Chapter 8: Magic Test (Part 1)
Under the guidance and management of the priests, everyone in the square filed orderly into the hall within the church.
Inside the church hall.
The vast hall had a floor of polished marble, with a huge crystal chandelier hanging overhead. Hundreds of people entering the hall did not feel cramped at all.
At the very front of the hall was a row of chairs, where the recruiters from various academies sat. In the center was the testing area.
The black-robed priest spoke loudly with a smile: "The testing area is right here in the center. Those taking the test will come one by one. No one else may enter the central circle. Those preparing to take the test, please line up. Parents and relatives, step to the side."
"Linley, here are the test fees and your identification papers. Go quickly. Oh, and leave the Shadowmouse with me for now. Having it with you during the test might be troublesome," Hillman said.
"Bebe, stay with Uncle Hillman for a while. I’m going to take the test." Linley communicated with the Shadowmouse through his soul. The little mouse stirred reluctantly in Linley’s arms, but after Linley insisted again, it scurried straight into Hillman’s clothes.
Linley then took the ten gold coins and went to line up. He saw a crowd of youths, the oldest around seventeen or eighteen, the youngest only six or seven. These children formed two long queues, while the church priests collected the test fees.
The central circle had a diameter of ten meters. Inside were three adults: two responsible for testing and one for recording. The testing tools consisted of a crystal ball and a complex hexagonal magic array.
"First one."
The bald old man pointed directly at the crystal ball and said coldly: "First, place your hand on the crystal ball to test elemental affinity."
The first person was a twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy. Nervously, he placed his right hand on the crystal ball. Immediately, the entire crystal ball began to emit a faint, hazy red glow, occasionally mixed with a trace of cyan.
The bald old man glanced at the paper in his hand and said indifferently: "Age 12. Elemental affinity: Fire, medium; Wind, low."
"Now enter the magic array to test your mental strength. Remember, stand straight. Do not kneel or fall. Hold out as long as you can." The bald old man’s voice remained cold. The boy nodded and stepped into the hexagonal magic array. The bald old man’s body then radiated a holy white light, and a beam of white light merged into the magic array.
Light magic—Deterrence!
"The testing method is still so primitive." Delin Cowart flew out and landed beside Linley.
"Grandpa Delin." Seeing Delin Cowart, Linley felt greatly reassured.
"Magic testing uses elemental affinity as a supplement, but testing mental strength is the main focus. After half a year of meditation, your mental strength should be about sixteen or seventeen times that of your peers." Delin Cowart smiled at Linley and said, "All of this will be very easy for you."
In just a moment, the boy in the magic array could no longer hold on and collapsed.
"Mental strength: about twice that of his peers. No potential to become a mage." The bald old man announced coldly. The magic array stopped operating, and the boy walked out dejectedly.
Murmurs arose around them.
"Silence." The bald old man said coldly, and the crowd of nobles immediately dared not make a sound. "Next."
Delin Cowart watched the scene with interest.
One by one, the youths were tested. The first ten all failed. At this moment, a girl was in the magic array. She lasted longer than the previous ten.
"Oh?" The bald old man’s eyes lit up, and he immediately increased the power of the magic array.
After a while, the girl finally knelt on one knee.
The bald old man nodded in satisfaction, a trace of a smile finally appearing on his face: "Mental strength: eight times that of her peers. Meets the baseline for becoming a mage. Elemental affinity also reaches medium. She can become a mage!" The bald old man’s verdict decided the girl’s fate.
"Ah, wonderful!" The first to shout loudly was not the girl, but her father, a bald, gentlemanly-looking middle-aged man.
"Quiet." The bald old man snorted in displeasure.
Immediately, a priest came over and led the girl and her father to the group of recruiters from the magic academies.
Many people looked at the girl with envy.
Becoming a mage meant both status and power!
As time passed, more and more people filled the hall. Since the magic test would last seven days, most were in no hurry. By the time it was Linley’s turn, the number of test-takers in the hall had grown so large that the queue extended outside.
"Next." The bald old man said again.
Linley calmed his mind and stepped into the center. Delin Cowart remained beside him. In Delin Cowart’s view, only Saint-level experts could barely sense his presence; these ordinary mages had no chance of noticing him.
Linley placed his hand on the crystal ball.
Then—
Like the sun, the entire crystal ball suddenly blazed brightly. Earth-yellow and cyan light interwove, occasionally mixed with a very faint trace of fiery red. The dazzling light was so intense that those nearby couldn’t help but squint.
Seeing the crystal ball shining like the sun, everyone in the hall was stunned.
The bald old man trembled as he looked at the paper in his hand. It clearly stated that Linley was only eight years old.
"Age 8. Elemental affinity: Earth and Wind, super-grade! Fire, medium." The bald old man felt his heart pounding fiercely. Most mages had medium elemental affinity; high was already very rare, and super-grade… was incredibly scarce.
To put it simply, while others might take ten hours to refine magical power, Linley could achieve the same result in about an hour.
"Whoa!"
A gasp swept through the hall. Elemental affinity at super-grade, and for two elements—this was terrifying.
"Wind super-grade?" Delin Cowart beside him was surprised.
"Uh, I’m also good at Wind?" Linley himself was stunned and couldn’t help asking Delin Cowart mentally.
Delin Cowart gave a dry laugh: "Linley, I told you before, I could only test your Earth elemental affinity. By the way, when you were refining magical power, didn’t you notice the Wind elements?"
"Wind elements?" Linley paused. "The first time you taught me to refine magical power, you told me not to get distracted. I did notice some cyan light points around, but I didn’t think much of it. Later, when I absorbed Earth elements, I was surrounded by them, and there were no cyan light points."
Delin Cowart understood in his heart.
When cultivating magical power, especially for dual-element mages, if one focuses solely on one element, they will absorb the surrounding elements of that type, while the other element’s particles are pushed away.
"Every time I’ve cultivated since then, Earth elements have been around me. I never thought about those cyan light points." Linley was overjoyed at this realization.
Because he knew that dual-element mages were generally more powerful than single-element ones.
After testing elemental affinity, it was time to test mental strength!