"I'm so happy there weren't any lightning elemental creatures in that area," Christian said after crossing that lightning ocean, as he called it. During the entire journey, such a thought boggled his mind at every turn, keeping him on his toes. No one responded to his words, making the situation tense and awkward.
"Alright, let's get into formation and continue forward," Christian said. Although there appeared to be no enemies, he still wanted the team to stay in formation.
"Maybe we should take a break," Xin'er said, looking at Lucretia worryingly. However, she did not utter another word and led the team forward. It didn't take long for them to feel an intense heat before discovering a fire field. Christian did not hesitate to use the Fire Extinguishing Charm with the utmost potency he could conjure, but only a tiny part of the field was extinguished for a few seconds.
"I could use the spell repeatedly, but it would be dangerous if something went wrong," Christian muttered. The only other solution he could think of was to wrap the team inside a Water Bubble to deal with the heat while he used the Fire Extinguishing Charm.
'Wait, there is also the charm Dumbledore used in the movie to separate the ring of fire when they fought the Inferi. What was it again? Partis Temporus. However, I only know the incantation, not the wand movements. That's easy, I can deduce them.'
Christian looked at his team. "I have an idea, so give me a moment." He conjured a pen and paper to deduce the spell's wand movement. It was easier to deduce the wand movement with the incantation than to do it from scratch for a brand-new spell.
'The incantation has two words, five syllables, and 14 letters. 2 plus 5 equals 7, and 14 divided by 2 is 7 — the most magical number. Yes, this will be easier than I thought,' Christian thought. He used all the knowledge he acquired from his Arithmancy Class, trying to mathematically and magically deduce the wand movement for this spell. Christian wrote for over ten minutes, filling three pieces of paper with writing and graphs.
The final result was a motion downward and upward to indicate a great divide. Christian felt stupid since he could have guessed such a thing without all the unnecessary math. 'It's better safe than sorry,' he reassured himself before using the charm.
He walked to the flame area and flicked his wand up and down before uttering: "Partis Temporus!" The flame parted like Moses parted the sea. Christian looked at the walkable path formed before him and checked. "Even the heat is separated — what an interesting spell," Christian ordered the team to follow him, and that's what they did.
Christian remained vigilant as they traveled through this sea of elemental flame. The path his spell created was not enough, meaning he needed to cast the charm a few times.
"Is that?" Xin'er suddenly pointed, and everyone looked. Then, everybody retched and gagged, especially as the smell of burning flesh hit their nostril. "Let's rush out of here," Christian said as he looked at that burned body. This was technically the first time he saw a dead body, and he was not faring too well, like the others.
The team rushed out of the area, feeling a sense of relief. "Let's continue forward. If I guess correctly, we only have the water and earth area ahead," Christian said, and no one disagreed. They walked forward and soon found themselves in a four-way area — forward, backward, left, and right.
"What's going on?" Christian asked, and before he could finish, he heard the sound of something clicking, and he looked at his feet. Someone had stepped into something. He instantly raised his head to the left and right as he heard a sound.
"Is that water? Damn it, why is there so much? Lucretia and Menes, you're on the left." Christian ran to the right, where he saw a tall wave of water rushing toward him. He felt scared since the intensity of the water was probably enough to break a few bones, and that's not to mention how it could drown the entire team once it rushed into their area.
Christian raised his wand to cast the Fogging Charm (Nebulus) to cover the intersection with fog. He then followed up with the Glacier Charm to change the mist into ice, therefore creating an ice wall. He ensured the ice wall was tall and thick enough to block this water wave, as if it were a dam. Once Christian felt reassured about the stability of the ice wall, he rushed to the left to check on the others.
The team did not require his help, as Lucretia had built thick walls, and Menes created these water-absorbing plants that significantly alleviated the earth wall from the rushing water. "Good job," Christian praised. Now they had dealt with almost all the elemental environment, the team continued forward to reach the earth area and put this maze behind them. However, to everyone's surprise, the end of that path led to a cliff.
"Are we supposed to jump?" Christian asked.
"It looks like it," Xin'er nodded.
"Let's…Let's take a break. Menes looks like he's about to pass out," Christian stated as he took a few more vitaseeds from his bag to hand them to the Egyptian wizard. Menes thanked him before swallowing them without hesitation. The team sat down and drank some water to recuperate.
"Do you know I'm the ninth in line of the Metallus family, meaning I'm the last person who will ever inherit the clan's blood crest," Lucretia suddenly said. "Tell me, with such terrible talent, what else can I do besides accepting my fate?"
Christian stopped halfway through sipping his water. He swallowed the water, feeling refreshed: "Why did you take this test?"
"What do you mean?"
"If it's pointless, and you have no chance at being your clan's next heir — why did you partake in this test?"
"Because that is what is expected of me."
"Or, subconsciously, you have not accepted your fate. You took this test because it is your last chance to fight back." Christian let his words stew, and Lucretia kept muttering these words under her breath.
"My mother once told me that magic is all about visualization. If you cannot imagine that you can do something or be someone significant, you will never achieve it. In your case, if you cannot even picture yourself as the next clan heir, you will never be."
"That is ridiculous," Lucretia countered. "Are you saying all I need to become the clan's heir is to envision what I do? That I just need to work hard?"
"No, that's not what I'm saying," Christian replied. "Life is unfair, and just because you work hard doesn't mean you'll be rewarded with success. I'm saying that the right mindset and an excellent work ethic are the foundation of success. Without them, you will never succeed, even if you have all the luck and talents in the world."
Christian was lost in thought. His mother and aunt always said these things to him, and he has never truly understood what they meant—until now. He would have never come this far in the library's tests if not for his years of studying and practicing magic; his previous efforts and experience brought him this far.
"But…But what if I still fail?" Lucretia asked.
"Then, you won't have any regrets," Christian explained. "As long as you do everything possible to achieve your goals, you won't have any regrets even if you fail."
"No regrets, huh?" Lucretia muttered. No one spoke for a while, and after a ten-minute break, Christian decided it was time for the team to jump off that cliff.