Akari leapt right as a Missile flew past her face. She gathered her own mana in her palm, waiting for a chance to strike back.

Her last opponent stood on the opposite end of the chamber, a human-shaped Construct made of dream mana. Like all the testing opponents, this guy was solid blue with no face or hair. And while the figures wore no clothes, they also lacked all the dangerous bits beneath.

The figure took cover behind a wall, and Akari relaxed into her Silver Sight. The chamber grew dark but for the outline of his cycling mana.

He shifted his weight onto his left foot, and Akari shot a Missile to his right. Things moved quickly at this level; if you waited for a visual, you were already too late.

Sure enough, her opponent emerged on the left side of the wall, and Akari’s Missile took him in the solar plexus. The figure faded to blue mist, and the surroundings faded with him.

Ding! The familiar sound echoed through the test chamber, and the words “Round Thirty Two” appeared in floating gold letters.

Akari drew in several deep breaths as she prepared herself for the next round. She’d never gotten this far on the Missile portion before. Not with Glim, or during her admissions exams.

Technically, the school still used the term “admissions exam” for current students, but that was a misnomer. Students weren’t competing for entry into the program now, and low scores wouldn’t see them kicked out. Not right away, at least.

Akari might be on probation after her early admittance, but even she wasn’t worried about her spot. Last semester, she’d been a Gold with no aspect, and she’d still earned a passing score. She was an Apprentice today, and the captain of a first year squad. At the same time, the stakes were higher than ever. She had some immortal Aeons to impress, and there were no second chances if she failed.

Her heart beat faster as the chamber rearranged itself for the next round. The floor shifted like a massive treadmill until she was standing back in the center. Four opponents materialized around her—one in each corner of the room.

If this were a real fight, Akari would have formed two giant portals and used her opponents’ mana against them. But this was the Missile portion. Constructs were allowed, but only if they used less than five percent of your total mana. The same rule applied to Cloaks. This gave students some leeway for errors, but it ruled out any spacetime techniques.

Instead, Akari shot two Missiles from either hand and immediately pulled them back. She balanced the pressure as they circled her body—not enough to make a Construct, but enough to keep them in orbit. They spun faster and faster, forming a shield like two electrons around a nucleus.

She’d barely used the Cloud technique these past few months. Most Apprentices had no need of it, after all. Constructs were easier and more efficient. But she’d lived as Bronze in the Archipelago, too weak to make a proper shield. Too weak to waste even a single drop of her mana.

Her opponents hurled their own techniques from every corner of the room. Some broke against the Cloud, while others ricocheted into the walls and ceiling. Unfortunately, the test wouldn’t run out of mana if she stalled. She might even lose points for the delay.

So Akari broke her Cloud, sending the Missiles outward in a corkscrew pattern. At the same time, she shot a second pair from her hands, forming a new shield to fill the gaps. She moved the mana on pure instinct, too fast to see.

Or rather, it would have been too fast to see last summer. But her advancement brought faster cognition, and things were clearer than before. The first two Missiles struck her opponents, while the others knocked their attacks off course. Things got easier from there, and a familiar ding announced her victory.

Round Thirty Five threw some civilian Constructs into the mix. Her opponents used a few of these as hostages, while others ran aimlessly through the fray. Fortunately, the pace had slowed by this point, letting her focus on precision. Akari lost several points here, but not enough to end the test entirely.

Round Thirty Seven had no opponents at all. Instead, Akari stood in a cage at the center of the room. The iron bars stretched from the floor to the ceiling, with no door or lock. A tiny key sat on a pedestal to her left, roughly six feet away from the cage. A simple control panel stood six feet to her right with a keyhole in its center.

Well, this was going to suck.

It would have been easy to unlock the panel with a portal, but that would use too much mana. Stupid five percent rule.

How much would she need to make a portal here, despite the rule? Her brain started doing the math when she caught herself. She was still on a time limit, and the number was too high to matter—probably halfway to Master at the very least. She’d have her displacement technique long before then.

Akari stretched out her hand and shot a pure Missile toward her first target. She pushed with her palm and pulled with her fingers, shaping the Missile into a bowl. Then she curved the bowl around the pedestal, using the momentum to scoop up the key.

Unfortunately, that was the easy part. Akari pulled the Missile back around the cage, but the key was facing the wrong way when it reached the panel.

Damnit. Should have seen that coming. Then again, she would have missed the keyhole regardless of the angle. Akari had done her share of advanced shaping exercises, but nothing this precise, and definitely not from six feet away.

She tried to pull the key back, but the motion sent it clattering to the floor. The Missile portion ended a second later, displaying her total score in floating numbers.

162.

A full twenty points higher than last semester.

A short break followed, and Akari stepped out of the testing chamber to rest. Unfamiliar faces filled the corridor outside. Some chatted amongst themselves while others leaned against the wall, hunched over their phones.

It was just past noon, and most of her team had drawn slots earlier in the day. Relia had finished her own test at nine o’clock, earning the top score in her year. Meanwhile, Kalden, Arturo, and Elise had started theirs a half hour before Akari. They’d probably be on their Cloak portions by now.

Akari kept walking until she spotted a familiar dragon on a wooden bench. Zukan Kortez sat with his back tall and straight. His eyes were closed, and he rested his hands on his knees. Akari almost left him alone. Then again, they’d all spent two days together in Vordica, relying on each other for basic survival. She still wouldn’t call them best friends, but it was hard to feel awkward around him after that.

Zukan must have felt her approach, because he opened his eyes and dipped his head in greeting. “Miss Zeller.”

“Akari’s fine.” She plopped down on the bench beside him. Even sitting down, her head only came up to his shoulder.

The dragon nodded again, turning to face the window across the hall. Snow clung to the trees in the courtyard, and the sun shone bright in the cloudless blue sky. They sat in silence for several long seconds, and Akari resisted the urge to fidget.

“How’s your test going?” She glanced up at Zukan, then her gaze flicked to the doorway behind him. “Done with your Missile portion?”

“One hundred and fifty-one,” he replied. “Twelve points better than last semester.” As always, his gravelly voice held little emotion as he spoke.

“I got a hundred and sixty-two.” Akari tried to keep the excitement from her voice. If Zukan had scored ten points below her, then she probably still had the best Missile score in her year. Then again, she still had Kalden and Elise’s scores to contend with. Zukan might be the best in their class, but he focused mainly on Construct and Cloak techniques.

The dragon gave her a nod of acknowledgment before he closed his eyes again, probably envisioning his own success for the next portion. Akari leaned back on the bench and tried to do the same.

You’re an Apprentice now, she told herself. You’ve got this.

First place.

~~~

Her Construct test went far better than before.

Last time, Akari had forfeited this portion on Round Sixteen when the test told her to make a protective dome around her body. It hadn’t even been a matter of skill back then. The mass of that technique had exceeded her total mana supply, and no cheats or clever tactics could change that.

Today, it came as easily as any other Construct.

The test challenged her new shield with various forms of damage. First came the human-like opponents from the last segment. These struck her with Missile techniques in various styles and aspects. Next came a wind storm, a raging river, and a massive fire.

Akari pushed her soul and channels to their limits, straining to repair the shield with every challenge. She probably would have failed several rounds ago if she hadn’t been taking soulshine. Not to mention the recent trip to Vordica.

Several friendly Constructs joined her for Round Twenty Five. They looked just like the hostages from the Missile portion.

Akari’s stomach dropped when the instructions appeared in front of her face.

“Create a protective dome around around all three civilians.”

Each civilian stood at least six feet away from Akari. In other words, there were twelve feet between them. Definitely not ideal.

“Hey,” Akari said to the guy on her left. “Mind coming closer?"

No response. Then again, he didn’t have ears, so what did she expect?

She stepped toward the civilian Construct and tried to push him toward the middle of the room. Despite his solid appearance, her hand passed straight through him.

Damnit. With no other ideas, Akari stepped back to the center and shot her mana upward, forming a circle above her head. She fed it more power over the next few seconds until it covered herself and all three civilians. Then she stretched out her arms and pulled at the edges, bringing it closer to the floor.

The result was a half-pill shape. This wasn’t nearly as stable as a full half-sphere, but she would never manage something that wide with her current mana counts.

Still, this might work if she—

The form broke apart as she pulled. Maybe she’d overloaded the top, or maybe she’d stretched the sides too thin. Regardless, the whole thing faded to blue mist.

Akari hung her head as the Construct portion came to an end, and her score appeared in golden letters:

116.

She’d only scored 79 points last semester, so this was a huge improvement. Unfortunately, she’d seen Zukan and Elise make domes like this in Vordica. Kalden could probably do it, too. So could several other first-years like Tori Raizen.

“Stay focused,” Akari muttered to herself. She’d already beaten last semester’s total score, and she hadn’t even started the Cloak portion yet.

Victory was still within her reach.