Looking at the smile that was across the table, sent an uncontrollable shiver down Victor's spine. He felt more than a touch of concern as he began to wonder if this woman knew there was something a bit off with him. Either that or that being unable to produce mana was a problem that he would have to deal with. Was this a world where those without magic were second or third class citizens? Would he become someone barely able to find any jobs except for the worst of the world? Would he be treated like a beast or like he had no mind because of this magical hindrance?

“Regardless.” The woman started, “It's lucky for you that we don’t use a person's magical capability as a guild requirement. If we did then less than one person would pass for every ten or more failures. Even that is greatly underestimating how many people would fail. It is just unheard of, as far as I know at least, for someone to have no mana production. Perhaps where you're from has some environmental issues that created this oddity.”

Victor started to feel a bit better when she leaned in closer to him.

“If some medical people or magical researches find out about you they might want to take a closer look at you though. We will be quiet about it as long as you officially join at least.”

“In the end, the scores are basically a way to decide if we will offer you classes to learn magic in a more proper way. Normally people are still told there is stuff they can learn but we won’t help them find those classes. In your case, however, I would say don’t even bother trying as you have no mana to work with.”

After the woman finished explaining to him what the score meant she took his hand and, after looking at its size, she placed what looked like a sort of glove over it. The back of the glove had a small socket where she attached a small white crystal. A bit farther down was a small blue crystal.

“This might cause you a little bit of pain to start, but it will go away quite quickly. After that most people tell me it is just a strange sensation. I do remember that it felt awkward when I did my own, but it has been a while so I don’t remember the exact sensation. These tools will test your mana storage limits and your manas maximum output without causing you harm.”

A small spark of purple light went from the woman’s hand to the glove and suddenly Victors arm muscles strained as if he was lifting some unseen weight. The sensation only traveled a little above his elbow before it stopped. It reminded him of when he was in high school two years ago and tried to lift the same weight that one of his athletic friends were able to lift for one of his casual workouts.

This, however, only lasted for about ten seconds before the strain on his arm seemed to dissolve away leaving a soreness behind along with a mild tingling pain that lasted for about another thirty seconds.

Tapping on the crystal of the glove the woman makes a quick note on a piece of paper.

“Looks like your output is close to five, but not quite. Under normal situations, I would say it might be worth working on to get to the five mark, but it won’t matter for you. You probably wouldn’t even have to train much based on what I’m seeing. That said having no mana production shuts that route down.”

The bluntness of the woman was something that Victor wasn’t sure how to react to so, instead of snapping like he had considered, he just thought on her words. She told him that it was possible for someone to train at least one of the mana skills. While he couldn’t remember exactly what it was, he was pretty sure that he heard mention of training from someone during the days travel to Orlayn Wave. He had other concerns at the time leading him to not pay the closest attention.

“Since I can’t even make mana like everyone else why bother with these other tests?” Victor asked the woman.

“Procedure.” She stated simply, “I have to go through the whole process even with the uniques. Although their scores tend to be pretty static. It's a required bit of paperwork and I refuse to deal with creating and learning new paperwork just to deal with an oddity like you that may never show up again. Now be quiet so I can watch the crystal. If I don’t notice when the color stops changing we will have to do this all over again.”

Sitting quietly, Victor wondered if there would be a way for him to create mana that he could use. When he was brought here he was told that people from his world tend to not be able to use magic, but instead, their soul is able to create some sort of artifact or construct, he forgot the exact word they used, that can’t be obtained any other way. His classmates had something that he considered to look impressive when they materialized their artifacts. In comparison the single card that he got felt like it was lacking.

Even now he felt it in his pocket. A small reminder of the first several hours in this world after he saw the sunrise.

Taking the crystal out of the glove the woman switched it for another one and another spark of purple light went from the woman into the glove. This time the only sensation was a light feeling that reminded Victor of when sunlight would stay on the skin for just long enough to warm him up.

When whatever it was she was waiting for to happen finally happened she took the crystal out. In the process, she did grab onto Victor's wrist tightly so she could get it out right away. After she got a good look at the crystal, which was now blue instead of white like it started, she took off the glove as well.

“Your mana storage is a seven, but only barely. That means your official mana numbers are zero seven four. While you will have no trouble joining with the numbers, because, in the end, it doesn’t have an impact on joining, I would still suggest not sharing the fact you have a zero. Just say that you failed. Only your storage was a passing score anyway and since most people fail nobody should question why you want to keep it quiet. Although anyone who needs to know or looks at your paperwork will be able to find it.”

With a deep breath, Victor found himself feeling slightly frustrated about the entire situation. Taking the card out of his pocket he was going to, well he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but he stopped when he noticed that the card seemed to have been filling itself in. It now looked noticeably different compared to the weaker image that it had before.

On one side the light gray was dark enough to be thought of as black. What used to be pink flair was now dark enough to be seen as red that really popped against the black. The center of the card seemed to have the number one written onto it as a Roman numeral.

The opposite side had a number on the top left of the card that matched the one on the back. It was pure white with a little shimmer along the bottom of the card while on the right side was a tall thin rectangle outline.

“Please put away your good luck charm.” The woman said interrupting his train of thought.

“We still have your physical test to do. It isn’t a combative one. This is because people tend to grow with their rank in terms of combat skills, as well as knowledge. However, since you could die if you don’t have at least some basic strength and endurance, we like to ensure we don’t hire those who will be unable to complete even basic quests in a timely and capable manner.”

“I do suggest using the restroom and doing your best to relax until it is time to take the test. Don’t eat though as that could cause some issues if you eat too much or eat something that could make you feel a bit more lethargic.”

Writing on the paper a bit more, Victor thought that it looked like some sort of paperwork, at least based on his assumptions of the blank spaces located on it that she had been filling out.

Feeling a bit anxious Victor decided to speak up, “Do you need me to answer any questions for that thing?”

The woman waved off his questions, “If I did I would have already asked you. Now go back to the main area and get some rest or your chance of success will, likely, go down. Of course, you won’t get to rest long. This test is about physical strength so we don’t want anyone to replenish their mana.”

“While that isn’t a worry in your case we always want to follow the proper procedure. Now let me finish this paperwork in peace.”

Leaving the room quickly, Victor was glad to finally get out of there. The prospect of the second test was getting worrisome as he felt more and more out of place. He began to wonder if it was because of how he was out of his element or if that was how everyone felt. He knew he wasn't especially fit and hoped that at least he wasn’t too much weaker than most people.

Walking towards a table that he noticed was empty, he let out an audible sigh while he sat.

“I can’t wait for these tests to be over. I feel like I had…… maybe like I donated blood fits best.”

While sitting at the table he placed his card on it, blank side up, and took a quarter out from his pocket. With a bit of a zoned out look on his face, he started to spin the coin while trying to keep it on the card. It was something to keep his mind from completely acting like it was a screensaver while allowing himself to feel more relaxed.

After a bit of time passed, when his coin was in the middle of a spin that was lasting longer than most of his previous spins, he started to wish he brought one of the books he had with him. As he started to think about that, he had the idea of some books he wishes he had in his possession and about what happened to his classmates when someone sat across from him and slammed a shield and sword on the table.

The sudden action made the quarter stop spinning and, as he looked at the source of the sound, he heard the coin clang as it stopped.

“In case you didn’t realize there were other empty tables you could have sat at.” Victor groaned, “Did you really have to sit at this one and mess of what I was doing?”

A smile spread over the man’s face, his lips wide and reminding Victor a little bit of a snake. The sort of smile that made him want to take what was his and keep it safe just in case.

The man lunged forward and grabbed at the center of Victor's shirt. While he did manage to grab the shirt it wasn’t quite the center like he was going for since Victor tried to move back from the grapple. Once grabbed however he pulled in his target, knocking the card off the table in the process. Even though he knew that the card was bound to be useful, once he figured it out, he hoped that his quarter wouldn’t be going anywhere.

“I am the tester you were waiting for. I suggest you pay attention to your surroundings instead of just assuming everyone walking up to you is doing so for some dumb ass reason. Nobody knows you or cares about you in here unless you are willing to drop a lot of coin in their hand.”

When the man let go of Victor's shirt he quickly stood up.

“Unless you want to fail your test,” The man continued, “come out back with me. If you don’t come now you will fail and have to pay to retry and judging by your lack of proper equipment I doubt you can afford to spend money when you don’t need to. ”

Taking ahold of his card, Victor quickly looked for his quarter but wasn’t able to find it anywhere. Not wanting to risk being late for the test he grabbed his purse and bolted to the back door following the man outside.

Behind the guild was a fairly open piece of land that was fully enclosed by a stone wall about shoulder height. Equally spaced apart was, what appeared to be runes. While shaped differently they simply repeated the same four designs.

In addition to the wall, there were various targets of different types. The basic targets with a series of circles like one would see at an archery range, ones that were shaped like a person and some that looked more like vines that, rather than taking hits, would lash out at anyone if they got to close to them.

“Are you sure this is just a basic fitness test?” Victor asked.

The man’s smile seemed to get a little wider as he looked at Victor in reply to the question.

“This area is used for more than just the testing. That said, when this is over you might wish I just ran you through with my sword.”

The man reached for his sword before realizing he left both it and his shield on the table.

“Wait right there. I’ll be back to test you shortly. And don’t think of using magic even if you got the mana. I am a well-trained spellman so I’ll know if you try.”

As the man walked back inside, Victor looked back at the land. He noticed that everyone there had stopped their practice and was looking at him. While he couldn’t make out to many specifics there were a few words he picked up here and there that lead him to believe that they were making bets on him. He began to wonder who would want to see him fail just to make a little coin and intended to succeed just to screw them over.