"You two can begin," Adrwnr spoke, sitting at his desk, looking at Mine in front of the summoning with a skull next to her face, while Sillian stood in front of the one with runes scattered across a part of her face.
"Focus your gaze on me and do not get distracted," the two summonings spoke simultaneously, then continued with a voice in a deep tone, "Gate open, will you fare better with me? Or with my sister?"
The eyes of the two summonings turned purple as a line descended down their untouched skin, reaching the end of the chin. Then, both inclined their heads downward, rising a few seconds later.
"Sillian, you are like a blank page; your power will be incredible in the future, but being a necromancer will confine you, preventing the natural growth of your mana, as it recoils from the dead energy, becoming tainted and stagnant," Everyone in the room stood still, looking surprised. In all other tests, she had only said two more things: that the person would be worthless and not qualified to compete for the crown of the king of death.
"You're right, and I would hate to be surrounded by the smell of corpses, so I think being a tamer suits me," Sillian said, rubbing her chin.
The other announcement, only made to six students, was the initial amount of skeletons she would be able to summon, being the easiest summoning of all for necromancers.
"It was expected of someone like her, wasn't it?"
"Of course, she's a personal friend of Miss Amelin, only someone strong could stand by her."
"Well, we shouldn't take that into account too much, after all, Mine is also her friend," the student who said this laughed, then received a slap on the shoulder.
"Are you blind? Look at the type of spirit that girl summoned."
"Huh? What—another insect type? They're the worst," the girl grumbled, freezing instantly when she saw a baby bird with its body made of blue flames in the summoning's palm.
The girl rose from her seat, shouting, "A phoenix, and one made of perfect flames? How is that possible? She cheated, there's no way she could have done something like this! What a—" Before the girl could continue speaking, her body froze, feeling as if a sword were being plunged into her heart, making her sit back down, completely paralyzed.
"Never speak of her like that again," Amelin said, exuding a bloodthirstiness that filled the entire room, but her gaze was fixed on the girl.
Adrwnr smiled, clapping his hands. "Stop it. Can't you see you're hindering my dear baby from finishing her work?"
"Sorry, professor," Amelin said, turning to face the front, feeling everyone now avoiding looking directly at her.
"She's truly amazing, being able to silence everyone so easily. Although, with the way that girl acted, is this phoenix really that rare?" Edward asked.
"This phoenix is still a baby, but I can certainly say that besides being the cutest thing, it could easily destroy a kingdom when it's grown," Litty said, wiggling her fingers as if imagining herself petting the phoenix.
"A kingdom? I see. I guess this will boost her confidence now," Edward said, looking at Mine, who remained silent, her eyes wide and her expression perplexed, her hand trembling.
"A phoenix? This isn't some chameleon playing a prank, right?" Mine asked incredulously.
"I would personally unveil the chameleon's disguise if it were. Mine, you were recognized by its mother, who entrusted her offspring to you, using the last embers of her body's flames before the cycle of her life ended and she would be reborn elsewhere..." The summoning spoke, placing the phoenix in Mine's palms, which immediately stopped trembling upon feeling the warmth of the chick's flames.
"This is a true treasure. As you grow, it will accompany you, and the stronger you become, the stronger its flames will be. So take good care of it and yourself. Without one, the other cannot show its full potential," the summoning stroked Mine's head and then stepped away.
"Very well, very well. You two could be exceptional summoners. It almost saddens me, as I can only have one direct disciple," Adrwnr said, standing in front of them and placing his hand on their shoulders.
"I haven't taken the other test yet..." Sillian said, feeling a shiver down her spine.
"You don't need to. You're a blank slate. That line is only said to those who are divergent. So, I can only say that you're lucky to be born into a noble family," Adrwn said, patting Sillian's shoulder.
"My father will be furious when he finds out. It was already hard to convince him to spend money on spirit feed..." Sillian said thoughtfully.
"But isn't your father one of the richest in the kingdom?" Mine asked, surprised.
"Well, that's one of the reasons why he's the richest. He's a huge penny-pincher, if not the biggest of all," Sillian said, sighing with concern.