Date: Final Exam – Day 2
Location: Academy Demonstration Grounds
POV: Journal of Nitsuo
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Today was the day of colors, thunder, and sparks.
The ground trembled, and the sky wore shades of every element. This was the day when magic wasn't for war—but wonder. The audience stands were filled with professors, guild representatives, nobles, and commoners alike. Everyone wanted to see the "future of magic."
I didn't care about their eyes.
But my teammates... they shined today.
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Leander went first.
He strutted into the center like it was a ballroom. With one hand, he summoned wind and fire. With the other, a sword made of compressed mana and glass.
Then he danced. Literally. Each step ignited runes beneath his feet, creating a cyclone of flame that followed the rhythm of his blade. He ended it with a spinning slash that exploded into a burst of starlight.
The crowd lost its mind.
> "That idiot just cast five spells at once," Anna said, arms crossed. Elric: "It was... stupidly elegant."
He bowed. Winked at the nobles. Walked off like he hadn't just rewritten the idea of battle-dancing.
---
Anna followed.
She didn't smile. Didn't wave. Just summoned a wave of illusions — each version of herself from every stage of the year.
They fought each other. Ten versions. Each one stronger than the last. Illusions cast real spells. Fire. Lightning. Mirror shards. It was beautiful chaos.
In the end, the final version of herself defeated the rest and turned to the crowd with a single line:
> "This is how much I've changed."
She got a standing ovation.
---
Riya summoned a storm.
Not just thunder or rain — an elemental waltz. Her fingertips danced, and the clouds obeyed. Wind, fire, and water harmonized above her.
At one point, her fire took the shape of a bird. Her water, a dragon. Her wind? A song.
And then they clashed mid-air in a perfect triangle, exploding into prismatic mist.
> "Was that... intent casting?" one professor muttered. Another: "That girl just directed a concert with her mana."
---
Elric didn't go big.
He stepped up and summoned a radiant field of light. Chains formed of blessing magic — each a prayer. Then he invoked a healing array and redirected it... to the crowd. A wave of calm washed over the audience.
A child who had snuck in with a limp? Healed instantly.
> The crowd: Silent. Then... roaring applause. Elric just smiled shyly and walked off.
---
Gideon did not speak.
He walked to the platform with his shield on his back. Then slammed it into the ground. Magic pulsed outward.
He activated a spell that enhanced his entire body with kinetic magic. A target golem appeared.
He moved. Fast.
Faster than any heavy tank should. Shield strikes, palm bursts, magical arrows launched from his shoulders.
Then the final hit: a downward punch reinforced with gravity. The platform cracked.
One student fainted in the stands.
---
Alice... was art.
She conjured blood into butterflies. Every fluttering wing left behind glimmering sigils.
Then the butterflies turned into knives. Then the knives into chains. Then the chains into roses that bloomed in mid-air.
At the center of it all was Alice, eyes half-lidded, like a queen. She whispered, and the magic folded in on itself, forming a perfect red crystal before vanishing.
Some thought it was beautiful. Others thought it was terrifying. They were both right.
---
Lily was moonlight.
No chant. No movements. She just was.
The moment she stepped up, the sun dimmed. A field of silver light spread beneath her feet like a pond.
She raised her hand. A single moonflower bloomed in her palm. Then bloomed in the sky above the arena.
It burst. And left behind silence.
No applause. Just awe.
Then she walked away.
---
And finally, they called my name.
> "Nitsuo Caelum ."
I stepped forward. Took a breath.
Didn't chant. Didn't gesture.
Just activated the one thing I'd spent all year preparing.
> Silent Domain.
The air stopped. Even wind was afraid to move.
Mana condensed around me like gravity. Some students gasped. Others blinked as the world seemed to narrow.
The examiners' spells? Flickered. Then died. Their devices? Overloaded. Shut down.
I raised one hand. Summoned a flickering flame of all five elements: fire, water, wind, earth, light.
They spun together, formed a lotus, then vanished.
That was it. No explosions. No spectacle. Just complete control.
And when I turned away, I heard one professor whisper:
> "That's not Adept. That's battlefield-tier Arcanist."
But they were wrong.
I was still Adept. But I was me.
And I had no need to shout to be heard.
---
Tomorrow is the duel. The final trial. But for now... I think we made our point.