<< AYIN REPULSE >>

Ayin, with the other candidates, is back in the middle of the grounds. The doors from the previous task are nowhere to be seen. Even the front seat charred by the fire of the dragon is no longer visible. It's as if that amazing feat, no matter how insufferable Fon is, did not happen.

"Now let us start the third task!" Jayden announces at the topmost platform in front of the Academy grounds. Beside him is the table where the Great Search judges are sitting. He'd been doing bad the past few challenges, so this is his time to show his mettle. He needs to go beyond Fon.

"Each candidate will use their strongest affinity and the other candidates will try to either copy or break it. The choice of whether to copy or break it will depend on the candidates' decision," Jayden explains. This time his excitement is whittling down.

"So let's start with..." Jayden pauses, looks at the candidates, and settles at, "Fon."

Ayin watches Fon walks to the middle. She looks confident even when it's obvious that she rushes to the Academy ground without properly combing her hair. Her short hair is in disarray. Her robe is clean, but somehow, it looks too short on her.

Then, she creates a defense barrier made of Energy Molding. Before the start of the task, the judges asked them what they are going to do for the task. She gives the simplest plan.

"Contrary to what most of you believed. Fon is molding this defense barrier from outside energy rather than from her own magick," Jayden explains as he heard complaints from apprentices who cannot distinguish between Auric, which is taken from within a witch, and Energy Molding.

Silence fell which is expected. This is the first time on this Search that Fon uses an ability that does not rely on her tremendous amount of magick.

So, Jayden continues the explanation. "The other candidates need to break this barrier and will get one point if they are successful. If no one manages to break it within half an hour, one point will go to Fon. Each one of the candidates will only have three chances."

Before Jayden signals the start, he further adds, "You can also mimic the barrier, but make sure that when Fon tries to break it, it is durable enough not to break."

Ayin curses. If that is the case, this is not mostly skill. The ones who will break it will just go on another test to measure the amount of innate magick which he does not have.

Without a choice, he studies the barrier Fon created and realizes that it was not the usual amount Fon uses to show off. Being the center of Fon's abusive nature, he has a clear estimation of how much magick she has. But the barrier in front of him is not even a quarter of that.

He looks at the other candidates. They all realized the same thing. This is their chance to defeat her. Something must have happened that prevents her from exposing her magick. That, or she's being too haughty and is making light of her competitions.

As I am watching her, I see a smile forming on her lips. This is still Fon. There is no way she will be so kind as to cut them some slack. In that case, they need to be careful and not waste any chance they have to destroy the barrier. They need to preserve their magick, especially with the display of her magick from the previous challenges. Probably, they need to test it first.

I snort. Preserve his magick? He has next to none, to begin with. He gets it now. With a magick such as hers, her affinity to energy molding might be a little lower than the other types of magick, because she never finds it necessary to utilize external magick in the first place.

It's not vital for Fon, but for him, it does. It is an important skill to master especially for wizards. Unlike innate magick, external magick is an unlimited source of magick. All he needed to do, is to have the skill to utilize it. But the huge amount of it can be baffling for wizards like him who are not used to magick. It is a hard skill to master especially for wizards, but very useful, especially at nights when he needed to study different spells and tomes.

Right. One test is all I need and then I need to give my all in my next attack. A few moments after, all the Great Search participants tried to break the barrier, but mostly to measure its durability.

Sven looks surprised, but it also amazed the judges. Creating a defense barrier using Energy Molding is no easy feat. The process to create one is so complex. Aside from that, its durability will be cut to a quarter which makes it unsuitable for practical uses.

Even if Ayin denies it, to create a defense barrier as durable as this, only proves that Fon does not merely rely on her innate magick. She also has the advanced skill an average witch could not hope to possess without continuous hard work. And he is even older than her by two years.

Cesky attacks but her attacks do nothing to the barrier. She wipes the sweat falling on her brows. Being in the same Academy as Fon must have been both a blessing and a curse for her. Fon might be a rival who pushes her to her limits. Once, he heard her talking about how much hard work she puts in, and yet, Fon is always a light year ahead of her. Worse, she already used up two of her chances and she is nowhere near a solution on how to break the barrier.

Cesky is frustrated but Prim is only smiling. "Brilliant!" she exclaims. She might be referring to this kind of test. "We would deplete our supply of magick, and yet you will only get magick from an external source and replenish!"

She is right in that regard. Seems like even witches have a problem with mastering energy molding. He remembers that her magic affinity is on transportation. A useful skill, but it uses only auric energy. It cannot be done by using an external source of magick.

He watches her sigh and flips her long, black hair. Without hesitation, she retreats as if she has already given up. A pragmatic witch, but now, he wonders why she joined in the first place if not to win the Great Search?

Ayin focuses his attention on Fon and at her barrier--which looks as if it's not supposed to be broken. Even if he gives his all, he might just be wasting his magick and energy. In reality, he doesn't know how to solve this problem. But he is never the type to give up easily.

A/N:

What do you think of using "magick" instead of "magic"? Does it interrupt your reading, or is it fine to continue using it?