There wasn't even a question about it.
He had ventured deeper into the slums looking to join some gang, but had ultimately found himself simply unable to, for one reason or another. And now, he had a different and infinitely more precious opportunity.
And thus, the testing team had gotten their fifth person.
BOOOM!
A great explosion sent a small shockwave rippling across the slums district, lifting a cloud of dust from the soil paths of the district. Doors rattled by the force of the gust of the winds as clothes fluttered violently, several people even fell over, imbalanced by the shockwave that emerged from the battle.
That wasn't all.
BOOM!
The task force widened their eyes with shock as the shockwave was just enough to cause a shabby hut to collapse, causing the bricks to crumble as the unprocessed manalica used to bind them together simply gave in, causing the entire structure to collapse violently.
Sorenon's eyes widened with horror at the rubble. "That house… has two people in it!"
They rushed over with grave expressions as the students of the Elendir Institute of Magic whipped out their wands and began casting magic to move all the rubble away.
What they saw stunned them.
A recently purchased Haven unit sat at the very center of the hut, slightly dented by the heavy impact that had crashed into it.
CLACK
The door to the Haven unit opened slowly as a terrified mother protectively cradled her toddler in her arms, who curiously glanced at all of them, unaware of the near tragedy that she had averted.
If not for the Haven unit that the mother had chosen to buy just half an hour prior, both the mother and the toddler would undoubtedly have died.
Sorenon's stunned gaze shifted to the Haven unit with widened eyes as a hint of realization dawned on him.
Previously, even though he didn't say it out loud, he didn't think very highly of Cæ's attempts to sell Haven units in the slums. To him, it seemed like exploitation of the poor, not to mention very stupid, considering that nobody in the slums has the purchasing power. However, after he bore witness to the woman emerging from the Haven unit unharmed, he finally understood what Cæ was aiming for.
CLACK
STEP
Even as they helped the woman up, ensuring that they were unharmed, the other residents of the slums beheld the scene with a hint of surprise.
Unlike the students of the Elendir Institute of Magic, they weren't quite surprised at the hut collapsing.
They were more surprised at the resident of the hut being unharmed.
Their eyes lit up with intrigue at the Haven unit that had clearly protected the residents from death.
Those that had purchased the housing unit heaved a sigh of relief while those that hadn't experienced a pang of regret. If they had chosen to buy the housing unit, then perhaps they too would be able to sleep peacefully night.
BOOM!
RUMBLE…
The heavens above the district quivered as a thundering explosion in the sky sent shivers across the land as tremors spread through the environment.
Chills crawled across the skin of the task force as the battle between the mages escalated with greater intensity.
They watched with uncertainty and terror as the enemy magetants engaged with the magetants of the Elendir Institute of Magic.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The gap between the two groups rapidly closed between the two groups as the security team expanded faster than the attackers retreated.
Eventually, the two groups clashed in close-quarters combat in the skies.
WHOOSH!
Cæ curled about in closer-quarters with a remarkable flexibility and fluidity as several magic circles rapidly shifted before him, controlling his flight while he faintly chanted an incantation, preparing magic even as the enemy magetants targeted him aggressively.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
They launched countless attacks at from merely ten meters away as he flew about, evading the flying boulders, the powerful blasts of wind and the powerful beams of light surged forth with great speed and power, and yet, they never so much as struck him.
Despite his confidence in his combat and in his speed, he didn't deviate from the apprentice magetant security group this time, having learned his lesson the last time he tried to operate autonomously where he had found himself turned into a target.
The apprentice magetant security group proceeded in a cohesive groups in the air above the districts as they joined defensive and offensive efforts against the attacks who sought to inflict as much damage as they could as even as they retreated.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
With a single wave of his hand, Cæ unleashed several magic attacks across a variety of elements and a variety of the Fundamental Forms, creating a diverse set of attacks. What stunned the enemy mages was his mastery of almost all of the most powerful elements in combat when it came to conjuring and manipulation.
He could conjure light and darkness really well while manipulating heaven and earth with just as much proficiency. In addition to that, he even had remarkable mastery with secondary elements like fire and water, allowing him to conjure sophisticated attacks with great complexity, something that was very shocking for an apprentice mage who had just spent a year in training.
Additionally, a poly-elemental affinity was also quite shocking, for it was quite rare. Most people has one or two elements at most, with very few people having mastery with three or four.
Cæ had used all six elements.
He used the heaven and earth in his manipulation spells while using light, darkness, and death for his conjuration spells. He used life for body-hardening, something he had to pretend to use poorly since he had officially studied very little of it.
Affinities were meaningless for a pure mage with the power to conjure any and all eidos with imagination alone.
As long as he knew what a magic spell looked like in its manifestation, he could recreate that spell identically, leaving him with great access to many a magic spells that he had to stoop himself from using due to the fact that he couldn't justify how he knew to use because they hadn't been covered in the apprentice program.
It was why he truly looked forward to the senior program.
"Until then, I will have to be comfortable dealing with you guys," Cæ growled as he launched several attacks at the retreating attackers.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!