On a certain gloomy morning, the large courtyard in front of the Great Tower buzzed with nervous energy as a huge crowd of applicants eagerly awaited the Acceptance ceremony to begin.

Of course, I was there, too. Standing at the very back of the excited crowd to have a better vantage point, I impatiently waited for the glorious moment when I would finally be let inside the famous magical academy—said to be among the best on the Continent.

'Just a little bit longer...'

Several months had passed since my first expedition inside the mysterious Labyrinth, and it was already the middle of winter.

However, compared to the harsh winters up north in Wittenwald, which I so vividly remembered, the weather here in the midst of this godforsaken wasteland seems to never change—the only sign of changing seasons being the slightly chillier wind.

The temperature had never dropped below freezing, and no snow ever graced the solemn dark cobblestone streets of the Labyrinth city.

Not that it mattered much down there in the perpetual twilight of the Labyrinth's countless corridors.

During the past months, I have thoroughly explored the first two floors of this strange subterranean world, dubbed "Farms" by the locals.

Sadly, I could not go any deeper as it was apparently forbidden for new adventurers to delve into the lower floors without a party - an attempt by the city to limit the casualties among the hot-blooded youths eager to prove themselves.

I wouldn't normally care about such arbitrary rules, but there was simply no way around this. Guards stood watch along the passages between the floors to prevent any strong monsters from emerging into the farms from the lower floors, and they also made sure the city's various rules were properly enforced.

I had no interest in joining any parties for the time being, so I decided to postpone any expeditions to the Labyrinth's depths until I was accepted as an apprentice, at which point such rules would no longer apply to me.

Nevertheless, these last few months proved to be quite productive, and I discovered many interesting things about the Labyrinth and the city itself.

The Labyrinth city was several times larger than Ereneth and housed around fifty thousand people. It was also divided into two districts, separated by the jagged cliffs of the dark chasm that ran right through the middle.

The south half, directly adjacent to the Labyrinth's main entrance, was where most of the adventurers and merchants lived. It was also where I spent the most time. The Adventurer Hall and the market being its two most prominent features.

On the contrary, the northern half was mostly a residential area. It was where the Alchemists, scribes, and all the other various professions working directly for the mages lived alongside their families.

The residents there were somewhat better off than in the south, though they, too, seemed to live mostly in multifloored apartment buildings since the available space within the city's walls was severely limited.

Still, despite my initial worries, the city turned out to be fairly cosmopolitan. Nobody cared who I was or where I came from—as long as I had coin to spend and caused no trouble for the locals, that is.

The information on the Tower itself, however, was much harder to come by. The mages rarely left its confines, and mundane people were forbidden to step inside.

That brings me to today, when, hopefully, all my burning questions will finally be answered. I stopped musing about the past and focused on the front as it looked like the ceremony was about to begin.

"Welcome, Aspirants!" An elderly man looking every bit like some fairy tale wizard addressed the crowd of applicants from atop the steps leading toward the Tower's entrance. Dressed in an elaborate black robe with rich, silver embroidery, he had it all—an austere look, a waist-long gray beard, and a long, exquisite staff in his right hand.

'The only thing missing is a pointy hat...' I thought, chuckling to myself before quickly turning my attention back to the old mage's words as he continued with his lofty speech.

"The Council is pleased that so many of you seek to become apprentices at our esteemed institution, founded by the legendary magus Eluvius himself!"

He was not kidding; the sizeable courtyard was packed full. There seemed to be over a thousand youngsters from all walks of life, all eager to join the fabled magic academy.

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"But remember that the path of the arcane is difficult and fraught with peril. Possessing a Talent is only the beginning... Only those with firm hearts and strong minds could ever hope to achieve true greatness!"

The old mage paused, scanning the crowd with his piercing eyes, seemingly pleased with how each face hung on his every word.

'Well, that's to be expected. Nothing ever comes cheaply in this world, especially power...' I thought with a frown.

"That is why, before we can welcome you among our illustrious ranks, you'll have to undergo three Trials that will aim to measure both your innate powers as well as the strength of your character."

I suppressed a sigh as I had previously learned that despite my seemingly exceptional talent, I still had to go through the Trials like everyone else. They apparently wanted to maintain an image of fairness, so the Tower didn't allow any exceptions, not even for nobles and the like.

At first, I thought it a pointless bother, as I already knew I had both the talent and the ability to cast spells. But then I realized this would allow me to closely observe my fellow Aspirants and their performance, giving me a sense of what is considered normal here in terms of power, so I would no longer have to hide my magic before the world.

The old mage in front continued talking for a while longer, giving us details about the various Trials we would be facing.

The first one was the Trial of Aptitude, which was basically a measuring of one's talent. The next was something called the Trial of Cunning, where we would apparently have our minds put to the test—whatever that was supposed to mean.

Lastly, there would be the Trial of Prowess. He didn't provide much information about that one, but from the hidden meaning behind his words, I could deduce that it would most likely involve fighting.

'Hmm, I wonder how those who couldn't afford a tutor and thus have no prior knowledge of magic fare in that one...' I wondered, but by then, the opening ceremony had already ended, and we were being ushered inside the mighty Tower, so I decided to stop daydreaming and focus on the task at hand.

***

The Tower's interior—at least the small part that I could see from the grand entrance—could be summarized in a single word: massive.

The imposing walls of the entry hall, built out of the same polished dark stone as the rest of the city, were mostly plain, with only the occasional flameless lantern decorating them. The floor was lined with countless tiles of both white and black marble, forming intricate geometric patterns.

Enormous pillars lined the walkway, reaching up to support the high ceiling that seemed to disappear into the darkness above. The air was cool and still, a welcomed respite from the hot, arid air outside. Meanwhile, everyone looked around in awe, and quiet murmurs echoed across the vast expanse.

After some initial chaos, the huge crowd was expertly picked apart by numerous young mages in bright blue robes who seemed to appear out of nowhere. They quickly divided us into many smaller groups and began leading us to our respective testing locations.

Contrary to the last measuring I underwent back in Ereneth, it appeared that there would be no public spectacle this time. Instead, our group of about thirty Aspirants was led toward a small chamber through a long curved hallway some distance from the entry hall.

Looking around, I noticed that everyone seemed apprehensive about the upcoming test, me included—although I was probably nervous for a completely different reason than the others.

Since I had already performed this test in the past and because everyone in this world believed your magical aptitude was something decided at birth and couldn't be changed, I now had to somehow match my previous result. Otherwise, I would be facing some difficult questions I was not ready to answer.

We were being called one by one, and I was toward the back of our group, so I had some time to prepare myself. Luckily, since the last time I did this, my essence control had improved tremendously, so as long as their measuring artifact was similar to the one in Ereneth, I had high confidence I would be able to produce the same result.

When it was finally my turn, I walked into the small chamber, which was bare of furniture or decoration except for a pedestal with the same round crystal I remembered.

I suppressed a sigh of relief, not letting anything show on my face as I approached the smiling, blue-robed young woman who was gesturing for me to come closer. "Name?"

I cleared my throat, trying to maintain the air of nonchalance. "Ehm... Darian of Ereneth."

Hearing a loud scribbling noise from my right, I shifted my eyes, noticing that over in a corner, there was yet another young mage busily taking notes on a long scroll.

"Very well, Darian of Ereneth. Place your hand upon the artifact," the woman said, pointing at the unassuming crystal ball.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves as I slowly approached the pedestal. 'Red color, three seconds...' I hurriedly repeated in my head as if it was some sort of mantra.

Tentatively, I reached out and placed my sweating palm on the faintly glowing orb. The surface was smooth and flawless, cold to the touch, just as I recalled.

The sudden suction force that followed was also the same. However, this time, I was prepared. Closing my eyes, I focused, taking a tight hold of my essence and allowing only a tiny trickle of it to leave my body.

Feeling that I had things under control, I allowed myself a faint smile as I opened my eyes, carefully watching the changing colors on the shining orb.

When it turned red, I rapidly cut off my essence, resisting the crystal's tugging with everything I had.

Before long, the color had stabilized, and the young overseer proclaimed. "Significant Talent, you pass."

'Now, onto the second test...' I thought happily as I quickly joined the line of others who also passed the first Trial.