The Time Has Come. Exams!

A new routine was born! Madam Odette seemed to pull back her lessons a bit to give me more time at the end of the day. I worked and cleaned up my barrier spells to where they could finally take some solid hits. It took a few weeks but I got myself up to snuff again. The weather started to cooperate as well. I could get out and run for a while. I can feel my physical strength building back up.

I know I'm back to where I need to be when everything stops hurting. Now I have to focus on maintaining that. The next few weeks are spent working myself and my mind back into shape. March is around the corner, and so are the entrance exams that I need to be on the top of my game for. Madam Odette changed up her lessons for the last week. It was grueling. It was torturous. And as someone who went to a public school whose entire funding leaned on testing, I have to say that hers was much worse. I swear that she threw in a few questions that she knew I didn't know just to throw me off.

March rolled in bringing a lot of nights with light rain and cold winds. But the day finally came. Madam Odette had me load up with an overnight bag. She would have Denny take me to town. It was going to be an all-day drive. He and I would be put up in a hotel for the night. The next morning, he and I got breakfast before heading out to the campus.

I am kind of shocked. On the surface, everything looks like a normal college campus. A few large buildings with names on them. Some wide open spaces and public spaces for students. I kind of stick out like a sore thumb though. Per Madam Odette's order, I am to wear my fine clothes. And I know why.

There are two sections to this exam. A written then a practical. The writing is done in a group setting, then the practical is done by a small panel. They pull two or three professors from different fields of study and make the potential student dance for them.

I find the main office where they can direct me to where I need to go. I follow the small map they gave me with a red line to show where I need to go. I know I found where I needed to be when I saw a long line of people holding papers, folders, and misc. Other doodads. I take my spot in line and just go with the flow. I can tell my nerves are getting the best of me. I look around at everyone else seeing them in hoodies, coats, and just regular clothes. I feel like I'm dressed for a funeral.

The line moves as they sign them in. I get up to the front and give my name. They find my name, make me sign, and give me a number. It will be my seat number and affect which group I go with to do the practical exam.

I take my seat in a large lecture hall. They only have the time that we are allowed to take the test written on the board in the front. The whole room is packed with bodies as more and more shuffle in. An older-looking dachshund sitting behind the lectern at the front of the room. He keeps checking his watch waiting for the time.

At two minutes he makes an announcement that everyone needs to be in their seats. Once the time rolls over he announces that everyone can begin. I flip the paper over grabbing the pencil that is next to it. Immediately I am overwhelmed with the words. It's small print mixed with diagrams and questions throughout the whole page.

I need to take a breath and focus on myself. None of this is something I haven't seen before. I know the symbols on the diagrams. I know the words and theory. It's just. I've never seen it in this format. This is what they teach up to this level? This is intense. I look around without drawing attention to see how everyone else is doing. The pencils are moving. I can hear them clicking against the desks as others are writing. OK, one question at a time.

Elemental reactions are not my strongest but I know enough. Multiple choice sections? Super easy. I could do these all day. Explain a theory... I don't know the theory at all. It's totally foreign to me. I'll have to come back to that one. More elemental reactions but on a diagram. Easy, it's mostly bonds and multi-bonds that throw me for a loop. Math?! There's math? I'm going to knock that out.

It's pages upon pages of theory, application, and so much information. I do not feel fully prepared for this. This might be the difference between growing up in this world versus being thrown into it. I'm struggling. I can feel it. This is… new. I've always been a good student. I aced tests regularly. If there was something I didn't understand, I came back to it later to fine-tune it. I may not get that chance here.

I wrap up everything that I can as close as when time is called. Everyone begins to look around to gauge the room. There are quite a few others who are rubbing their faces from stress. I rub my eyes as well trying to shake off the black and white text now burnt into my eyes. Our tests will be collected after we leave.

We are instructed to head outside and look towards the board in the hallway. It will have our name, number, group, and where we need to go next. I follow the crowd out with my eyes glazed over. I'm hoping the practical exam is much smoother. I know my skills are sharp. I have a few spells under my belt that I have a feeling will impress to some degree. But again, this is a place where magic is advanced with new knowledge. I might just be as normal as I could be here.

Check the board, I am in group number four and I am to report to the indoor basketball court on the east side of the campus. They were nice to include a red line that shows me the way. It looks close but these buildings are rather huge.

As I walk along the path I can see why Madam Odette pushed this place. It is rather nice. They seem to care a lot about the upkeep of this place. Each building has a cornerstone with when it was built, what it was originally when it was built, and anything that was done to the building like major construction or restoration is given another stone with the name and date of the project. Even the grounds look like they're cared for professionally.

A good 10-minute walk and I arrive where I'm supposed to be. There are already a few others here before me. They're lined up and signing in here as well. I take my spot in line and follow them in. They have us wait in a small room that looks to be used as an extra classroom if needed. They have us in chairs, in rows, and against the wall, waiting for our names to be called. I take a seat against the wall and close my eyes. With a deep breath, I begin my wait.

I am at the point where my nerves flair up for a moment, then I burn myself out being nervous and just get exhausted. It's a cycle that keeps repeating until I hear someone's name called. I perk up and watch someone leave. Then the waiting continues. They're calling a name about every six to seven minutes. I imagine then that we'll have five minutes to perform some form of practical application.

Three more names go by before I'm called. "Red! Welch!" Here we go. I stand and follow the ferret lady who called my name. She leads me back outside and around the side of the building. I made the mistake of not watching my step. My nice shoes found a small mud puddle that ran off from the lawn being watered. I noticed it as I pulled my foot up. "Ah hell…" I'm going to have to clean these before I'm back at the manor.

I wipe off what I can but there's still quite a bit. I need to keep my focus on the task at hand. Actually, that little bit of a distraction seemed to help relax my mind. I feel a lot better.

I'm pointed to a double door and told to enter. The inside of this building is pretty massive. I'm on a basketball court with nice floors. The bleachers have been collapsed in to give as much space as possible. But in all this, there is a table with three individuals sitting there with clipboards and a stack of papers. The man in the center is an older-looking Scottish breed of dog. He looks rather tattered. He's been here for a while. I can tell by his demeanor.

Second, up is another ferret but he looks a lot younger. He almost looks my age but looks can be deceiving. The third body at the table brings a smile to my face. I haven't seen her in a while and she is a sight for sore eyes. She gives me a smile back with a small wave, "Red, it's good to see that you made it."

The scruffy dog looks at her, "Is this the one you wrote the recommendation for?" He looks back at me with a stare that clearly disapproves of me being here. She passes on his comments and keeps her smile. "Madam Delula…" But she cut me off. "Professor while you're here. This is a place of academia and that is my title." Ooh, I got told. But she makes a good point. The world is very different outside of the manor.

"Professor Delula, it's good to see you again."

"And you as well. I look forward to seeing your progress since we last met. I can already tell you've made some progress with your journey called life."

She points behind me. I look over my shoulder trying to see what she's referring to. It clicks in my mind. Madam Odette probably told her why she was brought out to teach me. She knows what I am and that I've made progress on that front. I do mean the appearance of my second tail.

She and I can catch up another time. The Scottish dog is looking rather perturbed.

The ferret chimes in, "I will now explain what we are looking for in this practical exam. You will be given a prompt from a list. After that, you will have five minutes to demonstrate any and all abilities related to your prompt. We will grade you on any skill performed during that time. You don't need to worry about damage. This area and ourselves are protected by a barrier that was constructed. At the end of your time, we may ask questions for clarification on your decisions." He picked up a timer looking towards the older dog. He looks over the paper and points, "Your prompt is space." The beep of the timer rang in my ears. "And your time begins now."

Just like that, everything began. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears as I started rolling through everything I know trying to think of what could be used in space. I look around the room trying to determine the best place to begin. They said there was a barrier. I wonder how sturdy it is compared to mine. I walk up to a wall and tap on it with a knuckle. Sure enough, there's some pushback. Just like with my training at the manor, I take a closed fist and punch with a bright flame.

The flame is dispersed as the physical blow is disbursed. It's very similar to the one I can make. I wonder if it has the same weakness as well. I did discover that mine cannot do well with stabbing. I could pull some water from the air and freeze it into an ice elemental knife. The air is rather dry though. It might be difficult. I could just pull it from myself. I need to show my understanding of alchemic magic though. A lightbulb goes off in my head. I take off my shoe to look at the mud. It's still a little wet but it's mostly dried out. I may not need the water after all. I knock off some of the dirt onto the floor before pulling it all together into a tightly packed pick. The same concept as the elemental ice knife but instead, it's dirt. If it's hard enough, it'll feel like a rock. With one sweep I throw the dirt pick into the barrier.

I should have known that they would be better prepared for this than I am. It shattered against the barrier turning back into dust. That was a good minute wasted. I look back at the table as they're taking notes. Two don't look impressed so far. Professor Delula looks nervous actually. I better step up my game then. Oh, that's a good idea. Let's take a step.

I quickly step back to the center of the room. That caught their attention. The ferret jumped in his chair while the old dog raised an eyebrow. Professor Delula looked pleased that I did something unexpected. I make sure I'm centered on the table before taking a deep breath to bring myself back into the moment. "Sorry about that. I had to test my surroundings. I've been working with a barrier like that but I could never get it to resist piercing. So I'm going to buckle down."

Space… Space… Do they mean the vacuum of? Or is it up to my interpretation? If it's up to my interpretation then the gym is my space. I need to control everything about it. I know what to do. I've done this before but on a smaller scale. The room was a lot smaller too. I'm going to recreate the trick I did during Thanksgiving.

I close my eyes and move my paws shoulder-width apart. With a deep breath in I get a feel of the room around me. The air is very still. There are not a lot of elements available but I'm going to pull everything out of the air that I can. Exhale, feel the shift, and inhale once more pulling everything in. Again, once in and out bringing everything with it.

I can feel the air around me beginning to chill. I continue to breathe and the room continues to chill. More… More… More! I need to impress them! I open my eyes to see the frost on the windows crawling down the walls to the floor. I hold it steady to watch as the cold begins to settle in. The ice continues to crawl across the floor until it's coated everything. I don't know how much time I have left but it's time to really impress them.

It's one thing to take it all out but I want to put it all back and amplify it. I don't want the room to return to how it was. I want this place to burn! I want the total opposite of the freezing cold. I want this place to be an oven by the time I'm done. I have all these elements contained right now. I can work with them. I can amplify them. They provided the room with warmth so I can get them to provide the room with heat.

I'll have to use my own power for this. I can't make more of something from the room if I have taken it all already. I amplify it. I can feel that it's starting to work.

When working with elements like this, I use focal points to bring out more. In this case, they already exist so I can place them at the focal points instead of drawing them out from the points. With them in place, I can then model them as though it was my own power. Meaning that I can do my amplification. The first place I feel it is in my core. My body begins to feel warm. It spreads to my lungs giving me a feeling of comfort. That feeling won't last long though. It's going to get very uncomfortable, very quickly.

I pour more energy into it, giving it all that I can until I can feel the burning. This is enough for me. This is enough for those here to judge me as well. With one exhale, the frost turns to steam as the room temperature spikes rapidly.

There was one thing I forgot to take into account before doing this and it's going to be my downfall here. I forgot that the clothes I'm wearing assist me in focusing and amplifying my abilities. They do provide some extra protection against heat and cold but not to this extreme. The air in the room is expanding rapidly with the heat. The pressure is making it hard to breathe. All that frost turned into water bringing high humidity into the area.

They may be behind a barrier to protect themselves but I can see if their faces that extreme switch is causing them a lot of discomfort. The ferret pulls a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe away the sweat. The old dog is panting as he's looking around the room. Even Professor Delula, a cold-blooded animal, seems to be having some discomfort with this kind of heat. The problem is… I'm not done. I can still feel the power inside and I have to let it out otherwise I'll be dealing with mana poisoning. I try to slow it down but that doesn't seem to help.

Then, it happens. The extreme shift from cold to hot was too much for the barrier. I hear a small crack behind me. That was just the beginning. The sound of glass shattering echoed through the hollow room releasing all the pressure. The doors couldn't hold! They blew open letting the air rush outside. The pressure dropped immediately allowing the heat to dissipate. It was still warm, but much more manageable.

The doors slam back shut. The old dog stands up making a quick exit. The ferret looks at the timer to stop it. It didn't go off but I have a feeling I've done enough. He follows the old dog leaving Professor Delula behind. She still seems like she's trying to adapt to the room. "Well Red, I can see you've made some progress. I have a few questions about your performance."

I can understand why she would have questions. If they were grading every spell and action I took then there are a few that will need explaining. She wipes her face before grabbing a pen. With a few clicks, she gets herself ready with her notepad, "The first spell you performed was turning dirt into a sharp object and slamming it into the barrier. Did you do that to create a weak point allowing it to shatter?"

"Not intentionally if that's what it did. I really have been working on a barrier of my own that's been struggling with piercing."

She looks down and scribbles notes as the ferret returns from getting air. She continues her questioning, "I know I didn't teach you that warp spell. Explain that one to me."

"Oh! It's not a warp. I call it 'Quick Step' as it's just a quicker movement."

I break down the idea behind it and the physics that allow it to function to appear that it looks like someone is warping. It raised an eyebrow from the both of them. Just to add to it, I cast it again to step closer to the table. Caught the ferret off guard. He jumped in his seat.

Professor Delula was scribbling as fast as she could while I explained everything. As she caught up she finally was able to take a breath, "OK! We need to go over that large performance you gave us. Your prompt was space, how did what you did reflect that?"

"You gave me space and my first thought was beyond that atmosphere but I brought it back down to Earth. No pun intended. Since a barrier was set up, that told me that was the space I had to use. So I used it. All of it. And showed control over the space I was given. Admittedly, I may have gone too far. I destroyed the barrier and probably blew the latch off the doors."

They told me not to worry about it so I didn't worry about it. Apparently, I should have worried about it. The ferret finally seemed to collect himself enough to bring himself back into the conversation, "My concern is that you lack control. To release something of that magnitude ensures that you and we were put in danger. If I had my way, you would be walking out of her today."

"My apologies. I was told there was a barrier that could hold up to anything."

Then something clicked. "I mean, I already held back quite a bit. I was ready to go all out. Good thing I didn't." Professor Delula interrupted before it got worse, "Can you explain the method you used? It didn't feel like a standard process." She's very astute and very smart for diverting the conversation. "Alchemy. Specifically, alchemic control."

The ferret shut up. Professor Delula appeared to be in a state of shock, "Alchemic control?"

"Yes. The process of bringing the available elements into yourself and manipulating and refining them to meet the needs of a spell before releasing them back into the environment with no loss and no gain. In this case, I pulled in everything I could to drop the temperature and air pressure to bring up the freezing point of the room. Then, with those elements stored, I amplified heat and motion before returning it to produce extreme heat. Temperature control is rather easy. I need to learn other methods to better use limited resources."

The ferret furrowed his brow as he stared at me, "I have a hard time believing that you know alchemic control. Alchemic Magic is a field of study that only the most advanced can progress into." He shuffles his papers looking for something. He seems to have found it, "According to your papers, you attended a public school with no magical programs. You have no formal schooling. I cannot believe that you are able to walk in here and present such a high-level understanding of such an advanced topic. Professor, I don't know what your decision is, but I don't need to deliberate. I'm failing him. There is no feasible way he is a legitimate magic user."

He slammed his folder and waved for me to leave. I'm left flabbergasted. I look at Professor Delula who also seems to have the same shocked expression. She knows what I was capable of when she tutored me. She had made a decision though. I can see it on her face. She stood up from her chair to meet me on the floor. "Thank you, I'll deal with this. You should hear your results soon." She pat me on the back before pointing me towards one of the now slightly tilted doors.

Once outside, I could see the old dog sitting on a bench. He was still trying to catch his breath. I walk over to take a seat next to him, "You OK? I'm sorry it got that intense. I didn't expect the barrier to break." He managed to catch his breath enough that his gruff voice could speak, "Neither did I. It was a good show but… I worry."

"I understand. I look forward to my results. Positive or otherwise. Can I get you anything before I leave?"

"I will be fine. Thank you."

I just give him a nod before I head to the front gate once again. Denny is waiting for me across the main street. I dodge the traffic taking my spot in the back. We pull out to head back to the hotel. Denny is a perceptive man. He's worked with Madam Odette long enough that he knows how to read faces, "It seems you had a bit of a rough time. Do you need to stop somewhere to take a break and collect yourself?"

A break sounds nice. I need to change first. "Let's head to the hotel. I need to change before I do anything. But right now, I think a nap is what would do me the best." At my request, we head back to our temporary home. I head up to my room where I fall onto the bed to stare at the ceiling for a hot minute. Did I really fail? This is a new feeling. I've failed before but this is different. I gave it my all. I think that's what hurts.

I change my clothes to get myself comfortable again. We don't leave until tomorrow so for tonight, I should take it easy. I wonder what's around here. I have no doubt there's something within walking distance. I can't rely on Denny for everything. He should also make sure that he gets some time off.