In the months after the mission to the station, the team had been assigned to several groups. Mia, Asander, Rip, Malreki, and Neira had been sent to the Mystic Tower, where they would be taught how to harness their frankly frightening raw power in magic.
They'd each been tasked to master one spell of their choosing. This would give the Mystic Council an idea of their personalities and overall skill levels.
Asander was first to show the council what he had learned.
A smile came to his face as he held out his hand, palm up. White light formed at the center of his palm. It seemed to chase away all shadow magic from the area. Asander grasped the light, and it formed into a sword.
The master mystics murmured among themselves. Asander knew he had impressed them and maybe frightened them a little, and that meant he was winning. Maybe the others didn't think of this as a contest like Asander did, but that was why they were losing.
"Sword of Light, one of the most powerful forms of light magic there is. Upon being cast, it banishes all dark magic. It can easily cut through normal and magical bonds. The downside is that it uses an extraordinary amount of energy. How will you remedy this?" a master mystic asked with a tilt of his head.
Asander met the question with a smile. With a gust of wind, he moved to the other side of the room. Due to his speed, the mystics did not realize this until several practice dummies fell to the floor in pieces.
Murmurs began again as Asander stepped to the side and smiled at his team. It was a smile that challenged them to do better.
Rip decided to step forward. He drew a deep breath and, after a moment, announced he was ready. Four pillars rose from the floor and produced blue balls of energy. Rip outstretched his hand and nodded. At once, all four energy spheres raced toward him.
"Devour."
Red and black flames shot from Rip's hand and, as the spell's name suggested, devoured the blue spheres. Murmurs began at once, but were silenced by Rip's next words.
"I'm not done yet."
With a clenched fist, he spoke softly.
"Learn. Now adapt."
A soft blue light escaped from his hand, then an ominous red light.
"Now, electric ball!"
A red and black ball of energy shot out of his hand and flew toward the tower. The tower's energy absorbed it, but the intention was clear.
Mystic masters made sounds of approval around the room.
Rip left the center of the room and stood next to Asander. They exchanged looks. Rip saw Asander as friendly, brotherly competition. Asander saw Rip as an obstacle to overcome.
Neira stepped forward and drew her sword, the legendary blade, the Aki. Once she was standing in the middle of the room, she nodded. The pillars shot the same blue ball of energy at her that they had shot at Rip. She brought her blade up to meet the ball. Upon contact, the ball shattered like glass.
This particular skill was known as Break. The mystics nodded and ushered her away while Mia stepped onto the demonstration circle.
As soon as she did, the orbs that sat on pillars in a circle around her began to glow brighter. Many shielded their eyes as the light became blinding, and all at once, the orbs exploded with such force that only one elderly Tiberian mystic was still standing when the light subsided.
A master mystic broke the silence.
"Impossible!" he spat, but the elderly mystic turned to him and met his eyes.
No one spoke, for the Grand Mystic, master of all mystics and originator of their ancient order, was about to speak.
"My dear Crail, obviously it is not impossible, because...?" the Grand Mystic corrected, prompting a response.
Crail bowed his head and answered as if reciting a lesson.
"If it happened, it is not impossible."
Crail then met the ancient master's eyes.
"Master, it takes one hundred master mystics to overload just one of the orbs. She overloaded eight of them!"
"Yes, it suggests that her passive aura is more powerful than eight hundred mystics," the Grand Mystic responded.
He stroked his long beard, seeming lost in thought.
"It is rare to see such power."
The Grand Mystic studied Mia for a long time before he continued.
"If my suspicions are correct, this means her potential is near limitless. This means she will require special training."
"And her friends?" Crail prodded after the Grand Master continued to stare at Mia.
"Assign Hasakami to Mia and Crucipher to the others."
Mia had never encountered this kind of response before. Usually, she was above average, but not the best. Could it be possible that magic was where her true talents lay? A small smirk started to light up her face at the thought. Finally, something she was exceptional at. Her smirk widened into a grin when the full realization of her potential hit her.
"Near limitless," she repeated breathlessly.