With no other options that she could see, Olivia stepped through the portal. This one was either more powerful or more cleverly designed than the one that brought her to the dungeon because she found herself stepping onto the platform on the mountain outside Fainhallow Academy almost instantly. She was briefly disoriented, but when she realized where she was, Olivia smiled and savored the difference between her current self and the person she’d been when she’d first come to the academy. She’d grown so much, not just in terms of raw power and ability, but as a person.

Striding confidently down the steps to the impressive archway that connected the mountaintop to the academy grounds, Olivia inhaled deeply of the crisp mountain air and looked around. Just as before, no one else was about, and this time, there was no Yunsha to greet her on the bridge. Wearing her beautiful new robes, her wonderful, magical boots, and with faint blue flames limning her person, she approached the gates to Fainhallow. The guards on duty straightened, and the larger, Vodkin guard said, “Business in Fainhallow, ma’am?”

“I’m a student; I’ve just finished with the Proving Grounds dungeon.”

“Uh, you were in the Proving Grounds?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh, erm, sorry to question you, ma’am, but don’t those recall tokens bring you back to the academy portal room?”

“Oh, I’m not sure. I finished the dungeon; I didn’t use the recall token.” Olivia reached up and held out the little recall charm around her neck.

“What? Oh, erm, congratulations. Nester, run ahead and let the administration know that Miss, um, what was your name again, ma’am?” Olivia almost laughed at the Vodkin’s repeated use of “erm.”

“I’m Olivia Bennet.”

“Right, run ahead and let them know that Miss Bennet is on her way in.” The small, young, Ghelli man turned and ran up the street, not giving any sort of reply. “Welcome home, Miss Bennet. Congratulations!”

“Thank you kindly, sir!” Olivia smiled and gave a silly curtsey, then walked through the gatehouse. She was in a good mood and found the huge Vodkin’s attempt at formality funny. She strode through the busy streets of Fainhallow, past the market, and up the main avenue to the academy; no one else gave her a second glance until she came to the huge, open doors of the academy proper. There, looking harried and flustered, several black-robed academy officials stood looking down the steps, excitedly waving and clapping as Olivia began to climb them. Olivia didn’t recognize any of them and was wondering what they expected of her when Oylla-dak landed at the top of the steps with a crack of flapping wings.

“Olivia! You finished! Come here, come here!” Oylla waved her forward, and Olivia hurried up the steps, unable to contain her beaming smile.

“We were all watching for your return in the portal room! It’s been so long since anyone finished the dungeon that we didn’t know you’d be sent to the academy portal stone!”

“Well, here I am!” Olivia waved around at the growing crowd.

“Wonderful! We’re so proud of you, Olivia! This is fabulous news for the school. I trust the experience was valuable for you? Come, come! You’ll have to give me a full accounting of it!” Oylla motioned for people to move aside and reached out for Olivia’s hand, pulling her into the main hall of the academy. All around her, Olivia could watch the news of her return and what she’d done spread, and more and more students turned and regarded her with wide eyes. Something in her enjoyed the attention and encouraged her to stand up straight and smile. She loved how her new robes flowed out behind her as she strode along, with the flames of her elemental heritage softly wisping in the breeze of her progress.

They’d almost made it to the stairway leading to the administration offices when someone crashed into Olivia from behind, wrapping arms around her and squeezing. “Oh, by the Tree! Olivia! You look amazing!” Olivia struggled in Adaida’s grip, turning to face her with a laugh.

“Thanks! I missed you too!” She finally managed to turn enough to put her arms around Adaida and return the squeeze. Oylla paused and turned to regard them with a crooked smile.

“We were so worried, but Professor Oylla-dak told us that she’d be informed if you died, so we just hoped you were still progressing!” Adaida looked up at Oylla and gave her a smile and a nod. “You were right!”

“Why were you so worried? I haven’t even been gone a day!”

“Oh, no. Olivia, time moves differently in the Proving Grounds. To us, you’ve been gone almost two weeks,” Oylla said from behind her.

“What? Really? How strange!”

“Well, the longer you were gone, the more I was sure you were doing well, don’t worry. The last of the other schools reported their entrant’s return or demise almost a week ago.”

“Wow! Well, it all went very quickly for me. Sorry to keep you worrying!” Olivia gave Adaida another squeeze, then let go. “Where are the others?”

“Still in Grobak’s class; I ran out,” she gestured to her exercise robes. “I’m sure I’ll be in trouble, but when I heard Grobak gossiping with the runner that told him you’d just returned, I couldn’t contain myself,” she looked at Oylla, “I’m sorry!”

“Don’t worry, dear. This is cause for celebration. Go tell Grobak I said to give the students the afternoon off! We’ll have a feast tonight; Melonfest break starts in two days anyway.”

“Melonfest?”

“Yes, Olivia! I’ll answer your questions, but first, I want to debrief your time in the Proving Grounds. Run along, Adaida! Come, Olivia,” Oylla turned and started walking, and Olivia smiled at Adaida, then turned and followed.

Soon, they were in Oylla’s office, Olivia sitting in a comfortable leather chair across from Oylla and a heavy door keeping out any sort of distraction. “Well, let’s start at the beginning; tell me about what you encountered and how you overcame your obstacles.” Olivia nodded and began to describe to Oylla all the things she’d fought, the doors she’d opened, and the barriers she’d overcome. When she got to the part about Jaliss ambushing her, Oylla hissed in frustration. “You were kind and right to make her recall.”

“I felt sorry that she was so badly hurt, but I think she was going to kill me or force me to recall.”

“Don’t you dare feel guilty. Pity is ok, but not guilt. You did nothing wrong and were far more merciful than most would have been.”

“Understood. Don’t worry; her betrayal didn’t leave room for much more than sympathy in my heart.”

“Now, tell me what was next.”

Olivia finished the story of her time in the dungeon, Oylla interjecting with questions from time to time, especially about the rhino monstrosity. When she told her about the dragon, Oylla sat back and stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Do you think it was real?”

“It seemed very real. I could feel its power, and it left me with the impression that I was still quite insignificant in the greater world.”

“Perhaps in the wider universe, yes, but Olivia, your potential and progress are already remarkable for this world.”

“Well, thank you, but I honestly just feel like I got lucky. I happen to have a strong Core, and I have a gift for manipulating Energy. On top of that, the academy has showered me with gifts.”

“It’s true; some people are born with more gifts than others. You’ve done a good job applying your natural talents, though, Olivia. You should be proud. I’m happy that you want to give the academy some credit for your success, though. You know, the last person to complete the Proving Grounds was Asyr-dak. He became the second emperor of the Ridonne Empire, and he left this world over a hundred years ago. We should talk about what’s next for you.”

“What do you mean? Shouldn’t I go back to class, like normal?” Olivia had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“No, not like normal. I’m afraid you’ve outpaced your classmates by a great deal, and I think that a normal curriculum would be a waste of your time.”

“But I have a lot left to learn! I really enjoy cultivating and learning about spellcraft!”

“Yes, yes. You do have a lot to learn, and I think professors ap’Rall and ap’Rek have more to teach you.” Olivia had to wrack her brain for a minute to realize she was talking about Alyss and Sange. “Aside from those teachers, though, I think I will modify your schedule; we’ll be dropping your other courses, and you will be apprenticed to one of the graduate professors.”

“Um,” Olivia didn’t know exactly how to feel about this. On the one hand, she was glad that she’d still have a couple of classes with her friends and get some advanced instruction. On the other, she was having flashbacks of being forced to skip grades and leave her friends behind in high school. “Well, I like learning, and if you think this is the best path, I trust you, Oylla.”

“It is; you’ve proven that you can handle yourself, and I think your time is wasted in the other three classes. If you have a passion for enchanting or alchemy, you can take those up as a hobby someday. For now, we should focus on your spellcrafting and Core development. Your new instructor will be able to fill in the gaps and then some.”

“Who will I be apprenticed to?”

“Well, when you get back, you and I will sit down with a few of them for interviews, then we’ll make the right decision together.”

“When I get back?”

“Oh, I haven’t told you about your reward yet, have I?”

“Reward?”

“Naturally! You represented the academy so well that we all agreed you deserved this.” Oylla stood and walked over to her desk, picking up a small wooden box. She carried it over to Olivia and said, “Congratulations!” Olivia gingerly took the box in both hands and set it on her lap. Then she lifted the lid; inside were a ring and a necklace. She recognized the ring; it was her Copper cohort ring. She slipped it onto a finger next to the dimensional storage ring she’d gotten in the dungeon and lifted the necklace.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, letting it dangle in front of her eyes. It was a silver chain with a round silver pendant about the size of a quarter hanging from it. In the center of the pendant was a clear, egg-shaped crystal with a hundred glittering facets. Olivia could see hundreds or thousands of tiny runes carved into the silver around the crystal.

“It’s a teleportation token, a reusable one. It allows travel between the Fainhallow teleportation stone and your home City Stone. It holds enough of a charge to travel there and back, but then it will need a couple of months to recharge.”

“Oh, thank you! Does this mean I can visit home? Oh, but we only have a Town Stone.”

“Oh, that’s nothing; I said City Stone, but any System Settlement Stone will work. And yes, you can visit home! Like I said earlier, we have a break coming up, and I expect you to go home and take a much-deserved rest!” Oylla held out a hand, “You can give me that recall necklace from the dungeon; you won’t be needing it.”

“Right,” Olivia lifted the chain off her head and handed it to Oylla, then she slipped her new pendant around her neck. “Thank you so much, Oylla. I really needed this.”

“You’re welcome, Olivia. It’s not as expensive as it could be; it requires that you’re standing on our teleportation stone, out on the mountain, to activate. Still, its reusable nature makes it quite valuable. Protect it!”

“I will!” Olivia stuffed the charm down into her robes.

“You’ve gained quite a few valuable items from the dungeon, Olivia. You may continue to wear those robes when you return. You’ve earned the right. I’m going to require that you have Professor Brince add a small enchantment to change their color, though. I still want you in gray until next year.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Olivia was thrilled; she thought she’d have to remove the robes at the academy. It hadn’t occurred to her that their color could be altered.

“Now, let’s get you a bath, and then we can begin the celebration!” Olivia smiled, warmth filling her heart. She’d truly earned her place at the academy, and there seemed to be people here who genuinely cared about her, and not just because of what she could do.

“And I get to visit home,” she softly said as she followed Oylla out of her office and turned to make her way to the Copper cohort dorm.