A sharp voice rang through the hall.
"Kai Tensen!"
Kai straightened, his fingers twitching against his knee. He glanced at Broderick, whose thin smile remained, unchanged.
"It seems your turn has come," the inquisitor mused.
Kai forced a polite nod. "Goodbye, Mr. Broderick."
Broderick chuckled. "Goodbye, little Kai. May the gods grant you clarity."
'Was that supposed to be a blessing from the gods or something else?'
Either way, he didn't stick around to enjoy his company any longer.
Rising from his seat, Kai followed an employee dressed in the standard purple robe down a long, winding hallway. The walls were smooth stone.
Kai felt the mana surging from the walls themselves. Glowing inscriptions made with mana, invisible to the naked eye, lined the edges of the walls.
'Someone has reinforced it with magic? Now, that's intriguing. I wonder if I can learn how to do that.'
Kai bumped into the employee, who had stopped walking.
"Be sure to pay attention. This isn't a game like the ones you play back in your village," he said, voice clipped and professional.
The employee, an older man with greying hair, babbled about the importance of the Halls of Sorcery under his breath. He led Kai to a wooden door and pushed it open, gesturing inside.
"The attendant will be with you shortly. Please make sure to remove your shirt and lie down on the examination bed."
Kai stepped inside, his gaze sweeping the room.
It was colder here. Glass vials, strange instruments, and stacks of parchment filled shelves along the walls. At the centre of the room was a long, cushioned table.
'At least the examination table looks comfortable?'
Metal wires hung from the ceiling, ending in glass orbs that pulsed with faint light.
He hesitated, then sighed.
"Might as well follow directions. Still... This place seems different to how I imagined it."
Pulling his shirt over his head, he folded it neatly and placed it on a small table nearby. The cold air bit at his skin, but he ignored it, settling onto the bed.
For a few moments, silence.
The silence was disturbed as the door creaked open.
Kai lifted his head, expecting another purple-robed figure.
Instead, a woman stepped inside, her movements fluid and graceful. She was unlike the others he had seen. Where most wore deep violet, and Broderick had been wrapped in blood red, she was dressed in flowing emerald robes, embroidered with delicate golden patterns resembling vines.
Her beauty was striking. She had long, silken hair cascading past her shoulders, sharp eyes the colour of the forest after rainfall. Her presence filled the room, commanding attention without effort.
Kai swallowed, suddenly more aware of his own bare skin.
She smiled softly. "Good evening, Kai Tensen."
Her voice was warm, but there was something beneath it. Something unreadable.
Kai sat up slightly, studying her with careful eyes. "Good evening."
She stepped forward, closing the door behind her, followed by a soft click. Without Kai's strengthened senses, hearing that would have been impossible. Then she turned back to him, her gaze steady.
'She locked it? Is that normal?'
"Shall we begin?"
The attendant pulled heavy-duty gloves, a blacksmith's apron, and thick goggles out of a magical space. She put her robe inside the space before dressing herself new attire. None of which seemed to hinder her work speed.
'I guess that's to protect her from magic after one's specialisation is uncovered? I hope it'll stop her from getting hurt by me...'
A partition in the ground opened up, and an obelisk of dark stone slowly rose. The attendant opened up a hole in the space before them with magic once again, and pulled out twelve wires.
"What specialisation do you believe you will be sorted into?" she asked, her tone light and professional.
Kai hesitated. He had rehearsed his answer, but the words still felt heavy on his tongue. "Well, I've never been good at pyromancy, telekinesis, fortification, creation, or any of the other types. But I am okay at strengthening, healing, and cooling magic."
Of course, he left out the most important parts, his shadow magic and the rest his abilities. The one ability that set him apart from everyone else, the one thing he couldn't explain, shouldn't explain.
'Will that show up somehow?'
The woman smiled. "You seem like a bright young man. I'm sure the healing field will enjoy having you beside them. Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"
She began to fix the wires to the obelisk and a low hum vibrated through the room.
Kai shrugged slightly. "I was thinking of being a medic in the main military force, helping keep the borders safe. I might be better suited to a hospital, though."
The woman raised a brow. "Less scary?"
Kai shook his head. "No, that's not it. I just don't know how I feel about soldiers running into battle, depending on me to heal them."
Her smile softened. "That's a thoughtful way to see it. Well, let's not waste any more time. Just sit back. There are a few things I need to hook up to your body, and then we'll find out what your specialty is."
She worked efficiently, attaching small, sticky patches to the ends of the wires, and then to his skin.
Kai winced. He watched for any changes in her behaviour, or for a sudden onset of death, but she continued.
"Cold? Sorry about that." She laughed playfully.
"Yeah, it's okay."
Floating in front of the obelisk was a translucent glass screen, its surface shimmering with symbols and data that made no sense to him.
Kai frowned.
'I knew it felt different. It's oddly futuristic. Nobody ever told me something like this existed. Mari mentioned the glass screen before, but seeing it in person feels like an ECG back from my world. Except instead of reading my heart, it's reading my abilities. My entire system?'
The words etched into the side of the device caught his attention, words made from symbols he didn't recognise.
[Ancient Language of the Forebearers partially translated.]
Suddenly, the few symbols became shapes he recognised.
'That's creepy. I wonder who the Forebearers are. Are you going to tell me, system?'
Silence ensued. Kai turned his attention back to the obelisk.
"M.A.S – Magic Assessment System," Kai read aloud.
The attendant must have noticed his unease. "Are you worried about the system? Don't be. It will be over shortly."
'Does she thinks I'm nervously babbling? She didn't realise I read the symbols?'
But, as soon as she pressed a button, something went wrong.
The floating screen pulsed violently, flashing red. A sharp, piercing sound rang through the room, like a warning siren, making Kai's breath hitch. His body tensed. The woman cursed under her breath, frantically tapping keys on the panel beside the obelisk. For a moment, he saw more symbols flickering across the screen that he didn't recognise.
Then, silence filled the room.
The red glow faded. The screen returned to normal.
"I'll be right back. I just need to... get your assessment results from another room."