"Congratulations.", said the boy with the dog in a calm tone.

"Thank you.", she replied with a smile.

Contestant number two was a blonde, nerdy-looking boy. He had beautiful green eyes, and was dressed in very elegant white clothes.

"Could you tell me your name, lad?"

"My name is Brian, sir."

"I see. Nice to meet you, Brian. Could I ask you to cast a spell, please?"

"Yes. Right away, sir."

Brian extended his hand and opened his palm. Then...

Nothing.

For a moment, there was a tense silence in the arena.

"...is he casting a spell?", asked Nero.

"I'm not sure... I didn't notice anything changing..." said Elanee.

Indeed, nothing appeared to be going on.

"Would you rather point your spell at an object, lad?", asked Ser Eldrich.

"Ah. Yes, sir. Please."

"Very well."

The College officials brought a broom and brushed away the remnants of the broken pot, then placed another, identical pot on top of the wooden table next to Ser Eldrich.

Brian pointed his open palm at the new pot, and...

...still nothing.

"Hey, what's going on?", asked someone in the stands.

"Is he gonna cast a spell, or what?"

Nero was also wondering what was going on.

"Maybe he's just nervous?", asked Elanee.

"I guess it's possible...", said Nero.

That did seem to be the case indeed. Brian's hand was shaking and his face was locked in a very stiff expression.

He was also looking very pale.

"Oh, no! It looks like participant number two is clamping up! He's not casting anything!", said the announcer.

"Ha, the announcer guy is probably having a blast at his expense.", said Owen.

The dog boy seemed to be having fun, too. Nero, however, was somewhat worried. What if something like that were to happen to him? He was getting nervous, and would have to wait a bit longer until it was his turn.

But his turn would come eventually, ready or not, and that also made him very anxious.

"What spell are you trying to chant, lad?", asked Ser Eldrich.

"It's... it's a fireball spell, sir.", said Brian, lowering his hand immediately.

Ser Eldrich shook his head.

"That is a very advanced combat spell, lad. Why don't you try something easier, like lighting a candle?"

Almost immediately, a College official ran up to Ser Eldrich and handed him over a new candle.

"Here. Try lighting this candle without burning the wax."

"I-I'll try..."

Brian placed a finger next to the candle and...

Nothing.

"W-Wait, sir! Let me try to light a spark! I can light the candle if I get to..."

He snapped his fingers. Once, twice. Thrice.

Still nothing.

Ser Eldrich shook his head once more.

"I'm very sorry, lad. I'm afraid you have not passed the test. Please go back home. Thank you for your bravery."

"Ser Eldrich has stated his verdict! Participant number two, Brian, has flopped the test!"

Brian swallowed his tears and left the arena while the stands were booing at him, his face beet red with shame.

"Pfft. That idiot wouldn't have been accepted into the college even if he had gotten it right at the second chance. His options were gone when he failed the first time.", said Owen. His dog changed his position and rested his head and belly against the ground, letting out a long "I'm bored" sigh through its nose.

It really was an enormous beast. Its fur was abundant, and its face menacing at all times, though it was content to lay at his owner's feet and do little.

Nero tried to ignore it as much as he could as to not provoke him.

"Now, participant number three, if you please.", said ser Eldrich.

"Okay, that's me."

The tall boy got up, and so did his dog. They both walked up to ser Eldrich together.

"Tell me, lad. What is your name?"

"Let's hope this one is not useless!", someone shouted from the stands.

"Name's Owen.", he said, confidently.

"Nice to meet you, Owen. Is this your dog, perhaps?"

"He's not only my dog, ser Eldrich. He is my summoned familiar."

"WHAT!?"

...is what Nero wanted to shout.

The crowd was just as surprised; most people were murmuring and debating all sorts of things Nero couldn't hear from where he was sitting.

"It would seem this participant has already performed a summoning before being tested! Very brave of him!", commented the announcer.

"I see, I see. Very interesting. Tell me, could I ask you to tell your dog away, and then call him back using recall magic? That way I will know it is indeed a summoned familiar."

"Yes.", said Owen.

He patted his dog twice, and the beast trotted away into the forest that surrounded the testing grounds.

Then, Owen placed one hand forward, his palm open, and chanted:

"Maximus! Recall!"

A small blinking light appeared in front of Owen. After a few moments, it began to grow in size until it adopted the shape of the dog. When the shine died out, the canine figure was no other than his trusty white dog.

The crowd cheered.

"Very good, very good.", complimented Ser Eldrich.

"Thank you, sire."

"Well, since you can perform magic just fine, and you already proved the familiar is yours by calling it from the distance, I feel confident giving you... this test."

Ser Eldrich pulled a black box from his robes. It wasn't very big; perhaps the size of two palms placed one next to the other, and as tall as one palm.

"What would you have me do with the box, sir?", asked Owen.

"I want your dog to break open this box without harming the contents it holds inside."

An "oooooh...." could be heard from the stands.

"May I ask what's inside the box, sir?"

"Yes. A sheet of paper."

"I see. You heard him, Maximus. Open the box without ripping the paper inside!"

Ser Eldrich threw the box to the floor, and Maximus immediately fetched it.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He bit it really hard and began shaking his head, trying to rip apart the metal box, to no avail.

Then, he dropped it to the floor, and walked in circles around it for a few seconds, inspecting it in a manner not unlike Elanee had done with the pot.

"He's doing what you did... examining the object.", said Nero.

"He is, isn't it?", replied Elanee , amused.

Maximus pushed the box with his nose and turned it around. It sniffed here and there for a moment, and then...

FWIP!

Maximus slashed the box open with one of his paws.

It split into four pieces. Or rather, slices.

Owen knelt down and picked up the sheet of paper on the floor.

Unfortunately, the middle section of the paper had been half-ripped, causing it to bend backwards, though the document was still technically in one piece.

One had to accommodate the ripped portion back to normal with a finger and glue it, or place the paper on a hard, plain surface and could still read its contents, since it hadn't been separated entirely...

"What will ser Eldrich say?", asked Nero.

"I guess we'll find out now...", said Elanee.

Owen handed over the paper to the revered old man, who examined it carefully.

"Hmmm..."

"...is it no good, sir?", asked Owen.

"Tell me, lad. Do you know the contents of this paper?"

"No, sir. I didn't read it before handing it over to you."

"It's a paper signed by me. It reads: the bearer of this document gains instant admission into the Nycean College Of Mages without further testing, granted this paper is intact."

The stands roared. Some spectators were laughing; others were in plain disbelief.

"Ser Eldrich would make a student pass all admission tests just like that!?"

"It was obviously a harder test than we had all imagined."

"It's his own fault! His care for frail yet important elements was tested, and he failed."

Such were the comments one could hear from the wooden bench Nero was sitting on.

Owen waited nervously for the verdict.

"Well, since the paper is not intact, the document is no longer valid, now is it? I am afraid you will have to go back to the benches and wait to see if you are among the selected ones to pass these preliminary exams.", said ser Eldrich finally.

"And so, our revered ex Headmaster has pronounced himself! Participant number three, Owen, will return to the benches and wait, like Lady Elanee! The question will remain until the end, however: will he pass?"

"It depends on the other participants, probably.", Nero guessed to himself.

"Hm? How so?", asked Elanee.

"Think about it. If all remaining twenty nine participants, including myself, flop our tests exactly like number two did, then he would have a much higher, if not almost guaranteed, chance of being accepted into the College."

"Ah... when you put it like that, it does make sense.", she agreed.

This meant Owen would have to sit and watch all other participants be tested, knowing his own seat was at stake.

It was not an enviable position to be in; unlike Elanee, who had passed both her preliminary tests just fine, Owen would be conscious at all times that he had done good, but not perfect.

"You may now go back to the benches, lad. Number four, please step up."

Owen left the arena escorted by his dog, and returned to his seat next to Elanee in complete silence.

Maximus sat next to him and simply stared at the ground, as if ashamed of himself.

Nero and Elanee both dared not say a word to him.

----------------------------------------

"Contestant number five, please step up.", called ser Eldrich.

Number four had been tested in the minutes following Owen's exam, and had failed like Brian did.

Number five was a tall girl who sported a stylish, pink double buns hairstyle. She was dressed in a strange outfit that reminded Nero of a corset and a skirt, pantyhose and halfboots. Most of her clothes were purple, except for her leg piece, which was light brown.

To wrap up her attire, she was carrying a medium-sized linen bag with her.

She too, was very pretty, as evidenced by the roars from the stands.

"Looks like it's gonna be like this every time...", sighed Nero, resting his head against his palm.

"Hahaha..."

Elanee replied with a short laugh that told him nothing other than that she didn't want to comment on his remark.

"Good morning, lass. Would you please tell me your name?", asked ser Eldrich.

"My name is Silvia. People call me Silvy.", she replied with confidence.

"A pleasure to meet you. Would you care to show us your magic?"

"Of course."

Silvy then opened her linen bag, pulled out a small rag doll, and placed it on the floor.

"Hmm? That's a cute toy you have there.", commented ser Eldrich.

"Indeed! And she can do everything I tell her to. Like this!"

Silvy began her fingers in the air as if she was playing a weird melody on a piano, and right away the doll got up from the floor and started to walk.

There were no cloth strings attached to her; she was being controlled with arcana alone.

The stands began applauding loudly. Silvy was making the doll walk and dance in funny ways, like having her march like a soldier, or dance like a ballerina.

Ser Eldrich's eyes widened, amused. Even Nero couldn't help but smile at the little show she was putting up.

"Fantastic! Very interesting. Now, since you seem to be full of tricks..."

Ser Eldrich took a moment to think, then finished his sentence.

"...I want you to surprise me."

That was her test.

"To surprise ser Eldrich himself, huh...? How can she do it?", wondered Nero.

"I honestly don't know...", replied Elanee, thoughtfully. Owen said nothing.

Silvy opened her bag again.

"Hmm... let me see if I have something here that... oh!"

All of a sudden, several toys and other stuff fell to the ground; Silvy had made a clumsy mistake, and many of her tricks were now scattered on the floor.

She quickly scrambled to pick them all up. The red cart, the macho man doll, the mystery dice that had question marks on all of their faces...

Silvy managed to pick them all up, except a small, white marble that rolled its way to ser Eldrich's right foot before she could get to it.

"Don't worry lass, I'll pick it up for yo-"

WA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...!

Ser Eldrich jumped back in astonishment. The small marble had burst open the very moment ser Eldrich had touched it and a crazy jester made entirely of arcana had jumped out of it right into his face before vanishing into thin air.

"S-Ser Eldrich! Are you alright!?", asked the announcer.

"Oh, he's alright." said Silvy.

She pointed her finger at him, resting her other hand on her waist.

"He's just surprised."

Everyone, from the people on the stands, to the announcer, to the other candidates, stared at her in silence for an instant.

Then, all of a sudden, Nero felt like an earthquake was taking place right under his feet. The stands roared so loudly the ground itself was shaking to a palpable level.

Even ser Eldrich couldn't help but concede a hearty laugh.

"Excellent! Fascinating! You have done splendidly indeed! Very good; very, very good. You may go back to the wooden benches now."

Silvy then turned to the stands and offered a reverence, to which the crowd roared even more in response.

"Amazing! That was incredible!" said Nero, as Silvy walked by him.

He was so excited he had gotten up of his seat.

Silvy turned her head towards him, looked at the paper Nero had in his hand and gave him a challenging smile.

"Should you be so happy? You're up next, you know."

She then walked on towards her seat without looking back.

At that moment, ser Eldrich said the words.

"Now, then. Number six, please step up."

Nero's heart jumped so hard it made the previous tremor feel like a tickling.

It was his turn.

"Y-Yes, sir! Right away!"

Nero was also carrying a bag with himself, and hurried up the few steps onto the arena.

"Good day, sir Eldrich, and good day to you, mister assistant."

The assistant smiled and nodded back at him.

"Good day to you as well, lad. Please, tell us your name.", greeted ser Eldrich.

"Who cares!?", said someone in the stands.

"Yeah! Bring Silvy back!"

"Oh, wow! It seems the crowd is still craving for more of our previous contestant! But her turn is over, and now this humble boy is up!"

Nero gripped his bag and looked at the crowd nervously, gulping.

Was Gala somewhere among them? He couldn't find her anywhere.

"Don't pay attention to them, lad. You're talking with me.", said ser Eldrich.

"Y-Yes, sir. Then, to answer your question... my name is Nero."

"Nero. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise, master Eldrich."

"Then, please show me some of your magic."

"Yes, sir. If you... if you don't mind, I would need to paint a circle on the floor to carry out my spell."

The crowd grew quiet, as everyone started to pay more attention to the conversation.

"And what spell would that be?", asked ser Eldrich.

"I... I believe you will prefer the surprise, as evidenced by Silvy, sir.", replied Nero.

You could hear an "ooooh..." from the stands.

Ser Eldrich smiled.

"I see. Then, please carry out your preparations."

"Thank you."

Nero opened his bag and took out a few elements. The ink, the brush, the powder...

He then dipped the brush in the red ink and began painting a big circle around him.

"A circle...?", said someone in the crowd.

"Must be a summoning..."

"I don't get why he made such a big deal out of it, we see summonings almost every year."

"Maybe he'll call an odd familiar?"

"Do you think the boy will perform some sort of advanced summoning spell?"

"There are no advanced or elementary summoning spells, man. They're all the same spell, the result only varies depending on the arcane reserves of the invoker."

"No, yeah, I know that... but these runes look different somehow..."

Indeed, many people in the crowd were quite knowledgeable about magic and its rules. The most basic rule for summoning was that an invoker could not summon a familiar that had a higher arcane reserve than themselves.

If a summoner wanted to form a bond with a strong magic familiar, then they would need to study and cultivate their arcane reserves to surpass those of the desired familiar.

In essence, all summoners cast the same spell; their reserves dictating the limits of the creature they could call upon.

...on the other hand, should the summoner be a weak fifteen year old boy, like Nero was, then the familiar could not be expected to be anything stronger than a wild cat.

Not even a magical creature, just an average cat that had some arcana flowing through it, like any other living being.

It may sound absurd, but it had happened during one of these tests some thirty nine years ago, to the amusement of the crowd that witnessed it.

Owen's dog was, for those who knew about summoning, a rare exception. It looked like a rather strong beast relative to what you would expect from someone his age, which was about one year older than Nero's.

For the next minutes, Nero kept drawing in silence.

"Wait a minute..."

"So it's not a normal summoning circle, after all..."

"Is it even a summoning circle in the first place?"

"I mean, it looks like one, but..."

The crowd couldn't quite make up its mind.

Nero had begun drawing what was a initially a standard summoning circle, but then had added several other seals and inscriptions to it. He was using a lot of ink for it, too.

However, it didn't look like Nero had any doubts about what he was doing. Seeing it from the outside, it was impossible to know for sure, but the boy only stopped every now and then to check on his progress and didn't appear to be conflicted or worried at any given point.

It took him almost ten minutes to complete his drawing.

"Such a complicated circle..." commented the assistant.

"It is not unheard of.", replied ser Eldrich, who was nonetheless watching intently, "sometimes, summoners add details here and there to make a more specific summoning."

"But... this is far more than just a detail here or there, sir..."

"I know. We will have to wait and see."

Nero picked up the small pouch carrying the powder and sprinkled very specific areas of his red circle with it. He then painted a perfect five point star inside the circle, leaving him standing in the pentagon formed by the crossing lines of the star.

Then, Nero carefully stepped out of the circle, making sure not to touch the lines, and stood behind it, leaving the circle between him and ser Eldrich.

"...thank you for your patience, sir. I am now ready to perform the summoning.", said Nero at last.

"You heard him! This is the moment we have been patiently waiting for! It's time for Nero to show us his magic! He has just confirmed us he's about to perform no more and no less than a summoning by means of that complex circle!"

Ser Eldrich nodded.

"Whenever you're ready, lad."

"Yes."

Nero closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and made a sign with his hands before he started to chant.

Zarum sores levianta, aren sores trevianta, even nores holoanta...

Ser Eldrich frowned.

"What is he chanting, sir?", asked the assistant.

"I don't know."

"You don't know!?"

Ser Eldrich smiled, pensively grooming his beard.

"We will have to wait and see. The boy did say he would surprise us, after all."