This is it, the test that will determine what Gesalt will do next, the old man came to him, and handed him a piece of paper and a quill.
The old man: This is the form for joining, fill up the info, then I'll tell you the test.
Gesalt nodded, and took the quill, and got to writing, he filled up his information pretty quick, and handed it back to the old man, who now got back at his desk.
The old man read through the paper, and nodded.
The old man: Alright, here's the test, I need you to perform a fire spell here, since your affinity is fire, lit up this candle next to me.
Gesalt nodded and did as he was asked, focusing his mana and clearing his mind before performing the Flamethrower spell on the candle, liting it up. In additon, since he used magic, the illusion spell that Ingvald has put on Gesalt's appearence went away, of course, Ingvald reapplied it after Gesalt was done lighting up the candle.
The old man nodded: Good, so we know you can do magic and you weren't lying, now for the real test, and yes, that wasn't the real test, it was just to see if you can actually do magic, cause well, you're 7.
Gesalt felt a bit dejected, but pushed on regardless, and nodded.
Gesalt: What's the test then?
The old man: The test is simple, there are 4 braziers in this town that need to be lit up, they are all at the entrances of the town. Light them all up in an hour, and you are done, however, a word of disclaimer, the braziers coal and thatch are all gone, so it won't be easy to do it. Good luck, kid.
Gesalt nodded, and headed out, Ingvald was about to follow, but the old man stopped him.
The old man: It's his test, not yours, remember, no helping the guy from inside the guild, it's one thing if it's a random bystander, it's another when it's a trusted figure such as yourself, just stay here and wait.
Gesalt ran around town, he had to gather coal and thatch, now, thatch was easy, he knew how to make some by helping Sene in the garden a few times when she had to burn dead plants and trash, but coal on the other hand, was harder.
As he searched for coal, he found himself in-front of the general store from earlier, so he decided to go inside and see if they had any, he had some money on him that Sene have to him just in case, though he had hopped to save it up, this was a good moment to use it.
Gesalt entered the store, and walked to the counter.
Gesalt: Excuse me, mister, do you sell coal?
The man at the counter looked at Gesalt, and responded.
The man: Well, we sell coal by the bag, why do you need coal? You don't seem to be old enough to grill or heat up your home.
Gesalt: Well you see, I am now doing the test for the Mages Guild, and the man at the counter told me to light the braziers in town, and I need some coal.
The man: Ah, Garde sent you? I see, well, you're pretty young to do a test like that, but, not my problem, well, there are 4 braziers, that's 4 bags of coal, one bag is 50 gold, thats 200 gold total.
Gesalr counted the money he had from Sene, it was exactly 200 gold, Gesalt looked dejected, but relented anyway, and paid the clerk.
The man: Yup, 200, alright, thank you for your purchase, the bags are pretty heavy, if you want, I can help you carry them, I'm about to close up anyway.
Gesalt shook his head and said: No thank you, I don't think they allow outside help in the test and I don't want to risk it, it's going to be hard, but... hmm... wait a minute... oh I have an idea! Mr, do you have a quill and ink?
The man looked surprised, but nodded: Well, I do, why do you need it?
*Perfect, if I remember correctly, the Weapon Summon spell doesn't really just summon weapons, it can summon any object that I can carry, while I can't carry 4 bags, I can definetely carry 1, all I have to do is draw a rune on each bag, and summon the bag when I'm at the brazier.*
Gesalt: Well, I have a plan, can I please use your quill and ink?
The old man shrugged and handed him the ink and quill.
Gesalt drew different runes on each bag, and put the quill and ink back on the store counter.
The man: Why did you draw on the sacks?
Gesalt: Well, there's this spell that allows you to summon things that have a rune you made on them as long as you can carry them, I can't carry 4 bags at once, but I can carry 1, so I'll just summon at the brazier.
The old man nodded: I see, well, good luck, I guess the bags will remain here.
Gesalt nodded, and ran out towards the gates, where the braziers are. Soon, he reaches them, where he does Weapon Summon to call to him the bags, with one hand he uses the Flamethrower spell to burn a bit of one of the bag ends, and he poured the coal into the brazier, then he let's go of the bag, and as expected, it recalls itself back to the store. He used the flamethrower spell again to light the brazier, he figured that going out of his way to make thatch was a waste of time when he can just do this instead. For the next hour, he proceeded to light up the braziers, then he headed back to the store, where the clerk stood outside with the empty bags next to him. Gesalt nodded, and destroyed the rune on the bags so it's not summonable again, then he threw them away. Gesalt ran back to the guild office, where Ingvald and the old man were waiting.
Ingvald: Gesalt! You're back, how did it go?
Gesalt then explains to Ingvald and the old man how he did this test, Ingvald and the old man were impressed, and the old man said.
The old man: Not bad, nice thinking out of the box, I didn't know you can summon weapons.
Gesalt: Well, it was one of the first spells I learned with this Grimoire that my dad bought me.
Gesalt showed the Grimoire to Ingvald and the old man.
The old man: Ah, an Arcanum Maxima, quite common, but it covers the most essential spells for a beginner, your dad must be quite versed.
Ingvald responded: Heh, not quite, actually, his father asked me about it, and I just recommended him this book, but he never told me why he needed a recommendation, well I guess now that mystery is solved.
The old man chuckled, and handed Gesalt a paper and a quill.
The old man: This is it, the contract to join the guild, you did as you were asked to, and you were smart about it too. The moment you sign this, you become Gesalt Asardo, Fledgling Mage.
Gesalt took the paper and quill, and quickly signed it.
Ingvald then said: Next, when we get to the Senser HQ, I'll have you sign the apprenticeship papers so you can be my apprentice, but right now, it's good that you are in. Now, we should go, we have 3 weeks of sitting in a carriage ahead of us, so, let's leave.
Gesalt nodded, and turned to walk away, they waved their goodbyes to the old man, and headed to the town stables, where they put all their new luggage and provisions, and headed off to their next destination, the Senser HQ in the town of Aleza.