Ray

Ray looked into the cave, trying to find out what was inside. The cave seemed to be full of glowing moss giving off an eerie, very creepy feel. Shaking his head at his predicament, Ray headed in, walking slowly so as to not disturb what was inside.

The cautiousness didn't last long. The moss was soft and wet. So wet, in fact, that Ray made splashing sounds when he stepped. The bloody thing was floating on the surface of a marsh! Ray gulped his disgust down, thinking of Anita, who was getting paler by the second, and stepped in.

The water grew deeper as he stepped into the cave, coming up to his knees as he walked through. The entrance disappeared as the cave curved, making Ray even more nervous.

The water level still kept rising, reaching up to his thighs as he walked through. Ray gulped, looking at the moss that looked like it would pierce his clothing any minute. Perhaps he should stop here and let it be, the Fae spirit said that there was no failing, right?

Yes, he could just try again rather than get caught- and of course, that was the moment a tiny insect stabbed its pincer into his foot. The Fae spirit must really love clichés. Ray yanked his foot up, or rather tried to. The foot seemed to be fixed in place, no longer responding to him.

"I hear Fae are tasty." the troll said, predictably appearing from behind a rock. "I have a little problem, you see. A few months ago, a strange moss penetrated our cave. At first, we thought nothing of it, strange plants come to the cave from time to time. But this time was different.

The moss brought with it water from unknown lands, followed by strange insects that numbed my clan mates. Just like the one that bit you. In an hour, you will lose sensation in your feet. In two, your torso. In three, you'll be dead. '' the troll said.

"Why do this?" Ray asked, already knowing the answer.

" I hear the Fae can synthesize cures at speeds far greater than anything my clan has come across. I want you to synthesize me a cure that can save my clan." the troll said, her voice deepening to level Ray hadn’t heard of before. "Or a poison that can kill the ants."

Ray shook his head. Didn't the Fae spirit say that he wouldn't take inspiration from children's tales?

"The third part of the second phase of your Trial has begun! In lieu of your disability, I can offer you information on the Alchemic process, provide you with certain basic formulas-" the Fae spirit began, giving Ray some hope. Alchemy was something he could do.

Ray observed the surroundings for abnormal mana, but couldn't find any abnormalities. Just a collection of blue, brown and violet mana from the surrounding.

"Are you even listening to me?" The Fae spirit asked, seeming quite furious that he wasn't getting any attention.

"No, I am looking for abnormalities in the mana." Ray replied, looking around. "Hmm, will the troll offer any herbs? Does she have any research on the poison"

"Not any more she doesn't." the Fae spirit said, fading into the recesses of Ray’s head.

Ray huffed, there was no need to increase the difficulty again! But whatever, he would just solve it without the troll's help. Ray observed his wound closely, trying to see what mana was contained within. Green, white and yellow stood out from the surroundings.

But what could Ray do about it? Hmm, what herbs would counteract all three? Green could be combated by yellow…which meant white was what was keeping the two from having an adverse reaction. Now, what did white stand for? Ray didn't know that… Well all it took to find out was cast white glitter.

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A tiny amount of white glitter merged with the water as Ray once again tried to identify what it was. An attempt that ended in failure. The white glitter didn't react. Shaking his head in puzzlement, Ray added it to the wound. To his shock, it did react there. The wound healed.

The white was healing glitter. Ok, he was officially dumb, White stood for healing, that was pretty obvious. Now, what could he do about the poison? Why did fire and water rely on healing mana to merge? The poison made no sense… Ray hadn't encountered anything like this before.

Wasn't the test supposed to be basic? Or was it that the test was basic to someone from the Fae continent, it was just that this type of thing wasn't common on the Human one? Alchemy was heavily dependent on the environment.

What should he do. Ray could feel himself panicking as no answers presented themselves. The mana poison was creeping up his leg, poisoning it so that it wouldn't react to him. The troll wasn't going to help anymore. Hmm, what countered healing mana? Void.

But Ray didn't have any Void mana lying around, nor did he have a way to get it. Hmm, shadow? Black was the opposite of white… Ray winged it, seeping the shadow mana into the wound, and watched as it just sat there. The poison also stopped creeping up, also sitting there.

Now Ray had two substances that he barely understood in his body. Well, at least his legs weren't- wait. Why were his legs no longer frozen? Ray moved them, watching as the poison moved position. The shadow did the same, the two collections of mana circling each other.

"Are you not going to react to them?" the Fae spirit asked in Ray's head, his voice impatient.

"No, why would I react two unknown substances in my head?" Ray answered.

"Are you telling me that you consider Mana an unknown substance? Don't you already have Fae sight? What do you think you're seeing? And using to cast?" the Fae spirit said, his puzzlement clear.

"I know it's mana! But I don't know the types well, and reacting two unknown types of mana like that could easily be deadly." Ray said.

"Oh, right. The reaction would kill a Human, not a Fae. And as for how to react them, just bring them closer together. " The Fae spirit said, fading away, his voice thoughtful. Ray paused. Well, that was easy. But also suspicious, the Fae spirit had said that the Trial would be harder, not easier. As he watched, the poison returned, the mana invading Ray again from a place he could not detect.

"The wizards of my tribe tried to neutralize the poison, but it kept coming back. The only way to stop it is to rid the water of the ants." the troll said, her body shriveling as Ray looked towards her. "The problem, is that this happens before any of us got close."

The troll kneeled as she stopped talking, her face shriveling as her body constricted. A few minutes later, a dry carcass was floating above the water as the water level rose slightly. Ray gulped as a horrible revelation struck him, the water around him…it was fluid left by dead trolls.

sc

The Fae spirit

Hir looked at the brat as he realized what he was standing in. A little emotion emerged from his juvenile brain, the primal urge to burn away such a disgusting concoction. But still no spark.

Perhaps it was because he'd already had access to the mana for so long, but Ray was proving to be one of the most unresponsive students Hir had guided. The average child could at least conjure basic magic this far into the Trial, but not this one. Ray had no problem with using magic itself, no, he just used Human methods to do it.

The issue lay in the fact that however versatile Human methods were, they weren’t able to channel Fae magic properly.

Hmm, perhaps he should make the Trial more challenging? But the Dragon-phoenix hadn't provoked much of a reaction. Hir wished he could just ban the kid from using his magic, it would make for a far easier Trial, but there was no such system available to him.

The only way to do it was to stop Fae magic from working properly in this area. Not hard for someone of his Tier, especially in a Fae stone, but it would destroy the purpose of a Trial.

Hir watched as Ray introduced shadow mana into the water, slowly contaminating the element. So clever and mature. The reaction alone would have had the kid nominated for an officer position back in the Fae Empire, but it hurt him now. The cautious and intelligent approach might have helped him before, but it was destroying his chances to unlock his magic now.

Well, desperate times called for desperate measures, and this wasn't even that desperate a measure! Ok, fine, it was a violation of basic rights and a crime under the Fae council. But Hir was a Fae of war, and what did Humans say about war? Hmm, something about fairness. Hir had forgotten.

Well, it was time to put that thesis in mental warfare to good use.