The students filed out of the strength testing room and were directed to a larger circular chamber filled with transparent crystals mounted on pedestals. The vaulted ceiling was covered in intricate magical arrays that pulsed with a soft blue light.
"Man, I'm glad that's over with," Mosen said, falling into step beside Wilt. "I thought there was going to be a fight when you knocked into that guy."
"Nah," Wilt replied, hands in his pockets as he looked around the room. "Fighting during exams is against the rules. He knew that."
The magic assessment room was exactly as Wilt remembered it from his previous life, though this time he noticed details he'd missed before. The crystals were arranged in a specific pattern—probably to help measure different types of magical affinity.
A new examiner stepped forward, this one wearing the formal robes of a magical researcher. "This portion of the exam will measure your magical capacity and control. Each of you will channel mana into one of these crystals for exactly thirty seconds. The crystal will measure both your total output and your stability."
As she continued explaining the process, the pink window appeared before Wilt again.
[Special Event!] [Winning this bet will reward you with +3 Magic Capacity] [Condition: Score higher on the magic test than you did on the strength test]
Wilt raised an eyebrow. The system was offering him a bet without an opponent this time. Interesting. With his current magic capacity of 4, scoring higher than 47 wouldn't be easy, but he had an idea.
The students were called forward one by one. Each would place their hand on a crystal, which would glow with varying intensity as they channeled their mana. Above each crystal, a score would appear along with a pattern showing their magical stability.
When Mosen's turn came, his crystal glowed with a steady bright light, earning him a score of 115 with near-perfect stability. His relieved smile suggested he'd been underselling his magical talent earlier.
Finally, it was Wilt's turn. He approached the crystal, already feeling the familiar strain of his condition. The mana poisoning from his past life had always made precise magic control difficult.
"Begin," the examiner said.
Wilt placed his hand on the crystal and closed his eyes. Instead of trying to maintain a steady flow like the others had done, he did something that would have gotten him scolded in his previous life—he dumped all his mana into the crystal at once.
The crystal flared with brilliant pink light. Several students gasped. The examiner stepped forward in alarm.
"Stop—" she began, but Wilt was already done. All of his available mana had been expelled in that single burst.
Two numbers appeared above the crystal. The first, measuring raw output: 52. The second, measuring stability: 12.
[Bet Completed!] [Victory Achieved!] [Reward: +3 Magic Capacity] [Current Magic Capacity: 7]
"That was... highly irregular," the examiner said, frowning at her instruments. "The test is meant to measure controlled output over time, not—"
"But you didn't specify that in the instructions," Wilt pointed out pleasantly. "You just said to channel mana into the crystal for thirty seconds."
The examiner's frown deepened, but she couldn't argue with the technicality. "Very well. Next student."
As Wilt walked back to his spot, he noticed his hands were shaking slightly—dumping all his mana at once hadn't been pleasant. Still, it had been worth it. Between this and the strength boost, he was already in better shape than he'd been at this point in his previous life.
"Dude, your mana was pink," Mosen whispered. "Is that because of your... you know?" He gestured vaguely at Wilt's eyes.
"Yeah, side effect of the poison," Wilt replied with an easy smile. "Makes magic a bit weird sometimes."
He didn't mention that the instability in his magic had actually helped him this time. Regular students had to work hard to achieve an unstable burst like that. His poisoned mana did it naturally.
As they waited for the remaining students to finish, Wilt wondered what the combat test would bring. He had more strength and magic to work with now, but he'd need every advantage he could get.
At least this time around, he knew exactly what he was gambling for.