"Are you sure you want to do this?" Litty asked, hanging on the edges of Edward's cloak, holding onto the fabric with both hands.
"If I don't, the world will turn upside down," Edward said with a certain arrogant tone, stopping in front of the black knight.
"The backlash might be too strong afterward, so don't complain," Litty said, starting to float, detaching herself from Edward. She placed her hands in the center of his back and pressed.
'Just a little more, just a bit more,' Edward thought. Shortly after, he squeezed the hand of the black knight.
The knight's eyes imitated Edward's, but since both were red, this change wasn't noticeable to untrained eyes. However, in a matter of seconds, half of the black knight's face became identical to Edward's.
'Ah! Restricting it to this level won't work. I can't increase the restriction; it's already at the maximum,' Litty thought, petrified, feeling a slight tremor in Edward's body. 'Nervousness? What do I do? Do I have the authority to erase everyone's memories?'
"Your maximum potential is 7. If you can keep it like this, a bright future awaits you," the knight repeated what she had said to all the students who scored the same potential as Edward. Above her head, the number 7, made of shadows, was present.
"Potential 7 and you made my baby's face half-copy... I expected too much from him because of his stealth ability, but seeing his potential, it's likely something in the family, at least someone decent," Adrwnr said, sighing and crossing his arms with a disheartened expression.
"Hahaha, it worked, it worked!" Litty, now sitting on Edward's head, spoke excitedly while pulling some strands of hair.
"Oh, don't do that... I'm a bit dizzy, I think I might faint at any moment," Edward said, placing his hand on his forehead, furrowing his brow, and walking slowly back to his place.
"Well, it's not surprising after all. Mana is directly linked to your physical condition, and I just restricted it to less than a tenth of its capacity, and you restricted it even more... that's why I warned you," Litty said. With her hand pressed against his head, she sent small waves of mana through his body, gradually reducing the restriction.
"Still managed to get a seven... planned to get a six, but it's fine. Any attention I can attract will be stolen by the next ones," Edward said, looking at the trio who hadn't gone yet.
Hearing this, Litty realized a terrifying thing. Her jaw seemed like it would drop when she said, "You scored seven... I don't even want to imagine what would happen without the restriction." Litty's body trembled at the thought of the black knight bursting like a balloon.
"The director... she would certainly make me the face of this place. I don't even want to imagine what would happen afterward," Edward said as his body trembled, thinking about all the looks, rats, and leeches that would try to bite him throughout the year at the academy.
'What was that subtle glow on his back?' Amelin thought, her light green eye shining.
So the test continued, and after Edward, the next five students—one of them scored potential 8, while three scored potential 7, and the remaining one had a potential of 4, fortunately for him, he wasn't in the special class.
And then came the turn of one of the girls who stood out the most. The knight pointed to the girl with pink hair, saying, "Miss Mine Askerbeck, please step forward."
"I wonder if she'll score a ten too?" Litty questioned, tilting her head to the side.
"But that seven is for sure; a ten, I doubt it," Edward said, looking at Mine. He continued, "If she hadn't disrupted her mana flow, maybe a ten would be possible."
While Edward spoke with Litty, Mine had already shaken hands with the black knight. Now, the entire torso of the knight, along with her face, had been completely copied. But the previously unfriendly expression of the knight now showed a helpless look. She said, "Your maximum potential is 9, but you won't reach it if you continue to harm your body. Take better care of it."
"I understand... I'll do that," Mine's trembling lips could be seen. Before anyone could say anything, she rushed out of the hall. When the likely protagonist turned to run, the professor's voice was heard, saying, "Your turn is near; if you leave, you'll lose and maybe even be expelled. Think carefully about it."
"I will do it," Amelin said, turning around and running after Mine.
"Poor guy, depression has fallen upon him. Haha, it's good that the girl next to him is helping," Litty said, teasing.
"How long are you going to keep this up? Can't you see I'm already sleepy?" Edward said, yawning.
"Urghh... you have no sense of humor," Litty said, pouting and looking away.
The test continued, and most students had already ignored what happened, while the others were murmuring about the matter.
"Miss Sillian Marcarron, it's your turn now, come forward," said the black knight.
"Now that I've paid attention, her hair is quite beautiful, don't you think?" Litty asked, floating beside Edward's head, touching his cheek.
"Indeed, it looks like a tiger's fur," Edward said, watching the number eight appear above the black knight's head, where her arm and face copied Sillian's appearance.
"Eight? That's fine for a start. I won't complain," Sillian said, turning around and returning to her place.
"But her personality is totally the opposite," Litty said, clenching her fist. "It even reminds me of a certain person."
Now, only nine students were left to take the test, and the black knight pointed to the likely protagonist. "Michel Phillon, it's your turn, come forward."
"Now it's the protagonist's turn. Let's see what he'll show us," Edward said with a smile.
In front of the knight, Michel shook her hand, causing seven waves of mana to emanate from the black knight, spreading throughout the room. This made most students breathe heavily, which was only possible because the knight herself let go of Michael's hand, falling to her knees. Above her head, the number three followed by a point and then a sequence of various other numbers appeared side by side.