"Okay, the test is one thing, but why's everyone giving us the plague treatment?" Oz asked upfront.

"Hmm? Oh! That's because of the test," the man chuckled. "Participants are forbidden from getting outside help, and we're closely monitoring the entire town to ensure that there's no cheating. They were probably worried they'd be disqualified from fraternizing with you."

"You've got to be joking," Oz complained while his frown grew deeper.

"Oh no, I'm deadly serious. We want our students to be able to handle this alone, or we don't want them at all."

Lily gulped, "So what is the test?"

The man opened his mouth to answer but then paused. He turned around to look at a particular building and then sighed.

"Okay, it looks like Pete has already called it a day. Unfortunately, you'll need to wait until tomorrow to get your book and supplies."

"Book? Supplies?" Lily asked curiously.

The man pointed at one of the buildings. "Go there first thing in the morning. Show your letter, and you'll get your stuff. In the meantime, you should be able to get free lodging at one of the inns with your letter, too."

"Really? You can't even give her an idea of what to expect?" Oz probed.

"Sorry, sorry. I don't want to get in trouble. For what it's worth, I wish you good luck! And once you pass, you'll understand why all the secrecy."

Oz was about to complain again, but Lily pulled at his sleeve and shook her head. He sighed again and decided to give up, as the man was already walking away.

"Bunch of jerks," Oz muttered.

"Thanks for trying Oz," Lily said with a smile. "But don't worry, I'm sure everything will be perfect."

Oz nodded, and they began walking to one of the inns. Thankfully, the innkeeper and his wife were far more friendly, a much-needed warmth after Kaeling's initial icy reception.

After a delicious meal and drink, with Oz trying out the local ale, they were each given a room. Lily was grateful she'd have some alone time to consult privately with Arakil.

"Any idea what sort of test it will be?" Lily asked.

[The need for secrecy makes me think it's something unique to Regarth itself. Perhaps they want you to do a task in the dungeon? Hunting monsters would be my immediate guess when it comes to dungeons.]

Lily gave a nervous chuckle.

"Surely not? I know that I've kinda been combat-tested thanks to the official evaluation, but that still seems far too much for a fresh student. He also mentioned a book and supplies; why give me a book if they wanted me to hunt?"

[The book could be knowledge about the dungeon. If it's their personal dungeon, then it could be secret knowledge they don't want to leak. Or maybe they want you to do a research task?]

"I can't imagine Rose doing research," Lily sighed. "But if Rose completed the test, then I'm sure I can too!"

Lily would have liked to talk more with Arakil but felt tired after the long trip. If she were candid with herself, she would have been a little glad that she'd only start the next day, as she just didn't have the energy right now. She was so tuckered out that she barely had time to do her nightly meditation.

***

Lily woke up bright and early. Peeking out the window, she noticed it was probably too soon to fetch her test. After a refreshing cycle of her Mana Core, she went into her bag and started rummaging for her supplies.

Lily drew a quick glyph and promptly activated it, summoning a ball of clean water at the perfect bathtub temperature. She could have done something similar with a spell, but by using a glyph, she could ensure it had the precise specifications she wanted.

Furthermore, she was a little concerned after the man from before mentioned that everyone was being monitored—Lily had demonstrated that she couldn't do anything but "star magic" without using glyphs.

I really need to think of a better name. Or at least devise a good excuse to "discover" the word Astral.

When Lily finished freshening up, she heard plenty of commotion downstairs. She grabbed Arakil's book and headed out, locking her room behind her. She attempted to see if Oz was awake, but after several knocks at his door and no response, she went downstairs for breakfast.

Lily devoured her scrumptious bacon and egg; she wanted to have plenty of energy for whatever this test was. The staff offered her some morning coffee, but she turned them down—it was far too bitter for her. When she was done, she thanked them profusely and tried to pay for her meal, but she was turned down and informed that Regarth was compensating all of them. Lily felt bad about not leaving any money but soon rushed outside and began heading to her destination.

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Lily knocked on the building's door twice, causing the unlocked door to swing open on the second knock. She didn't hear a response, so she cautiously entered.

"Hello?" she asked nervously.

"Yes? Come in!" a man's voice said from within.

Entering the building, Lily soon realized it was a repurposed house rather than a store. Thankfully, before she felt like she was trespassing, she ran into the source of the voice. He looked friendly, wearing half of a uniform with the Regarth insignia stitched onto it. Lily guessed he was probably in his late twenties or early thirties.

"And how may I help you, little miss?" the man asked.

"Hi there, I'm Lily. Are you Pete? I was told to come here for my test," Lily replied politely.

The man enthusiastically snapped his fingers, "Lily the Lagia with the strange and new star bloodline!"

Lily nodded her head in confirmation.

"Excellent! I was wondering when you would arrive. At first, when the headmaster told me about you, I thought he was joking. Then I saw the official results of your test and was blown away!"

"Um… thank you," Lily blushed awkwardly.

"I don't suppose you could show me a quick spell?"

Lily nodded and opened her hand, revealing a small cluster of stars. At this point, she could summon them as easily as breathing. The stars began to float from her palm to the ceiling while slowly drifting apart.

"Just like stars! Remarkable!" he excitedly said, clapping his hands. "I really hope you pass the test now; I want to see the look on some of the other teachers' faces when they see this for the first time."

"Yes. Um. So what is this test?" Lily asked.

"I'll be giving you a book, and you need to complete what is written inside it," Pete began explaining. "Along with the book, you will be given all the items needed to complete it, with a few extras on the side. Theoretically, as long as you aren't wasteful, you'll have at most three chances to succeed."

"And what is the task?" Lily asked.

"I'm afraid to say that discovering the task is part of the test," Pete chuckled. "And yes, I definitely understand how annoying that is. I can tell you that it's a school secret, and this method is surprisingly good at weeding out those who are not Regarth material."

"But I'll absolutely understand by reading the book?"

"Assuming you're Regarth material—yes," Pete nodded. "And I'll be honest, I'm rooting for you. I can only imagine what results you'll get with this star bloodline. Maybe you can even beat the record set by the Dragia girl last year?"

"Rose set the record!?" Lily gasped.

"Oh, you know her?" Pete asked curiously.

"She's my big sister," Lily replied proudly.

"I see… but yes, she completed it on the same day she received it. Probably most shocking of all was that she didn't even read the full book!"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding…" Lily groaned. "I bet Rose just shouted at it, and it worked."

"That's actually extremely close to the truth," Pete admitted with a defeated chuckle. "But I dare not say more or risk you getting disqualified. Anyway, are you ready for your supplies?"

Lily enthusiastically nodded, ears flopping wildly.

Pete gave a thumbs-up before heading towards a cabinet. He muttered a spell before waving his hand over it, unlocking it in the process. Inside, Lily saw numerous identical books and a variety of large pouches. Pete grabbed one of each, closed the door, and gently handed it over to Lily.

"These are your official supplies. The book is enchanted to combust if you leave Kaeling, and losing it is considered a failure—you must return it. You are not allowed outside help, and the book itself is equipped with monitoring spells. Oh, right, hold out your thumb, please."

Lily gingerly held out her hand. Pete pulled out a tiny needle and pricked it so swiftly she couldn't even react in time. She let out a yelp after the fact and almost instinctively sucked on it before Pete grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"Please touch your finger to the gemstone on the book that will authorize you to view it," Pete nonchalantly explained.

Lily nodded and touched the book, smearing the tiny amount of her blood on the stone. It shone brightly before vanishing entirely.

"Excellent. The book is bound to you for the duration of the test, and only you are authorized to read it. Again, no outside help and no spreading the book's contents to anyone else."

"Okay," Lily agreed before quickly sucking on her thumb.

"Great… I think that was everything," Pete murmured. "I would love to say, 'Do you have any questions?' But that's against the rules… so I wish you the best of luck!'

"Thanks, Pete, I'll do my best!" Lily said confidently.

"Great. Be sure to let your parents or guardian know. You are permitted to talk about non-test stuff, but I know some people are super paranoid about it. Simply don't try to cheat the test, and you'll be golden."

Lily nodded enthusiastically and clutched the book tightly. She said farewell to Pete and then left, heading back to her room to finally get some answers!

When she arrived at the inn, the staff saw her holding the book and seemed to know what was happening.

"Good luck!"

"You can do it!"

They said enthusiastically. The innkeeper even threw out a kind bit of advice.

"Remember, there's no rush; you have up to two weeks to complete it. Come downstairs if you ever need some food or a break!"

Lily thanked them before rushing upstairs. Her curiosity was killing her at this point. As if on cue, Oz lazily exited his room.

"Morning' Lily," he yawned.

"Good morning, Oz, I got my test, so I'm going to get right to it! Maybe we can chat at lunch?"

He blinked sheepishly before nodding, "Oh. Okay then. Goodluck?"

"Thanks!" Lily replied, continuing her rush to the room.

She closed the door behind her and locked it before letting out a sigh.

"Okay, now to see what all this fuss was about…"

She placed the book on her bed and also pulled out Arakil's book. However, she opened the sack before looking at the book and peered inside.

"What the heck?" Lily asked, feeling puzzled.

Inside the sack were various odds and ends. There were sticks of chalk in varying colors, a handful of labeled vials, a bright red feather, a black horn, a slime core, a few gemstones, and some dried herbs.

"There's even some Fairymoss…" Lily mumbled. "What could they possibly want me to do with these bits and bobs?"

Lily began reading the vials and became even more confused. There was a vial of "monster blood," a silvery solution labeled "mercury," and a peculiar glowing substance called "ectoplasm."

Then, right at the bottom, she found a small box. She gingerly opened it and saw an ornate-looking dagger with a curved blade, along with a small potion bottle labeled "healing."

Lily was perplexed. She swirled around the bottle a bit and briefly activated her Magesight—she estimated it was somewhere between a lesser and regular healing potion.

Before she ended her enhanced sight, she noticed that all the other stuff from the sack was faintly glowing at varying levels.

Lily still had no answer yet, so she opened Arakil's book. She softly whispered her list of supplies to him and expressed her confusion.

Arakil's response was prompt and to the point.

[It sounds like they want you to do a ritual.]