“Okay, now listen up!” Mr. Ivanov shouted. He stood on the square arena in the middle of the park, using his tabs as a microphone connected to a wireless speaker. A new thing about him bothered me—His head was no longer bald. A luscious golden bob hair, sparkling like a precious bowl from an Asian artifact, crowned Mr Ivanov’s head. Sure, I couldn’t be the only one who noticed that. But no one was daring enough to question his new fashion statement. Or asking, how the heck a spring of hair could grow from the ‘barren land’?

“A wig, glued to the scalp. It must be.” I murmured. I could hear a snorted laugh nearby.

“We’re going to start the test soon, but before that I’ll have to explain a few things. And here we have Miss Macy as your lecturer for elemental manipulation.” He gestured his hand towards the woman a few steps away from him, a pink haired lady in black training suit. She was quite the contrast compared to us, who wore white and navy blue training uniforms. Miss Macy nodded and scanned the students. Some male students who were looking at her blushed when they got caught. My eyes also met her gaze, but instead I felt a chill down my spine from staring into those deep blue marbles.

“But first, a demonstration.” Mr Ivanov took a few steps back, adding some distance. “Alright, Miss Macy. Throw me your best shot.” He shouted. She opened her arm and posed in a battle stance. The park filled with silence, with an occasional bird chirping. I could feel the anticipation tensing from everyone's shoulders.

Then Miss Macy moved, breaking the silence. She lifted her hands as if she pushed a heavyweight. The earth suddenly rumbled and two stalagmites emerged. It shot like a missile to Mr. Ivanov. I couldn’t believe my eyes, as those packed dirt would’ve weighed a lot. The man took a step back and with a twirl of his body, he redirected it into the ground nearby. With a loud thud, a shock felt on our feet.

As he still recovered from handling the attack, the woman already raised her hand. And with it, an elephant-sized body of water from the pool was raised. The water spiralling and formed a pointy edge, flying toward Mr Ivanov. The whirlpool splashed water wide into the area that it got into my face.

Using the previous stalagmite, Mr Ivanov moved it into the bridge of his right foot. A spark of electricity ran through his feet, an impressive show of a high level body enhancement. With his muscular leg, he threw the stalagmite into the coming water. The earth and water exploded into tiny rubbles and light rain. The students who stood in front of the row got messed with wet dirt.

Almost instantly Miss Macy readied her next move. She spread her arms wide and then her hands grasping something—the air, obviously. She clapped to the front and a strong gust of wind rushed into Mr. Ivanov. The wind took the dirt and mist with it and mixed into a hellish hailstorm. Mr. Ivanov stood in his ground, both palms together pointed forward.

The stormy dirt and rocks flying into the man. But with his hands he pierced and separated the gale in two. There was something like an invisible shield guarding him. It shimmered a few inches away from his body and concentrated at the tip of his fingers. All was a mess around him except the man himself.

He laughed, “That was tough.” He rested his arm on his hip and smiled. “Hey, let’s give the student a bonus demonstration. Let’s do ‘that’.”

“Are you sure?” Miss Macy cocked her head and raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. But let’s tone it down a little.”

Miss Macy then raised her arms, and a ball of water hovered above her head. From her elbow to her fingertips, some electricity flowed crackling into the water. The water quickly boiled and soon started to expand. It suddenly dispersed into gas. “Ready?” She asked. Mr Ivanov nodded and prepared his stance.

Miss Macy pulled the air just like before. But this time, she snapped her finger, and a spark ignited. I felt a sudden surge of heat before me. A bright, orange flame like a breath of a dragon came flying into Mr. Ivanov. He balled his fists in front of him, blocking the inferno. The flame dispersed violently, like it was hitting an invisible wall. A few long seconds later, the light was finally out. The ground charred brown and black. Steam smoking out from the formerly wet grounds. Mr. Ivanov stood there, unscathed. He laughed. “Now that’s some EM attack.”

Some students stifled their tittering and pointed at his flaming bob hair. He noticed immediately, “Ouch. Shit.” He slapped the fire out but to no avail. Miss Macy doused it with some water with a sizzle.

Mr. Ivanov shot her a thankful glance and resumed his manly posture. “Well now. What do you think, kids?” He crossed his hand with a brilliant smile. We couldn’t bring ourselves to answer that. Not with that messed up, half roasted, wet bob hair. “Elemental Manipulation could be a powerful weapon in the hands of a trained one. But for you who don't have the knack to do it, you’ll be fine. Just like how I displayed it before, I could teach you to learn about EM shield or warding. But that will have to wait. We’ll have to test for your talent in Elemental manipulation.” He then looked at Miss Macy. “I will have Miss Macy explain the test. But before that, one more message for you.” He harrumphed and cleared his throat. “Stay away from gambling. Especially against a shady old man.” His words came out of nowhere. The students furrowed their brows and glanced at each other. I tried to process his weird message and puzzled a temporary conclusion. I see, the hair… Gambling… The words from Headmaster… Everything came into place. Not that I care about the details though.

“That’s all from me. Miss Macy, if you would.” He then gestured for his colleague. She stepped forward and began her explanation.

“What we have demonstrated to you are the three forms of elemental manipulations. Solid, liquid, and gas. It may take a while, but there are various tactics that you can use… If you can. And today we will measure your affinity, strength and control of EM skill.” She paused for a second and spared a glance at the student. “I think there will be no question--” A guy in the front row raised his hand. “What is it?”

“What about the fire thing? Could you manipulate fire?” He asked.

“No. That wasn’t fire manipulation. It was more of a gas manipulation. I turned the water into hydrogen and oxygen gas as a fuel via electrolysis. And then….” She explained, but most of the students seemed lost in her words. “...like that. I hope that explains it.” Nope! We don’t get it in the slightest Ma’am!

“Alright then. No more questions. I’ll explain the content of the test now.” She rolled her sleeve, a tabs strapped on her forearm. She swiped the display and suddenly a huge holographic display appeared above. It seemed that the graphic was generated from the four poles at different sides of the park. It was amazing that the display could compete with the bright sunlight.

“Pay attention, we will measure your ability in three basic aspects…” The rest of her explanation was more or less the same thing I had discussed with Erran. The addition was of the technical aspects of calculating the affinity and the limits of our ability.

“For the solid affinity test, you’ll be tested on your controlling ability of stacking these boxes. Made of several weights and materials, starting from the paperweight to iron plates. It’s up to you. Each with their own different sets of difficulties. The condition of your stacks and the way of you handling them will set the score. 1-10.” She explained the first test. I had worse, though. Stacking house of cards with telekinetic ability. It was light but mind consuming.

“For liquid EM affinity, you’ll have to pour liquid into bottles and various shapes of containers. We also provide various liquids with different levels of viscosity. The speed, and your dexterity of handling the materials will decide the scoring.” The display showed us various kinds of containers and liquids. From a simple bucket to a tiny test tube. From water to a slimy fluid. I had some training to do the same with Aunt Penny and it was hard. I knew that I didn’t have much affinity with liquid EM.

“And for gas EM, you’ll move these gases inside the container. From simple air to a heavy sulfur hexafluoride. The accuracy of moving one gas to another will decide on how high your affinity in manipulating it.” The display above showed different gases and the containers. I had no idea how exactly the test would be done, until the time to do it came. I remembered that they say manipulating the air or gas was very hard. It was like touching something vague. The least type of affinity that I’m familiar with.

“But before that, let’s review the basics.” She continued with her explanation. “Manipulation starts by imagining an extra pair of hands or aura that envelops the element you want to control. We call that the EM field.” That was the basic information we heard for a dozen times already. It was probably the manual for the instructor to repeat the basics. “You can start manipulating the object just like lifting the elements with your hand. Or you can feel the molecule and control it directly. I suppose you already know that theory from the class. Let’s put that knowledge to the test now. I hope you’re ready.”

The display then showed us a list of names.

“We already have randomized your name. We will have three of you tested on each turn. For those who got their name on a later list, of course, will have extra time to practice. But don’t mind that little luck. A few minutes or hour practice wouldn’t make much difference, anyway.” She was brutal with the hard facts. I realized that too. It’s better to do nothing and rest your muscles. It was explained that using EM skill was the same as physical activity. It would eventually make you tired. The EM cell inside our body works almost the same as muscle. The more you trained, the stronger your EM would be, while also the more you exhausted your EM cell. Therefore, you wouldn’t be able to do much without a proper rest.

I saw the display and my name was on number 23. To my surprise, Ellie got number 24, which meant that we’ll be doing the test at the same turn. And also, I couldn't pay her much attention when we did the test. It was likely she might hide her true abilities, just like the physical test before. That gave me an insight. Maybe I should take it easy, like doing it at 80% of my actual power. So I could have the hidden 20% as a surprise when I need to. Not a bad idea, let’s wait and see how I will fare.

After waiting for some time, it was finally my turn. It seemed like each turn took 10-15 minutes to do. And we could actually see how other people fare with their test. I could imagine how embarrassing it would be to fail miserably in front of 80-90 other people. That added up some extra tense on the test: The fear of failing. Alright. The first one solid elemental affinity test.

It was a block stacking straight in a limited time, five boxes from each material from the lightest to the heaviest. I had no problem stacking the medium weight blocks. The light one felt a little wobbly, my paper tower falling from unbalanced positioning. I made a good pace to set a nice score... Until I hit the heavy blocks. It seemed that my weight limit was quite low. Despite my confidence in handling objects dexterously, my maximum weight was not that high. In the few chances available, I took some glances into Ellie. Let’s see how you roll.

She was actually doing fine. She lifted the solid blocks with ease, but the accuracy was off. The tower that she was stacking tumbled a few times until she lost her temper. Of course, that didn’t help her at all. She pouted, and surprisingly-- it was kind of… cute. It was the only time I could find her genuine expression, from all of our encounters. Heh, so you actually can be cute too?

The next one was liquid manipulation affinity. I couldn’t comprehend how I was supposed to hold the water. Every time I moved the liquid, it was spilling out of my grasp. By the end of the time, I could only fill 5 out of 10 bottles. With a mess. Meanwhile the next girl managed to fill 4 bottles neatly. Less is more, huh?

“Wow, as expected of our hero Armen! You managed to fill half of them.” A shout coming from the other way. It was the boy who was always in the front row and asking questions. Ah, this guy... He’s… Who is he again?

“It’s not that amazing, Hanz.” I responded after a few seconds trying to remember his name. “I think you could…” I saw his test field, and it seemed that he turned it into a horrible scene—judged by the way he messed up his test materials. The containers tumbled, spilling liquids mixed with one another in a pool of mess. His clothes messed up from the wet dirt of the demonstration earlier, mixed with slime and oil. His hair—with that childish bangs—was even worse, it got everything stuck in, like a dough. I didn’t know someone could fail the test that badly. “...do just as good as mine… Nevermind. How did you manage to screw up that badly?” I couldn’t help but to ask.

“Ah well, you see…” He grinned like an idiot.

“Nope, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain. I hope you do well in the next test.” I felt bad asking the obvious, I would let the origin of his catastrophe be a mystery.

“Yes, of course. Air manipulation is my specialty!” He answered loudly in confidence.

“Eh? Good luck, then.” I plastered a smile. I don't believe him.

The last of the affinity tests was the gas elemental manipulation. I never bothered to practice this intensely before. Even Aunt Penny said that is too bothersome. She probably had a low affinity for it, therefore she didn’t have much to teach me. And that was the reason for my bad performance on the test. Manipulating liquid was already hard for me, and then I had to grasp the air. It was almost impossible. The only thing I could do was to move the heavy gases. It was quite comprehensible, since it was heavier than common air. So, I could somehow feel them. There were two heavy gases: carbon dioxide and that sulfur-hexa thing. The rest was a mess. In the end, out of 10 containers, I could only move 2. Still dealing with my dissatisfaction, I glanced at Ellie to see how she handled her test. Hmm, she’s actually quite impressive!

She managed to move 6 out of 10 gases within the time limit without even breaking a sweat. I guessed that she must be hiding her true abilities. But I’ll have to ask Erran who was probably watching the test while he waited for his turn.

“Yeah, how you like that!” A voice from Hanz was heard loud. I saw his test site. It would be amazing, if only he had handled it with more grace. He managed to move 7 out of 10, but the rest 3 containers were tumbling into disorderly arrangements. It seemed that he lacked precision to move the gases carefully.

“How did you do, Armen? Oh…” He saw my only 2 successfully filled containers. He covered his mouth like he saw a tragic scene from a net drama. He took a step closer to me and tapped my shoulder. It was painful to watch, since he was shorter than me. “It’s okay, man. We all have our own talents. Don’t feel down, okay?” His words were more annoying than reassuring. He probably meant well, but I felt like punching him in the face. “Yes, of course, Hanz. Ha ha.” A forced laugh came from me as a blood vein popped in my forehead.

While he left with a champion strut, his small stature reminds me of a demihuman species of one fantasy net movie. Damn you, hobbit. This is not a race! But I’ll show you how fast I could go.

***

The test was finally over. I have summed up the results with the other two categories: the weight limit and multitasking. I could muster up to 600 grams of EM strength and multitask up to 6 objects. It was a vast improvement from a month ago. The skill grew exponentially, just like Aunt Penny said. Well, until you hit a wall.

Ellie was doing well in the other categories too. She had measured 300gr of EM Strength and was able to do 3 multitasks. But I couldn’t really believe that, since she might hide her true abilities. The only way to confirm my suspicion was to ask Erran about it. But before I could find him, Hanz was grinning as he blocked my way.

“So, how did you do, Armen?” He asked.

“It’s okay, I guess. What about you?” Out of reflex, I also asked about his test results.

“I’m doing okay, too. 200 grams of weight limit and… just 2 multitasks. It was a leap from before I entered the academy.” He grinned widely. I tried to hide my smug smile. Take that low score, hobbit! I win!

“Ah, congratulations then.” I hoped to end the conversation, but then I might as well ask. “Do you see Erran?”

“Erran? He’s talking with the girls over there.” He pointed in a direction on the side of the park with a great tree.

“Okay Hanz, thanks. See you later.” I bid farewell and walked over to where Erran was. Indeed, he was talking with some group of girls, but not just any other. It was the group of girls that Ellie usually went with. What are you up to, Erran?

As I approached them, Erran glanced and noticed my presence. He then tried to end the conversation, making up some kind of excuses. I didn’t want to get involved with whatever discussion they were having. So, I waited on a bench near the big tree. It didn’t take long until he finally bid farewell to the girls and approached me.

“Hey, how’s your test results?” Erran saluted.

“It’s fine, I guess. What about y--” I realized that I didn’t need such information. I knew he would ask mine if he gave his first, just like with the physical exam test. “Nevermind, let’s cut to the chase. Did you see how Ellie’s EM test?”

“Huh, straight to the point. Okay then.” He took a seat next to me. “But before I tell you anything, shouldn’t you know better?”

“How so?”

“You were next to her during the test. I suppose you should be able to get a closer look.” He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Well, since I was doing the test as well, I couldn't pay much attention to how she did hers. Besides…” Hanz was so loud. I decided to keep the noisy hobbit story aside. It was irrelevant. “Besides?” Erran seemed piqued. “Nah, nothing important. So? What did you see?”

“Hmm, alright then. Keep it to yourself.” He pouted, like a kid being left out from his friend’s secret. But he regained his composure quickly. “Just as I predicted, she was hiding her true strength again in the test. But only at the solid and liquid affinity test that she seemed genuinely trying.”

I see, so that cute expression when she was frustrated was real, huh?

“Okay, I could confirm that. I saw her frustration when she failed at stacking the solid blocks. What else do you have?” I continued to dig more information from him.

“Well, you saw me talking with her friends earlier. With a bit of my silver tongue, I managed to extract some information from them.” He gave a thumb to himself. He was quite convincing, but I believed only half of the story.

“Really? I thought you were just fooling around.” I smirked to show my disbelief.

“Well, that too.” He shrugged. This guy is unbelievable…

“As my family wisdom says: ‘When you swim in the lake of wine, you might want to take a sip or two while you’re at it’.”

“That sounds dangerous. Such a lake is probably flammable as a biofuel.” I replied. He frowned.

“It’s just an old saying, geez.”

“Yeah, okay. So? The information?” I tried to pull him back to the topic. He grunted, but eager to proceed.

“Right, first of all, the EM test results. Her score is…. this.” He pulled his tab from his pocket and showed me a table with numbers displayed.

Ellie Yuri

Affinity Test

Solid 3

Liquid 4

Gas 6

EM Strength Limit 312gr

Multitask Skill 3

“I see.” I paid attention to it and remembered my own. I grabbed my physical exam test card and turned it around. The affinity test was to be updated immediately after the test and written in it.

Armen G Dalton

Affinity Test

Solid 7

Liquid 3

Gas 2

EM Strength Limit 621gr

Multitask Skill 6

I was thinking about holding back my result, but ended up doing my best because of that annoying hobbit. He rubbed some salt into my wounded ego. But that didn’t matter anymore, since the information was the utmost priority at the moment.

“So, what do you think about her result? On a close inspection when I was with her. I felt that she was holding back.” I continued the discussion.

“Yeah, I think she held back like 50-70%.”

“What? That much?”

“Just a prediction. To be safe, let’s just assume that she actually could do two times better than what the results are showing.”

That made me think. If one day I’ll have to confront her. Do I have the strength to do it? She may be even stronger than me!

“That’s tough to accept. What else did you find out?”

“Well, it was more or less her daily activities. I baited the girls into talking about their daily activities.” He stroked his chin and smiled proudly.

“Okay, and then?” I replied impatiently.

“Calm down. Here’s the conclusion that I got from them. Ellie is always busy around 4pm above. She always rejects invitations to hang out after the class. She said something about club activities.” His information was getting interesting. Since the first few weeks I followed her, she always disappeared after that exact time.

“So, she lied about the club then?”

Erran was looking at me and sighed. “Nope, they have testimony that she was at the Melee Weapon Club. But only for like 30 minutes or so, until she left.”

“Hmm. So, she disappeared after that. Is it allowed to appear just for 30 minutes?” I couldn’t imagine a club where you could come and left as you please.

“She was actually quite helpful during that half of an hour. So, they allowed her to go early. How exactly? I don’t know.”

“Well then. We’ll just have to find out where she went during that time.”

“WE? You mean just you.” His retort confused me.

“Huh? You’re not coming?”

“I’m busy with the student council every day after class. So, you’ll have to stake her out by yourself. You’re with the Go Home Club, aren’t you?” He peered demeaningly. Annoying as a bloody arse.

“Right, right. Whatever. I guess it’ll be just me.”

“Great, that’s the spirit! I’ll look forward to your result.” Erran grinned ear to ear. “Happy stalking!” With that, he gave a double gun hand at me with a wink.

Dammit Erran! There is nothing happy about stalking someone.