Aster is a researcher and every researcher is a natural problem-solver. They need to be or whatever obstacles that appear would halt the growth of their minds. If a researcher can't solve problems then the world has no use for them. It is much better to get rid of the weak with these challenges then to encourage them.

This challenge, presented by this college is like the scenario. Get rid of the weak and inspire the strong. They think that he is weak, that he doesn't deserve a place in these exalted halls. Well, Aster is going to break that notion.

A strategy already popped up in his head.

The magical method of discovery, a vital tool for all researchers of any field. It helped uncover different fields of magic from the most known to the obscure. It was an easy to memorize and logical step by step process that follows the principle laws of magic.

It was the most basic and reliable tool in any magical practitioner's career. It was only recently that the method began to lose favor. Modern practitioners have created overly complex formulas and steps for specific fields of magic that many forgot the roots of their creation. The majority of the students learned the newest methods, their ignorance of the first method threatening its existence.

There's a saying that the most simple things could be infinitely more complex. The magical method is known for being a strong problem-solving technique and Aster intends on capitalizing on that specific trait.

It was an easy thing to use and it will be the first thing that Aster will rely on. He scanned the room, taking notes of the environment around him.

No doors. No windows. Just him and metallic walls of unrelenting steel. The runes written on its surface were a taunting reminder of the challenge set before him. Out of all the tests that they could have created, a prison designed for containing Wizards was a smart move. With his lack of diversity in magical fields, he theoretically should have no chance of passing. It was built just for him.

But a competent researcher also knows that theories and facts are completely different. He recited the magical method.

Step one: Question.

'Easy enough. How do I get out of this box?'

Step two: Hypothesize.

'The metal is magically resistant so using direct magic won't scratch it. I'm not strong enough to break metal and the runes make the natural anti-magic properties stronger. Beginning with some tests would be beneficial. Probe the enemy as they say.'

Step three: Experiment.

Aster excels at his passion but that doesn't mean he doesn't know any other types of magical arts. He has an average rating when tested on the elemental affinities and has a decent talent for Augmentation, Reinforcement and Alchemy. With a flick of his hand, a small orb of fire immerged seemingly out of nowhere. Aster slowly heightened his magical power, turning the burning orb into a cannonball of blazing energy.

Fire magic is one of the easiest to learn. It's how most practitioners discover how to release magic. The elemental affinities are common since it's how mentors teach students how to use magic. Fire is taught to release, water for control, earth for balance and et cetera. Before finding one's specialization, learning the elements allows one to have a firm foundation on future fields of magic.

So even a specialist like Aster can use elemental magic. He waited for the flames to turn white before releasing at the nearest wall. Like an avenging flame, the attack struck. He could feel the power in the magical inferno as its white fire attempted to destroy everything in its path.

All metal has a melting point and Salemium is no different.

When the flames died off, the clean wall of metal appeared with no damage at all. Not even the runes were harmed but instead were glowing even brighter. Aster narrowed his eyes.

Step four: Observe and record.

The runes dispelled the fire spell with little effort and the Salemium's melting point is either extremely high or isn't affected by magical fire. Shame. That was his strongest fire spell too. If one of his best offensive spells dissipated then direct magic won't do.

However, the summoning of magic inside the room also hinted that anti-magic is only viable when it reaches contact with the surface of Salemium. So he's allowed to perform magic inside the walls whenever he wishes, a major advantage on his part.

His hypothesis failed so he moves to step five: Refine and alter.

Direct magic is a failure. Time to test whether increasing one's muscles to break metal works. With proper use of Augmentation, one can temporarily boost one's strength to superhuman levels.

All this and more swam in the Hermit's mind as he created dozens of ideas. He knew most of them would be a failure but most of this would help him gather as much information as humanely possible.

The best step for victory is when one has all the cards and Aster plans on picking every single one from his opponent's hands...

XXX

"I wonder why he's even trying." Ala's remark caught Emilia's attention. The orange haired man was eyeing the image of the Hermit. A fire spell was unleashed upon the walls with no damage on the prison. "Surely he knows that what he's doing is fruitless."

'Fruitless is such a strong word...' she thought.

"I find his determination admirable." Emilia countered her acquaintance. No Wizard could act as rationally as the man was in these conditions. She was a bit confused on his current actions but just the simple act of not surrendering increased his standing in her eyes. She might know the inevitable outcome but the Hermit's defiance of the end was endearing.

"There's a difference between determination and stupidity."

"I'm sure you know a lot about it."

Ala ignored the slight as he focused on the floating screen. Emilia watched as the Hermit magically augmented his arms and fists. A simple solution of using magic to magically enhance the body. He's probably going to attempt to destroy the metal with brute strength.

His attempt would end in a failure. Both Ala and Emilia knew this.

When the Hermit punched the metal wall, magical energy was dispersed as the released magic from his punch ricocheted and whiplashed the user. The Hermit flew back, his body slamming at the opposite wall. Emilia winced. That's got to hurt.

"Coating his body with magic won't work." Ala snorted in disgust as the Hermit stood up once more. "Augmentation involves empowering the parts of the body with magic. The excess magic would dramatically improve one's strength but that's the thing. The runes dispel magic as soon as it reaches contact. The augmented muscles will dispel into the atmosphere causing his power to cripple back to normalcy."

Emilia reluctantly nodded at her coworker's explanation. She hated to admit it, but he was right. If he continued on this path then it will just lead to the Hermit's humiliation.

Once more the Hermit activated a series of spells. Wind flapped throughout the room and lightning danced. His once pristine lab coat was singed as the magical lightning was sent back as it contacted the Salemium clad box. One could see burned skin after the experiment. Emilia bit her lips at the damage. His frail body was getting mutilated by his stubborn attempts.

She could only imagine what Oleander thought about this.

When it looked like he was going to stop, he formed a ball of water and crashed it against the wall.

"Is this man stupid?" Ala's disbelief was reaching indescribable levels. "What could water do against Salemium?"

"At least he's trying..." This time even she started to doubt the Hermit's actions.

"Yes, he is." Ala grit his teeth in frustration. "Trying to be a fool to be exact!"

"I'm sure he's got a reasonable answer for his actions..."

"Oh then please explain it to me because I simply cannot fathom why he would splash water around in such an important test like this!"

XXX

Information gathering was going as expected. Aster's form winced as the ache on his back flared. The augmented punch did little to aid his already strained body but with the cost of his health, he was able to gain information. After getting little sleep and food, his fragile body only became weaker. His health was deteriorating at a rapid pace as he continued his magic. The lightning didn't help either.

He silently listed his discoveries.

Water didn't get dispelled unlike the fire. Aster noted this with an intent gaze. 'I wonder why? Both was created by his magic yet the flames dispersed but the water, touching the anti-magic material, isn't getting repelled.'

Why? What's the difference between the fire and water summoned?

He lit his flames once more. A flicker of fire tickled his senses as it danced around his fingers. He observed both the water and the fire with a calm head. Panic and anxiety clouds one's mind and as a researcher that's the farthest thing he wanted.

To figure out the difference, one must know the basis of both fields.

Fire magic constantly uses the user's magical energy to take shape and appear. That's why it's the prime branch for practicing the release of one's magic.

Water briefly drains one's magic to be summoned but it doesn't constantly drain like fire. Once water appears, the only magic is one's concentration and will to shape it. That's why its the best for control. Little magic drain while fluid enough for practice. If left alone, water loses its magic properties and just becomes a puddle. Fire disappears, however, since the source of its fuel is the user's magic...

Wait.

Aster quickly focused his senses on the fire in his hands and the water on the ground.

Ah. Aster grinned. Got it.

An idea formed into his head as he finally connected the dots.

The fire in his hands dissipated as he prepared for his newest project.

XXX

"What is he doing?" James watched the man standing idly. The man's hands were glowing an ethereal glow. It was almost insignificant yet the focus that the researcher was sending made everyone tense.

"Who knows." Diana shrugged. She was staring at the image intently despite her indifference. She looked at the glowing hand specifically. "What kind of magic is he performing?"

"Biological Manipulation, most likely." Beatrice was absentmindedly pondering the motives of the researcher in the screen. What he's doing right now is something completely unique and odd. What is he manipulating? "That's his most favored arcane field. After using water and fire, I was beginning to question when he was going to use it."

"I haven't heard of this field before." Diana's eyes gained a curious light as she watched the screen. "From the name, I'm guessing that he's manipulating his hand? What would that do?"

Alice Williams, the petite student shrugged. Throughout the entire challenge, she was completely lost, from the runes and now the Hermit's actions as well. That didn't stop her from speculating, however. "He might be trying to increase the muscle mass of his hands."

"Didn't he do that before?" James chuckled as he remembered the image of the flying Hermit. "I'm not going to complain about another airborne scene but I thought even he was smart enough to not try it again."

"Different magical branch this time though. He's not using Augmentation." Alice rolled her eyes at James's antics.

Beatrice pondered Alice's theory. That makes some sense but what's the difference between the two branches? Both use magic to improve one's biology. Augmentation is more efficient at improving it, however so what's the use of trying it with another, weaker spell?

"That's not going to do anything." James continued watching the idle researcher. "Salemium is an extremely strong metal along with its anti-magic properties. There's a reason why the metal is commonly used everywhere."

"Mr. Spinel might surprise you." Beatrice's quick defense for the challenger caught both blondes by surprise. She'll keep her promise to Professor Morrel. "You haven't seen him perform his magic before. Even I don't know and I've read up most of what his art can do."

"There's nothing in there to manipulate though." Alice frowned. "The only thing in there that he could use is his body. He could have brought his egg with him but the rules prohibited that as well. No matter how you see it, his hands are tied."

Diana looked confused about the egg statement but ignored it in favor of her previous words. "Maybe that's the reason for this prison. Along with the obvious Wizard trap, it also blocks all access of biological materials. Everything is inorganic inside the prison."

"Remind me to never to take a test here then." James shuddered at the thought. He wasn't alone, the remainder of the group along with the nearby crowd shivered at the idea of attempting the same thing in public.

"You're in Fernum-Magnum, you'll have to take one eventually."

"Then remind me to call sick that day." James's retort made Alice roll her eyes. The blonde man had a somber expression as he turned towards her. "I'm serious here. There's no way I'm doing that anytime soon."

"I'm sure it won't be as hard as this." Beatrice tried to assure. It obviously didn't work since James gave her a mean look. What? It's not like they're that sadistic to their students. There's no way they would have the resources to do this for every student, right?

"If they cut the difficulty in half, then it would be from gods damn impossible to slightly less but still pretty impossible."

"You're exaggerating." Diana scoffed. Beatrice nodded in agreement. While it would still be extremely difficult, if they lower the potency of the runes and use a weaker anti-magic metal then it should be possible.

"Exaggerating or not, the fact is undeniable." James lazily waved at the screen. Inside, Mr. Spinel was still working on his glowing hand. "The Hermit had no chance and with only one specialized skill set, a skill set might I add, that only affects biological creations, then his chances dropped to the negatives. What do you think our chances are?"

"None." Beatrice glared at James. His pessimism is really getting everyone down and not even in their group. The entire amphitheater was muttering to themselves about the possibility. She could hear the questions that are being tossed around the vicinity. Not a single soul believed in Mr. Spinel's victory. Even she was beginning to believe it too, the atmosphere planting a seed of doubt inside of her despite her resistance.

James slumped. "Then why do we even bother? The school really is sadistic, y'know?"

His words were drowned by the tense conversations that erupted around the building. Many questioned the reason for such a grand spectacle when the Wizard inside had no chance. Others were getting impatient, many of them yelling at the screen. The desire for a Hermit's humiliation was the loudest and their opinion was infectious.

Words were thrown and questions were asked. Beatrice could no nothing but endure.

Then suddenly...

"Oi, look at the screen!" A student pointed at the floating image, his loud exclamation quieting the amphitheater as they noticed the Hermit finally take action. He took a single step.

Click.

Then another.

Clack.

And another.

Click.

Clack. Click. Clack.

His footsteps were heard throughout the audience. A quiet hum of words passed through the crowd as the Hermit continued his way towards a wall of the prison. More than one observer noted that his hands stopped glowing as he neared the daunting metallic barrier.

The Hermit raised his hand forward. His index finger pointed straight at the wall.

Tap.

His finger touched the surface.

There was a pause so palpable that it almost looked like time has stopped.

Then the wall vanished.

What.

XXX

Biological Manipulation is exactly what it says on the title. It can manipulate anything as long as it's considered biological. Every Wizard made fun of his passion because of the fact that better and stronger branches are available at little the cost.

"Why pick this field?"

"What you're doing is useless."

"Are you sure you want to learn this? There are better things out there you know..."

Everyone thought that doing something that everyone thought of as redundant was a disgrace. Yet, Aster was never one to back down from a challenge. When he took the mantle of the Hermit, he knew that challenges would befall him but he had prepared for it. He paid in blood, sweat and tears for his hard work. His body endured agonizing pain for the sake of advancement.

The challenge in front of him was no different.

Trial and error was a common thing for Aster. Most of his experiments had many flaws in them when he started but with perseverance, he corrected them.

The egg experiment was a prime example.

It forced the user to improve various things in its biology with magic while speeding its growth to instantly hatch the egg. Biological Manipulation magically manipulated the egg to be more efficient and ready but once he removed the magic from the egg, the change has already occurred so unless he used magic again to reverse it, without magic it will still be an efficient egg.

Just like water. Since water doesn't need fuel to continue existing, if one removes their magic, it will still be there. Since an egg has all the ingredients of life, if he removed his magic, the improved egg will still be an improved egg. The ingredients act as the fuel source. The natural catalyst. That's another difference between Biological Manipulation and Augmentation.

Remove the magic of Augmentation and it will go back to normal. That doesn't apply to him.

The entire week improved his skills in more ways than one.

He could control anything down to a cellular level and without an egg he had to improvise.

What kind of biological material is in the prison?

Easy. His body. Right?

Wrong and right. Look deeper.

Okay. What else is there? What can hide even from the eyes of the people?

What is even on the surface of the metal, not a single one of it being affected by its anti-magical properties? Here's a hint. There are billions of them inside the room with him, every single one just waiting to be manipulated. Every single one can mutate like no other organism on the planet.

A microorganism that is said to be the first living thing to exist. Bacteria.

Billions of them, each one just begging to be mutated into the proper strain. With magic, one could force one to change as long as one knows their inner workings and luckily for Aster, he did. With his specialization, he could turn a single colony into something that naturally shouldn't happen.

Magic is the rewriting of the natural laws, after all and rewriting bacteria for one specific purpose is only natural for a Wizard.

As Aster watched his new strain of bacteria continue eating the walls of the Salemium, he could only grin with victory.

He finally did it. He advanced his goal and made progress on the once forgotten field of magecraft.

XXX

"What." Ala blanched as the walls around the Hermit was slowly being disintegrated into nothingness. Even Emilia couldn't hide her awe at the sight before her. She could only nod at Ala's statement.

"What." Oh dear, it seems the orange haired professor's mind broke. His once keen eyes looked dulled. "What."

"What indeed." Emilia muttered, the shock wearing off and instead staring at Ala in victory. She's going to have to thank the Hermit for this. The opportunity to see the usually smug man turn into a puddle of confusion.

"What."

Emilia brushed off her lap as she stood up. She stared at the center of the stage instead of the screen, her orange eyes scanning the man that broke all expectations. There was a smug aura radiating off of his form as he stood straight up. His glowing green eyes looked defiant as he watched his work finish destroying the remaining Salemium. "I think it's appropriate that we congratulate the victor, right Ala?"

"What."

"I mean, it's only polite." Emilia grinned. She glanced at Amary who was also behaving in a similar manner to Ala. Oleander, however was much more thrilled and literally leaped off his seat and towards the Hermit. "I'll meet you down at the stage, Ala. Don't be late."

"What."

XXX

"What." James blanked.

"What." Alice's train of thought crashed.

"What." Beatrice's mind was trying to connect the event together. Seriously, what did Aster do? Galahad, however, nodded as if the result was expectant. Her brother smiled as he politely clapped.

They weren't alone as the other students muttered in utter disbelief at the actions before them. She could sympathize. She may have cheered for Mr. Spinel but the doubt of his victory was apparent. No Wizard should be capable of escaping without something that gives them an edge.

So what did he do?

"T-This is...rather unexpected." James's mind was back to overdrive. He stared at the other blonde. "I mean, who would have thought that the Hermit could actually do it, right Diana?"

Strangely enough, the female noble stayed silent as she continued staring at the image of Mr. Spinel. His once lazy form looked straightened and proud. His glowing green eyes and confident smile made this enigma look almost ethereal. He looked majestic and extravagant at the same time. Beatrice started at the sudden shift of stature.

"I don't understand how he won..." Alice's mind was finally in order. "All he did was just throw spells around until it broke the prison. Then all of a sudden he touched the Salemium and it just vanished. Why didn't he do that in the first place?!"

Beatrice shrugged. It's hard to discern the mind of a Hermit. "Perhaps he was biding his time."

Alice looked at her with disbelief. "Biding his time for what? He could have just spent most of his energy on whatever spell he did and shorten the time by at least half!"

"You have to look at it from another perspective." Really, maybe this isn't as simple as the Hermit made them to believe. "Maybe there's a reason for the other spells."

Alice's doubt didn't diminish at Beatrice's reasoning. She huffed. "I don't see it."

Honestly, she didn't see it either but the only explanation she could think of was that it was just preparations for the final spell. What kind of preparations, she had no clue but it obviously played a part in Mr. Spinel's escape.

This did answer one of Beatrice's questions though.

The Hermit isn't useless; he is prodigious.

It should have surprised her that a Hermit could be special but honestly, the thought didn't shock her at all.

The newly discovered prodigy then continued surprising the entire crowd when his majestic form fell limp. The thump that reverberated across the amphitheater as his body laid face first on the ground was heard throughout the building.

On second thought...