The prayer hall was silent except for the soft, collective breathing of two hundred first-years and the faint, ethereal hum of the glowing seeds in their palms. Sunlight fractured through stained-glass saints, painting the white marble floor in shifting reds, blues, and golds. Eliylra Nystovia stood motionless at the center dais—eyes serene yet watchful—while Elowen Voss paced slowly along the edge of the formation, arms crossed, lips pressed into a thin line.
The trial had begun.
A freckled boy near the front extended shaky fingers. His mana trickled out—thin, flickering green. The seed sprouted a tiny bud... then wilted black in six seconds flat.
"Damn it!" he groaned, kicking the floor. "I barely even started!"
His friend beside him laughed bitterly. "Six seconds? I got four. These things hate us."
A girl with braids tried next. Her flower opened for nine seconds before exploding in harmless sparks. "This is rigged!" she yelled, throwing her hands up. "How are we supposed to control sothing that fights back?"
Girl after boy after girl—most managed a sprout. A few coaxed a fragile petal or two. One lucky commoner—a wiry girl with dirt under her nails—held a small white daisy for twelve seconds before it exploded in a shower of harmless sparks. The rest failed in under ten.
"Pathetic," one noble boy sneered loud enough for half the hall to hear. "They can’t even make a flower last ten seconds. Why are they even here?"
His friend laughed. "Mud-bloods trying to play with real magic. Cute."
Elowen Voss’s lips curved in grim satisfaction as she paced the edge of the formation. *Exactly as expected. Let the common filth embarrass themselves.*
Nobles stepped up next.
They perford better—predictably. Clean white lilies, perfect blue roses, steady golden sunflowers. Most lasted thirty seconds, so thirty-five.
One arrogant third-son of House Veyl held a crimson orchid for forty-two seconds before it drooped and died.
"Forty-two!" his friends cheered. "House Veyl still dominates!"
The noble section clapped politely for their own.
Then ca Elarion Voss.
He extended one elegant hand. Mana flowed—pure, icy silver-blue. The seed sprouted instantly into a flawless frost-lily, petals shimring like glass, veins glowing with inner light. It stood perfect and unyielding for the full sixty seconds. Not a single tremble.
The noble section erupted. "That’s our prince!"
"Voss blood is unmatched!"
"No one can touch him!"
Elowen’s lips curved in grim satisfaction.
Elara went next.
Her silver-blue mana matched her twin’s—elegant, controlled. A delicate ice-rose blood, thorns glittering like diamonds. It held strong... until five seconds before the tir. The outer petals curled black, then the whole flower wilted in a silent puff of frost.
Still—fifty-five seconds. Impressive.
Nobles applauded again, louder. Commoners shifted uncomfortably, jealousy thick in the air.
"Lady Elara is almost as perfect as her brother!"
Ela Voss went quietly. Her lavender hair caught the light as she extended her palm. Mana flowed in careful threads. A small black rose with silver edges blood. It lasted fifty seconds before the petals began to fray.
Elowen’s eyes glead. *See? Voss blood prevails. That Nightshade boy can’t touch this. Not in a million years.*
Liana went next—shadow-veil mana coiling like smoke. Her flower—a dark violet bloom with silver veins—held for nineteen seconds before collapsing. She shrugged, unfazed. "Close enough."
A commoner boy beside her groaned. "Nineteen? I got seven! How is she so good?"
Then Aiden’s wives.
Luna tried first. Her wolf mana surged—wild, eager. The seed sprouted... then exploded in a shower of red sparks before a single petal could form. She pouted, ears flattening. "Stupid seed! Why won’t you listen?"
Thristle laughed as hers crumbled instantly. "I don’t do delicate. Give sothing to punch instead."
Zerra and Arisha failed. Because their seed didn’t even sprouted.
The commoner section groaned in sympathy.
*Ohh... Co on.* Mira thought desperately.
But then Selvara, Nayla, Valeforia, Xylendra, Lysandra, Vegia, and Venya stepped up.
Selvara’s midnight rose with violet edges lasted the full sixty.
Nayla’s blue-tinted lotus blood perfectly.
Valeforia and Xylendra grew twin dark-mirror flowers—identical, flawless.
Lysandra’s crystalline lily sparkled like glass—sixty seconds clean.
Vegia’s soft green bud opened into a modest but stable bloom.
Venya’s fla-rose burned bright crimson-gold without scorching—perfect.
The commoner section roared—cheers, whistles, fists pumping. "That’s our queens!" "Lord Aiden’s wives are unstoppable!" "Voss who?!"
Nobles shifted—jealousy souring their faces.
Elara muttered under her breath, "Tch... beasts and demons showing off. Disgusting."
Elowen cursed under her breath—quiet enough that only Mira heard. "Filthy creatures... how dare they outperform nobles..."
Mira—standing behind her, thighs still clenched to keep Aiden’s cum from leaking—smiled secretly, heart racing. Co on, Aiden... keep your promise. Show them.
Elira watched everything with serene calm—though her eyes kept drifting to Aiden, cheeks faintly pink.
Then it was his turn.
Aiden stepped forward—calm, unhurried. The seed floated into his palm—small, glowing white.
---
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED]
[MANA FLOW]
NOTE: PLAYER CAN NOW TRANSFER LARGE AMOUNT OF MANA IN AN OBJECT OR ORGANISM]
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*Just what I needed. Great timing system.* Aiden thought, smirking.
He closed his fingers around it.
Mana flowed.
Not a thread.
A torrent.
And grew.
And grew.
What should have been a tiny flower erupted upward—trunk thickening, branches spreading, leaves unfurling in impossible colors: crimson scales, erald fur, violet void, sapphire starlight, golden dragon-fla. It beca a full-sized tree—towering over the dais, roots cracking marble, canopy brushing the stained-glass ceiling. Every leaf shimred with layered affinities; blossoms opened in fractal patterns, each petal a different color, yet the entire tree pulsed with perfect, unbreakable stability.
The hall went dead silent.
Then exploded.
Commoners scread—cheering, jumping, so crying. "Lord Aiden!" "That’s our king!" "He grew a goddamn tree!"
Nobles recoiled—faces pale, mouths open.
Elowen staggered back one step—eyes wide with fury and disbelief. "Impossible... that’s impossible..."
Mira’s smile widened, proud. *That’s my man...* She bounched in excitent, clinching her fist. *Finally. Finally... I don’t regret anything.*
Eliylra stared, eyes huge, hands clasped so tightly her knuckles whitened. *He did it. He did it. He grew a tree. That’s the first ti I have seen such miracle.*
She looked at it—then at him.
Her voice—when she spoke—was barely above a whisper, yet it carried.
"Full stability... perfect control... and impossible harmony. You pass... with the highest possible score."
Elowen’s nails dug into her palms until they bled.
Aiden just smirked—casual, dangerous—pulled his hand out and walked back to his wives.
Luna pounced him again. "Master! That was amazing!"
Selvara muttered, "Show-off..."
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END OF Chapter : 264 : LIVING MANA GARDEN! : 2
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