Chapter 110: His Tournament

The Great Hall of St. Celeste was completely silent when Father Marius stood at the podium.

“The Quintile Tournament,” Marius announced.

Raziel stood in the back row with a blank expression.

“The Church requires excellence,” Marius continued, leaning heavily on his dark wooden cane.

“In three weeks, every novice in Phaedra will demonstrate their worth. You will prove the resources invested in your training have yielded results.”

Marius paced behind the podium.

“The rules are simple, each novice must demonstrate mastery of at least one Gift classified within the official taxonomy. Combat. Healing. Protection. Perception. Inscription. Summoning. Prayer. Choose your discipline and prepare to be judged.”

Raziel crossed his arms under his robe.

The Church categorized all magic into those seven specific disciplines.

Anything outside those parameters received the label of anomaly.

“A panel of three judges will evaluate you,” Marius said.

“I will be the first judge. Brother Thomas will be the second.”

Thomas sat at the table and adjusted his glasses and made eye contact with Raziel.

“An external evaluator appointed directly by the Council of Exarchs completes the panel,”

Marius added. “Sister Nefeli.”

A woman sat at the center of the table, she wore white robes with gold trim and smiled at the novices.

Her eyes were pale green and she stared at the crowd without blinking for several seconds.

The blue interface flickered in Raziel’s vision.

[TARGET ANALYSIS: SISTER NEFELI]

[AFFILIATION: EXARCH CAELUM’S FACTION]

[THREAT LEVEL: HIGH]

She represented Exarch Caelum, and her presence guaranteed direct oversight of Raziel’s performance.

Marius stopped pacing.

“The tournament consists of three phases. Phase One: Individual Demonstration. Phase Two: Application Test. Phase Three: The Final Duel. You have exactly three weeks to prepare. Dismissed.”

The novices started whispering and filed out of the Great Hall.

Raziel stayed in his spot while reviewed the rules in his head.

He had registered his Gift as “Elemental Fire” during his interrogation.

Producing a basic spark of mundane fire would result in a failing grade and that meant losing Exarch Caelum’s protection.

He also couldn’t use his actual abilities.

Nefeli would recognize the corruption in the gold and black energy of the Umbral Paragon.

The judges would classify [Trauma Acoustics] as heretical mind control and [Poisonous Truth] lacked visual manifestation.

He needed to present a new Gift and learn it in three weeks and justify his survival without exposing his secrets.

***

Raziel sat at a table in the deepest corner of the archives at midnight with fourteen books open in front of him.

He read about basic elemental theory, kinetic manipulation, and defensive holy barriers.

His fused core rejected standard ecclesiastical magic, so he tried to channel a basic barrier spell.

The Umbral energy absorbed the neutral mana and canceled the spell before it materialized.

Footsteps sounded on the stone floor.

Lucian pulled out a chair and sat down, pointing at the fourteen open books.

“You are overthinking it, Raz,” Lucian said, dropping his feet onto the edge of the table.

“This tournament is going to be huge. The whole capital is coming and my old man is bringing half the Duchy to watch us.”

Raziel closed a book containing diagrams of minor water manipulation. “I’m just trying not to get executed.”

“Yeah, yeah, but think about the glory,”

Lucian grinned, his usual arrogant energy coming back in full force now that they were back in the academy.

“I already picked my discipline. I’m going with Perception and Stealth.”

Raziel looked up. “Stealth isn’t exactly a noble’s first choice.”

“It is when it saves your life,” Lucian said, pulling a small dagger and spinning it between his fingers.

“I realized sneaking past those crazy Sisters at St. Sophia actually awakened my core properly. I can mask my mana and my footsteps completely now, watch this.”

Lucian stood up and walked to the other side of the table, and he literally didn’t make a single sound, not even the rustle of his tunic rubbing against his boots.

“It’s useful,” Raziel admitted.

“It’s perfect,” Lucian corrected him, sitting back down. “But what Gift are you going to use to compete?”

“I still don’t know.”

“The tournament is in three weeks, Raz.”

“I know.”

Lucian leaned forward, dropping his feet from the table.

“Nobody learns a Gift in three weeks. Initiates train for years to master the basics and you don’t even have an affinity yet.”

Raziel grabbed another book from the pile and opened it.

“Then I will be nobody to learn something.”

Lucian stared at him, shaking his head.

“Just don’t get yourself killed before the tournament starts, I want to show off in the finals.”

He walked away and left the library.

Raziel rubbed his temples, he knew what the noble say was true but he had no other option.

“You are looking in the wrong section.”

Raziel reached for his hidden dagger, but stopped when he saw the gray robes.

Brother Thomas stood at the edge of the candlelight.

Thomas stepped up to the table and placed an old, leather-bound book in front of Raziel.

The title read: Fundamentals of Runic Inscription — Volume I.

Raziel looked up. “Brother Thomas?”

Thomas adjusted his glasses. “The Inquisition monitors the Gift of Inscription the least. Scribes do not inspire fear.”

Thomas paused and maintained eye contact with Raziel. “It would be a strategic choice.”

Thomas turned around and walked out of the library.

Raziel looked at the book. Inscription occupied the lowest rank in the Church’s taxonomy as the Scribes just copied texts and drew containment seals.

Raziel opened the leather cover. He turned to the first page, with a single sentence was written in black ink.

The Rune is will made geometry.

VMMMM!

The fused core in his chest vibrated.

’Will made geometry.’

His power caused a permanent loss of empathy when cast directly.

Drawing the Umbral energy into physical geometric lines presented an alternative delivery method that could contain the energy inside the drawn shapes.

Raziel stared at the page, he just had twenty-one days to master runic inscription.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep