Compared to the other strict, meticulous, and even risky tests at the Altlas Institute, this “Magical Resonance Test” seemed rather… perfunctory to Luo Lan.
Of course, that wasn’t a comment on the scale or ceremony of the event.
On the contrary, the testing grounds were lavishly decorated. At the center lay a circular array inscribed with intricate ancient runes, its edges inlaid with high-purity crystals that stabilized magical fluctuations. Twelve fist-sized observation magistones slowly rotated at the array’s outermost ring.
Once the staff members in uniform finished calibrating the instruments, they withdrew to the perimeter, waiting for the test supervisor to arrive and activate the formation.
The perfunctory feeling Luo Lan sensed wasn’t about the staff’s attitude, but rather a tacit, lenient atmosphere woven into every aspect. The air was not heavy or tense—instead, there was a composure reminiscent of a tea party.
Even the academy’s mages, as their gazes swept over these finely dressed young nobles, were less scrutinizing and more courteous.
Well, the very fact that these sons and daughters weren’t simply handed admission certificates could already be considered Altlas Institute’s adherence to principle.
The magistone tester hovered quietly at the center of the array, drawing in the vibrant magical elements from the surrounding space.
The boys and girls taking the test began following the staff’s directions, spreading out in a circle around the array. The distance between each was just right—far enough to allow independent magical sensing, yet close enough to avoid discomfort.
In this process, Chloe had to finally let go of Luo Lan’s wrist, which she had been clutching tightly.
“Everyone, please don’t be anxious,” a staff member politely announced. “There’s no need to worry. For this test, you do not need to cast any spells or actively channel your magic.”
His gaze swept across the young faces, his expression set in a formal, polite smile.
“All you have to do is wait until the array beneath your feet fully lights up. Don’t deliberately resist the sensation of being… examined. Just let it naturally brush against your magical circuits and record your most basic reaction.”
How easy he made it sound.
Luo Lan lowered his eyes, concealing a flicker of complex emotion.
Opening one’s magical circuits—even if only to be gently probed and recorded—was not entirely risk-free for some.
Especially for someone like Chloe… If he hadn’t spent so much time beforehand helping her stabilize the magic circuits in her body, this test might have repeated the fiasco of the previous round.
At this thought, Luo Lan subconsciously glanced at the girl beside him.
Chloe stood straight to his left, her silvery hair gleaming coldly in the growing light of the array, fingers at her side gently curled.
In a voice only the two of them could hear, Luo Lan quietly reassured her: Just do as the academy asked, there’s no need to be nervous.
Chloe tilted her head toward him, a trace of subtle doubt crossing her mind.
—Isn’t he the one who should be more nervous here?
However, another pair of eyes had never left Luo Lan.
Ophelia stood just behind Luo Lan and Chloe. Ever since everyone had spread out, her gaze seemed riveted to the boy’s back in front of her.
Luo Lan finally couldn’t take it anymore.
He turned around and asked, “Miss Ophelia, is there something you need?”
Ophelia was caught off guard by his direct gaze, which clearly reflected her dazed expression.
“Ah… it’s nothing.”
The girl quickly averted her eyes, forcing herself to focus on the runes inscribed on the array at her feet.
She and Chloe—one the cherished, exceptionally gifted heiress of the Blanche family; the other, the orphan of the once-glorious but now-fallen Lufinias family… These two, both naturally the center of attention and gossip.
Ophelia could feel many eyes drifting between herself and Chloe from all directions.
She stole a glance at Chloe.
The girl simply stood there, exuding a sense of detachment from the bustle around her.
—When did she become like this?
Ophelia’s fingers curled softly within her sleeves, an inexplicable feeling stirring in her heart.
She still remembered, long ago, under the rose-covered corridors of the royal gardens, two little girls in skirts playing and chasing each other.
Then disaster befell the Lufinias family.
The catastrophe had come suddenly and violently, like a storm erasing that prestigious name from the capital’s power structure, the entire family vanishing from Valgard along with Chloe.
Ophelia hadn’t done nothing.
She’d run to her father, head held high, eyes brimming with tears and protest.
“Why does Chloe have to go? Father, can’t we—”
The expression on her father’s face, usually gentle and doting, was one Ophelia had never seen before: stern, even cold.
He interrupted her, his voice so deep it frightened the little Ophelia.
“Ophelia, from now on, do not mention the name Lufinias, and never again associate with anyone from that family. Remember, this is for your own good.”
Hurt and confusion overwhelmed her, so Ophelia went to her mother, but her gentle mother only sighed and shook her head, her fingers softly stroking Ophelia’s hair.
“My child, you’re still too young… There are many things you can’t understand yet.”
Ophelia didn’t understand. Why did her dearest friend have to leave? Why had that name become taboo? Why did adults always have so many reasons?
In the end, all her pain and confusion slowly condensed into an almost obsessive flame in the girl’s small heart.
—She was simply too weak.
Too weak to be heard. Too weak to keep what she cherished. Too weak to even be entitled to the truth.
—In that case, from now on, I will become strong.
Strong enough to break every rule and taboo, strong enough that everyone must acknowledge her wishes, strong enough that one day… she could openly welcome Chloe and the Lufinias back into the sunlight of Valgard.
This thought took root like a seed in Ophelia’s heart, growing with her through countless days and nights, transforming her from a naive girl into the capital’s most dazzling new star.
So, when she learned Chloe would also attend this year’s Grand Ceremony, that old obsession nearly drove her mad with excitement.
Ophelia acted at once, instructing her mages to send familiars to watch the situation at the Lufinias domain from afar.
And then, she needed an accident.
One reasonable, natural enough to justify her presence at Chloe’s side.
Thus, that magical bear entered Ophelia’s plans. She even quietly mobilized some of the Blanche family’s resources at the Adventurer’s Guild, subtly directing a few hunting parties to herd that wounded, increasingly frenzied beast onto the route the Lufinias caravan might take…
And so, she succeeded.
—Vivi, look, I’m no longer that helpless little girl who couldn’t do anything.