‘Today is the day of the test to enter the scholar guild as apprentice, Ryckna and Orchid headed to the guild first thing in the morning, as Ryckna will give a test and Orchid will be taking the recommendation test, which is harder than the regular is.’

‘The guild structure consist in three buildings, the central where the high rank have meeting and works as an library, and two smaller ones where general meetings and test are held. Every one surrounded by a stone fence’

‘The test consist in a theoretical quiz regarding math, chemical and alchemy, and a practical magic test to see if they are understand the logical and tactical application of it.’

‘Around 150 persons try to apply each time but only 50 are able to pass with the regular test, as for the recommendation around 50 take it but only 5 can pass.’

‘All 200 attendants take the same theoretical test, and then they are separate for their respective magic test.’

‘Orchid is taken from the entrance of the guild to a near building with almost 50 applicants to wait for test to begin.’

The inner of the building is like a university auditorium, a podium is located as soon as you enter, and in front of it, seats with a long table can be seen in an ascending position only separated from the stairs in the middle.

{They say we can sit wherever we want.}

While walking I could felt the gazes of people.

{Of course, they are curious, not all the time you see an alraune even in this world.}

I sat at the very bottom near the left stairs, shortly a girl sat at my right and a boy at in front of me. I was about to close my eyes and wait for the test to begin, as in my old world, when the girl spoke to me.

[I am Victoria De Rosa.]

A rabbit beast, she has white fur, long fluffy hair. Her ears and most of her face is covered in fur, it’s like if she had cotton in all her head, she also has a fluffy tail.

[I am Orchid, nice to meet you.]

[Are you here by recommendation? Do Lady Ryckna recommend you?]

[Y-yes.]

She seems to be an energetic type of girl.

[You two keep it down, you are making me lose concentration.]

The boy in front of me, he is an dark elf.

Before anything more could happen, a scholar entered the room.

[All right, everyone stay silent.]

The room became complete silent.

[The test will begin now, as soon as you receive your copy you can start, as soon as you finish handle it to me, and you have three hours either way you are out. Read well the instructions page, that’s all.]

Easy rules I see.

[And don’t copy.]

Some adventurers that will also keep an eye in us handled the copy for the test.

{This thing has 20 pages with 10 question each.}

The instruction are easy, mostly what he say and the typical things you hear during test in school.

There are both multiple options and open questions.

The topics are basic math, compared to the level of university student, history, mostly from Straida, chemistry, also basic for my level.

I go through the question easily; a lot of them are the same but with a different approach, until I found some more interesting and specifics.

What is Magic Affinity?

The proficiency, compatibility and flairs with each kind and element of magic, it increases the potency and reduces the time and mana required to execute it. It’s completely defined by race and individual and cannot be raised.

What is Magic Sense?

It defines the control, perception and understanding of magic, how easily you can develop each one is mostly define by race.

What is Elemental Proficiency?

An ethereal value that defines how good you are with elemental magic separately is ties to magic affinity and sense, meaning that you can have a birth bonus for some and can increase it with corresponding training and studies.

What is the Ethereal Body?

When the ether inside us overflows it creates an invisible body that prevents damage done by magic to the physical body, is used to cast magic and when is damaged it causes the brain to register it as pain, it also is reduced every time you use magic or receive magical damage.

After two hours, I manage to finish the test.

As I stand up of my seat with the test hold tight in my chest, I walk to the scholar to hand it over.

[Once you hand it you cannot recover it.]

Still gave him the test, he told me that I am free to wander around until the magic test begins, that is about two hours.

I exit the room and decide to wait for Victoria, she look like she wanted to talk more, also if she was recommended by Ryckna it means we might be assigned to her.

Shortly Victoria exit the room and quickly approaches me, I am impressed that she can see with all that fur in her head.

[Shall we go and eat something and talk a little.]

A great proposal.

During our dinner she talk about how she met Ryckna and ask me how I met her; in her case, she met her at her parent’s restaurant where Ryckna saw the potential in her. She also always wanted to become a scholar like her grandmother.

The time passes and it’s now the beginning for the magic test. It will be hold at a courtyard near the main building.

The magic test consist in three parts each one to test your magic sense, control, perception and understanding.

First, the control test: For this, we need to create the magic that they tell us and hold it as much as we can before dispel it. A hold magic continuously absorbs mana increasing strength and range, but after a time it become unstable, decreases its efficacy, and can even implode. Each magic has its own time.

The order was fireball (10s), water spear (5s), terra boulder (7s) and gust slash (5s).

During the test I could notice more how elemental proficiency works, those with a good match where able to cast the magic easier and hold them for longer times. It seems that a good proficiency increases hold time for a 50%.

{I managed to hold fireball for 12s, water spear 10s, terra boulder 5s and gust slash 7s}

So there is also bad proficiency reducing hold time.

{Victoria times where: fireball 20s, water spear 3s, terra boulder 7s and gust slash 5s}

20 seconds for fireball, everyone even the instructor where surprised, he said that with that amount her fireball would be at the same level as a level three magic.

It seems that she has a flair for sphere kind magic increasing effectiveness and hold time, combined with a good proficiency for fire magic and she have a broken build for a basic magic.

The second test is perception; we have to walk a path that has magic traps randomly created by the instructor.

Magic trap spells are a kind that can stay for a long time in hold, their growth for extra mana absorption is slower than other kinds of magic.

Focusing in the magic that surrounds you, is possible to detect the activation of magic in an area and magic that is being hold.

The only thing for this test was to activate the least amount of traps.

Victoria and I passed with a count of zero traps

The last test is magic understanding; we have to analyze a magic lock to open a chest as quickly as we can.

Magic locks can stay forever, as they don’t gather extra mana after they are casted, but they need a specific type of casting, to put it simple it’s like a code for programing.

To unlock them you need to analyze it and change a part of the code, as if you change an n=0 to n=1 to unlock it, but making it to respond to your ethereal body so you can open the chest.

Understanding how magic works can help you to increase proficiency and create counter measures with barriers.

We both have no problems with this test either.

An hour after the test ended the results were announced, they always pick 50 regulars and 5 recommendations, for Victoria and was a total… Succes!

[We pass!]

Overjoyed she scream and hug me tight.

From tomorrow we will be apprentices scholars, now my search for a way to unseal Marcelle can finally begins.