There was much commotion within the Alchemy building of the Magic Academy. In the main hall, new trainees had gathered for their first day.
"Why is he here?" they whispered amongst themselves.
"Seriously, I thought for sure he'd join the fighters' class."
"You know I can hear you, right?" The person they were whispering about came over and put his hands over 2 of the students' shoulders.
"The name's Ethan. Let's get along." He tried to smile genuinely and be friendly, but it somehow came across like a threat.
"We… we don't want any trouble."
"Yes, I'll give you herbs if you don't bully me."
Ethan was slightly annoyed, but since these kids weren't threatening or insulting him, he chose to take the higher road.
"Relax, will you? I won't bully anyone as long you're not pricks and you don't mess with a certain girl."
Some of the teens understood and calmed down while others still eyed him with suspicion. But, it was not just these boys that took an interest in Ethan. In a corner of a room, about 10 girls were fawning over a well dressed youth. He had a chiseled jaw and a straight nose, and looked much more mature than he should have at merely 16 years old.
This boy way eyeing Ethan too with a look of interest and curiosity. After a while, he made up his mind and parted the sea of fan girls. Noticing their voices getting closer, Ethan turned towards the youth.
"Oliver Hunt." The boy introduced himself while extending a hand.
"Ethan Masalis." The mage answered in kind.
"What made you want to be an alchemist?"
"To broaden my horizons. How about you?"
"It's the family business."
A strange understanding was formed between the 2 youths. Oliver knew the boy in front of him was a fighter, probably with a powerful master backing his training. He was likely here either to pass the time or to lay low.
On the other hand, Ethan could tell at a glance that Oliver was no ordinary youth. His basis was somewhat solid, with 5 mana pools opened in the right places while the 6th and 7th were slightly off course. His clothes, demeanor, and loyal groupies all spoke of a noble upbringing.
Naturally, the room's attention shifted towards them and they spent the rest of their time sizing each other up.
"Good morning students! Follow me."
Finally, a top heavy teacher walked in, so the class could start. However, she hadn't even said her name before turning around and walking back towards the hallway. Everyone shrugged and followed.
After about 30 steps, the teacher stopped and opened the door towards her right.
"Come on in." she gestured.
The room inside was large and empty except for a giant contraption in the middle. It was made out of crystal tubes that extended in a million directions. In some parts, they would intersect. In others, they became wider or narrower.
Ethan imagined a mouse entering one of the tubes and searching for a piece of cheese at the end. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a miniature maze.
"First off, nobody should touch the labyrinth if you don't want to get expelled. Now, you may be wondering why I was late. Frankly, I lack the time to deal with you squirts. Even this hour is costing me several pills."
The students looked at each other confused. Some of them had dreamt since little of getting into the Academy only for now to be ignored by their teacher.
"So, here's how this class will be performed. We will first asses your control over mana. If your control is good, I'll give you better assignments. If you haven't been practicing, you'll have to settle for refining pills of your… level.
Of course, you can always use the Academy's library to procure recipes of all levels. We recommend you get your mana cultivation techniques from there as well.
However, if you shoot above your level, don't blame me for failing. Also, there're only so many herbs this academy can invest in your teaching. If you don't produce results, you'll eventually have to procure your own."
Oliver raised a hand.
"Then, if we do produce results, can we practice using the Academy's herbs all we want?"
"Of course. The Academy will keep 70% of your product to cover expenses, and the rest is yours. Now, on to the test. Time waits for no one."
The students were instructed to create a small flame and run it through the labyrinth. If they could run several at the same time, then all the better. They would be scored depending on how far their flames went, how fast they travelled through the labyrinth, and how many there were.
"There are 12 entrances to this labyrinth. First person, proceed."
The first youth to try his luck split his flame into 3 and pushed it through 3 different entrances. However, he merely passed a foot before the first one hit the wall and went out. The others soon stopped as well.
"Terrible." chided the teacher. "Next."
The following students were a bit more cautious, each sticking to a single flame and going about a quarter of the labyrinth. The teacher noted something in her notebook and gave various assessments. These ranged from "garbage" all the way up to "mediocre."
Eventually, a girl got a flame through the entire maze. A few more followed, and someone even managed to control 2 at a time. He got the remarkable grade of "decent."
"Oliver Hunt." called the teacher.
With the entire room watching, the youth walked in front of the contraption. Above his hand he summoned a small flame which he split into 5 pieces. In front of everyone, he ran the flames through the crystal maze at the pace of a light jog.
Considering his peers weren't half as fast, this was quite impressive. When he was done, the room burst into cheers with the girls being significantly louder.
"Excellent." appreciated the teacher. "I'd expect nothing less from your family."
Ethan nodded in approval as well. His evaluation of the youth was correct.
"Next is Ethan Masalis."
"Crap." He muttered under his breath. All this time, Ethan was pondering over a dilemma. Should he go all out and reveal his skills or lay low and not cause a stir?
He walked up to the strange apparatus and summoned a small flame. Oliver watched from the side and smirked.
It wasn't because he looked down on the boy, but because he was certain the boy would hold back. Whether Ethan was better than him or not, it did not matter. The youth would likely reveal just a sliver of his talent, so the test would be pointless.
However, Ethan wasn't someone easily read. His small flame split into 12 and they all took their positions at the start of the labyrinth. Under the wide eyes of his audience, the boy focused on the maze.
He visualized every path, every nook and cranny, and every single intersection. Then, he decided on an optimal speed and trajectory for each flame before finally opening his eyes.
"Go." At his command, the flames entered the maze as if shot from a bow. In the span of 2 breaths they came out the other side.
The room was silent. Then, one person burst into cheers and the rest soon followed. Only Oliver and the teacher did not move, both of them frozen with their jaws towards the floor.