"Xiao Yan, Mana Level: 3! Rating: Novice!"
The proctor's voice cut through the autumn air. On the obsidian testing monolith, the glowing numerals drew gasps from the crowd at Brooklyn Academy's courtyard.
"Three again? Guess our so-called genius hit his ceiling." Jake Black sneered, adjusting his varsity jacket. The football team's laughter mixed with sorority girls' giggles.
Xiao Yan's nails bit into his calloused palms. Three years ago, he'd held the Stanford Junior Mystic Cup. Now he couldn't even meet community college thresholds.
"Next, Xiao Mei!"
The blonde bounded forward, her Tiffany pendant catching sunlight—a reward for last year's "Rising Enchantress" title. When the monolith flashed "7", cheers erupted.
"MIT's Arcane Studies program already scouted her," someone whispered. Xiao Mei glanced at Xiao Yan lingering by the bleachers, then turned toward her Alpha Phi sisters. In Manhattan's elite circles, social capital trumped magical talent.
"Xiao Xun'er!"
The courtyard hushed. Even the football captain stepped back as the violet-clad girl approached. When her ancestral bracelet touched the monolith, blue flames erupted.
"Level 9!" The proctor smiled. "At this rate, Miss Xiao will become the second fourteen-year-old Archmage since..." He trailed off awkwardly.
The crowd parted as Xun'er walked toward Xiao Yan leaning against a rusted fire hydrant.
"Need a ride?" She jingled Tesla keys, the passenger seat holding his usual pumpkin spice latte—a Friday ritual maintained for three years.
Xiao Yan chuckled bitterly. "A Wall Street heiress as my chauffeur? Can't tip enough nowadays." He gazed at the Empire State Building's defensive runes, designed by his father. "The same investors who kissed his ring now deny my student loans."
Xun'er grabbed his lightning-scarred hand. "That day in Central Park, you said true magic isn't in spells." She pointed skyward. "Remember your wish when the comet passed?"
Their elongated shadows merged with twilight. Neither noticed the faint glow from Xiao Yan's backpack—where a Chinatown flea-market copy of *Celestial Alchemy* pulsed rhythmically...