Author's POV

Contrary to Laxita's concerns, her training sessions with Veer went on pretty smoothly. He provided constant encouragement to her and eased a lot of her tension. But the day of her test was closer than ever now.

"I think you're ready. Or as ready as you can be. I'm sure you'll be fine tomorrow." Veer assured Laxita. They were at the training arena and it was the last day of their practice session before the test.

"Yeah, I think so too. I really want to thank you Veer. Without you, I probably would've been a nervous wreak right now. Thank you for being here with me." Laxita was genuinely grateful to Veer. He was her anchor when she was spiraling because of stress. Despite knowing the details of the test, she was still nervous, afraid even, what if she messed up? What if she wasn't good enough? What if her training wasn't enough? But it was his belief in her abilities which kept her grounded.

"Always." It was just a single word but it's meaning ran deeper for Veer. She still didn't know the extent of his feelings. On the other hand, he was ready to do anything to spend some more time with her.

That night, Laxita couldn't sleep a wink. She spent most of the night either tossing and turning in her bed or pacing across her room. When her brain finally gave out and her body was exhausted, she slept a little.

The next morning, Laxita woke up at dawn and freshened up. It was a big day for her. It was relieving that she wasn't the only one who was giving the test, there were others as well. After a lot of pondering and affirmations, she left her room to join others in the test hall.

When she entered the hall, she saw a huge crowd of students. The area was filled with nervous energy as everyone was anxious. There were murmurings of the students and everyone was gearing up for the test. Amidst the chaos, she searched for a familiar face. Someone with brown eyes and charming smiles. As soon as she saw him in that crowd, her face lit up.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, approaching her.

"Much better actually. Although, I couldn't sleep much."

"Don't worry, I know you'll be amazing out there. You spent months, hell years, perfecting this. You'll be a kick-ass mage. Don't ask me how I know it, I just do." He said with an encouraging smile and he meant every word of it.

His words of encouragement  made her laugh. "I can always count on you to make me feel better. Seriously, thank you Veer."

The looked into each other's eyes, smiling and the moments stretched by. There was so much that he wanted to say to her, his emotions swirling in the air around them but their moment was disrupted by the announcement.

"Attention students. We will be beginning the test shortly. Please collect your serial numbers from the officials on your right. Good luck for your test." It was her uncle. Laxita's entire family was absent since last night. Everyone was busy in the preparations for the test.

Since the announcement was made, the students made their way to the officials to get their serial numbers. After receiving her serial number, she came back to Veer. He sensed the changed in her mood and asked carefully, "What's wrong?"

"I'm the last student in the serial wise order." She showed it to him. "I will have to wait for a long time before my turn comes up. But it's not like I can complain, I was the last student to enroll..."

"I can give you company."

"You can?" She sounded hopeful.

"I don't have anything better to do for the day so, yes, I will stay with you." That was a lie, he had a much more important business to attend to but that was a problem for the next day. Today, he wanted to be there for her.

They took a seat in the hall and waited for her turn. Meanwhile, she observed each and every student - how they were demonstrating, how was the mood of the officials, how many of them were low-level, medium-level and high-level mages - almost everything.

After what felt like an eternity later, a woman finally arrived to tell Laxita that she's next.

Veer held her wrist when she stood up to leave. She turned her head to look at him and he said, "Bharosa rakhna khud pe. Mai yahi asha karunga ki tumhe kamyaabi mile."

("Trust yourself. I really hope that you'll succeed.")

She nodded in acknowledgement and then made her way to the test podium.

The officials, along with Bhargav, were seated on an elevated platform on the right side of the test podium. They were analyzing the performance of the students from the top. The test podium was shorter than the officials' platform but it stood tall against the other seats in the hall. The entire hall was visible from the spot, which also meant that everyone could see her. This made her even more nervous.

"Good evening, Laxita. You must be tired of waiting since morning as you're the last one. How are you feeling?" One of the officials, whom she didn't recognize, asked her.

"Actually, I am feeling surprisingly alright." This elicited a few chuckles from the officials.

"So, are you ready to start?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then, you can begin now. Good luck."

Laxita blew out a breath and began her demonstration. She made a few mistakes in the beginning but she completed her demonstration successfully.

The officials looked pleased and one of them said, "Well done, Laxita! We will analyze your performance and determine what kind of mage you'll be. In the meantime, let's move on to the next part of the test."

"Alright."

"You know what the next part of the test is, right?" This time it was her uncle. "You have to touch the orb with your hands so that we can determine your level. The process can make you dizzy as the orb absorbs your powers. You can close your eyes if you feel uncomfortable. Hold the orb tightly and don't let go until we say so. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Good. Bring out the artifact!" Bhargav shouted out the orders.

Although, she had seen the artifact during other students' turn, she couldn't wrap her head around how big it actually was. The orb was placed on a raised platform in front of her. It started from her knees and reached up to her forehead.

"Laxita dear, you can start now." One of the older women from the officials said.

She heeded the words of the official and placed her palms on the artifact. She closed her eyes also as she was nervous.

That's when she felt it. A powerful force was dragging her in. She felt as if the force would swallow her whole. It was pulling her in and she was having a hard time standing up.

And then, just like that, it stopped. She dared not open her eyes. The sudden change caught her off-guard. All she could feel now was a gentle breeze flowing through her hair. It was calm and quiet.

Suddenly, she began hearing voices. They were calling out to her.

"...Laxita, can you hear me? Laxita..."

"Open your eyes. Laxita..."

"Laxita....Laxita..."

The voices were all muddled in her head. She couldn't decipher who was calling out to her.

And then she heard it - a familiar voice. A voice that she couldn't even forget in her dreams. "Laxita! Please open your eyes." It was Veer.

She opened her eyes and saw that Veer was standing close to the podium along with her aunt. They were wide-eyed and frantic.

When her gaze focused back on the orb, the floor beneath her feet shifted because the colour of the artifact was YELLOW.

Laxita's POV

I wasn't sure that I was breathing. It didn't feel real. The artifact wasn't broken, was it? How come it shone in yellow colour? Me as an arch mage? Me?

I retracted my shaky hands from the orb. I stared at it for a long while, as if it would answer my questions. When I lifted my gaze back to the crowd of the students, I saw that the hall was deathly silent. The hall which was bustling with chatters a few moments back was so quiet that I could hear my quickening heartbeats. This wasn't real, my mind was failing to comprehend the situation.

As if sensing my spiral, my aunt ran up to the podium and hugged me.

"You are the next arch mage, my dear!" She exclaimed.

When she pulled back, there was a sheen of tears in her eyes.

"Hume humara naya Sheersh Jaadugar mil gaya hai!!!" My uncle shouted and the officials started clapping.

("We have found our new Arch Mage!!!")

Soon, the entire hall was filled with claps and cheers as I was the first arch mage in 300 years. It was starting to hit me that it really was a big deal for the association. Being declared as the next arch mage was definitely not one of the outcomes I was expecting today.

"This changes everything." Veer said with a disbelieving smile.

"Laxu, my dear, you have used a lot of power today, you need some rest." Aunt said.

Devansh and Devika volunteered to escort me back to my room. My walk from the hall to my room was a blur. Somehow, the news had already spread in the entire association. Everyone was stopping me to congratulate me, expressing their happiness for a new arch mage and were giving me their blessings. I could only muster a smile in return because I was pretty shaken up. Thankfully, the twins didn't question my weird reactions and left me in my room.

Even though I was shocked by the rapid developments, I still felt a bit relieved. The test had been plaguing my thoughts for years now and a part of me was happy that it was finally over. But a new pressure had started crushing me now - the title of an arch mage. Never in my wildest dreams, I thought that I would be an ARCH MAGE. It was as if I was still dreaming.

I was so exhausted, both physically and mentally that I decided to take a nap. A little bit of sleep always helped me to clear my mind. I thought that this new found responsibility would keep me awake, but in spite of that, I slept like a log. Like literally, I passed out.

It took a few knocks and a lot of banging on the door to wake me up. I dragged my feet to the door and opened it with bleary eyes.

It was the twins again. "Woah! What happened to you? It feels like you've bared a storm." Devansh said with a smirk.

It took me while to process his words and then I made my way to the nearest mirror. It was just like he said. With my hair sticking at weird angles, my eyes tired and face haggard, I was looking as if I had survived a storm. But then again, today was an exhausting day.

I turned around to see that the twins had already taken a spot on my bed. Someone's really comfortable over here. "So, an arch mage, hmmm?" It was Devika who spoke this time.

"Is it weird to say that I still don't feel like an arch mage? I mean there's practically no difference in my body. Shouldn't I feel some sort of surge in power?"

"Not really sure about how that works. You see, none of us had been in a predicament like yours before." Devansh was grinning continuously like an idiot. Devika elbowed him in the stomach and his smile vanished.

The doors creaked open again and this time, my aunt entered the room. "Laxu dear, how are you feeling?" She stopped in her tracks and scanned me from top to bottom. "Why do you look like-"

"Like I've bared a storm? Trust me, I know."

"Anyway, I just came here to inform you that a celebration is being held during dinner time to commemorate the birth of an arch mage. It's being held in your honour so I want you to come down and join the celebration...but please do something with your hair first."

"I will. Do you have a moment, aunt? I want to ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead."

"What does being an arch mage actually entail? I mean, I don't feel much different than before. When it comes to magic, there are many others who perform better than me. What is happening? Why me?"

She thought on my words for a while and then said, "Being an arch mage is a huge responsibility, especially if you are the first one to appear in over 300 years. I know that you're scared right now but it will be alright." She held my hands and continued, "You are not alone right now, we will navigate this together. As for your questions, we will never know why you were selected by the Gods. 

There might be other mages who perform better than you but you have to remember that you are the chosen one. There's so much power in that body of yours. You are probably the most powerful person in the sub-continent right now but that also makes you a target of many. So, we have decided to keep your identity under wraps for a while. Unless you're fully ready, we will not reveal your real identity to the world. You have nothing to fear, hmmm?"

"One last question, do I get some special new powers for being an arch mage?" Amusement laced my voice and my aunt visibly relaxed. It looked as if I wasn't the only one who was tensed.

"Of course dear. You get some special powers like..."

"Like?"

"Teleportation."

"Teleportation?"

"You can teleport from one spot to another. We don't know exactly how much distance but yes, you can teleport. Also, an arch mage is a master in both attack and defense magic. You don't need a partner to complement your powers, you're self-sufficient."

"Wow. Does that mean I can also use healing magic?"

This made her laugh. "No, you can't. If you could, you would've been invincible. The humans are very greedy so they might misuse their powers. The Gods took care of it by giving you a weakness."

I pouted. "I wanted to be an invincible human."

"But you can't."

"Right. I will join you downstairs as soon as I can." Aunt nodded in response and with that, everyone left.

I sat down in front of the mirror to straighten my tousled hair. The reality was finally sinking in - I'm the new arch mage and I am one step closer to my goals.

Hello cuties🎀

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