Will backed up against the wall, his eyes bulging and flicking around the room, searching for escape. The door was several steps to his left, and Noah had no plans of letting him run out and lead him on a chase.

Snapping his fingers, Noah sent another ripple through the earth. A jagged crack raced out across the ground, cutting Will off from the room’s exit, ripping the stone open and sending debris plummeting into the darkness.

“Eyes on me,” Noah said softly. He stepped past the rubble behind him, using a small gust of wind to keep the dust swirling around his body. The chances of Will identifying him were low, but the more distracted the other man was, the easier everything would be.

“What do you want?” Will stammered. “I was just–”

“Testing them,” Noah finished. “Yes. I am aware of what you were doing. But what gives you the right to interfere? They weren’t in the program yet, Will. But that’s in the past now, isn’t it?”

Will nodded hurriedly. “Yes, exactly. We–”

“We don’t need to hold grudges,” Noah interjected. A crackle of electricity trailed across his fingertips, then vanished into the air with a hiss. “There’s nothing wrong with a little testing. It’s only natural.”

“That’s how we see it as well. We meant no harm, but ensuring the quality of every student in the advanced track is vital for its success. That’s how we can make sure we only put out the most competent students.”

“A logical solution,” Noah said. He tilted his head to the side as if in thought, then tapped a finger on his mask. “But, if you test those that enter – who tests you?”

Will blinked in confusion. “Me? I’m a member of the track already. They tested me when I was first invited, and I–”

“I don’t believe I was present for that,” Noah said, not letting Will finish his sentence. He wanted to keep the other man on the backfoot and avoid giving him a chance to start mustering any form of properly coherent thought, and it was working pretty effectively. To a normal Rank 3, a powerful Rank 4 Mage wasn’t all that different from a Rank 6. They were both effectively insurmountable – which meant Will would have trouble placing his strength when he recounted it to anyone.

“You? No, I don’t think–”

“No,” Noah agreed. “I wasn’t. You’re right. So how can I know how competent you are? As far as I can tell, you’re nothing but a sniveling Rank 3, barely able to stand in my presence. Is there more to you than that?”

Will’s face flickered, likely recalling Noah’s first threat about how little he liked being disappointed, and gave him a firm nod. His hands clutched at the wall, trying to claw through it to no avail.

“Ah. You are. Fantastic,” Noah said. “In that case, I’m sure you wouldn’t be opposed to letting me test you. After all, tests aren’t any harm. They’re just to ensure the quality of every student and faculty member participating in the advanced track.”

This is pretty much the same offer you gave Moxie, right? Fight me until you can’t fight any longer, or something like that? Turn about is fair play.

Will winced. Noah had completely wrapped his own words around him, and he knew it. There was no way for him to refuse without angering him. A second of silence passed as Will desperately dug for a solution, but there wasn’t one. The only thing he could do was swallow heavily.

“You should feel free to refuse, of course,” Noah added. He waited just long enough to see the hope flicker on Will’s face before he continued on. “But, if you do, I expect you to withdraw from the advanced track. I can’t have the unworthy dealing with my students or their students.”

The hope died. Will gritted his teeth and lowered into a fighting stance. “I’d be more than willing to prove myself, but I am one of the younger members in the advanced track. I’m close to Rank 4, but I haven’t achieved it yet.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” Noah said. He would have pulled his domain back if he was actually good at controlling it yet, but he was still working a bit on the finer aspects. That was an unfortunate outcome for Will, but Noah also wasn’t very interested in playing fair at the moment.

He’d given Will more than enough time to get ready. He shifted forward, using the wind to accelerate his movements as he whipped a leg up for Will’s head. The other man dipped back, dodging to the side and narrowly avoiding the strike.If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Noah spun, a hand snapping out to strike Will in the chest. A bright flash lit the air as shimmering gold armor snapped to life over Will’s body. Noah’s fist struck it with a loud crack and Will skidded back, uninjured.

There was a Shield bracelet on his wrist, humming with energy. They were close enough that Will didn’t have any way to use his magic, but that evidently didn't translate over to Imbued objects.

Now that’s good to know. Since a Shield is drawing magic from within him rather than sending it out of his body, it can still activate. So domains, at least at my rank, don’t protect from imbued weapons. That probably changes at higher ranks.

Noah didn’t give Will much time to recover. As much as Noah disliked him, Will was clearly competent and knew what he was doing. If this was an actual test, he might have been somewhat impressed.

Unfortunately for Will – it wasn’t a real test, and Noah wasn’t interested in being impressed. He was interested in sending a message.

Water gathered in the air around Noah as he ripped it out of the surroundings, sending bullets at Will from every direction. Will lifted his hands in front of his face as the magic pattered against his armor, sending ripples of energy running across it.

The Shield was clearly of fairly good make – at least a Rank 4, by Noah’s estimate. Will’s hands started to lower, but Noah wasn’t done. The temperature in the room dropped sharply as he drew in the heat, freezing the water now covering the ground.

Will’s foot hit a patch of ice as he shifted to try and get out of the range of Noah’s domain. He stumbled and fell, catching Noah’s vibration-empowered foot on the way up. A deep thrum ripped through Will’s armor as he was launched into the air, tremors racing through the Shield.

The Shield shattered with a tinkling crash, fragments of light spiraling away from Will. He hit the wall and let out a pained grunt as all the air was knocked from his lungs. Wind gathered in Noah’s palm, wisps of white spilling over his fingertips. Noah nearly sent it out in a spike to pierce straight through Will’s heart before he stopped himself at the last moment.

Shit. Don’t want to kill the idiot. I need him alive.

Will crumpled to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. The ball of magic faded away and Noah clenched his hand, letting it return to his side.

“Is that all? I wasn’t even trying.”

“You broke my Shield in just one spell,” Will wheezed. “How am I supposed to fight against that?”

“If you rely on a Shield to fight, then you are a pathetic warrior,” Noah growled. He extended a hand and a powerful blast of wind shoved Will off the ground, sending him stumbling right into Noah’s grip.

He gripped the man’s shirt and lifted him into the air, the power from his Runes coursing through his body like a raging river. It had been a long time, but Noah could feel the tickle of Azel’s influence in the back of his mind.

Strangely, the demon felt weaker than he had been before – or perhaps Noah had gotten stronger. Either way, the power Azel had over him had drastically weakened, and Noah was able to crush Azel’s desires out without too much effort.

Will struggled in Noah’s grip. His feet kicked pointlessly and his arms pried at Noah’s arm, but it was completely ineffective. It felt like he was holding a runaway toddler, not a mage. Noah was lucky he was wearing a mask, because the scorn and disbelief on his face likely would have driven a blade straight through Will’s heart on the spot.

“Is this all you can do?” Noah demanded. “This pathetic excuse can boast about being in the advanced track?”

“I’m a researcher and an Imbuer.” Will wheezed. “I don’t ever need to fight without my magic.”

“Then don’t go throwing your weight around like you’re anyone of interest. You’re pathetic,” Noah said, trying to picture exactly what Jalen would have said if he were in his position. He was annoyed enough that it wasn’t hard, and perhaps that should have been concerning.

“There are a lot of ways to be strong. I’m not a warrior.” A glint passed through Will’s eyes as his gaze flicked past Noah’s shoulder. There was relief in his expression – relief that shouldn’t have been present. “But she is.”

Noah didn’t bother turning. He threw Will back and dropped to the ground. A sword ripped through the air where his neck had been, letting out a keening wail in its wake. He set off a powerful blast of wind in the air above him, and was rewarded with a loud crash a moment later.

Noah rose, spinning toward the new threat. A man rose from the rubble of a new hole in Will’s wall, the cloak hanging ragged around his body and a long sword in his hand. His face was blank and expressionless – not the features of a human, but a well-carved mask. Noah nearly laughed as he spotted Ulya on the street, her brow creased in concentration.

“Decent attempt at a surprise attack,” Noah said with a low chuckle. “It’s too bad your friend is a brainless idiot – but it’s not like that would have hurt me in the first place.”

Will scrambled to his feet across from Noah, running back until he was out of the range of his domain. As soon as he was safe, glittering cubes of light sprung to life all around him.

“You’re outnumbered,” Ulya said. “I don’t know who you are, but I suggest you surrender now if you want to live.”

“Outnumbered?” Noah burst into laughter. “No. You’re just saving me time, Ulya. I didn’t realize you and Will knew each other so well.”

“Will?” Ulya’s expression flickered when she heard her name, her gaze moving to Will. “What’s going on?”

“Forget it!” Will yelled. A beam of light ripped from one of the cubes, slicing through the air toward Noah. Noah didn’t bother waiting to see if the magic would make it through his domain – considering it had originated outside it, there was a decent chance it would. He hadn’t had enough time to test out the domain’s full abilities, and now wasn’t the time to do it.

He dodged to the side, then slammed Will into the wall with a powerful blast of wind. Will slid down with a cough as dust rained around him.

“Sit,” Noah growled, turning back to Ulya and her puppet. “Come on, then. I hope you prove more interesting than your friend.”