My eyes snapped open, and I lashed out with one hand, grabbing the arm hovering a few inches from my face. I squeezed hard, gathering my refilled mana and preparing to attack but stopping when I realized who was standing above me.

Releasing my grip, I straightened in the bed, hurriedly saying, "Sorry, Amelia. I did not mean to-"

"It's fine. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that, I guess." She remarked, briefly frowning and rubbing her forearm before sliding into a seat next to the bed.

"How are you feeling?" she continued after a moment of awkward silence.

Glad to have the distraction, I flexed my arms, moving them in circles and gently patting my chest. My body was mostly pain-free, and my core felt almost entirely full, which were all welcome improvements.

"Well enough, I suppose. It will be a few more days until I am in any condition to exert myself, but better than I was before. How did we do after my surrender?"

Shrugging, Amelia glanced at the door, replying, "Leon and I won one more, but our third fights were about the same as yours, too strong to defeat. Sophia got lucky and faced off against a pretty lackluster fourth-year in her last fight, so she managed three wins. All in all, a pretty good showing for first-years."

Nodding, I replied, "What about the results of the tournament? Have they announced them yet?"

Amelia smiled, saying, "Why did you think I came to find you?"

I went to push down my covers before stopping, feeling a blush come to my cheeks. I had forgotten that I was mostly nude underneath the sheets, too tired to get dressed before sleeping.

"I-um, I am sorry, but could you step outside for a few minutes? I need to get dressed." I explained, struggling to meet her eyes.

When I finally looked up, she gave me a devilish grin before nodding. After she slipped out of my room, I sighed before standing up, grabbing my clothes from the table nearby, and dressing. Checking the concealed pocket for the notes on Cortos' array, I nodded once before stepping out into the hall and joining Amelia.

Walking through the hallways, she glanced at me, asking, "So, any guesses how high we placed? You're our resident bookworm, and you've probably read every previous tournament for the past five centuries. How often do first-years win?"

Snorting, I shook my head, answering, "Very rarely. Elden and some other combat-oriented Archmagi manage it, but besides them, it is pretty rare for anyone younger than fourth-year to win it all. Oh, and I stuck to just the last hundred years. Even I have limits on how long I can sit and read in a dusty library."

"Dusty? Careful not to let Simon hear you complain about cleaning enchantments in this place. His family probably helped fix up half of them, and he might take offense." she joked in response.

"Speaking of Simon, how is he?" I asked, turning to her.

Lowering her eyes, Amelia took a few seconds to respond.

"He...he's fine. Mostly. They got his wounds patched up, but getting sliced open down to your ribcage isn't easy to bounce back from, even with magic. I wouldn't bring it up for a while. Let him come to you, you know?"

"Come to me? What makes you think I would be his first choice?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Snorting, she shook her head, replying, "For a smart guy, you're clueless a lot of the time."

Continuing on our way, we soon entered the main entrance hall, where a crowd of hundreds of students had gathered. I looked around, realizing that most of the Academy must be in here. It seems the results of the tournament had drawn quite the crowd.

Weaving our way through the crowd, we found the others near the middle of the hallway. As we approached, Sophia gave me a nod, and Leon smiled, but Simon barely glanced at me, staring at the ground with a blank stare on his face. I felt a stab of guilt, briefly considering ignoring Amelia's suggestion, but decided to hold my tongue. She was right, and I should let him come talk to me if, and when, he wanted.

Glancing around the room, I tried to count the other teams based upon who I could recognize. To my surprise, it looked like there were only a handful remaining, at most eleven others. Based upon my estimates, that was less than half of what had initially entered the tournament.

Noticing my examinations, Sophia leaned in close, whispering, "I heard one of the proctors talking. Apparently, there were time limits on the third challenge to keep it moving at a fast pace. If you went beyond it, your team automatically forfeited. I believe that is where many of the other teams failed."

Mentally, I thanked our good fortune that we had pressed forward rather than playing it safe in that trial. Or it might be smarter to thank our mystery benefactor, who was manipulating events for their own gain. Idly, I felt a stab of pain in my head, reaching up with a hand and rubbing my temples to lessen the pain.

As I was debating whether to return to my room and sleep after the ceremony, or head to the sanctum and begin working on plans for when Flynn came again, I felt something I had never sensed before.

All mages visualized mana and magic differently. Some thought that it said something about your personality. I personally envisioned mana as light, with the brighter the rays reflecting stronger mages.

An apprentice's mana was like candlelight, visible but only when looking directly at it and easily drowned out by brighter sources. Adepts could be considered a torch, casting far greater lights and much harder to notice. Masters were similar to bonfires, radiating for hundreds of feet and visible even in daylight.

What hovered above us was like the sun, blinding in its radiance and almost painful to even glance at. Although I could not yet see who was on top of the block, I knew there were only two people in the kingdom who had power like this, and only one who would likely be here.

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Lowering to only thirty feet above us, Archmagus Alexandria came into view, standing with her arms clasped loosely in front of her and smiling in something akin to pride. Her robes were a formal gray with subdued silver and black markings along their sleeves. Power continued radiating off her, and I wondered if this was her full strength or just the small amount she let slip through her mask.

"Good afternoon, my young apprentices! With the end of the fifth trial, I now call an end to our annual tournament. Let me be the first to say your performances today filled me with pride. Many believe that the Archmagi, such as myself, are the power behind Ferris, but I believe the truth is that all of you are the true source of our prosperity. Continue working, training, and studying, and I know you will help bring our kingdom into an age of unparalleled prosperity!"

Her words rang out with a powerful sincerity, and the crowd cheered, shaking the room with their cries. I felt a surge of pride rush along my spine and could not help but join in with a roar and a fierce smile.

Holding up a hand, Alexandria called for silence without a word, and the room fell quiet after only a second.

"During the trials, I observed and, with the help of several trusted masters, have scored each of you accordingly based upon your performances. This year, we will be offering prizes for the top ten performing teams, one for each member. I hope that with the aid of these rewards, you will all continue to strive for greater heights and maybe, someday, one of you will join me as one of the Archmagi."

Another cheer went up, though I did not join in this one, my surge of nervousness muting the sense of excitement that briefly ran through me. The Archmagus' words were meant to be encouraging, but it was the worst possible future I could imagine for me. And besides that, I realized after a moment that the strange emotions I felt were unnatural, likely induced by her potent mind magic.

So, she could influence crowds with just words and a subtle push of magic? I would need to redouble my efforts on resisting mental influence if that was the case. And if she could do that, I might have found the culprit for my unusually bold and direct actions during the tournament.

My head throbbed again, and I rubbed my forehead, dismissing the theory for now. It was not like I could do anything about it, trapped in a massive hallway with a few hundred apprentices crowding around me.

"With all that out of the way, let us start with tenth place. Please join me...Team Porrum!"

Brief flashes of light burst from the crowd, and reappearing on the floating platform were five apprentices. I did not recognize them, but their clothes marked them as third-years. Looking down with nervous glances, several appeared ready to vomit from the attention, but their leader, a gorgeous young woman, stepped forward, waving to the crowd with a fierce grin.

Smiling, Archmagi Alexandria spoke a few words to them, unheard by the crowd below, and they disappeared again.

"In ninth place, Team Willet!"

Again, a team was teleported up to join her, and just like before, she greeted them with a few quiet words. The ninth-place team was second-years, ones I briefly recognized as led by the son of an earl.

Eighth place went to a team of fourth-years, led by a lightning mage. He was quiet, staring down at the crowd through silver-rimmed glasses. Only the second lightning aspect I had found in the Academy, I wondered how well Sophia would fare against him in battle before dismissing the question.

"In seventh place, Team Estton!"

I felt the now-familiar squeeze of teleportation magic and found myself standing on the platform, just ten feet from an Archmagus. Moving with as much care as I could muster, I wrapped my mana core deep in a shroud, careful to keep it hidden. I doubted it would do much against her eyes, but there was no point in recklessness.

"Excellent work, young man. I very much enjoyed the trick with the mana crystals and the wall. I always did appreciate improvisation. Keep up the good work." she said, reaching out and shaking my hand with a smile before we disappeared again.

Finding myself alone at the top of a staircase, I sighed, feeling a slight trembling in my hands. Even though our meeting had lasted just seconds, my heart raced, and my legs felt weak. The fact that we had managed seventh place, a highly respectable achievement for first-years, did nothing to temper my nerves.

"Good morning, apprentice. I have been entrusted with bringing you to the vault, to select a prize for your efforts. Please, follow me." a voice said from behind me, and I turned to see a master standing several feet away. Without bothering to see if I was following, he started down the stairs, and I took a deep breath, pushing down my worries for now.

Walking down the massive spiraling staircase, we came to a vast cavernous space. Sweeping archways, carved with intricate golden runic symbols, supported the ceiling high above us. Dozens of doorways ten feet in height ran through the room, all of the free-standing and apparently not leading anywhere.

Stopping in front of one, the master laid a hand on its front, and after a moment, it swung open. Inside, to my shock, there was a large room filled with at least a hundred glass cases, all lit from inside with floating white balls of mana. Even from outside, I could almost feel the power radiating off of the items inside.

Gesturing with one hand, the master and I entered, and he turned to me, clearing his throat.

"You are allowed a single item from any of the cases of your choosing. Below each item is a short description of its abilities. Please let me know if you have any questions and take all the time that you need. After we finish up here, I have a small mountain of paperwork to sift through, and I could use the excuse." he said, with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

I chuckled, bowing my head once before walking to the first case and looking inside.

Floating in midair was a pair of black boots, with transparent wings visible at each ankle. The description below read, "Boots of Flight. Allows for constant, fully supported flight at no mana cost to the user, for up to eight hours. Requires a full twenty-four hour period after use to recharge."

Useful, but not worth wasting my prize. My natural speed and Flicker Step gave me enough mobility that I could at least survive if it ever came down to a fight.

Moving further down the aisle, I found a pair of bracers made of a bronze metallic substance that seemed to twist in the light. Despite the luminance above, they looked as if they were in a slight shadow.

"Night Bracers. Grants the ability to wrap yourself in shadows that persist even in light. Can be used for up to one hour a day, requiring twelve hours to recharge."

So, camouflage magic of some kind? It was potentially helpful if I were planning assassinations, but I might be able to accomplish the same effect with cheaper items. They were a better pick than the boots, but far from ideal.

The next item was a sword, covered in glowing red markings that I translated as "cut" and "flow," among other words.

"Sky-Cleaver Sword. The user may flow mana through the blade, releasing powerful slashing attacks from the edge at will. May withstand mana of density up to Peak Cloud rank."

Impressive. That blade would be excellent in battle and could serve me for years to come. But although I was a halfway decent swordsman, my preferred weapon remained a staff. Picking this would only force me into a single combat style, which was often less effective.

Moving through the various aisles, I found dozens of items, any of which could be useful. A cloak could generate shields, clothing that could morph and change shapes, and various talismans capable of replicating a dozen spells and effects. Many of them were decently valuable, but none were perfect, at least in my eyes.

Stopping in from of one case, near the far corner, I looked inside, finding a small spherical gemstone around an egg's size sitting on a plain brown cushion. Although it appeared translucent, I noticed that it glowed with an almost imperceptible gray sheen upon further inspection.

Glancing over at the card with its description, I read over twice, feeling a smile come across my face. Turning to the master, who watched me with a raised eyebrow, I indicated the case next to me.

"I will take this, sir."

"That one? Interesting. Are you sure?" he asked, walking over to me.

Looking back at the case, and thinking of all the possibilities opened up to me, I nodded, a broad smile again on my face.

"Completely."