The next morning came with a chill. A cold wind blew across the dormitory courtyard, whispering unease. Arin woke early, stretched lightly, and stood before the mirror. Dark circles under his eyes told a story of relentless training. But his gaze was sharp.
Today wasn't about muscle. It wasn't about mana.Today was about the mind.
Hall of Reflection – The Mental Trial
Groups were summoned to the Hall of Reflection, a dome-shaped, black-marble building with no windows. A strange silence hung around it, unnerving even the proud nobles.
The proctor for the test stood at the entrance, a hunched old man with a walking stick topped by a rotating cube of glowing runes. His robe shimmered like oil in sunlight.
"Welcome to the trial of Thought, Memory, and Will. You will enter alone. You will be tested in three ways: perception, logic, and mental defense.""The weak-minded will walk out broken... if they walk out at all."
Murmurs broke out. Someone laughed nervously. Arin remained silent, observing the architecture. Every angle of the hall was mathematically perfect — a puzzle in itself.
Inside the Trial – A Test of Three
Arin entered when called. The door sealed shut behind him with a whisper.
The chamber inside was a perfect sphere. Lightless, but glowing softly with illusion runes. Suddenly, a disembodied voice echoed:
"Begin."
First Trial – Perception
Illusions burst around Arin like fireworks. Rooms twisted. Shapes moved. Colors reversed. He had to spot the hidden rune in a room full of false symbols.
"Ignore what they want me to see. Focus on rhythm... motion... pattern."
He calmly walked to a seemingly blank wall and pressed on a faint indentation.The room dissolved.
"Passed."
Second Trial – Logic
Floating cubes hovered in front of him. Each had shifting runes. A puzzle asked him to rearrange them based on energy sequences.
"A mana structure test?" Arin murmured."They're disguised as cubes, but these are basic runic logic gates."
He rotated them carefully, not too fast, not too perfect. He inserted one wrong piece… then corrected it after a pause.
"Enough to look capable, not exceptional."
The voice returned.
"Passed."
Third Trial – Mental Defense
This time, it was silent. Then came the pressure.
Images. Nightmares. Screams. His fears. His guilt.He saw his mother coughing blood, his father staring at nothing, his younger self standing in the rain, powerless.
"It's fake."
A dark Arin appeared before him, whispering:
"You'll always be weak. Even now, you hide. You play small because you're scared."
Arin stared into his doppelgänger's eyes. Calm. Resolute.
"I'm not hiding. I'm waiting."
The vision cracked.
"Passed."
Outside – Reactions and Results
As Arin exited, the proctor gave him a lazy glance and jotted a plain "B+" on his floating slate.
"Decent. Solid focus. No special spark."
Perfect.
Nearby, Lireya came out, sweat-soaked but smiling. Kael followed soon after, his face bored.
"Too easy," Kael said, walking past Arin.
Nessa exited blinking furiously, lost in thought. Dregan didn't say a word. One of the nobles came out vomiting. Another failed to exit on time and was marked disqualified.
Rumors Begin
By evening, whispers began to spread through the dorms.
Kael was ranked top 5 in logic.
Lireya shattered a mental illusion by force.
Nessa rewrote the illusion spell mid-test using her own code.
One boy attacked another student in a hallucination, resulting in suspension.
And Arin? Most forgot he even took the test.
"Did he even go in?""Some countryside guy. Probably mid-tier.""I heard he passed, but barely."
Arin listened from a distance, smirking quietly.
In his room, Arin reviewed his notes. His breathing calm, his body relaxed.
"They think the tests are over. But the true ones begin with people. Rivalries. Jealousy. Politics. Danger."
He opened "World of Body and Mind" to Chapter 3: "Emotion is Magic. Control it, or it controls you."
The academy bell rang once.Tomorrow, the first public magic showcase would be held.
"Let's see how well I can stay hidden... while standing in the light."