A soft golden dawn washed over the University, gleaming on the tall Gothic spires and reflecting off mosaic-tiled courtyards. Ventania, now standing notably taller than when she first arrived two years prior, paused at a second-floor balustrade. She wore a subtly embroidered advanced tunic marking her rank above most novices, yet nerves churned in her stomach. Today is the final exam – the moment I step from novice mage into Initiate.

  Down below, novices in simpler robes bustled along the courtyard walkways, some glancing up at her in hushed awe or envy. She’d earned a reputation for “unstoppable synergy,” having soared through the ranks in half the usual time. While older students in partial armor or runic-stitched clothing sometimes gave her respectful nods, many novices remained distant, uneasy around her raw power. She exhaled, adjusting the staff in her hand. No matter their stares, she thought. I must pass this exam – for myself, and for the vow I made to rescue my parents.

  Ventania headed toward the posted exam schedule, only to find Roy – the dark elf noble who’d quietly sown rumors and manipulations – waiting nearby. Dressed in a sleek black cloak with understated runic thread, he wore the half-smile that always made her uneasy. His silver-white hair brushed his shoulders, violet eyes glinting in the morning light.

  “Ventania,” he greeted with a slight bow. “The final test, is it? Such a spotlight on your unstoppable synergy. Let’s hope you don’t falter.”

  She tightened her grip on the staff, recalling the subtle barbs he’d aimed at her all year. “I’ll manage,” she said, voice even.

  Roy shrugged languidly. “Of course. Still, a single miscalculation in synergy can unravel even the mightiest. I, for one, look forward to the result.” He stepped aside, letting her pass.

  Ventania offered no reply, only a silent glare. She sensed no direct sabotage from him today, but his presence warned her that if she stumbled, he’d exploit it socially. So be it, she told herself, forging on to the exam hall. He can watch all he wants.

  As the afternoon wore on, the academy buzzed with talk of the big day: a handful of novices, Ventania among them, would face advanced synergy challenges in the Combat Training Arena. Success promised official recognition as fully advanced mages, with rumored gold adventurer sigils awarded to top performers. Whispers said Ventania’s trial would be especially daunting.

  She arrived early at the arena, a circular stone structure ringed by torches and wards. Instructors gathered in quiet discussion, novices prepared for lesser synergy or staff drills, and older students filtered in to watch. There she found Kaya, the tall beastwoman cat who’d taught her synergy footwork. Russet fur shining under torchlight, the instructor gave Ventania a curt nod.

  “Nervous?” Kaya asked, crossing her arms.

  “Some,” Ventania confessed. “They say I’ll face a ‘boss-level’ foe.”

  Kaya’s amber eyes flicked. “Indeed. The staff invited Eravin, a gold-level adventurer known for top-tier water synergy. He’s here to see if you can handle real threats beyond novices.”

  Ventania’s stomach clenched. “A gold-level water mage… that’s intense.”

  Kaya placed a reassuring hand on Ventania’s shoulder. “Recall your cunning. You’re not just unstoppable blasts – you’ve used stealth, acrobatics, synergy merges. Show that you deserve advanced rank.”

  Ventania nodded firmly, recalling how her repeated synergy training (earth, fire, air, water merges) gave her many tools, from rotating stone shards to condensed fire. She braced herself: This is it.

  By twilight, the stands were packed, novices and advanced seniors alike. Ms. Elimona and a dwarven professor oversaw the initial synergy checks. Each candidate demonstrated basic merges or staff drills, some passing quietly, others struggling. Ventania waited at the edge of the ring, staff trembling in her hands, her heart pounding louder with each passing minute.

  When her name was called, hush descended. The dwarven professor announced:

  “Ventania’s final test: a duel against Eravin, gold-level water mage of the famed ‘Wardens’ party. Should she triumph, she graduates from novice rank, potentially earning the gold adventurer sigil.”

  A ripple of excitement ran through the stands. Even older students murmured about Eravin’s reputation for tackling monstrous beasts in real dungeons. Ventania inhaled a deep breath, stepping into the ring. She spotted Roy perched in the top row, arms folded, expression unreadable.

  Eravin entered from the opposite side, wearing partial scale armor etched with aquatic motifs. His bearing exuded calm confidence, befitting someone who’d faced lethal dungeons. He bowed politely. “Let’s see if your synergy stands up to real water magic, shall we?”

  Ventania returned the bow. “I’m ready.”

  The dwarven professor lifted an arm, proclaiming, “Begin!”

  A roar of water burst from Eravin, streaming from carefully placed runic puddles underfoot. In an instant, half the ring was awash in swirling currents. Despite his minimal movement, the wave advanced on Ventania like a living wall. She reacted, forging half a dozen stone pillars in her path. Each pillar rose waist-high from the battered stone floor. With a short synergy burst of wind, she propelled herself upward, bounding off the top of a pillar—her nimble style versus his unbudging power.

  Eravin remained near the ring’s center, bracers shining. He extended one arm, shaping the swirling wave into mist at the edges, then forcing it into a thick, viscous water barrier around him—like an impenetrable shield that hissed with foam. Ventania’s first rotating stone shards smashed into the watery shield with dull splashes, sending droplets arcing overhead.

  In a blur, Ventania leapt onto another pillar, wind synergy blasting from her legs. She soared overhead, staff glinting, rotating shards swirling behind her. She hammered them down like a hail of stone. The watchers gasped: novices gawking, advanced seniors leaning forward. Yet Eravin, barely shifting his stance, parted his watery shield in arcs that swallowed the shards. Some bits scraped his bracers, slicing shallow gashes. He grunted, acknowledging her force, but his posture never broke.

  Ventania’s adrenaline spiked. He’s not even moving more than a few steps, yet I can’t break through. She exhaled a swirl of wind synergy, bounding off another pillar, forming a new vantage. She shaped a small lava sphere in one palm—fire plus earth synergy, molten globs sizzling in the damp air. With a forceful toss, she hurled them at Eravin’s watery fortress. Steam erupted as molten lumps collided, but Eravin stood, expression calm, forging pockets of cooler water to neutralize the lava. Only a few sizzling drips forced him to shift slightly, a near-imperceptible step to the side.

  Bruises already formed along Ventania’s arms and legs from close calls with watery whips that lashed out whenever she drew near. One wave had grazed her side, leaving her robe torn and a deep bruise throbbing under her ribs. She gritted her teeth, refusing to relent. Faster, she told herself, summoning a swirl of wind synergy around her ankles. She jumped from pillar to pillar in a dizzying pattern, each leap accompanied by short bursts of compressed air that propelled her higher or faster. The watchers marveled at her acrobatics—a whirlwind of synergy merges and agile footwork.

  Eravin responded with a shift in water composition, forging ice at key angles to reflect or freeze Ventania mid-leap. Icy spikes jutted from the watery barrier, forcing her to spin aside. She nearly lost her staff as an ice shard skittered across her forearm, drawing blood. Gasping, she hammered the shard with a quick flame burst, turning it to droplets. But each trick cost her synergy, draining her reserves. Eravin’s pride glinted in his eyes: he admired her speed yet refused to cede ground.

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  “Your synergy is formidable,” Eravin said, voice echoing across the ring, “but your stamina? We’ll see.” He sank into a steady stance, forging a towering wave around him, a swirling column that thickened into a near-solid aquatic mass. He shaped partial mist around the edges, swirling it with lethal calm, scanning for Ventania’s next move.

  Ventania grimaced, posture trembling from repeated leaps and synergy merges. She forced a swirling ring of rotating stone shards once more, adding a flicker of flame to superheat the edges. She launched them in a wide volley, then leapt overhead, conjuring a short range of blue fire—the last ditch synergy level she’d discovered. Heat flared, scorching her own breath as it devoured oxygen. The watchers gasped at the pale azure flare. Her mana plummeted.

  Eravin parted his wave shield, letting some shards and flame fizzle in steaming bursts. He raised an arm calmly, forging a tentacle of high-density water that lashed upward. Ventania twisted mid-air, staff colliding with the watery lash, churning steam in an explosion of sizzling droplets. Yet Eravin pivoted the wave behind her, slamming it into her back. She crashed onto one of her own pillars, wincing as pain shot up her spine.

  Bruises covered her knees and arms, blood trickling from a cut above her eyebrow. Her synergy flared sporadically now, each breath ragged. She forced wind synergy to her legs once again, one last leap. She soared across the ring, staff blazing with a final swirl of blue fire at the tip. Eravin’s eyes narrowed, pride fueling him as he molded water into a thick barrier so dense it nearly looked glasslike. She slammed the blazing staff against it with a deafening hiss of steam, staggering him back half a step. The watchers roared. For a heartbeat, Ventania thought she’d break through.

  But Eravin abruptly shifted the water’s viscosity, letting her staff pass slightly, then snapped it closed like a jaw. A watery snap sealed around her staff, holding it in place. Ventania tried to yank it free, synergy sputtering. Exhaustion overcame her. A watery tentacle lashed from below, hooking her ankles. She gasped, losing her balance, crashing to the ground. Her head rang, synergy spent to the last ember.

  Eravin exhaled, stepping forward in just a few measured strides—his first real movement of the fight. He pinned Ventania’s staff beneath his foot, watery arcs swirling around her torso. She kicked weakly, tears burning her eyes as the watchers stared in shock. She’d burned everything. Bruises and near misses had battered her. A hush swept the stands.

  She lost.

  The dwarven professor rushed in, halting further action. Eravin withdrew the watery lash around her torso, stepping back with a respectful bow. Panting heavily, Ventania tried to stand, but her knees buckled. He extended a hand, helping her up. “You nearly broke my defense,” he admitted, voice tinged with weary admiration. “Another surge of synergy, and you might’ve crushed me. But your stamina wore thin first.”

  Ragged applause and exclamations erupted—Ventania had lost the duel, but not without a heroic display of synergy that stunned novices and advanced seniors alike. Roy clapped slowly from above, a faint smirk of satisfaction, yet also a grudging respect. Ms. Elimona and the dwarven professor exchanged nods, signifying that despite defeat, Ventania had proven far beyond novice expectations.

  Her chest heaved with labored breaths, tears glistening as Eravin gently released her. The entire ring crackled with leftover synergy, battered pillars and steaming water puddles testifying to the intensity. She bowed her head in shame and relief, eyes stinging. I lost… but maybe that’s enough. She glimpsed Ms. Elimona beckoning with a proud nod, signifying she would still pass the final exam. The watchers roared one last time, novices stunned by the ferocity, advanced seniors awarding Ventania’s near-victory with thunderous cheers.

  Bruised, battered, synergy exhausted, Ventania clutched her staff. I fought fiercely. She might have lost the duel, but she earned the academy’s respect—and a chance to ascend beyond novice rank.

  “You have my respect,” he said quietly. “Few novices can push me so far. Your synergy, cunning, and pure grit… you’ve earned your advance.”

  Ventania managed a small, genuine smile in return. “Thank you. Your water synergy taught me so much. I never imagined someone controlling mist, ice, tentacles, and changing them so quickly.”

  He inclined his head. “Practice and real peril shaped me. I trust you’ll be unstoppable out there as well.” With that, he stepped back, letting Ms. Elimona declare him the final winner. Applause rattled the torches, novices either cheering or envying her unstoppable synergy. She glimpsed Roy’s faint half-smile fade as he turned away. He’ll scheme more, but not tonight, she thought.

  The dwarven professor quieted the crowd, stepping forward with a small iron chest. “Ventania, by the academy’s decree, you have surpassed novice rank. Henceforth, you stand as an advanced mage in full, worthy of a gold adventurer sigil.” Applause rippled. But then, a stir in the stands drew all eyes to a figure emerging from the shadows: Ferlin, the reclusive sorcerer who once taught Ventania synergy in the forest. Ventania’s heart lurched. Ferlin?

  He approached the professor, who bowed respectfully and handed him a small velvet pouch from the chest. Ferlin’s expression was inscrutable, no trace of the gentle mentor she recalled. He took the gold sigil from within, turning to Ventania with cold eyes.

  “You have passed the final test,” he stated in a monotone, stepping close enough to give her the sigil. “Your synergy stands recognized. With this, you may embark on high-level quests.” He held it out. She, trembling, accepted.

  “Ferlin…” she began, voice quavering, “I—thank you for teaching me, for—”

  He merely nodded, giving her no warmth or fatherly smile. Without another word, he spun on his heel and departed, cloak trailing behind him. Silence stretched. Tears pricked Ventania’s eyes as novices and staff observed the distant exchange. She clutched the sigil, confusion and heartbreak mingling with triumph. Why is he so cold?

  After the awarding ceremony, novices dispersed, talking about Ventania’s unstoppable synergy. Roy vanished into the corridors, presumably to plot another day. Ventania, still exhausted from the duel, sneaked into a moonlit courtyard. She slumped on a bench, the gold sigil pinned to her tunic glimmering softly. Her mind reeled from Ferlin’s aloof behavior, Roy’s subtle presence, and Eravin’s remarkable battle.

  Suddenly, footsteps scuffed nearby. A group of older novices with scowling faces emerged from the gloom. “Ventania,” one hissed, “you overshadow us all. Time for payback now that you’re drained, advanced rank or not.” Her synergy reserves near zero, Ventania tensed but felt no illusions to rely on. She raised her staff shakily, heart pounding. Not again…

  Before the group could strike, a low growl cut through the courtyard. Kaya stepped forth, amber eyes sharp. “Cowards,” she snapped. “Attacking one battered mage in the dark? I promised someone far above me that I’d protect her. Leave now.” The novices cursed, fleeing into the shadows.

  Ventania exhaled in relief, tears threatening. “Thank you… I—I can’t keep fending them off forever.”

  Kaya placed a hand on her shoulder, expression surprisingly gentle. “I vowed to guard you, not for the academy’s sake, but at the request of someone I hold dear—a personal promise. So rest easy; I won’t let them harm you.”

  Ventania blinked, baffled at who might have asked Kaya for such care. Yet warmth filled her chest. “Thank you, Instructor,” she whispered. “I… truly appreciate it.”

  With dawn’s first rays, Ventania rose to a small balcony overlooking the still courtyard. She still wore her advanced tunic, and the new gold adventurer sigil pinned near her collar, proof of her success. Memories of her clash with Eravin lingered, each watery tactic a reminder that synergy was a vast sea of possibilities. He taught me more in one duel than months of standard training, she mused. She now understood how real battles shaped skill, recalling vaguely that it was why Ferlin once tested her so harshly.

  The thought of Ferlin’s coldness stung, but she pressed forward. I still owe a vow to rescue my parents. She realized the academy, for all its knowledge, offered only so much – field experience beckoned. She resolved to travel for a year as an adventurer, taking high-level quests to refine her synergy further, then return to the academy to complete advanced training. That path, she believed, might also lead her closer to finding her missing family.

  Peering down at novices in gray robes, advanced seniors with battered gear, and staff who parted the corridors in regal calm, she took a final breath. Roy’s cunning might remain, Ferlin’s distance might haunt her, and the vow from Kaya might guide her in darkness. But for now, she embraced her unstoppable synergy and gold sigil, forging onward into new realms.

  Thus ended her novice chapter, a swirl of triumph and defeat, heartbreak, and promise. She gripped her staff, stepping from the balcony with determined stride. This new rank is only the beginning of my real adventure. The swirling storms in her heart echoed the synergy at her fingertips, ready to shape the future beyond the academy’s walls.