Nick definitely did not hear of anyone else being a student of Richter Order Academy when the introductions were being made. The other competitors were either from Raylam Priest Academy, an academy outside of London or had no affiliation with a magical school. Nick didn't think much of it at the time but his intuition was telling him that he should ask Carla about it later.

Vaughn Jenner spoke with an authoritative tone, announcing the winner of the first stage as well as having a display projected using magic for everyone to see the competitors' individual scores:

"The winner of the first stage is Nick Capitol after scoring a 45/50 during our assessment."

The people seated in the stands started whispering immediately:

"Nick Capitol. Who is that?"

"I think he was the one that Carla boasted so shamelessly about during the introductions."

"Look at what he is wearing, he is definitely a poor commoner."

"Does it matter if he is a commoner? He won the first stage regardless. To get such a high score means that he must have cast the spell that he was given. What spell was?"

"I saw him use a space path spell at the entrance earlier today. Maybe it was such a spell."

....

While her relatives talked, Carla smiled from ear to ear. While she expected Nick to do well, she did not expect him to get such a high score; honestly, she had been worried since Nick had finished examining his manual after only one hour but now she saw that he really did have potential.

(Nick wasn't lying when he said that his specialty was soul magic, so weird. He does not have an upbringing that would suggest that he had been taught about soul magic, did he really gain such attainment in it after one year at the academy?)

While Carla pondered, Nick sat in his seat and nodded his head in acceptance.

(I didn't know if I would get first place but my score is acceptable. Looking at that projection, the closest score to mine is 29/50 which means that probably no one else was able to successfully cast their spell.)

The other competitors took a look at the projection and nodded, some gritted their teeth and many looked over at Nick as he was lost in his thoughts. During all of this, Vaughn continued to speak:

"Now that the first stage is over, we will take a six hour break before the next stage which will be a test of each competitor's attack power by casting an attack spell on one of our magic power gauge devices. Of course magic tools can be used to enhance a competitor's power but the attack spell cannot originate from the magic tool."

Vaughn motioned and invigilator Wong brought out a floating orb that seemed to be made of some kind of silver liquid; the orb had various laws written all over it in Valteese. Vaughn snapped his fingers and the silhouette of a twenty meter tall dragon appeared within the arena, the dragon was purely made out of crimson flames. Many of the young persons close to Nick were terrified for a moment before realizing that it was probably one of Vaughn's spells.

The dragon looked at the liquid orb for a moment then dived at it, bathing it and a part of the surrounding in flames that did not seem to affect anything but the orb. After the flames cleared, a blue and white colored score could be seen hovering over the now silver glowing orb: '20/20'.

Vaughn nodded and spoke:

"The test is simply a measure of the power with which one can cast a certain level of spell, the highest being a rank 2 or advanced grade apprentice spell. All competitors are to return to the arena six hours from now. You are dismissed."

Nick got up from his seat and was about to go meet up with Carla when a young man came over to him, saying:

"Hey you, Nick Capitol, right? My name is Drew Gordon and I'm from Raylam Priest Academy. It's good to know that Richter Order Academy has at least one decent pupil among its ranks. Why don't we go and get some food and talk about the spells that we got from the Jenners' treasury."

Nick looked at the freckled redhead speaking to him and thought:

(Drew Gordon...oh, he was the guy that scored the 29/50 in the first stage. What was that comment about Richter Order Academy supposed to mean? Whatever, I don't really care, as for spending time with this guy, I'll pass, these prim and proper soy boys make me feel uncomfortable.)

"No thanks Drew but I appreciate the invitation. Maybe we will get the chance to have a meal when the tournament is over."

Drew's expression froze like someone had just paralyzed his facial nerves.

"You actually rejected my invitation?"

Nick replied with a weird tone:

"...Yes, I did. Is there a problem?"

Drew's face became scrunched in anger, he quickly stepped back by a few feet and he raised his right hand, gathering electricity in it, forming what seemed like a bolt and then bending his elbow as if he was about to throw out an attack.

Nick saw through Drew's intentions and did not hesitate to act:

(Soul Pressure.)

Drew's movements immediately froze and he stood a few feet away from Nick, stuck in place with blood flowing from his mouth, nose and ears.

"Why are so many of you people so stupid?"

Nick was angry but he knew that if he acted reckless here, he way well lose his opportunity to explore a realm later so he turned around and walked away from the frozen Drew. A few seconds later, Soul Pressure was released and the electricity in Drew's hand dissipated; as Drew wiped his orifices of blood, he stared at Nick's receding figure with hatred while the other competitors watched at the side with amused or indifferent expressions.

Nick walked to the section of the stands where he could speak with Carla and asked:

"Where to next, Carla?"

Carla smiled at the promising young man and said:

"We are going to go to my room to eat supper. Meet me at the ground floor hall and I'll take you there."

Nick nodded his head and then proceeded to walk towards and through the passageway to get to the hall at the entrance of the mansion. A few minutes later, Carla arrived with Alicia in tow.

"Alicia, I've got to go take care of my champion's needs so goodbye for now, I'll see you in the next six hours."

Alicia kept her eyes on Nick, staring with an ambivalent, curious expression and said:

"Okay, I will see you then."

Carla led Nick to the 1st floor by going up the staircase while Alicia went to speak with other relatives that arrived into the hall. Nick and Carla walked silently for a few minutes until they got to a section of the 1st floor that had multiple rooms residing there. Carla opened one door and motioned Nick to follow her inside.

When Nick entered the room, Carla locked the door behind him and Nick spent a few moments looking around. The room looked similar to those of five star hotels that he saw on television a few times. There was a king sized bed with clean, cream and white colored sheets, two sofas, a holographic television, a large bathroom and a glass table with four beautifully decorated chairs resting beside it. Nick said without thinking:

"Not bad."

Carla stared at Nick for a few moments then asked a question with a stern expression:

"Nick, answer me honestly. Who is the person that is mentoring you?"

Nick turned to Carla and looked at her weirdly, replying:

"What are you talking about, I don't have a mentor?"

Carla squinted her eyes and spoke:

"Hmph, that's nonsense. Do you think that I don't know your background? You are a poor boy from a less than normal family and have only been in the academy for a year but you seem to have some fairly decent spells and a very good comprehension of magic, maybe better than your peers. Only a fool would believe that you did not have some kind of backer teaching you behind the scenes."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Carla had hit the nail on the head, Nick had a backer in the form of Slade Terrence whose inheritance he had obtained along with the soul path attainment of Sahashi Miyamoto, a former Hero Magician who had given him the task of becoming the strongest Soul Magician but he could say none of that so Nick simply shrugged his shoulders and replied:

"I told you that I was a magic fanatic. It looks like you don't believe me."

Carla looked at Nick seriously for a few more seconds then burst into laughter.

"Ha, ha. Fine, don't tell me. I just wanted to know if I had to worry about some Magician coming to me later to account for using you during this little tournament."

Nick shook his head:

"I can assure you that no one gives a damn about me so you do not have to worry."

Carla's laughing became slightly awkward after hearing that and she stopped; after a minute or so of awkward silence she said:

"You should take a seat on one of those sofas, The food will be here in a few minutes. You can eat and then get some rest before the next stage or whatever else you'd like to do, Oh, what kind of spell are you planning to cast at the gauging device?"

Nick sat on one of the sofas and replied:

"I plan to use a space path spell on that weird device. I think I should get a fairly decent score with it, it is an intermediate apprentice grade spell."

Carla nodded.

"Do you mind showing it to me."

Nick's eyes widened.

"Do you want me to destroy this nice room of yours?"

Carla chuckled at Nick's concern.

"Don't worry, I can neutralize the attack of a rank 1 Magician fairly easily so you don't have to worry about doing too much damage."

Nick looked at Carla blankly for a moment and then got up from the sofa and said:

"Fine."

Nick took a firm stance with his feet apart and pointed his right index and middle finger at Carla who was five meters away from him and cast his spell.

(Rumbling Pillar.)

Nick's magic sea immediately decreased by 15,000 magical units and the ambient space around Carla started distorting violently and the room started to shake as if an earthquake was occurring. Carla stood in place with a slightly surprised expression.

"Wow, this is a pretty powerful spell but not good enough."

Carla lightly stretched out her right hand and moved it in a horizontal straight line and the space inside their room immediately stopped moving. Nick looked with wide opened eyes as the effects of his spell were cancelled out in front of his very eyes. He looked at Carla and said:

"Sigh, are you purposefully trying to diminish my motivation."

Carla shook her head.

"Most of the competitors here are seeds that members of this family plan to recruit and to gain the most benefits they would definitely have been taught powerful spells equivalent to advanced grade for the possibility of the next test being a part of the tournament. I know that it's a lot to ask but I would prefer if you let me lend you an advanced grade spell and learn in within the next few hours. I don't have any soul or space path spells but other paths should be enough to compete even if you do not have a high affinity with the spell."

Nick understood what Carla was saying as advanced grade spells were powerful because they required some preparation to cast and magic tools that enhanced the competitors' magic power were allowed so her concerns about Nick's ability to place high in this stage were valid but Nick also had his own concerns.

(I can only use, space, soul and rule magic. Assuming that she doesn't have a rule path spell, I cannot borrow a spell from her so I need to learn one that I have in one of my inheritances.)

Nick had avoided learning one of those spells because it was unnecessary for his current needs and they were complex while he had only seriously started using soul and space path spells a few weeks ago. Nick said to Carla:

"I have an advanced grade spell that I can use but I need time to get accustomed to it. Is it possible for you to leave the room while I prepare?"

Carla's right eyelid twitched. Nick did not even bother telling her what kind of spell it was but he wanted her to leave her own room to practice it but she relented because that was not necessarily an unreasonable request as most Magician's were secretive about their methods.

"The room is reinforced so even if you use the spell in here, you will not do much damage to the rest of the mansion. I will go deal with some business while you get things straight."

Carla opened the door to leave and spotted a servant bringing their meals so she took the meals from the servant and placed them on the glass table for Nick to have at them when he was ready and then left the room, closing the door behind her.

(I definitely would not have Carla watch me practise my magic, after all, I don't trust her.)

Slade asked curiously:

[What spell do you intend to use?]

Nick pondered for sometime, looking through his inheritances to find an acceptable one.

(Most of my advanced grade apprentice soul path spells have special requirements such as a living sacrifice(s) or alteration of my own soul but I simply don't meet those requirements.)

[Indeed, soul path is so powerful in combat because it has such high requirements for its Magicians]

Nick sighed.

(Then that leaves my space path inheritance. One spell has caught my attention and that is this "Cursed Domain". The description says that it is a powerful spell that can be used up to rank 6 but requires me to not only bleed every time I cast it but the domain will take on a form and power that is unpredictable and dependent on my own talents and nature. What the hell should I expect from that?)

[You received this accumulation of methods from a seemingly powerful rank 8 Magician so it is not surprising that he may have placed some strange methods within this so called inheritance. The best way to find out is to test the spell yourself.]

Nick nodded his head in agreement.

(You're right, but considering the requirements, I should memorize and practice writing the laws on paper before casting this spell. I think I can expect the backlash for failure to draw the laws properly within my mindscape to be nasty.)

[I agree. Also I want you to be wary of any description that involves the word 'cursed'. From where I come from, that usually suggests that demonic Magicians are involved and methods that we create can range from troublesome to down right pernicious. I don't want you to cast those kinds of spells freely going forward until your attainments in soul and space path increase but since you currently have a special need to use this spell, you'll have to take a risk.]

(Right.)

Nick found pages of loose paper and a pen within the room and spent over five hours memorizing and practicing the drawing of the symbols for the spell, he even forgot to eat the meals left on the glass table.

At some point, Carla walked through the door and Nick lifted his red, blood shot eyes to look at her. She spoke expectantly while looking at the young man hunched over a pile of papers with Valteesian symbols written on them:

"Are you ready, Nick? We have to return to the arena within the next ten minutes for when the 2nd stage begins."

Carla looked over at the cold plates of food that were still on the table where she had left it and and then at Nick who had chapped lips and an expression that screamed: 'Mental Exhaustion'.

"Did you seriously not rest the whole time that you were in here?"

Nick laughed bitterly;

"What's the saying, to be the best, you have to work overtime."

Carla stared at Nick blankly for a moment and then said:

"We have to go now."

Nick threw the papers that he had already written on into the nearby fireplace inside of the room and walked through the door before Carla. Carla looked the room over, surprised that there was no damage from practicing a spell and walked out after Nick. Looking at Nick's tired condition, Carla decided to remain quiet while they walked to the arena.

When they got there, Carla took her seat among her relatives while Nick joined the other competitors who eyed him as he walked among them. Some whispered about his clearly tired expression and hunched posture while others were just gossiping slander, saying that Nick was just a poor upstart looking for attention. Nick ignored them all.

Soon Vaughn and the four other previous judges appeared within a booth that loomed over the arena; invigilator Wong stood next to the silver orb that was to be used as a magic power gauge and waited for instructions. Vaughn stepped forward in the booth and spoke loudly:

"The competitors will cast their spell one by one on the gauging device while all of us observe so as to prevent any cheating. Wong, you may begin the 2nd stage."

Invigilator Wong nodded and spoke:

"I will allow you to compete in the order that you arrived here. Jerry Fowler, step forward and show us your power!"

A white young man with short, curly black hair walked within six feet of the device and entered a praying stance. Magic energy gathered madly towards him as everyone else looked on. The temperature soon decreased drastically and after ten minutes when a fair amount of frost started gathering on the ground, a spell was cast.

A rush of four streams of white snow appeared from four directions moving towards the silver orb and made contact, soon turning the orb into a block of clear jagged ice. The young man the clapped his hands twice and the block of ice shattered, the remnant snow on the ground clearing up.

The gauging device seemed relatively unharmed, the only change being that the laws on its surface were now glowing with a navy blue light. Numbers appeared above it displaying the supposed power of the attack: 11/20.

The young man tried to keep a stoic expression but the slight quake in his eyes revealed his disappointment at his own score. Invigilator Wong said:

"You've done well, step back for the other competitor."

The young man stepped back quickly and another young man took his place. Over the next two hours, Nick saw all kinds of magical attacks: steel pins oozing acid, a giant crab monster that was summoned to hit the orb, pink lightning that threatened to blind all of the apprentices present , water that transitioned to becoming lava and more.

(Wow, there all all sorts of spells that have been created, huh? I bet each one took their creators a long time to make. No wonder they are sold with such a high price tag.)

Nick was the last competitor to arrive so he was the last to be be called up to participate by invigilator Wong:

"Nick Capitol, do your best."

Nick stepped forward and asked Wong:

"Ummm...could I borrow a sharp pin or a knife please?"

Invigilator Wong scratched his head and took out a small blade that he had in his side pants pocket, not knowing why Nick wanted it.

(I should have asked Carla for a blade before I came here but I forgot.)

Nick ignored his tiredness and standing about eight feet from the silver orb, he cut his right palm with the blade. Feeling the sting from the wound, Nick scrunched his face in pain but persevered in dropping the knife and folding his right and left hands into each other. Nick spent the next twenty five minutes drawing the laws for Cursed Domain within his mindscape, they glowed with a light that changed from dull black to dull red and vice versa periodically. At the end of the twenty five minutes, the spell was ready and Nick finally cast it, ignoring his fatigue and hunger.

(Cursed Domain.)

Vaughn Jenner stood up on his feet the moment the spell was cast. The entire arena was bathed in a blackish void but everyone was still able to see. The surroundings were now filled with white humanoid bones and an old tattered building stood erect among the bones looming over the magic power gauge. Nick looked around in bewilderment as the blood that was still within his palms started to steam and dry up.

(What the hell is this situation?)

If the environment wasn't strange enough, there was actually a figure with ruby red eyes sitting on top of the tattered building looking down at the competitors and Wong menacingly and said:

"You fools actually dare to enter my shrine?"

The figure then focused his glare at Nick and said with clear malice:

"So it's you that brought me here, well now that you've done so, you and I will probably be seeing each other again very soon."

The figure looked at the silver orb with contempt then slid his blackish index finger down diagonally. The orb was immediately cut in half and the scene went back to how it was before Nick cast his spell. Nick stood on the spot in confusion, staring at the silver orb that was now a puddle of liquid on the ground as well as he paid attention to the magic sea within his mindscape.

(From 25,000 magical units, I now only have 100 magical units left!)

SILENCE

Abject silence reigned over the arena.