Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest - Chapter 1832: One Year Later

Chapter 1832: One Year Later

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It was nine in the morning in London at the Clock Tower. Young magicians from the Magus Academy walked the vast corridors of the tower, heading toward their classes while teachers and grand masters prepared their lectures.

For Class 2-A, however, today held special significance. The Magus Battle test had arrived. After spending their entire first year mastering the basics of spellcraft, the young magicians now faced a mandatory combat trial to demonstrate their wits, quick reactions, and skill in wielding spells and abilities.

Some called the practice barbaric, but in the Clock Tower—the greatest Magus institution in all of Europe—it served as an essential rite of passage. It forced students to confront the true extent of their power and the distance they still had to travel.

Talented students would dominate the less gifted, and those who failed to meet the standard faced swift expulsion. They would never advance to the second year, forever branded as “half-wizzes”—magicians who could not complete their training, often scorned and discriminated against by Magus society.

For those eager to prove themselves, it was a glorious day. Dozens of young masters from prestigious families stood ready to show their attending parents what they were made of and affirm their worth as heirs to legacies centuries old.

Yet among the excited crowd streaming toward the battle arena walked one gloomy figure. Her loud black boots echoed with each step. Cascading white hair, unnaturally blue skin, and gleaming red eyes set her apart from everyone else.

Her dark aura sent shivers through those who passed too close. Students whispered behind her back, their voices carrying the same tired venom they always did.

“It’s her again…”

“Eek! She looked at me!”

“Did you see? She really has blue skin.”

“Some say she’s a demon contracted to the director’s daughter…”

“What? Lady Coyett? No way!”

“I heard from a friend that she cries herself to sleep every night… hahah.”

“The other day I saw her sawing her horns…”

“Wait, so she HAS horns?!”

“A damn commoner like her shouldn’t be in this prestigious place… I still can’t believe they let her in after a whole year!”

“Well, she’s not the only weirdo here.”

Growing weary of the constant slander, she spun around and threw off her black cloak, revealing her face fully. Blue skin, red eyes, white hair, red horns… and an aura that felt ghostly and wrong.

“Would you shut the fuck up already? I can hear you all the way over here.”

The students quivered and backed away. Many fled like frightened rats without a word, though a few prouder ones stood their ground, glaring back.

She had endured this torment throughout her first year. Before arriving here, her life had been ordinary; she had never dealt with people like them. She hadn’t even known such cruelty existed until now.

“Hahah, who do you think you are, you damn commoner?”

“Looks like the devil has something to say?”

“You dare speak with that filthy tongue? Shall I burn it?”

Now it was pompous noble after pompous noble—narcissistic young magicians boasting about their illustrious families while mocking her humble origins. They called her a cursed creature, a demon of the night, the daughter of a demon, a chimera, or even the wicked experiment of a necromancer.

For someone still mourning her mother’s death, the year had been brutally harsh. Many times she had considered abandoning everything and running away, but her Master and her friends always convinced her to stay. Everything she learned here deepened her understanding of her own powers, the essence of magic itself, and—above all—provided shelter from a society that would surely persecute her for what she had become, for the “curse” she now shared with her friends.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Hah, never mind. You’re not even worth it. I’ll take care of any challengers in the Magus Battle… well, if you’ve got the courage, pussies.” She flashed a cold smile.

The furious magicians conjured spells in response—fireballs, slicing winds, piercing icicles—all hurled toward her.

She met their gaze. Her aura surged. An invisible, ghostly presence slashed through the magic. Then she turned and walked away.

The students stood speechless as they realized their clothes and wands had been sliced apart, leaving them stark naked. Laughter erupted from passing students.

“Hahahahah!”

“Look at them!”

“You shouldn’t have messed with the demon!”

“Looool!”

“U-Ugh! Damn Elena! T-This isn’t the last you see of us!”

The humiliated nobles fled, dignity shattered.

Elena smirked faintly and glanced upward. The cloudy sky slowly parted, revealing clear blue.

She stepped outside the tower into a vast open area. An arena had been constructed there, surrounded by stalls where hundreds waited for the games to begin.

Several other students sat waiting for the test to start. Nearby stood professors and master magicians overseeing different parties.

Her own group—her friends and her master, Olivia Coyett—waited not far away.

“Elena! Over here!”

A red-haired elf with emerald eyes and freckles waved. Unlike Elena, she had suffered far less bullying and even earned praise for her beauty. Elves were among the few demi-humans spared discrimination, revered as powerful master spiritualists. A handful of students and even professors were elves or half-elves.

“Anna…”

Elena smiled as she approached her girlfriend and sat beside her, ignoring the stares and whispers about her appearance. Anna greeted her with a tight hug.

“What took you so long? You said you only went to retrieve your wand.”

“Yeah, I just had to deal with pricks again.”

“Ah… Well, I hope you didn’t do something bad again, right? Uh, I’m totally on board with bullying the bullies, but they always blame us if we fight back, so it’s better to ignore them.”

“I know… I know…”

It wasn’t like Anna to speak this way. She had always been tomboyish and rebellious, but the past year had changed her. She had forced herself to become more disciplined—for Elena, her friends, her master, and her mother, whom she had brought to London to live with.

“Elena, it’s about to start…”

“Yeah…”

Beside them sat her two other friends.

One was a young lady with long drill-shaped blonde hair. She appeared human at first glance, until one noticed the golden scales covering her arms, hands, legs, neck, and chest. She also had small dragon horns, reptilian eyes, and black, claw-like nails. That was Elisa.

The other looked the most ordinary—except for her unnaturally pale skin, red eyes, and ghostly, floating body. Long black hair moved on its own, sometimes reaching out to entangle anyone who came too close, as if protecting her. That was Monica.

When they first arrived at the Clock Tower, both had faced varying degrees of rejection. Some students and professors showed interest in their abilities, and a few tried to build connections with Elisa because of her dragon bloodline. Monica, however, spooked almost everyone too much for anyone to approach.

In a single year they had made few—if any—new friends. But despite how much everything had changed, the girls still had each other.

“So you’re here, Elena. Took you long enough. Your wand?” A tall woman with cascading red hair and blue eyes spoke from above Elena. She wore a white leather dress and a long white leather witch hat. Her presence carried a slightly domineering air, yet she was disciplined… and a little spoiled. This was Elena’s master, Olivia Coyett—daughter of the current Clock Tower director and the one who had pulled strings to allow these girls entry into the institution and the Magus Society for their protection. It had been a risky decision back then, but she had done it for her friend Elayne, whom she felt deeply indebted to.

“It’s here, Master Olivia.” Elena showed her a pitch-black wand gleaming with curses and ghostly energy.

“I told you not to bring the cursed wand! Isn’t that one made from the pieces of your broken knife?” Olivia sighed.

“But it’s a wand, right? You only said I couldn’t use swords, teacher…” Elena replied, turning her gaze to the arena as the battles began.

“Welcome everyone! Today we are happy to announce the commencement of the Second-Year Magus Battle Trials!”

The announcer’s voice echoed across the arena, amplified by enchantments woven into the very stones of the Clock Tower. The crowd erupted in cheers. Nobles waved family banners, professors whispered predictions, and students trembled with anticipation.

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