The student, determined to make the most of his remaining chances, decided to apply the lesson from his earlier failure, this time, he clenched his fists without channelling any mana.
The crowd, particularly those who believed themselves to be on the same level as the mage, watched intently, as none of them wanted to miss even the slightest detail, hoping to glean some insight for his own attempts.
“Ahhh!” The mage roared, his fist flying toward the towering black monolith, a louder, more resounding thud echoed as his punch connected.
All eyes followed the white light rising up the center of the stone, it surged past the peak of the second bar, filling the third completely. The light moved steadily upward, reaching close to the peak of the third bar before faltering and settling just shy of it.