Will stood in the center of the training arena.
His body moved lightly as he stretched.
Nothing excessive.
Slow shoulder rotation.
Neck.
Wrists.
Breathing.
He looked calm.
Only he knew his heart had been beating faster than usual since morning.
On the side—
Elena sat quietly with Ruby resting in her lap.
Unlike usual—
Ruby wasn't sleeping.
Her eyes stayed fixed on Will.
Quiet.
Watching.
Elena gently stroked Ruby's fur and leaned down slightly.
"Will always looks tired and hungry lately," she murmured softly.
Ruby tilted her head, still staring at the arena.
Elena gave a small sigh and continued in a low voice.
"I've been worried about him."
Her fingers moved slowly through Ruby's fur.
"He's been pushing himself so hard."
Ruby let out a faint sound, almost like a quiet response.
Elena's expression softened.
"I hope he succeeds today."
The arena itself wasn't crowded.
New magic evaluations weren't rare.
Every month—
one or two students claimed they had discovered a new spell.
Every few months—
someone claimed they had found a new path.
Most failed.
Only around ten to fifteen percent were approved.
Because of that—
there was even a dedicated room for evaluations.
Normally—
one tower administrator.
One professor.
Quick demonstration.
Done.
Most students never even heard the result.
So this should have been another ordinary day.
Yet—
today wasn't held in the evaluation room.
Training arena.
Barrier setup.
Medical support.
Three professors responsible for protection.
Two tower administrators.
Headmistress herself.
That combination—
was uncommon.
Very uncommon.
Not impossible.
But rare.
Students didn't come because:
new magic.
They came because:
why this setup?
Only a few.
Two students quietly left after hearing it was another magic evaluation.
Only a handful stayed.
Then three.
Eventually five.
Nobody spoke loudly.
One student quietly whispered:
"...Feels familiar."
Another replied:
"...I heard something like this happened before."
Pause.
"...During Luna's evaluation."
Silence.
Nobody continued.
Back then—
few current students even attended the academy.
Most only heard stories.
One month ago—
nobody thought he'd stand here.
Will ignored all of it.
His focus stayed ahead.
Three teachers stood near the arena edge.
Emma.
Kael.
Edward.
Kael's gaze lingered on Will for a moment.
Compared to one month ago, the difference was obvious.
His posture was steadier.
His breathing was calmer.
His eyes were sharper.
Kael said nothing.
He only thought, Good.
For a brief moment, Kael and Edward both turned their heads and looked at Emma.
Not directly.
Just enough to make it obvious.
Emma noticed immediately and frowned.
She lowered her voice.
"Why are you both looking at me?"
Kael leaned slightly closer and whispered back, "This is an important event for Will. Don't do anything clumsy."
Edward folded his arms and added in a low voice, "I don't care about Will, but I do care about our school's reputation. So don't act stupid."
Emma's eyes widened.
She pointed at herself in disbelief.
"I am no longer the clumsy teacher you think I was. Everyone now thinks I'm super cool and confident."
Kael and Edward exchanged a look.
Then both answered at the same time.
"Yeah, yeah. Right."
Kael gave a dry look.
"We both know how super cool you are."
Edward nodded once.
"Very cool."
Emma clicked her tongue and turned away with a huff.
"Unbelievable."
Their role—
intercept stray spells.
Prevent debris.
Protect observers.
On the opposite side—
medical professor Lilia Evergreen waited.
She wore a simple deep-green dress that fit her slender figure neatly without looking flashy, the fabric smooth and elegant against her skin. The neckline was modest, the sleeves ended just above her elbows, and a subtle slit along one side gave the outfit a quiet, unexpectedly alluring edge. It was practical enough for work, but refined enough to make people glance twice.
Lilia's gaze moved briefly across the arena.
Then, almost absentmindedly, she thought to herself that Will was lucky.
Normally, a student didn't get an evaluation date this quickly.
There were forms.
Requests.
Waiting periods.
Sometimes even a full month before the tower could spare someone to come.
But this time, the timing had worked out unusually well.
Probably because one of the tower administrators was already visiting the academy for another matter.
A routine check, perhaps.
Or some discussion with the headmistress.
Nothing worth dwelling on too much.
Still, it meant Will had been able to get his evaluation far sooner than most students ever would.
Everything looked more serious than usual.
Will looked once.
Then looked away.
No point thinking about it.
As he finished stretching—
a blue window suddenly appeared.
[Quest Triggered]
[Receive official recognition for a newly developed magic system.]
Reward:
[???]
Will blinked.
Then stared.
"...Again?"
Three question marks.
No explanation.
No hint.
He stared a few seconds.
Then closed it.
Not now.
No point.
His reward didn't matter.
He only needed one thing.
Success.
One month.
Every morning.
Every class.
The library.
Training.
The tavern.
Second Wind.
Less sleep.
Less rest.
He had pushed himself through all of it without knowing whether any of it would actually work.
He didn't know if this path would be accepted.
He didn't know if the judges would understand.
He didn't know if the effort would be enough.
Today—
he would find out.
He took a breath.
Then looked toward the judges.
Signal came.
Ruby quietly looked at him.
Inside their faint mental connection—
one small thought appeared.
Good luck.
Will looked at her.
Then smiled lightly.
He turned.
And walked.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Until he stood before the judges.
The arena became quiet.
One tower administrator looked down.
Then spoke.
"Before the practical demonstration."
"We want an explanation."
He looked directly at Will.
"Tell us about your magic."
Will nodded.
He already expected this.
He turned.
Looked at everyone.
Then started.
"...Everyone here knows the relationship between cultivation and spell rank."
Small nods.
Will continued.
"Normally."
"Cultivation decides what spell ranks you can use."
"At level one cultivation, a mage cannot cast rank two spells without chants or outside assistance."
"The same applies at every stage."
"Level two cultivation cannot handle rank three spells without chants or outside help."
"Level three cannot handle rank four."
"And so on."
One judge nodded.
"...Basic theory."
Will agreed.
"...Yes."
Even though—
for him—
this wasn't basic at all.
He remembered nights in the library.
Book after book.
Theory after theory.
Trying to understand something everyone else learned naturally.
He continued.
"But."
He paused.
"...For some reason."
"No matter how much I trained."
"I couldn't use magic under the usual rules."
Quiet.
No reaction.
Will continued.
"So."
"I looked for another route."
One judge asked:
"...And how did you reach this route?"
Will thought.
Then answered honestly.
"After a recent near-death experience."
"I became more determined."
"So I asked Professor Emma for permission to access unconventional theory books."
Emma looked away.
Will continued.
"I searched."
"Tested."
"Failed."
"Repeated."
"Eventually."
"I reached this."
One judge asked:
"...Why hand signs?"
"Did you test other methods?"
Will nodded.
"...I did."
"But almost every alternative still required a wand or staff."
He looked at his own hand.
"My biggest issue wasn't controlling mana."
"It was channeling mana through a wand or staff."
"So."
"I abandoned that direction."
Quiet.
One judge looked at notes.
Then asked:
"...And your conclusion?"
Will raised his hand slightly.
"My conclusion."
"...was to make myself the focus."
Quiet.
Students blinked.
One teacher slowly looked up.
Will continued.
"Instead of a wand."
"Instead of a staff."
"I gather mana."
"Shape it."
"Stabilize it."
"Then activate it through fixed motion."
The judge looked at him for a moment.
Then said, almost to himself:
"Interesting."
Will nodded once.
Then added, honestly:
"I had a lot of help from Professor Emma and Professor Kael."
The judge turned his head.
"...Professor Emma."
"...Professor Kael."
"How much assistance did you provide?"
Emma answered first.
"...Some small stuff."
Kael crossed his arms and gave a short nod.
"Same here."
Then, after a brief pause, he added:
"He did all the hard work."
Emma glanced at Will, then shrugged lightly.
"Yeah."
"We only pointed him in the right direction."
The judge looked back at Will.
His expression remained calm, but his eyes had sharpened.
Then he closed his notes.
Headmistress stayed silent.
One judge looked toward her.
"Any questions?"
Headmistress looked at Will.
Several seconds passed.
Then she answered.
"...No."
She looked once toward the arena.
Then back.
"...Proceed."
One judge nodded.
Then looked at Will.
"Prepare."
"Begin the practical demonstration."
Will looked forward.
The target dummies waited.
The arena waited.
His month waited.
Will slowly walked toward the center.
Stopped.
Closed his eyes.
He opened his eyes.
No hesitation remained.
Then—
he formed the first hand sign.
Part 1 End.