Chapter 68: Mind Mage

June adjusted her bearing as she approached the fallen figure of Warden. The elders dismissed the wards they had erected around the field for the safety of the candidates as the fight concluded.

A few candidates were still discussing what happened in the end. In one moment, Warden was about to reach her, and in the next, his figure fell to the ground with no visible sign of attack.

Although June revelled in being a Mind Mage, most people didn't know her class. She had simply used her expertise; she had thumped his mind with a powerful mind wave, powerful enough to knock out any Iron Rankers.

She came forward and crouched down to him, wiping his face clean with a handkerchief. He seemed so joyous in his scripts working in immobilizing her that June felt bad about knocking him out.

"Elder Allen, if you will," she asked the healer among them.

Elder Allen was over 200 years old and had already mastered many forms of healing. Although the mind was a delicate aspect, June had not dealt any critical blows to him for the healer to be worried. She simply wanted the elder to heal the wounds of his own making. That destructive force Warden wielded was the reason behind it all.

"Blasted boy," Elder Allen hummed as she drew her palm. Gentle white light streamed down from her palm, and all of them vanished into Warden's body crystal. His torn-up skin joined together and healed in minutes, not even leaving a scratch. However, he was still unconscious.

"He will stay like that for about an hour or so," June told them, as other elders came to check.

Elder Pavlov, who was so detached from the Mundane World, looked at the unconscious figure with interest. His eyes were especially looking at the cloak, sword, and light armor. He looked like he would start studying him right away, stripping him of all his possessions.

But June played her role first, not even giving him a chance to open his mouth. After making sure the healing was perfect, she scooped up the unconscious body and stood up. Warden was heavier than she assumed, far heavier, to be honest. He was easily over 300 pounds. June was a mage, but her Elven constitution gave her enough blessings to carry him at will.

She also had magic at her disposal to make her job easier.

"Elders, if you excuse me for some time," she said. "He will take a while to wake up again. You can all continue with the rest of the test. I'm sure the power he showed was enough to qualify for the next round. But if you want to test his combat power more, then we'd have to wait an hour or two."

"You are awake," June asked, and only then did Warden turn to find the elven woman sitting in a chair across from the bed, holding a book. She wasn't in her expensive mage attire, but only a simple gown that held her slender form clumsily. She looked just as beautiful as ever, perhaps more.

Or perhaps getting knocked out made him appreciate her beauty more.

The light constructs were turned on, indicating it was already nighttime, and he had been unconscious for some time.

"How long was I passed out?" he asked.

"About half, about 8 hours," she answered, studying his face. "How are you feeling? I didn't think you would stay unconscious for long. Did I give you too much of a shock?"

"What was that attack?" Warden asked, referring to the sharp assault on his mind that left no room for him to defend against.

"Do not be alarmed at that," she said. "I used an element of surprise to knock you out in one shot. While you were busy defending and keeping the scripts intact, you left your mind vulnerable against a strong mind mage like me."

Realization dawned on Warden as he finally understood how her abilities varied so much. Mind mages were rare, it was something one was born with and then later cultivated into something more.

"So the mind match you offered was you?" he asked.

June nodded, smiling softly.

"So, how did the test go? Did I qualify?" he asked.

"You did adequate to qualify for tomorrow's test," June said. "Just don't do anything that they reject you."