Stone columns lined the glass-like observation dome above the trial chambers. A faint hum ran through the archways as mana crystals pulsed with light — dimmer now. The first day had already consumed a heavy toll.
Zane leaned against a support pillar, ribs still sore from his failure.
Around him, other students stood silent. Some smirked. Others fidgeted. Many wore fresh uniforms. Clean hair. Brushed boots.
Zane had none of those luxuries.
But he had something else.
He had watched his reflection tear him apart — and that meant he knew what to expect from everyone else who stepped into that chamber. And more importantly, what they would expose.
They were about to stand where he had fallen.
---
Scry-Orbs: Active
One by one, the glowing orbs suspended midair displayed each Mirror Trial, tuned specifically to each student.
Professors stood above on a lofted gallery, their robes flowing, taking notes, sometimes murmuring.
A roll call began.
Zane didn't speak. He simply watched.
Zane's eyes locked on the largest scry-orb.
The heavy-set, iron-blooded brute stood alone on the obsidian floor, eyes narrowed as a mirror shimmered before him.
From it, his reflection stepped out — just as wide, just as massive, but not smirking. Silent. Cold.
The clone didn't speak. It didn't need to.
It raised its sword.
And charged.
Garron met the strike — blade clashing so violently the arena rumbled. Sparks flew as steel scraped steel.
But Zane noticed something. The mirror Garron didn't taunt. Didn't pause. He was focused. Clinical.
Garron growled. "I'm stronger than you."
The mirror version sidestepped, spun, and bashed the side of his head with the hilt.
Garron staggered.
"Dumb," Zane whispered under his breath. "He assumed power equals victory. But the clone doesn't have his arrogance."
Three minutes into the fight, Garron's mirror slammed him into the wall. Only then did Garron go full force — empowering his strike with mana, causing a burst of compressed air.
The mirror was reduced to fragments.
But Garron was bleeding.
Professor Aldric leaned to the side. "Mirror defeated. Time: 4 minutes, 12 seconds. Ring stability: intact. Flaw: poor adaptability. Score: 6.8."
The crowd clapped. Lightly.
Zane tilted his head. "He hits hard, but he hesitates when he's not in control. Weak to feints and illusions. Good to know."
The scry-orb shimmered again. A girl with flowing dark green robes stepped onto the arena floor.
The mirror hummed. Her reflection emerged — perfect posture, face unreadable, summoning glyphs already etched into the air.
Zane's fingers curled as he leaned forward.
Valette's trial began instantly. Her clone summoned two lesser wind spirits — fast, sharp, precise. While she tried to keep up, her own summoning glyphs misaligned under pressure.
"The clone knows her rhythm," Elowen murmured. "It's skipping her hesitation."
Zane watched as Valette was slowly pushed back, her own summoned hawk too slow to block a critical strike to her side.
She stumbled. Blood sprayed.
She recovered. Barely.
She won. Barely.
Score: 7.3.
But Zane noted her greatest weakness. If her summon pattern is broken, her mana stutters. Force her to miscast, and she's vulnerable.
> [System Note]
Target Profile: Valette Carrowind
Weakness: Disruption of pre-summon channel timing. Spirit glyphs must not overlap.
Class: Summoner – Elemental Bond, Wind
Potential Threat Level: Medium-High
Recommended Tactic: Pressure during chant > Break rhythm > Force fallback > Close distance.
Black leather. Silent feet.
The girl entered the obsidian chamber with no hesitation.
Her clone emerged — posture like hers, expression blank.
Then they vanished.
The orb flickered madly as the battle unfolded in blurs — shadow flickers, sharp clangs, darting blades.
Even the professors murmured. "Visual contact… lost."
Zane's eyes, however, scanned the orb differently.
He wasn't watching the action. He was watching the pauses.
Each time Nyssa moved, her clone delayed a second. It wasn't as reactive.
One mistake, though.
Nyssa stepped into a corner where her shadow doubled.
Her mirror used it — and stabbed her in the side.
She bit back a scream, twisted, retaliated — and ended it with a dagger through the mirror's throat.
Victory.
Score: 8.1
But Zane smirked.
"She's a ghost in combat, but bleeds like the rest. Corners confuse her. Too many shadows slow her reactions. Uses instincts, not logic."
He took mental notes.
"Heh, Garron was slower than I thought."
"Valette nearly lost to herself."
"Did Nyssa actually scream? Or was that a hallucination?"
"Still better than whoever failed first yesterday."
Zane kept his hood low.
Let them talk.
Let them forget.
This trial drew the most attention. Two siblings stood together — for once.
Twin trials were rare.
The mirror shimmered… then produced two mirror twins, just as synchronized, just as fluid.
The duel was chaos.
Fire and water spells collided midair — flash steam explosions, spell refractions, vapor walls. Spells stacked and countered simultaneously.
Zane observed closely.
The real twins began struggling.
Their clones predicted their spell order.
"Elia's fireball was blocked before it finished forming," he muttered. "Because she uses it after Arin's mist every time. Predictable."
Then Elia panicked. Her clone cast frost shock while Arin's mirror clone caught him in a steam-illusion loop.
The real twins collapsed together.
Failure.
Score: 5.5
Valette gasped. "But they were top 10."
Zane didn't blink.
> [System Note]
Target Profile: Arin & Elia Vell
Weakness: Spell sequence predictability. Break combo order, force isolation.
Class: Mage – Fire + Water Dual Path
Potential Threat Level: Medium
Tactic: Induce panic. Disable one, isolate other. Divide to conquer.
In the lofted chamber, professors gathered.
"A mixed bag," Aldric said.
"Some surprising failures," Thales added.
Elowen nodded. "Yet the Mirror Trial remains the most revealing. It shows not what you can do — but what you never admit to."
Veyra said nothing.
She simply glanced once toward Zane, far below, unreadable.
Then turned away.
Zane sat in the far corner of the boy's dorm hall. It smelled of old wood, ink, and faint sweat. Outside, the moon shone dimly, and the distant crystal bells of Eldryn hummed lullabies through the mountain air.
But Zane wasn't asleep.
He stared at a page of messy notes he'd scribbled together — half diagrams, half insults, and several lines of predicted spell sequences.
> "Every fighter showed something they didn't mean to." "None of them looked down." "None of them listened to their clones." "None of them adjusted mid-fight."
"But I will."
He whispered to the silent room.
"Your mirrors showed me your insides."
He smirked faintly.
"And I'm keeping them."
---
[System Update – Internal Log Only]
> Trial Countdown: 72 Hours → 48 Hours
Mirror Trials Concluded
Observation XP Gained: +2 (Hidden Growth Mechanism: Insight Rank I Activated)
Insight Perk: Allows psychological breakdown of enemy behavior. Applies pre-battle advantage.
New Passive Unlocked:
Shadow Archivist (Passive) – Absorbs combat data. Enables Zane to copy basic spell rhythm (non-casting) by watching repetition. Spells not usable yet.