The next few weeks passed in a blur of training, and exam day finally came. Akari sat in the front seat of Relia’s bright blue Ethereal, watching the wipers slide back and forth against the slick windshield. The sun had actually shown its face this morning, but the rain still fell in a steady stream from the storm clouds above. It made the whole scene look fake, as if a special effects team had stamped a dark sky against a bright urban landscape.

Relia tried making small talk as they drove, but Akari was too busy being an anxious train wreck. She’d logged hundreds of practice hours this past month, but would that be enough? Would it make up for not being an Apprentice?

It doesn’t matter, she tried to tell herself. She could always get into the pre-Artegium program and apply again next year.

But it did matter, and every day made a difference.

Elend had lectured them endlessly on the importance of life outside Mana Arts, but that was a double-edged blade. Relia would die if she didn’t advance fast enough, and Akari and Kalden would drift even farther apart. Without advancement, she’d never save her father, or the thousands of others she’d sent to the Archipelago. Without advancement, she’d never defeat the Mystic who started this.

She understood Elend’s lessons, and she’d followed his advice to the letter. But at the same time, there was no life without Mana Arts, and the stakes were as high today as they’d ever been.

They drove for another five minutes before they found a parking spot on the campus’s northern border. Half a dozen other cars sat scattered around them, but the other two hundred spots lay empty.

"Don't get used to this," Relia said as she turned off the engine. “This lot will be packed once classes start. I've literally seen fights break out over the last free space.”

Akari unbuckled her seat belt with a shrug. "A two-mile walk isn't so bad."

Relia snorted as she opened the driver's side door. "You wanna walk two miles in a Koreldon winter? Be my guest. Most people just take the train. Unless you're a spoiled brat with a private driver." She gestured to a section of sidewalk along Chapel Street. "Just watch—you'll see a whole row of shiny black Nobles parked along there."

Akari held back a snicker. Hadn't Kalden driven a shiny black car on Arkala? Plus, he’d let Darren drive it, which was basically like having a chauffeur.

The Student Admissions Office loomed tall on the other side of the street. This was more modern-looking than the rest of campus, with tall glass windows that reflected the morning sun. Akari and Kalden had gone here earlier this week for the written part of their exams. Kalden had scored a 99% that day, while Akari had gotten a 92.5%.

Honestly though, she was fine with losing to Kalden in a game of book smarts. People wouldn’t give a shit about written tests after this week. Her scores would go in some old filing cabinet, and that would be that. She was all for pushing and challenging herself. But sometimes, you looked a challenge in the eye, said “screw that,” and got on with your life.

But the mana portion was public knowledge. Akari could look up the scores of anyone who’d ever taken it, from Elend and Irina, to Prime Minister Salerian himself. Even if she got in with a low score, her entire class would know. They’d all question whether she deserved to be here, and—

Talek. She clenched her fists and shook her head. Stupid brain. Calm down.

The concrete sidewalks turned to cobblestones as they stepped into the older parts of Koreldon University. Autumn was approaching in earnest, and the ancient trees dropped their leaves all over the lawns and walkways. Akari crunched the dead ones beneath her boots, and it almost made her feel better.

They passed dozens of old brick buildings along the way. Some loomed over them like ancient castles, blocking out the sun. Others looked like ordinary houses, covered in vines with overgrown landscaping.

Finally, the cobblestone path led them into the Artegium— a smaller campus within the larger one. Nine buildings formed a massive ring around a field of grass, trees, and walkways.

The library was the bullseye at the center of the ring. Five stories tall, the cylindrical structure had stained glass windows on every side. Each one depicted an image of a famous thinker or Mana Artists—some held books or artifacts while others showcased their aspects.

To her left sat three buildings of various sizes—Alchemy, Sigilcrafting, and Manatronics. The first two were small by KU standards—just two stories each, connected by an enclosed hallway. But Manatronics was bigger than both of them combined.

Before this summer, Akari hadn’t even known the difference between sigilcrafting and manatronics. Now, thanks to her long month of studying, she knew more than she’d ever wanted to know. Sigilcrafting formed mana techniques. But instead of using your body and mind to form the techniques, you used a language of written shapes. These were the basis for Missile rods, portable shield Constructs, and protective clothing. Meanwhile, manatronics was all about using mana to power devices—everything from cars to computers.

The three buildings on her right were all devoted to Healing Arts. And this was just for learning Healing Arts. Irina worked in a whole different section of campus where people actually practiced it.

The Mana Arts and Sciences building was tucked somewhere in there too. That was the place where people put mana under microscopes and wrote equations about it. No offense to them, but it seemed like the most boring building in school.

Last but not least, the Combat Arts Center filled the space ahead. Like Healing Arts, this section comprised several smaller structures—the arena, the classrooms, and the training hall.

Relia led them inside the largest building where they signed in at the front desk. They filed out various forms here, then some older students escorted them deeper into the building.

“Good luck!” Relia waved at them as they left. “I’ll be here when you get back!”

~~~

Elend leaned over the metal rail, waiting for the next three contestants to step into their respective dojos. As always, they went alphabetically by last name. This put Kalden in the seventh group, and Akari dead-last in the eighth group.

Elend had missed most of the exams before this week. Especially the Pre-Artegium students, who’d all tested at the end of their spring semester. These last minute tests were the rarest, and you needed a letter of recommendation just to be here.

His eyes settled on the middle room where Kalden stepped inside. Like many of the others, he approached the one way glass, looked up, and gave the judges a formal salute.

“No prosthetics?” asked Grandmaster Benten from nearby.

“Still under construction,” Elend said with a quick shake of his head. Benten was probably asking about temporary prosthetics rather than final ones, but that answer should be obvious. The temporaries wouldn’t help Kalden pass this test, so it looked far more impressive to enter with only three fingers.

Kalden played it safe for the first dozen rounds, using plain Missiles to strike his targets with precision. He was the very picture of a perfect student, never letting his missing hand slow him down.

Despite that, all eyes turned toward him as he climbed into the higher levels. Elend could practically see the question waiting on their lips: how could he possibly keep up with only one hand?

Good. Keep them in suspense.

Round Sixteen came, and Kalden watched the targets appear inside their protective shells. Understanding dawned on his face, and he began shaping a Construct in his left hand.

“That looks like blade mana,” Master Benten said.

“It’s not,” Grandmaster Razan spoke up. “That’s pure mana in blade form.” The Shokenese professor was a Blade Artist himself, so of course he’d be the first to explain it.

By Round Twenty, Kalden had four blades orbiting his body—too quick for anyone but a Master to follow. These protected him as the game fought back. All the while, blades broke out from the orbit, striking his targets with the same precision as before.

“Amazing.” Razen leaned forward, running two fingers through his thin black beard. “It’s like he recreated an entire aspect with pure mana.”

Elend didn’t correct his colleague. As usual, people were most impressed by things they couldn’t easily explain.

Zukan Kortez had put on an impressive show earlier in the week. His scores were the best they’d seen all year, but at least his performance made sense. As a Sunspear Artist, he was all raw power and precision—perfectly suited to a test like this.

Elise Moonfire had been the second-best performance they’d seen. As a Dream Artist, she relied mostly on her pure mana for this test. But unlike Kalden and Akari, she’d spent these past few years training her shaping skills to perfection. She’d also spent a full year as an Apprentice, which gave her much more power and control over her own mana.

“This should be impossible,” Razen went on. “These fighting techniques come from the aspect’s knowledge component. He’s too young to learn these from scratch.”

Elend’s gaze shifted back to the room below as Kalden reached the upper twenties. By now, the other two tests had ended, and he had the board’s full attention.

Kalden’s movements were flawless as he dodged, parried, and destroyed his opponents. Elend knew the lad had been afraid when he’d first walked in, but now he conquered those fears through sheer force of will. Despite losing a hand and two fingers, he drew from a secret reserve of strength beyond his years. Some inner-focus that belonged to a much stronger Mana Artist.

Kalden's life was a mess. He devoted no time to rest or socializing, and he had no direction for his career. But when he truly prepared for a single moment, he delivered.

But of course he did. Kalden Trengsen had been a champion duelist back in Last Haven. His parents had forced him to train without end, and he’d coped with it by focusing even harder. He controlled what he could, and he shut out the world.

Blade mana would be a waste for someone like him. Especially when he could already make the same techniques with pure mana. Irina knew it, and the admissions board knew it too. If Kalden chose something besides blade mana, he would essentially have three aspects.

But Elend couldn’t force the lad the way he’d forced Akari. Akari was a wildcard who needed to learn about trust and discipline. Kalden was the opposite—he was already a champion, but sometimes, he forgot to be a human too.

To be human was to choose for yourself, and that choice had to come from inside him.

Kalden finished the Missile portion at Round Twenty Nine, with a final score of 135. That gave him the second highest score this year for the Missile portion—one point ahead of Elise Moonfire, and four points behind Zukan Kortez.

After that, he walked away with a below-average score of 98 on the Construct portion. But Elend had expected that—anyone below Master would need ten good fingers for this level of shaping. As impressive as Kalden’s blades were, this proved he was a one-trick raptor in the Construct department.

He fared better in the Cloak portion, scoring a grand total of 103 points. The lad had Relia to thank for that. She’d put his body under intense stress back in Creta, and this helped him compete with some of the more experienced Apprentices.

Still, he was a long way from the top. Zukan Kortez had come in first on the Cloak portion, scoring an impressive 146. Not only was that ten points higher than any other applicants, but it rivaled many students in their second year.

By the end of the session, Kalden had a total score of 336. Elend didn’t have the list handy, but he guessed this was enough to put the lad in the top ten of his incoming class.

Kalden and the others bowed again before they left. Even from twenty feet away, Elend could see the thick layer of sweat on their faces.

There was a short intermission afterward, and his peers discussed the results among themselves. Elend remained silent for most of this. Aside from answering the occasional question, he let Kalden’s performance speak for itself.

Would it be the same for Akari? He was about to find out.

The doors opened once again, and the last three contestants stepped forward.