That's not too bad, but I still think Tim's performance was better.

The sister he was tentatively calling Red Mage, Aria Darth, just finished a smooth routine, demonstrating her ability to cast [Fireball] that Nick recognized as very similar to Diagram D from the written exam. She skillfully manipulated a steady stream of flames, then extinguished them with water, ending with a thrust of her hand that gouged the ground where the water had splashed.

Every spell was clearly well-practiced and could be used to deal lethal damage to an opponent, most likely a monster, if his suspicions about her being an adventurer were correct.

It's either that, or she's completely ruthless. Based on her emotions, I'm guessing the first option is more probable.

"An interesting application of elemental magic," Torrentia said, examining the new hole in the ground with interest. "Though that wasn't wind magic, was it?"

"No, ma'am. It's a spell I was taught to make latrines in frozen ground, but it works just fine against an enemy after an adjustment to casting speed," Aria replied.

Huh, that's a clever adaptation. I guess seasoned adventurers would have tons of tricks like this, and it only makes sense they would pass them down to their kids.

It made Nick wonder what he would have learned if he had continued his lessons with his mother, but he couldn't muster any real regret.

"Mhm, interesting indeed," Master Battera said, nodding to himself. "Now, let us move on to the next applicant."

Although he hadn't said a single negative word, the way he responded to Tim's attempt compared to hers made it clear to Aria that she hadn't impressed him much.

Still, Nick could see her tighten her shoulders, clearly deciding to do better in the next round, where they'd be allowed to showcase stronger magic.

Vana, the less flashy sister, eyed him warily, and he smiled back, gesturing for her to go ahead. She nodded in thanks and walked over to where her sister was just standing.

"Alright, Miss Darth, show us what you got!" Battera called with an encouraging smile.

For a man of that age and power to lend himself to this kind of exam, which Nick had to believe would take at least the entire day away from his undoubtedly valuable research, was quite a sacrifice and only made him more hopeful about what he'd be able to learn during his time here. The most update n0vels are published on n0velfire.net

The blonde sister bowed slightly in respect to the old mage and took her stance. Mana started gathering around her, quickly reaching a peak, then suddenly disappeared, along with her.

"[Basic Invisibility]" she said aloud, for the benefit of those watching.

Nick could see why it was named that. Although her mastery of the spell was strong and allowed her to overcome many of its weaknesses, the indentations of her feet in the grass were still clearly visible, and since the spell only affected sight, her every movement could be felt and heard.

Still, it was a good first showing, and it only improved from there. Nick felt her wave her hands in a specific pattern, and soon, a hail of arrows erupted from the ground, shooting out with enough force to skewer anyone unlucky enough to be her target.

Finally, the invisible girl took a few steps back and summoned a white glow around her hands, which broke the invisibility spell and also restored the broken ground to its original state. "[Minor Restoration]"

All in all, it was a much better display than what her sister had shown, but Nick had to admit his attention wasn't on her.

No, what he cared about was the much more subtle and powerful magic of the Tower that allowed her to manipulate what he knew to be a featureless room, letting her cast a restoration spell and perfectly translating its effects onto the extra-dimensional broken ground.

And they don't even realize it. Everyone who trains here fully believes this is a normal forest clearing, despite how unlikely that is, and the Tower allows their magic to interact with the elements, enhancing the illusion.

The deception was completely insignificant, but the incredible ease with which the Tower managed to use it on so many people was shocking.

And from what Nick could see, it wasn't even using a fraction of its power.

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But it does give me an idea for what to do on the next test.

Taking his place at the center of the clearing once the proctors finished their assessment of Vana, Nick nodded politely as Master Battera urged him to begin.

Without bothering with incantations, and with his hands firmly in his cloak's pockets, Nick cast [Telekinetic Field], focusing on one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, and pulled.

The Tower immediately began working to make the extra-dimensional tree become affected by his magic, both aligning it closer to reality and adding its own touch to the spell, which enabled him to easily uproot the entire thing.

Nick then proceeded to summon a [Spark], barely remembering to stick to basic magic, and set it on fire, causing the bark to splinter and the leaves to char.

Finally, for his last performance, he took a hand out of his pocket and made sure to look the three proctors in the eye as he snapped his fingers.

The tree collapsed, with flaming fragments breaking apart into ash as [Structural Weakness] compromised its integrity in a seemingly effortless display.

Or rather, that was how it appeared. To Nick's senses, it was clear that the Tower was working hard to allow him to cast his magic successfully while maintaining the dimensional overlap.

Not that he was worried about causing a cascade failure, no. The Tower itself was arguably the most powerful anchor he'd ever heard of, much less seen, and his basic spell wouldn't register as more than a tiny blip.

But it did cause the room's magic to reveal a little more of itself, giving Nick insight into how exactly the magic connected the two dimensions without letting them touch.

That looks like sympathetic magic. Completely different from what I know in style and execution, but the core principle is the same. Hmm, that gives me an idea…

His tinkering would have to wait until the next round, but at least he seemed to have made an impression.

"Well, I have to say, my expectations were high, and you still surpassed them," Torrentia said, eyeing where the tree had been.

"He didn't even cheat," Eulogius remarked, staring at Nick with great interest. "That was a very basic spell that even a novice could learn. Just applied with incredible efficiency and speed."

Master Battera cleared his throat, reminding the two proctors that they were in public, and they stopped their commentary, a faint look of embarrassed surprise painting their faces.

"Yes, that was very good. A masterful application of kinetic magic, a devastating [Spark] spell, and an intriguing debuff. Very good indeed," he said, nodding to himself.

Huh, so they think [Structural Weakness] is a debuff? I guess, in a broad sense, it kind of is if you consider anything that "weakens" to be a debuff.

Still, instead of arguing over semantics, Nick graciously accepted the compliment and stepped aside, letting the proctors take the spotlight.

"Ahem," Eulogius coughed. "Well, now that the first part is done and you all demonstrated proficiency with three basic spells, we can move on to the second test. As was explained before, the goal here is to show us something truly impressive, the best spell you can cast without extra time and materials." After meeting their eyes, he added, "Make sure not to tire yourselves out too much, since there's still another part after this, but don't hold back either."

The three other participants hesitated briefly, watching the still-drifting ash where Nick had destroyed the tree trunk. Any spell more powerful than that could risk causing more damage than was acceptable in front of others.

Battera must have noticed that on their faces, because he leaned on his staff and chuckled. "Do not worry, children. Nothing you cast will ever reach us. The wards within the Tower are significantly stronger than those at the public training grounds. They will prevent any magic from reaching you or us."

Reassured, the four exchanged glances. "Shall we keep the same order?" Tim asked, and Nick shrugged.

"That works with me," he said.

Since the girls had no complaints either, Tim stepped into the spotlight once again. Where he had looked nervous and almost bouncy before, he now seemed more composed, and Nick could sense him starting to gather mana for his next spell.

It took Tim six seconds on the clock to get ready, which in a duel would have probably meant an immediate loss, but it worked just fine for the purposes of this trial.

A haze began to form all around them, growing thicker until it was almost impossible to see through, and only blurry shapes could be made out.

The sight-blocking qualities were certainly helpful, but Nick knew that wasn't what the spell was meant for. No, what Tim had really summoned was a much more dangerous thing.

An area-wide spell capable of inflicting multiple debuffs simultaneously, from the basic [Slow] and [Fear] to the much more dangerous [Mental Prison].

In fact, Nick was so surprised upon seeing that last effect that he let out a gasp. He'd certainly not believed Tim to be capable of such a vicious bit of mind magic, especially given how rare it seemed outside the dark dwarves.

But perhaps he'd been too quick to judge. Tim wasn't exactly a front-line combatant, but he was still the heir of a Knightly House and had been getting instruction from a Tower mage for many years.

Just because the flashier combat spells weren't his thing, it didn't make him any less of a mage.

Interestingly, Nick observed that the mist parted just before reaching him, circling around but never touching. He raised a hand and saw very subtle magic at work as the Tower kept them from being affected, only visible because he was specifically looking for it.

A minute later, Tim dismissed the spell, having filled the entire clearing with enough of it to clearly show how dangerous he could be.

When Nick's sight finally returned, he saw that the three proctors seemed genuinely impressed, and they now looked at Tim with something more than just curiosity.

It seems he might not have as much trouble getting in as he feared, especially considering how excited the hidden observers appear.

The dimensional veil still prevented him from getting detailed information from them, at least without revealing his hand. However, he could sense the ether fill with emotions of interest and happiness upon finding a good prospect.

After Tim, the two Darth sisters followed him one by one, showing improvement over their initial attempts, but still not impressing any of the proctors.

Aria summoned a tornado of flames, hot enough to be genuinely threatening to anything below C-class in adventuring terms, while Vana truly disappeared from all physical senses this time and managed to reappear at an unexpected angle, delivering a powerful blow to the ground that cratered it.

Both sisters were clearly skilled at battle magic, but Nick could tell that the proctors found their spells to be uninspired.

Still, some of the observers seemed at least mildly interested, so he suspected they might not be done yet, at least if they hadn't completely bombed the theory exam.

Soon enough, only he was left, so Nick stepped forward, deciding that if the proctors were really looking for impressive magic, he would just have to show them something they wouldn't forget anytime soon.

It's fortunate that so many people are here, freely releasing their emotions into the ether. It almost seems like a gift.

Extending his will over the local empyrean took him only a second, and with a flex, Nick manifested all the accumulated power.