Examination Matters

Professor Marchbanks stood beside the wooden table, her hunched back not much taller than it. The years had left obvious marks on her body; her muscles were withered and her skin wrinkled, yet she appeared full of energy.

"Let me see, let me see..." Professor Marchbanks flipped through the list in her hands, peering at Loren as he approached over the top of her pince-nez. Her cloudy eyes remained sharp, and she spoke in a loud mutter, "Loren Morgan, correct?"

Loren smiled politely. "Hello, Professor Marchbanks."

"Hello, young man." Professor Marchbanks gave him an encouraging smile and said in her aged, booming voice, "Relax, don't be nervous. I'd like you to take this goblet and have it perform a few tumbling movements for me."

"Yes, Professor."

For a practical examination, the flashier, smoother, and more natural the movements, the higher the score, surely.

Loren pointed the tip of his wand at the goblet, rehearsed the routine in his mind for a few seconds, then unleashed a burst of magic.

An invisible ripple enveloped the glass goblet. Its hard material seemed to soften as it gave a very human-like wiggle. The sides of its rim imitated a pair of hands, while the middle of its base bent slightly, resembling a pair of feet.

Professor Marchbanks's eyes lit up, and she leaned closer to inspect it carefully.

The little glass figure took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, clasped its hands in salute, then stretched out its limbs and began to dance.

Opening stance, Parting the Wild Horse's Mane to the Left and Right, White Crane Spreads Its Wings...

The movements began slowly and leisurely, then grew faster and fiercer. The little glass figure flipped and leaped freely across the tabletop, performing forward and backward somersaults with tremendous force, its movements possessing a