A boy was standing on something that resembled a training ground, the morning breeze bringing a familiar smell of sea and land. He closed his eyes and put his hand on his chest, wanting to feel something beyond his heart.

“Ryu, hury up or you'll be late,” shouted a woman inside the house.

“Today's the day,” he muttered to himself, clenching his fist.

There in that place, he began to remember, the tireless training he did was never enough. He saw himself, a small boy, facing the harsh gaze of his grandfather, Kenjiro. Each lesson was a battle, each success just a pause before the next test, even if he succeeded, a simple congratulation never seemed to come.

“You'll never be strong enough that way,” Kenjiro used to say, his voice laced with disdain. “If you don't become a wizard, you'll be kicked out of this house. You must be better. Stronger. More disciplined.”

Ryu opened his eyes, determination burning in his gaze. “I'll prove you wrong,” he thought. ”I'll win your approval, just like in the old days.”

With one last look at the horizon, he headed into the house, where Miss Sora was waiting. “Ready to face that little challenge, don't worry, this family has always passed.”

“The problem is that I'm not family,” muttered the boy.

After arriving at school, Ryu saw his classmates in high spirits. It seemed that everyone was hoping to become a wizard today, although they were people that the general population knew almost nothing about, everyone admired them for protecting us from the mana beasts.

With no one to talk to, Ryu wasted no time getting on the bus that would take them to the exam site. Sitting in the back of the vehicle, he stared out of the window, letting his thoughts wander. He could have taken me to the exam. But what bothered him most were his grandfather's cold words: “If you don't become a wizard, you'll be thrown out of the house.”

At school, the atmosphere was completely different. Anxiety was in the air, but not in a negative way. The teenagers were excited and expectant. Most of the boys were talking animatedly about their military aspirations, “Look, I'll have all the elements and I'll become the strongest!” they shouted, it was as if they all had this goal of dreaming of becoming one of the “Six Blades”, the title given to the six strongest people in each country. This was a goal that many aspired to, a position of honor and power.

Ryu, however, stood apart. Introverted in the crowd, preferring to observe rather than take part in the effusive conversations around him. He had had a few friends, but had recently changed schools and was now alone. Despite this, he felt a spark of excitement seeing the happy atmosphere in the classroom.

Arriving at the building, everyone was amazed. The exam was being held at one of the eastern nation's two magic schools, the Yamato Arcane Institute. As it was a very restricted school, only strictly authorized people could enter. From what little they saw, they knew that the structure was on another level, the institute had to make up everything a student wanted, so it looked like a city. When they got off the bus, the instructor who was driving the bus warned them: “Even though this is a school, it's a military area and you should stay close and only walk where I guide you”. So they headed towards the school. A colossal structure, white walls mixed with blue, everyone was speechless.

When they entered, they followed a corridor and started down the stairs, in the meantime they didn't see anyone who looked like a student or even a member of staff, but the excitement kept growing, with each flight of stairs the students seemed more anxious.

When they finally left the corridors and entered a door, the instructor announced that they had arrived at the exam venue, they were in a large place that looked like a classroom, long tables that should fit about 5 people in each, but what really caught the eye in the room was only one man, Ryu noticed that he must be an instructor, he had a hard look and a scar next to his lip, thin black hair and was tall, like the other instructor he wore a black overcoat without giving any details of his body. When the students were quiet, he welcomed them and introduced himself:

“Welcome to the Yamato Arcane Institute. I am instructor Takeda Haruto. This is your first time at this school and it will probably be your last. Only 1% of the population is a mage. The first test will begin when everything is ready. If you don't make it, you're out.”

“It doesn't matter! I know I'm in the 1% and I'll become the strongest and then...”

“Stay quiet, this is a military institution, you're already 15 years old, I think you know how to behave with your superiors,” he said in a stern voice.

This guy is scary, I think I'd better straighten my posture, he's going to pick on me.

Suddenly the door opened, it was a woman bringing in a girl, quickly the instructor left the room, leaving the girl there “The first test will begin, I'll just decide the order”

After that, instructor Takeda looked at everyone with a strange look, there seemed to be a gleam in his eyes. After activating a hologram that had the faces of everyone in the room in alphabetical order, he began to change the order at will. There didn't seem to be any sense in the order he was doing it, so Ryu thought it was random. He did everything so slowly that the students were getting tense, especially those who had their faces moved. In the end, Ryu was second to last, with only the girl who had just entered the room behind him.

“Katsu Yamamoto, come forward.” As he said this, the floor began to open up and something quickly began to rise from the ground.

There was now a machine behind the instructor: a round glass about 3 meters in diameter, with a chair in front of the machine. The instructor told Katsu to sit down, but as he was still a little way away, he hurried his step and almost fell. After sitting down as if to calm down, he declared cheerfully, “I'll be in front, everyone.”

“Basically, the machine will send all kinds of elementals into your body. If your core can hold any of these, you've passed.”

Katsu sat back in his chair with a confident look on his face. Takeda pressed a button and magically several bright spots of various colors began to appear on the glass dome.

“These are the elementals,” the instructor explained.

It was possible to see the elementals moving, and in an instant heading for Katsu's mana core. His chest glowed like a rainbow, but suddenly all those lights left his body, spreading throughout the room and, after a few seconds, quickly returning to the sphere.

Katsu didn't understand what had happened, so he asked: “What are my elements?”

In a manner so dry that even Ryu felt annoyed, the instructor replied: “None. You failed. Next.”

Katsu, unable to believe what he had heard, stood still, clearly shaken. The room was completely silent, which was broken by Katsu's sobs. Tears streamed down his face, and he asked in despair: “What about my dream?”

“It's just a dream now. It's time to wake up.”

The atmosphere in the room, once cheerful, was now heavier. Everyone was visibly upset by the situation, including Ryu, who knew that the chances were low, but after seeing someone's dreams come to an end so quickly. But there was no time to think; the next one was called.

“Ling Wei to the front. Even after what had happened she seemed confident, but after the machine was switched on, the elementals found no resonance with its core. The lights quickly went out, leaving her in a state of shock. With tears in her eyes, she got out of her chair and made her way silently to the back of the room, without saying a word.

It's that quick, that dry, what am I going to do if it happens to me?

Lost in thought, half the room had already gone forward, but no one had succeeded. After so many failures, the atmosphere was so heavy that no one seemed to be able to cope. When they failed, not everyone cried, but they were clearly sad and disappointed.

“Ethan Wilson to the front” At that moment, the call sounded like a sentence

Ethan tried to keep his composure, but when the elemental lights faded, his expression of determination crumbled into despair. He got out of his chair, muttering softly, “This can't be happening,” as he joined the others at the back of the room.

Faster and faster, the students began to show that they lacked confidence and the instructor's gaze looked increasingly disappointed.

At that moment, Ryu stopped looking around him, all he could think about was: if he didn't pass, where would he live, what would he do? Without realizing it, another call echoed through the room.

“Ryuji Takeshi Iwahara, come. It's your turn.”

Those words seemed to herald the end of his dreams.

It's so strange to walk, feet I can only tell I have because I'm looking at them. I walk towards the chair with my head down.

The next thing he knew, he was standing in front of the chair. Trying to forget his nervousness, he quickly sat down. Cold ? how can it be so cold in here? Looking to the side, he sees Takeda, his gaze the same since the beginning of the test. How can anyone be that cold? In this chair, in this machine, this man had shown reality, taking away the dreams of 28 until now.

He seemed cruel, tyrannical, the worst person in the world, and I was on his side. As the machine began to turn on, a memory surfaced.

When Ryu was 9 years old, his uncle, Hiroshi, was the only one in the family who visited his grandfather. Most of them were too focused on their military careers and Ryu had never seen them. When Hiroshi was at home, he was the one who taught Ryu.

Hiroshi was teaching him how to use a sword, using a wooden one for demonstration, but Ryu wanted to know about something else. "Uncle Hiroshi, why can't you or Grandpa teach me how to train my mana core?" he asked.

"It's because it's extremely dangerous. Since your core is still growing, it could explode due to a lack of control. That's why it's illegal to teach you or anyone who hasn't awakened yet, but I can teach you sword techniques. Historically, our family's weapon is a sword, so it will be very useful for you." Ryu looked up in admiration and asked, "When will I get mine then?" Gently, Hiroshi replied, "At the right time."

Just as they were about to resume practicing, an alarm began to sound throughout the entire city: "Silver-level monster identified!!! Silver-level monster identified!!!" Frightened, Hiroshi tried to calm Ryu. "Don't worry, Ryu. My unit and I will take care of it. When I return, I'll teach you more. But if you get nervous, remember that I am the strongest and will always protect you. See you someday."

For several hours, the alarm blared until the news was announced that the monster had been eliminated. I wonder if Uncle is okay. When he comes back, I'll show him this new move I invented... When will he return... what happened to him?

After a month, Ryu had lost hope. His grandfather wouldn't talk about it until one day, Miss Sora said there was a message for Ryu. She activated the message, and Hiroshi's voice was heard, "Hello Ryu, I managed to defeat the monster. Because of this, I've been called to the main headquarters and won't be able to return soon. I'm sorry I can't be there, but my final gift to you is this: keep these words deep in your heart, believe in yourself." Relieved that his uncle was alive, Ryu wondered why this was so important, but only one thought crossed his mind, "I will fight by your side."

Returning to that chair, Ryu came back to himself. I cannot disappoint him. It doesn't matter if the other children couldn't do it; I will. With this thought hammering in his mind, Ryu's chest began to glow. As if no time had passed, he saw elementals going everywhere. The fear of failing returned, but he noticed some colors were missing, and when he looked down, his chest was still glowing, a smile spread across his face.

He heard the instructor's voice, which this time seemed so comforting: "Congratulations, you passed."

That light in my chest took away my sense of time after the instructor's words. I could see four different lights that disappeared out of nowhere. When it stopped glowing and that sensation passed, I stood still. I looked around and saw looks of admiration and envy directed at me.

"Stand up, there's still one more person to go," said the instructor.

I wanted to ask what my elements were, but nothing came out of my mouth. The feeling of relief and euphoria combined, finally realizing I would have a future with what I always dreamed of, absorbed me. Moving away a bit, I stood near the chair. The instructor didn't seem to mind.

"Hana Eversong, step forward." So that was her name.

A girl, she had long black hair, was much shorter than me, and her skin was so fair it was almost pale. When she got closer, it was possible to see her eyes, a light red, noticing more that her gaze seemed not to have been affected by the previous atmosphere of the room. Maybe it was because I succeeded, but she seemed very sure of herself.

She sat in the chair, and the procedure began. As soon as the elementals reached her core, they were all sent flying, or so I thought. Her core shone intensely with a fiery red, and just below, a glow like that of a lamp.

If that surprise wasn't enough, something incredible started happening: her hair was changing color. The hair, which was black before, now was a very strong red. Why didn't mine change too? That's so cool.

When her core stopped glowing, I could see how beautiful she was. But with no time for shallow thoughts, the instructor said, "Congratulations, now you two go to the other room. The rest, goodbye forever." He said this pointing to a door behind the machine.

The room's silence remained. My peers couldn't say anything. Only the strongest survive. I turned my back on them, probably wouldn't see them again anyway.

"YOU TWO... BECOME GREAT MAGES," said Katsu with tears in his eyes before being the last to exit through the door.

"You got it."