The end of the Trial

The little girl was the first person to start; the guards helped her wear the bracelets, and they immediately shrunk in size, fitting her small arm perfectly.

She sat down on the ground and closed her eyes; she extended her arm to the front with her palms facing forward.

The gems on the bracelets began pulsating with a red light, and many people were paying attention to her. Considering her outstanding performance in the previous stage, they had high expectations for her.

After a while, the gems stopped pulsating, and the red light flickered a total of a hundred times, which was definitely a high score. Taking into account that she had scored one hundred and forty-three previously, her utilization percentage was about seven percent!

She was bound to become one of the rising stars of the Academy this time.

Next, another guy took on the bracelets; he scored around sexy five points in this stage, and his utilization percentage was about ninety-two, which was very high. Artus paid attention to the expressions of the guards and the officers overseeing the test, trying to gain clues about what was considered a good utilization percentage, high or low. Alas, their faces were as if made of stone, so he could not tell a thing.

The tests continued on; some had high scores, some had low scores, and the percentages varied.

Artus was confident that all participants with high scores would pass this stage regardless of their utilization percentage because, in the end, they were talented people who were either efficient in uniting what they had or had the potential to grow, so it was logical to accept them.

As for people with low scores, things were different. Those with low scores and high percentages will not pass the stage; they have terrible aptitude and no room for improvement. However, things are complicated for people with low scores and low utilization percentages; the officers will probably consider multiple factors before giving them the final evaluation.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened: a man who had previously scored fifty in the previous stage had managed to score sixty in this stage; his final utilization percentage was one hundred and twenty!

 He stood up and started laughing arrogantly.

"I am a genius; I had over one hundred utilization percentage."

He used a cheap trick to fool the officers into thinking he was a prodigy. In the previous stage, he had lost hope of getting accepted to the Academy, so he did not use all of his energy. Still, when he heard about the percentage in this test, he thought that if he did not get a high score, he would at least get a high rate, or even better, break the limit!

Alas, he fooled no one; he only made a fool of himself; as the officers knew, no one in the world could get more than a hundred percent; even getting above ninety-five was considered almost impossible.

It was logical. How can someone utilize more energy than he could sense? Could someone eat three apples while he sees only two before himself?

Artus had finished observation and decided it was time to take the test. He put on the bracelets with the help of the guards, and they changed their size, fitting him perfectly. He closed his eyes and extended his hands to the front.

He used NuroFusion to analyze and locate all the Aether particles around. He theoretically pulled all of them towards himself, but he settled on using the same strategy, slow and steady but with an excellent end score.

The gems continued pulsating slowly till they reached fifty-eight. He had decided on fifty-eight safely; it was a high enough number to be considered good, and he would end up with around sixty-six utilization percentage. A percentage that indicates that he could utilize the majority of his power, more than two-thirds, but also meant that he had room for improvement. That way, no matter what the examiners had in mind, he would have a good final score and overall performance.

Finally, the fourth and final stage of the magic division trials had come to an end.

"Well done, everyone. You've all shown great promise."

"Now we have reached the end, as you know, most of you will not be accepted. I want to tell you that even if you end up failing, it's not the end of your path; the future holds many possibilities; the only ones who fail are the ones who stopped trying; keep up the spirits."

"We will review your overall performance; tomorrow, we will send a letter to each of you with the final results."

"Finally. It's over... Now, we have to wait."

"I don't think I will make it to the academy. I should start thinking of another plane for the future."

************************

Artus left the Academy, and at the entrance, he found Seers waiting for him.

"So, Artus, how did you?"

"I did well; please arrange a good dorm for me, Lady Seers."

"You are so sure you will be accepted to the Academy?"

"I am not only confident in my ability but also in your ability to judge people, and you were the one who was sure I would pass the trial."

"Oh… young boy, no one can beat you in a war of words".

Seers rolled her eyes while crossing her arms.

They kept talking on their way to the Inn. Artus told her about his acceptance to the scholar's division and meeting with Corwin. He then told her about the stages of the magic division trial.

"Lady Seers, honestly speaking, I am surprised you don't know about the stages of the magic division trial."

"I usually don't get involved in the entrance exam. I was surprised when I heard that. Galdor supervised the exam personally. We usually leave this job to other people."

Artus and Seers were eating at the Inn. Artus was very hungry and tired; he was mentally and physically exhausted.

"Lady Seers, you said not to involve yourself in the entrance exam. Does that mean you supervise other, more important exams in the magic division? Lady Seers, till now, you did not tell me what your position in the magic division is".

"You will find out after you get accepted to the academy."

"I will leave you now; you must be exhausted; sleep well."

**************************

The following day, Artus woke, showered, and ate some bread.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

A light knock was heard on the door. Artus opened it to see a young boy.

"Is Lady Seers here? I have a letter for her".

"She had some business to attend to, so she went out early in the morning. Give me the letter; I will give it to her when she returns."

Since Artus was still, particularly a child, he could not rent a room in the Inn using his name, so Seer's name as his 'Aunt' was used instead.

After the young boy left, Artus opened the letter carefully; many words were written in it, but he did not read it all. He skimmed it quickly, looking for specific words.

His eyes finally stopped at one word.

Congratulations