Flora walked over and sat down.
“Give me that water,” the woman said.
Flora handed it over.
The woman took the crystal and placed it into a groove on the table, where it fit perfectly. Then she pulled out another, larger crystal from a drawer and connected it to the one on the table.
“Alright,” she said. “First, test the elements. Put your hand on this and don’t think about anything. Just leave it there.”
She pointed at the small crystal ball on the table.
Flora reached out, her hand hovering above the crystal ball.
‘Ice, only show ice. Keep it low-key.’
Flora repeated it in her mind, then placed her hand down.
The moment her palm touched it, the crystal ball lit up.
First, a faint white light. Then a hint of blue appeared within the white. The blue deepened and brightened, dyeing the entire room in that icy color.
The woman looked down, scribbling something in her booklet.
“Ice. Good purity, sufficient brightness,” she muttered while recording. “Purity is goo—”
Before she could finish, the crystal ball suddenly flickered.
A flash of white burst out of the blue, instantly transforming into a glaring purple.
A sharp crack sounded.
The purple light only flashed in the blue for an instant, then vanished, but the blue light trembled as well.
Flora froze.
‘What just happened?’
‘I only released Ice Element, didn’t I?’
‘Could this crystal ball be actively absorbing mana?’
The woman was also stunned, her pen frozen midair.
That flash of purple seemed like an illusion.
Flora looked at the crystal ball. It was still that cold blue.
“I…” Flora opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.
“You have the Thunder Element too?” The woman stared at the crystal ball for a few seconds, then added a note to her booklet and muttered, “Ice and Thunder. Is Thunder hidden? Hasn’t it shown up before?”
Flora shook her head.
“I never really paid attention.”
The woman nodded, her expression still surprised, but she wrote more carefully than before.
“Alright, Ice and Thunder. Can’t tell the purity of Thunder—that flash was too short. But if it lit up, it means you have it. Next, test your mana capacity.”
She pulled out another crystal from under the table, this one long and narrow.
It was blue, and something seemed to be flowing inside it.
“Hold this and pump your mana into it until you feel empty. It will measure your mana capacity inversely.”
Flora took the long crystal.
It felt cool to the touch, like an ordinary crystal—nothing special.
Flora began channeling mana into it.
She controlled it, feeding just a little at a time. When it was about enough, she would lock the mana channel, preventing it from detecting the rest of her reserves.
The crystal began to glow.
Faintly at first, then slowly brightening.
‘Just a normal amount.’
‘Above average, but not too high.’
She kept thinking this as she continued to input mana.
The crystal grew brighter, but the brightness remained within normal range.
But then Flora sensed something wrong.
The crystal now seemed to be actively and frantically absorbing the mana inside her.
The crystal in her hand started to heat up, and the sensation grew more pronounced.
She felt her mana being rapidly drained from her hand. Subconsciously, she tried to pull back, but it was too late.
The crystal was draining mana so fast that she couldn’t cut off the mana pathway, nor could she separate her hand from the crystal. She could only let it continue absorbing.
The crystal grew so hot that it became uncomfortable for Flora, and its brightness kept skyrocketing, far exceeding the “normal range” from before.
Suddenly, the crystal burst into a blinding white light, so dazzling it made her squint.
The entire room was bathed in white, its brightness countless times greater than the combined glow of Ice and Thunder from earlier.
The light lasted two or three seconds, then dimmed instantly.
The draining force stopped abruptly.
Flora’s body trembled, accompanied by several heavy, rapid breaths.
Flora stood there, stunned, forgetting to put down the crystal.
The crystal was now dim, but still very hot—so hot she could barely hold it. It looked like a sun that had suddenly darkened.
The woman said nothing, and Flora said nothing.
The room was so quiet that the ticking of the wall clock was audible.
***
After several seconds, the woman finally put down her pen.
She looked at Flora, then at the crystal in her hand, then at the booklet in front of her.
Then she raised her head and looked at Flora again.
Flora couldn’t quite read that expression.
But it definitely wasn’t the look you’d give an “ordinary student.”
“You…” the woman began, pausing. “Hold it again.”
Flora looked down at the crystal in her hand. It was still hot, though it had cooled a little.
“…Can it still be used?” Flora asked, her voice a little weak.
“Let me see it.” The woman tried to calm her inner shock and maintain an examiner’s composure, speaking in a calm tone to Flora.
Flora handed it to her, her hand shaking slightly.
The woman took it, turned it over a few times to examine it, then held it up to the light.
The flowing substance inside the crystal seemed slower now, but still moving.
“It can still be used. Might have a small issue, but nothing major,” she said, placing the crystal back on the table.
Then the woman paused for about ten seconds before slowly saying:
“That brightness just now… um… have you ever tested it before?”
Flora shook her head.
“First time.”
The woman looked at her, didn’t ask further, wrote a few lines in the booklet, then said to Flora:
“Wait here for a moment.”
The woman stood up, opened the door, and left the room.
About two minutes later, she came back in and said to Flora:
“Your situation is quite special. I just reported it. Your talent is excellent—I estimate it ranks among the best of all.”
Flora pressed her lips together.
She had already guessed the outcome, but still found it hard to accept.
“Alright, follow me through that door. We’ll go to the next room.”
As she spoke, she pointed to a door at the other end of the room.
Flora followed her.
The second room was larger than the first.
It was empty, with only a target standing upright at the far end.
It was made of metal, with several rings painted on it. The innermost ring was red.
A man stood by the door, younger than the woman, around twenty years old. He also wore a gray robe.
He held a board with several papers clipped to it. When he saw Flora enter, he nodded.
“Number 517?”
“Yes.”
“Give me the recording crystal.”
Flora handed over the recording crystal.
He took it, placed it into a groove on the table—the same type as before—and connected it to another larger crystal.
“See that target?” He pointed at the far end.
“Yes.”
“Stand behind that line.”
He pointed to a white line on the floor, about twenty paces away from the target.
“Use your best magic to hit it. Any magic is fine. Just hit it. Do this five times.”
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