The next five days were spent training.

From the moment we woke up until the sky was completely black we trained like madmen. When teacher said he expected us to do our best he meant it.

Punch, pull arm back, punch with the other arm, repeat. When we were too exhausted to continue we sat down or laid on the ground to meditate.

It was a seemingly endless circle, sometimes even leading to loss of consciousness, but I already feel better, faster and stronger.

Like every morning in the past week, water splashed onto my face and just like every time I fell out of bed screaming.

I will never get used to this, no matter how many times he wakes me like this.

After clothing myself we headed towards the field again and saw that only the teacher was present. Strange, where are the others?

“Ahh, late as always. Today is the day of the test so head to the big hall where the entrance ceremony was held.” He shouted to our still distant selves.

“Wait, what test?” Owen asked us.

“The one the principal mentioned. You know, the one that is supposed to determine our future paths?” Frank answered in an annoyed tone.

“*Sigh* Guys, focus. Let’s just get ourselves tested without any conflicts, okay? I am going to go crazy if you keep this up!” I said.

Seriously, Franks and Owens childish bickering can really get on my nerves. But it can’t be helped. They ARE children after all.

They quickly shut up and followed me. I don’t know how it happened but I have the position of an adult like figure in my group. Well, not that I can complain.

When we reached the hall we found the children lined up in 10 queues which started at the stage. A few men and women of various ages sat at tables but I was too far away to see what they were doing. We lined up at the first one we saw and passed the time by chatting about various things.

After more than an hour of waiting it was finally Franks turn.

He stepped up to the stage where a slender woman greeted him. She also wore what I recognized as the black teacher’s uniform without any ornaments and asked him to sit down.

As soon as he sat down we couldn’t hear a single thing from that direction anymore but I wasn’t surprised. Really, after all the things I have seen some kind of magic which stops the voice from exiting a certain space isn’t anything surprising anymore.

I could see him holding various items which were spread out on the table and his facial expression changed every few minutes.

Getting bored by watching Frank I decided to tease Owen a bit about Greta. My suspicions were confirmed in the last few days: He had a crush on her.

Well, as much of a crush that a 7-year-old can have.

Before I noticed it, Frank, who came down a few seconds ago, told me that it was my turn.

While I climbed up the stairs the woman greeted me.

“Hello, my name is Martha. Your name is John, right? Please sit down, before we begin with the test I will explain some things to you. Sit down and listen.

After I have finished the test will start.”

Following her orders, I sat down on the well cushioned chair which was just perfect for my size.

She began talking as soon as I was finished adjusting my sitting position.

“As you surely know the Academy trains all warriors in the vicinity of Frumentum.

But the definition warrior is a person who can cultivate and use mana in various ways. This means that all enchanters and Creators are warriors who specialize in support. They are very talented at their respective fields but their fighting skills are often very poor so they chose not to fight against beasts.

That doesn’t mean that they are looked down upon however. Their paths are actually just as respected as that of fighters because they help keeping the cities alive just as much as them.

The creators produce excellent weapons which many warriors couldn’t even hope to imitate whilst the enchanters make these weapons durable and powerful enough to last until the wielder is killed.

Do you follow?”

“Yes.” I replied in an attentive voice. The information she gave me is quite interesting. I never knew how exactly the powers of creators and enchanters worked but I think I will find out very soon.

“Good. Don’t worry, the test will begin soon.

Just because most warriors commission their weapons from the professionals that doesn’t mean that you should neglect these skills. They are essential for every warrior because the weapons best suited to you are the ones you created yourself. And who knows the enchantments you need better than you?

Also you should know that the most powerful warriors are also experts at creating and enchanting weapons and armors since no one else can meet their standards.” She took a deep breath and her brown eyes looked at me expectantly.

“Let’s begin.” She pointed at a small deformed wooden sword which laid right in front of me. It had the form of a double edged western sword with a small ridge in the middle.

“You will enchant this sword to the best of your abilities.” Seeing the confused look on my face she smiled. “Don’t worry, I will explain the basics of enchanting to you.

First you have to concentrate on it. Examine every part of it, be careful to remember it. Then you have to imagine a sucking force coming from the mana channels in your palm which directs this little sword into your core.

After that enter your core space. Examine the sword again. Note if there are any differences. If there are then restore it to its former state, if not then proceed with enchanting it.

I want the sword to become extremely sharp, as much as possible. How you do it is up to you since every enchanter has his own way of doing so but don’t change its form.”

I picked the sword up and carefully held it in my hands. I noted the round edges which were without any hint of sharpness and wondered how I was supposed to sharpen it. Turning it around I noticed small dents and hills everywhere and a bare hilt without anything to balance the rest of the blade out.

As I closed my eyes, imagining a sucking force, her voice interrupted my concentration. “Stop. Don’t close your eyes. Unconsciously doing so every time you suck something in could become a fatal habit. Try again but this time with your eyes open.”

She is right. Assuming I could use my core space as a portable storage I shouldn’t close my eyes whenever I suck something in or push something out. If I were to do so in a situation where I have to arm myself quickly and I close my eyes I could be killed while I am not paying attention.

Repeating my actions while staring at the sword in my hands I imagined a sucking force again. It quickly dissolved into mana which rushed through my channels. It barely fit inside without hurting me and wherever it passed the mana channels would slightly bulge.

Finally reaching my core I followed it into it.

I was greeted by a now familiar darkness with a slight tinge of white. The sword I absorbed hovered in an empty section of space, waiting to be enchanted.

Remembering the words of my examiner I inspected it to find any irregularities but I found none.

Now the only question is: How do I sharpen it without changing its physical aspects? I think that sharpness normally comes from a thin edge but I don’t think this swords edge has any resemblance of sharpness.

Maybe I can form a hull composed of mana?

As I willed it mana started to surround the little sword. Under my instructions it changed from a cylinder into a replica of the object it surrounded. I shrinked it until it was only about a millimeter bigger than the sword and then sharpened its form.

If one were to glance at it the thought that it hadn’t changed at all would come to mind but I knew better. As the aura became sharper I needed more and more mana to do so.

But I didn’t mind. This is a test after all so I have to give it all that I got!

Sharper!

Sharper!

So sharp that it will effortlessly cut through anything…

----------------------------------

I finally broke out of my trance when I noticed that my mana had run out.

Wiping off my imaginary sweat I inspected my work. As I looked at it I couldn’t notice any differences but I knew that all of my mana must have sharpened the hull to a terrifying degree.

Pushing the sword out of my core space as I exited it I opened my eyes which I had unknowingly closed.

Damn it! I was trying so hard…

Shaking my disappointment off I presented the improved sword to the examiner.

She shook her head, her curly brown hair swaying around as she did so, when she saw my gesture. “I won’t test it. YOU will.” She gave me a block of wood. “Try to cut this with your sword.” She instructed me.

Taking the unexpectedly heavy object into my left hand while I held my sword in the other I moved my right hand to the block.

Although I met some resistance I still pierced a quarter of it without any problems. Then I had to apply more and more force.

I laid it on the table and pushed with all my weight but the blade only managed to penetrate another few centimeters.

Giving up I pulled it out and looked at the examiner.

Her eyes were wide open in what I hope to be astonishment. Feeling unsure I gave the block back to her and she accepted it with shaking hands.

After closely inspecting the hole she looked at me. I lost the resulting staring contest and looked away in embarrassment.

“Well, it seems you are full of surprises boy.” She said after a long pause.