“Hey, how tough do you think our opponents will be?” Markus asked quietly.

Lily shrugged nervously. “Who knows, but it’s too bad Miss Paige knocked the girl out. She seemed like she tried the entrance exam before.”

Lily’s steps nearly faltered as she stopped herself from seeking her Mentor for guidance. Her dream of getting into Alduit Academy as a Party was right upon them!

And yet, it was scary being watched by so many of her future classmates. Much like how they were ranked at Nespe Academy, this entrance exam would most likely determine what benefits they would receive as students.

Lily sighed as they walked to a side training field. “We could really use more information! Like Mentor always says; she who has more information shall hold the upper hand.”

Isabella bobbed her head in agreement. “My mother says strength wins battles but information wins wars.”

“What would your Aunt Paige say, Markus?” Tyler asked.

Markus thought for a second and chuckled. Lily already knew it would be bad advice.

“She would probably say something like a strong fist can break through most traps." Markus grinned. “But did you see the look on the Healer’s face when Lily repeated what Aunt Paige said about Scions? I didn’t even know she said that.”

Lily glanced over and pouted. “That’s because you're not a girl. She told that to me secretly after our farewell party at the academy grounds.”

Markus thought for a moment and shrugged. “Hm, true. I guess girls have more problems than guys in general.”

Lily tsked in annoyance. Of course Markus could say something rude like that. He didn’t have to put up with people ranging from admirers to bootlickers to jealous rivals. Okay, Tyler had to deal with that last one more than she had to, but still!

Still, the discussion helped calm Lily doen. Looking at her party walking alongside her, Lily swelled with pride. This was what she had always dreamed about. Now all they had to do was graduate from here, and their adventures could truly begin!

A stout Defender and a beautiful (young, and powerful female) Mage was the bare minimum of every adventure story she had ever read about. Well, adding a Healer as an unexpected party member would also be pretty standard in stories, but Isabella was definitely an exception rather than the norm.

And then there was Markus. If life was a story, then Markus would definitely be someone noteworthy. Of course, his talent and ability had grown exponentially, and he was almost able to match Tyler with sheer skill alone. Lily was happy that Markus was here with them. Somewhat. Their last team practice went horrible, but that was to be expected after a few years of separation.

‘Well, we hadn’t had a chance to fix our teamwork, but today is always a good place to start!’ Looking to her side, she watched Markus joking around with Tyler. Markus was just… gifted in combat. Lily smiled wryly. ‘Mentor Zenith might say that I’m talented, but that is because of all the hard work I put in. But even I can tell that he’s a true genius.’

Still, no one ever complained about having good teammates, and she wasn't about to start that trend now either.

Pumping her spirits up, Lily looked around at their competition. She blinked as they arrived at their testing grounds, one far removed from the main testing field. Luckily, it looked like there was only ten or so actual parties here, which was good news, but there were alot of people standing around the field alone.

Looking up, Lily realized that it was a miniature version of the main testing field, complete with a floating cube high in the air. And there were stands here too, though there were far fewer students in the stands. But each of them had something in common. Lily eyed the clipboards they had and frowned. ‘Are they scouting people for their factions?’

Mentor Zenith and Miss Paige had some choice words about factions and how they are bad, but she wondered if it was a rule here. If they only allowed the best students in then it had to have some type of ranking system in place; even if it was solely to motivate new students to do their best.

‘Maybe the school bases everything on merit? That would be like Peter to do that.’

Lily brightened at that thought. Her role model would surely do something like that!

“I don’t like the look on some of their faces,” Isabella said worriedly. “My aunts said to watch out for people who act like that.”

“Like what?” Markus asked as he looked up warily. Lily glanced up and frowned. They looked like normal people to her. Talent seekers even, based on the clipboards they held.

“Slave traders,” Isabella whispered. “They don’t look at people the way we do. They only see costs and benefits. Aunt Shavie said most people that fall for that someone with that look will die young.”

Markus nodded sagely. “True... Is this the faction thing Aunt Zenith warned me about? Or is it the family thing Aunt Paige said? Both of those options would be troublesome.”

Lily blinked. “Family thing?” Was it...

“Yeah, my aunt said that the imperial family does factions a little differently." Markus shrugged. "Something about Imperial Consorts and babies? She had some analogy to go with it… Larger the family tree, larger the benefits?"

Lily and Isabella shivered. That specific conversation was something she did not want to get into again. Her parents had warned her of the signs, and even Miss Paige and her own mentor warned her against committing to something this young. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound good. A, Anyways,” Lily looked around as their surroundings quieted. “It looks like we’re gonna be tested soon! Remember what we agreed on, okay?”

“I’ll protect the backline,” Tyler said.

“I, I’ll heal as needed!” Isabella chimed in.

Markus begrudgingly took his time before answering.

“I’ll… help defend and won’t engage an enemy?”

“Just for now, okay Markus?” Lily bit her lip. She couldn’t begrudge Markus, but him being here just made her job as a Mage a bit harder. And she wasn’t quite used to spell casting around someone other than Tyler. “Mentor said that it’ll get easier as we do more battles. I just need to time my spells right.”

“Yeah. I’ll make sure to dodge wind blades from behind next time. They hurt, you know.” The look of skepticism on Markus’s face wounded her pride. She wasn’t that bad. Usually. Markus was just… Markus.

“Lily, I think they’re about to announce what the entrance exam will be,” Tyler said.

Lily followed his finger to the Teachers who had suddenly appeared. As she swept her eyes over the incoming adults, it was hard to pin down just what each taught. Two were clearly Mages if she judged solely by clothes, and two were clearly Combat Classes, but the others were very nondescript. Talking quietly amongst themselves, one Teacher huffed and walked briskly to the middle of the training field.

His blue robe floated slightly as he walked, and Lily spotted what appeared to be a rapier hanging from his waist. But what was more intriguing was the wand tucked on the other side of his belt. That was intriguing. She’d hardly ever seen a Mage with a sword before, beside her Teacher that was; and even then she had recommended a dagger for its utility and size instead. A rapier, especially when sheathed, took time and focus to draw; both of which were much better spent getting ready to spellcast instead.

As the teacher's eyes darted around the field, she noticed that he was marking a few people before he locked eyes with her. A flash of surprise was quickly hidden as he blinked and continued onwards. Coughing lightly to clear his throat, his brash voice echoed across the quiet room. “Since we have so many parties here, we have decided that the entrance exam will be slightly different. It will be-”

‘A mock battle! A mock battle!’ Lily prayed.

“-a specialty elimination battle. Every party shall choose one member for a chosen specialty. If even one party member fails the challenge, that party shall be disqualified. We are looking to add in one party officially, with the rest of the spots being filled by the results from the Teacher's test."

Lily winced. That was far more brutal and stringent than she had heard! She was under the impression that they just needed a recommendation letter and they would be halfway in. And what was that about her mentor’s results influencing her own test?

“Therefore, it is in your best interest to create the strongest party possible. You have three minutes to create your respective parties. Since we have three hundred or so applicants, the minimum for a Party will be five. Maximum is ten.”

The field was quiet before everyone exploded into action as people started segregating and announcing their achievements and guild rankings. What was more worrisome was that some parties were actively separating and heading off to other groups.

“Individual guild ranking of forty! Swordmaster!”

“Party of six; guild ranking of seventy! Looking for a Mage!”

“Party of eight; guild ranking of seventy-five! Looking for a Warrior!”

“Party of seven; guild ranking of eighty! Looking for three Swordsmans”

The teacher paused as another person whispered something to him. “Sorry, forgot to mention we are keeping track of scores as well. And parties are fixed after three minutes. Good luck.”

Lily blanched. This was the worst possible test imaginable. But the one key point caught her attention.

“Eh? Five?”

------

“Hey, Lily? Hate to interrupt your thoughts, but should we be looking for someone as well?” Markus asked, his eyes darting around the room.

“I’m thinking here, Markus! Just give me a second!” Lily paced back and forth as she thought quickly. ‘Multiple challenges, if even one fails... Our party is pretty balanced, all things considering…’

“Hey, Lily? We have two minutes. Lily? Shit! Tyler, she’s not listening, I’m gonna-”

Her thoughts spun rapidly as she paced. ‘To better our chances, we probably need to get someone close to our guild ranking level…’

“Isabella, just go and choose someone quick! Tyler, we have less than a minute! No, just go grab someone that is clearly panicking. That must mean they need to join a party! I don’t care if I’m not the leader, Tyler! Isabella, just grab someone near us!”

‘Or maybe we need to focus on one higher-level person. But would they be willing to join our Party?’ She shook her head. It was tough being the responsible one in her party. ‘And what gender would be best for the party? Right now it was pretty balanced, but if it was a guy? Or worse, a girl…’

“Yes, you! You aren’t with a party right? So come on! No, we don’t care about your Class and stuff, just hurry up! We have like twenty seconds left!”

“Got it! We need to get someone around our level, a boy, and a close range fighter!” Lily shouted.

Markus threw his hands up exasperatedly. “LILY! Hurry and add her to our group!”

“Fifteen seconds left. Finalize your party now!”

Lily was flustered as Markus shoved a girl over. She was clearly an archer of some type, though why she had both a shield and a bow was beyond her. Still, she did like the green color of her clothing. Worse still, it was exactly what she did not want in their party.

“But who is she?” Lily asked.

“Clairence Shiffrin, from some country not around here. Hurry, Lily!”

“Don’t rush me, Markus! Ahem, I, Party Leader Lily Thompson, hereby request Clairence Shiffrin, to join my party.”

Lily paused as nothing happened. That was unusual. Usually a mana cloud would appear. Time was running short. Lily hurriedly glanced at the girl. “Real name! Quick! We don’t have much time!”

Clairence hesitated as she bit her lip. “Do I have to?”

“Quick!” Lily urged.

“Five. Four-”

“...Claire Shiffrin, of Pruite Monarchy.” the girl spoke quickly.

“I, Party Leader Lily Thompson, hereby request Clair Shiffrin, to join my party temporarily.”

Pouring her mana out quickly, Lily sighed in relief as a strange golden mana cloud enveloped Claire. It was always strange seeing that golden cloud, Lily thought, but it clearly had something to do with party creation so she disregarded it. 'Well, that was one problem out of the way. I hope the girl was good at her Class.'

“Umm, what was that?” Claire asked nervously as she looked at the rapidly dispersing mana cloud.

“Miss? What were you doing?”

Lily jumped forward and placed her staff defensively in front of her. The Teacher reached out and grabbed the swiftly disappearing mana cloud, though his hands swiftly passed through it without interference. He grimaced as the cloud rapidly dispersed and entered both Lily and Claire.

“I hope you hadn’t just added her into your Party against her will? Especially if you did what I think you just did. That is a serious matter.”

“Hey! You said five was a minimum. And she joined us willingly. You can’t join our Party if you even have a sliver of doubt, mister…”

“Educator Renvi Wefter,” Renvi stated.

“Mister Renvi-”

“Educator Renvi. Or Combat Mage Renvi. Use your manners, child.”

“My name is Lily Thompson then. Or Apprentice Mage Lily. And she’s not a full member either, so it’ll be fine. I learned my lesson about doing that,” Lily started with confidence. At least, with as much confidence as she could muster. ‘...I had added the word temporarily to my statement… hadn’t I? No matter, I know there is a way to break it without me dying, so everything will be fine.’ Miss Paige said intent mattered for party creation, and she didn’t quite want another girl in the party either, so to her, it was no big deal.

Her confidence did nothing for the Teacher. Renvi stared dubiously. “Hmm… your Mentor was that person you came with? The Imperial Servant?”

Lily frowned at the implication, though she bit her lip. Her mentor had rarely ever used her position as an Imperial Servant, nor did she wield her position to power over other people. In fact, if every Imperial Servant was as nice as her mentor, then was it a problem with bias, or was it because her mentor was just that nice? “Is that a problem, sir? I thought the school judges applicants solely on their skill?”

“No true Educator here is fond of how the Imperial Family is interfering with the school. Unless you-“

“We are the best Alcudia has to offer,” Lily stressed.

Just because her mentor was linked to the Imperial family, (and even then, Lily had her doubts), it didn’t mean that she had to identify herself as one. For goodness sake, Markus didn’t identify as one, and his family was apparently full of suspected Imperial Servants.

Renvi frowned as Lily stood her ground. With a searching look, he nodded reluctantly and moved back to the center of the field in a flash.

Watching him move, Lily whispered. “Did anyone see how he sneaked up on us?”

“His feet blurred for a second, so probably a movement Skill?” Tyler said forcefully.

“Maybe a spell? He did say he was a Combat Mage or something?” Markus added with interest.

Everyone quieted as Renvi called for time. “Okay! Now that the parties have been established, anyone not in a party can exit off of the stands. You have failed the first test of the entrance exam!”

The few individuals who were abandoned or had failed to join a party were indignant.

“Wha-! You can’t do this!”

“We spent years traveling here! How da-“

Ignoring the rising clamor, Renvi merely waved his hand as the earth moved around him, forcing those lone students forcefully away from the training field. As quiet returned to the field, Renvi swept his eyes at the remaining parties.

“Situational awareness is key to survival, and to that end, knowing what you need for your party and how to manage it is key to being a good Party Leader. And just because you started with a party now doesn’t mean it is the best party for you to be in later! Flexibility in your party will allow you to take on a diverse set of enemies; enemies you’d have no chance against otherwise.

“Therefore, the test wasn’t about how many were in your party, but whether or not you had a party.”

Seeing his pointed stare, Lily puffed her cheeks in annoyance ‘... so we didn’t really need to have five people. His idea of a test is almost as bad as Miss Paige’s!'

“Now, it’s time for the elimination challenges. Follow me to the next training field,” Renvi stated as he turned to another side room.

“Ugh. And I thought I knew stupid tests. Hey, Isabella, good job on finding someone. Unlike someone...” Markus muttered rudely.

"Hey! I had a plan!" Lily said defensively.

“Says the person who was absorbed in their own thoughts that we nearly failed an exam,” Markus scoffed.

Lily’s face colored. Markus was right, but he also wasn’t under as much pressure either! “I had half a minute or so. We had plenty of time for us to showcase our charm and grab someone.”

Speaking of which… Lily turned to really see her new party member. She was a little less concerned since Isabella has brought her over rather than Tyler or Markus. The girl fidgeted as Lily turned to inspect her gear and rather unique outfit.

Her main weapon, now that she had time to really look, was a crossbow. It was odd for an Adventurer to have one as their main weapon since they were notorious to load in combat. The shield would be even more cumbersome since she would hardly be able to crouch with it attached to her back like that. And even her quiver attached to her leg wasn’t holding more than six arrows.

All in all, a six shot archer with a shield was not her ideal companion, but she could work around that. Somehow.

Lily could feel her eyes twitching as she evaluated Claire's clothing. Beside the color, which she approved of; the girl's entire outfit screamed ornamental! With an overly poofed hat that hung down at an odd angle, to her tight leather armor that surely must be hard to run in; it was clear that whoever designed her clothes hadn’t asked what she was planning on doing with said outfit. And those medals dangling above her heart was a fairly noticeable target to aim at.

Combined, her weapon and outfit painted her as someone who never had actual combat experience, and Lily could only hope Claire had gotten a recommendation through merit rather than a political favor.

“Umm, thank you for adding me to your party. I promise I won’t let you down.”

Lily paused her steps as Claire curtsied in gratitude. Flustered, she waved her hands. “It’s no big deal. Though, you’re stuck in our party for the time being.”

“It’s okay. I, uh, needed to get into a different party anyways. My family was only able to get me a spot here, not a party. Soo… yeah. Umm, thank you.”

Her humble response answered most of the pressing questions Lily had in her mind. A political recommendation, no combat experience, a non-functional outfit, Pruite Monarchy… she hod some connection to royalty!

“You’re welcome. I’m Lily, Party Leader of Cidala Heroes. Umm, just so you know, Cidala is our hometown in Alcudia. And this is Tyler, Isabella, and that rude one is Markus.” Ignoring Markus’s low curses, she walked step by step with Claire. “So, uh, what’s your Class and guild ranking?”

Claire winced and Lily’s heart sunk a bit. “I, uh, I’m an K- Archer! A really good one though! I’ve even won numerous archery competitions back home. But… my guild ranking is really low. I...have some bad memories about monsters.”

A shame, though Lily nodded in understanding. She probably sneaked out or something, and was traumatized somehow or another. That would be in line with a pampered, sheltered noble. Peeking at her clothes, Lily decided to help her new party member.

“Well, first, take off those medals. Anyone in their right mind will use it to aim at. And if you have some looser clothes, you should change into them. Or let me or Isabella help you adjust your leather chestplate. Your range of motion looks awfully restricted and chances are we’ll be fighting another party at some point.”

Claire tilted her head as she thought aloud. “Eh, but I always wear this when I compete?”

“...okay. That is all well and fine in an archery competition, but if we fight any ranged opponents, please take them off. It’s painting a bullseye right over your heart.”

Watching her take the medals off, albeit a little unwillingly, Lily could feel a headache coming along. ‘Please let the tests be easy.’

“The first test is simple,” Renvi stated as they walked into a new room. He pointed at a rather large contraption; an odd shaped tower, much like a water tower she had seen in Nespe, towered high above them. Though incredibly, this one was opaque and semisolid. A slight pinging sound rang out from it as white balls bounced off of each other inside the machine.

“As you can see, we have compressed an orb of air with over seven hundred balls inside, enough for every person here to get two balls. By pulling the lever here, the orb will open and three balls will drop down. Each ball has a star crystal inside of it, in various forms such as pentagonal crystals, hexagonal crystals, etc.

“You will only be able to pick two of the three balls. The test is to pick the balls that have the highest number vertices on them. The more your party gets, the higher your score shall be. There are even some unique crystals inside that may be counted differently. The balls will be refilled after so that the odds are always the same.

“‘Glorious sun’ party, you are first up.”

Renvi took in their dumbfounded gazes as he stepped away to the side and started calling party names.

Lily pouted as she heard the test. Beside the machine and the balls, it was practically the same test Miss Paige had them do every couple of months before they went to school.

“Crap! It’s a stupid luck test,” Markus said from the side.

Her, Tyler and Markus grimaced together as they watched the first party of eight pool their crystals together. Most were six or seven pointed crystals, while one had over ten points. The boy who drew it looked pleased at himself as his teammate congratulated him.

“Hey, Tyler; what’s a ten sided star called?” Markus asked.

“...I don’t know? If five points make it a pentagonal crystal, then maybe a dual pentagonal?”

“Decagonal," Lily answered. She blinked as she looked at the crystals. "I learned at school that besides mana cores, crystals are the other main way mana is naturally stored, with each point denoting how much mana is compressed inside. I think twelve is the highest natural forming mana crystal found in Alcudia, and they are hailed as national resources… And here the school is using them as testing instruments."

Lily saw that Markus was clearly impressed, though his interest in the test wavered as he rudely stared at the teachers' equipment.

"Do you think he’s the party leader?” Lily said as she watched another team pool their crystals, with another crystal far larger than the others.

“Maybe? Aunt Paige said a Party Leader gets special benefits. I thought she was making that particular one up though. I get sharing mana and spells and whatnot, but luck? That seemed a little far fetched.”

Lily agreed. Mana was tangible but she never really believed in luck. Especially after Miss Paige’s so called tests.

“Ugh. We’re going to be in trouble, Tyler,” Lily said sullenly.

“Don’t remind me. Markus, how’s your luck?” Tyler asked.

“Terrible. Hopefully Isabella has more luck than we do.”

“Umm, luck test?” Isabella wasn’t the only one confused, as Claire was also interested. Few paid attention to their conversation, though she spotted a few people shifting subtly toward her.

“A test to determine how lucky you are. Like, if you could find a gold coin on the side of the road, or whether or not it would rain when you are unhappy. That sort of thing. Totally ridiculous, if you ask me. And most so-called ‘luck based’ tests are like this.” Lily paused for a second to organized her thoughts. “In reality though, my mentor says luck tests like this are all based on probability. With seven hundred balls, the odds of getting a good score should be rather low. But as you can see, it looks like the party leaders are getting higher mana crystals, which could be testing your luck, but it’s probably something else… hmm….

“The stronger the mana affinity you have, the stronger the attraction to mana crystals should be. That’s why most crystal hunters are Mages with naturally high affinities. If the test makers aren’t accounting for that, then the test would simply be a thinly disguised mana affinity test, which would help us immensely,” Lily stated confidently.

“But why choose three balls then?” Claire asked.

Lily shrugged as she watched for a pattern.

“To give it the illusion of luck? A party with naturally high affinities has an advantage when casting spells or using Skills. Following along those lines, a Party Leader should have a larger crystal by default.”

Snapping her fingers, she watched as yet another party piled up their crystals. And yet, only the Party Leader has gotten anything larger than seven points. So far, her theory was sound. But it really depended on the next group.

“True Fire Party, you’re up next,” Renvi called.

Lily watched with bated breath as a full party of mages walked over to the large contraption. The first mage pulled… two hexagonal crystals. She nodded her head as the next seven mages pulled seven and even eight sided crystals respectively; far higher than the average thus far. The party leader, an average looking boy around sixteen or so, walked forward haughtily and released his mana as he stood before the lever. Dark orange flames erupted around him and as he pulled the lever, his flames turned into snakes that coiled around his arm.

Watching the orbs fall, Lily noticed that the balls fell swifter than the previous ones. Flicking his hands, the snakes coiled around two balls and erupted loudly. Smoke billowed outward as Lily stared. Two twinkling shards fell from the smoke, one twelve pointed crystal, and the other… a fourteen pointed crystal.

His sneer directed at the previous teams was very out of place. It was very rude, but his actions did validate her theory. Mages were pulling higher pointed crystals than Warriors.

“He was listening to our conversation,” Tyler remarked quietly. “Lily, do you think it’s really a luck test?”

“...I hope not. You remember what Miss Paige said about our luck.”

“What did my aunt make you two do? I had to fight monsters by myself until I dropped because my luck was so low.”

Tyler and Lily shared a look. “Same. I think we fainted after three or four waves of monsters while she and Boary watched.”

Isabella was confused. “How is that supposed to help your luck?”

“She never quite explained it. She just thought that was supposed to. You’ll get used to her antics after awhile,” Lily said with a chuckle.

Still, Lily looked over the mainly disappointed crowd. With most of the teams having pulled, their chances of doing well in anything other than a luck test was rather high in her opinion. “Hey Isabella, how good do you think your-”

A roar of laughter attracted her attention, and as she turned she saw a Warrior pulling a fourteen pointed crystal as well. Holding the crystal above him, he danced with glee as he yelled, “Haha, you can’t beat a future Champion in luck!” His eyes locked onto hers as he tossed the up and down in his hands. “Let’s see how some spoiled children match up to this.”

‘Spoiled children?! I worked hard to get where I am!’ Lily fumed, though her eyes widened. He was a Warrior, and still pulled a crystal that was way above the average. Could this really be a luck based test?

“-Cidala Heroes, you’re up.”

It was the moment of truth, Lily realized. Her steps were heavy as she inches her way forward. She hated her luck, especially when she knew just how bad it was. Stopping at the lever, she shared a glance with the two boys. They already knew how bad their luck was.

“Miss Lily? Should, should I go first?” Clair asked after a second.

“No, I’ll-“ Lily started.

“I’ll go first,” Tyler said as he rushed toward the lever and pulled.

‘Good luck, good luck, good luck! Please!’ Lily prayed to as many of the gods as she knew.

The balls dropped well below the average pace, Lily realized with dismay as three balls quickly fell near Tyler. All identical, as far as Lily could tell. With a deep breath, Tyler pulled his sword and slashed two orbs in quick succession, revealing…

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Lily’s heart dropped at the sight. That was exactly what she was afraid of. The surroundings were quiet before the sounds of laughter echoed. Of all the parties that had gone before them, none of them had gotten an empty ball. At worst, they had gotten a pentagonal crystal.

‘Is our luck really that bad?’ Lily bit her lip and walked forward. Renvi from the side cast a dubious look at her, as all the other Party Leaders had gone last. “Maybe my luck will help my party later?” Her voice shook lightly as she said it. Even she had no confidence that she would do any better.

Not even bothering with unleashing her mana, she took a deep breath and pulled.

If it was even possible, Lily could swear that her chosen balls dropped even slower than Tyler’s had. ‘All of them are empty…’. Suppressing her worries, she flicked her hand as a thin line of wind slashed open two balls. Two empty balls.

The crowds quieted as the shattered remains of the balls fell. Even Renvi was surprised by the results. “That’s… some luck your party has so far. There’s only seven or so balls in there that are empty.”

Clearing her throat, Lily motioned for Claire to go next.

‘A one in a hundred chance. Well, at least that means we all can’t do much worse,’ she thought as Claire pulled the lever.

The balls dropped down at a normal pace as Claire selected two orbs. One empty ball, and the other, a tiny crystal shard. Claire shuffled back, her face aflamed as Markus stepped forward and grudgingly pulled the lever. Without even bothering to look, Markus flicked his sword out, and with a flash he cut two balls in mid flight, revealing nothing.

A few chuckled at the sight, though most were silenced as Markus glared at them. And though his display was certainly impressive, Lily’s eyes twitched at the results. She twirled around to Renvi, her fear of the Teacher fading as indignation arose in its place. “Are you sure this test isn’t rigged? Or do we get an automatic pass instead?”

“...” Renvi stared at their pathetic crystal shard and pointedly stared at the second smallest pile before eyeing the other Teachers. “Statistically unlikely, I’ll admit, but we are testing your luck. You, no, your team just seems to have really bad luck.”

“Unlikely?! We literally got the worst possible results in a row!”

“Guess even Imperial Servants can be super unlucky,” a fellow contestant said from the side. Lily turned, fire in her eyes as she looked for the voice. The guy merely smirked as wisps of smoke surrounded him; twin fire snakes swirled around his head and hissed as she glanced at them.

“I’m not an Imperial Servant, so shut your mouth before I shut it for you,” Lily snapped.

Taking a breath to calm her nerves, Lily eyed Isabella with a hopeful gaze. Surely her luck wouldn’t be as bad as theirs. She was an Apprentice Cleric, for goodness sake!

“I, I’ll do my best!” Isabella cried as she pulled the lever down.

With a flash, three balls fell with an audible thud as they crashed onto the floor. Without even needing to choose, each of the balls burst open to reveal a perfectly rounded sphere nearly the same shape as the balls had been. They were, by far, the largest crystal revealed today.

Everyone stared in disbelief as Isabella tapped at the crystal orbs with her wand. Even one orb had more mana in it than the full party of Mages had in all of their crystals! Feeling the urge to sit down, Lily smiled in relief as Renvi cleared his throat and announced the winners of the first competition.

Lily sighed to herself. At least they finally knew where all their luck went.

“Sucks to be them. Still, some people have all the luck,” Markus grumbled unhappily.

“Stop that, Markus. We’re just lucky she’s in our party,” Lily said, though she inwardly agreed with his statement.

Isabella alone had allowed them to pass the first trial, one that had cut almost half the participants in one go. Still, if looks could kill, then her party would have died ten times over by now. The low whispers of hate rode with the wind, and Lily winced as another team proclaimed them as Imperial slaves. Lily knew it shouldn’t let their words get to her, but it hurt knowing that she wasn’t being seen for who she was; for her accomplishments. The tests didn’t help in that regard either, as they had little chance to actually showcase any of their skills.

“Now that we have eliminated a good portion of the candidates, it is time for the next test.”

“Each party shall divide their group into two parts, Group A and Group B. Each Group will have an individualized test that they will need to pass. Both groups must pass in order for the party to continue onto the next phase of testing. You have two minutes.”

Renvi smiled as the teachers behind him split into two groups.

“Do we get any clues?” a mage asked.

“Short answer is no.”

“Then how are we supposed to plan?” another student asked.

“In life, you will not have all the answers. You just have to make due with what you have," Renvi said briskly.

‘Is this even a test!?’ Lily thought to herself. This was insane; it was like the school was trying to get rid of potential students. Still, she paused as she looked at the teachers.

“How do you want to do this?” Lily asked quietly. “It would seem that one group will be testing magic, and the other strength. Otherwise, there’d be no reason to separate the teachers like that.”

The others glanced at the teachers and realized why she had said that. It wasn’t hard to distinguish what the Teachers specialized in.

“Mages on one team?”

“But what if they need a defender? Then it would make sense to have Tyler on the same team as the mages.”

“And if they are testing individual talent instead?”

Lily could feel a gaze on her back. The head Teacher was staring at her party. ‘Maybe this is also a test?’

“We’ll separate by Class. Isabella and I can handle whatever test the magic teachers can give us.” Raising her hand up to forestall arguments, she looked to Tyler. “Tyler, you will be the leader for Group B. Markus; Claire; you guys listen to Tyler. He’s had plenty of practice fighting against tougher opponents.”

Seeing the others nod, Lily looked to the most troublesome of the bunch. “No objections, Markus?”

“Nope. It’s too tiring being a Party Leader. Too many decisions to make. Plus, it’s way easier to listen to someone else,” Markus waved off her concerns lightly.

There was something off with the way Markus acted, but she nodded anyways. He had a point, it was tough being a Party Leader.

“Group A will stay here. Group B, follow me.”

Lily watched as the magic teachers stayed put and waved off Tyler. She relaxed as she grabbed Isabella’s hand. Looking around at her competitors, she realized that she wasn’t the only one who had noticed how the teachers had been grouped.

Seeing as Renvi had left, one of the remaining teachers, a short, portly woman stepped forward.

“Congratulations on making it this far. In truth, this is the last remaining test for new students. All others will have to find another way to enter the school, per the outlined instructions we gave out prior to your journeys here.”

Lily shot Isabella a questioning look, who soon shook her head in puzzlement. Journey? This was the first time they’d heard of this. Everything she had read up to know had stated that the school was only for the western border countries, per Peter’s will. Sure, she had suspicions when Claire had said she came from Pruite Monarchy, but that was still technically a border country, just a bit further away.

“As you know, we are looking to add four new parties to our student population. We do not care when or where you last went to school, nor what you learned. Here, we only have one motto: ‘Only the best allowed’. For those who get in, our lessons will surely benefit you in the future.”

Lily watched as the other candidates nodded as she and Isabella stood in the back.

“Lily, didn’t you say their motto was ‘May knowledge be passed on?’” Isabella whispered.

“It should be. Something doesn’t seem right with this whole selection process.”

Lily quieted as the teacher continued on.

“I, as the Vice Chair of the Magic Department, Myra Eyler, shall now administer the test. As we are all Mages, we will simply do a battle of will. Your group shall combine your mana and resist us as we unleash our spells.

“Despite what Sir Renvi has stated, this ranking will matter when we combine your parties' scores. Please separate at least ten feet away from the others and we will begin shortly.”

Miss Myra smiled as the teachers behind her spread out. The air grew heavy as Teachers readied their spells.

Seeing the others spread apart, Lily and Isabella watched in mounting confusion.

“Lily? Do you know what they are talking about?” Isabella asked.

Lily searched for the condescending mage and quickly found him by looking for the smoke. He stood calmly with a portion of his party as they stood behind him, placing their hands on his shoulder as they held their staffs with their other hand. The snakes moved toward his hands as he held them in a defensive posture. He focused on the teachers as the snakes shifted in the air. He was clearly casting some type of Spell, though he wasn’t verbally talking. He had to be using a Skill of some type, or perhaps his mana capacity was incredibly high.

“I think they’re about to attack?” Lily said hesitantly. Seeing the mages put their hands on one person clued her in on what they were doing; mana transference. But her mentor had always stated that was too dangerous to do as Apprentices. Mixing mana was a sure way to reduce the purity of your own mana. But to her, it seemed that none of the other mages cared about that.

“Lily?” Isabella said quietly.

Lily could feel Isabella tensing up. This was certainly not something they had ever tried before. But she was a fast learner. Watching the others hold their weapons in front of them, she gripped her staff with her hand and copied their motion.

“Bella, think you can focus on only gathering wind mana? If you can gather it around, I can shape it how I need.”

Seeing her nod, she looked around the room once more. The other mages were creating [[Mana Shields]] of various elements. Most of the parties had materialized at least four shields, while most were split between making their shields thicker or creating a fifth shield. Only her and Isabella were standing there blankly.

“Without knowing what spells they use, it’ll be hard to defend solely with Wind magic. I could try to do that Spell I just learned,” Lily said after a moment. “But I won’t have enough mana to sustain it indefinitely, if I can even cast it in time.”

“I'll keep a portion of my mana to heal our wounds if the attacks get through. I’ve been working with Miss Zenith to heal while being distracted. We can do this, Lily!”

Nodding her head, Lily focused. ‘Magic is all about intent. I want a shield. I want a shield. I wa-,’ Lily chanted those words as she readied her spell. “[Magic Moulding]. Oh, hidden grove deep in the forest, let…” Lily colored slightly as she ignored the looks the other Mages were giving her, since she was the only one chanting aloud. Her mana seeped out of her hands and into her staff as she continued chanting.

Even the Teachers were giving her pitying looks as she continued chanting her Spell. They were clearly giving her ample time to prepare. The Mage with the snakes smirked as the smoke wafted around him and formed into a single word.

Pathetic.

‘Tch! Acting like you’re already a Mage!’ Lily almost stopped her spell right there, but refocused quickly as she felt the wind shuddering around her. Her mentor had told her that the spell was hard to control, especially if her intent was mixed. She needed it to be a purely defensive shield, otherwise both of them would be in danger from her own spell.

“...forge a cage; and imprison those inside! [[Wind Prison]].”

As she tapped her staff onto the stone floor, her mana shard embedded at the top of her staff dimmed noticeably. Their clothes flapped a bit as the wind swirled around them. Lily gasped for breath, her chest heaving in exertion as her mana dipped far below her self imposed threshold. Though the wind had stopped stirring around them, she could feel her mana all around her. Lily looked at her surroundings with pride. The spell had worked!

‘[Mana Sense], [Mana Sensitivity].’ Lily activated her other Skills as she steadied herself. That was the main reason she had not used a magic circle to defend them; while it was useful, it would significantly decrease the amount of mana she could replenish over time.

“I got you, Lily. [[Healing Wind]],” Isabella said concernedly. Reaching into her bag, Isabella was about to pull something out when Lily shook her head. No one else had used a mana potion to restore themselves, so Lily wouldn’t either. A mid-summer’s breeze wafted around them, it’s gentle warmth coursing around as though she was standing in the middle of a field rather than inside. She could already feel her body losing the tension as the leaves on Isabella’s wand glowed with a green light, though her mana density in her core remained the same.

“Now that the last of you have prepared, let us begin. We will be using area of attack spells first, and then focus on single target spells as the weaker applicants leave the field.”

Myra looked around and smiled gently. “Let us begin.”

“[[Lightning Lance]]”

“[[Flood Waters]]”

Lily could feel her clothes start to stick to her back. The teachers were strong! Lily thought to herself, as she braced herself for the next attack. A good third of the opponents had already failed from the first two attacks. All of the mana that she had recovered was slowly being drained by their attacks. But even with the mana drain, she was glad that she had learned this spell from her mentor. There was no way a standard [[Mana Shield]] would have been able to defend against a focused attack, nor a field attack.

“Lily, they don’t like you for some reason,” Isabella said.

Lily nodded her head. That much was evident. The only question was whether it was prejudice against her coming from Alcudia, or her mentor.

At least the first teacher had been somewhat fair, but she’d be blind if she couldn’t notice that the majority of the second attack was centered around her. To her senses, the second teacher was visibly focusing her mana on her alone, which spoke volumes to how unfair they were being.

‘...is this really the school Peter created?’ Lily thought as the next teacher moved up and focused on her. ‘Why are they so...biased?’

“Lily? Something is wrong,” Isabella said suddenly.

Lily could feel it too. The ground was shifting beneath her feet as he moved forward. And the way he moved felt familiar, almost like…, almost like he was probing her shield. No, he definitely was. She could feel the mana she had absorbed starting to decrease furiously as the ground below her turned green in response to the probing.

Yet no one else was being attacked, to Lily’s dismay. He walked past the first row of mages without so much as a blink, yet he was focusing all of his mana directly underneath her. She leaned into Isabella as she rocked back slightly. The shield was using too much mana!

“Lily, you’re going to faint if you keep this up!” Isabella whispered.

“Isabella, just heal me!”

“I can’t heal mana exhaustion! You know how dangerous it is to go into mana exhaustion,” Isabella exclaimed worriedly.

But Lily couldn’t focus on the ifs. The next teacher was scarcely thirty feet away at this point and she was running out of options. ‘What to do!?’ Lily thought as she searched for a solution. Her spell was about to run out of the ambient mana she had just imbued it with. Already she was reinforcing it with her own mana, but soon she’d have to either cancel the spell or go into shock.

Unless…”Isabella, just like the wolves! Just tell me when!”

Isabella hesitated. “Are we allowed to?”

“Who knows, but we need to do something!”

Lily focused her mana as Isabella started to pull things out of her bag. She could hear the clinking of bottles as Isabella pulled a few vials of liquid and a pair of heavy gloves, before carefully uncorking them. Lily held them very carefully as Isabella reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded, compact crossbow and bolt that had somehow fit into her dress pocket. It must have had a hole that allowed her to strap it to her leg. The teacher visibly slowed as Isabella took the vials and poured them onto the bolt before setting up the crossbow, her arms shaking as she strained to set up the weapon and pull the string back.

“You are a Cleric... right?” The teacher asked. “Why would you carry a detachable crossbow?”

Lily could feel the man shifting his mana around to defend, giving her ample time to prepare for her own attack.

“Because...I’m...also an...Adventurer!” Isabella called out loudly as she cocked the crossbow into place. She stepped to Lily’s side and pointed it down range. “Stop right there before I shoot!”

Sure, Isabella still technically had her wand in her hand, but the crossbow was not normal by any means. Lily could feel everyone eyes on them. This was definitely not how any Mage exam was supposed to go.

‘Well, it's...sorta like Miss Paige said, ‘there’s no such thing as cheating in battle.’’ Lily thought.

Evidently the Teacher thought the same.

“What did you pour on those bolts that you think would incapacitate me? If it even hit, that is.”

“...”

“Even I know that Poison is against the creed of the Healer Hall; so if I had to guess, it would either be a mild paralytic or a bluff.”

Lily slowed her mana gathering as he eyed her. That was remarkably close to the truth.

Isabella hesitated. Even she didn’t know what was in the bottles. “I don’t know what it is. My mother said it could stop any enemy for a few seconds.”

“Well then… have at it,” the man chuckled. “You two are the only one that passed my test, so I’d like to see what you can do.”

Lily paused. Despite his statement, the other teams hardly looked like they’d been beaten. In fact, it looked like most had scaled back their mana usage and were barely keeping their spells activated.

“I’m a Geomancer. They lost before we even started. Your spell saved you, which is why I am concentrating my attack on just you.”

“...so you aren’t deliberately trying to make us lose?”

He paused and laughed. “We might not like Imperial Servants, but we are Educators above all else. So come, show me what you are made of!”

His eyes gleamed brightly as he waited, though Lily could feel his mana starting to gather around again. It wasn’t quite gathering under her feet, but it hovered just a few inches outside her shield now.

A test of wills. Lily knew this had to be part of the test. It was a thin line between risk and reward, but if she could change their views of her Party… “Do you think he’s telling the truth, Bells?”

“I…I think so. Or, more truth than lies?”

Lily took that in and looked toward the teacher. His brown robe was engraved with a dizzying pattern that hurt her eyes to stare at, but was it able to deflect steel? But as she looked at his eyes, she recognized the gleam.

It was the same look that was perpetually in Miss Paige’s eyes. Confidence. Power. He was certain beyond a shadow of doubt that he could block their attack.

“Isabella. Delta pattern, lethal,” Lily whispered, though she knew that the teacher could hear them from this distance. ‘[Magic Moulding]’. She was treading the line with her mana, even though her Skill used hardly any mana this time.

Isabella looked over as Lily gathered as the shield around them started to glow green with mana. Holding her above her head, the wind started to spin faster above them and a small green whirlpool descended as her shield opened along the middle and rapidly turned into a small orb of mana that settled in her hand.

“Okay, Isabella! Three! Tw-!”

“[[Blinding Light]]!”

Isabella stepped behind her as she released the mana inside her wand. Holding it slightly above and behind Lily’s head, she knew that the leaves would flash green and then emit a shockingly bright light.

‘Now!’ Lily dispersed her shield outward as she threw the orb at the teacher. She watched as his eyes tracked her spell, before the dirt around him suddenly shifted. Watching as he took a step back, somehow her own spell started shifting backwards.

Seeing her wind orb backtrack, Lily realized what the teacher had done and remembered her own mentor’s lesson too late.

‘Besides spires exploding from underneath, an Earth Mage’s favorite technique is to shift the battlefield. More than one Warrior has died from his allies Spells by simply moving the ground forward.’

Lily’s own spell was almost next to her, and she winced as the spell started to unravel itself as she had planned beforehand. Her mana was dipping low and she felt lightheaded again as she used her Skill to push the volatile orb of mana further away from her.

‘Why didn’t I remember sooner!”

Lily gasped for breath. She had to do something! Anything! What had happened after that lesson?

‘Psh,” Paige mumbled off to the side. “It’s fairly easy to kill an Earth Mage., even if he does that. One, you could simply move with it, or even easier-’

Lily struggled as she reached for the remnants of her dispersed spell as her vision darkened. “[[Wind Blades]]!”

‘- you just have to remove him from his element.’

She prayed that her spell would be enough.

“-ly! Lily! Wake up!”

Her body ached as Isabella shook her roughly. “Bells, stop. I already feel sick enough.”

“Thank goodness you're alright!” Isabella yelled.

Lily winced, though she kept her eyes shut. ‘Breathe in and out. Relax and feel for the ambient wind mana. Feel… hm? Who converted all the mana to wind mana?’

Lily tentatively opened her eyes and realized that they weren’t in the same room anymore. Isabella was next to her, along with the rest of her Party. Tyler, Markus and... Claire, her new party member, looked like they too had a rough time. Markus was covered head to toe in what looked like bloodied dirt, while Tyler and Claire were covered in grime.

“Why were you bleeding?”

Markus rubbed the caked on blood off of his face and grimaced. He almost had his Uncle Nick’s grimace memorized. “We had to do mock battles with Combat Classes. Complete with Mage support. Lucky Claire came with us, otherwise we would’ve been in major trouble. A Vanguard and a Swordsman do not make a good team by themselves.”

“To be fair, Markus, I was attracting all the fireballs,” Tyler said grumpily. “And at least you got to hit them.”

They were arguing again. Lily knew she would have to do something about that. “How did it go, Claire?”

The girl jumped at the question. “We, uh, did good actually. Really, really good. We were one of the only teams who were able to get close to the instructors. Sir Markus and Sir Tyler were amazing!”

“Heh, she called you sirs,” Lily chuckled. She didn’t quite know why it was funny, but it was.

“Lily, you shouldn’t move too much. Miss Paige said you might have a concussion from the way you fell.”

“Hm? Miss Paige is here?”

“Yes I am. Lucky I made it too, otherwise you would have worse side effects to deal with than a rattled brain. Honestly, I thought Zenith taught you better than this,” Paige tapped her head lightly. In the same second, she appeared behind Markus and smacked him on the back of the head. “What have I told you about being a team player, hmmm?”

“Miss Paige, did we pass?!” Lily tried to sit up, but was forced back down by Paige.

“...yes, you all have passed. Zenith should’ve passed too. Congratulations, you six are now officially students.”

Lily sat her head back down before she noticed something odd about her statement. “Five,” Lily amended. “There are only five of us.”

“No, six.” Paige said quietly. “I added someone to your Party while you were sleeping, Lily. Congrats, your party is now filled.”

“Wha-, but I-” Lily wavered. She tried to sit up, but her headache increased with her movements. She could feel herself starting to tear up. Filling a Party was something she was supposed to do as a Party Leader! As she looked over, she saw Miss Paige wave her hand slowly, silencing her. Her eyes were unremorseful, though her tone was soft. “Sorry, Lily. I had to do this. You rest a bit, and then you can meet your new teammate. She’ll be a great help. It’ll really round out your party, too.”

If it was possible, Lily’s face fell even more. A new party member, and it was another girl!

“I know it’s not what you wanted, but I need it, Lily. I’ll make it up to you somehow, I promise.”

Lily closed her eyes and rested. This was not how she had expected today to go.