Ascension Of The Failed Mage

The torrent got stronger with each passing moment, trapping Ciara at the center.

"Can you stop it?" One of the Examiners asked.

It seemed like a rather foolish question, considering the absurdity of someone like Ciara even commanding a Tier 2 Spell, to begin with.

"U-uh.. yeah, I think." The young girl nervously responded.

'Can I really do this? Should I just ask for help?'

No! There was no way she would do something that would negatively affect the Examiners' rating of her ability.

'I… I have to try!' Ciara closed her eyes and concentrated, just as Noir had taught her.

She stabilized the mana within her body, deactivating the magic circle that had been constructed. Slowly, the Mana that was poured into the Spell began drying up, and the harsh winds whirling around her ceased.

'Haa… I did it! I really did it!' The young girl opened her eyes to see everything back to normal.

At least, for the most part.

'Truly amazing! Not only did she cast a Tier 2 spell, but she was also able to control it.' The hovering Moderator who witnessed the event smiled to himself.

He rarely got to see something spectacular like this.

'Hoho. Looks like even the judges were impressed.'

The Examiners were speaking among themselves, clearly in amazement. Of course, the examinees could not hear anything, but it was pretty obvious what they thought.

After their short session of hushed deliberations, the panel reached a conclusion.

They looked toward the Moderator and nodded.

'A-ah, so we're going with that. As expected…' The bushy-bearded man returned their gesture in understanding.

"Young Lady, can I have your attention." His floating platform descended as he spoke to the still-flustered Ciara.

"E-eh?!"

"Please look to your right, you'll see a door leading to another place. Take that exit and move ahead."

Ciara looked even more confused as she heard the statement.

Did she do something against the rules? Had she gotten into trouble? Just what was going on?

The Examiners didn't seem willing to say any more, and the Moderator was already pointed towards the door.

"E-erm, please what did I—"

"You'll be spoken to there." He quickly answered, shutting Ciara down before she could say any more.

'I should just shut up and listen…' With her head hung low, Ciara walked toward the exit.

She was beyond embarrassed, and also slightly afraid of what lay in store for her. After taking a deep breath, though, she steeled herself and kept moving.

'Noir promised to protect me, no matter what. I should count on his word!'

But, speaking of Noir…

… Where in the world was he?!

*

*

*

"Achoo!' Noir sneezed as he stood outside.

He was amid a crowd, so his actions drew a bit of attention.

Bowing his head in apology, he quickly erased his presence and fled.

Truth be told, he was panicking.

It wasn't because of any danger or threat. No, that would have been better than the current predicament he faced.

After looking left and right countless times, Noir was now certain of it.

'… I'm lost.'

He truly did not know where he was and the location of the place he was headed.

"Where was the venue again?" Noir murmured.

The only alternative was to ask the multitude of people he feasted his eyes on, but even that proved extremely difficult for him.

Why?

Noir was quite bashful.

'Jeez…' Looking around, the young Dark Knight decided to try his luck one more time.

*

*

*

Ciara had been walking down the hallway for a few minutes.

The place was illuminated with luminous stones, making the journey less frightening. Though with the awkward silence—only interrupted by the constant clacking of her shoes—it was still plenty scary for the young maiden.

She eventually got to the end of the hallway, and what she saw there was… another door.

"For real?!"

Ciara immediately shut up after hearing how her voice echoed ominously in the lonely passageway and decided to try her chances with the door.

Hesitantly, she tilted the knob, not knowing what would appear before her. Unknown to the young girl, her experience in that room would change her academic life forever.

"Ahhh, welcome Ciara." A young-looking man said cheerfully.

"Come; sit, sit… make yourself comfortable."

'Uhh… who is this guy?' She looked at the handsome gentleman who seemed weird for some reason.

It could have been because, despite gesturing her to sit, he was still giving a wide, unnerving smile.

Ciara observed where she was to sit. It was a chair opposite him, with a desk separating the both of them.

The man in question was not seated, though. Instead, he paced about, obviously excited.

'Okay…' Ciara finally sat, still puzzled by the sudden turn of events.

"Now now, I'm sure you must be quite surprised. After all, you must have been sent here without knowing a thing." The man began.

Ciara nodded slowly.

"To be honest, I'm just as surprised as you. I thought my entire day would be spent with me just staying here all alone. But man, was I shocked." He continued with a cheerful spirit.

"U-um, sir…?"

"I mean how long has it been since an Exception like you appeared at the Institute? How wonderful!" Ciara's question was buried under his excitement.

"An Exception? But I—"

"Amazing! A Tier 2, at such an age. Just unbelievable! Are you sure you haven't had any Formal Magic training before now?" The strange man asked rhetorically.

"W-well, I…" Ciara quickly tried to respond, despite her hesitation.

But—

"Of course not! Other than the fact that it's too dangerous to immerse young children in magic at a young age, Nobles would never resort to that. Especially a Duke, am I right? Still, it makes you wonder, doesn't it?" The strange man chattered on.

"Excuse me sir! What the hell is going on here?" Ciara finally yelled.

She had reached her limit and her patience had run out. A lot of unanswered questions were swimming in her head, and the blabbering man only managed to add to their numbers.

'Who is this man? What is he talking about? What is going on?' The list went on.

"A-ah…" The man was taken aback by Ciara's outburst, and—as though just realizing the young girl's presence—he calmed himself.

"I apologize for that, I just got so excited." He said as he sat.

"My name is Trevor Netherlore."