Now that the test was over, a tense wait began for the results. The crowd of people slowly migrated toward a blank board where they would be posted.
For the next few minutes, I continued to chat with Amy and Grant.
"So, do you guys think we will even see battle?" Amy asked, her question cutting through our quiet conversation.
"What do you mean?" I answered, a little surprised. "We're joining the army, why wouldn't we?"
Amy looked down at the catalyst in her hand. "I'm just saying, it takes four to six months for a recruit in the advanced unit to reach Mana Transcendence... and some are saying the war could be over by then."
"Which of course would be a good thing!" she added quickly. "But a small part of me would feel a bit disappointed that we never had a chance to serve our country."
"Well, don't hold your breath," Grant interjected, his tone grim. "Lamia attacked like they truly believed they were going to win this war. I'm not sure why they are so confident, but I am sure this war isn't going to be over in just a few months."
A chill went through me. I thought back to when my village was attacked; the enemy was dripping with confidence. Grant was right. Something else had to be going on that we didn't know about.
Just then, I heard faint chanting from the other side of the room. It was the instructor. She had just finished writing the results on paper and was now casting a spell. I could just make out her final words, "...now go."
Then, the black ink on her paper began to glow a soft blue. Letter by letter, the writing lifted from the page.
"Hey guys, look!" I said, pointing toward the floating writing.
Grant and Amy turned their heads. "Woah, now that's what you call a spell!" Amy said, her eyes wide with excitement.
The letters flew toward the board in a stream, trickling through the crowd like water as they brushed past people. A murmur of wonder and anticipation filled the room.
One by one, the letters found their places on the board, slowly forming rows of names. As they formed, people began pushing past each other to get a better look. The crowd blocked my view completely, and I was forced to wait.
Once the crowd thinned slightly, I managed to squeeze through for a look at the board. My eyes scanned it. "Okay, there's the advanced class list!"
My gaze shot straight to the top. A jolt of adrenaline shot through me, and my hand clenched tightly on my catalyst.
There it was, written in shimmering blue letters: Aurora Hild.
"I made it," was all I could think, my heart pounding from the news. Right above it: Amy Flite. I smiled, my eyes scanning down the list until I also saw: Grant Vale.
"Yes! We all made it." I had only just met them, but a warmth spread through my chest.
I turned, leaving the crowd to give others a better chance to look. As I walked by, I saw a mix of happy faces from those who must have also made it into the advanced class, and a larger number of people who looked sad or even like they were empty inside, having failed.
To my right, Amy caught my attention. "Hey, what's wrong? We all made it in, right?" Apparently, she was so confident that she hadn't even checked.
"Oh, it's nothing," I said, my smile returning. "Yeah, we all made it in."
"Well, that's just what I thought," she said, closing her eyes with a confident look, but I noticed she let out a subtle breath of relief.
Then Grant walked up. "Looks like we're all officially in the same unit then," he said, a small, genuine smile on his face.
In that moment, I felt deeply grateful. Not only had I passed, but I had also made two new friends.
"Attention everyone. If you haven't passed, you're free to come again in three months for the next exam," the instructor announced. "Now, as for everyone who did pass, go home and come back at five tonight."
After she said that, the crowd began to disband. I said goodbye to Amy and Grant, telling them I would see them tonight. I decided to head straight home to tell my dad the news.
As I walked, I passed a bakery. The golden, crisp bread in the window looked too tempting, and since I had only eaten an apple today, I decided to go in and buy a loaf.
It wasn't much, but it was a small celebration for getting into the advanced class, and I could share it with my dad.
Once I reached our temporary home, I flung the door open. "I'm back!" I called, excitement leaking into my words.
There was no answer. Then I noticed a note on the small table. It read, "Sorry Aurora, I've gone to look for work. I will be back in the afternoon."
Sigh. "Well, that's okay," I thought, deciding it would be a good use of my time to go through my belongings and choose what to take with me.
I chose a few pieces of clothing, even though I knew they would provide us with official military uniforms. I also packed a few useful books about magic and Mana Transcendence.
Lastly, I had two things from my parents: the catalyst from my mom, which I was obviously going to take, and a small knife my father had given me.
He gave it to me before my mom died. I held the smooth wooden handle, remembering him saying he would take me hunting and teach me how to butcher my first kill.
I chuckled a bit; he was a lot different back then. After my mom died, that never happened. He wouldn't let me do anything that could be even remotely dangerous.
Then I heard footsteps and the door click. I got up, left the room, and saw Dad had returned. "Hi, I thought you'd be back later," I said.
"Well, it didn't take as long as I expected," he said. "I was able to find a job at a mill. It's hard work, but the pay is decent."
"Oh, that's great!" I said.
Then he asked, "So, how did it go today?"
"Well... I got placed in the advanced unit." I answered.
"I see. Well, that's great news." He tried to smile, but it didn't quite form. "Sorry, it's going to take me a while to get used to this."
"It's fine, I understand" I said, smiling reassuringly. "I need to be back there by five... I also bought some bread on the way home. Do you want to eat early?"
This time he smiled for real. "Sure, let's do that."
We spent the rest of the afternoon together. After we ate, we exchanged fond memories of our old home, and even a few about my mom. And then it was time for me to go. We stood across from each other awkwardly at the door.
"I guess I'm off then..." I said, half looking down.
Then, to my surprise, he took a heavy step forward and hugged me. His warm arms wrapped around me tightly. "Promise me you'll stay safe."
I leaned my head on his shoulder, hugging him back. I couldn't remember the last time we had a moment like this. "I promise," I said, even though I wasn't sure I would be able to keep it.
He let go. "You better go now, before I change my mind."
I laughed slightly. "Goodbye. I will come back and visit when I get a chance," I said as I walked out, closing the wooden door behind me.
Once back at the training building, I met up with Grant and Amy again. We waited for a bit, and right as a nearby clock tower chimed five, the instructor came out.
"Welcome back, everyone," she said loudly, "and congratulations. Now then, please follow me to the barracks."
Everyone quickly followed her. We stopped at one of the large buildings, and everyone who was not placed in the advanced class went inside while the rest of us stayed outside.
I peered in and saw rows of bunk beds placed along the walls, evenly spaced apart. I guessed about a hundred recruits went inside with her.
"So, this is the type of place we will be staying in," I thought. "Well, that's how the army is, I guess."
Then the instructor came out and led the rest of us to the furthest building. On the outside, it looked the same as the others, but when we went inside, it was different. Instead of a wide-open area with beds, a narrow hallway ran down the middle with doors on each side.
The instructor slowly led us inside as she spoke. "Since you're in the advanced class, everyone will have their own room to help with private training." She smiled, adding, "The army takes good care of potential Mana Transcendence soldiers, so you'd better not let us down."
I noticed that beside every door was a metal nameplate.
The instructor spoke one more time. "Training will begin first thing tomorrow, so get settled in and sleep well. From now on, I will be your commander and instructor. You can call me Commander Everly, or just Commander," she said, smiling as she left the building.
Once she left, the twenty-five of us found our rooms. I opened my door and was honestly impressed. There was a single bed with a sturdy wooden frame, a desk, a chair, and a wardrobe.
I walked over and collapsed onto the bed. It was surprisingly soft and comfortable.
Early the next morning, we assembled in the training building with Commander Everly.
Her sharp gaze swept over us, examining us in our new blue and white uniforms. A heavy silence hung in the room until her voice cut through it. "Well, it looks like you all managed to get your uniforms on correctly. Good we can move on to the first lesson now."
A serious look crossed her face. "The most important thing you must improve is your mana reserves, so you don't faint in battle. Everyone has two months to grow their mana capacity until they can fire six spells a minute for a full hour-that's three hundred and sixty spells, nonstop."
She paused, letting us take in the task ahead of us. "If you can do that, you will be ready to begin training for Mana Transcendence, for which we will give you another two months."
"So, to begin, I will teach you how to grow your mana reserves." She picked up her catalyst and whispered, "Release." It transformed into a wooden staff with a glowing blue orb cradled at the top.
"Every spell has three parts. The first is Intent: it's the will to cast a spell."
"The second is Formulation: you must shape that will, deciding what kind of spell you want to cast-water, fire, and so on."
"And the last is Release: the final act of manifesting the formed spell out into the world."
"It is the release that consumes the most mana," she explained. "Therefore, if you focus solely on the sensation of releasing a spell-without intent or formulation-you can drain your mana without casting anything."
"Now normally this would be pointless, but by repeatingly draining your mana with this technique, it forces your reserves to grow over time."
"So, you're all free to go ahead and try." She said it with a look that told me this wasn't as easy as she made it sound.
I released my catalyst, its familiar weight settling in my hand, and quickly realized this was more of a mental challenge than anything else.
As I attempted it, my mind kept instinctively trying to form a spell, and I was forced to stop and clear my thoughts again and again.
Around me, others were struggling, but a few slowly seemed to get the hang of it-the first being Amy, which wasn't a surprise.
Eventually, after several frustrating attempts, I was able to isolate the feeling of when a spell is released, and I felt some mana drain from me.
We kept at it until a collective wave of fatigue settled over the room, leaving everyone looking drained and out of breath.
"Hmph, that wasn't bad," Commander Everly said, crossing her arms. "You all need to do this for at least three hours a day in private, outside of our normal training."
"For now, I will give you a chance to catch your breath. And you might be wondering how I used a spell to put the results on the board, as it didn't reflect any of the normal elements."
Now that she mentioned it, I was curious. I knew all spells outside of Mana Transcendence abilities had to do with physical elements, so I was surprised to see the spell she cast.
"Well, I actually used three elements in combination. First, by interacting with the water in the ink, I separated it from the paper. Next, using wind, I sent the letters toward the board. And finally, I heated the ink to bind it temporarily with the wood."
"Oh, so that's all it was," I thought. Still, the skill required to combine three elements in one fluid spell was something that would take most mages years to master.
"That's it for today," she said. "You're free to go back to your rooms or do what you want." She added once last warning before leaving. "Just don't forget your three hours of training or you WILL fall behind."
Later, I was back in my room, sitting on the edge of my bed as I practiced the exercise. It was more exhausting than any physical work I had ever done; a deep weariness settled behind my eyes.
But every time I felt myself about to stop, I remembered why I joined the army, I remembered that all I wanted to do was make a difference, and I remembered the promise I made to Ryn. I wouldn't give up.