"Time's up!"
Baram entered the chamber as soon as the timer ticked to zero. Of the many things he had expected to see, four glowing elemental balls floating on the metal plates were not one of them.
When Elves took the Sage's Test, they would usually succeed in invoking two or three Runes on an average. Their overall completion rate would also be below A grade.
Any Elf who invoked even a single rune with more than 95% effectiveness would be regarded as a prodigy by the Sages. If an Elf invoked all four runes within the stipulated time, they would be hailed as the genius of the decade!
If an Elf successfully invoked all four runes with S grade or above evaluation, they had a monstrous potential capable of surpassing the Sages!
Unfortunately, such a talent had not been born since antiquity. Each of those talents was worshiped today as the Prime Elfs.
Baram had been warned that the Deathless Beings possessed talents far surpassing the ordinary Elves. He had tempered his expectations accordingly.
He was prepared to see an S grade evaluation for one or two runes. Maybe even SS grade evaluations. However, what he saw floored him.
Three of the four Runes were completed with SS Grade evaluation, and the last one was also S grade! Their effectiveness had reached 95% on average!
The very first Deathless Being he had met had given him a scare.
Baram's brown eyes darted between Samar's figure and the table at the center with disbelief. He took a moment to comprehend what he was seeing and physically closed his dropped jaw.
"Come with me," Baram said and led Samar straight to the Ritual Square, to Yuki.
There Samar saw an unusual scene. A bonfire with the most beautiful red flames burned in the center of a bricked brazier. On these flames, Yuki was roasting the Corrupt Soul Extract like one would roast a corn cob.
"How did he do?" Yuki asked, sensing their arrival, not taking her eyes away from the flames even for a moment.
"He completed all four runes. His overall completion is SS grade," Baram reported with a complicated expression, handing the four palm-sized metal plates to Yuki.
"Oh?" Yuki exclaimed in surprise after checking the metal plates and glanced at Samar with admiration. Her expression quickly became neutral as she turned her attention back to the Corrupt Soul Extract, turning it over inside the bonfire.
"The Sages said the Deathless Beings would change the lay of the land. I can now see what they meant. Only 1 in 1000 has affinity with the ancient powers, but the very first Deathless Being I met has reached the affinity standards of a Sage," Yuki whispered with a sigh.
Samar wanted to correct her misunderstanding and tell her that he was the exception, not the rule.
After undergoing the test, he had realized how hard it could be for the players.
Just inscribing the Rune on the metal plate would be impossible for many players and eliminate more than 50% of them. Had it not been for his Dexterity Stats, even Samar himself would've failed.
The invocation process was significantly easier for players than NPCs but it was not without its challenges.
One needed good memory, clear pronunciation, and a prior knowledge of the tune to succeed. It was not possible for every player to do what Samar had done in the allotted time.
As much as he wanted to, Samar was not the kind to toot his own horn. In the end, he decided not to speak as there were no additional benefits to it, only detriments.
He was sure the Elves would discover the truth in time, and at that time, his worth would only increase in their eyes.
Samar was brought out of his reverie when Yuki extended her hand towards him and said, "Give me your Emblem."
After Samar handed it over, she tossed the emblem into the air and waved her Moon staff. Four balls of elemental power floating on the metal plates came together and formed a silvery symbol that looked like an eye.
Then the vertical eye symbol imprinted itself on the levitating Emblem of Identity with a bright flash, and the Emblem returned to Samar's hands.
Immediately, he was bombarded with notifications.
[You have received the acknowledgment of the Sages and obtained the Invoker Class.]
[You have learned the Invoker Class skill, Rune Inscription.]
[You have learned the Invoker Class Skill, Hymn Invocation.]
[You have learned the Invoker Class Skill, Deep Meditation.]
[You have learned the First Hymn for Rune of Fire.]
[You have learned the First Hymn…]
.
.
Along with the notifications related to the class, there were also
notifications about achievements.
Samar had completed two of them by being the first Invoker in the entire Dreamverse and for completing the Sage's Test with SS Grade evaluation.
The two achievements combined had earned him 200 Reputation and a title.
{Attuned to the Ancients: Invoker job proficiency +100%, Success rate +10%}
Obtaining the Invoker Class had another perk - unlocking the hidden stat, Wisdom.
The Wisdom stat was the most underrated hidden stat as it only affected Mana and magic attack and defense on the surface. This was the reason many people only consider it useful for the magic classes.
However, the truth was far from it. Wisdom Stat allowed players to learn and use skills one level above their Professional Class.
How did Samar know this?
It was because HardBro had unlocked the Wisdom Stat during his Combat Profession's test. As a result, he was able to learn Tier 2 AOE Spell, Magma Rain in exchange for 1 Merit, reaching the top of Mage Rankings in one fell swoop!
Samar closed the notifications, satisfied with his gains. Yet, he had not received all the rewards. Yuki took out a Chiseling Pen and levitated it over Samar's hands.
"This is the symbol of Sage Reva's school. As long as you hold this Pen, you can receive help from your fellow apprentices. In exchange, I hope you would consider Sage Reva as your honorary master and do not sully her honor. Do you accept it?"
Sage Reva was a Tier 6 Healer and a recently advanced Grandmaster Leatherworker. Invocation was her third profession.
Plus, Samar needed a Chiseling Pen. He could only see benefits in being a part of her school and no disadvantages. There were no reasons for him to refuse, and hence, he eagerly accepted her offer.
Yuki smiled widely as soon as Samar accepted the Pen, and a notification dinged.
[Favorability with Hymn Chanter Yuki +50]
Samar was surprised by the sudden increase in Favorability.
Were disciples of Sage Reva's school so close? If yes, he had to know who his other senior brothers and sisters were to swindle some benefits out of them.
"Miss Yuki, who else is in Sage Reva's school?"
"For now, it is just me and you."
The smile on Samar's face froze. It was no wonder she was so happy after he accepted her offer. He did not dwell for long on this issue. After all, one person was better than none, and he bid her farewell.
Now that he was an Invoker, he could finally create the Rune-Forged Arrows and earn his first pot of Gold!