At another field, Rose restlessly tapped her foot as she waited for the signal to start in the testing area. After hurrying to her assigned field, Rose immediately volunteered to be part of the first batch of students, so she could finish the test quickly. Unfortunately, it was all for naught. 

"Professor Harklaive...?" Rose whispered. 

One of the longest-serving tenured professors of the Institution, Professor Harklaive Mursen is a man who dedicated his life to protecting and restoring plant and animal life to its former glory. As a professor, he is well-liked for his kind, yet firm style of teaching, and many of the graduates have cited him as a big part of their success as students. Nowadays, he spends less and less time on his research, and instead takes on more classes so he could raise better students for the future. However, due to his advanced age, daily activities have taken him quite some time to finish. Still, he enjoys it no less. 

Professor Harklaive slowly made his way to the testing area. Behind him, he was accompanied by the relatively young Professor Enfrel who set up a foldable chair for the elderly professor.

“Now then, please begin.” The old man hovered his pen over his notebook and nodded towards the students.

("Finally!")

In response, Rose raised her hands and aimed at the dummy ahead. A faint, yellowish light appeared near her outstretched hands as a magic circle began forming. Once complete, the circle shone with a fierce light as a stream of orange to yellow flames burst from within the circle in a straight line. Her striking crimson hair fluttered as hot winds blew across the field from the tremendous force her spell generated.

Ooh’s and aah’s could be heard from the crowd behind them as they watched her spell sear the dummy. As the burning beam slowly dissipated, the damage meter finished calculating as well, revealing the numbers “872” 

“Good work as always, Ms. Grayle. Please proceed to the spectator’s area.” Professor Harklaive praised Rose as he wrote on his notebook. Rose slightly bowed and replied:

“May I be excused from class now, Professor?”

“My apologies, Ms. Grayle. Our instructions were to not let anyone leave the field until after the test ends.” The old man replied without stopping. “Next!”

"I'm really sorry, Professor. It's just, I have a really urgent matter to attend to!" Rose cried out.

"...I'm sorry as well, Ms. Grayle. But, unless you have a family emergency or you are in dire need of medication, we professors were ordered by the Headmaster to retain all students until the end of testing. Please understand." Professor Enfrel replied.

“I-I understand…” Rose muttered and walked back to the spectator's area. 

(“I wonder how he’s doing…”) Rose couldn’t help but worry about Jenyx. Starting from their childhood, Rose was well aware of how much Jenyx yearned to learn and use magic once they came of age. However, the tragic revelation of his condition marked the cruel end of his dream. Though he has since grown to accept the fact that he could never be like the others, Rose wished she could be there with him. Especially because he knew what his classmates were capable of.

“Heeeey! Rose! That was amaz- oh? What’s wrong?”

“Hm? Oh... hi, Ria.” Rose waved at the girl approaching her. The girl named Ria had long, peach colored hair and glasses. Inside and outside the institution, Ria is her closest friend—aside from Jenyx. Though she was a noble, Ria was the complete opposite of children like Brad, which is why they became fast friends. 

“Why do you look like you’re dying? Does your tummy hurt? Are you okay?” Ria tilted her head as she bombarded Rose with questions. “No, nothing hurts. I just want to leave as soon as possible.” Rose slightly smiled as she replied to Ria.

“Oh? But if you’re not hurt anywhere, then… ah.” As Ria continued talking, a look of realization dawned on her face. “Is this about him again?”

“N-no… of course not. I’m not worried about Nyx or anything.”

"I didn't even say who."

"Ah!" 

Ria sighed audibly as she caught Rose's lie. 

“You’re always so overprotective of him. It’s not like he’s a little kid or anything, you know?”

“I know… it’s just… I can’t help but worry about him. Anyway, let’s not talk here. Talking while standing is tiring.” Having been seen through, Rose just admitted to it as they kept walking. 

Ria has been her friend for close to 2 years now, which is why Rose didn't have any trouble confiding in her about Jenyx. However, Rose noticed that whenever she spoke about him, Ria would always seem annoyed for some reason.

“Mmm, I guess I can kind of understand. You’re my first and best friend after all.” Ria replied. 

As the daughter of a noble she didn’t have many friends while growing up, real ones for that matter. Everyone that approached her were simply there because they coveted her family’s power. Whether it be the adults that constantly praised her, or the children who were groomed to spoil her, Ria didn’t consider them friends or the like at all. Just as she was about to give up on having friends, it all changed once she met Rose.

“I guess I’ll just have to wait until the test ends.” Rose resigned herself and fixed her posture as she lingered her gaze towards the other students. 

“How did you do, Ria?”

“Hehe, I got 843 points!” Ria had a smug smile on her as she presented her results.

“I see. I wonder if anyone else can break the barrier this year...” Rose muttered as she watched over the other students at the testing area.

"Well, who knows. But if you ask me, I don't think anyone apart from us can do it in our class." Ria replied, as she sat down with Rose. 

Presently, there were only 5 people in their class, including Rose and Ria—possibly in their entire year, who could break through something known as the "800-damage barrier" in the institution. It isn't literally a barrier, but instead, it serves as a metaphorical ceiling that most students cannot reach even if they use the most powerful spell in their arsenal. 

When someone does manage to break this barrier, it means that the student's firepower is top-notch, and soon, they will be joining the ranks of the elite. Basically, anyone who could reach or exceed this barrier meant that they had tremendous potential.

Just as Ria surmised, none of the students, other than those who were already capable enough, managed to accomplish this feat. Even within the top-ranked class, it wasn't an easy thing to do. 

And just like that, the class swiftly made its way to the end of the test.

“That shall conclude today’s affairs! Please go straight home and prepare for tomorrow, students!” As Professor Harklaive spoke, the students responded with a bow and thanked him as they all stood up.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then, Ria.” 

“Yeah! See you tomorrow, Ro-” 

After she bade Ria goodbye, Rose darted towards the exit. 

"Really, she's always in such a hurry when it's about that person..." Ria sighed as she watched her friend speedily leave the room.

(“Oh! I should buy something for Nyx. No doubt he’s probably hungry by now…”) While on her way to Jenyx’s field, Rose decided to go to the cafeteria first and buy him some grilled cheese sandwiches. Jenyx really liked grilled cheese sandwiches ever since they were kids and often bought them on their way home. As she strolled to the cafeteria, she withdrew a small purple plate from her bag.

“Hello! Can I get 1 grilled cheese sandwich and 1 bacon and egg sandwich?” Rose gave the elderly lady standing on the counter her plate. The lady inspected it for a while and then gave it back to her. She then opened a box and swiftly gave Rose two sandwiches.

“Thank you.” Rose happily took the sandwiches and bowed to the woman. 

"Oh, umm..."

"Yes?" Hearing the elderly lady's voice behind her, Rose came to a stop.

“You know… a boy came by a while ago and ordered the same thing.” The elderly lady suddenly spoke as Rose was about to leave.

“Oh? Grilled cheese and Bacon and egg sandwich?”

The elderly lady nodded and continued, “Yes. And I've been in this business for so long that I could tell, he bought the other two not for himself, but for another." 

"Oh... I see." Rose found her lips curving upwards as a certain person's face came to mind. 

"I- I was just wondering if... Do you, perhaps know him? No… that doesn’t really matter. If-if you see him, will you please help him?” 

“Why?” 

“...He was dragged away by a bunch of other students somewhere...”

Behind the cafeteria, Jenyx was curled up near a dumpster as Brad and the others kept hitting him. Behind him, the bacon and egg sandwiches he was going to give to Rose were crushed. He felt a little regretful for wasting food like that, but if he tried to get up all nonchalantly, they might find out his secret. As like always, he couldn’t feel anything from them, so he didn’t bother doing anything. If he fought back or showed that he was unaffected, things might get worse, so he occasionally threw in a couple coughs and sniffling to make it look like he was really being hurt. 

(“Kuh! What... is this!? It’s like hitting a damn rock or something!”) As Brad kept kicking him, he could feel his leg starting to ache. At first, they kept punching him until he laid down, but due to their knuckles starting to swell after hitting him a few times, they started kicking him instead. However, even their legs started to feel painful. Brad noticed that he was the only one hitting Jenyx now. His henchmen winced in pain as they sat on the ground. How was that possible? They were the ones hitting him; he was the one crying on the ground. And yet for some inexplicable reason, they were the ones who were hurting.

“Y-you… What are y-” Before he was able to finish speaking, a hot sensation spread from his back. Next thing he knew, his body flew as he instinctively protected his face from the wall he was colliding with. Despite protecting his face, a metallic taste emanated inside his mouth, and his arms felt somewhat numb. It was only natural. After all, he just rammed into a wall. But the question was, what made him? As he sought the person responsible, he saw behind him, a familiar girl whose hair resembled the color of the liquid flowing from his now cut up mouth. A murderous glare met his gaze, sending a chill down his spine. 

("Rose!?") In front of Jenyx, Rose somehow appeared.

“I told you what would happen if you kept hurting him, didn’t I?” Rose started walking towards them. Her eyes smouldered with rage as she drew nearer and nearer towards Brad. 

“Hiiieee! D-don’t come any closer!! Stop right there!” Brad began to crawl backwards as Rose kept closing the distance between them. Brad trembled as he felt the cold, hard wall against his fingertips, preventing his attempts to escape. Cornered and with nowhere to run, Brad started to tremble even further. His mind was a mess, but one thing was certain; he was going to die today. As he saw Rose aim her hand towards him, his heart quickened its pace. He closed his eyes and waited for his impending doom. 

However, no such thing happened. Curious, he opened his eyes and saw Jenyx holding Rose’s wrist.

“Calm down, Rose. I’m fine, ok? I’m not hurt at all.”

Not hurt at all? That’s impossible! Wasn’t he crying in pain just seconds ago!? Brad couldn’t understand what Jenyx was talking about. He looked towards him, silently waiting for an explanation, but he never looked back. He simply took Rose’s hand and escorted her away. As if nothing happened at all.