"Come on, son," Professor Alaric signals to Lorien, calling him closer to the center of the arena, where the large sphere of gray light stands on top of a small pillar.
Lorien approaches the sphere with a curious expression, and Alaric smiles gently. "Have you seen one of these before?" When Lorien shakes his head in denial, the old professor quickly begins to explain. "It is a sphere of Ancestral Mana; it contains a very ancient energy that will react to your own Mana, changing color so we can have a good idea of your Arcane potential."
Just like Lorien, Theo also pays close attention to Alaric's words, but Sarah whispers something to him as well. "These spheres are not that rare. I even have one at my house that I used to play with when I was a child. But they say this one from the Academy is a true treasure, capable not only of measuring with impeccable precision someone's current Mana power but also the maximum potential the person could acquire throughout an entire lifetime."
"Hm…" Theo becomes very curious to see the Mana sphere in action, not only showing his Arcane potential but also Lorien's, who stares at the sphere with an expectant look. "Go ahead, son, do not be afraid, just place both hands on the sphere," Alaric explains, and Lorien wastes no time, touching the mysterious object.
"It's cold…" When Lorien touches the surface of the Mana sphere, the first thing he feels is cold. Then the gray glow inside the sphere begins to move like mist, spiraling and changing color, becoming dark blue and soon after, very light blue.
"Minor affinity with water and greater with ice," Alaric comments while keeping his eyes fixed on the sphere. His words are not new to Lorien, but then the glow inside the sphere begins to change color again, turning gray and then white, a very clear and pure shade of white.
"Impressive…" Alaric comments in an excited tone, leaving Lorien confused. "White is good?" When he asks, Alaric laughs. "It is excellent! That means your Mana is highly pure and your Arcane potential is limitless." Those words put a proud smile on Lorien's face. "Really? Is it that good?"
"Haha!" Alaric nods. "Yes, son; I recognize that emblem of yours, Caelis, correct?" Before Lorien can respond, Alaric continues. "I have already heard of members of your family in the Academy. All of them demonstrated high Arcane potential, some coming very close to this. But none demonstrated a Mana as pure as yours. I have high expectations for you, little man."
"Thank you!" Lorien could not be happier and returns to his friends' side jumping with joy, especially proud and casting provocative looks at Sarah and confident smiles at Theo. "You heard what the old man said, right? The purest kind of Mana!"
Sarah only shakes her head mockingly, but Theo applauds his friend. "Impressive, Lorien, congratulations." Lorien bows in a funny way, like a maestro thanking the audience's applause. "Thank you, thank you."
From the center of the arena, Alaric turns his calm gaze to Theo. "How about you now, son? Come on, do not be shy." The old professor calls, and Theo walks toward the center of the arena, but not before glancing at Sarah and seeing her wink at him with an expectant smile on her face.
Theo reaches the center of the arena and glances at the Mana sphere. "I just have to touch it?" He asks, and Alaric quickly nods. "Yes, son, simple as that, just touch the surface." He explains, and Theo does so, touching the surface of the Mana sphere, which makes him feel something. "It's warm…"
Everyone watches the misty glow inside the sphere change color, quickly becoming red with yellow streaks that dance like living flames. Alaric smiles, "Such intense flames, truly beautiful. Maximum affinity for the fire element, yes, very good."
"Maximum?" Theo is not surprised by the color inside the sphere, but Alaric's comment about his affinity makes him eager to learn how to use Fire Magic. Then the flames suddenly disappear, and the sphere turns gray again, which quickly becomes brighter until it reaches the same brilliant white tone it had during Lorien's turn.
"Oh?" Alaric smiles again. "Another exceptional potential, impressive, yes. You do not fall behind your Caelis friend at all. I also have high expectations for you, son."
Alaric's words leave Theo relieved and when he turns to leave the arena, he sees both Sarah and Lorien looking at him with proud and happy smiles on their faces. "Big brother is impressive!" Lorien praises, but Sarah is the one who comes very close, hugging Theo's arm again. "You were incredible! I told you, didn't I? You never disappoint."
Theo smiles at Sarah and then gently pushes her toward the center of the arena. "Go on, now it is your turn to impress us." She smiles confidently as she walks. "Just watch, I will show you how amazing I can be too."
Now it is Theo who winks at Sarah, making her blush a little and smile beautifully. With that excited and confident attitude, she reaches the center of the arena and faces the Mana sphere with bright eyes, making Alaric smile. "Don't worry, my Lady; your friends may be exceptional indeed, but this is not a competition, you are already an impressive mage based solely on your knowledge."
"Thank you, Professor," Sarah speaks in a respectful tone, but then glances at Theo. "But if I want to stand with the best, I need to be the best too." She looks at Theo with a gentle expression, but then her gaze becomes competitive when she glances at Lorien beside him. "So I need to show how exceptional I can be…"
Alaric simply watches as Sarah turns her attention back to the Mana sphere. "Show time!" She places both hands on the surface of the sphere whose gray glow quickly begins to change. First, it becomes a pure shade of bright dark blue, making Alaric smile. "High affinity with the water element."
Sarah stares at the sphere with a determined look and keeps her hands firm on its surface, making the color quickly shift to bright light green. And Alaric exclaims. "High potential for the wind element!" That is already enough to make Theo give Sarah a thumbs up, making her smile proudly, while Lorien does not hide his look of envy.
Yet, Sarah remains focused on the Mana sphere, and it changes color again, now turning into a pure bright purple tone with small golden specks inside, which puts a surprised expression in Alaric's eyes. "Primordial Magic? This… Haha! High affinity with the Primordial Element! Impressive, Lady Malveryn."
Even though Sarah's result is already impressive, she does not stop concentrating and keeps both hands on the sphere while trying to stir the Mana inside her body even more. "Now the Grand Finale…" Everyone watches attentively as the energy inside the sphere turns gray again and then begins to shine even more, quickly becoming white.
"Exceptional, naturally…" Alaric comments in a calm tone, but when Sarah continues channeling her Mana into the sphere, something catches his attention, the white glow becoming brighter and more intense until small golden points begin to appear. "But what in the world…"
Theo and Lorien are also surprised, but Sarah is not stopping; on the contrary, she focuses even more, pushing herself to extract the maximum of her Mana to the point she begins to sweat. The golden glow begins to take over the inside of the sphere completely, but then it starts to tremble while a powerful aura seems to leak out, making even the air grow dense.
"Lady Malveryn?" Alaric calls her name in a worried tone, but Sarah refuses to stop. "I'm almost there… ahhh…" Her hands tremble together with the sphere, and even the whole arena begins to shake as well, making Alaric's assistant and Lorien step back.
"It's better to keep your distance," Lorien tries to pull Theo away from Sarah and the sphere, but he refuses to step back, walking toward her instead. "Sarah, what are you doing?"
"Lady Malveryn, please!" Alaric asks Sarah to stop, but she keeps channeling her Mana into the sphere, causing intense winds to rise around them, pushing everyone back. Alaric conjures a translucent barrier to defend himself from the wind, but Theo can only place his arm in front of his face while having to use all his strength to slowly advance toward Sarah.
"You!" Alaric raises a hand to Theo. "Do not approach, the sphere is very unstable, this is dangerous!" He warns Theo and turns his focus back to Sarah, slowly approaching her. "Lady Malveryn, you have to stop now!!"
"Just a little more…" Sarah grits her teeth while fighting against the powerful repulsion force trying to push her away from the sphere. When the inner glow becomes completely golden, she turns her face and smiles proudly at Theo. "You see??"
Theo lowers his arm a little, just enough to see the sphere filled with golden light, then he smiles at Sarah. "It's beautiful! Like you!" As soon as he praises her, Sarah blushes and loses focus for a second, enough time for the powerful energy inside the sphere to go out of control. "No, no, no!" Sarah tries to regain control of the energy, but it is too late.
Cracks begin to appear all over the surface of the sphere, and Alaric shouts. "IT'S GOING TO EXPLODE!" As soon as Theo realizes what is happening, he uses all his strength to jump toward Sarah, embracing her and throwing them to the ground a few meters away from the sphere, which truly explodes in a massive burst of unstable Mana.
CRAAAACK-BOOOOOM! Alaric acts quickly by using his own translucent barrier to surround the sphere and confine the explosion within a few meters, but everything around still trembles while the golden energy burns inside.
Theo keeps his body over Sarah, completely covering her, but when he realizes the wise Professor contained the explosion, he removes his arms from Sarah's face and finds her bright smile. "What the hell were you doing?" He cannot help but ask.
But despite the situation, Sarah keeps smiling. "Showing you how impressive I can also be, so you won't doubt that I am the best partner you could want." She declares in a confident tone.
He stares at her for a few seconds, and Sarah keeps her bright smile, making it impossible for him to stay mad at her. "Hahaha! You are crazy, girl!"
Sarah keeps looking at Theo, but since neither of them is moving, he remains on top of her, making her start to blush. Yet, a golden glow flashes in her eyes, and she lifts her head, surprising him with a quick kiss on his lips so fast he can barely feel the softness of her pink lips.
"Huh?" Theo feels happy with the kiss, enjoying Sarah's sweet scent on his lips, but since it was so quick, it only leaves him wanting to kiss her more. Yet, the girl begins to turn red like a tomato, looking away shyly from him. "It… it was just because you saved me."
She looks so shy and cute that he has to hold himself back from devouring her lips immediately. "You are so beautiful, Sarah."