I watched as Aurelius wrapped up the first task of the test's second half. Sonata, our proctor, smiled at me. "So far, so good. You're up next."

I bit my lip.

"Give it your best shot," Jude whispered.

I smiled at the kid. "I will!"

"Here you go," Aurelius said as he stretched his hand out of the booth. He gave me a broad smile as he walked out.

"Thanks," I said, reaching out for it. I picked it up as if it were an egg and slowly walked into the booth. Deep breaths, Kanja. Deep breaths.

My lungs filled with air as I sat down and lifted up my shirt. Shivers ran up my stomach. The orb was surprisingly colder against my abdomen than in my hands.

"Oh right, probably should've warned you how freezing it is," Aurelius said, laughing nervously.

"Too late," I mumbled.

"Focus your prana into the sphere," Ms. Key said.

I took another breath and did as she said. My prana flew into the crystal orb relatively quickly.

"Try to spin the prana within the crystal."

"Alright," I said. The metal energy spun around, causing the orb to levitate. "Wait, why is doing that?"

"Your prana must be producing a strong electromagnetic field, turning it into a magnet," Ms. Key said.

"But why is it floating? Is my prana being repealed by me?"

"Hmm, the spin might be the opposite direction of your body's natural rotation."

"Energy rotates?" Aurelius asked.

"You thought it was stationary?" Jude asked. "It's always in constant motion. When it's not used, prana spins inside of our magicum organa. There's actually a way to mess up with a person's energy flow. One needs to release an equally powerful vortex but in the opposite direction."

"How do you know that?" Ms. Key asked.

"I-I read it in a book that my brother gave me."

The proctor laughed. "Well, that book was right. Such a method exists, but it's not the most efficient way of stopping an enemy from using their magic. Hitting one's pressure points takes less energy, though it has its own shortcomings."

"Is that so?" I asked, stepping out of the booth.

"Yes, one has to be fast and precise. Lack those two things, and you're better off fighting normally."

Speed and precision. Wonder if I could do it. I am pretty fast, and my precision isn't anything to scoff at either.

"Do you know anyone who knows how to use acupuncture?" I asked.

"I knew three. One is the queen of Mina. As for the other two..." She averted her gaze. "I have no idea where they are right now."

I probably can't ask a foreign queen to teach me. Well, any ruler in general. Might have to put learning acupuncture on the backburner for now.

"I could try asking Bai for some tips for you," Ms. Key said, smiling.

"Bai? Mina's queen?"

"Yes. We're not best friends or anything, but we are on good enough terms that I think she'll say yes. Plus, she has an interest in the development of future generations."

"Alright!" I said, grinning. My face turned red.

"You sounded like Cart there!" Aurelius said, laughing.

"She did," Jude mumbled.

I put a hand on my hip. "L-let's move on to the next section, shall we?"

Aurelius smiled. "Sure."

"Are you done with the prana test?" Mira asked as she walked out of her booth.

Jude smiled and nodded. "Yeah. It was easy."

It was. Maybe I shouldn't have worried too much. Then again, the exam wasn't entirely based on how I did but on how I stood in relation to others' performance. It was rather annoying. Why did they have to pit us against each other like this?"

"Where are Nate and Carter?" Aurelius asked, glancing around.

"They went to the next part. Look, there they are!" Mira said, pointing to a giant floating tube. Carter waited in line while Nate hit the target with an ice dart.

"Wait, he can use ice too?" Jude asked.

"Yeah, that guy has multiple elements," I said. I sighed. What I would do to have more than metal magic.

Carter stepped forward once Nate finished. Flames covered his right fist.

Was he finally going to make use of his magic? Or were the flames only for show?

Carter took a deep breath and punched the air. Embers flew forward, burning brightly. Sadly, some didn't make it, while others formed tiny black patches on the wooden target.

"Darn, I missed," Carter said, biting his lip.

"What do you mean? You hit it," I said, pointing at the various markings.

"One has to aim for the center," Nate said. "Hitting the target is the easy part."

Carter nodded. The shine in his eyes from earlier this morning was gone.

"Your casting speed is slow," the red-haired fat man from before said. He jotted something into his notepad. "You'll need to pass the next section if you wish to salvage your ticket to Nine Petal."

He curled his hands into fists and turned away.

"Cart, why didn't you train your magic?" I whispered.

"It's because I suck as a mage!" he snapped, running off.

"Carter!" I ran toward him, but Mira blocked me.

"I'll go talk to him. Focus on your test."

"Huh? What about yours?"

"I'll return once I've talked to him."

I glanced around. "Wait, where did Nate go?"

"He already has it taken care of," Aurelius said, pointing to Nate and Carter. Nate had put an arm around Carter and was smiling. Carter frowned and slapped his arm away, walking away without another word.

"Think he needs to chill on his own," Sonata said as she walked over.

Aurelius nodded. "Yeah, sometimes that's the best course of action."

I lowered my eyes to the floor. "I guess that's true."

"What a rash young man," Mr. Obi said, scoffing. He adjusted his glasses and turned toward Mira. "You're the last one left."

"Alright," Mira said. She walked over to the tube and fired off a sphere of darkness. The center of the target exploded, creating a near-perfect circle.

"Did you time that?" Sonata asked, glancing at her fellow proctor.

Mr. Obi stared at his timer. "No. I didn't start it."

"I'll do it again then," Mira said.

Mr. Obi nodded. The armored mage formed another orb of shadows. Mira launched it at the target, blowing a hole into the target behind the one she had shattered earlier.

"Got it?" Mira asked.

"Yeah." He gasped as Mira rushed past him. "That one is rash too."

"She just wants to help out her friend," a voice called out. The honey-brown-haired second year from before stood behind us. He sighed. "Though, I wonder if she'll be able to get through to him. Guys like him tend to be difficult to reach. Maybe leaving him alone to seeth is the best thing to do."

"You talk as if you know Carter," I said, crossing my arms.

He smiled slightly in Carter's direction. "I barely met him, but he's similar to a guy I knew. His magic gave him anxiety, driving him to commit mistakes along the way. Errors which pushed him to isolate from the world to atone for his sins."

"He isolated himself?" I asked.

My senior nodded. "Yeah, or at least that was his original intent. He got involved with some shady figures according to a friend, but one of these days, I'll find him." He clenched his hand into a fist. "When I do, I'll drag his butt back home! Even if it means having to beat him into a bloody pulp!"

I laughed nervously. What a strange guy.

Ms. Key crossed her arms and laughed. "Feel bad for Iah. That said, don't you think you should give him space? You did just say that maybe leaving guys like Carter to seeth is the best thing to do."

He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, that's why I haven't gone out to do so yet. Want to give him some room, but I also don't want him to feel forgotten if we give him too much time off. That guy is incredibly needy like that."

And people call me blunt!

Lei sighed. "Plus, I'm afraid that those people he went with might hurt him." He glanced at me. "Anyway, don't let it get to you. I'll keep an eye on him for you if it makes you feel better."

"Thank you," Mira said.

The boy smiled widely. "it's nothing!" He dissolved into the sea of potential students.

I sighed and walked toward the tube. I formed a dart similar to the ice one that Nate had used and threw it at the target.

"Bullseye!" Aurelius yelled.

"You got good aim," Jude said.

I smiled. "Thanks." It was one good thing I learned from my old man. He would often wager candy to encourage me to improve my shooting. Never could tell why he thought it essential. It wasn't like he knew I would take the entrance exam to Nine Petal, so what was his aim? Or maybe it was just entertaining to see me try my best at something.

"Something the matter?" Aurelius asked, blinking.

I shook my head. "No. I was just thinking about my dad."

"The criminal?" Nate asked as he returned.

"Criminal?" Jude asked, startled.

I leered at Nate. True, my dad was a thief, but he was still my father. "Don't call him that!"

"Well, he was the leader of a troupe of thieves. What else would I call him other than a criminal and a thief?"

I poked his chest with my index finger. "How about nothing? You didn't know him, so how can you judge him? What if he stole out of necessity, huh? Not that a rich boy like you would understand that!"

Nate averted his gaze. "True, but just because someone is desperate, it doesn't mean they should do a bad thing. Giving in to despair can hurt more than hunger in the long run."

I rubbed my shoulders and walked away. "He did it for my sake." Or at least he claimed. I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. The fact he continued even after our life had improved made me doubt his intention. But maybe he lost sight of his original intent. Easy money does have a way of corrupting people.

"My dad used to be a thief, too," Ms. Key said, closing her eyes. "In fact, that's how he met my mom."

"He wanted to steal her wallet but stole her heart instead? Sounds like a real romance book," Jude said.

"You read romance books?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Jude coughed. "S-sometimes. Brother also thinks of them as sappy, but I like them."

"Is there something wrong with a guy liking romance books?" Ling asked, walking over to us. A smiling Tamara followed closely behind. Lidia was striking at targets with her bubbles while Huo waited behind her.

"Well, it's kind of unusual to find a guy who would admit it," I said.

"Hey, a guy in touch with his softer side is great," Mira said, putting her hands on Jude's shoulders.

Ms. Key chuckled. "Indeed. There's a certain guy I know who loves them! That side of him actually attracted more girls toward him." She grumbled.

"Wait, is it a good thing or a bad thing?" I asked, blinking.

"Uh, think we should return to the exam," Aurelius said as he finished hitting the target.

"Wait, I didn't get that!" Ms. Key yelled.

"I got the numbers for you," Mr. Obi said, sighing as he handed her a small note.

"Uh, thanks. That's awfully nice of you."

He grumbled. "You sound surprised."

Ms. Key smiled nervously. "Well, you usually aren't."

Mr. Obi huffed and walked away. "Whatever, I leave them to you."

"That guy never changes. Even Zydeco couldn't get a laugh out of him."

"He only seems to laugh when he's feeling cynical," Nate said as his gaze followed the red-haired proctor.

"That's true. He's a bit of a sadist." Ms. Key laughed and turned to look at Jude. "Well, let's finish this event, then you can move on to the practical use portion."

Jude nodded and stepped forward. He took a deep breath and released blue prana toward the target. As soon as it was within striking distance, icicles formed, impaling the center multiple times.

"Woah," Aurelius said.

"D-did I do well?" Jude asked.

"Yeah, you did great!" Ms. Key said, grinning. "Come, I'll show you to the practical use section. This one shouldn't be too difficult based on what I've seen."

I glanced at Carter as he struggled to melt ice off a glass panel.

I took a deep breath and strode toward him. "Hey, how's it coming along, Carty?"

Flames enveloped the slice of frozen glass in Carter's hand.

"K-Kanja?" he asked, turning to look at me.

I gave him a thumbs up. "You did it!"

He stared at the ice-free shard of glass and smiled. "I did!" He ran over to me and lifted me into the air. "I did it, I did it! I made more than embers!"

"L-let go of me, you oaf!" I snapped.

"S-sorry, again," he said, putting me down.

I adjusted the collar of my cardigan. I snorted as I tried to not break into laughter. My idea actually worked!

"W-what's so funny?" Carter asked, turning away.

"Your cuteness."

"M-My cuteness?" he said, his face brighter red than before.

I nodded. "Think I said this before when I kidnapped you, but you're remarkably innocent for a pervert."

He pulled up his coat and turned tail like a frightened cat.

I turned my attention to the table filled with multiple household appliances. "Hope you pass, Carter. I'll miss you if you don't."

**Solar Note: I'm interested to hear what everyone's predictions are. **