Shocking Competition

After our snack and a bit of lighthearted chatter, the time has come for the practical exam to begin.

We go outside and, surely enough, the suit of armor is waiting to take us to the 'Range' that Red-Eye spoke of earlier.

Without a word, it takes us to our destination.

We arrive at a spacious field. Glittering lines run all around it, used as a demarcation for the various points. There are a number of targets, dummies and pillars that seem completely new and untouched.

There is a line that runs across an entire side of the field, and a large crowd has already formed behind that line.

Like the assembly hall, the field is gigantic. It is square-shaped, and there are lines running along each of the four sides. The arriving students will gather behind those four lines, and the exam will begin from there.

Before long, all of the students have arrived. That is when, at center field, Red-Eye appears in his casual-looking suit.

...

"Listen up!" Sir Thornwel emitted his voice throughout the field, grabbing everyone's attention.

"This will be very simple. From each side of the field, thirty of you will come forward and demonstrate. My puppets will join you, and will provide you with whatever you need to best showcase your skill. You have one minute each to perform your most advanced spell, illusion, or anything else related to casting."

"Those of you that will be crafting or brewing, the utensils will be provided as well. Are there any questions?"

Arthur, Cake and Rachel as standing among hundreds of other students. Closest to them are Ferdinand and his lackeys, the cloaked person with purple hair, and Silver.

It was that cloaked individual that had raised their hand, exposing the smooth cream-colored skin of their arm.

A suit of armor approached them, providing the enchantment for them to ask a question.

"Can living things be provided for the sake of the exam as well?" A young woman's voice was heard, and Rachel nodded.

Sir Thornwel nods, "Yes, indeed. As I said, anything you need will be provided."

Following that, there were no other questions.

Sir Thornwel was about to indicate the commencement of the exam, but someone suddenly appeared at his right hand side. Looking closely, it was possible to make out that it was a young girl with long raven-black hair.

You might have guessed: Rachel.

"Hey, Red-Eye."

The crowd started murmuring, growing unsettled after seeing this girl appear. She was disrupting their exam, and they were not all that happy.

"What is it, Rachel Vahn?"

"Let me make this a bit easier for you." Rachel folded her arms behind her back and stared condescendingly at Sir Thornwel.

"What's that?" Sir Thornwel feigned annoyance, though he was interested to hear what she had to say.

"You claimed that there were students here that could be considered my competition. I will see for myself."

Sir Thornwel frowned but agreed to it. He was the only administrative person present in the College, and the proceedings were entirely up to him.

Ever since he encountered Rachel, she had bamboozled him and hurt his brain. He simply could not get a good grasp of her. Now she was suggesting something far too enticing for him, who wanted nothing more than to see what she was capable of.

"What did you have in mind?"

Rachel smirked, then raised her hand. A glowing symbol was in it, constantly revolving while releasing thick mana. Sir Thornwel looked at it once, but had to do a double take.

"One of the Sirius Wards? That magic was created eons ago! How do you know it?"

Rachel did not answer, but instead said, "I'll use this to judge the feisty ones. That should get rid of the majority, then you can deal with the potion makers and such after."

Sir Thornwel was still focused on the ward in Rachel's hand, so he just absentmindedly nodded.

Rachel enchanted her voice and stepped forward, glancing at each of the four groups.

"My name is Rachel Vahn, and I am the greatest among you."

After that, there was a full uproar that shoom the field and split the clouds in the sky.

"Our Examiner has overestimated you all by saying you could be considered my competition. So, I will be judging you personally."

Discontent, dissatisfaction, rage, hatred- all of these emotions and more overcame most of the students.

Hundreds of them were already rushing forward with intent to pummel and, of course, Ferdinand was in that group.

They were all hell-bent on making Rachel regret saying those words.

"You can all come as you please."

By now, almost 1200 students were surrounding Rachel on all sides. Sir Thornwel had teleported away in order to make room, but also because he wanted a better view.

He reappeared in the sky with his chair, overlooking everything.

Rachel faced the students around her with an easygoing expression, folding her arms across her chest.

"Let me get this straight," a heavily clothed young man stepped forward, walking barefoot on the grass.

"We treat you the same way we would treat one of those dummies?"

Rachel nodded.

The young man guffawed and took off his coat, revealing his robe under which were his vest and pants. His hair was short, almost bald, and his eyes shone with bright blue light.

"Xander Dreks!"

After stating his name, Xander put both hands in front of him and prepared his spell.

"You better floor her, Dreks!"

"Yeah! 'Greatest' my ass! That's bullshit!"

Xander starting chanting, and Rachel rolled her eyes. When he was finished, his mana surged and caused the air to flow unnaturally. Before long, a sphere of wind had formed on his hand that was continually compressing into a smaller and smaller shape.

Rachel watched and waited, then he threw it toward her. By that time, the sphere of swirling wind was constantly altering the course of the breeze as it whizzed by. A number of the examinees' clothes were blown this way and that as it passed by them.

Rachel opened her palm and activated the Sirius Ward, then a barrier appeared before her. It resembled a fractured mirror of multiple colors, but despite the cracks in it it appeared incomparably solid.

The wind sphere hit it and immediately dispersed, shocking a large number of the onlooker.

Xander himself was dumbfounded.

"Was this what you were trying to do?"

Rachel shut down the ward and then cast a spell, saying the incantation in her mind. Now only did she think the incantation, she also shortened it significantly. Even though it was the same spell, it was cast much faster.

To top it off, she had a much deeper understanding of the 'ingredients' being put into the spell.

"Unbelievable!"

"No chant? Did she say the incantation in her mind?"

If Xander was dumbfounded before, then now he was beaten into total submission mentally.

Rachel held a sphere in her hand that threatened to cause a catastrophic whirlwind, making the students feel like they were being pulling into the air.

She cancelled it soon after.

After that, the large number of students there to oppose her were having second thoughts.

However, that was not true for all of them.

The purple-haired young woman approached, removing her cloak. Her big brown eyes narrowed when faced with Rachel and a strange expression appeared on her smooth face.

"You will have to take the place of my living subject."

In a single motion, she removed her cloak and tossed it to the floor. Her hand had already taken a few of the needles on her belt, which she worse over leather leggings and a black cloth top.

"Morgan Cryne."

Rachel nodded and stared intently at her new challenger. Morgan gripped the needles in her hand and began tethering them to her hands via mana. Rachel had long since enchanted her sight in order to observe the flow of Morgan's mana; she had guessed what kind of magic Morgan would use.

"Puppet Creation!" Morgan tossed the needles, with a very simple incantation, immediately alerting Rachel to her skill.

Rachel summoned the ward and watched as the needles stuck into it, but could go no further.

However, Morgan had been expecting this.

"Puppet Possession!"

Her mana flowed from her hands to the needles through the connection she had made. The needles glowed with bright blue mana while remaining stuck on the ward, and Rachel gasped.

The needles were attempting to turn the ward itself into a puppet. If Morgan succeeded, then she would be able to render the ward completely useless to Rachel.

Rachel hurriedly deactivated the ward, and the needles starting fall to the ground. She reached to grab them, but Morgan twisted her hand and pulled them back to her.

That initiated the end of her assessment. Rachel was disappointed. She had underestimated Morgan, and essentially lost. She could not truly retaliate, since she was filling the roll of the target dummy.

She had to bite her lip and leave things as they were, accepting her technical loss.

"Unique Puppet Magic, is it?" Sir Thornwel had been monitoring things closely, and was able to see under the surface.

He saw how Morgan's mana was building uo within the ward, and understood why Rachel had to shut it down. "Truly fearful."