Malek walked up to the table and looked at the three items in front of him.

  A herb. Pale green with silver lines running through the leaves. Moonbell Root.

  A vial of clear liquid. He held it up to the light. Totally clear. He pulled out the cork and sniffed carefully. Alcohol. Strong stuff.

  A small flame sitting on a flat metal plate. floating there because of its magical nature.

  He had ten minutes to make something useful.

  Behind him, Instructor Aael held an hourglass. The sand was already falling.

  Malek thought fast.

  The easy answer was a simple calming medicine: crush the root, mix it with alcohol, warm it up a bit.

  But it would be too basic.

  He looked at the floating flame again. No pot to hold anything. Nothing to control it except his own hands. That meant he'd have to be really careful—keep adjusting how close things got to the fire.

  He focused, Principle Resonance.

  Everything got sharper. The world got quieter. Things he'd learned before started clicking together in his head.

  An idea formed.

  Hard to accomplish but if it worked, it would act faster and stronger than any normal mix.

  Vapor infusion.

  He'd only read about it once, in one of Hendrick's old books. Never tried it himself. Just theoretical knowledge.

  Malek pulled out a brass bowl and grinding tool from his bag and set them on the table.

  Behind him, Aael raised an eyebrow. Surprised.

  He started.

  The Moonbell Root crumbled under the grinding tool, turning into fine powder. The silver lines left a faint shine. He poured a little alcohol into the bowl—just enough to wet the powder—and mixed until it became a thick paste.

  Then came the hard part.

  He picked up the plate with the flame and held it above the bowl, tilted just enough to let the heat drop down without burning the mixture.

  Steam rose immediately. Thin wisps curled up, smelling sharp and clean.

  Malek grabbed the empty vial and flipped it upside down over the bowl, trapping the steam inside the glass.

  Water droplets formed on the inside. They grew bigger, merged together, and started sliding down.

  He held perfectly still.

  Magic flowed through him as he kept everything at the right angle. His right hand started hurting. Heat built up in his chest, uncomfortable and tight.

  Five seconds.

  Ten.

  Fifteen.

  The paste was drying out. Without moving the flame, he dripped a little more alcohol into the bowl with his other hand.

  Twenty seconds.

  Twenty-five.

  The vial was already half full. The liquid inside had turned a deep, clear gold color.

  Thirty seconds.

  His hand shook. The flame wobbled.

  He yanked the plate away and set it back down. His fingers trembled as he let go. He opened and closed his hand twice, getting control back.

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  Then he corked the vial and held it up to the light.

  Clear gold. It shimmered slightly when he tilted it. Even through the cork, the smell was strong and fresh.

  "Done." He said.

  He set the vial down on the pedestal and stepped back. His hand was still trembling.

  Instructor Aael looked at the hourglass. "Seven minutes."

  She picked up the vial and examined it. Uncorked it. Sniffed once. Her expression didn't change.

  "What is this?" she asked.

  "Concentrated Moonbell extract. Vapor infusion method. Faster absorption than standard tinctures. Can be used topically for pain relief or ingested for anxiety reduction."

  Vael corked the vial again. "Why vapor infusion?"

  "It concentrates the active components and reduces waste. Works faster than traditional preparation."

  "And the risks of using the method?"

  "Too much heat and the alcohol ignites. Too little and the vapor doesn't form properly."

  "Have you done this before?"

  "No."

  Aael looked at him directly. "You attempted an unfamiliar technique during an evaluation?"

  "A basic tincture wouldn't show what I can do."

  She was quiet for a moment. Then she wrote something on a small piece of parchment and folded it.

  "Return to the waiting room. Next applicant will be called shortly."

  Malek nodded and walked toward the door.

  "One more thing," Aael said.

  He stopped.

  "Yes?"

  Aael glanced at the vial still on the pedestal. "Nothing."

  Malek mouth twitched.

  ---

  When Malek returned to the waiting room, everyone looked up.

  Joran leaned forward. "Well? How'd you do?"

  "I made something."

  "That's it?" Joran laughed. "Bet it was garbage."

  Malek sat down and didn't respond. His right hand was still shaking slightly. He tucked it under his leg so no one would notice.

  A few minutes later, Instructor Aael appeared at the door. "Joran."

  Joran stood quickly and followed her out with a smirk.

  The room went quiet again.

  Malek leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. The strain from holding the flame steady was fading but his channels still felt raw. Like he'd overextended a muscle.

  But it had worked.

  The golden shimmer in that vial was real.

  One by one, the other applicants were called. Each returned looking either relieved or defeated. No one talked.

  Joran came back after fifteen minutes. He sat down and crossed his arms without saying anything. His smugness was gone.

  After the last applicant finished, Instructor Aael returned.

  "Testing is complete. Results will be posted outside the main hall by evening. If your name appears, you will receive further instructions. Dismissed."

  She left without waiting for questions.

  Everyone filed out slowly. Malek walked to the entrance and found Elara waiting.

  ...

  Interlude: Aael's Assessment

  Aael stood alone in the testing chamber after Malek left.

  The vial sat on the pedestal. Golden liquid inside caught the light from the mana-crystal overhead. She picked it up and held it at eye level. Tilted it slowly. The shimmer was consistent throughout. It has no separation or sediment.

  It was a Clean work.

  She uncorked it and brought it close to her nose. The scent was sharp and Concentrated. Pure Moonbell extract with no burnt undertones. That meant he'd controlled the heat perfectly.

  Most applicants who attempted anything beyond basic mixtures made mistakes.

  This had none of those flaws.

  Aael placed a single drop on her tongue.

  The effect hit immediately.

  Tension she'd been carrying in her shoulders for the past week melted away. The dull headache that had been building since morning disappeared completely.

  She stood there with her eyes closed for ten full seconds.

  When she opened them again, she looked at the vial differently.

  This test was designed to fail most zero-rank applicants. So when Malek started preparing and working, not even for a second did she think he would make something like this and as an unranked, no less.

  This wasn't beginner's luck. This was understanding that went beyond just following instructions.

  The boy had read about vapor infusion. Maybe seen it demonstrated once if he was lucky. But he'd never done it himself before today. He'd admitted that outright.

  And he'd still executed it nearly perfectly under time pressure during an evaluation.

  That took more than skill.

  She thought about his hands when he'd set the vial down. The right one had trembled. Just slightly. Just for a moment.

  Channel strain.

  He'd pushed himself to his limit to maintain the precision needed. A twelve-year-old with channels barely a month old shouldn't have been able to sustain that kind of focused mana flow for thirty seconds.

  But he had. Which doesn't make sense to her.

  Aael corked the vial and carried it with her as she left the testing chamber.

  Her office was down the hall. Small room. Desk covered in evaluation reports. Shelves lined with failed samples from previous tests.

  She sat down and pulled out the official results ledger.

  Opened it to a blank page.

  Wrote one name at the top in precise script.

  Malek.

  She set her pen down and looked at the vial again. Still half full.

  Most applicants are tested according to their class and rank. Not many people come in with Alchemist as their class, and even the few who do only create something functional. Basic tinctures. Simple salves. Adequate but unremarkable.

  A few created something useful.

  Almost none created something like him.

  Aael had been evaluating applicants as an instructor for eight years. She'd seen hundreds of attempts. Most were forgettable within an hour.

  This one wouldn't be.

  She thought about the boy's expression when she'd asked why he chose vapor infusion over a standard mixture.

  "A basic tincture wouldn't show what I can do."

  There was no hesitation in his answer not was he arrogant like Nobel kids.

  He knew he was capable of more and didn't see the point in hiding it.

  That kind of confidence in a twelve-year-old was either arrogance or awareness. If it was the latter, then she might have just come across an alchemy genius.

  Finding an alchemist with real talent was about as rare as stumbling onto lost magic these days. Aael felt something she hadn't felt in years—anticipation. Real anticipation. And she'd get to see more of what he could do in the next test.