Magic was no longer a miracle.
In this world, Mana flowed like the way wind did, invisible and unseen until it disturbed something. Magic shaped the current world and society; settlements were built around its currents. Even those who couldn't wield Mana were living in the system created and shaped by Mana.
People learnt that mana is not alive; it neither thinks nor does it choose. It Responded.
To structure, repetition and intent made precision.
Structure gave it a form.
Repetition gave it stability.
Intent gave it direction.
This belief had carried the world out of catastrophe and into stability. The system created by the Mana wielders, now termed Mages, had established academies, rankings and laws. They had turned magic into a profession.
Theory explained how mana worked.
The Valerith Academy entrance examination existed to measure whether people obeyed it.
On that day, mana behaved exactly as it always had.
Except in one place.
~~~
The crystal ball's colour turned into pale blue from its initial neutral white. It did not shatter; that alone was to disappoint the boy's father.
"Silas Caelrune, Mana Quantity Test---- PASSED," the examiner remarked.
Silas withdrew his hand from the assessment crystal ball, and the colour of the ball turned to its initial white colour. The examiner nodded, marked something in his slate, and gestured the next candidate to come up and take the assessment.
"Pretty average for someone who hails from a noble family," someone murmured behind him.
Silas pretended not to hear it.
The crystal's glow was still stuck in Silas's mind; he was upset that he couldn't shatter the crystal. He avoided his father's gaze.
He relaxed his fingers, stabilizing his thoughts to steady himself.
MANA QUANTITY ASSESSMENT TEST, PHASE I --- PASSED
The hall was large, with high ceilings, stone arches, and banners of Valerith's founding houses. Silas moved to the side, joining the line of candidates waiting for Phase II - Formula Execution Trial.
Most of the candidates here looked calm. This calmness was normal due to the fact that Tier-I chants were used.
Tier-I is also called Formula Magic Casting, it involves predictable, long chants, requiring precise timing, sequencing and a considerable distance between the affected area and the caster. Thus, this was especially suitable for most of the mages.
Formula Magic Casting had been changed over many centuries for minimized risk and maximised output consistency. Anyone standing here had memorized chants many times before understanding and truly feeling Mana.
Silas had done the same.
He just felt his Mana response... a bit different.
In the waiting line, Silas stared at his hand, with pale skin and fingers that never rested. During casting, when he wasn't paying attention, his fingers moved a little, small movements and minor adjustments.
It felt as if his body was moving a bit faster than his chants.
"Silas Caelrune," the examiner called out, marking the start of Silas's Phase II Exam.
The casting platform was circular, carved with shallow lines that guided spellcasting, with a focus orb hovering at its center. Phase II required three spells, performed in order, using chants provided just before casting.
Silas stepped onto the platform and took deep and stabilizing breaths.
The first chant appeared on the projection slate, and he began to chant the words. The words were familiar; his mouth formed them correctly. His timing of the chant was precise, but a bit slow.
This led to slow chanting, but his mana did not adjust itself. Instead, it went a bit faster. As a result, the response came earlier. A flow of mana was created, restrained and impatient; it went against the formula chant's structure.
Silas adjusted instinctively, pacing his chant to finish it early and skipped some words. But it was too late, the spell worked with a minor variance.
It was not enough to fail, but enough to be noticed.
He felt it again in the second spell. A minor lag between the intent and execution, leading to variance in the spell. This was due to the different mana response.
Mana was not acting the way he wanted; as a result, his mana intent was a failure.
By the third spell, the examiner's expression had changed. Not alarmed, but duly noting.
"Control inconsistency," the slate recorded.
FORMULA EXECUTION TRIAL, PHASE II --- PASSED
Silas bowed and stepped off the platform. He did not look at the scores; he already knew his outcome. He went to the side, where candidates for phase III were waiting.
Phase III was not announced as a test.
It never was one.
"Secondary Assessment," the instructor said, tone casual, "Environmental variance."
The chamber shifted.
Illusion arrays activated, turning the stone platform into fractured terrain. The ground felt uneven, visibility narrowed, and pressure pressed in from all sides.
Tier 1 candidates struggled here. They hesitated, recalculated chants, lost tempo.
Their mana waited patiently for instructions that came too slowly.
Silas made his way towards the chamber as his name was called out. His heart rate rose, not from fear but from anticipation.
This was the phase that never made sense.
The assessment began,
The environment started to change and deteriorate, under these worsening conditions, the candidate must perform spells and destroy the orb illuminating the illusions to stop the deteriorating.
The ground broke apart, the air felt heavy, and distance twisted. It was an illusion, but his body felt as if it were real.
Silas did not chant; he didn't mean to skip it.
His fingers moved. A pulse of mana snapped outward, raw but controlled, destroying the orb before it fully illuminated the illusions. The spell completed itself without any chants from Silas.
He realized it only after his fingers moved.
Silence followed; the evaluators were watching the whole phase.
Silas stood still, breathing evenly. The result of the cast buzzed through his nerves. It wasn't painful---just present, as if his body had already moved on while his thoughts lagged behind.
He forced his hands to rest at his sides, bowed to the evaluators and left the platform.
Looking down, he was unsettled about his loss of control over his mana response and wondered what his father would say; moreover, he couldn't even face his father.
ADAPTIVE STRESS SIMULATION, PHASE III --- PASSED
The result arrived hours later, and Silas stood as the classification documents were posted, the murmur in the waiting room rising and falling around him. He found his name and read downward.
Tier-II: Adaptive Magic Casting
Specialization: Close-range mana response
For a moment, he said nothing. Even though it wasn't mentioned, he already knew that he barely passed. He got the lowest scholarship tier and was assigned to a non-prestigious division.
It wasn't a failure, but close enough to feel like one.
He lowered his gaze to the seal at the bottom of the document, red wax stamped cleanly. It was Final. There was nothing he could do to undo this classification.
He felt no anger, no fear.
Only a quiet realization that settled deep inside him.