The morning brought an uneasy calm. Ellie stood in the guildhall once again, the air thick with the promise of another round of trials. Seren, ever composed, was waiting in the center of the room, the dull light of dawn casting long shadows across the stone floor. Her gaze locked on Ellie the moment she entered, sharp and unyielding.

“We’ll begin immediately,” Seren said, her voice flat. “I’ve prepared a series of tests. They’re designed to measure not only raw power, but precision, control. The mark of a true mage is not in their strength alone, but in their understanding of magic’s subtlety.”

Ellie’s stomach churned. Subtlety? Control? She could barely stop her magic from blowing up in her face, let alone harness it with the grace Seren expected. She stood frozen as Seren waved her hand, summoning the first test into existence.

A shimmering crystal appeared before her, hovering just above the ground. It glowed faintly, pulsing with soft energy. “This crystal will absorb magical energy. I want you to focus, send a measured pulse into it. Just enough to illuminate the core.”

Ellie swallowed hard. She could feel the expectant eyes of Hargrave and a few others behind her, their excitement palpable. They believed this was a formality, that she would breeze through these tests with effortless power. But Ellie knew better. If she even tried to manipulate her magic, things would undoubtedly spiral out of control.

Still, there was no escape now. She raised her hand, the crystal glinting in front of her, and tried to focus on summoning the smallest amount of energy she could muster. Maybe—just maybe—if she kept things small enough, nothing would explode this time.

Her fingers tingled as she reached for that familiar thread of magic deep within her, but the moment she touched it, something went terribly wrong. The pulse of magic shot through her hand like a burst of lightning, wild and untamed, before she could stop it. The crystal, instead of glowing gently, flared with an intense, blinding light.

Ellie gasped, stumbling back, her heart racing. The crystal flickered violently, then shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering across the floor like stardust. For a moment, she stood there in stunned silence, her mind blank with horror.

This is it, she thought. This is the moment they see I have no idea what I’m doing.

“Interesting.” But Seren only raised an eyebrow, intrigued. She stepped closer to examine the remains of the crystal. “I’ve never seen one break like that before. You must have an unusual affinity for raw energy—untamable, perhaps.”

Ellie blinked, struggling to process what she’d just heard. Untamable? She hadn’t meant to do anything remotely that powerful. She had been trying to avoid disaster, not cause it! But Seren was already preparing the next test, undeterred.

“This will require more focus.” Seren gestured toward a set of floating runes that had materialized in the air. They shifted and spun slowly, weaving in and out of each other in a complex pattern. “You must stabilize the sequence without breaking it. Most mages struggle with this. It’s about balance, finding the perfect equilibrium between opposing forces.”

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Ellie felt her hands go cold. She could barely balance herself on a good day, let alone a set of spinning, magical symbols. But there was no room for argument. Seren’s eyes were on her, waiting.

Ellie raised her trembling hands, trying to mimic the motion of the runes. She reached for the same pulse of energy she’d touched before, hoping this time she could control it. But as soon as her magic connected with the runes, the entire pattern exploded into chaos.

The symbols shot out in every direction, bouncing off the walls and floor, swirling like leaves caught in a storm. Ellie ducked instinctively, covering her head as one rune buzzed past her ear, narrowly missing her.

She braced herself for reprimand, for Seren to see through her completely, but instead, Seren watched the runaway symbols with fascination. “Remarkable,” she said, her tone as calm as ever. “It seems your magic rejects conventional patterns. You are… unorthodox in your approach. Fascinating.”

Ellie stared at her, mouth dry. Unorthodox? She had just sent a magical disaster spiraling out of control, and Seren thought it was fascinating?

“I knew she was special.” Hargrave, standing in the background, nodded to himself. “There’s no one like Ellie.”

“Not quite.” Seren’s eyes never left Ellie. “You’ve passed the first trials, though they’ve revealed more questions than answers. For now, let’s proceed to the final test.”

Ellie’s heart sank. Final test? She wasn’t sure how much more she could endure. Her nerves were shot, her magic unpredictable at best. But Seren didn’t seem to notice her panic. Instead, she stepped forward, conjuring a new, larger circle in the center of the room.

“This,” Seren said, “is a test of raw power. The simplest, but most revealing. I will hold a barrier, and you will push against it with everything you have.”

Everything she had? Ellie felt her stomach turn. What did that even mean? She wasn’t even sure how to control the smallest flicker of power, and now they wanted her to unleash everything?

Seren raised her arms, and a shimmering, translucent barrier materialized in the air, crackling faintly with energy. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Ellie stared at the barrier, unsure of how to begin. “What do I do?”

She couldn’t control her magic when she tried, and if she didn’t try… it usually exploded. But there was no turning back now. She had to do something.

Taking a deep breath, Ellie closed her eyes and reached for her magic one last time. She felt it there, wild and untamed, just beneath the surface. She hesitated, but before she could reconsider, the magic surged forward, breaking through her control like a flood.

There was a deafening crack, and the barrier shattered, sending a wave of energy through the room. The walls shook, and the windows rattled as the force of the blast dissipated. When Ellie opened her eyes, Seren’s barrier was gone, reduced to glittering fragments of light.

For a long, breathless moment, no one moved. Ellie stood frozen, heart pounding, convinced that this was the end. Surely Seren would see through the accident, realize that Ellie had no idea what she was doing.

But when she looked at Seren, the investigator was smiling.

“Remarkable,” Seren said softly, her voice filled with quiet wonder. “I’ve only seen anything like it once.”

Ellie’s knees nearly gave out beneath her. How could this be happening? How had she stumbled her way through every single test, creating disaster after disaster, and still come out looking like some kind of magical prodigy?

Seren turned to the others. “Ellie Liddell is not bound by the limitations of conventional magic. She’s… something entirely different.”

The room buzzed with excitement, but Ellie could only stand there, staring at the remnants of the barrier, wondering how much longer her luck could possibly hold.