Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen. I paced the courtyard, the marble pillars and their carved mythical creatures failing entirely to hold my attention while some heavier weight settled into my chest with every minute Nozue didn't appear.
I turned to march back toward the gate and search for him myself, only to find two knights crossing halberds in front of me.
"You may not leave the grounds until your trial is complete."
I nodded, understanding there was nothing to argue, and forced myself to breathe through the knot in my stomach.
Then I spotted him through the bars — clutching his application form, standing well outside where I'd left him. I crossed the courtyard fast, gripping the iron. "Nozue!"
He looked up, and whatever smile he managed didn't quite reach his eyes. The knight beside him allowed him close enough to speak.
"What's going on? Why haven't you come in?"
"Seira said my aura's too weak," he said, trying and failing to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "Only five people passed the check today. Apparently that's the real filter here, not the mana."
"But Missy said you were A-rank—"
"Mana's one thing. Aura's the pressure you actually project — you know that feeling, from your Murderous Intent skill? The stronger someone is, the more you feel it before they've done anything." He shrugged, though it clearly cost him something. "Mine's flat. No real combat experience behind it yet."
"That's—" My grip tightened on the bars. "Are you alright? We were supposed to do this together."
"What matters is you getting in," he said, something steady underneath the sadness in his eyes. "That was always the actual plan."
"I wanted you in here with me," I said, and meant it more than I could easily put into words.
He reached through the bars and gripped my shoulder. "Don't worry about me. I'll keep grinding the quests, work on projecting an aura of my own. By the time you're back, I'll be stronger. I promise you that."
He pulled me into an awkward half-hug through the gate, and I felt my throat go tight. "Go do well in there. You've got this."
"Thank you," I managed. "For everything. I'll do my best — take care of Nanay and the kids for me."
We held on a moment longer than either of us probably needed to, and then he turned and walked back down the hill, and I watched him go until the crowd swallowed him whole. I wiped my eyes, turned back toward the academy, and made myself walk forward.
The interior only deepened the sense of scale — archways etched with glowing runes, courtyards thick with exotic flora, spires that seemed to disappear into the sky itself. I was still taking it in when a voice called out from near a stained-glass window.
"You there — the one with the determined face. Come here a moment."
I approached a man in deep blue robes, a neatly trimmed silver beard giving him an air somewhere between scholarly and stern. "Yes, sir?"
"Name?"
"Kazu Gonomiya." I offered a small bow.
"Scholar applicant?"
"That's right."
His eyebrows rose. "Didn't expect that. Your aura's remarkably dense for a commoner applying on this track." He studied me a moment longer, curiosity plain on his face.
"Is that good?"
He laughed, warm and genuine. "Very. Real potential doesn't usually announce itself this clearly. Head down that corridor to the main hall — orientation paperwork's waiting."
"Thank you," I said, some of my nerve returning.
He turned toward a small cluster of well-dressed students waiting nearby and waved them over as well, and I fell into step behind them, following the group toward a set of heavy oak doors.
The main hall alone was worth the trip — vaulted ceilings impossibly high overhead, marble pillars carved with elemental designs, towering bookshelves that climbed the circular walls all the way to the light pouring through crystalline windows above.
The silver-bearded man took his place at the front of the room and cleared his throat. "Welcome. I'm Professor Garlock Misoha — I'll be handling your introduction to the academy, elemental studies included."
He gestured us toward a long mahogany table. "We'll start with an overview, then move to individual assessments to determine the scholarship seat."
We settled around the table, and Misoha began walking us through the structure of the program. "You'll be learning the fundamental laws of the elements. I personally teach Fire, Water, and Earth." He gestured to a glowing map behind him, color-coded by leyline. "The bedrock of any serious magical education."
I thought of Fire Pierce, of the water Nozue had taught me by accident on a riverbank, and found myself leaning forward despite myself.
"Professor Elias Marlowe covers the rest — Air, Light, and Darkness. Each with its own dangers, its own applications." His eyes swept the table and lingered on me for just a moment longer than the others. "You'll begin at the basics and work toward genuinely advanced technique. It's a long road, and I look forward to walking it with you."
He unrolled a scroll and began outlining the syllabus, and I sat gripping the edge of my chair, equal parts nerves and anticipation, keenly aware that whatever came next was going to change something in me for good.