The meeting room was full of boisterous sounds. When they entered, they didn't attract any attention.
"Let's go there. They're my apprentice group."
Ethan had skimmed the magic book on his table but that was all text. He hadn't seen any real sorcery and was looking forward to seeing it.
A beautiful young woman with short curly hair waved toward them with a smile. Daniel smiled back and approached the group.
"Hey Lorraine, this is Ethan. We met on the street. He wanted to come to the Apprentice Exchange to meet you guys."
"Hey Ethan, I'm Daniel's friend, Lorraine. What's your talent level by the way?"
Lorraine was surprised to see a young man with shabby commoner clothes in an Apprentice Exchange. Commoners could not do any magic and thus had nothing to learn or to teach in an Apprentice Exchange; thus, they didn't have a place there.
"I don't know. I haven't taken a test yet. Do you know where I can take one?"
"Are you dumb? You are currently inside a testing center. As a commoner, what business do you have here anyway?" Another young man in the group disdainfully said to Ethan. This young man had a crew cut and was quite handsome. He seemed to be the "alpha male" of the group.
"Actually, I'd hoped to watch and learn from you guys today. I'd be really happy if you showed me your magic achievements." Ethan ignored the disdain in the young man's words and amiably replied. He was not a pushover but currently he had too little information about this world.
"Okay, just don't disturb us then. I'll tolerate you for Daniel's sake." The young man was too disdainful to tell Ethan his name and replied indifferently. Daniel helplessly smiled and waved sorry toward Ethan.
At this time, another young man who went unnoticed to Ethan till now spoke up with . "Hello, I'm Oliver. I'm the most senior of this group. You're welcome to listen as long as you wish." He was quite neutral and didn't show any feelings on the surface-at the least Ethan couldn't notice any feelings.
"Thank you guys."
Oliver started the exchange casually. "Ok, let us start. So what have you guys learned this week?"
Lorraine was eager to show off her skills in front of the newcomer. It seemed that she didn't have disdain toward Ethan and she even had some curiosity. "I have mastered the Fireball spell! Here let me cast it."
Lorraine then closed her eyes to concentrate and started making hand signs. Ethan thought these signs were like the hand signs in Naruto and inadvertently smiled. Ethan couldn't see anything happening but after Lorraine stopped making signs, a fireball slowly formed in the air. It looked scorching-hot and was radiating heat similar to a furnace.
A couple dozen seconds later, Lorraine frowned and the fireball became unstable. Suddenly, the fireball collapsed in itself and disappeared while Lorraine hurried her breathing as if to catch her breath. She looked exhausted.
Daniel was concerned and supported Lorraine from her shoulder. "Why did you imbue so much mana in the spell? You don't need to exhaust yourself just for a Fireball spell you know!"
"That was good Lorraine. Although the rune pathways were crude which caused your mana exhaustion, the spell was a success. You should work on your hand signs and spiritual power control to improve the rune's quality." Oliver was unconcerned and gave a calm reply.
"Okay then, who's next?"
"I will show you guys the Water Shield spell!" The handsome young man was also eager to show off in front of his friends.
He didn't close his eyes but he similarly made hand signs. His hand signs were more distinct and masterful. Similarly after the hand signs were over, water started to form in front of the young man. It slowly became bigger and bigger to form a large Water Shield. The young man was not having a hard time at all in maintaining the spell. He canceled it himself and the water shield shrank till it disappeared.
"Great execution Axel. Your runes were very good. You could improve the spell by further solidifying the runes with your spiritual power." Oliver had a trace of praise in his eyes but nevertheless calm.
At this moment, Ethan was shocked by these performances. The first thought that occurred to him was "Doesn't this invalidate conservation of mass? How do they conjure water from thin air?". The power of the spells weren't high, and modern weapons would have an easy time defending or attacking against them, so he wasn't surprised in that respect.
"Daniel, what about you?"
"I haven't got any new spells but I've learned a lot about runes this week."
Thus the apprentices decided to move onto the rune discussion part of the exchange.
Ethan was still in a daze and didn't put in any effort to listen. He also knew he wouldn't understand a single word because he hadn't read the "Rune Fundamentals" book yet.
In about half an hour, the exchange ended. The group seperated with Daniel, Lorraine and Ethan leaving together and the others staying to study in the Guild library. Ethan asked for Daniel's contact and learned that he lived in the street next to his Radon Street, the Xenon Street. He also gave his address to Daniel and they seperated for the day.
When Ethan was walking back home, he noticed a sheet of paper on the gargantuan trash pile. The sheet had torn off sides and the material looked similar to the diary he had read earlier that day. He tried his best to ignore the smell and picked up the sheet.
It was his missing diary entry! He quickly read it. "December 18, 506 RC, I can't believe my talent. I am hopeless right now. I don't know how I can live up to the promises I made to my parents. With a talent level of 5, I would forever remain at the Apprentice level."
Ethan was both saddened and shocked. He felt similar to the author of the diary. His dreams of becoming a magician seemed unreachable. The next moment, his hardworking and determined nature kicked in and he decided that he would find a way to enhance his talent. However, it was late now and he had to go to sleep. Tomorrow it was! He would search all around and investigate all the rumors to find a way to improve his talent.