When I returned to the spacious hallway, I couldn't help but overhear the excited chatter of my fellow Aspirants. 'Have they formed groups already?'

While I was busy contemplating my performance and wondering how I could further improve my essence control, the rest of our group seemed to have been busy bonding, and now I was the only one left out.

Not that I particularly cared about pretending to be friends with a bunch of unruly teenagers; just thinking about it brought back a bunch of unpleasant high school memories.

'Yeah, staying as far away from any youth drama as I possibly can will do wonders for my mental health. Besides, I don't even know how many of us will make it past the following Trials or whether or not we will actually share classes...'

Still, nobody even tried to talk to me for some strange reason. 'Am I that intimidating, or is my loner personality so obvious?'

The truth was probably a little bit of both. Yet, as I observed the scene with my keen senses, I quickly noticed that most of those engaging in conversations weren't doing it simply to pass the time but were, in fact, subtly trying to gleam any useful information from their fellow applicants that could help them in the upcoming test.

'Clever.' I snickered while sending a pulse of essence into my ears to better hear what they were discussing.

However, I quickly realized that it was mostly a waste of time. It seemed that everyone was as clueless about the nature of the Trials as I was, and most of what was said were only baseless rumors.

Yet, as I continued to listen in to the hushed conversations, I became quite surprised to learn that my Talent was apparently nothing special. Based on the boastful remarks of my fellow applicants, it looked like almost half of our remaining group had at least Significant Talent, several, even a Rare one.

Well, it kind of made sense - Ereneth was only a small provincial capital, but here in one of the top magical academies on the Continent, with the influx of talented Aspirants from all over, it was inevitable that my Talent would be nothing to write home about.

Granted, my real Talent was much, much higher - but nobody needed to know that. In fact, I was perfectly fine with being average; this way, nobody would keep an eye on me.

***

Soon, the final Aspirant completed his Trial, and the same young lady mage led us toward the location of our next test.

Yet, as I looked around, to my surprise, only four people from our group had failed, and they were promptly escorted out.

It looked like to make it past the measuring stage, all you had to do was show any sort of Talent, however small. And since all those who came in from abroad already knew they had one, that left only a few Labyrinth city youths who were never measured in the first place.

'I wonder how many will make it past the next test...' I thought while we walked, but I didn't have to wait long to find out as we quickly arrived at another chamber, this time a very spacious one with a particularly high ceiling.

As I looked around with barely contained curiosity, I noticed that this room was also bare of furniture; however, I immediately discovered the reason for it—an intricate magic circle was carved into the stone floor right in the middle, taking up most of the chamber's ample space.

'So huge...' I have never seen such a massive and elaborate magic circle before. Besides, it was so densely packed with symbols that my head was spinning just from looking at it.

The closest comparison would be the one my master Lily carved into the surface of the infusion vessel back in the basement of my former mansion. Yet, that one was tiny compared to this monstrosity. 'Hmm, how many essence gems does it take to power something like this?'

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But before I could ponder about it any longer, the cheerful young woman turned around, clapping her hands to get our attention. "Alright! It looks like everyone is here, so we can proceed to the second Trial..."

With everyone's attention on her, she pointed toward the faintly glowing magic circle with a wide smile. "For your next Trial, please step into the formation one at a time. Your task is simple—you'll be sent into an illusory realm, and you need to escape its confines before the time is up."

A wave of confused murmurs washed over the group as everyone struggled to comprehend what was expected of them, but before the situation could devolve into chaos, the overseer quickly interjected, raising her voice. "That's all I can tell you; you'll have to figure out the rest on your own."

She then clapped her hands again, ordering us into a line. At the same time, a giant hourglass manifested itself above the circle, and a steady stream of sand began pouring in.

"Your second Trial begins now! You have exactly one period to succeed in your task; good luck!"

With the clock already running, the whole group scrambled to get inside the circle, all their previous questions instantly forgotten. Still, I didn't rush in like the others; instead, I took a deep breath to calm myself while I thought about how to proceed.

First, I threw a quick glance at the elaborate hourglass. 'So I have about three hours... That could be a lot of time or too little, depending on what awaits me inside.'

Then, I curiously watched as the first applicant—a shy-looking girl—tentatively stepped inside the circle. The formation suddenly shone as it activated, and a strange haze filled the area within, blocking everyone's sight. It almost looked like it bent the space itself.

The entire phenomenon took only a second or so, and then it was gone as fast as it came, and the girl was gone with it. 'A teleport formation!'

The rest of the applicants quickly followed, and soon, it was my turn, as there were only a few people left. I hurriedly suppressed my amazement and forced myself to focus on the task at hand right as the overseer gestured for me to step into the ring.

I moved forward, albeit reluctantly, still not quite liking the feeling of not knowing what awaited me on the other side.

When I crossed the magic ring's boundary, there was a bright flash of light, followed by momentary dizziness, and then everything went white. I blinked, trying to see what was happening, but as my eyes slowly refocused, the scene that greeted me left me speechless. 'Where am I?'

I found myself standing in the middle of an enormous, elongated hall. Many towering pillars supported the high, arched ceiling, which reminded me of being inside a giant cathedral. However, this one was made entirely out of marble, and in the front, instead of an altar, there was a massive closed gate.

As my eyes continued to adjust to the dim light, I also noticed that between the huge pillars, there were shelves full of books. Thousands upon thousands of books stretched on for what seemed like forever, and I couldn't help but widen my eyes. 'It's a library!'

Flameless lanterns lined the walls, casting eerie shadows across the solemn aisles, and the smell of old paper and leather filled the air.

Turning around, I realized that I was standing in the very center of the solemn hall. The more I looked at the towering bookshelves stretching in all directions, the more convinced I was that this was no ordinary library but an intricate maze.

I decided to first check the large gate in front and the strange raised platform beside it. 'That must be the exit,' I thought.

But as soon as I made the first few steps, a stone tablet to my left that I previously didn't notice suddenly came to life, and several rows of faintly glowing text appeared on it.

In the hall where shadows sleep,

I lie in silence, secrets deep.

Among the tomes, I guard the door,

With tales of many myths and lore.

My spine bears a symbol bright,

Hidden from the mortal sight.

Find me, read, and you'll be free,

For I alone may reveal the key.

I furrowed my brows, trying to decipher the meaning behind those words. This had to be the clue I needed to solve in order to progress in this Trial. 'Oh, how I hate riddles!'

With no obvious organizing system I could discern, finding a single book in this enormous library seemed akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

So, the first thing I did was scan the entire space with my magic sense. 'Gotcha!'

I immediately detected a potent source of essence not too far from where I stood, coming from deep inside one of the narrow aisles to my right.

However, my previous elation was quickly thwarted when I detected several other sources of essence all over the place, and I couldn't help but sigh. 'It can never be so easy, can it?'