Mystic Arts Dual System

Chapter 6

The match was over and Merlin had won. But it didn't feel like victory. Not with the eyes still on him.

Callie jogged up behind him, her voice uncertain. "Merlin... that thing you did in the arena..was that something you created yourself?"

He didn’t slow down as she walked towards him and tried again. "I mean, you called it Veiled Hex, right? I’ve never seen anything like it. Was it Light or—?"

"It worked. That’s all that matters," he said coolly, never looking at her.

She blinked. A soft breath left her lips, caught between awe and frustration.

"Lets see how long he can stay strong," she whispered as he turned down a side corridor and was gone.

Callie Aerlin was the pride of the White Branch. She had turned down half the year’s Lightborn suitors without blinking.

But she had never been ignored like this. And now, the silence weighed heavier than rejection.

Callie stood there for a moment before heading back toward the others.

**************

Dormitory, White Branch Hall

Merlin shut the door behind him and leaned against it. For a long moment, he just stood there, eyes closed, letting silence pool around him. Only when his heart settled did he speak.

[System. Display current status.]

Mystic Arts System

User: Merlin

Tier: 0 – Initiate (Stage II)

Light Affinity: 88%

Dark Affinity: 12% (Stabilized)

Skills:

[Lightweave "Minor"]

[Silent Reading "Passive”]

[Veiled Hex "Hybrid - Unrefined"]

Status Effects: Emotional Echo (Pending Trigger)

Note: Polarity compression active. Manual regulation recommended.

[Questline Active: "The Second Veil"]

He stared at the projection. The numbers hadn’t changed, but something inside him had. He’d done the impossible. Used Darkness in a Light-only arena and no one noticed.

Or rather, no one could prove it. But that wasn't what lingered in his mind, it was Callie.

The way she looked at him. Like he was something... worth knowing. He shook his head and crossed to his desk.

There was no time for distractions. Tomorrow was the Tower Trial.

He sat down, unfurled the forbidden scroll, and reopened the page labeled Pulse Variants: Reactive Formations. A diagram unfolded, one of Light bending inwards while a dark current spun like a double helix inside it.

Below it was a notation: "When the soul is split, the cast must unify. Begin with dual breathing. Channel the heartbeats."

He inhaled, placed his hands palm-up on his knees, and closed his eyes.

"One breath in: Light."

"One breath out: Shadow."

His body began to warm. The sigil on his inner wrist faintly glowed, not from Light or Darkness but both.

[Skill Acquisition Available: Pulse Bind [Hybrid Initiation]

[Warning: Stability check required before spell formation.]

He smiled faintly. "So that’s the next piece."

He looked toward the window. Beyond the glass, the tower loomed in the distance, its silver stone catching the moonlight.

"Tomorrow," he whispered, "They'll see what I'm really made of"

The moon sank, and the night passed in silence. By sunrise, the academy had already come alive.

The first light of dawn swept across the Holy Light Academy’s central plaza, glinting off marble columns and silver runes etched into the Trial Tower’s dark surface.

The Trial Tower was an obsidian-spined monolith, with latent Etherium..visible only to those attuned. Today, all first-year students were to face it.

A trial of mind, will, and magic. Merlin stood at the base of the

Tower, arms folded, his eyes tracing the segmented floors above—twelve in all.

Each floor increased in difficulty, designed to test not just spellcasting, but the soul of the mage.

A mage's worth isn't measured by Light or Darkness alone, Merlin thought. It's by how long you can keep moving forward when the world wants you to vanish.

He felt Callie watching him again, just a flicker of a glance. Her robe was pristine, her braid tight, but her fingers curled slightly at her side.

Ryn, standing behind them, muttered, “No one’s reached the eighth floor in ten years. After the sixth, the Etherium starts reacting violently.”

“And yet,” a voice oozed from the side, “here we are, standing next to a shadow freak who’s probably hoping to slither his way up with some forbidden tricks.”

Merlin’s eyes narrowed. Eldridge. The boy stepped forward, flanked by his usual entourage.

His golden-trimmed robe glowed faintly with his affinity.

“Still can’t believe they let you back in after the Trail Towers,” Eldridge smirked. “What are you now, janitor of the cursed?”

“I prefer survivor of your cowardness,” Merlin replied calmly.

Callie coughed, trying to hide a laugh. Ryn nearly choked beside her, and Eldridge’s eyes flared in warning. Before he could say a word, Professor Thalos called out.

“Get into your units. Four per team. Remember, the Tower adjusts itself to who you are—your Tiers, your affinities, even how you think. Adapt fast, or it’ll break you.”

At Holy Light Academy, rank depends on magical Tier, not age. A Tier shows how strongly a student connects to Etherium, the source of all magic.

Tier 0 mages are called Initiate Adept. Their Etherium is unstable, and their magical abilities are still weak. Most first-years barely reach this level.

Merlin, a Tier 0 mage, was focused on the glowing notice, not noticing anything else.

Then he felt a shadow at his side and looked up, Callie and Ryn were there.

Their sudden presence made him a little uneasy, but in a way that wasn’t bad. For the first time, he realized he wasn’t facing this alone.

Together, they read the announcement.

"Squad 3 Assigned: Merlin, Callie, Ryn... Eldridge."

“Tch,” Eldridge hissed. “Whoever approved this squad should be exiled. Why am I stuck with him?” He jabbed a finger at Merlin.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Callie’s eyes flicked to Merlin, then quickly away.

“It’s a test. Deal with it.” Her voice was tight as she added,

“This... should be interesting.” Merlin said nothing. His fingers traced the rune-lined entry of the tower, feeling the hum of magic beneath the stone.

The air buzzed softly, but nothing had started yet. Eldridge opened his mouth again, but a firm, commanding voice cut through the tension.

“Enough.” Professor Ralden’s gaze swept over the group, sharp and unyielding. “Complaints will not delay the trial. Squad Three, enter the tower now.”

Eldridge grumbled under his breath but fell in line. Callie and Ryn exchanged a glance, and Merlin took a steadying breath.

The runes pulsed faintly under his touch, as if testing them, teasing the trial that was about to begin.

As they stepped forward together, a system notice blinked into his vision

[System Notice: “Tower Trial Detected. Adaptive Difficulty Enabled. Group Polarity: Conflicted.]

[Warning: Host is marked as Anomaly. Expect unpredictable magical conditions.]

The door hissed shut behind them. Cracks ran across the floor, and wild strands of Etherium moved along the stone like living veins. The trial had begun.