Free Web NovelChapter 371: Chapter 368: Standardized Test
After Andre filled out the file for Iron Hat King Hanna, he glanced at her companion, Martin. "Mr. Martin Weber... It’s your turn for the test."
Martin put on the iron hat. Once it was activated, he didn’t feel a thing, only that his neck was very tired.
Andre couldn’t even be bothered to pull out a crystal to determine a Level. Through his Arcane Vision, he could see the kid was a complete non-talent. His dim Spiritual Light wasn’t even as bright as a roadside tree’s.
The result, of course, was "No Casting Potential."
Martin watched Andre firmly stamp a red seal on his form, and his heart sank. He felt like he had missed out on something important.
After putting away the hat, Andre moved on to the next test for the person with potential. He gestured for Miss Vogel to follow him, opening another door for her. "Congratulations, please follow me for the next test. I’m sorry, Mr. Martin, please wait here." Andre stopped Martin from following Hanna.
The light from behind the door cast an eerie red glow. Martin’s anxiety and uncertainty were at their peak, and Hanna was also very hesitant. But Andre seemed to say something to her, and a look of immense surprise appeared on Hanna’s face. She immediately turned to Martin and said, "Sorry, Martin, please wait for me..."
They were speaking as they walked away, and the door closed before Hanna could finish her sentence.
It was so abrupt, so final. Martin stood there, stunned. He didn’t call out "Miss Vogel" this time. Instead, he simply said, "Hanna."
"Don’t worry, they’ve just gone to the next stage of testing." A young man appeared behind Martin and patted him on the shoulder. "My name is Rorschach."
"You’re Rorschach Mage!" ƒгeewebnovёl.com
"You’ve heard of me? Good. Then I can tell you what that test was for—we were seeing if you have the potential to become a Mage."
The revelation hit Martin like a physical blow. He had obviously failed, while Hanna was the lucky one. You could teach someone arithmetic, but you couldn’t get Casting Ability through tutoring.
"Your file says you majored in the literary history of the Old Empire period, but you also know accounting?" Rorschach raised an eyebrow. The man’s resume was remarkably similar to Miss Hanna’s.
Martin stammered, unable to give a clear answer. He hadn’t passed Rorschach’s test either. freēwēbnovel.com
’I could calculate faster than you in elementary school!’ Rorschach stopped Martin, who was sweating profusely as he tried to calculate, and asked if he had any other talents.
Martin hastily offered a book of poems he carried with him. Rorschach flipped straight to the last page:
Ah, little daisy, little daisy in the sun.
Your fragrance, your petals, remind me of the ends of her hair.
’It’s winter. What’s with all this sappy springtime poetry?’ As Rorschach flipped back toward the beginning of the book, he asked, "Did you write this for the lady who was just here?"
Martin hadn’t expected Rorschach to start from the last poem. "No, uh... yes. But I haven’t shown it to her yet."
’This kind of doggerel...’ Rorschach found it uninteresting and closed the book. He then walked slowly toward Martin, painting a picture of the future. "You don’t want to see Miss Hanna become a Mage, only to drift further and further away from you until you’re complete strangers, do you?"
Martin swallowed hard.
Then, like a Demon whispering in his ear, Rorschach continued, "If you were given the chance to become a Caster, would you be willing to take the risk? The worst that could happen is death."
Martin looked at the door Andre and Hanna had gone through. To him, the thin sheet of iron felt like an impenetrable barrier. The young man quickly made up his mind. "I... I’m willing!"
...
On the other side of the door, Andre handed Hanna a contract. Before they had even entered, he’d told her that the test revealed she had the potential to become a Mage, but that she would have to sign a contract.
The contract’s contents stipulated confidentiality: she was not to disclose any information related to Magic to others without permission, and she had to voluntarily accept any consequences that might arise during her studies.
"Drip your blood onto the Rune in the center of the contract to activate it." Andre instructed Hanna to prick her finger and let the blood fall. After she did, Hanna asked, "Now that you have my blood, does this mean you can control me? Or can you take my life with a single Magic spell from a thousand miles away?"
’She still went through with it, even thinking that?’ Andre quickly cleared up the misunderstanding. "Miss Vogel, you’re overthinking things. We just want to ensure your secrecy and be able to use the Secret Contract to pinpoint your location if necessary. We would never rashly threaten your life."
The room they were in was bathed in the red light of Magic Lamps, distorting the true color of every object. Andre handed her a paper card with a string of words written on it.
"Stare at the words and repeat them ten times. While you do, imagine the color of this card, and then exit through the door on the right, taking the card with you."
The card was actually white, but it appeared red under the crimson light. If Hanna had a talent for Transformation and Illusion Technique, it was very likely she could change the card’s color under the stimulation of the ambient light.
When she walked into the next room, she was holding a pink card.
A satisfied smile spread across Andre’s face. "Very good, Miss Vogel. Now, please listen to my instructions, then cup this Crystal Ball in your hands."
He began to describe how to infuse an object with Endogenous Magic Power, explaining the mental imagery and how to relax all the muscles in her body.
By the time Andre finished his explanation, the Crystal Ball in Hanna’s hands had truly begun to glow.
The actual Light Technique doesn’t require a Crystal Ball; it can grant luminescent properties to most objects or create floating orbs of light. However, since these candidates have had no Magic training, a Crystal Ball with a built-in, incomplete Light Technique Magic Array is used to test their potential in Shaping Power Magic.
Andre had suggested using this Crystal Ball for the initial Magic Talent test, but Rorschach rejected the idea. His reasoning was that the Shaping Power Energy System doesn’t represent all Magic. The first test had to be passive, without requiring the candidate to actively accomplish anything.
For the penultimate test, Hanna saw a small metal sphere suspended in the center of the room. Andre placed a multicolored crystal into the base beneath the sphere. Soon, the sphere began to spin. It spun faster and faster, starting to emit an incandescent glow.
Hanna felt an inexplicable pressure washing over her like a gust of wind, plunging her into a strange cycle of alternating heat and cold. Andre’s voice rang in her ears, "Control your breathing! Stabilize yourself! Deep breaths!"
Hanna did as he said, forcing herself to take deep breaths in and out. The discomfort began to subside.
Seeing that Hanna had passed the Defense System resistance test, Andre shut down the miniaturized Forbidden Magic Device prototype Rorschach had built. Rorschach’s prototype couldn’t achieve its intended effect, but it could generate chaotic winds of magic, so it had been repurposed as a testing instrument here.
He led Hanna into the final room. It was empty save for a huge Magic Array drawn on one wall, with a hexagonal Rune at its core.
"Congratulations on passing all the previous tests! This means you have a talent for Transformation, Illusion Technique, Shaping Power, and Defense System magic!" In Andre’s eyes, the woman was already what you’d call a polymath. "Now, you just need to use the same technique you used to light the Crystal Ball and try to activate this Magic Array. If you can, it will prove you also have potential in the Natural System and the Curse Magic System."
"Don’t worry if you can’t light it up. You’ve already passed. I’ll provide assistance with my own Magic Power."
"Wait a minute." Hanna stopped and started counting on her fingers. "Transformation, Illusion Technique, Shaping Power... why is the Prophetic System missing?" After all, she was a member of the "Thoth Key" society, and Divination was her favorite.
’Can I really say it’s because Master Rorschach isn’t good at it?’ Andre felt it was necessary to maintain the grand image of the company and the Rorschach Mage Tower, so he explained, "Prophetic Spells are far too profound; aptitude for them can’t be judged by a simple test. As you continue your studies, you’ll have the chance to learn about subjects like astrology and profiling..."
"Alright." Hanna accepted Andre’s explanation. She placed her hand on the Rune and channeled her Magic Power into it.
The Magic Array lit up. Rorschach’s "Spell Cloud" had gained another connection.
