Silence hung heavy over the classroom, Hallie's words still settling in. Final Exams. The phrase itself carried a weight that made the students shift uneasily in their seats.
After a brief pause, a hand hesitantly rose from the middle of the class.
Hallie's sharp gaze flicked toward it immediately. "Yes, Ms. Lina Renn?"
The girl, a petite student with short, sandy-brown hair, straightened slightly but still looked wary. "Instructor… we just started, and you're already talking about Final Exams?"
A few other students nodded in agreement, some murmuring among themselves.
Hallie's lips curled slightly—not quite a smirk, but close. "I was waiting for someone to ask that." She leaned forward slightly, tapping a single finger against her desk, and the air around her stirred faintly with magic.
"You're thinking of this the wrong way," she explained. "Your final exam isn't a single, high-stakes assignment you take at the end of the year. Instead, your progress will be evaluated four separate times—once at the end of each quarter."
She let the information settle before continuing. "Each of those four evaluations will be graded separately, then averaged out into your final grade. This method ensures that your growth over time is what matters most—not just a single moment of success or failure."
Murmurs rippled through the class again. Some students visibly relaxed, while others seemed even more confused.
Hallie held up a hand, and the murmuring stopped.
"You'll understand better once I show you."
With that, she raised her other hand, and a thin, silver wand materialized between her fingers. She gave it a casual flick, and the entire lecture hall shifted around them.
The room was no longer a classroom.
Instead, they stood in a small, open workshop—minimalist in design, with a smooth stone floor, basic wooden tables, and neatly arranged tools lining the walls. At the center of the space, an elevated orb pulsed faintly, giving off a soft hum.
Hallie turned back to the class, her gaze sweeping over them.
"This," she said, "is what you're all going to start with."
She gestured toward the simple surroundings. "Each of you will be assigned a personal workshop identical to this one. The goal of your Final Exam is not to build the flashiest, most extravagant space possible. This is not a design contest."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, as if daring them to take her words lightly.
"Instead, what will be evaluated is how well your workshop reflects your growth as a mage. By the end of the year, this room—your room—should be a direct representation of your abilities, understanding, and creativity."
As she spoke, the workshop around them began to shift.
The once-basic interior morphed, growing larger, more elaborate. The simple stone floor stretched outward into a vast, sprawling network of interconnected chambers—some lined with bookshelves, others filled with enchanted machinery or glowing glyphs etched into the walls.
Then, in an instant, the scene changed again.
The space became compact yet intricate, with levitating workbenches, floating storage compartments, and specialized sigils carved into surfaces that shimmered with contained magical energy.
Another flicker.
The walls stretched infinitely outward, turning into an endless, sky-lit garden, where magic coursed through the very air itself, pulsing in rhythm with the earth beneath them.
The landscapes kept shifting, each workshop taking on a unique and deeply personal identity—some resembling massive laboratories, others silent sanctuaries brimming with nature, and still others chaotic forges where magic and raw energy intertwined seamlessly.
The class stood in stunned silence, entranced as they watched the ever-changing transformations unfold before them.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, the visions vanished.
They were back in the lecture hall, standing in the exact spots they had been before.
Hallie lowered her wand, letting the moment sink in before speaking again.
"This," she said, voice calm but charged with meaning, "is the kind of growth I expect from you."
A heavy pause.
Then—
The same girl from earlier, Lina Renn, hesitantly raised her hand again.
Hallie glanced at her. "Yes?"
Lina swallowed, still processing what she had just seen. "All of that…" she said slowly, almost in disbelief, "…those were all real? They all started from a workshop as basic as that one?"
Hallie nodded without hesitation. "Yes. Every single one of them."
The class whispered among themselves.
For the first time, Elias felt his mind racing—not out of nerves, but out of sheer curiosity.
What could he make?
What kind of workshop would he create?
He glanced at Hush, who, for once, actually looked intrigued by something.
Hallie crossed her arms. "Any further questions before we continue?"
The room was silent.
Hallie smirked. "Good. Then let's get continue."
But before Hallie could move forward with the discussion of their Final Exams, she clasped her hands together and turned back toward the class, her sharp gaze flicking across the gathered students.
"Before we continue however," she said, "let's address the question some of you likely had earlier—why we circled the Library of Beginnings without entering it."
A murmur rippled through the class.
Elias straightened slightly, remembering his own lingering curiosity from the tour.
Hallie continued, "The Library of Beginnings holds an extensive collection of magical texts, research, and historical records, but access to the physical space is highly restricted. Not just anyone can walk in and browse."
A girl near the front of the class raised her hand sharply.
Hallie nodded toward her. "Yes, Ms. Elowen Wells?"
Elowen's brow furrowed. "Then… how are we supposed to check out books if we can't enter?"
Hallie gave her a knowing look. "I was just getting to that."
She turned, stepping toward the center of the classroom. "When we walked around the tower earlier, the Library of Beginnings was registering your mana. That process allows you to access its archives without ever stepping foot inside."
More whispers spread across the class.
Hallie raised a hand, and the students quieted immediately.
"To demonstrate," she said, lifting her hand, "let's say I wanted a book on… advanced elemental transmutation."
She didn't gesture toward a bookshelf, nor did she conjure a spell. Instead, she simply reached into thin air.
A moment later, a book materialized in her grasp, appearing as though she had plucked it from another plane of existence.
She held it up, the title emblazoned across the dark cover in gilded letters: "The Alchemist's Path: An Exploration of Elemental Transmutation."
A few students gasped softly, clearly impressed.
Hallie flipped the book open, glanced at a few pages, then snapped it shut. "See? Exactly what I asked for."
She then lifted the book slightly and released it into the air, and just as effortlessly as it had appeared, it vanished.
"This," she explained, "is how you will retrieve and return books."
Renna shot her hand up again. "Wait—so the library is just floating around us at all times?"
Hallie smirked. "More or less. The books remain in the Library itself, but through this connection, they can be summoned and returned at will. That is why you are all required to register your mana first—so that the library recognizes you as a user."
Another student hesitantly raised their hand. "So… what happens if we forget to return a book?"
Hallie's smirk faded immediately.
"The Library doesn't take kindly to missing books," she said flatly.
A few students shifted uncomfortably.
Hallie didn't elaborate.
Instead, she flicked her wrist, and thin sheets of paper began floating toward each student, carried by a controlled gust of wind.
Elias caught his paper, scanning the text.
WORKSHOP ASSIGNMENT: Room 104-FRECOMMENDED READING LIST:
"Introduction to Spellcrafting" "The Fundamentals of Mana Manipulation" "The Principles of Magical Reinforcement"
Elias glanced up as Hallie folded her arms, watching them expectantly.
"These documents contain your assigned workshop numbers as well as a list of starting materials," she said. "Consider these readings foundational—they will help you understand the purpose of this assignment beyond its surface-level requirements."
She let that sink in before delivering one final statement.
"You have the rest of the day to yourselves," she said. "What you do with it is up to you—but I advise you to remember Administrator Dorne's words. Focus on what it is you came here to do."
With that, she dismissed the class.
Elias folded his paper and slipped it into his pocket. He already knew exactly what he was going to do first.
Turning to Hush among the crowd of students, he grinned. "Well, I know where I'm going."
Hush didn't need to guess. "Your workshop."
Elias nodded, his excitement barely contained.
"After all," he said, grinning, "I did burn down my last one."