Iron Fang stood tall in the middle of the field, his arms crossed like a stone wall. His eyes looked at us one by one, heavy and sharp, as if he could see straight through our skin.
"You think running shows strength?" His voice was loud and deep. "That was nothing. The real test begins now."
Real test? Wonderful. As if my legs almost falling off wasn't enough.
He motioned toward a stand at the far end of the yard. A cloth was pulled away, and underneath sat a large crystal orb fixed on a thick iron stand. The orb caught the sunlight and shimmered faintly, like it already knew my secrets and couldn't wait to show them to everyone.
"This," Iron Fang said, his voice echoing, "is the mana purity crystal. It shows the purity of your mana."
Perfect. A magical truth machine. Just what I needed.
