"I detect uneven breathing from him. He's not alone," Erick pointed out, his voice dripping with intrigue.
The room fell silent, with all eyes turning to Octavius in curiosity. Octavius chuckled nervously, attempting to deflect attention. However, his actions only heightened suspicion as he carefully brought out the Mohit bird from his pouch.
A collective gasp escaped the Mages seated nearby, their eyes widening in awe as they beheld the rare creature up close. Octavius was well aware that the bird had been under Void's possession earlier.
Before they entered the room, Void had induced the bird to fall asleep, allowing Octavius to safely store it in his pouch until the ti ca to showcase his own talent.
As the room's attention focused on the bird, Octavius couldn't help but think that, indeed, the cat was out of the bag – just as Void had annotated.
A few contestants, including so from Octavius's group, applauded Erick's impressive display of accuracy. Erick bowed with a self-satisfied smile to the Councillors before returning to stand with his fellow contestants.
Now that the seven mbers from the other group had showcased their talents, it was ti for Octavius's group to take the stage. Marilyn was called forth first, and as she stepped forward, she bowed slightly.
"My na is Marilyn, daughter of The Architect Mage Ery," she introduced herself. Octavius heard Nadia scoff at Marilyn's introduction, folding her arms under her breast. The other contestants began to whisper amongst themselves.
Octavius recalled Marilyn telling him them about soone giving her one of the fake aetherstones, and it imdiately occurred to Octavius that, With or without the aetherstones, Marilyn would get in even if her powers weren't all that impressive.
"I possess two talents," Marilyn continued. "One being the ability to rewrite spells backward, although I'm unable to cast them myself. And the other is known as 'Flux' – the ability to manipulate and control hair growth, allowing to craft intricate designs and styles with re thoughts."
[Now we have a Disney princess, just great.] Void muttered as he watched on.
Octavius noticed Nadia's deanor change, her arms unfolding from under her breast as she leaned forward, suddenly keen on watching Marilyn's demonstration.
While the Mages simply wore a bored look, seemingly not impressed.
"I'd like to demonstrate my talents by asking the noble Healer's Mage to permit to replicate his hairstyle,"
The Healer's Mage nodded, waving his hand in approval. Marilyn closed her eyes, focusing her energy. Her hair began to transform, mirroring the Healer's Mage's distinctive style. But that was only the beginning – her body also started to shift, her features subtly changing to resemble those of the Healer's Mage.
As the transformation took hold, the Healer's Mage's eyes widened in astonishnt, his bored expression lting away. He rose from his seat, applauding enthusiastically for Marilyn. The room erupted into murmurs of amazent, the other contestants exchanging awestruck glances.
Marilyn smiled, her form shifting back to its original state as she changed her hairstyle back to its natural appearance. She turned to the Conjurer's Mage, who looked impressed, and asked, "I'd like the noble Conjurer's Mage to provide with a simple spell to rewrite."
The Conjurer's Mage, already intrigued by her previous demonstration, quickly offered a spell by grabbing her rune and drawing a bold spell sign in the air.
Marilyn inspected it and imdiately recognized the spell's purpose. She nodded and grabbed a piece of paper from a nearby table, beginning to deconstruct the components of the original spell.
With the spell sign hovering in front of her, Marilyn started to piece together the elents of a new, unique spell.
"The spell sign written by the honorable Conjurer's Mage is that of a 'Luminaria Shield,' used to deflect minor attacks," Marilyn explained. "Now, I'm going to rewrite the lines and modify the arcane structure to create..." She trailed off as she completed the drawing of a new spell sign. "What I would like to call... the 'Nexus'."
Marilyn continued, "With the Nexus, you wouldn't need the Luminaria Shield in complex situations. As the Kyrium Nexus is a self-sustaining convergence of contradictory magical and non-magical energies, it can adapt to various threats and neutralize them effectively."
She turned to the Mage and bowed slightly as she held up the paper. "Please cast the rewritten spell." The Mage looked at the rune to inspect it before casting it mid-air.
Nothing happened.
"Right, it should only work when it's tested,"
Marilyn undid her sandal and muttered a quick apology before tossing it towards the Mage. The Mage's eyes widened in alarm as the sandal hurtled towards her face, but just as suddenly, it vanished – only to reappear and strike Marilyn instead.
Marilyn groaned, clutching her head in pain. "Mages and fellow contestants, I give you the Nexus!" she announced, with one hand covering her face and the other pointed to the spell sign mid-air.
The room erupted into applause as the Mages and contestants rose to their feet, praising her ingenuity.
Nadia, however, doesn't clap. She simply watched on with an unreadable expression.
Marilyn's gaze drifted towards her father, and she was surprised to see astonishnt and – dare she say it– respect in his eyes.
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