The practical application area was divided into dozens of smaller training zones, each marked by glowing boundary lines and supervised by an Academy instructor.

We were split into groups of ten, assigned randomly.

My group included Kyle, a nervous-looking commoner boy, three nobles who immediately clustered together and ignored the rest of us, and four others I didn't recognize.

Our instructor was a stern-faced woman in her forties, her grey-streaked hair pulled back severely. "I am Instructor Kael. This trial tests your ability to learn and execute a basic spell under supervision."

She gestured to a row of training dummies at the far end of our zone. "You will each be taught a simple offensive spell suited to your elemental affinity. You have thirty minutes to learn the technique and successfully execute it against the target. Failure to produce results in that time means elimination."

Thirty minutes to learn a spell from scratch.

"We begin with those showing the highest capacity," Instructor Kael said, consulting her clipboard. "Marcus Valen, step forward."

Wait... Marcus was in my group?

He walked forward with that same arrogant confidence, smirking at me as he passed.

Of course. Of fucking course.

Instructor Kael demonstrated a fire spell that shot from the palm and struck with enough force to scorch the training dummy.

Marcus watched once, nodded, then replicated it on his second attempt. The fire bolt slammed into the dummy's chest, leaving a blackened mark.

"Acceptable. Twenty-three minutes remaining on your timer, but you've passed this portion. Stand aside."

Marcus moved to the side, looking smug.

The testing continued through the group.

Kyle struggled more, his earth manipulation spell taking nearly the full thirty minutes. But he got it eventually, a spike of stone that erupted from the ground and struck the dummy's leg.

"Acceptable. Next candidate."

The commoner boy failed. His water affinity spell didn't manifested properly.

One by one, candidates either passed or were eliminated.

Until—

"Jin Raith. Step forward."

I moved to stand before Instructor Kael.

She consulted her notes.

"No clear elemental affinity detected. Unusual." She studied me for a moment. "We'll attempt a basic mana bolt, pure energy with no elemental component. It's less efficient but functional for those with unclear affinities."

She demonstrated, holding out her hand, concentrating, then releasing a bolt of pure white energy that struck the dummy.

"The key is visualization and control. Gather your mana here," she indicated her palm, "Compress it, then release in a directed burst. You have thirty minutes. Begin."

I stared at my hand.

Gather mana. Compress it. Release.

Simple in theory. But I'd never done anything like this before.

I closed my eyes and tried to feel, direct it toward my palm like Instructor Kael had demonstrated.

Nothing happened.

Five minutes passed. Ten.

I could feel sweat beading on my forehead from concentration.

Marcus laughed from where he stood. "This is painful to watch."

"Quiet," Instructor Kael snapped. "Candidate is still within his time limit."

Fifteen minutes. Twenty.

I'd tried everything I could think of, visualization, meditation techniques, different hand positions.

But I couldn't manifest it externally like a normal mage would.

Because I'm not a normal mage.

I don't cast spells. I edit.

The realization hit me like cold water.

I couldn't create a mana bolt through traditional spellcasting. My Debugger class didn't work that way. I manipulated existing things.

But I couldn't create something from nothing using standard magic.

So how do I pass this test?

Twenty-five minutes.

The instructor was watching me with growing concern. "Candidate Raith, you need to produce results soon or..."

"I'm trying," I said through gritted teeth.

Think. The test requires demonstrating offensive magical application. It doesn't specify it has to be traditional spellcasting.

What if I edit something else to create the same effect?

I looked at the training dummy fifteen feet away. Then at the small rocks scattered across the training ground.

I quietly picked up a small stone, maybe the size of my thumb.

[Object Analysis - Stone]

mass: 0.15kg

velocity: 0 m/s

trajectory: none

I focused everything on that single stone, visualizing what I needed to change.

[Target: Stone projectile velocity + trajectory]

[Change: 0 m/s → 25 m/s, directed at training dummy center mass]

The stone shot from my hand like it had been fired from a sling, streaking through the air in a grey blur.

It struck the training dummy square in the chest with a sharp crack, leaving a visible dent in the reinforced padding.

Silence.

Instructor Kael stared at the dummy, then at me, her expression unreadable.

"What was that?" Marcus demanded. "That wasn't a spell!"

"It was magical application," I said carefully. "Force applied through mana manipulation to create an offensive result."

Technically true.

The instructor approached the dummy, examining the impact point. "The force was... significant. Equivalent to a basic mana bolt in terms of damage output."

She turned back to me. "Demonstrate again. Different target area."

I picked up another stone.

It struck perfectly, creating another dent.

Instructor Kael was silent for a long moment.

Then: "Acceptable. You pass."

Relief flooded through me.

Marcus looked like he wanted to argue but couldn't find grounds. The test specified offensive magical application, it hadn't specified the method.

"All candidates have been evaluated," Instructor Kael announced. "Results will be compiled and posted within the hour. Dismissed."

We gathered back in the central courtyard with hundreds of other candidates, all waiting for results to be posted.

Kyle was beside himself. "You made rocks fly! Just, whoosh! I didn't even know you could do that!"

"Neither did I," I muttered.

"That was so cool! Way cooler than my earth spike thing. You should teach me—"

"Kyle."

"Yeah?"

"Let's just wait for results."

The hour crawled by. Some candidates looked confident. Others anxious. A few were already crying, knowing they'd failed.

Finally, a massive board appeared in the air above the courtyard, glowing with magical light.

Names began filling it... those who'd passed.

I scanned frantically, looking for mine.

"JIN RAITH - PASSED TRIAL RANK: 447"

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