Chapter 5: The Practical Exam

The sun was bearing down on my back. Sweat dripped from my chin like a leaking faucet. The practical exam was about to begin and I was beginning to think this was all a big mistake.

I contemplated whether it would’ve been better to have skipped eating this morning as I struggled to keep my breakfast down. I was confident in my skills, but even a brainless amoeba could tell that this matchup was unbalanced.

My sister and I had completed the theoretical exam at almost the same time. I was surprised at how basic the questions were. If you’d had any exposure to magic then it was likely you already knew most of the answers. There were a few questions about Vania’s history, but nearly as many as I’d expected. There was also a section on operating a CAD, which was the most challenging portion of the test because of the many uses CAD’s have. 

As Kyla had said earlier, we were paired together for the practical test. Ordinarily that wouldn’t have been allowed because it would give us an advantage, but no one raised any objections. Probably because on the tournament bracket next to Feydon Ray, someone had written, “inept.”

Most likely that was why I wound up paired with her. No one else wanted to be paired with an inept. She was probably asked to approve the pairing beforehand and if she had declined then I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to compete. I had mixed feelings about the pairing, but I wasn’t going to complain.

However, seeing the names of our opponents immediately made my spine tingle. 

“Mai Garnett and Gregor Spearhand, please come to the arena.” An enthusiastic announcer shouted over an intercom.

Kyla and I were already waiting on teleportation podiums that would send us to the real arena when it was time to start the match.

If rumors were true then this was going to be a tough fight. Mai was largely considered the strongest mage of our generation. She had two rare elements and both had strong affinity, but beyond that, her family was known as the emperor’s of ice. Supposedly their magic was so strong that they could even freeze a desert. 

Gregor Spearhand wasn’t as much of a celebrity, but he was also from a highly respected family. They had been out of the public eye for a while, but I recalled seeing something on the news about Gregor mastering integration. If that was true then it meant he had a spirit relic and was capable of using it to its full potential.

“Well that’s lucky!” Kyla exclaimed with a wide grin.

“You call facing Mai lucky? Even if it was just her I think we’d be lucky not to get wiped out instantly. But with Gregor there as well, we’ll—”

“Win without a doubt,” Kyla interjected. “When we beat them, it’ll show everyone that our family isn’t one to be underestimated.”

“You’re pretty confident, Ky. Did Sven give you a rune in secret or something?” I joked, half hoping she’d say yes.

“Of course not, I just know how good we are and there’s no way we’re going to lose, because we’re the strongest team. Just trust me and relax.”

‘Us, a strong team? We’re just a spoiled brat and her inept brother.’ I had no idea where Kyla’s confidence was coming from, but despite my skepticism, it was oddly reassuring. 

When I spotted Mai and Gregor, I took a few deep breaths and tried to push away any distracting thoughts. The two strutted confidently to meet us at the center of the arena as the audience cheered. A giant screen above the stadium displayed larger than life images of the competitors so that parents in the stadium could see. 

“Are you nervous, runt?” Gregor asked, giving me a sincere look. “Don’t worry, this will be over quickly,” He laughed with all pretense of sympathy gone from his voice. 

I wanted to retort with something witty, but in the end all I did was smile and nod. Mai and Kyla both kept a straight face the entire time. From the moment Mai stepped out of the waiting area their eyes had been locked as if their duel had already begun. The tension between them had grown to the point that I worried they might start firing off spells before the match began. 

“The rules are simple. No maiming, killing, or attempting to do either of the above. A random stage will be selected and a cannon will sound to signify the start and end of the battle. Any movement before the first cannon, or aggressive actions taken after the second cannon will result in immediate disqualification. If both teams are ready the match will begin now,” The same announcer spoke through the intercom.

We all nodded. Then a few moments later the world suddenly went silent and all I could see was bright white light.

The sensation only lasted a few moments. When it ended I was standing next to Kyla in the middle of a forest. The canopy was so thick that not even a single ray of sun could pierce it.

“Ignite.” Kyla whispered, prompting an orb of fire to appear and hover above her open palm.

The light it provided was rather dim, but it was enough to make out the claws of a dire wolf lunging in my direction. I quickly rolled to the left, which I immediately realized was a mistake.

The beast, now standing between me and my sister, looked between the two of us as if determining which would make the tastier meal. I prayed it came after me, because if it turned to attack Kyla, I wasn’t going to be able to defend her. While I was confident she could protect herself, my entire evaluation would be based on how well I could defend her. 

The roar of a cannon sounded for the first time reminding me of the rules. Technically I wasn’t supposed to have moved from my platform yet, but would they really disqualify us given the circumstances? It didn’t seem so, although I wondered how a wolf had reached us so quickly.

With a low bark the wolf crouched and pounced again. 

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“Fey!” Kyla screamed, bringing me back to reality. The wolf landed just in front of me, and was already snapping at my wrist.

I managed to just barely yank my arm out of the wolf's range; although it’s whiskers and wet nose still grazed against my arm. ‘Stop getting distracted, Fey. Stay focused and figure things out later,’ I repeated several times in my mind. The wolf’s sharp jaws were only inches away and the vicious creature repeatedly lunged towards me.

The wolf kept clawing at my throat and snapping at my arms; I didn’t have a chance to draw my blade and was forced to continue retreating until the light from Kyla’s fire was only a glow in the distance.

Barks and howls seemed to come from every direction, alerting me that more wolves were rapidly approaching. One wolf became two, two became four and more were still on the way.

I knew I had to end this, but I was struggling to keep my mind on the fight. I kept thinking of what might happen if I failed. Not only would I ruin Kyla’s chances at admission, but I’d embarrass my family. If I didn’t succeed here then I would never have another chance to prove myself. 

A wolf lunged at me, but this time when I leapt backward I slammed into a tree. I didn’t have time to dodge so instead I shoved my left arm into the beast's mouth. I tried to get far enough back that only a couple of his teeth would actually sink into my flesh, but I wasn’t spared pain. I was convinced that my arm would either break or fracture under the pressure of the wolf’s bite. With my free hand I reached behind my back to grab my knife and swiftly pushed its blade down through the creature's ear canal.

Two of the other beasts pounced at me before I could free my arm. In a desperate bid, I used all of my strength to swing the dead wolf into one of the airborne wolves, then ran between the two creatures. One wolf fell and rolled after being hit with the dead wolf, but the other wolf twisted and scratched my back as I ducked under it. 

The pain in both my arm and back was searing, but adrenaline dulled the sensation and the fear of failure spurred me on. Before any of the remaining wolves could lunge at me again, I pulled the haft of my sword from its place on my belt.

As the closest beast darted towards me, I thrust forward and activated the blue energy blade. I felt nothing when its shimmering form punched through the wolf's chest. Again, there was no resistance or added weight when gravity pulled the corpse off the blade. The half dissected wolf simply lay at my feet. 

With one swing each, I felled the two remaining wolves then raced back to my sister. Frightful images of wolves gnawing on Kyla’s bones made my legs move faster then I knew they could. 

When I arrived she was fending off a trio of wolves, expertly twirling around their attacks and simultaneously attacking with a small knife. A dozen or more wolf corpses laid burning in the field. Kyla was doing far better than me. Not only was she taking on more wolves, she wasn’t injured at all. 

Eventually Kyla found herself backed up against a tree just as I had. I wanted to help her, but because of the flaming heaps, there was no way I’d be able to cross the clearing fast enough. “Hey!” I shouted hoping to distract the wolves even if only for a brief moment.

It didn’t work. The wolves continued to growl and creep toward Kyla, totally ignoring me and leaving her no path for escape. In the space of a few moments the wolves closed the distance and all three leapt towards Kyla. All I could do was watch in horror. 

***

*Kyla’s point of view*

I waited for just the right moment, then held my fireball in front of me and quickly pushed my free hand through the fire and towards the approaching wolves. “Breath of the dragon, rush forth and consume my enemies.” 

The flaming ball responded by swelling to the size of a bear's head, then a steady stream of flames burst forth swallowing all three wolves in an intense inferno.

I regretted having to resort to such a flashy spell because I knew it would give away our position. In order to scare off the rest of the pack, the spell was necessary. The pack aside I needed to find Fey and make sure he was okay. One wolf shouldn’t have been enough to overwhelm him, but since we were caught off guard it might be more difficult for him to adapt than it was for me. 

The burning wolves whimpered for only a few seconds before their flesh melted away, but the blaze persisted even when only bone remained. Five more wolves crept out of the darkness but did not approach, and when I raised the fire towards them a distant howl signaled for them to retreat. They were gone for now, but dire wolves were known for persistence. so I didn’t let my guard down.

“Kyla!” my dork brother shouted as he ran through the dying flames. “Fuck, I thought you were dead.”

“Oh please, if you thought those puppies could take me down then you’re in for a few more surprises,” I said, waving his concern away. 

“Don’t tell me you let yourself get cornered on purpose just to take them all out at once?” He asked with a dumbfounded expression.

‘Did he just now put that together?’

I nodded, “It’s called efficiency. That might be a foreign concept to you, but magic isn’t limitless so I have to make good use of it.”

Fey scoffed. “Don’t you mean reckless?”

Fey’s left arm was bleeding badly, but now wasn’t the time to bring it up. We needed to move. The fire I set had nearly gone out which meant the wolves would be back soon. More importantly though Mai and Gregor were likely not too far away either. It would be easy for them to pick us off while we were busy fending off the dire wolves. I was already working on a plan to lay a trap for them, but it would depend entirely on how perceptive they were.

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