A magical talent show

Lily's words stayed on my mind. She made it seem like she already knew the outcome of the assessment, at least the outcome it had in the game. But if she possessed knowledge of the game like I did, she would also know that I, that is to say Lucien, was not supposed to be at the academy. Maybe she's just pretending not to notice, but could she really act so well that not even Rieva noticed anything off about her?

I had another theory, but it seemed even stranger. It's not that uncommon for a writer to make a mistake like that and have a character say something they shouldn't be aware of yet. But that would require Lily's dialogue to be scripted, even though I had altered the story. It just didn't seem possible.

If she does know, she might be a threat. But siccing Rieva on her might be a bad idea, she's still the Saintess after all. I’ll need to investigate this personally and carefully.

I was still thinking about it when the combat part of the assessment ended. It went by without any further surprises, though that also meant Seraphine and I were still the center of attention.

The second part was about to start. It was branded as a test of our knowledge, but in practice it was more like a magical talent show. The students showed off their most flashy spells, then the teachers judged them based on some arbitrary criteria. Bright lights tend to do well, but the most important thing was to stand out from the crowd. Lily would normally achieve both with a display of her holy magic, which was normally only taught to clergy.

The students were called up alphabetically, so as Lucien Draivelle I was called up quite early. I decided on a simple but elegant ice spell. It involved creating multiple ice crystals floating in the air, which would then reflect light at each other to create a brilliant, glittering effect. It was flashy but not over the top, just enough to not raise any eyebrows for someone who had done so well in the combat portion.

Not long after me, Lily Everlight was called up. She looked nervous but determined as she stepped into the middle of the arena. She took a deep breath and began to chant a spell. A small flame appeared above her hand. After a couple of seconds, it flickered out.

Forget about not stealing the spotlight! Everybody will notice that she's trying to fail on purpose.

The audience had mixed reactions. Some laughed, some pitied her, some whispered amongst themselves. But the whispers were quickly silenced by one sharp, shrill voice:

"Pathetic!" Seraphine yelled. The bystanders around her immediately stepped out of the way to form a path between her and Lily. "I don't know why you decided to embarrass yourself in front of the whole school like this, but I won't stand for this kind of insolence. This is an official assessment, you're expected to give it your all, like everyone else."

Of course my plan would backfire. I should have known better than to trust Lily not to mess it up.

I tried to come up with a way to diffuse the situation when a teacher beat me to it and stepped between the two of them.

"Lady Mireidyne, please refrain from interfering with the assessment." he addressed Seraphine, "Questionable as it may be, if Miss Everlight wishes to submit this performance, she is within her rights to do so."

Seraphine scoffed, but before she could say anything else, another student spoke up. "If I may interject, I believe Lady Mireidyne has a point."

I didn't recognize the voice, but when I saw the speaker, I recognized that perfectly trimmed blue hair. It was one of Lily's potential love interests, Kaelan Thorne, the honor student. The game portrayed him as a diligent genius with a strict moral compass.

He continued: "Like myself, Miss Everlight is attending Valastra Academy on a scholarship granted to her in recognition of her magical potential. For her to perform this poorly, while not against any rules, would reflect poorly on the scholarship program and Valastra Academy as a whole. She is not just embarrassing herself, she is embarrassing every one of us." Kaelan said, earning a few nods from other scholarship students.

While the teachers deliberated how to handle this elegantly, the chatter grew louder and Lily, nervously avoiding Seraphine's glare, looked at me for help.

You idiot! Don't drag me into your mess!

Thankfully, the headmaster resolved the situation. "Miss Everlight. You may either repeat your performance or have this performance be your final score. Be aware that failure to live up to the expectations of the academy, while not a punishable offense, may result in the termination of your scholarship."

With the two options laid bare in front of her, the pressure was too much. Lily sighed and wordlessly mouthed an apology to me, then she started chanting again. This time, instead of a small flame, a bright, shimmering light erupted from her hands. It formed into the shape of a lily, her namesake, which then bloomed and released a shower of sparkling lights, dousing the entire arena in a shower of beautiful petals. Visually it seemed to mimic the spell she was supposed to use, but instead of holy magic she used regular elemental magic.

It was a stunning display. Not quite as impressive as the real deal, but it was good enough to be considered a top performance.

This way there'll be no risk of her getting expelled, while also giving Seraphine a chance to win the assessment with an impressive enough spell. This is an oddly smart choice coming from Lily. Why did she mess up so badly the first time then?

It would be close; there was still a risk Seraphine might not be able to secure first place. But I wouldn't be able to sabotage Lily's performance any further, not after she looked at me after that pathetic first display. Knowing Seraphine, she certainly noticed and is watching me. It was up to her now.