They followed the elf into the building, past a massive bulletin board and then into a hallway that was filled with statues and paintings of past deans and noteworthy students of the academy. And then finally they came out into a ballroom or rather an amphitheater with an open roof where the sun shone down on top of a massive golden slab with a smooth surface.
The seats arranged around the slab held individual booths that isolated the students from each other, there was a transparent glass panel to fully isolate the booths. And finally the weird stuff, Asd couldn't see into the booths. He knew they were there and he knew glass was supposed to be transparent, but he still couldn't see into it. It was frankly unexplainable as it seemed as if some sort of magic was messing with his perception, he felt spooked.
The elf gestured with his hands to the booths. The prospective students did not need further instructions as they all made their way to a booth of their choice. Just so he could avoid any sort of trouble; because frankly speaking with all of the years he spent serving a noble family, he knew people like Timothy would want to look for trouble just so they could flaunt the authority they had. And while he was no longer a slave and could now fight for his rights he was still no more than a civilian, and even that meant nothing in the eyes of a noble.
Asd took a booth at a few rows away from the others and close to the edge of the Amphitheatre. The proverb better safe than sorry was something he had learnt to embody from a young age. Staying out of the path of trouble is not cowardice, it was wisdom that even the ancients would appreciate. He shrugged his shoulders and stepped into the booth, and all of a sudden the entire world went silent.
There were no smells, so sounds and no vibrations. It was almost as if he was in a solitary box in the middle of a calm ocean. Untouched, unhindered and alone. Very Alone. As soon as he stepped into the booth, a leather seat rose out of the ground, it looked extremely comfortable and as soon as Asd sat on it, the walls of the booth seemed to light up as symbols began to show up on them.
For a moment nothing happened, the symbols just kept floating about causing Asd to get bored really quickly. But he was used to synonymous hard work with no end goal or supervisor in sight for days. He decided to start memorizing the symbols, categorizing their shapes and what they could possibly mean. It didn't take him long to realize this was some sort of ancient magic language.
There were a 117 unique symbols, he was fairly sure those were the exact numbers. But the symbols seemed to pick up speed as they moved on the walls of the booth, going faster and faster until Asd couldn't keep up with it's speed and his head began to hurt him. There was a droning sound within it, a silent but imperceptible hum of agony and the promise of death. And then all of a sudden it was gone, and on the walls a string of words showed up.
[Noticed 117 characters of Draconic Runic Script and lasted 20 minutes under draconic pressure!]
[Mana Strength: Mild level 3] Pass!
[Mana Connection: Strong level 1] Pass!
[Magic Aptitude Test Passed! Grade: 7!]
Asd released a breath of air that he never knew he was holding on to, it was weird but in all honesty he didn't expect to pass any of his exams. For all of his bravado about going to gain strength, he had been severely praying that things went his way for once, seems a lifetime of bad luck had given way to something good.
The walls went blank and then out up until it was completely white. The change was so sudden that Asd was left with no other choice but to close his extremely sensitive eyes in other to control the burn he was currently feeling and to avoid permanent damage. He felt a low hum and noticed that the light had gone down a little and there were two black palm prints on both side of the booth. It seems he was required to stretch out his hands and place them on it. This was an assessment he had read about before; it was for the attribute exam, he was about to find out what element he had.
Asd didn't stand on ceremony as he stretched out his hands and placed them on the wall. There was a sudden suction force and a sharp pain as a pin or nail of some sorts seemed to have drilled into his palm and was sucking his blood. He let out a sharp hiss of pain as his animal like features seemed to bleed out, his golden hair seemed more wild as claws slide out of his fingers and fangs out of his mouth. But just like the previous test, this didn't last too long either.
[Mana Attributes detected: 3!]
"huh?"
[Earth Element: (Summon Mutation): Level 7]
[Fire Element (Solar Mutation): Level 7]
[Wind Element (Sound Mutation): Level 7]
[Mana Attributes examination passed! Grade: 10!]
Asd blinked, he was now even more shocked than he expected. This was way past his expectations and he would be lying if he said he wasn't happy about the results. He didn't know how he matched up to the other prospects, but he felt that his results were really good and should at least be average or a little ways above it. It meant that there was hope for him, a chance to have a future.
The wall returned to it's original dark brown form while a slot opened up in front of Asd. A massive washbasin the size of a tortoise shell came up out of the ground, carrying within it the clearest liquid he had ever seen in his life. It was like water, but even he knew that the ambience water had, was nothing compared to wonder in front of him. He looked up and noticed a few words written out the wall, instructions given for this test.
[Stir the Water]
Asd looked confused, it was just a bowl of water, how hard could it be to stir it. He was already riding the high of his previous successes and he felt this would be a breeze just like the previous tests. He was sure that he was some sort of genius, perhaps magic was in his blood or something, or just like he previously thought, he really was just lucky.
He placed his hands into the bowl and was immediately shocked by the texture of the water, it was practically solid, and required a significant amount of force to even make it compress a bit. Asd was shocked, he moved the bowl to the left and to the right and was even more shocked to see the liquid moving like it was just simple water, but when he touched it, it seemed stuck firmly to it's semi-solid form.
He sat back stumped by the puzzle in front of him. His first instinct was to use brute force, but while the mannerisms of his ancestors were deeply ingrained into him, a lifetime of slavery had taught him how to use his head rather than his brawn, there most be a trick to it. That was the only way to explain this, besides this was the control test.
And if he should think of this from a scholastic point of view, the art to control doesn't usually means brute force. The perfect nudge here, the right whisper there, and a couple of see through curtains and you could rule the world. But the thing is control was a constant circle, even though it sometimes deviates from it's original path.
To control was to direct the flow, but not just direct it, but to go with it and adapt when needed. He placed his hands on the surface of the somewhat solid water, then he dragged it from the left to the right. There was a friction to it, but at the same time he could feel a pressure right on the surface of the liquid, he pulled his hand back a bit, removing contact from the liquid and just feeling the pressure that seemed to lay right on top of it.
He pushed down a bit and there was a ripple, he felt the energy and he understood the process. He couldn't brute force his way through this test, the water wasn't normal water. So touch just wouldn't be enough, he took a deep breath and twirled his hand, not letting it touch the liquid but staying just a hair's breath away from the surface.
He moved his hand anti-clockwise and the liquid seemed to react to his movements. He experienced resistance, almost like his was running his plan through an extremely thick syrup. But he didn't let that stop him, he felt a strain in his wrist, but even more so with his body. It felt like his insides were being pulled along with motion the liquid made, but it didn't serve to discourage him, he just strove to push harder.
After five seconds there was a small whirlpool within the bowl, it's movements weren't fast enough as Asd tried his best to stir it but relying on the connection between his palm and the liquid. That tiny space of energy that he seemed to be able to manipulate. His brows was covered with sweat and his heart beat a little faster than normal, this was quite hard for him as this test seemed to require a finesse he didn't exactly have, until finally the walls of the booth let out a flash of light and the bowl was retracted back into the ground.
Asd sat back on the chair, absolutely exhausted and weak from the test, this was just as intense if not more so than the first examination. And if he had to be honest he wasn't so sure he had aced this like he did the others.
[Mana Control Test Concluded]
[Mana Control: Weak Level 4]
[Mana Control Test Failed!]
[Tallying Total Results]
NAME: Asd Elmalk Leo
CLASS: Undetermined
RANK : Uninitiated
MANA STRENGTH: Mild Lvl 3
MANA CONNECTION: Strong lvl 1
MANA CONTROL : Weak lvl 4
ATTRIBUTES: Earth(Summon) Fire(Solar) Wind(Sound)
SKILLS: 0
SPELLS: 0
[Taking into consideration multiple mutated attributes, high Mana connection and above average Mana strength! Due to this factors it has been determined that you have passed the examinations regardless of your week control. You have been accepted into the Monroe Mage Academy! Initiate Asd Elmalk Leo.]
It felt as if all of the energy and power had been drained out if his body, the elf had specifically told them that if they were found wanting in any category they would not be admitted into the academy. And yet here he was, it seems his other results were impressive enough to offset his weak control, besides control could be trained. But ultimately the future was now laid bare in front of him, he did it! He got in, and now...he could get power.