The remaining candidates walked through the massive doors and entered the academy's training arena.
The arena was enormous.
It looked more like a battlefield than a classroom.
Tall stone walls surrounded the area, and magical barriers shimmered faintly along the edges.
Those barriers were designed to prevent any dangerous spells from leaving the arena.
At the center stood several circular platforms made of reinforced stone.
Each platform had magical runes carved into its surface.
Saksham looked around with interest.
"So this is the Element Control trial."
Many candidates whispered nervously as they entered.
Some had already been eliminated during the mana measurement test, and the remaining students understood that the trials would only become more difficult.
At the front of the arena, Archmage Valerian stood beside several academy instructors.
He raised his hand once more.
"The second trial will evaluate your ability to control your elemental magic."
He gestured toward the stone platforms.
"Each candidate will step onto a platform."
"You will then demonstrate a controlled use of your elemental power."
Valerian paused before continuing.
"This trial is not about raw power."
"It is about precision."
He pointed toward a tall stone pillar placed near each platform.
"Your task is simple."
"You must strike the target with your element while maintaining full control of your mana."
"Any uncontrolled explosion or unstable magic will result in immediate elimination."
Several candidates swallowed nervously.
One student whispered to his friend.
"So we can't just blast it with everything we have."
Valerian nodded as if hearing him.
"Correct."
"The academy trains mages, not walking disasters."
A few students laughed quietly.
But the tension remained high.
Soon—
the instructors began calling candidates one by one.
The first student stepped onto the platform.
He raised his hands and summoned a small fireball.
The flame shot forward and struck the stone target.
The instructors nodded.
"Control acceptable. Pass."
The next candidate used wind magic.
A sharp blade of air sliced across the platform and hit the target cleanly.
"Pass."
But not everyone succeeded.
One nervous student attempted to use lightning magic.
The spell became unstable and exploded against the barrier.
The instructors immediately shook their heads.
"Eliminated."
The student walked away in disappointment.
Soon—
Victor Ravenhart stepped forward.
Many students turned their heads to watch.
Victor walked onto the platform confidently.
Lightning sparks danced around his fingers.
"Let's make this quick."
He raised his hand.
A thin spear of lightning formed instantly.
Instead of firing a wild blast, he carefully controlled the energy.
The lightning spear shot forward with perfect accuracy.
CRACK!
The target was struck cleanly.
The stone surface even cracked slightly from the impact.
One of the instructors looked impressed.
"Excellent control."
Victor smirked as he stepped off the platform.
"Of course."
A few minutes later—
Elena Frostveil stepped forward.
The arena temperature seemed to drop slightly as she raised her hand.
Cold mist formed around her fingers.
She gently released the energy.
A thin lance of ice formed and flew toward the target.
The ice struck perfectly in the center.
The instructors nodded again.
"Excellent precision."
Elena quietly stepped away without saying a word.
Saksham watched carefully.
"Both of them have strong control."
Inside his mind—
the system activated again.
SYSTEM NOTICE
Trial Detected: Element Control
Reminder: Fusion Element Should Remain Hidden
Recommended Element: Light
Saksham chuckled quietly.
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
Eventually—
his name was called.
"Saksham."
He stepped onto the platform calmly.
Several students turned their attention toward him.
Many of them remembered his A Rank mana result.
Victor also glanced in his direction.
"Let's see what he can do."
Saksham raised his hand.
Golden light slowly gathered in his palm.
The energy formed into a small glowing sphere.
He carefully stabilized the mana flow.
Unlike a flashy explosion—
he created a narrow beam of light.
"Light Pierce."
The beam shot forward.
It struck the target directly in the center.
The impact left a clean glowing mark on the stone.
The instructors observed carefully.
Then one of them nodded.
"Excellent control."
"Pass."
Saksham stepped down from the platform calmly.
But this time—
Archmage Valerian watched him closely.
His sharp eyes narrowed again.
"That light element…"
"It feels unusually dense."
He quietly wrote something down on his tablet.
Meanwhile—
the remaining candidates finished their demonstrations.
Many passed.
Several failed due to unstable magic.
After the final student finished—
Valerian stepped forward once more.
"The second trial is complete."
The list of remaining candidates shrank again.
Nearly half of the students had now been eliminated.
Only the strongest remained.
Valerian looked across the group.
"The final trial will determine who truly deserves to enter this academy."
He pointed toward the massive arena gates behind him.
"Prepare yourselves."
"The Combat Trial begins next."
The heavy iron gates slowly opened.
Beyond them—
a large battle arena waited.
And something inside it moved.
Saksham smiled slightly.
"Now this is the part I was waiting for."
To be continued…