The Apprentices were naturally fearful and worried that they might not reach the cut. Even though they felt like they had done their best to master their Basic spells during the one-month duration, the final judgment rested with Darius.

Gunner also folded his arms as he stood to the side, looking imposing and dangerous as he always did. Their only shining beacon of hope was the gentle and beautiful Xela who was smiling at them encouragingly.

Among the five of them, Reina was the biggest fan of the Elven Princess and dearly wished to be like her when she was older.

Ash and the rest had light crushes on her to varying degrees because she would occasionally come around to assist them in various ways, making their hellish training syllabus easier.

"Alright, enough delaying. There is an important event today that I will let you all attend to broaden your horizons, so show me your progress and let me evaluate you." Darius spoke with a smile.

"Ash, as usual, you go first." He prompted calmly.

Ash took a deep breath and stood forth. He then focused on the training target opposite him which was stationary and unmoving. He stretched out his finger and the Basic Lightning element spell, Sparks.

A thick rain of electric bolts was emitted from his finger, making Darius feel nostalgic since it greatly resembled his own casting back in the day.

Of course, Ash had used the chanting method since only Darius could Instant Cast, and it took him only 3 seconds to word it out.

This not only showed his level of mastery, but how potent the spell manuals Darius had transmuted for them were as it greatly shortened the necessary chants they needed to make before casting.

Ash turned to Darius with a hopeful expression. Darius smiled and nodded with approval. "Sufficient enough for a pass. Come and stand beside Xela."

Ash excitedly walked over, to the envy of the others. The pressure also mounted on them to make the cut. Xela chuckled as she gently patted Ash on the head, making the young fellow blush.

Darius gazed at Reina and used his chin to gesture to the training target. "You're next Reina, don't disappoint me."

The lass took a deep breath and stood before the training dummy. She moved her body in a strange and ethereal manner, using the gesture method to evoke her spell.

Reina used the Spirit Element, and the basic spell was called Soul Shatter. It attacked the spirit of a person directly, breaking through most defenses to deal great damage.

It was especially useful on races with poor soul defenses such as the undead, but not much on other mages and those with powerful minds. The spell manifested a silverly crescent blade that pierced into the training dummy.

Darius had not used it before in battle himself, but he had to admit that it did look very powerful. Not to mention that the Spirit element was especially useful in the Journeyman stage with how diverse it was.

Reina turned to Darius with trepidation, but he nodded with pleasure. "Sufficiently done. You too may stand beside Xela."

Reina jumped in excitement and rushed over, throwing herself into Xela's embrace. The Elven Princess smiled sweetly and rubbed Reina's soft hair with a smile.

Darius then gazed at Jonathan and who was clenching his fists tightly. "Go ahead, young conqueror."

Jonathan took a deep breath and stood before the training dummy and pointed his finger at it. He only chanted for about 4 seconds before a stream of cinder-like flames flowed from his fingertips.

It was quite thick and wide, making Darius nod. Jonathan turned to him and awaited his verdict.

Darius pondered slightly. In truth, Jonathan had not completely mastered it yet, but if he were to liken it to levels, he had reached level 19 and was just one inch away from mastery.

As such, Darius decided to be lenient and pronounced that he too had passed. Jonathan breathed out a sigh of relief and walked over to stand beside Xela who rubbed his back gently.

Even the forceful and always aggressive Jonathan blushed at this. Well, Xela was like a gentle goddess to these lads, so it wasn't surprising.

Darius focused on James who was smiling mysteriously. He didn't wait for Darius to tell him what to do before he moved to stand before the training dummy.

He cast the basic spell of the Darkness element, Devour. It was the opposite of Purify that dealt damage to Darkness element beings, in that it was pretty universal.

It would deal a certain % of damage based on the spellcaster's proficiency and turn a small percentage of damage done to HP. Unfortunately, it was a Basic spell so this effect was not sustainable in battle.

But starting at the Intermediate level the Darkness element spells were truly worth the while. Whatever the case, James used the gesture method just like Reina and successfully cast it on the dummy.

Darius nodded his head and judged that James had mastered it truly. He had known that the fellow was truly destined to master the Darkness element, which was a good thing.

"Come and stand beside Xela as well." Darius instructed, to which the non-descript lad obeyed. He greeted Xela respectfully, when he came close and stood beside her demurely.

Darius then gazed at the last Apprentice and the most special, Anthony. He had the most arduous task, as he had heeded Darius' words and all his chosen elements had been at the pinnacle.

As such, unlike the others who could mindlessly jump into the spell Darius outlined for them and practice it repeatedly, Anthony had needed to learn all five Basic spells, practice with each of them and slowly feel out which one had the strongest resonance and chemistry with himself.

Everyone was curious to see his progress. Darius was even willing to look the other way if Anthony hadn't come far, as the lad was talented enough and the circumstances mitigated failure.