In front of a large oak tree on a pasture near Phoenix city, three teens were preparing to spar.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tommy asked. Natalie nodded, and then winked at Michael.

“I’m sticking this one out.” Michael took a step back.

“Afraid I’ll beat you to a pulp?”

Michael took a step forward.

“I suggest you brace yourselves.” Natalie lifted the stick she would use as a sword. “This is going to hurt.”

Annoyed, Michael approached her from the left. He would grab Natalie, gently slam her to the ground, and this farce would be over.

“I thought I said brace yourselves.” Natalie twisted her hips and struck Michael in the leg with her stick.

However, this was no normal twist and hit. Nothing about this was normal. Natalie turned so fast she left an afterimage and the stick hit so hard it took the legs out from under him.

The stick snapped and Michael rolled on the ground screaming: “Shit, f*k, piss, damn it!”

“You ok, honey?” Natalie kneeled to check on his condition.

Tommy came from behind but hesitated. ‘It’s just practice,’ he told himself and lowered his club.

“You should’ve taken the shot.” Natalie stepped backwards and punched him in the gut. Again, there was an afterimage. Again, it was impossible to react.

Tommy’s feet left the ground as if hit by a bull, and he flew several feet before dropping and gasping for air.

It took a good three minutes for the boys to recover. They stared at her as if she was a wild animal, as if she could eat them at a whim.

“Is this how you won?” asked Tommy. He stood up slowly, looking even more serious than normal.

“No,” Natalie shook her head. “That’s just a trick. The key is this.”

The girl took a deep breath for exactly five seconds. Like Mr. Griffin had taught them, she held it in for ten seconds and then released it for five.

The boys tilted their heads waiting for the actual explanation.

Natalie sighed: “Dumbasses.”

[In front of Phoenix Academy]

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Finn hugged Annie goodbye. “This is it.” he said while holding onto her shoulders. “Are you ready?”

The girl showed half a smile for she had no idea what awaited her; none of them did.

Nervous and excited, she took a deep breath. “I’ll do my best.”

As soon as she stepped through the academy’s gates, the city, Finn, and even the gates themselves vanished. She looked up and there was no castle. She looked forward and there was only fog.

“Is anyone here?” she shouted, but there wasn’t even an echo to respond. Fortunately, Annie saw a shadow hidden in the mist, so she ran towards it hoping she would find the examiner.

‘If it attacks, I run.’ She was confident in her speed, and Finn had always told her she could outrun anyone.

But, there was no opponent to be seen behind the mist, just a thick, tall, golem made out of stones. Although slightly hunched over, it was still taller than Michael.

“Who are you?” Annie approached.

Suddenly, the mist enveloped her. It rotated around her body in layers upon layers until the girl found herself trapped inside a round, smooth, semi-transparent, light blue ball.

“Magic exam, part one. Begin!”

The voice was unfamiliar, most likely the examiner. A clock appeared as if drawn on the ball showing a 30 minute countdown.

“What am I supposed to do?” Only silence answered her question. She touched the sphere, but it would not budge. She could not make it roll and she could not escape it.

‘I’m trapped.’

However, the sensation was weird. Annie could see her palm stopping on the blueish bubble, but she felt as if it went further than the barrier. She felt something viscous, tangible around her arms, yet there they stood, in midair in front her.

“Incredible.” Finally, she was experiencing real magic. She did not understand a damn thing, but she was captivated.

Annie moved her palm on the transparent bubble feeling opposition on her entire arm as if it was deep under water. She closed her fist trying to grab a chunk of the substance, but all that did was rub the bubble’s surface.

Nothing happened. Annie sighed and looked at the golem beyond her ball. ‘Wasn’t it taller?’

The golem was even more hunched over than before. Annie looked at its arms, and one of its fists was closed.

‘What if...’

With newfound determination and only twenty minutes remaining, she placed both hands on the bluish, semitransparent ball she was trapped in.

Annie tinkered within the imaginary sea, and the golem started to respond: first a finger, then a twitch of its rocky eyebrows. Annie dragged her arms across the surface of the ball, and the golem leaned slightly to the left.

“15 minutes remaining,” announced the unknown voice.

The clock was literally ticking, but progress was slow. There wasn’t a one-to-one reaction between Annie and the golem’s movements. If she moved her entire arm, the golem twitched a random finger.

‘This is wrong.’ Annie tried to understand the liquid around her arms. ‘Is this really water?’

She then remembered Natalie’s rings and how entranced she was by them. When she looked at her ring the same feeling returned. 'It's mana.'

Once again, Annie touched the bubble, feeling as though her hands were sinking. 'You're not just a pile of rocks.' There was mana stored inside the golem, and the bubble was somehow connected to it.

Annie was in awe. Instead of waving her hands through the sea of mana, she closed her eyes and tried to feel it instead.

“I love you,” she said as if to her mother. “Do you want to be my friend?”

Suddenly, the golem opened its eyes. There were five minutes left.

[Name: Annie Thompson.

Age: 15 years and two months old.

Race: Human.

Abilities:

- Writing and reading {Intermediate}

- Mathematics {Intermediate}

- Geography {Beginner}

- Theology {Advanced}

- History {Intermediate+}

- Knife fighting {Beginner}

- Blowdart {Advanced}

- Mana based body enhancement {Intermediate}

- Precognition {???}

- Crystal Magic {Beginner-}

Debuffs: ???

Comments: None]