The training hall echoed with anxious whispers and the odd loud gasp as students lined up to take their turn. Suspense was thick in the air—after all, this was the practical examination that could seal their fate. The chief professor was at the front, calm but authoritative, while the commander of the Third Division stood at the side, his piercing eyes cutting through each student like a hawk..
"The first ten students I call, step up and take your positions," the professor announced, his voice cutting through the tension.
The names rolled off his tongue, and predictably, Hare and Eliches were among the first called. Two prodigies from well-known families in the cathedral—of course, the professor wanted to start things off with a bang.
The first test was straightforward: enhancement. The professor waved his hand, conjuring a life-sized dummy bathed in a soft blue aura. "The task is simple," he said, his tone leaving no room for debate. "Enhance your fist with mana and push the dummy as far as possible. The further it goes, the better your control and power."
With that, the students stepped up, inhaling deeply, closing their eyes, and focusing inward. The room grew silent except for the sound of slow, deliberate breaths. Some students struggled, their mana flickering like candlelight, while others had a steady glow surrounding their fists. After a few moments, they struck the dummy—most managing to shove it just a few feet forward. Passable, but nothing remarkable.
Then there were Hare and Eliches. They weren't in a rush. While the others had released their mana immediately, these two were still standing still, their hands glowing with raw energy. The air around them grew heavier as their mana gathered, swirling and pulsing like a brewing storm.
The difference in their techniques was stark—Eliches' mana was controlled, precise, a slow-building tension that promised devastation when released. Hare, on the other hand, was barely holding herself back, her aura crackling like a live wire, impatient, volatile, begging to be unleashed.
A sudden gust of wind blasted through the hall, kicking up dust and making some of the weaker students stagger backward. The professor held his ground, unfazed, but even he narrowed his eyes at the sheer intensity of their power.
And then, they struck.
The impact was immediate. The dummy didn't just move—it flew. No, it launched across the room like a cannonball, smashing into the far wall with an earth-shaking crash. For a moment, the students were left in stunned silence.
Then they realized—Eliches' dummy had stopped at the wall.
Hare's? Oh, hers had gone through it.
A perfectly human-shaped hole now decorated the once-pristine stone wall.
Eliches turned to Hare, a look of pure horror on his face. "You couldn't help yourself, could you?"
Hare grinned, stretching her arms. "Well, the professor did say to do my best."
"You always do this!"
Before Eliches could strangle her, the professor stepped in, rubbing his temples before delivering a swift, unimpressed smack to Hare's head. "I did say do your best. I did not say destroy school property!"
Hare laughed, scratching the back of her head. "Oopies. My bad."
The professor pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something about tuition fees and reckless idiots while the other students watched in amused disbelief.
The commander, however, remained unmoved. Arms crossed, expression unreadable. No praise. No disappointment. Just silent observation.
And that? That was somehow more terrifying than the wall getting obliterated.
The exams rolled on like an unstoppable boulder, crushing the weak and leaving only the strongest—or at least the most stubborn—standing. Next up was visionary, a test that sounded way cooler than it actually was.
The task? See invisible objects. Simple in theory. In practice? Absolute chaos.
The professor clapped his hands, and suddenly, several floating orbs shimmered out of view, cloaked in a thick layer of mana concealment. "Conjure mana into your eyes and locate the hidden objects," he instructed.
Students went silent as they focused, their pupils glowing faintly as they channelled mana. Some squinted so hard it looked like they were trying to read the fine print on an expired contract. Others just... blinked. Confused.
Hare, of course, immediately pointed at every hidden orb with terrifying accuracy. "There, there, there, and boom—one behind your back, professor."
The professor turned slightly. There was one behind him. He didn't react, just wrote something on his evaluation sheet.
Eliches, meanwhile, had a more refined approach, methodically scanning the room and identifying the orbs one by one. "Front-left, centre-right, two in the rafters..." he muttered, listing them all like a grocery list.
Then there was Bruce.
"Uh... yeah, I see them... they're... everywhere."
"You didn't activate your mana, Bruce," the professor deadpanned.
"Oh. Uh. Right." He clenched his fists, tried again, and this time, his pupils glowed... only for him to immediately grab his head. "Ow, ow, ow! I think I overdid it!"
"You think?" someone muttered.
The professor sighed and moved on.
Transmission
Next up was transmission, the art of sending information via mana presence. It was magical telepathy, and the students had to relay a specific message to the professor without speaking.
"Alright, focus your mana and send me the message I have in mind," the professor instructed.
Some students got it right instantly—Eliches sent the message perfectly, while Hare, of course, overachieved by sending it and adding a sarcastic comment about how easy this was.
Then there was Marko.
The professor blinked, looking very unimpressed. "Did you just send me the entire recipe for a meat pie?"
"...Was that not the message?"
"No, Marko, it was not the message."
Marko frowned. "Well, uh, I felt like that was the message."
The professor looked like he was contemplating whether it was too late to change careers.
Then Yulli stepped up. He placed his fingers on his temple, exhaled, and focused. He had studied for this. He had to get this right.
A second passed. Two.
nothing happens
The professor's brows furrowed. Then he sighed. "No, Yulli nothing happning
Yulli groaned, facepalming. "Damn it."
Null
Finally, it was time for Null, the stealth portion of the test. The goal? Conceal your mana so well that even a seasoned hunter wouldn't be able to detect you.
Most students failed spectacularly. Some only managed to dim their mana instead of fully hiding it, while others just... stood there thinking they were invisible.
"Professor, can you see me?" Bruce asked, grinning.
The professor blinked at him. "Yes."
"But, like, really see me?"
"Yes, Bruce."
"...Not even a little concealed?"
"Bruce, I can feel your mana from across the room. You're practically screaming 'HERE I AM' in mana language."
Bruce scratched his head. "Huh. Wild."
Meanwhile, Hare completely erased her presence in an instant, and Eliches followed suit moments later. It wasn't even surprising at this point.
Then there was Muetaki, who had somehow been standing next to the professor the entire time without anyone noticing.
"HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE?!" the professor nearly jumped out of his skin.
Muetaki just shrugged.
The professor pinched the bridge of his nose. He was so tired.
When all was said and done, Hare predictably aced every test, though Eliches was only a fraction behind her. The rest of the students had... well, participated, and at the end of the day, that counted for something, right?
The professor wasn't sure.
The commander? Still silent. Still watching. And that? That made things even more nerve-wracking.
not surprisingly Yulli flop every task.
"That was a bit more... chaotic than expected and not exactly according to plan." The professor flipped through his notes, sighing. "It seems like there are a few students left who haven't attempted the enhancement task yet..." He adjusted his glasses, pausing for a moment.
Then he read the names.
"Yulli, Muetaki, Bruce, and Marko. Step forward."
Yulli felt his stomach drop.
This is it.
He swallowed hard, forcing his feet to move. Every step toward the testing area felt heavier than the last, as if the very ground was trying to pull him down and spare him the embarrassment.
The whispers had already started.
"Can he really do it?"
"He flunked every test so far. What makes this any different?"
"He should just drop out."
It was suffocating. He could feel their doubts, like weights pressing against his back. He wanted to ignore them, pretend they weren't there, but they clung to him, a constant reminder that he didn't belong here.
The professor continued, barely acknowledging the murmurs.
"Just like the previous students, you shall do the same. You may begin."
Yulli was so distracted by the voices that he almost missed Bruce stepping up first. The guy looked confident—no, cocky—as he rolled his shoulders back and threw his fist into the dummy.
A solid boom echoed through the hall, and the dummy slid backward, stopping just behind Eliches and Hare's marks.
Bruce turned slightly, giving Yulli a smirk that said, Good luck topping that.
Marko went next, his hit not as powerful but still respectable. Not top-tier, but enough to pass.
Then came Muetaki.
The air shifted.
Something about him was unsettling in a way no one could quite explain. It was like his presence faded in and out, like he was almost there but not quite. He closed his eyes, and for a second—
Nothing.
No energy. No aura. It was as if he had turned off his very existence.
Then—BAM!
Instead of sending the dummy flying, his hand pierced straight through it.
The room went dead silent.
Even the commander raised an eyebrow.
"Muetaki..." The professor pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly so done. "I told you to push it, not stab it!"
Muetaki slowly pulled his arm out of the dummy, leaving a perfectly clean hole. He blinked at it, completely unfazed.
"...Ooh."
The professor sighed, rubbing his temples. But deep down, he was analyzing what just happened. Muetaki's mana properties are... unique. Sharp like lightning. No wonder it went straight through. That's an assassin for you.
Despite failing the requirement, Muetaki was given an exemption.
And then—
Yulli was the last one left.
His feet felt glued to the floor.
His mind screamed at him to run. Get out of here before you humiliate yourself again.
He had failed every trial. Every single one.
And now, he was expected to stand here, in front of everyone, and do something that required mana.
The whispers grew louder.
"No mana... no mark... why is he even here?"
"He's going to embarrass himself again, isn't he?"
Yulli's hands clenched.
He had trained. He had studied. He had fought through exhaustion and pain, pushed his body to the limit.
But none of it mattered.
He had no mark. No mana. No way to enhance his strength.
His stomach twisted. His throat burned.
Why was he even trying?
Why was he even—
"YULLI, DO YOUR BEST!"
The shout rang through the hall like a gunshot.
Yulli snapped his head up.
Hare was waving wildly from the side, grinning ear to ear, completely unaware of how embarrassing it was to yell like that in a dead-silent room. "I KNOW YOU GOT THIS!"
Muetaki gave him a small nod. Simple, silent.
Eliches, arms crossed from the distance, tilted her chin slightly. A quiet You better not give up now.
His breath caught in his throat.
Even after failing everything, after proving over and over again that he was useless, after humiliating himself in front of everyone—
They still believed in him.
He exhaled. His hands stopped shaking.
Even if he had no mana. Even if he had no mark.
He wasn't going to walk away without trying.
He stepped forward, locking eyes with the dummy.
The odds were stacked against him. The whispers still lingered. The stares still burned.
But Yulli inhaled deeply, steadied his stance—
And he swung.
Yulli swung.
Just like before. Just like against Bruce.
Except—
BOOM.
The dummy EXPLODED backward, a shockwave shaking the entire hall.
Students flinched as it rocketed across the floor, passing Bruce—who barely had time to turn his head before it whizzed by him.
It didn't stop. It kept going.
It tore across the hall, skidding past stunned onlookers—
Until it landed right in front of Eliches.
Silence.
Absolute, dead silence.
All eyes snapped to Yulli.
The professor stared. The students stared.
Even the commander—who had remained unreadable this entire time—shifted slightly, his gaze sharpening.
Yulli's breath was shaky. His heart pounded.
That wasn't supposed to happen.
That should not have happened.
Because he knew—
He hadn't used any mana at all.