Zantas orastram divinem eleseius...

The air was tense, and nobody was entirely sure what to expect at this point. Nero had drawn a very uncharacteristic circle and had been chanting in what the most talented summoners would have called gibberish for about three minutes straight.

Ser Eldrich watched him in silence.

Such long incantations usually meant a very important summoning was about to take place; the complex circle sustained this theory. Nothing indicated the boy would perform a summoning of a weak proportions.

Arum velitas eserem septidas...

...except for the fact that it was a fifteen year-old boy we were talking about.

No matter how you looked at it, it was physically impossible for a human his age to succeed in casting a spell of such magnitude.

Would he fail? Two contestants had already gone back home humiliated after failing to cast the easiest of spells.

The other participants, sitting on the benches, also watched in silence. After witnessing some amazing performances, they were half hoping something wild would happen, while also half predicting him to flop miserably.

Nero opened his eyes, knelt down and placed his palm on top of the line that drew the large circle within his complex labyrinth of ink.

"I SUMMON YOU...!", he shouted decisively.

The entire circle lit up in powerful, bright light that shot upwards.

"What!?"

"It's happened!"

"I can't believe it! It's really working...!"

The stands looked on in astonishment.

Suspended in the air, in front of Nero, right above the center of the star's inner pentagon, a speck of light started to shine.

The shine began to widen and open like a circular mouth; its inside appeared to be a dark violet and black sea of arcana that one could peek into, like a window.

"It's a portal! The boy has opened a portal to summon his familiar!", announced the assistant.

"But, a portal to where? That doesn't look like any place I know of."

The other participants could barely believe their eyes. Even that unfriendly-looking girl from before was staring at him in disbelief.

It was working...!

...but then, nothing else happened.

Nero gulped.

"C'mon... please...", he murmured.

"What... what is happening, ser Eldrich? Why is the familiar not appearing?", asked the assistant.

Ser Eldrich groomed his long beard again for a few seconds.

"This is not unheard of either, Manuel. In fact, nothing that has been going on for the past several minutes has been really unusual."

"What? How is that possible, sir? Even you said you didn't know what the boy was chanting."

"Well, I don't. But... so what? A chant can be performed in any language."

"What about the strange red ink instead of regular, black ink?"

"Red ink is cheaper to buy in this time of the year. Any ink will work, as long as it's sprinkled with the powder the lad provided for the summoning."

"But then, what about the circle itself? It's almost as if we were looking at a seal more than a summoning circle!"

"There are several possible reasons, Manuel. The boy may not know how to simplify his circles, and might have wanted to make absolutely sure it would work by placing several checks and conditions. This is an important test, after all."

"I see. That makes sense. However, there's still the elephant in the room you haven't addressed..."

"You mean the fact that no familiar has appeared so far."

"Yes. Why is the familiar not showing up, if everything has been made in a normal manner?"

"It's because it's deciding...", someone said in an upset tone.

Everyone turned to the person who had said those words.

Owen.

"Come again, lad?", asked ser Eldrich, though it was more than evident he had heard him.

"The familiar-to-be is deciding whether to accept or refuse that guy's offer to form an invoker-invoked bond."

"Very well said, Owen. Though, I would appreciate it if you were to call your peer by his name.", replied ser Eldrich.

Owen said nothing in reply. He seemed to be in a bad mood.

Nero was pulling off quite an interesting summoning, regardless of what ser Eldrich had said, and that was bad for him and his chances.

"...so, the familiar is unsure whether to accept or deny the summoning?", asked a woman in the crowd.

"That's another flop, right there.", said someone else.

The portal began to close.

"No... no! Damn it!", Nero couldn't believe his eyes.

He had done everything right! He hadn't made a single mistake!

"The... the portal is closing, ser Eldrich.", said the assistant.

"I can see that."

"What will you do if the portal closes and no familiar appears?"

Ser Eldrich didn't answer.

The portal kept shrinking; it was now the size of a big sports ball.

All of his efforts, all of his hard work, were vanishing right in front of Nero's eyes.

"You have to... you have to!", Nero insisted.

"Hey... what's the boy doing?"

"He's desperately trying to convince the familiar to accept the summoning..."

"Can the familiar even hear him? What is it, anyway? Some weird monster?"

"Well, it looks like we'll never know."

The portal had now shrunk to the size of a circle drawn by joining one's thumb and index finger.

No! No, it couldn't end like this! Not after coming this far!

"You... you have to accept my summoning! I MAY NEVER HAVE A CHANCE TO BECOME A MAGE LIKE THIS AGAIN...!", shouted Nero.

There was laughing on both the stands and the wooden benches.

"What a lame attempt at persuading the familiar."

"Really, perhaps he should have been a little less arrogant. A circle like that would have never worked in the first pla-"

A blinding white light suddenly began to shine from the portal. It was so powerful that everyone, including Nero himself, had to cover their eyes with their hands to avoid hurting their eyes.

From what little one could see, the portal appeared to be re-opening and turning into a shining sphere. From within the sphere, several limbs made of light began to emerge. To the left and right, a pair of arms. Below, a pair of legs. Above, a head.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Then, shoulder-long hair, also made of light, began to take form from the head. Last, but not least, the human-shaped figure began to develop what looked to be clothing. A coat, gloves, boots, pants, and a top hat. And then...

A beam of light shot straight from the familiar into Nero's left wrist.

"GAAAH...!"

It burned so much Nero couldn't help but cry in pain.

"What the hell is happening...!?"

"I have never seen a summoning like this! What's going on!?"

Nero wouldn't stop screaming. The pain was threatening to make him lose consciousness.

Meanwhile, the summoning circle that hadn't stopped shining from the start was now evaporating and joining the familiar of light.

"Ser Eldrich! Shouldn't we stop this!?"

"No. We might injure the boy, or even ourselves, if we interfere."

"But this is terrible! The boy looks like he's about to suffer a decompensation!"

"It was his choice, Manuel. I did not force him to perform this most unique spell."

Some mothers watched in horror as they covered their children's eyes or ears.

Nero was kneeling and writhing in pain. His eyes were tearing up involuntarily, and he was grabbing onto his wrist as if his left hand had been suddenly cut off by a blade.

Then, it stopped.

The agony, the screams, the shining.

All of it came to a sudden halt.

Nero, still kneeling, was panting and sweating.

Trying not to lose his balance, he stood up as best he could and raised his head.

There was now a fourth individual on the arena. Someone who wasn't there when the test had begun, and had materialized as a consequence of his spell.

It was the fruit of his labor, the spell he was required to cast in order to pass the first and most basic of the preliminary exams.

It was his familiar.

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

In front of Nero, exactly where the five point star pentagon used to be, stood a very tall man dressed in a most unique outfit.

His black coat was only waist long on the front, but its back extended and went on past his hamstrings, finishing in many pointy white ends delineated in red. His leg piece consisted of black pants with a few leather belts who crossed it, some firmly, some others loosely, and his black halfboots were not very different from Nero's, though they looked to be far more expensive and of much higher quality.

He also wore a pair of black gloves that accepted the coat's long sleeves into them, not allowing the viewers to see even a speck of his skin.

The coat's collar was rather open, extending upwards in white and opening up like a flower, covering his nape.

To complete his attire, a black top hat crowned his head above a face that was completely covered by a shiny, metal mask. A black line between the mask and the hat took place where his eyes would have been, where one could only see a pair of glowing yellow lights.

His attire hid his identity entirely.

It was an exquisitely elegant outfit, and the man himself appeared to have a very tight, slender figure, evoking thoughts about how he would look behind all that clothing.

The very last thing to mention was the cane he carried in his left hand. It was well over a meter long, and its handle was ornate.

That was him. That was his familiar.

Ser Eldrich groomed his beard for a moment.

"Well, I'll be... you cast your spell correctly, and your familiar accepted! Well done, boy. Very well done."

"Thank you... master Eldrich.", panted Nero.

However, no one was celebrating this time.

The crowd was murmuring among itself, and the other participants were flat-out stumped.

A few parents looked like they were about to get up and leave with their children.

"Now that you have cast a spell... I wonder what test I should give your most interesting familiar. Let's see..."

So, he was going to test his familiar and not Nero himself, just like he had done with Owen and Maximus...

What a relief. As things were, Nero was barely able to stand.

"How about I have a conversation with your familiar, first?"

"Yes... go right ahead, master Eldrich. He should be able to speak just fine.", said Nero.

Ser Eldrich walked a few steps towards the tall man and had to look up to him to address him.

"Good day to you. My name is Eldrich. People around here call me either ser Eldrich, or master Eldrich, though I'm little more than an old man now. Could you tell me your name, please?"

For the first time ever since appearing, the familiar moved. He lowered his head and stared at ser Eldrich right in the eye.

"Sharmon.", he replied.

His voice was harmonious, but his tone sounded rather hostile.

He also had a slight, unidentifiable accent, though his modulation was excellent and his words perfectly understandable.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, lad."

Sharmon accommodated his cane into his belt on his left hip and crossed his arms.

"Whatever it is that you want, say it quickly."

He did not share the pleasure, apparently, but ser Eldrich had a good, honest laugh.

"Hah! You seem to have quite the temper."

"I have much to discuss with the brat standing behind me, and you are wasting my time."

That had been the first time Sharmon had acknowledged Nero's presence whatsoever, and had called him a brat in front of everyone.

"I see, I see. Allow me to ask you, Sharmon: what kind of abilities do you posses?", asked ser Eldrich.

"I am a sorcerer.", he declared.

"Oh, how very interesting! Tell me, what kind of spells can you cast?"

Sharmon stared at him in silence.

"Is something the matter, lad?", asked ser Eldrich.

Sharmon, arms crossed still, raised his index and conjured a single, small shiny dot.

"Oh! What a beautiful, concentrated sphere of light."

"I know you are not impressed by this simple spell, old man. You are a mage yourself, are you not?", replied Sharmon.

Ser Eldrich laughed.

"Then, may I put you to the test right now?"

"Do as you must."

Nero was listening attentively. Finally, the test was about to begin... what would it be?

"Then, Manuel, if you could please bring me the game..."

"Yes, sir. Right away."

The assistant almost ran to one of the wooden tables where the College officials were watching and brought back a board game. While he was setting it up, ser Eldrich asked Sharmon a few more questions.

"Tell me, young one. Do you know how to play chess?"

"I do."

"Excellent! Your test will be simple. You have to defeat me in a standard chess game. There are a few conditions, however. You may only move the pieces with arcana. No touching allowed for any of us. Surely, a sorcerer like you can do this without a problem?"

"Do not provoke me, old man.", he said, the yellow gleam behind the mask squinting.

"Also, if any of your pieces touches the ground, you will immediately lose. These terms apply to me as well. Do you agree?", ser Eldrich continued, dismissing Sharmon's threatening tone entirely.

"Fine."

Manuel set up the game and placed the board on top of a wooden table that was the exact same size as the board itself.

"Wait a moment. There is no room for those pieces outside the board!", said someone in the crowd.

Finally, the observers were beginning to understand the test.

"If a single piece, even if it's a pawn, is knocked out of the board, you instantly lose!"

Ser Eldrich smiled.

"Then, let the game begin! I'm taking the white pieces and... here I go."

One of ser Eldrich's pawns advanced two places without him moving even a finger.

Sharmon, arms ever crossed, raised again his right index and moved one of his black pawns forward as well.

For a few seconds, the game developed in silence.

Then, it happened. Sharmon attacked a white pawn with one of his black knights, and tackled it out of the board.

Since the board was exactly the same size as the wooden table it was placed upon, the pawn immediately began falling to the ground.

...but stopped in mid-air!

"Huh...?"

"Ser Eldrich cast a spell that kept the pawn floating indefinitely! It prevented him from losing!", said one of the participants that was yet to be tested.

"So, the chess game is not the real test, but instead it's the awkward conditions regarding the taken pieces...", said Silvy, crossing her arms and touching her chin with her index.

"That's right... as the game progresses, more and more pieces will be taken, and both ser Eldrich and Sharmon will be accumulating pieces they'll have to keep track of and prevent from touching the floor at all times...", added Elanee.

The unfriendly-looking girl in red stared at the match in silence, much like Owen did.

It was a test of magical focus, control, precision... one could accurately say Sharmon was being placed under several tests at the same time.

Then, he lost a bishop, and...

Predictably, it also stopped mid-air.

Indeed, Sharmon could perform the same trick ser Eldrich had done.

As the match progressed, more and more pieces were taken, and the chess game began nearing its climax. Both players had few pieces left, and the very first condition, winning the chess game, was becoming relevant again.

"In the event Sharmon is able to avoid having any pieces touch the floor, it would still require him to keep track of them, so coming up with a good chess strategy while all of this is happening is kinda..."

Silvy was having trouble turning her thoughts into exact words.

"So, basically, both of them have to use a set amount of arcana and concentration to keep track of the pieces, and use whatever focus they can spare to win the match. You are at a disadvantage if keeping track of the pieces proves too much of a challenge for you.", completed Elanee.

"Yes! Exactly.", said Silvy.

But that was not all.

Suddenly, all of the remaining pieces on the board began to tremble.

"Wait, what is going on now...?

"What is happening to the pieces?"

The crowd was confused, but ser Eldrich was smiling devilishly.

Sharmon said nothing, and paid attention to no one else.

Nero could only watch, his heart beating loudly. He had no choice, since he had already been tested, and it was now Sharmon's turn.

From where he was standing, Nero was simply a helpless spectator whose magic career hanged in the balance.

"Ser Eldrich is trying to force Sharmon's active pieces to move and fall off the board.", said Owen finally.

"Huh? What?", asked Silvy.

"...the rules state that any pieces touching the ground would translate into a defeat, not just the taken ones. Ser Eldrich is trying to push off Sharmon's pieces with arcana, and so he has to counter him, further straining his focus and his reserves.", said Elanee.

Indeed, Nero was forced to watch his only opportunity, his one chance of becoming a student of the College, literally shake to the point it threatened to fall and shatter to pieces.

The crowd could barely believe what they were seeing. Time after time, the test was proving to have more and more layers of complexity to it.

"So... the man has to win the game of chess while keeping track of the pieces he lost so they don't fall, while also stopping ser Eldrich's arcana from pushing his pieces of the board..!?", asked someone in the wooden benches.

"Yes...", said Elanee, though the audience couldn't really hear her.

"...doesn't that include the pieces Sharmon moves?", asked Silvy.

"Yes. It's very likely that every time Sharmon moves a piece, he has to do so against ser Eldrich's efforts to throw that specific piece off the board more than any other."

"Well, well. I wanted to hide the fact that this was a multi-layered test, but it seems my little tricks can't escape the eyes of our participants...", commented ser Eldrich with a grin, "this year's candidates are truly promising."

The fact that he could talk so casually while doing so much to try and ruin Sharmon's game was incredible.

"Hmm..."

Whatever Sharmon was thinking, he was keeping it all to himself.

Nero wasn't offering him any words of encouragement. No matter how much he would have liked to, he didn't want to risk breaking his concentration.

Sharmon moved a pawn forward. It was very close to reaching the opposite side of the board and crowning itself.

"Oh, no you won't! Let's see how you respond to this..."

Ser Eldrich placed his remaining bishop in a very aggressive, yet effective position.

"Check!"

At that very instant, one of ser Eldrich's floating pawns suddenly hit the floor and broke in two.

"What...!?", asked Manuel.

"Wait... how did this happen!?", asked Silvy.

Everyone was confused, but the evidence didn't lie.

A white pawn had hit the ground and broken in two pieces.

A quiet chuckle could be heard from the opposite side of the table.

"It is over, old man. You have lost.", sentenced Sharmon.