Vilaniel Adrian walked hurriedly through the corridors of the sixth floor of the Arcane Cloister, clutching a flannel-covered basket in her arms.
More than a week had passed since the day training began. During that time, Professor Hiram had sent word via a Tradewind Bird. She, Professor Thorne, and Father Malvorn would conduct the qualification review for the Special Observation Permit on Monday evening. The location was the Observation Room on the sixth floor of the Arcane Cloister.
Vilaniel had walked the path to the Arcane Cloister countless times, but she had never been as tense as she was today.
The Observation Room was located deep within the sixth floor, and Professor Hiram had already been waiting there for a long time. She wore a spotless white research robe, her eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses as calm as an ancient well. She carried a heavy clipboard and a staff in her arms.
“You are punctual.” Hiram’s gaze swept over Vilaniel and the cloth-covered basket, skipping any pleasantries. “They have already arrived. Remember, answer only what you are asked, and do not offer excessive explanations.”
“I understand, Professor,” Vilaniel replied, her voice much calmer than she had expected.
Hiram reached out, pressing her palm against the cold obsidian door.
Intricate magical patterns spread from her palm. Light flowed, and with a roar like the grinding of giant stones, the heavy door slid slowly to one side.
A scent mixed with aged herbs and cold stone wafted toward them.
Inside the door was an open circular space with no windows. Cold white light seeped silently from the stone crevices in the ceiling, illuminating the interior as bright as day. Runes were carved into the walls, with blue light representing the flow of mana circulating through the lines.
It was terrifyingly quiet, and Vilaniel felt as if her heartbeat was being amplified a thousand times.
In the center of the room was a circular platform made of obsidian, its edge etched with a ring of silver-white runes. That was the activation edge of the containment array. Facing the main door was a massive crystal protective wall reaching from the floor to the ceiling. Through the wall, a raised observation platform could be seen behind it.
Currently, two figures were already seated in the observation area.
Vilaniel recognized Father Malvorn on the left at a glance. He was dressed in formal white and gold robes, holding an exaggeratedly styled Holy Light Emblem in his hand. He was chanting with his eyes closed, seemingly in prayer. A gold-rimmed disc sat on the table in front of him. From Vilaniel’s perspective, she could not see what was inside, but she felt an instinctive sense of discomfort.
She did not know the professor on the right, but he was likely Professor Thorne. He was lean with graying hair and a face as solemn as a stone carving. Three crystals of different colors hovered in front of him.
Professor Hiram closed the entrance to the Observation Room and signaled for Vilaniel to walk to the obsidian platform. Then, she opened a small door on one side of the crystal wall and took her seat in the observation area.
“The assessment begins,” Hiram’s voice echoed clearly in the room through a transmission array, sounding exceptionally formal. “The applicant, Vilaniel Adrian, requests a Special Observation Permit for the Young Black Dragon in her possession. This assessment aims to confirm that its behavior is stable and controllable, as well as to determine its potential danger level. Applicant, please place the subject on the assessment platform and retreat to the red marker.”
Vilaniel hurriedly pulled back the flannel cloth, lifted Ignis out of the basket, and placed him gently on the assessment platform. She rubbed his head to comfort him, then picked up the basket and quickly retreated.
Listening to Hiram’s ‘broadcast,’ certain unpleasant experiences of being a student in his past life flashed through Ignis’s mind.
‘Dammit, why does this feel so much like the pre-exam reminders from the school radio station?’
Crouching on the cold stone platform, Ignis felt himself gradually becoming nervous as well.
“The first phase, observation of basic behavior and obedience, will be presided over by me,” Hiram’s voice rang out again. “Subject, pay attention to my instructions.”
Ignis pricked up his ears and focused intently on the observation seats behind the crystal wall.
‘Don’t panic. We’ve been doing simulation practice for over a week. Nothing will go wrong.’
“Stand.”
Ignis supported himself with his hind legs and raised his body.
“Visual tracking.” Professor Hiram waved her staff, and a ball of light that constantly changed colors condensed in the air not far in front of him. It drifted irregularly following the movements of the caster in the observation seat.
Ignis locked onto the ball of light, his head slowly turning along with its trajectory.
“Stop.”
Professor Hiram pointed her staff downward, the ball of light dissipated, and Ignis turned his gaze back to the observation area.
“Now, walk to your right and stop at the edge of the platform.”
Ignis did as he was told, slowly walking to the edge of the platform and stopping.
“Very good. Basic obedience is excellent, focus is maintained, and there is a clear awareness of boundaries.”
Hiram pointed her staff at the tabletop, and lines of text were written out of thin air onto the recording board as if an invisible pen were recording.
It was a mid-tier spell, Thought Writing.
“The second phase, interference and pressure testing, will be presided over by Professor Black Thorne.”
Behind the crystal wall, Professor Thorne nodded slightly to Hiram and then raised a hand. On the table, the gray one among the three floating crystals lit up with a faint glow.
At the same time, Ignis noticed a whispering sound ringing in his ears. This was not simple noise; it sounded like the chatter of an undisciplined evening study session, yet he couldn’t hear any specific content. It was as persistent as a mosquito in the middle of the night.
Ignis felt he should show some reaction—a reaction fitting for a normal creature. So, he shook his head and raised a claw to wave near his ear, as if trying to drive the noise away.
Thorne touched the crystal with his finger, and the gray light expanded bit by bit.
What started as subtle chatter gradually increased in volume, and sharp metallic scraping sounds began to mix in. Ignis’s body suddenly shrunk back, and the dragon scales on his neck stood up slightly.
‘Oh no, this is actually really uncomfortable.’
Whether in his past life or the present, he could not stand that kind of scraping sound.
“Don’t be afraid, look at me,” Vilaniel’s urgent whisper came from behind him.
Ignis turned his body and looked at the girl inside the red circle in the distance.
“Don’t be nervous, just endure it a little longer, it’ll be over soon…”
“Cease.” After 15 seconds, Professor Thorne’s voice came through, and the unbearable scraping disappeared.
Ignis breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to face the original direction.
“The third phase, danger simulation and reaction testing, will be presided over by me,” Thorne announced flatly. Another crystal, a dark red one, flared with light.
Above the platform, the air distorted, and a massive, dark red hand encased in black armor rapidly took shape. It slammed down heavily with a whistling sound.
Vilaniel’s heart leaped into her throat.
Ignis was still processing Thorne’s words. When he saw the image above his head, his pupils shrunk.
‘Are you for real?’
The scales all over Ignis’s body flared up, and a strong sense of crisis rushed to his heart. He could clearly feel the heat deep in his throat surging frantically, like magma about to erupt —
But he couldn’t do that.
Reason suppressed his defensive instincts. Ignis threw himself down and rolled, narrowly avoiding the slamming giant hand. The hand that struck the platform was like a wave hitting a reef; the magic forming its body instantly shattered and dissipated into the air.
Ignis, having rolled a few times, quickly scrambled up. He gave a symbolic low growl toward the place where the giant hand had struck, but he did not use his Dragon Breath or attack the platform.
‘Just a couple of huffs should do it. I need to look as gentle as possible.’
Vilaniel instinctively wanted to rush out, but she stopped herself after taking just one step. The assessment was still ongoing, and she couldn’t move freely. Perhaps someone in the observation area was just waiting for her to break the rules.