I glanced at Ling as we both remained seated on a bench inside the school. An awkward silence had fallen over us since we entered.

"Uh, n-nice weather we're having, huh?" I said.

She glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. "You're trying to make small talk with me?"

I lowered my head. "Y-yeah. Y-you s-said that you don't bite."

She snickered. "You thought that I did?"

I turned away. "N-no."

"Say, where are you from? I know that other than Jude, Huoyin, Lidia, Tamara, Mira, and me, the rest of you come from the east."

Wait, she knew where Tamara was from?

"Aurelius is actually from the north," I said. "I'm from the continent of Trono, from Shizizhidi."

Ling snorted.

"Did you just laugh?"

"Sorry. It's just that name sounds near impossible to say. I'm surprised that you could pull that tongue twister off."

I huffed. "I would be an embarrassment to the Shizhi Jiazu if I couldn't."

She gasped. "Wait, you're from the lion clan?"

I smiled. "Y-you heard of us?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You're stuttering again."

I turned away. "S-sorry. It'll take some getting used to you. I-I'm slowly getting better at taking to Kanja."

From the edge of my eye, Ling crossed her arms. She sure gave off a refined air. Was she a noble?

"Stop staring. It's weird," Ling said, closing her golden eyes.

I jumped. "What? I-I wasn't staring!" How did she notice?

"Hitting on the new girl, I see," Kanja said.

I jumped out of my seat as she and the others walked over to us. "W-what are you doing here?"

Kanja laughed. "What do you think? The test? Or did you think we would bail?"

My face heated up. Why had I asked such a stupid question?

Mira looked left and right as more people started to pour into the previously empty school.

A laughing boy surrounded by jocular friends glanced over at him. His smile faded. "Carter?" he asked.

I gulped. "Hey, Rob."

Rob put a hand on his hip and grinned. "Didn't expect to see you here, buddy."

"Same here. Why are you here?" I asked. Last I recalled, Rob was in the good graces of our clan. He wanted to fight Dad to undo my exile shortly after it happened, but I told him not to. If my sister couldn't defeat him, there was no way a little kid like him could. Did something happen that would push him to enter Nine Petal?

He closed his eyes. "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"About what my dad tried to do. He challenged your dad to a duel for the clan's leadership and lost."

I gritted my teeth. It would've been nice if his dad had beat mine. Mr. Xaoling wasn't a saint, but he did care for his family.

"So, you were exiled after he lost?" I asked.

Rob sighed and nodded. "Yes. The leader barred us from attending any of the magical academies in Shizizhidi."

"What's with the tongue twister?" Kanja asked, eyes wide.

Ling snickered. "I asked the same thing when Carter said it earlier."

"It's not that hard to say," Rob and I said in unison. We smiled and pointed at each other. "Jinx!"

"Is this your friend?" Aurelius asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Rob was my best friend growing up."

"Our dads were close, so it was natural we would follow suit," Rob said.

I lowered my eyes. Dad really had no heart. What kind of man exiled his children and best friend?

Rob stepped forward and patted my shoulder. "Cheer up, Cart. Dad didn't take it to heart. He knew what would happen if he lost when he challenged the leader.

Was that why my sister readily accepted her punishment too? Still, that didn't make things much better.

"Good luck in the next part, old friend. It'll probably be the hardest section for you. If you pass it, you're a shoo-in," Rob whispered. He squeezed my shoulder and gave me a slight smile.

I grinned. "Thanks, Robbie, but I don't need it." I flexed my right arm. "I'll make it without the need for luck!"

Rob chuckled as he turned around. "I thought you would say that. Then, I'll keep it for myself." He snapped his fingers. "But don't think that you'll get the top score. That'll be mine!"

I scoffed. "I won't lose. You know how much I hate it."

His smile faded. "Cart, if you do lose, please take it easy."

"No need to tell me that. I won't be defeated, to begin with."

Rob turned away. "Everyone loses at some point. Someone who's endured it before should expect it."

"That was years ago. I won't let it happen again. I won't be crushed a second time!"

A pair of eyes fell on me. Lei peered at me with a stoic face from across the hallway. Did he have an issue with me? He said he would only see me as a rival if I could pass, so why was he glaring intensely?

Lei took a deep breath and walked into the gymnasium.

"What's wrong?" Rob asked.

"I'm not sure," I said, scratching my head.

Rob sighed. "Don't let your nerves get to you. I know that under all that bravado is a doubtful boy."

I gritted my teeth. "You're thinking of the old me! I'm not like that anymore!"

My best friend snickered and walked away to join his friends who were gathering outside of the gymnasium.

"We better get going. The test is about to start soon," Ling said, passing by me.

"What's the matter, Carter?" Mira asked, standing behind me. "You seem tense."

I shook my head. "Your imagining things. I'm not worried at all. At least not about myself."

Mira pressed her metallic hands against her chest plate. "It's us who have you concerned, no?"

"I told you not to worry about them," Ling snapped, turning around. "There's nothing you can do now."

"She's right," Kanja said, walking past me too. "Our fate is in our hands. Now stop worrying!" She pushed me forward.

"H-hey!" I yelled.

Kanja snickered. "Move it!"

"I-I will once you can let me walk on my own!"

Kanja giggled as she continued to push. She smiled impishly. "Try to escape, Carty!"

"C-Carty?" I asked, blushing.

"Kanja. You're going to make him pass out if you continue to do that," Nate said, sighing.

"I-I'm not that weak around girls that I'll pass out!"

Nate grinned. "You sure?"

"I also doubt it," Huoyin said, shrugging.

"Yeah, you couldn't lift a finger to prevent her from kidnapping you. Then again, you did manage to recently beat her on the boat," Aurelius said.

I puffed my cheeks and leaped forward, escaping Kanja's grasp. "See, I've gotten better at handling girls."

"You still have a long way to go," Kanja said with a smirk.

I averted my gaze. "I-I know."

Aurelius opened the door for us. Inside the gymnasium were tons of people. Probably two-thousand.

"Sorry, that's all that can be allowed for the moment, Lei said as he walked over to the door and closed it. "The room is at max capacity right now. Once everyone is done, we'll let you in."

"What?" a girl asked. "Why?"

"Like I said, it's overly crowded. This gym's limit is two-thousand and five-hundred. Any more, and the danger of a stampede should a fire break out increases. Considering that there are fire mages around, that's a real risk."

"That makes sense, I guess," a boy said, sighing.

"We barely made it," Mira whispered.

"Yeah. I shouldn't have slowed us down," I muttered.

Lei turned to look at us as soon as he finished talking to the latecomers. "Let me know if you need help. The proctors will be the main guides for this part of the exam."

"Are you one of them?" I asked.

He laughed. "Nope, I'm just an assistant. The teachers are the proctors."

"Ugh, I don't know how I got stuck with proctor duty this year? Shin'en knows how much I hate big groups," a grumpy-looking red-haired man said.

"Hey, Mr. Ogre, take care of these kids!" Lei said, waving at him.

The man glared at him.

"D-did you just call him an ogre?" I asked.

Lei laughed. "Oops, I meant to say Mr. Obi."

The man huffed. "You did that on purpose, didn't you? Mr. Lan?"

Lei grinned and walked away.

"Insufferable boy," Mr. Obi said, glaring at Lei.

"So you're the famous Mr. Obi Koukyuu mentioned," Nate said, smiling.

Mr. Obi puffed his chest. "Famous, huh? I am rather well known if I dare say so myself. Anyway, I can only guide a couple. I'll take you three." He pointed at Nate, Mira, and me.

Jude jumped off of Mira's back.

"Sorry, little guy. Looks like we must part ways," Mira said.

Jude lowered his head. "It's fine." He ran off to join Kanja and Aurelius. The latter two had paired off with a pretty dark-skinned woman with flowing ivory hair. Ling, Tamara, Lidia, and Huoyin went with Koukyuu.

I laughed. Those two reminded me a little of my sister and me. I gulped. I forgot to call my sister last night! She was probably worried sick all last night!

"Uh, can I make a quick phone call?" I asked.

"A phone call?" Mr. Obi asked. "Sorry, but you'll have to wait for the exam to end."

I sighed. "Okay."

"Who do you want to call?" Nate whispered.

"My sister. I forgot to dial home last night."

"Too excited for the test?" Mira asked.

I nodded.

"Hey, look at the bright side; you can tell your sister that you passed when you do."

I smiled. "True."

"Results might last up to a day," Mr. Obi said, looking back at us three.

"Scratch that," Nate said.

"That's fine. I know I'll pass," I said.

"Wished I had that kind of confidence," Mira whispered.

Mr. Obi picked up a black glass ball off a stand and held it up to us. "So, who will start first?"

I grabbed the orb from him. "Uh, what are we supposed to do with this?"

"Enter the booth and press it against your abdomen. I'll guide you through the process from the outside." He strode over to a laptop next to a booth covered in blue curtains. "This will allow me to judge your prana control."

"Carter, are you alright?" Mira asked. "Your face is pale."

I touched my forehead. "I-I'm fine."

"Here, I'll do it first," Nate said, taking it from me.

"Oh right, take one and stick it on," Mr. Obi said, holding a pack of transparent stickers at us. We each took a sticker.

I put it on and saw as the sticker turned bright red like fire. Nate's turned into a rainbow.

Mr. Obi's eyes widened. "How many elements can you use?"

Nate laughed. "I got a handful."

I leered at him. What a modest way to put it.

"Do I need to take off my armor for it to work?" Mira asked.

"Think it'll work even if put over it. However, you might need to remove it for the prana test."

Mira gulped. "I see." She put the stick on her left arm and watched as the sticker turned deep black.

"So, darkness, fire, and a plethora of elements. Quite lopsided," Mr. Obi said, snickering. He pointed to the booth. "Go inside and pour your prana into it. I wish to finish this as soon as possible."

"Got it," Nate said, running inside of the booth.

I looked over Mr. Obi's back and saw the abdomen of the three-dimensional model light up.

"Hmm, this is..." Mr. Obi mumbled.

"Is there something wrong with him?" I asked.

He laughed. "No, rather the opposite. Your friend is quite the specimen. I've never seen anyone like this apart from my children and grandchildren."

Wait, the ogre has a family? Hmm, if he could get a girl, I probably can too!

"How were the results?" Nate asked, walking out of the booth.

"You did well, which is incredible given how many elements you can use. That said, you're more than a simple mage, aren't you?"

Nate's eyes stared at the ball in his hands. "You could tell from this test alone?"

Mr. Obi chuckled. "Indeed, child. Worry not. It's not a bad thing. You're a cut above the rabble we usually see here."

I gritted my teeth. "So, if we aren't special like Nate here, we're trash?" I snapped.

The protector crossed his bulky arms. "In my eyes, yes. Nine Petal is a school for the best of the best. Surely, you know that. We can't allow just anyone to step on its shores. But, if you take offense to it, then I assume you're nothing special. And trust me, thus far, you've shown nothing interesting. Not that you can't. We're just beginning."

I strode toward him.

"Carter!" Mira said, grabbing my arm. "Stop it!"

"I wasn't going to punch him if that's what you were thinking," I said, turning to look at Nate.

He handed me the sphere and walked up to the proctor. "Not everyone is special, true, but everyone deserves some level of respect unless proven otherwise. Right now, you're showing reason not to be polite," Nate said, glaring at Mr. Obi.

Mr. Obi sighed. "Hang around with the weak, and your shine will wear away. Society has a hierarchy for a reason, young man."

"I know that," I said, gritting my teeth. "That's why I'll pass this test and rise to its pinnacle!"

Murmurs erupted as several eyes fell upon us.

Mr. Obi scoffed. "It's pinnacle? I've heard that before, but none have made it. What makes you, a fire mage so special?"

"I have nothing. I am not gifted, but I don't need it. I have something better than talent."

Mr. Obi raised an eyebrow at me. "And what's that?"

"Dedication!"

The proctor broke out into laughter. "I've heard that many times too. You don't simply get to become Magus Maximus out of dedication alone. If that were all that was needed, I would've been Magus Maximus ages ago."

I gasped. "You wanted to be Magus Maximus?"

He averted my gaze. "Yes, but that doesn't matter now. Enter the booth. You've wasted enough of my time as it is."

I nodded and walked inside. The ball felt cold against my abdomen, but soon it would be a little warm. I closed my eyes and focused as much of my prana as possible.

"Incredible," Mr. Obi said from the other side.

I leaned forward. "Really?"

"Yes. I'm shocked that a boy with close to no prana wishes to become Magus Maximus exists."

I gripped the sphere, shattering it.

"He broke it!" Mira said.

"I don't need magic to make it to the top," I said, glaring at the blue curtains.

Mr. Obi laughed. "Weak magic, but superhuman strength. "I wonder if you'll be like the magic-less boy that we admitted the previous year. Well, come out. This part of the test is over."

I dropped the crystal shards to the floor and stood up.

"Sorry," I said as Mira waited for me. "I broke it." I gasped as Mira pressed my head against her metallic chest. "W-what are you doing?"

"Just thought you needed a hug," Mira said, letting go of me. She patted my shoulders. I couldn't see beyond her helmet, but I knew she was smiling. "Good luck on the other parts. I'll join you two soon."

Mr. Obi held out his hand and summoned forth another orb. "Here you go."

Mira held the sphere as if it were an egg and ran inside the booth.

"You look like you're going to pass out, Cart," Nate said, chuckling.

I grumbled. "S-shut up!" I yelled, running off. I never thought that being embraced by someone inside a suit of armor could make one feel this warm.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. What are your thoughts on the arc thus far?**