"Jay, before you go, please take these," said Alan as he gave me two objects.
The first one was a silver bracelet with a small blue gemstone imbued in the center. I looked at the piece of jewelry, intrigued.
"It's a space bracelet. It will allow you to dematerialize objects and carry them within the gem, and you can rematerialize them whenever you want," he explained, "I thought you would've liked it for your black sword."
He winked at me, and I sighed. Could this guy read people's needs this easily?
"Thank you, Alan."
I slotted the bracelet on my right wrist, grabbing midnight and willing it to dematerialize. The dagger slowly transformed into blue dust of energy. The cyan-blue mist was then absorbed by the little gemstone, erasing all traces of the weapon.
I smiled at the convenience of the object, looking up to inspect the second item. It was a full-face mask, an interesting owl-like design covering one half, the other a simple white. I put it on, not really understanding its use.
"What does it do-" I started, interrupting myself at the realization.
It was a voice changer. My voice had suddenly become deeper, a hint of metallic rustiness like a robot being heard. There was no way someone would guess my age with this, and considering I was decently tall for my age, I could definitely pass as above thirteen.
I took off the mask, smiling.
"Thanks, Alan. Seems like I owe you a few now."
"Haha, I guess you do," he joked before putting on an honest face. "Good luck out there, Jay."
I headed off towards the designated location for the examination, still uncomfortable with the shorter hair that my mom had so generously cut for me the night before. It was still messy and unorganized, but it wasn't in front of my eyes anymore. Maybe I'll just make the best out of it and stop complaining, I thought.
"We'll now begin the examination!" announced a man, a sword at his hip. I was sitting in the audience chairs of an open arena, the blue sky lighting battleground.
I could see a few other people, all of them surprisingly young. Were they really all older than me?
"First candidate, Sara Laurens!" read the man off a list. A girl around the age of fifteen dropped into the arena from above. She was wielding a wooden staff with a red gem at the tip, was she a long-range mage?
The battle commenced, and Sara immediately manifested water around her.
Water, huh? Maybe I can learn some tricks from her.
"Water serpent!" she yelled, twirling her staff in the air before unleashing a massive torrent of water at the examiner. I had heard that oral casting helped newer binders to focus on the spell at hand, but that didn't mean the spells themselves lacked power.'
The jet of water took shape, resembling the legendary beast Jormungandr as it blasted towards its target. The examiner smiled in satisfaction at the oncoming spell, evading it and launching a counter-attack.
Within seconds, Sara had immediately lost the distance between both of them, effectively ending the battle due to her incomparable disadvantage at close-range combat.
The examiner stood up straight and took out a piece of parchment.
"Sara Laurens, your magic abilities are definitely above average, and your manipulation was definitely not bad. Even so, you lack awareness. A top-tier mage never lets their opponent enter their proximity. C-rank," he announced.
Sara walked away, slightly discouraged. I could tell that the examiner, even if he was harsh, had given her excellent feedback on her performance, and seemed to care about the examinees.
The next few tests passed rather quickly, all of them ending within the first thirty seconds of battle. What rank was this examiner?
From what I was told, there were a few ranks above A-rank, these included:
SS-rank
S-rank
AA-rank
A-rank
There had never been an SS-rank adventurer, but the rank existed due to its theoretical possibility. There were five S-ranks that currently existed, all of them having the power to singlehandedly wipe out armies. I didn't know how you got promoted through ranks, but apparently, to be qualified as an SS rank:
You had to have nation-level power.
That kind of power was terrifying in the hands of one individual. The choice, the control over millions of lives that could all be ended in one swipe.
Analyzing the speed and power of the examiner, I estimated that he was probably around the A-rank range. Bruce definitely had to be on the verge of hitting AA-rank, especially with his new fire attunement.
"Next, Hugo Liech!"
"About fucking time, watching these losers was hurting my head," mocked a boy as he descended to the arena.
"Let's see, you've been given permission to become an adventurer at the age of eight from the Liech family. It says here you awakened last year, is that right?" asked the examiner, double-checking his information.
"Yea," he snarled, annoyed at the questions. The examiner frowned at his attitude but merely sighed and continued with the examination.
"I can see you're impatient, let's begin then-"
BOOM
A massive fireball came crashing down on the examiner before he could even finish his sentence, the boy named Hugo whipping out a disgustingly-adorned looking sword made with gold and gems.
"All you do is talk, how about you shut up and try and survive, okay?" he asked, mocking his adversary.
The examiner had clearly reached his limit as he drew his slim rapier, preparing to go all out against this little brat. I stood up, intrigued. Even with all the unnecessary insults, Huge Liech's aura was no joke, and at the age of eight, he was nothing less than a prodigy.
Hugo stood his ground, concentrating as flames slowly built up around him. A sudden burst of bind exploded around the boy, manifesting into a massive phoenix.
Phoenix Burst, huh? It was a difficult ability to master.
The examiner spun around, still heading full speed at his opponent. Water suddenly encircled his rapier as he thrust it at the phoenix, instantly evaporating it. Hugo cursed before adapting, raising walls of flames between himself and the oncoming examiner.
The examiner halted his advance, taking a defensive stance facing the wall. Almost as if the examiner had predicted his movements, Hugo came bursting through the wall, sword raised.
A furious clash commenced, both sides skilled with the blade. However, the experience built up over multiple years from the examiner was starting to show, Hugo, losing his momentum and starting to back away defensively.
Hugo jumped back, creating small fireballs on his fingertips before sending them like homing missiles, locking onto their target without fault.
His overall movements aren't bad, I thought. Even so, his power still wasn't equal to that of an A-rank, and he was clearly losing this fight. I suspected it would be over at the next offensive.
Sure enough, the examiner suddenly dashed to the side of Hugo before the projectiles could even lock onto their target, effectively ending the battle.
"I'm impressed, Mr. Liech. You were able to make me fight seriously, but even so, you lack experience. B-rank," announced the examiner fairly, turning back and writing notes on his parchment.
"Y-You... the battle wasn't over..." muttered Hugo, summoning another fireball, "take this!"
"!!"
A sudden silence fell in the arena as the remaining spectators, examiner, and Hugo himself stood there, bewildered as to what just happened.
A boy fully clothed in black with a mask covering his face was suddenly standing right in front of Hugo, one hand in his pocket and the other grasping Hugo's hand that was about to launch the magical attack. A sudden dread fell on the arena, coating it like the night sky.
"I suggest you leave," echoed the metallic voice, looking right into Hugo's soul.
The boy merely gulped in fear before returning to his senses, slapping his hand away and walking towards the exit without another word, trembling as he left.
The examiner looked at me in shock, not knowing what had just transpired before his very eyes.
"T-Thank you," he said, looking through the list to attempt and identify this mysterious individual.
"I'll take my test now," I said calmly, turning to face the examiner.
"V-very well, Darck is it?" he asked, verifying.
"Yes. Let's get started."