I did not have time to process those words. I barely had time to think. The rabbit had leaped at me the second the notification came out.

Even as I tried to dodge, I realized what was happening. The beast was too fast for me. The rabbit reached me almost before I could react, its claws stretching out to tear at my skin. But I did manage to react.

I slammed my fist into the rabbit’s body, its claws tearing into my fist even as I pushed it away. The rabbit was propelled back in the air, its red eyes glaring at me as it slammed onto the ground.

The fall barely even made it hesitate. In another second it was back onto me, looking like it had not even been injured.

I did what seemed like the smart thing to do. I ran away. At least, I tried to. The rabbit was too fast. Of course it was. I could barely react to its attacks, how had I thought I could run away? That had been a foolish decision.

A decision I was now paying for. The rabbit’s claws dug into my chest, its red eyes shining as it climbed my body, leaving bleeding wounds in its path.

I clutched the rabbit’s torso, somehow ignoring the pain as I tried to get it off my body. The rabbit would not let go. The thing held on as if its life depended on it, unwilling to let its claws leave my skin.

The pain grew worse as it stuck its claws deeper into my body, moving them around under my skin. In moments I was in enough pain to let out a scream and give up. I focused on getting it off me instead.

Of course, I did not succeed. The thing would not let go. The claws were already digging into my skin, and I could feel its paw pushing its way in. This was going to be a major wound. I could just feel it. Would I even survive it?

The wound was near the heart. There were important arteries and veins there. What were the chances the rabbit had avoided those? I let out a scream as I pulled at the rabbit even harder trying to stop it from digging any deeper.

To my surprise, it worked. The rabbit lost its footing and was thrown off my body. I held it away from the rest of my body as I huffed from the exertion. Or was it the weakness from all of that blood leaving my body?

The rabbit struggled in my grasp, shoving its legs this way and that as it tried to break itself free. I would not let it. Holding on was hard, but it would be worse if it was able to attack me again.

The rabbit growled at me, swinging its head towards my arm. I realized what it wanted to do too late. The teeth bit into my forearm, slicing through my skin with ease. I grabbed at its neck with my other arm, trying to choke it before it managed to injure me even more.

I did not succeed. The neck was like a pillar, too solid for me to even shake. Even as I tried to constrict it, I knew I would not be able to hurt the rabbit. The skin was too tough, I would not be able to pierce it in time. If I could even do it.

The pain was too great. The teeth were biting into my muscles, cutting through my veins. I didn't know how I was even holding on.

Had it already reached the bone?

I could see blood dripping out of my arm, passing through the rabbit’s mouth and then dropping onto the floor. That was my blood. The thing that was supposed to remain inside my body. And it was dripping out onto the floor like someone had left the tap open.

I watched as my vision grew blurry. The rabbit opened its mouth once more, its teeth removing themselves from my arm with a great shot of blood. And then they shot back in. The pain then was enough to make my mind go blank.

A fog filled my mind. I did not know what happened. I did not if I held on. But I did know that a notification appeared before me.

[Test 2 concluded]

[Aphra Eldanveir]

[FAIL]

I blinked. I looked at my body. The wounds had disappeared. So had the rabbit. What I had experienced might as well have been a dream. Just a blue notification remained, declaring the result.

A failure. What had I even failed? What was this test about?

The first one had been fine. The rabbit had attacked me, but it had not hurt me. I had just failed to defend myself. The second one…the second one had been painful. So painful that my heart was still beating fast at the thought of it.

More painful than anything I had experienced before. I could feel my hands shaking at the thought of those teeth sinking into it, the pain from them cutting into my muscles still fresh in my memory.

The spots where the rabbit’s claws had struck itched, as if my skin could not understand how it was still fine. A hand came to rest on my shoulder. I flinched, moving away as I turned around.

Elena was looking at me with a worried expression on her face. “Are you fine?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but it took more than a few moments for my voice to come. The air kept getting sucked into my lungs, as if my throat was afraid I would stop breathing otherwise.

A few moments passed as I just sat there, breathing heavily as I stared at the ground. The beating of my heart calmed slowly. So very slowly. I could still hear blood rushing to my head. A headache building even as I calmed down.

“Y-yes.” I stammered out. “I a- I am fine.”

The words came out forced, and with far too much effort. I was not fine. The experience had shaken me up far more than I had expected.

This was not fine.

I did not want to experience that again. That had been bad. I had almost died. I probably had died, only it had been an illusion. An illusion unlike Leif’s. The one Leif had done was the work of a child in comparison.

Or perhaps it wasn’t an illusion. Perhaps it had been real. Mana could have healed me, it had that power. Or someone else could have, whatever entity was in charge of these tests. I did not know.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Elena continued looking at me.

“How about we have some food? Weren’t you hungry?” she asked, concern clear in her voice.

I wanted to refuse. The reason we had been hurrying was still valid. The Eldnaveir could be following us at this very moment.

But I could not bring myself to do it.

The pounding in my brain would not let me concentrate. There was a weakness to my legs that made me wonder if I could even stand up.

Sitting down and having a meal sounded good right about now.

“Y-yes.” I answered, still stammering.

Elena looked at me with a sad look on her face. I reached out to the bag, my hands shaking even as I did so.

I ignored it. Elena ignored it. I pulled out the table cloth and Elena laid it out while I pulled out the food.

There was plenty of it.

A number of fruits I had not seen before. More than a few fried dishes that looked like they were different kinds of meat. Even bowls of ice cream that had somehow not melted.

The two of us ate in silence.

The shaking in my hand gradually calmed as I ate. The pounding in my head faded, though it still left a headache. Even my muscles relaxed, little by little. I could feel my body letting it’s tension pass, a dull ache appearing in my muscles instead.

Now I felt better, calmer.

A sigh propelled itself out of me as I put a spoon of ice cream in my mouth. This was the first one that went in without missing and getting a bit on my mouth.

I was eating like a child. But I did not have it in me to care about that at the moment.

The food tasted bad. The ice cream was bland. The meat was overcooked. The fruits were the only thing that tasted decent, and probably because they tasted like fruit.

I didn’t care about that either.

What I cared about were the tests. There were three of them.

The first had been easy.

The second had been painful.

What about the third?

What would the third do? Would it kill me? I could not help but think it as I looked down on my half eaten bowl of ice cream. The third test might kill me. The second test should have killed me, but I had ended up surviving.

But what if the third test wasn’t like that? What if I actually had to face the rabbit and survive? How would I do that?

I could not fight back as it was. I did not have the power. The rabbit was clearly magical. I did know how to cast a single spell. Now, even more than before, I needed that power.

I just didn't know how to get it.

“Co-come on.” I shoved out, getting up.

Elena just looked at me. The girl had finished her food far before me, who could not even properly put the food in his mouth.

I took a deep breath. “Come on, we should leave.”

Elena plucked up the table cloth and held it out to me. I put it back in the bag. The plates would not go in.

The Fae Queen’s restriction. The Monarch had not spoken to me in a while. I doubted she would.

Not one of those two would help me here. I was on my own.

Elena and I started walking, the silence stretching between us.

“So…” Elena began, but she did not continue. I figured that she could not find the words to do so.

“How much did you see?” I asked her.

“I saw the rabbit attack you.” she answered. “I saw you fight back.”

So she saw all of it.

“There was a barrier.” she continued. “I tried to help you, but I could not. The distance would not decrease even if I ran towards you.”

I shook my head. “That was probably an illusion. Or some form of space magic. I really can’t tell.”

A tremor ran through my hand at those words. “If it was an illusion, it was a very realistic one.”

Elena was looking at me sadly again. “I see.”

“Can you teach me magic?” I asked suddenly.

“I - I don’t know… I really don’t understand it myself.” she said hesitantly.

“Just tell me what you feel. How mana reacts to it. Please, I need it.” I pleaded with her. “There is another test and I - I don’t know what is going to happen in it.”

Elena looked at me. I looked back.

“Ok.” she said, taking a deep breath. “I will do what I can. What do you wanna know?”

“Just tell me how it feels to cast the spell. That should be enough.”

“I, um, I haven’t actually cast the spell yet.” she said.

Oh right, we hadn’t had the time.

“I’ll do it now.” she said before I could say anything. I felt mana collect around her, the force surrounding her.

As I watched, she faded from view. I could see a slight difference between her body and the surroundings, like a shimmer that denoted that she was moving. And because I knew where she was sitting, I could see her move. Doing that would have been much more difficult if I did not know she was there.

Elena became visible again a few seconds later.

“So, how did the mana feel?” I asked her.

“Mana felt…excited. Like it was very happy about something.” she said, looking at me with a puzzled expression on her face.

I looked at her, my brows furrowing..

“What about you? Did the spell make you remember anything? Perhaps it made you feel a particular emotion?” I asked her.

“Not that I remember.”

So that had not been helpful.

Not even one bit.

I groaned, tears collecting in my eyes as I realized how bad my situation was.

Was there really no way I could cast magic?

The System exists you know.

What?

System, show status.

Name

Aphra Eldanveir

Bloodline

[Bloodline Cutting Blade: 10% activated]

Elements

[Blade]

Elements (bloodline minor)

[Light: unawakened]

Rank

3

Story level

Unawakened