The estate no longer felt like a home.
It felt like a forge.
Six months.
That was the timeline given by the Continental Arcane Convergence Academy.
Six months until Aruford would be evaluated under Prodigy Clause 7.
Which meant:
No ordinary entrance exam.
No written-only trial.
They would test everything.
Mana control. Combat. Adaptability. Psychological resilience.
And politics.
Especially politics.
Structured Training Begins
His father no longer sparred casually.
Training became scheduled.
Measured.
Documented.
"Again," his father said, blade raised.
This time Aruford wielded a real steel practice sword.
Not wood.
They clashed.
His father increased speed incrementally.
Aruford adjusted.
No wasted movement.
No panic.
After twenty exchanges, his father stepped back.
"You're stabilizing too quickly."
Aruford blinked. "Is that bad?"
"It means you're not being pushed."
Aruford considered that.
"…Push harder."
His father's brow lifted slightly.
"You asked for it."
The next strike carried killing intent.
Not enough to wound.
But enough to simulate reality.
Aruford's pupils sharpened.
Chosen One: Threat Analysis — active.
He didn't retreat.
He stepped forward.
Closed distance.
Redirected force instead of blocking.
His father's blade scraped past his shoulder—
—and Aruford's sword stopped at his father's throat.
Silence.
The watching guards stiffened.
His father lowered his blade slowly.
"…You've started correcting me mid-motion."
Aruford tilted his head.
"Yes."
"You weren't doing that last week."
"No."
That was all the explanation he gave.
Later, Aruford examined himself internally.
Effector no longer only reacted to injury or danger.
It pre-adjusted based on prediction models created by Chosen One.
Strength was allocated before strain.
Mana flow optimized before inefficiency appeared.
It was no longer survival-based growth.
It was refinement.
"…You are integrating faster than expected," the fragment noted.
"Is that because of the academy?" Aruford asked.
"No."
A pause.
"Because of anticipation."
Aruford didn't fully understand that.
But he accepted it.
Three weeks later—
A carriage bearing the crest of Vireldor arrived at House Valemont's gates.
Snow-marked armor.
Northern royal envoy.
The council chamber filled quickly.
Elder Marthis looked displeased.
His father looked prepared.
The envoy removed his gloves calmly.
"We come in courtesy," he said smoothly. "Rumors of a resurrection-class surge reached our court."
Marthis replied sharply, "Rumors travel faster than truth."
The envoy smiled faintly.
"Truth travels armed."
Silence.
Then—
"We understand your son will attend the Continental Academy."
His father did not deny it.
"And?"
"Our kingdom also sends a candidate under Prodigy Clause."
Aruford, standing near the rear pillar, watched carefully.
The envoy's eyes shifted toward him.
There was no hostility.
Only evaluation.
"So this is the boy."
Aruford stepped forward calmly.
"Yes."
The envoy studied him longer than polite.
"…You do not look unstable."
Aruford blinked.
"Should I?"
A guard coughed to hide a laugh.
The envoy's mouth twitched slightly.
"Most children who tamper with death do."
Aruford answered evenly.
"I did not tamper. I met a condition."
The room went very still.
The envoy's gaze sharpened.
"Interesting phrasing."
His father interjected smoothly, "My son has a tendency toward… philosophical responses."
The envoy chuckled.
"Good. The academy breaks the arrogant first."
Aruford tilted his head slightly.
"Then I will avoid arrogance."
The envoy's eyes narrowed faintly.
"…Confidence, however, is tested differently."
Later, as the envoy prepared to leave, he paused near Aruford alone in the courtyard.
"Our candidate is from Vireldor."
"I know," Aruford replied.
The envoy's eyebrow lifted.
"You do?"
"You felt cold when you arrived."
The envoy laughed softly.
"Mana sensitivity at that age… impressive."
He crouched slightly to meet Aruford's gaze.
"She has never lost."
Aruford nodded.
"Good."
"You aren't curious about her strength?"
"I am."
"Then why don't you ask?"
Aruford looked toward the northern horizon.
"Because I'll see it soon."
For the first time, the envoy's smile faded.
Not in hostility.
In intrigue.
"…Yes. You will."
That evening, as if to test rumors, the envoy requested a demonstration.
"Nothing destructive," he clarified. "Merely control."
A mid-tier mana compression crystal was brought forward.
Designed to measure output pressure and stability.
Aruford placed one hand against it.
He did not flood it.
He did not spike.
He inhaled slowly.
Condensed.
Refined.
Mana gathered not violently—
But precisely layered.
The crystal began to hum.
Then glow.
Then compress inward instead of outward.
The envoy's eyes widened slightly.
"Reverse-pressure containment?"
Marthis stiffened.
Even his father's expression shifted.
The crystal did not crack.
It did not flare.
It stabilized at a density far beyond normal child output.
Aruford withdrew his hand calmly.
The crystal remained intact.
The envoy stood slowly.
"…That is not raw talent."
"No," Aruford agreed quietly.
"It is structure."
After the Envoy Leaves–
The council chamber felt heavier after the northern carriage disappeared down the road.
Marthis spoke first.
"They are measuring him."
His father replied calmly,
"So are we."
Aruford stood quietly beside the window.
Watching the horizon.
"…There are others like you," the fragment whispered faintly.
"Yes."
"And you feel it."
"Yes."
"Does that unsettle you?"
Aruford thought about that carefully.
"No."
A pause.
"…It sharpens me."
The fragment almost sounded satisfied.
Far north, in a snow-covered courtyard—
The silver-haired girl received her own report.
"He stabilized a resurrection surge?" she asked calmly.
"Yes."
"And compressed mana without fracture."
"Yes."
She turned toward the falling snow.
"…Good."
Her golden eyes reflected faint anticipation.
"I was getting bored."
The official letter arrived at dawn.
Stamped with five crests.
Marked urgent.
The Continental Arcane Convergence Academy had advanced Aruford's evaluation.
He would not wait six months.
He would be assessed in three weeks.
Under Special Prodigy Review.
Elder Marthis read the notice twice.
"…They are nervous."
His father folded the parchment calmly.
"Good."
Aruford, standing near the window, asked:
"What does Special Review mean?"
Marthis exhaled slowly.
"It means they suspect you are either extraordinary…"
A pause.
"…or dangerous."
Aruford nodded once.
"That seems reasonable."
Arrival of the Examiners
They did not send instructors.
They sent arbiters.
Three robed figures arrived through spatial transfer at the estate courtyard.
Their insignias bore all five kingdom seals interlocked.
At their center stood a woman with silver-threaded hair and eyes that missed nothing.
"High Arcanist Selvara," she introduced herself.
She did not bow.
Neither did Marthis.
"We will conduct preliminary assessments," Selvara said calmly. "Written cognition. Cosmological comprehension. Mana theory. Psychological stability."
Her eyes shifted to Aruford.
"And restraint."
Aruford met her gaze evenly.
"…Understood."
A temporary examination chamber was constructed using layered barrier arrays.
Aruford sat alone at a long stone desk.
Across from him floated a crystalline projection slate.
Selvara's voice echoed through the room.
"You will answer verbally and in script. Time is irrelevant. Accuracy is not."
The first question appeared:
Define the difference between mana circulation and mana resonance.
Aruford wrote calmly.
"Circulation refers to internalized flow within a living vessel. Resonance refers to environmental alignment between vessel and external mana patterns."
The crystal flickered.
Next:
Explain why forced mana absorption can destabilize ley-lines.
"Because absorption that ignores natural flow direction creates localized vacuum distortion, causing rebound surges."
Selvara's eyebrow lifted slightly outside the chamber.
Marthis muttered under his breath.
"…He's seven."
"He's five," his father corrected quietly.
The Cosmology Section–
The projection shifted.
Layers appeared.
Realms overlapping.
"Describe the Mid-Realm Barrier and its function."
Aruford paused briefly.
The fragment stirred faintly but did not answer.
Good.
He responded on his own.
"The Mid-Realm Barrier prevents bleed-through between high-density entities and mortal planes. It is less a wall and more a filtration membrane."
Selvara leaned forward slightly.
"Define high-density entities."
Aruford's pen slowed.
He answered carefully.
"Beings whose mana mass exceeds stable mortal thresholds."
Selvara's eyes sharpened.
"Examples?"
Aruford hesitated only a fraction.
"…Ancient dragons."
Outside, one of the arbiters glanced at Selvara.
She made no comment.
The written slate dissolved.
The chamber darkened.
An illusion field activated.
Aruford stood in a simulated battlefield.
Smoke.
Screams.
Falling stone.
A memory recreation.
Selvara's voice echoed calmly.
"You may end this scenario at any time."
The structure began collapsing again.
Children crying.
The same moment.
The same choice.
Aruford did not freeze.
He did not panic.
He moved.
Rescued two.
Then paused.
He could save three.
He knew that now.
The illusion amplified pressure.
"Save them all," Selvara's voice urged softly.
The structure cracked violently.
Impossible angles.
Unrealistic conditions.
Aruford stopped.
Turned toward the center of the illusion.
"This is flawed."
The rubble froze mid-fall.
Selvara's voice sharpened slightly.
"Explain."
"In the real event, mana suppression limited absorption. In this scenario, suppression is inconsistent."
Silence.
He continued calmly.
"You are testing emotional destabilization."
The illusion dissolved.
Selvara stepped into the chamber physically this time.
"You were five when you died."
"Yes."
"Why are you not afraid of repeating it?"
Aruford answered honestly.
"I don't intend to repeat it."
"That was not the question."
Aruford considered carefully.
"…Because I understand it now."
Selvara studied him long and hard.
"You speak as if death was instructional."
"It was."
One of the arbiters whispered to Selvara afterward,
"Is he always like this?"
Marthis answered dryly,
"Yes. Unfortunately."
Aruford looked mildly confused.
"…Was that incorrect?"
Selvara almost smiled.
"Not incorrect. Unsettling."
Final Test—
In the courtyard, a high-density mana prism was placed before him.
"This prism fractures under uncontrolled surges," Selvara explained. "You will channel as much power as possible without cracking it."
Aruford stepped forward.
He placed both hands on the surface.
He did not inhale deeply.
He did not flare.
He compressed.
Layer by layer.
Condensed intent.
Mana aligned so precisely that the air around him stilled.
No wind.
No aura explosion.
Just pressure.
The prism began glowing white.
Hairline fractures appeared—
Then stopped.
Stabilized.
Balanced at the exact breaking threshold.
Aruford withdrew calmly.
The prism remained intact.
Selvara exhaled slowly.
"…He doesn't overpower."
His father replied quietly,
"No."
Selvara nodded once.
"He calibrates."
Private Arbiters' Discussion
Later, inside a sealed chamber:
"He exceeds theoretical knowledge for his age."
"He corrected the illusion matrix mid-cast."
"He did not display instability."
Selvara folded her hands.
"He is not reckless."
"Which makes him more concerning."
A pause.
"Does he qualify?"
Selvara's answer was immediate.
"Yes."
In the main hall, before the elders:
"Aruford Valemont," Selvara announced,
"You are granted provisional acceptance into the Continental Arcane Convergence Academy under Multi-Kingdom Prodigy Status."
Silence.
Marthis closed his eyes briefly.
His father remained still.
Selvara continued,
"Final combat and aptitude trials will occur on academy grounds."
Aruford nodded once.
"When do we depart?"
Selvara looked at him carefully.
"In one month."
Aruford turned toward the northern horizon unconsciously.
"…Good."
Far away, beneath falling snow—
A silver-haired girl received the same notice.
She smiled faintly.
『End of Volume 1』