'Endurance, how so?' Lyra thought to herself. This was not one of the tests that she thought could be chosen, yet still no fear was on her face. A Theoretical Magical Test could've been easy -- she wished for a second she was born just one year prior so she could have done that to enter. Still, soon enough her face was back to the determined one that she always wore. Nothing would make her fail, she had prepared for too long.

"It's very simple. One of the most important qualities of every mage is their resistance. We're going to have you all -- no exceptions, unless you want to surrender now and have a barely sufficient mark -- walk on this tightrope." He pointed to what was behind him, a big hole with a rope that went from one side to the other. "Don't worry. If you fall there's cushions just a few meters below, so you're not going to be hurt. The difficult part is that I'm going to cast Wind magic from the other side of the rope. You'll have to resist the wind that'll try to send you back to the starting position. You can't use magic to do that. Use your body to keep the balance." That was the explanation and the children, already almost halved in number, were all terrified of such a test.

All but few. Lyra was one, she didn't have any hard feelings towards it as she felt it was reasonable, but the person behind her was also completely calm. Dzer couldn't say the same, despite all the hard work he had put to enroll into the most important academy which didn't even favour royals, despite literally having 'Royal' in its name. He knew that if he was not to pass everyone would find that to be the the greatest fall from grace ever from the Aerbach family. There'd be papers and papers of satire for him and his family, even if they could make sure the entire capital stayed silent.

Anyway, there was no way that he had even considered not passing. But something else expected from him was that he'd be first place. Yet he knew he didn't have all the answers for the first Test, nor did he have a perfect performance for the second Test. He felt as if he just had to pray he did this one activity perfectly, or he'd be stuck in fourth or fifth place. Which was unfit for a Prince, of course. He too had to triumph.

And that was ironic -- Lyra needed to be first place for him, but Dzer needed to be first place for himself as well. And there was no way they'd tie, so the Crown Prince had to have the fastest time to reach the other side of the rope. That'd fix all of the issues he had had during the first two stages.

As Lyra watched future school mates fall one after the other, she felt someone watch over her. She didn't turn back, though -- it was only natural that someone would stare at the fiancée of the Crown Prince, right? Or well, that was the excuse she had made for not wanting to talk to anybody because of her timid nature. 'Still, it might be Dzer, right? I might be disrespectful to him.' Lyra thought to herself.

Such irrelevant thoughts were soon out of her head as it was her turn to attempt to pass the Surprise Test. Nobody had managed to reach the other side so far, which was to be expected. This was the hardest stage and only 5% of the people who try to enroll usually pass it. Anyhow, it was time for Lyra's turn to attempt the test.

"Attempt number 118, Lyra Sandcastle!" screamed the Announcer.

'There's probably an easy way to do this.' She thought to herself. 'Maybe it depends with how I place my body, there'll be a way in which I can keep my balance despite the stroke of wind.' After thinking for a few seconds, she put her arms in a straight line having her head at the center, then she took one step forward. The wind magic began on the spot, threatening her to make her fall.

'Now, I just wait like this for twenty seconds or so. He can't keep it up for more than that.' The noble girl had realized by watching the magic being used towards the others. When they resisted, eventually the magic became stronger and stronger. Why? Probably because the mage was running out of channelling power, like when you breathe out slowly and finish the air to do so eventually. 

After fifteen seconds or so, indeed, the mage stopped for a second. At that point Lyra smiled to herself for a single second, not being noticed by anyone, and just ran towards the end of the rope on the spot. By having patience and actual endurance, just like the test predicted, she was the first one to pass.

Of course, there were people that copied her style. The full marks would only go to her because she was the first person to have innovated -- that was clear in everyone's mind -- unless someone would manage to find another way. And when it was his turn, Dzer Aerbach realized that if he wanted to be first there was no other way than to find a new one.

'But is there really another way?' He asked himself, preoccupied. 'Another method to test your endurance...' 

After a few seconds he was indeed called as the next participant.

"Attempt number 165, Dzer Aerbach!"

The crowd suddenly cheered for him, he knew he had to get this right. In his brain countless thoughts were all stored together, along with his desire to do it and a clear idea in his mind.

"I know!" He said to himself suddenly. The mage started casting as he took a step forward, but he jumped forward. Instead of walking through the rope, he went down and grasped it in his hands. Now there was no way the wind could affect him, after all. He was no longer standing up with balance problems, so he could just move his hands one after the other to get to the other side of the room.

The cheers were loud, but Dzer knew he shouldn't be happy until he had finished. Despite having found a new method, he had to see if it'd work until the end. Because of how slow he was going, eventually the Mage finished his channelling. Though he had the time to recast again, and this time a storm was created in front of the terrified child.

He knew this wind magic was a climax, but he couldn't believe it was that strong. So, Dzer closed his eyes and prayed he'd be able to take the final 'steps' and survive the storm.

His brain processing incredibly fast, a determined look on his face, he decided to get both of his hands out of the rope and jump before the storm's cast could be finalized. 

"Please..." He screamed to himself but a whisper came out to the others.

As he opened his eyes again, he was indeed on the other side of the room, grasping strongly the edge of the floor.

Was he happy?

No, his time was lower than Lyra's. He wouldn't be the first on the leaderboards.

He cried and cursed her -- he was still a twelve years old child -- there was no way he'd realize it was his fault.

That day, Dzer Aerbach was blamed at home as he told his family what had happened.

-=-

Lyra was neither happy or disappointed as she stared towards the leaderboards.

1. Gabriel Neferles (210 Points) 40/40 60/60 110/110
2. Lyra Sandcastle (208 Points) 40/40 60/60 108/110
3. Dzer Aerbach (200 Points) 37/40 57/60 106/110

[...]

She thought that what she had done would easily earn her the first place rank. Apparently, though, she was wrong. There was someone who had managed to complete the third task with less time than her, but she didn't really know the name or the surname. She even doubted it was a noble person -- as such it was fine. What mattered was how her points were higher than Dzer Aerbach's only by a few, so that she'd be in his same class.

The way the Royal Academy worked was very simple. There was a class for the first twenty people in the rankings, one for the twenty others and so on. Only two hundred people were taken every year, despite the fact that more than ten thousand tried out for it every year. This meant that there were a total of ten classes per year, a total of a thousand people in the Academy at all times because it was divided into five years.

For what regarded people who chose to leave or got kicked, they'd be substituted by the one in the closest position that wasn't taken, so from number 201 on. That only applied for the first year, though, so if a person from any latter year was kicked or left, they'd be substituted through a magic, sword and intelligence contest. After all, this school wasn't the only choice for most: a lot of children tried just so that they'd have no regrets, but they knew they'd not make it. So, they applied for multiple schools so that they'd guarantee their future, albeit a less bright one.

The Royal Academy was incredible: out of it came royal knights, sages, heroes, warriors and much more. Every year there were great divides -- the biggest one between the nobles and the peasants attending it. Usually there was a peasant movement that'd rise to contest the greatest ranking nobles for the role of school and class presidents. Most of the times it was actually the peasants who won: they had bigger goals to aim for such as equality and freedom for their families and were usually much more talented. There was a reason why they were in this Academy despite their worse upbringing, after all.

'That's something that ought to change too, now...' Lyra thought to herself. 'Now that me and the Prince are here, that'll definitely change.' She thought with a smile on her face, not being able to wait to finally work with the person she was destined to be with forever. 

Dzer, of course, had a different expression on his face.

He had thought he'd be second place and that's what he had said to his family.

This spot embarassed even more and he could feel the gaze of nobles and peasants alike, whom he had disappointed.

And of course, his mind was full of hate for Lyra Sandcastle, who had outshined him.