It took more than an hour for the number to reach Sheira's, yet nobody complained. Despite having a hundred people in front of them, they finished rather swiftly. Only a mere dozen had passed the magical exam, which was a relief for someone as inpatient as Sheira, yet sad that their future leaders were pathetic.
Not like I was any better until Aqua taught me.
She stepped forward and placed her hand on the crystal. Aurora feigned a professional indifference, yet the way her brow was slightly raised told her that she was rather curious about her sister's capabilities.
Time for me to show off to my naughty elder sis.
The vision darkened, and she plunged into her mind. The aether ripped, and the mana flowed.
There is so much. She felt her body tremble, the crystal turned from a cascade of colors to red, then into pure white.
The entirety of the academy was saturated with more mana than ever.
Shit. Sheira pushed back against the ripped aether. I can't control this much energy. However, she was not one to surrender, instead, she focused fully, despite it making her sweat.
The air around her crackled with electricity. It grew heavier, forcing weaklings around her to kneel. Even Aurora and Avaros found it difficult to remain standing.
Soon, they both were forced to kneel, leaving only Azure and Aqua standing.
Aqua sighed. Your new level is far too much for you at the current time. She raised her hand toward Sheira, and the mana that threatened to crush the academy disappeared.
However, the sheer weight had crushed the targets, leaving nothing behind.
The flickering lights were extinguished, and the stone constructs of Aurora were reduced to atoms.
The mana around Sheira stabilized, and she created a ball of fire before her.
"Sheira, pass. Stop whatever you want to do!" Aurora shouted, forcing Sheira to snap out of her.
"What? I was just about to fire my spell."
"Look around you." She gasped for air, her hands trembling, but she managed to raise her finger toward the collapsed students.
"Oh…" Sheira blinked.
"Yes, Oh. You passed, congratulations."
"I didn't even get to fire off a spell…" She sulked, but walked toward Aqua without a complaint.
"Sheira, I told you to be careful. Your new level of power is much higher."
Her growth is far too swift. She stared at Sheira. There was one explanation. "It's a shard of time."
"You are scaring me." She cowered.
"I will explain later, but you are unnaturally fast. That shard of time is doing something to you. I will examine you later." She smiled.
"S…Sure." Sheira's ears slumped. "I won't die, right?"
"No."
A sigh of relief escaped her lips. "Thank goodness." She turned to Azure. "Alright, Azu. Your turn."
"You got over that quickly."
"Eh, I trust Aqua that I will be fine, so there is no point in worrying. I hoped to show off the spells I have been practicing so hard, but whatever. There will be more opportunities."
"Sure." Azure smiled. She then approached the crystal, which now had a large crack.
"Lady Hallowshield, please go ahead." Most of the audience recovered, but they now stared at Sheira with both fear and reverence.
Azure closed her eyes, her raw power was much lower than Sheira's. However, when it came to control, she had her beat. Some guard I am, being weaker than my VIP.
Her hand landed on the crystal, and the crack grew wider, the cascade of colors shone through the crack, giving off a blinding radiance.
The light subsided as Azure raised her arm and her eyes focused on the newly constructed targets.
Seven spikes of earth appeared above her. However, she would not allow herself to not show off a little, the earth spun around itself, drilling the air, and the shadows gained a form. They twisted around the spikes and connected the threads to her shadow.
[Binding of the Crescent Moon], A soft word of power turned the shadowy tendrils into silver. The earth glowed silver, and Azure clenched her fist.
The spikes struck the large targets and shattered them easily, then they destroyed the small clay blocks, however, the spikes flew right past the fireflies.
Azure's index finger moved to the left, and the string guided the spike toward the firefly. It flew erratically; however, it stood no chance against a homing missile of Earth.
Lights extinguished one by one until the last one was squished.
"Azure Hallowshield, pass." Aurora waved her off and turned to Aqua who approached. Her shoulders brushed against Azure, and they exchanged smiles.
"Go ahead." Aurora peered into her, her inquisitive gaze gathering everything she could about the woman before her.
Her fingers rubbed over the cracked crystal. The crystal is on the verge of breaking.
Aqua's newly created mana flooded the crystal; however, unlike the raging streams produced by others, hers was stable and formed a complex structure within the glass sphere.
It resembled a cobweb, or perhaps a masterfully woven cloth. It spread over the crystal, and its structure stitched itself.
The crack soon disappeared, leaving the glass clearer and thicker than before.
Aqua nodded in a satisfied manner before her eyes locked onto her targets. They were rather slow, as she would expect of a newbie test. She took a deep breath, and her mind analyzed the position of each target.
Magical circles appeared from above and beneath each target. Even the fireflies could not escape the magical seals that targeted them.
The seals turned crimson, and then a flash of red.
After the light died down, no target remained, not even the ash remained in the air.
The students stared at her in disbelief, yet their shock was dulled by Sheira's overwhelming display of power.
Aurora observed her with keen interest, her eyes following her every move, and her fingers tapping against her document. "I see father wasn't jesting. Aqua De Brightcrown. Pass."
Aqua lifted her skirt slightly and curtsied, "Thank you."
Without a word of complaint, she walked over to her group, who clapped for her excitedly.
"Masterfully done, as expected of someone who has mastered aether, Lady Aqua." Avaros stared at her, his eyes sparkling. Sheira's grin widened and she nudged Azure and whispered.
"Azu~ He is stealing your Aqua. What will you do?"
"No, he isn't. He looks at her like my fans look at me." Azure shook her head. Sheira wanted her to be flustered; however, she understood that the man wasn't aiming at Aqua's heart like she was.
"Since when did you become so boring~" Sheira chuckled.
"I suppose this is it, we just wait for the results and see if we are gonna be admitted?" Aqua crossed her arms and held her elbows.
"Yes, we have a free day after this, so we can explore a bit more, and when we get accepted, we can choose our classes."
"We can choose?"
"Of course, this is not general education after all. Most come here to specialize, even though it's not the best school for warriors when compared to Azu's training regime."
"I see." Aqua's head bobbed.
A young noble elven man made his way past them, his stride confident and brows furrowed. "It is my turn, move!"
His fist was clenched around his wand and he stepped into the exam area.
"Young man, this is not appropriate behavior." Aurora wrote something in her notes and sighed in disappointment.
"I am a prodigy! I should never need to wait like this!"
His words made Aurora's jaw drop. She looked at him as if she saw something pitiful before pointing toward the crystal. "Proceed."
"Finally, I will beat even the royals!" He placed his hand on the crystal.
Yet, only a small spark appeared inside, neither the overwhelming power of Sheira nor the calm mastery of Aqua manifested.
His face contorted in disgust. "This thing is surely broken. My Mana is as strong as her Highness', teacher, fix this at once!"
Aurora approached and picked up the crystal and her own mana rushed into it, and the pale blue light filled it. She eyed it closely and then set it down. "It is working as intended, continue." She made another note in her file.
"Impossible!" The noble shouted.
"Proceed, otherwise I will be forced to fail you."
He snorted, and his wand pointed toward the target. "Fall before your lord, you insignificant maggots, may your lives be entombed by the power of earth. [Earthbind]."
The earth twisted and formed a hand. Its fingers gripped around the first statue.
It tightened.
Crack.
The spell faded, and the hand became dust.
"Fail." Aurora crossed his name.
"No…I am a prodigy." A bead of sweat rolled down his face.
"You may return to the others."
"No…" His hands clenched around his wand.
The instructor glared at him, "You failed, return to others, or else you will be barred from entering the academy."
"You!" He pointed the wand toward Aurora. "I will show you!"
The action made everyone present stare in stunned silence. Azure was about to jump to her aid; however, Aurora gestured for her to stop. "A threat to an instructor is automatic disqualification and permanent ban."
Before the young noble could even react, she retrieved a small wand from her sleeve and cast [Earthbind]. The hand of Earth rose from the floor and immobilized him. His struggle was for naught, soon, the academy guards rushed in and took the man away.
Aurora shook her head in disappointment. "Shame. I even thought he had potential after the physical exam." She then turned toward the group and shouted. "Number 143, step forward."