If Seraphine thought the rest of the institute was a hostile place,
the Records Building only made that feeling even more evident.
At school, she usually only had to deal with noble children and teenagers.
But there, in that hall, she would have to face curious and inquisitive gazes.
When she and Worm stepped through the door,
several people were seated in chairs at the opposite end of the room.
All eyes turned to the two of them instantly.
She understood immediately that, despite looking at her, all they really saw was a girl whose place had been bought with peasant money.
They probably felt she had stolen the chance for one of their children to form a pact with the powerful spirit that had caused such an uproar during the ceremony.
For a moment, she thought about lowering her head.
But a voice behind her shoulder, low enough that only she could hear it, made her reconsider.
"I am your worm."
She lifted her head and told herself, in her own mind:
"He's right. He's mine. They said for an entire week that I would summon a worm? Then here he is."
Seraphine had made her decision.
She would not lower her head.
She would not apologize for having been chosen.
After all, out of everyone in that institute — out of all the students from the nobility, even those connected to the imperial family — Worm had not answered them.
It hadn't been for the eight prodigies.
It had been for her.
He was hers.
He was her worm.
And she would use him to prove it.
Seraphine glanced back over her shoulder.
She saw pure pleasure in his expression.
It was almost as if Worm had heard her inner monologue. Perhaps he could even sense her intentions.
His pupils doubled in size.
His breathing was heavy and steady.
Seraphine didn't call him a pervert this time.
She walked toward the center of the Records Building.
Several people were waiting for her beside certain objects.
Director Rosencrowm and her secretary joined the rest of the observers.
The man standing at the center of the great hall walked toward the girl.
He had a tired expression, with deep dark circles that made it hard to see the color of his eyes.
He was the imperial evaluator.
He carried a heavy clipboard, likely containing the data of the spirits registered the day before.
He must have been forced to spend the night at the institute, waiting for Seraphine's spirit to be registered.
The girl felt a little bad for him.
He reminded her of her father when he returned from long merchant journeys.
"We won't waste time, young lady. I'll explain the three stages of registration."
"First, your spirit will be placed in that magic circle, where the runes will float around it and evaluate its active or passive abilities." He pointed to a circle on the floor, surrounded by elaborate runes.
"Next, its physical capability will be evaluated while your spirit attempts to damage this cube of black ore reinforced with magic. Don't worry — the physical test is just formality. Humanoid spirits usually excel more in magic." He pointed to a large cube as tall as himself, though roughly the same width.
"Lastly, these three Imperial Arcanes will create barriers around it to measure the spirit's magical capacity. The objective is to release raw magic in an attempt to saturate the seals placed on it. I ask that you order your spirit not to hold back, for a more accurate test." He pointed to a trio of masked figures in military attire on the far side of the cube.
"Imperial Arcanes?" the girl asked out loud.
Being an Imperial Arcane was a great honor.
Handpicked by the emperor himself.
It was a prestigious position, held only by masters of humanoid spirits.
The goal of most students who had yet to form their pacts.
And she understood why.
Each of them looked like an elite in their own right, and their spirits seemed just as proud as Ruby's dragon.
Still, they weren't different from the other humanoid spirits she had seen since the previous day's summoning.
Even these elite spirits seemed on high alert, in case Worm decided to do something.
The evaluator cleared his throat, trying to pull the girl out of her daze.
"Please, miss, inform us of your spirit's name so we may begin the registration."
Seraphine answered instantly.
"Worm. His name is Worm."
"Are you certain, miss? The registration is permanent."
"Yes. His name is Worm."
Low voices echoed from the observers' seats.
The name sounded extremely distasteful, even unworthy of such a powerful spirit.
Worm, however, could not have looked happier.
Among the seats, the only person who showed no sign of surprise was the director.
Would she dare contradict Seraphine after the implicit threat she had received from Worm?
"Very well, miss. If that is what you will call him, I'll enter it into the records," the evaluator said as he wrote on the final sheet of the clipboard.
"Let us begin the first test, then." He pointed toward the rune-covered magic circle.
Some nobles seated farther back stood to get a better look.
Others, however, seemed to lose interest after hearing the chosen name.
Perhaps they thought a spirit passive enough to accept such a disrespectful name wasn't worth all the attention.
The scouts, however, all stood up.
They couldn't afford to miss an opportunity.
They wrote everything down to report later to their employers.
Seraphine ordered Worm to step into the circle.
He obeyed instantly, always watching the girl, his expression one of deep amusement at the entire situation.
The evaluator extended his free arm toward the circle and murmured a few words.
The circle began to rotate slowly.
The runes lifted into the air, forming something similar to the wall of light from the summoning ceremony.
They moved up and down, passing slightly above Worm's head and down to his feet.
This repeated for several seconds.
Then, one by one, the runes began to burn like sheets of paper.
The circle beneath Worm's feet cracked in half, stopping its rotation instantly.
Some nobles who had previously lost interest stood up as well.
The evaluator watched what remained of the circle on the floor closely.
After a moment, he wrote something down and said aloud, looking at Seraphine:
"Inconclusive. However, judging by previous cases and the destruction of such an advanced evaluation circle, I would say he possesses a powerful concealment ability, which makes repeating the test pointless."
The director thought silently:
"Previous cases? Where has he ever seen a newly summoned spirit destroy a circle conjured by three Imperial Arcanes?"
She looked exhausted.
Murmurs spread through the hall once more.
"Concealment, he said?"
"That's a rare ability."
"Very useful for espionage and assassinations."
"We can't allow foreigners to take this spirit out of the empire."
The nobility clearly had no concept of shame.
Seraphine, meanwhile, couldn't imagine how espionage or assassination would ever be useful to a merchant's daughter.
And the malicious smile on Worm's face made her doubt that this was really his ability.
"Very well. Now for the physical aptitude test," the evaluator said. "Please, miss, ask your spirit to strike the center of this cube with all the strength it can muster."
Perhaps a poor choice of words.
After all, Worm struck the cube with all the strength he had.
And the massive hole left in the Records Building's wall would remain as a reminder of the evaluator's request until it was repaired.
It happened too fast for everyone to prepare.
And if not for the presence of the Imperial Arcanes, something far worse would have occurred.
The moment Worm's fist touched the black metal, one of the Arcanes immediately conjured a wedge-shaped barrier around the evaluator, who had been standing far too close and would have been hit directly by the resulting shockwave.
The other two Arcanes raised barriers around the observers, aided by the director, who reacted just as quickly as the elite mages despite her age.
The Arcanes' spirits also conjured barriers to protect their masters.
Seraphine stood behind Worm, protected by an elaborate, multi-layered barrier — the only one of its kind in the room.
Even the dust at her feet seemed untouched.
And there stood Worm.
His right hand still extended in a fist after obliterating the cube.
His left hand held behind him, maintaining Seraphine's barrier.
All eyes were on him.
Some filled with fear.
Others with rage.
Seraphine, however, looked confused.
The cube was gone.
A massive hole yawned on the far side of the room.
And he was smiling, as always.
Seraphine was beginning to understand the complexity of the situation she was in.
Despite the jokes, the malicious smiles, and the mockery, Worm was truly something on another scale.
"Girl," a firm female voice said. "You need to learn how to control your spirit. If we hadn't been here, a tragedy would have occurred."
"Control?" Seraphine replied. "How the hell am I supposed to control that?"
"And who besides you should control it? He is your spirit, and you are his master. Act like it."
Seraphine nodded.
Worm's eyes burned against the Imperial Arcane's nape.
Seraphine got up from the floor after the shock, raised one hand over Worm's head, and forced him to bow in a silent apology.
First to the director, the nobles, the scouts, and the two Arcanes.
Then to the evaluator and the Imperial Arcane.
Worm didn't seem to mind being forced to bow.
Seraphine couldn't believe that, after all that, he would go back to acting the same way.
But he did.
The evaluator stepped forward once Worm straightened, speaking to Seraphine.
"It's all right, miss. No one was hurt. After all, I was the one who asked him to strike the cube with all his strength."
"No, sir," the Arcane interrupted. "The spirit knew what would happen. He raised a complex barrier to protect the girl before his fist even hit the cube. It was a deliberate attack."
Worm laughed maliciously when the Arcane looked at him, careful not to let Seraphine notice.
"Regardless, Madam Arcane," the evaluator said, "let's finish this registration, shall we? The third test is harmless, and frankly, after this, I need a drink."
The nobles' whispering stopped.
Shock still dominated their faces.
The scouts, however, were writing more frantically than ever.
"Yes, sir."
"You two," she pointed at the other Arcanes. "Come. Let's finish this. Miss Halvorn, you will conjure the first seal. Mr. Belcrest, the second. And if necessary, I will conjure the third."
Her orders were firm and needed no repetition.
Seraphine recognized the surnames from school, but with their faces covered, it was hard to place them.
"Miss, remain here in the center with your spirit and order him to release as much raw magic as possible. Don't worry — pure magic, even in large quantities, is harmless. This test merely determines how much magic he possesses."
He pointed to the center of the hall, still covered in dust from the destructive impact.
"Do your best, Worm. But try not to hurt anyone. Or rather… I forbid you from hurting anyone."
Worm greatly enjoyed receiving a clear order from Seraphine.
He looked at Arcane Halvorn, who moved her fingertips rapidly.
A translucent band filled with runes appeared around Worm — and was easily destroyed when he began releasing raw magic.
Arcane Belcrest repeated the gestures, conjuring two bands.
It made no difference.
When Worm released even more raw magic, the bands shattered with a sound like breaking glass.
The air around Worm began to grow hazy, as if the space itself were becoming blurred.
The raw magic condensed around him as it poured from his body.
The two Arcanes looked disappointed in themselves.
Worm, on the other hand, wasn't smiling.
In fact, he showed no expression at all.
Perhaps boredom.
It was now the turn of the Arcane who seemed to lead the trio.
She stepped in front of Worm.
It had become personal.
She repeated the gestures, causing five bands to appear around him.
They shattered as well.
She didn't stop.
She repeated the movements.
Six bands formed.
They broke.
The woman then said something to her humanoid spirit, which stepped forward and joined its hands with hers.
Assisted by the spirit — which resembled a small child with feline features — she repeated the gestures.
Fifteen bands appeared around Worm, rotating slowly.
They looked like they might hold.
Worm smiled maliciously.
Then he released the greatest amount of raw magic so far.
Not only did the air around him become hazy — the entire interior of the building did.
Everyone's vision was swallowed the moment the third surge of magic was released.
In Worm's direction, nothing was visible except two intensely orange points.
His eyes.
They moved slowly toward the woman.
A sharp voice whispered in her ear:
"Thank her for asking me not to hurt anyone."
Despair.
Her legs gave out.
Worm returned to where he had been standing.
He raised one hand and absorbed all the hazy magic that had flooded the area.
When everyone's vision returned, all that remained was a spirit standing in defense of a fallen master…
and a woman on the ground, unable to meet Worm's gaze again.
On the other side, Worm stood with his hands in the pockets of his blue coat.
With an expression of immense boredom.