"....."

The examiner became speechless as he stared at the sky. The projection already disappeared but his mind was still caught in the moment.

"Hey bro?" Gin called out.

"Uh.. Huh?" the examiner was still dazed.

"Hey man… Should you now be announcing my pass?"

"Uh.. ukkk… ehem…" The examiner swallowed some saliva to moisten his throat. "Although you failed at the standard for mana gathering, with your mana pool, I guess there's no need to gather mana ey?" the examiner smiled.

"And?"

"You passed of course!"

"Cool!" Gin happily cheered. "So like… did I break the previous record? When do I get the prize money?" Gin asked.

"Uh… Well… you did break the previous record, by a huge margin at that. Unfortunately, only the strength test had prize money." The examiner replied.

"Eh? Dang… what a bummer…" Gin said as he sadly turned around to proceed to the other test area.

"Uh… Kid… wait!" the examiner called.

"Huh? What's up, bro?"

"Gin Ordric Dawnfall right? My name is Maximilius Belathorn. I'm a teacher here at the branch school of Silver Sword Knight Academy. If ever you need someone to teach you Arts later, don't be shy to approach me okay?" the examiner smiled amicably.

"Uh… yeah… sure…" Gin smiled wryly. 'I already have problems with the Spartan-like teaching style of the Old Man and you want to add to the list? What can you even teach me that he hasn't taught yet? Dream on buddy!'

The next test Gin went to was the Arts showcase. This is where the examinees go bring out the different Arts they learned as a 'Masterless' Copper Arts practitioner. Most of the copper arts level have no masters to teach them except those who came from prominent families and sects where Arts are passed down from generation to generation or innate heredity.

Arts is the method of gathering and using mana by using various techniques. Common Arts are often used as the generic training method. For example, Mages use Elemental Arts for casting elemental spells. Different type of mages uses a different type of Arts. There are Formation Arts, Summoning Arts, Conjuring Arts, Illusion Arts, Spirit Arts, Healing Arts, and Destruction Arts. Meanwhile, Warriors use the Martial Way such as Fist Arts, Sword and various weapon-based Arts, and Body Strengthening Arts. These are the basic form of Arts and practitioners who master their Arts to the peak, formulate their own new way of Arts that fit their own style and potential.

Arts Levels are ranked by the aura they release. Mortal Levels releases a Red glow, Grayish for the Immortal, Pure White for King Level, Blue for Saint Level and Yellow for Emperor.

To know which stage a certain level is at, one has to look at certain body parts that emit the aura. Let's set a Mortal Arts practitioner as an example; For a Copper stage, only the hands would emit a reddish aura which is ranked from 1 to 5. Each rank increases the density of the color. A Silver stage has the eyes and hands to emit the aura. For the Diamond stage, the hands and the head emit the aura while for the Gold stage, the whole upper body bursts in a flame-like aura of their respective color level. The Orichalcum Stage has the whole body as a certain Mana gate inside the body is fully opened. But after every breakthrough to a new level, the emission of aura returns to the copper stage since the Mana Gates and Mana Pool are upgraded to new ones.

Mortal Levels have the Mana Pool, Immortal levels have the Mana Sea, Mana Ocean for the King Level, and Saints have the Mana Core while Emperors use the Mana World.

On the testing stage, various geniuses have already showcased their Arts. Some were able to conjure flaming petals while others were able to summon fluffy rabbits and teddy bears.

Below the stage were 5 judges. They were all Gray Knights from the Heart Kingdom. 2 of them were instructors while the other 3 belonged to the army. All 5 were at peak copper mortal level. Their task was to determine if the Arts that were showcased were up to standards.

Rick Isenburg trained in Sword Arts and performed a series of sword movements that showcased the control he had over his Sword Arts. Uden Stella practiced Mage Destruction Arts of the fire element so he cast a Flame Wall with the height of 5 feet, an excellent performance being at Rank 1 Copper Stage Mortal Level. He fainted at the end due to Mana exhaustion.

The young girl from Brightmoon City excelled in Spirit Arts so she used a lute as with sound as the medium to control her spirit energy and shattered 100 wine bottles that were prepared for her on the stage.

The burly boy, on the other hand, used his First Arts to suppress 5 wooden puppets of the same cultivation level as him.

Gin asked for a power scale that was used for the strength test. As he went on the stage, the eyes of those in the testing site were glued to him again.

"Big Sis… what is junior brother going to do?" Rosemary asked.

"I really don't know. Let's just watch for now." Alice replied as she too had a difficult time guessing what Gin would do.

Back in the Old Masters homestead, all Gin would do was to grow plants, harvest fruits, experiment on vegetation, play (experiment) with animals and do odd jobs of the common folk. He didn't show any talent in Arts aside from cooking. He had no mana since he was supposedly crippled from birth. He did some physical exercise as he joined the morning group routine but would always come last due to a lack of mana sustenance.

But this time, from the strength test to the mana test… It was like the exact opposite of Gin was here… except for the eccentric part that remained the same. Not carrying about offending people and minds his own business without a care for the world around him.

As Gin stood at the center of the stage, a power scale was placed in front of him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The crowd watching also took a deep breath when suddenly and oppressive force broke out from the center of the stage. Gin's whole body was bursting with a crimson red aura that raged like wild flames.

The people who were watching widened their eyes and opened their mouths as they gasped. What sorcery was this? A 10-year-old boy showcased a Rank 5 Copper Mortal Level. This has been unprecedented. It surpassed the level of surprise they had when the Royal Princess took the examination two years ago. What she did was summoning Holy Chains that can suppress Copper Mortal Level Spirit Beasts.

But what Gin did was breaking the norms of Arts.

To wield this much power as someone below 20, one must have opened all 7 Mana Gates in the body. That is the only reason why the whole body would be covered by aura.

Gin positioned his body in a common fighting stance and grasped his fist tightly. Then he said something that left people puzzled.

"Rock… Paper… Scissors… Rock 1 Ton Hammer!!!!" Gin shouted as he threw out his punch.

A yellowish fist-like aura covered his fist as he punched the power scale.

Pakkkk!

The impact resonated all over the testing site while the ground shook and vibrated. A crater was formed on the center of the stage as the stone blocks crumbled on the pressure of the punch. The whole testing site went silent. Even other test takers stopped at what they were doing. Examiners were looking at the stage where the blue-haired boy was at.

When Gin's Fist hit the Power scale, the stone object started to vibrate. The score 500 instantly got projected. But the number kept increasing.

600~

800~

1500~

4000~

7600~

8000~

9999~

~Crack~

Web-like cracks starting appearing on the Power Scale until it finally broke and crumbled to pieces. Everyone was stunned. What happened was something a 10-year-old was beyond capable of doing.

While everyone stood there looking stupid, Gin was grinning of bliss. Finally, he vented out his frustration from the 1st test he took. He made sure that the power scale will never want to test his strength in the future… because it did NOT have any future… aside from being street dust.

The 5 judges on the other hand, as dazed as they may be… still regained their senses and judged the showcase as a definite pass for the academy. No need to take any other tests. But they had a condition for Gin's acceptance. He had to pay for the Copper Stage Power Scale and the broken stage for a total of 20,000 gold coins. Or else he will be sent to prison for the crime of destroying kingdom property.

"WHAT?!!!" Gin shouted as he was greatly dumbfounded by his situation. First, he failed to get the 1000 silver coins… now he had to pay 20,000 gold coins… Passing the Academy's test while losing money that I don't even have… Truly… a case of "Winning the battle but Losing the War."