"Alright, I think it's time I take a try" Tai spoke as he walked up "I'll try to hold back" he continued to mumble to himself
Tai walked up to the measuring orb and placed his right hand on it. The orb lit up a bright blue as Tai released his mana, just like before the four zeros started to change rapidly. The orb shined brighter than it did the first time, and everyone watched amazed.
"Shit, im overdoing it" Tai cursed to himself
Tai stopped releasing his mana and the orb slowly started to dim back to its colorless state. the numbers slowed down, before coming to a stop.
-16,000-
Amazed, everyone looked at Tai's score with their minds blown. He had gone leagues past the required amount
"Didn't mean to go that high" Tai chuckled
"That was Awesome!" Ken called out
"Congrats young man. You did exceedingly well. Now please stand over there, until everyone else has had their turn" Ian spoke
Tai did as Ian instructed and stood aside
"Okay, I guess it's my turn" Ken spoke with a grin
Ken walked up to the orb, and like the others before him, he placed his hand on the orb and released his mana
"So warn…" Ken said as the orb started to glow
Ken continued to release his mana and the orb only lit up brighter and brighter and became warmer and warmer. Everyone watched as the light radiating from the orb was near blinding
"Ken, you're doing it!" Tai called
"Kid, remove your hand!" Ian called out
"Not yet, I want to see–
Before Ken could finish his sentence, the orb exploded into bits and pieces. Seeing this happen shocked all the other examinees
"Th-that was an expert level orb…" One of the other examinees stuttered
"A-a-and…h-he, destroyed it," Another examinee stuttered
"Oops,?" Ken nervously chuckled
"That makes this the second measuring orb destroyed today" Ian sighed "well anyways, congratulations, now please step aside and wait with Tai
"Think you went a little too overboard there buddy" Tai spoke as Ken stood next to him
"Yeah, my bad. So what would my score be?"
"Well, the current magic level for an expert is around 30,000. Since you blew up the orb, your level should range higher than that"
"30,000 huh? That sure is a lot. Anyways, why did you hold back when it was your turn?"
"You realized huh? Well, my mother told me to hold back during the exams"
"Oh, I see. My Grandma told me the same thing, but my Grandpa told me the opposite"
Ian, twirled his finger, causing all the orb shards to disappear. He then clicked his finger, making a new measuring orb appear. After some time had passed, all the other examinees had their turn. Out of the 100 that arrived, only 50 had passed the first round
"Alright, congrats on passing" Ian spoke looking at the examinees "Now, can you all make your way into the next room for your next exam"
Following Ian's instructions, everyone made their way through a nearby door into the next stage where they were met by a female examiner. On the examiner's far-right, was a giant magic cube.
"Wonder what this trial is going to be?' Ken wondered
"I don't know, but I do know we will be able to pass, '' Tai replied with a smile
Returning the smile, Ken nodded "yea"
"My name is Sophia and I'll be your second examiner" Sophia introduced herself "Looks like only a handful made it here," Sophia thought to herself as she looked at the crowd of examinees.
"Right, now you whippersnappers listen up. This stage is going to test your defense and durability. So one at a time you kids will stand inside this cube, and I'll cast a destructive spell at you, all you have to do is just put up a barrier strong enough to defend against or find a way to survive it. But don't worry I'll go easy, well I'll try to. Oh, and the cube is made so that only what's outside can get in and what's inside the cube can't get out. So once you're in the cube you can't get out until I allow it, but the spell I cast will be able to enter the cube and once it explodes within the cube all the explosions will be kept inside there with you" Sophia explained
Hearing Sophia explain the terms of this trial, worried some of the examinees, as they were about to face an attack from an examiner
"Wonder what kind of spell she'll use?"
"I don't know, but I'm going first this time"
Tai walked out of the crowd and into the cube. Standing inside the cube he faced Sophia. Sophia raised her right hand towards Tai.
"At any time you feel scared, just yell out, in doing so will mean you forfeit and you will be disqualified" Sophia spoke
"Understood" Tai replied
Three magic circles formed in front of Sophia's right hand. The first circle was light green, the second was red and the third was yellow. Sophia then shouted, "are you ready!!". Tai nodded yes, and with that Sophia blasted a spiraling vortex that had three different elements combined into a destructive spell
"A Fusion Spell with no incantations…" Ken mumbled in awe
Seeing the Spell, everyone looked at it amazed but also terrified that they will have to face such a spell
Tai took a steady stance and raised his bandaged left hand towards the incoming spell with his right hand clutched onto his left wrist. Once the spell came into contact with Tai, the heavy impact pushed him back a few inches but he fought back and held his own against such a spell.
Everyone watched in awe, as Tai held the destructive spell at bay. Ken's eyes sparked from how impressed he was by Tai.
"So strong!..."
Tensing up his arm, Tai caused the spell to disappear completely. Tai was panting a little as smoke flew off of his hands. Everyone was confused about what happened to the spell
"Great Job kid, impressive that you were able to nullify such a destructive spell with little effort," Said Sophia "now kindly stand over there please"
"I guess it's my turn" Ken spoke with a smirk
Ken made his way into the cube and faced Sophia. Looking at the walls of the magic cube, Ken realized something was off about it
"At any time you feel scared, just yell out, in doing so will mean you forfeit and you will be disqualified" Sophia spoke
"Gotcha" Ken replied
Sophia raised her hand towards the cube, creating the three layers of magic circles.
"Are you ready?"
Ken placed his hand on one of the walls of the cube, creating a small magic circle underneath his palm."Yeah im ready"
Sophia then cast the spell straight at Ken. Now that Ken was at the receiving end of this spell, he could see just how intense it was, but instead of being worried, a grin appeared on his face.
Ken stood firm, keeping his hand on the cube wall. The fusion spell then hit the cube causing a huge explosion that engulfed the entire cube.
"Wait a minute, isn't the explosion meant to be kept inside the cube?" One of the examinees pointed out
"Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking" another examinee agreed
"Interesting" Sophia spoke
"Ken Granfold ay? He's quite the crafty one" Tai thought to himself
After a few seconds everything cleared out and Ken was standing in the cube without a scratch on him.
"Care to explain what you did kid," Sophia asked
"Sure, once I entered the cube I realized that it was made out of artificial magic, so I was able to modify the original rules that were put on the cube when I touched it. I reversed the rules, so now that what's outside can't get inside the cube making it into a type of barrier" Ken explained
"That's a pretty impressive kid," Sophia said "Now kindly stand over there, please
Ken changed the cube back to how it originally was, before walking out and making his way over to where Tai was standing.
"That was a pretty neat way of defending yourself against the spell" Tai spoke
"Nowhere as cool as you nullifying it!" Ken replied, "Say, why is your left hand all bandaged up?"
"Not to get into detail, but my left arm is cursed, these bandages are a seal for it"
"A curse? What kind of curse?"
"You sure don't hold back sensitive questions, do you? But to satisfy your curiosity, my left arm is…hated by magic, without this seal, im unable to create mana"
"That does defeat the whole purpose of being a mage" Ken replied looking at Tai's left arm
"You don't seem scared of it?"
"Why would I be?
With a chuckle, Tai replied "Normally, in the magic community, those who are rejected by magic are looked down upon and feared"
"Really? Well, I don't, you seem like a good person, that's all that really matters" Ken replied, "So I'm guessing you came here to find a way to lift the curse?"
"Well said" Tai replied with a smile "No, I'm here to find the person who helped me to live with it"
"Well, good luck with that"
Soon the rest of the contestants had their turn, but only a small handful passed. As usual, those that didn't were sent back. Sophia then sent those that passed to the next stage, which was outside in a courtyard, where they were met by the final examiner who stood in front of a huge crystal orb. The Orb was just floating in the air, unlike the first one which was sitting on some kind of stand.