Chương 34: The First Selection

The following morning, the academy did not feel like an academy. It felt like an arena that had forgotten to reveal itself. Every corridor carried the same quiet tension. Students who normally spent their mornings arguing over homework were now comparing training schedules. The library had become unusually crowded. The practice grounds were occupied before sunrise. Ten days. That was all they had. Leo stood before the academy gates, watching the students enter one after another. He had arrived early.

Not because he was particularly interested in the selection. He simply disliked being rushed. A familiar voice came from behind him.

"You're early." Leo turned. Alice stood a few steps away. Her long white hair moved gently with the morning breeze. Unlike yesterday, she wasn't wearing the academy uniform. She had changed into simple traveling clothes: a dark fitted coat, light shirt, and trousers designed for movement rather than appearance. Leo looked at her for a moment.

"You're dressed differently."

"So are you." He glanced down. She was right. He had chosen plain dark clothes beneath a short gray coat.

"Comfortable."

"That's your excuse for everything."

"It usually works." Alice smiled. Before she could answer, Amon appeared behind them.

"Both of you are here already?" Masha followed him, carrying a small paper bag.

"I told him we were going to be late." Amon pointed at Leo.

"This is his fault."

"How?"

"You always arrive early." Leo stared at him.

"That makes no sense."

"I know." Masha sighed.

"I brought breakfast." Amon immediately forgot about the argument. The four of them walked toward the practice grounds. Something unusual had happened there. The normal training circles had been removed. In their place stood five large stone platforms. Each platform contained a different magical formation. One was surrounded by floating crystals. Another had dozens of thin metallic rings suspended above it. A third contained several wooden targets. The fourth was completely empty.

The fifth had been covered by a black cloth. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Amon slowed down.

"What is that?" Masha shook her head.

"No idea." Alice looked toward the instructors.

"They're preparing something." Leo said nothing. He noticed the stone beneath the platforms. The formations weren't academy-standard. Someone had brought them from outside. Perhaps from the Royal Capital. A bell rang. Professor Gareth entered the training grounds. Behind him walked Commander Roland. The students immediately quieted. Gareth looked across the crowd.

"Yesterday, I told you that the academy would select twenty students for the Arcane Convergence." He gestured toward the platforms.

"Today, we begin the first assessment." Several students straightened.

"The first test will not measure your magical output." That surprised them. Gareth continued.

"It will measure control." A student raised his hand.

"What kind of control?" Gareth smiled faintly.

"The kind that becomes important when power is no longer enough." He pointed toward the first platform.

"Each student will enter the formation." A crystal floated upward.

"You will be given one minute." The crystal began rotating.

"Your task is simple." The crystal suddenly split into six smaller pieces. The fragments began orbiting one another.

"Keep all six fragments suspended." A student frowned.

"That's it?"

"No." Gareth looked at him.

"You must also prevent them from touching each other." The student swallowed. Gareth turned away.

"Anyone who loses control fails." One by one, the students began their attempts. The first student lasted eight seconds. The second lasted eleven. The third managed twenty. Then the fragments collided. A sharp sound rang across the training ground. Amon whispered.

"That's harder than it looks." Leo watched the formation carefully. The crystals weren't moving randomly. Their speed changed every few seconds. The difficulty wasn't maintaining magical force. It was adapting to the formation's rhythm. Another student stepped forward. This one lasted nearly a minute. The fragments began moving faster. His breathing became uneven. One fragment drifted toward another. He corrected it. Then another moved. He corrected that one too. His concentration began to fracture.

At fifty-seven seconds, two crystals touched. The formation went dark. The student lowered his head.

"Pass." Gareth's voice surprised everyone. The student looked up.

"But they touched."

"Once." Gareth folded his arms.

"You corrected the mistake before it became a failure." He looked toward the others.

"Perfection is not the purpose of training." His eyes moved across the students.

"Recovery is." Leo's expression changed slightly. That was a lesson worth remembering. Hours passed. The assessment continued. Alice performed exceptionally well. She barely moved her hands. Her control was so precise that the six fragments seemed to orbit according to her own rhythm. When the final crystal descended into her palm, the formation stopped. Gareth nodded.

"Excellent." Amon entered afterward. His first attempt nearly failed. The fragments moved too quickly for him. He forced them back into position through sheer magical pressure. The formation shook violently. Masha covered her mouth.

"He's going to break it."

"I've got it!" Amon gritted his teeth. The six fragments suddenly stabilized. He finished with three seconds remaining. He stepped down from the platform, breathing heavily. Masha smiled.

"You almost destroyed it."

"I didn't."

"Almost."

"Doesn't count." Leo chuckled. Then his name was called.

"Leo." He stepped onto the platform. The six fragments rose. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. They began orbiting. Leo watched them. He didn't immediately manipulate them. Instead, he observed. Their movements repeated. Every seven rotations, the upper fragment accelerated. Every twelve, the lowest fragment slowed. There was a pattern. Leo waited. Then moved his hand. The six crystals changed direction simultaneously. The formation became perfectly still. The students stared.

Leo hadn't forced each fragment individually. He had adjusted the flow around them. Gareth's eyes narrowed. Roland watched without expression. The final crystal descended. Leo stepped down.

"Pass." He returned to his friends. Amon stared at him.

"How did you do that?"

"Watched."

"That's it?"

"Mostly." Amon looked offended.

"I hate when you say things like that." Masha laughed. Alice, however, remained silent. She had noticed something. Leo hadn't looked surprised by the formation. Not even once. As though he had already encountered something similar. She didn't ask. By late afternoon, the first assessment ended. Twenty-eight students remained. The others had failed. Gareth stood before them.

"Tomorrow, we begin the second assessment." A student groaned.

"Already?" Gareth smiled.

"Tomorrow will be easier." The students relaxed.

"Because tomorrow…" He pointed toward the covered fifth platform.

"…you'll be fighting." The cloth fell. A massive metallic training construct stood beneath it. Its body resembled a knight. But there was no human inside. Blue magical lines ran across its armor. Its head slowly turned. A mechanical voice echoed across the training ground.

"Combat protocol activated." The students fell silent. Amon stared.

"That's not an ordinary training puppet." Roland finally spoke.

"No." He looked toward the construct.

"It was built in the Royal Capital." Leo's eyes narrowed. The construct raised one arm. A blade of condensed mana formed around it. Roland continued.

"Tomorrow, you'll learn why." The academy bell rang. The students began leaving. Leo remained where he was for a moment. His gaze stayed on the construct. There was something strange about it. Not its strength. Its mana. It felt… unnatural. Not corrupted. Not hostile. Just unfamiliar. Leo turned away. He didn't know it yet, but the machine standing before him was not merely part of an academy examination. It was the first piece of something the Royal Capital had quietly brought into their world.

And tomorrow, it would be placed directly in front of him. End of Chapter 34