Magiones Island, around six months ago. That was the day it happened, the event that would mark the beginning of the changes seem in our generation of mages. Every year, mages from all around the world gather in order to attend the grand contest, Delfeu’s Sorcery Games, more coloquially known just as “The Sorcery Games” — held in an island built in the last century by heroic mages that left their mark in history, left behind a legacy, no matter how small. The contests were divided into two major tournaments: one between mage schools, the other between academies.

But that year, something unprecedented happened. I remember watching the matches at home. I watched the games alongside my sister and some other relatives, when a sudden chill ran down my spine. Acting on instinct, I covered her eyes before she could see the horror that followed — broken bones, a scream muffled by gurgling blood. Right after that, the broadcast was cut. I instinctively gagged — barely managing to hold myself back from throwing up after what I’d witnessed.

That tragic incident caused an uproar in the mage community. It was a freak accident, but that was enough to brew distrust across the world, causing numerous protests, with all of the blame falling onto the shoulders of a young guy that was only two years older than I was, who ended up being expelled from the school he came from. I don’t know the details of what happened to him afterwards exactly, but he will be remembered by others as the student who took the life of another during a live global broadcast for the rest of his life. A lot of things changed following that tragedy, but two of those changes were especially consequential. The first of which being a notable downsize in the number of people joining mage schools around the world; as for the second, I believe that various companies, mages, and other institutions, discreetly broke ties with the Mages’ Council, causing a drastic decrease in it’s resources, and thus reducing the total number of students they would be able to give scholarships to.

To be honest, I didn’t care too much about that. In my view, this would just be another challenge for me to surpass — I was born for this. — However, before I could not-react, a despairing young man next to me clutched both sides of his head, sweating bullets, and saying something I could not quite grasp. — E-Eu tô ferrado…!

He was as tall as I was, with a dark, suntanned skin complexion and red-dyed curly hair, cut in a low taper fade style. But what drew the most attention, by far, was the pair of wings stretching out behind him — black feathers with red highlights. Despite the distress, he had the air of someone who had a certain “inner fire” — that of someone who had already overcome a lot.

I decided to pop up behind him, giving him a light tap on the shoulder. — Hello there. Worried about something?

He turned around to face me, looking somewhat confused — Uh… I don’t understand… — he tried to answer me in my own language, speaking with a very unusual accent. He, without a doubt, was a foreigner.

— You’re not from around here, are you? Come with me. — I walked up to the service counter next to the entrance, though not before gesturing for him to follow me. Exchange students were very common in most Mage Schools, however, that was not the case when it came to the Ice Barrier and Gorskaria. Few people ever willingly chose to move here, given how cold this country is. After talking to the friendly lady working at the counter and explaining the situation, she gave me a pair of what seemed to be earbuds, and I handed them over to the boy following me, before equipping a pair of them myself.

— Better now? — Right after, he reacted with a smile.

— Duuude! Thank you so much! — He spun the receiver around his fingers. — What kind of magic is this?!

He shook my hand while thanking me, now, I could hear what he was saying in my own language.

— They’re Translation Receivers. They make you able to hear everything others say in your own native language. You probably didn’t see that you were supposed to grab one.

— Bro, that’s so cool! Again, thank you so much… Ehhh… Though I still don’t know anything about what the guy up there was saying before! — He said with an awkward smile, scratching the back of his head.

— No problem. Let me explain. — I explained the speech to him, using almost the exact same words that had been said before, only stopping every now and then to add a tad more context, and when I got to the declaration that only the top five entrants would receive a scholarship, his hands once again flew to the sides of his head, even more worried than before.

— What do you mean? I thought it would be the top ten! I don’t know if I can make it, how are you so calm about this?!

— Well, all I gotta do is be first place. — I said with no pride in my tone, merely speaking naturally. He stared at me, looking intrigued.

— You’re rather confident, to say the least… — He was obviously being sarcastic, simply letting out a nervous chuckle afterwards.

— Hey, you’re already here. Just give your best shot. If you came from afar, then obviously you must have a good reason why you’re here. By the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. Lucen Osfner. — Flabbergasted, the young man became surprised and soon began to apologize.

— A-ah, my bad, I had no idea you came from such a renowned family! I’m really, really sorry for my lack of regard! — Before he could finish apologizing, I cut him off.

— Stop… you don’t need to apologize. It doesn’t matter who I am, much less what family I came from, if you want to study here, then I’ll treat you as an equal. — I brought my closed fist up in front of me, unhurriedly, with a slight smirk on my face. — Now, what’s your name?

He seemed surprised at my reaction, I guess he didn’t expect me to say that. He smiled before giving me a fistbump. — The name’s Rudan Moriel!

— Okay Rudan… — In a matter of seconds, my relaxed state changed into something a bit more serious as I started walking. — We’ll talk later.

— Huh? Wait up! — Intrigued, Rudan raised his eyebrow, walking right behind me. — Where are you going?

Before I could answer, the sound of a bell echoed throughout the building as a whole, signaling it was time for the first test to start.

— It’s time, we need to get going. Do your best. — I continued on my way towards one of the rooms, as I saw the boy I’d just gotten to know heading for another one, we were each assigned different test rooms.

When I walked into the room, I sat myself at the very end of one of the chair rows, next to a girl wearing headphones, with the volume of said headphones being cranked loud enough for me to be able to hear the music coming from them. She had an extremely pale skin tone, and dark green hair with black highlights, on top of the black hoodie she was wearing. She seemed like the kind of person who lives in their own world, but, before even I could notice, she heard footsteps, and removed her headphones. She was also wearing a pair of Translation Receivers.

A woman around 30 years old with short red hair walked into the room, she was wearing the Ice Barrier’s teacher uniform, now it truly was time for the first test to start. The tone of her voice was both soft and confident at the same time. From the way she spoke, one could tell she was a very resolute person. — Attention, please. We will begin the Basic Magic Theory, Arcane and Battle Tatctics theoretical knowledge test. The exam will have twenty questions, you all have two hours to complete it. You’ll be given your results a few minutes after the test is over, and the top three will be announced.

The worst detail was the last one. I understood the reason behind it right away. We’re competing for scholarships, in other words, for the rest of the exams after this one, the top students will have a target on their backs. For a few seconds, I even considered getting some questions wrong on purpose, but that would be the same as underestimating all the others. I need to get the highest grade on each and every exam, that is the mentality of someone who strives to reach the top.

As soon as the paper was handed out, I managed to solve the first sixteen questions in a little less than twenty minutes. They were all very basic questions, and I could easily answer all of them, like, for example, explaining the concept of mana, although the concept itself has many a different name for every region of the world but, in general, all living things possess mana, with mana being, itself, the inner energy resultant from the body, mind and soul of an individual. And that is exactly why the most powerful mages train themselves daily, study magecraft tirelessly and always seek to strengthen their own wills. This applies to us just as much as it does to other animals, creatures such as elemental spirits, and even some certain kinds of plants. Granted, a lot of them don’t have the same level of intellect we do… and it’s not like they need it either — a fire elemental doesn’t need to study to launch a fireball that could carbonize you on contact.

Another question asked about how magic is able to flow through our bodies, and that’s also very simple, as it runs through the body in the same way that our nervous system does, as if it was an extension of it. But, an even more important question that came next was the one asking about what precautions a mage should take when casting their spells. That’s a classic, the good old “retirement by overheat”. Overheating is a simple concept, all mages have a certain pool of mana that grows alongside them, something I’d explained before. However, when these reserves run out, they get totally exhausted and become unable to cast any more of their spells… well, at least in the vast majority of cases. However, as long as one has even a miniature spark of mana, they will still be able to cast any one spell, but it will come at a price. Generally speaking, the stronger the spell, the more mana needs to be spent casting it. Thus, depending on what spell the mage casts, the strain on their body could break their bones, their muscles could rip apart, they may never be able to use magic again, or even – in very extreme cases – die.

We also had some questions about the Mages’ Council, as well as their laws. I remembered the rules of the Council. The one that always marked me the most is: Never use magic for the sake of satisfying selfish desires. That phrase had always echoed out in my brain since I was little. I thoroughly explained each and every one of the rules, and the reasons behind every commandment. I knew them like the back of my hand — At some point I just memorized them, thanks to that one frame with a list of all of the commandments in it hanging from a wall back at home…

The easiest question, without a doubt, was the one that asked about how many types of magecraft exist in total, any aspiring mage would know something like that. There are fifteen main types, which are divided into other smaller subgroups, and I even made a point of naming them all, just because I wasn’t in a hurry — Alchemy, Arcane, Battle Tactics… — I listed each one of them, up to Smithing.

Speaking of them, the test also covered the primary types of magecraft studied in this school. I chose to join Ice Barrier specially because of their focus in Arcane Magic and Tactics, the two types of magecraft that I was the most interested in, besides the fact some of my relatives had also studied here. I answered all of the questions in detail, solving them in an almost random order, to the point that, if someone were to look at me, they might mistake me for being desperate. Finally, the last question left was Question 17, which caught my attention — During a confrontation between two groups, one composed of Arcanist Mages and the other composed of Martial Mages, with both having the same number of combatants, and both groups possessing a mage capable of casting the Field Vision spell, which one of them would have the biggest advantage? Explain how the proper use of this advantage could change the tide of battle.

The question was open to interpretation, the answer wasn’t set in stone. I understood, the only one who’d gain points for this question would be the student who came up with the best answer for this scenario. So I picked up my pencil and started writing — If we consider that both groups are at the same level of skill, in a scenario where both strategists have the same level of experience, both being evenly matched in terms of general strategy, be it due to planning, clever use of terrain and other variables in combat, then the advantage will be determined by nothing but the level of overall experience both groups currently have, because the more experience they have, the bigger the chance of the Arcanist group being the victors. That is to say, if both groups are composed of novice sorcerers, the Martial group will have the advantage, since their growth curve is usually more gradual, and the more advanced both groups are, the more the balance shifts in the Arcanists’ favor, as they could upgrade their range, area of effect and versatility as they grow in a far easier manner than the martial mages.

As soon as I answered the last question, I raised my hand, finishing the whole test in around twenty minutes. At the same time, almost like a mirror, the girl next to me also raised her hand up, we both looked at each other somewhat confusedly, which soon looked into a doubtful look from me, which she once again mirrored back. — She’s good. Better than I expected… — It was as if both of us wanted to ask the other how they answered that one specific question. She and I were probably competing for first place on this test, but she was too expressionless — her emotions were barely noticeable.

As I waited for the results to be handed out, I simply stared at the ceiling — I even started dozing off… Blasted clock, not moving forward… — a few minutes before they announced the results, I heard a low, humming sound. It was that girl, with probably some underground song.

Eventually, the time came when the bell finally rang once more, and many did not hand in their papers, having given up on the test. The others and I walked back to the main hallway, but I noticed a presence following me. — How did you answer question 17? — When I turned around, it was the girl from before. She, too, had an unusual accent, she truly was a foreigner as well.

— Clearly, in those conditions, the arcanists would have the advantage. — She added.

— Is it really that clear? I wouldn’t be so sure about it… Well, if I’m wrong, I’ll tell you my answer later. — I turned around with a somewhat sardonic smile on my face. It’s not that I’m trying to play her, I just want her to reach the answer on her own.

She did not react. We kept on walking towards the main hallway, and once again, I stopped upon spotting a certain winged boy with his head down, acting somewhat dramatically about the test. — It’s over… It’s so over… — Rudan walked with his eyes closed, with his arms hanging and his spine arched… Any more drama than that, and he could pursue a career in acting — I’m a fraud…

Stepping quietly, I stealthily walked behind him, approaching him almost like a ghost. — Ooooo… I cursed your exam… — He jumped and flapped his wings, flying a few centimeters forwards.

— YIKES, DUDE! Don’t do that, you tryna give me a heart attack? I’m cooked! — He came down to the ground once again, still somewhat nervous.

— My apologies, I didn’t think you’d literally go flying. Relax, though, it’ll be fine. You haven’t even seen the results yet, and we still have the other tests to go through. — I tried to cheer him up again, but something seemed to bother him.

— It’s easy for you to say… I need to make it to the top five… And who’s that behind you? — He pointed towards the green-haired girl, who remained completely apathetic to what was going on.

— Now that you mentioned it… I never got your name. — I looked back at her, and decided to extend my hand for a handshake. — My name is Lucen Osfner.

She took a few — that is to say, several — seconds to react, causing a somewhat awkward silence to befall us, and for a second i thought she was just gonna ignore me. — Isane, Isane Tsuka. — Even though she answered, she looked down at my hand, stared at it, and went back to staring at me, with her hands in her pockets, not knowing what to do.

Rudan shook my hand so as to not leave me embarassed before he, too, started talking to her. — That speech pattern, it’s from Ubijan, isn’t it? My name’s Rudan Moriel, pleased to meet ya! I’m from Avraluz, I think we’ll get along just fine! — I noticed a subtle, sidelong glance from Isane when he mentioned the country; but still, she remained silent.

— I see how it is… You just meet a girl and suddenly all that despair from before is gone, eh, Rudan? I know what you are… — I said, in a heavily sarcastic tone.

— H-Hey, that’s not it! — Rudan laughed at my joke, but glanced back at Isane one more time. Well, wasn’t I right after all?

When Rudan let go of my hand, Isane extended hers right afterwards to shake hands with both of us. I couldn’t help but let out a giggle — it was a bit funny — we all shook hands with each other, Isane kept the same expression — or lack thereof — while Rudan had a wide smile on his face.

After that, that same raspy and tired voice from the man with messy hair echoed from the speakers throughout the building once more. The three of us walked together to the entrance hall, and on the big screen, a podium with the faces, names and grades of those who made into the top three within the first test appeared. Isane was the first to break the silence between us.

— …Nine…? — she muttered, frowning slightly.

In second place was a blonde boy with pointy ears called Miken Lizriel. Having reached a score of 9,5. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, before the first place was revealed.

When I opened them, I smiled proudly.