The young magicians worked hard on their respective affinities for the next few days. Kael had expanded his reserve from two stars to four and practiced with his accumulation. Jera and Draven both fought each other until exhaustion most days following the accident. Draven was determined to get a good grasp on fighting before the exam as he had always been the most reserved and wasn't the best at fights. Jera was a true natural at wielding magic, and it showed. She constantly improved her control of the ice affinity and became very good at manipulating her element.
The Professors watched over them closely while they trained. Mr. Slims watched over Draven and Jera's Mock Battles while Ms. Nez guided Kael in his space affinity training. Kael needed to know how to safely use the space affinity so another accident wouldn't happen. She was teaching Kael a few applications he could use in battle, and he was catching on quickly with the guidance of another space user. Ms. Nez and Kael were practicing a move she called Gravity Pull it works similar to displacement but instead of breaking down the inanimate object this could be used on people as well to throw them off balance or even pull them closer to land a devastating blow on the users opponent bringing their forces together, it worked be sending a cone shape tendril of magic to the thing or person you wanted to pull in and drawing them into the point of the cone. Kael had to think hard to produce a cone shape with his magic but found out he was talented in shaping his magic when he expanded his reserve essentially doubling his magic output. He had picked up on magic manipulation quickly after his mock battle with Jera, he had been staying up late and getting up early the last few days practicing his accumulation and displacement to the point where he could walk around and accumulate magic and he didn't even have to try hard to displace many different sizes of objects without even trying. Ms. Nez was surprised to see how fast Kael was improving, she thought to herself as she watched Kael practice Gravity Pull, "The Boy is a true genius when it comes to Magic. He performs based on instinct rather than Knowledge and I can tell he has a deep sense for magic." By the third day of practice, Kael had adapted Gravity Pull into his combat skills, and at night he was working on a better defense technique that he did not want to show anyone. He believed it to be a trump card in the upcoming exam.
As training continued the kids began to work together not just in fighting but also in using their magic to help and boost each other's magic. The exam was just a few days away and they knew they needed to work as a team to get through many parts of the exam and the only part they would be alone in was the one-on-one fights. The professors released information to the three now that the exam was only a few days away. They couldn't tell them everything about the exam, but they could explain to them the three tests they would be taking. The first part of the test would be a Dangerous maze that its only goal was to weed out the weak and untalented groups. The second part of the exam was a lot more simple and it was the measurement of magic manipulation where each applicant would be required to show the judges the extent of their abilities. Each applicant will be judged on a scale and receive a score, only the top 32 will be moving on to the last part of the exam which was the one-on-one fights where only 16 applicants will pass. Teamwork was going to be essential in passing the first part of the exam but after that, the three were going to be on their own. Kael felt heavy after hearing that he would only be able to help his brother get past the first part of the exam but he knew Draven had been working just as hard as him to control his magic and just watching him and Jera slug it out every day he felt good about his brothers chances and even Jera as she's been ahead of them through every step. Jera was as cocky as ever when it came to her magic, she wasn't worried at all, she had grown into the nickname Kael gave her as the Ice Queen. Any chance she got she was always having Draven follow her around and getting her food and deciding what they did with their spare time. Kael just let it be, he hadn't seen Draven that happy since before the fire and he had his things to work on, so he wasn't worried about Draven following Jera around. Draven was the one that was truly worried he felt like he was behind both of them. He felt that Jera was much better than him at controlling her magic and He Thought his brother's magic was so special that in comparison to him, he was just as basic as it got when it came to magic. Jera had a special subclass of magic and his brother awakened the rarest magic there was according to their mentors. Draven struggled with self-doubt more and more as the days went on but he didn't let that stop him, he was truly finding purpose in the direction they were going and he was going to try his best no matter what.
Ms. Nez told all three that they all had great chances of getting into the Nexus Tower but that wasn't enough, there would be many obstacles for them to overcome and the biggest one was other magicians. The main difference between this exam and others in the past was that other Nexus professors trained all applicants who joined this exam. In the past all magical talent was raw and it was based on their efforts, even finding the exam and being able to participate was a headache for past applicants. The Professors dismissed the kids for the day, there were just two days before they left for the exam and each of them went to work on accumulation in their respective spots. Jera made her way to the pool to relax by the cold waters and Draven wasn't far away, he found himself in the sauna next to the pool where he could focus on his body temperate and work on his internal flame that would still jump inside like an animal locked in a cage. Kael found himself on top of the roof gazing at the stars where he often found himself lost in thought trying to find answers he didn't have about his powers. They all were giving it their all and it showed.