The Exam

Greyson quickly ate his food then ran out with Claude to the city battle stadium where the exam was taking place. The stadium was surprisingly empty as only the family of the contestants showed up. Greyson thought the city would be excited for an event like this and felt puzzled. Claude saw his confusion and explained, "Most people fail so no one comes to watch anymore. The stadium used to be full of people for support, however, in the last 30 years or so, not many people have passed. The audience then slowly dwindled to family members."

Greyson understood and nodded in agreement. Why would anyone want to come only to see their kingdom's people be embarrassed? In the midst of his thoughts, the stadium suddenly quieted down. He looked up to see why only to see a middle-aged man standing on top of the stage. He wasn't particularly charismatic or outstanding, yet he radiated a certain power that commanded respect. Greyson understood that this man must be the examiner and started to guess at his level. He felt more threatening than Lucius, so maybe advanced level?

"Hello, I am Teacher Harrison Eldred. I teach novice level stage 1-3 water magicians at the academy. I am part of the Water Department. The exam is short and simple. I only want to see your talent level, thus things like experience do not matter to me. You have to be age 10 and below first of all. I have an age stone here. It uses light magic to test your bone age. It is extremely accurate, so if any of you are lying I would suggest leaving now before you embarrass yourself." Greyson didn't worry at all for the first part of the exam, as he was truthfully only 5 years old. However, he did start to worry for Claude. He didn't think Claude was lying about being 10, but since 10 was the upper limit would that mean Claude's talent was not good enough?

The children all lined up. Greyson looked around and realized there was only about 20 of them. They were all older than Greyson and looked to be 8-10 years old. Claude told him earlier that kids can only take the exam once, so a lot of them wait till they are older and their magic power is higher. Most of the kids passed, but one of the 20 ended up being 11 years old. He begged the examiner to let him try as he just turned 11 not too long ago. Teacher Harrison rejected him because after a child turns 12 and is still in the novice level, then his ability to become an intermediate magician is halved. Two years may still be enough for a change but less than a year would be almost impossible. Greyson was shocked to learn this, however, he was not worried as he was already on a good track to break through before 12. Instead his worry for Claude deepened as Claude's level seemed a little too low. Claude seemed to also realize this fact and felt his hands start to sweat.

"Hm? 5 years old, huh? You're testing pretty early." Teacher Harrison's interest was piqued when Greyson came up to test. He had noticed this little kid because the shopkeeper had already mentioned his features and a face like Greyson's stood out automatically. The shopkeeper had not mentioned, though, that this boy was so young. However, he quickly lost interest because he believed that a kid this young from a small town would not be able to have a high magic level.

"Next, I will test your magic power. This magic device is used to test novice level magicians. Just allow all your mana to flow into it and it will accurately reflect your current stage." He waved his hand and a new device was brought onto the stage. It had a round stone on top of stand and a gauge behind it that was numbered from 1 to 5. The kids followed his directions and one by one they poured their mana into the stone. The arrow on the gauge would move to whatever stage they were at. All the obviously poor children were all around the peak of the 1st stage and some had just broken into the 2nd stage. Harrison disdained to even look at them and quickly dismissed them saying they had failed. Most of the kids were devastated and tried to beg him for another chance. However, Harrison used his magic to quiet them and pressure them off the stage. Claude reflected the later end of the 3rd stage to which Harrison did not fail him yet. The other noble kids were not good either as they were at the peak of the 2nd stage or had just gotten to the third stage. They were also failed because their age and low magic level showed low talent. One noble child who was the same age as Claude was actually in the fourth stage. Harrison showed slight surprise, so that child became super proud and arrogant. Claude whispered over that the boy was the 3rd prince of the Elysa Kingdom. Greyson then understood his level. As royalty, how could the boy not get the best a low tier kingdom could offer?

Greyson went up last. Harrison paid little attention to him because he had already estimated the boy's stage in his mind. Greyson looked towards the stone in the front of him before placing his palm on top. The stone had a warm exterior that felt comfortable. He quickly allowed his mana to flow through the stone. The gauge then showed that Greyson was also in the 4th stage! Yes, Greyson had not slowed down at all. It had been about a month since he last broke through to the 3rd stage and elements were denser the closer he was to the capital. He was told that this was because bigger cities had arrays that would attract the magic elements and gather them. This help sped up his meditation and allowed him to break through to the 4th stage the night before the exam. Everyone was shocked including Claude. That 3rd prince who was so proud before looked to be in disbelief.

"How could this be possible?!" He suddenly blurted out. Everyone was thinking the same thing as him, but did not vocalize their amazement. The crowd all looked to Harrison who was also surprised. He suddenly realized that this boy must be a genius. There were other kids who reached the fourth stage at five, however, most of them were the spoiled and pampered children of the top noble families or the royal family of the Dalia Kingdom. A poor town boy from a low tier kingdom managed to break through on his own meant his talent must be spectacular.

The way he looked at Greyson changed and his eyes began to sparkle. He would definitely be rewarded if he brought back such a genius to the academy! He calmed himself down and hid his excitement away before looking to the three who passed the first two tests.

"The third exam is pretty simple as well, however, all of you could end up failing. I want you to cast a spell for me as fast as you can. The faster you can control the elements, the better a person's talents are for the future." He pointed to the third prince to go first.

The 3rd prince was an earth magician and he decided to go with the easiest spell he knew.

"Oh, majestic earth elements, lend me your strength and durability, build a wall to protect me. Earth Wall!" His chant was long and loud and the earth wall formed after about 1 minute. Harrison frowned. Talented magicians are able to shorten the original chants and novice magicians should be able to summon low level magic spells like Earth Wall in around 30 seconds or less. This boy had higher magic power but his actual capability was lacking. This probably meant his advancement was not natural but forced through special herbs.

"Failed! You may step down now."

"What?! I am at the fourth stage! How could I fail? I'm one of the only ones who managed to reach that level." The 3rd prince could not believe his ears and soon protested his failure.

Harrison sneered, "You may have reached the fourth stage, but your obvious lack of control of the elements shows that you probably didn't reach that stage through talent but resources. We, the Dalia Magic Academy, do not need useless magicians like you."

"NO! I must get in! I'm just as talented as my brothers and they passed! I belong there!" The 3rd prince started screaming and shouting. Harrison finally looked annoyed at his antics and waved his hand indicating the guards to come. They pulled the 3rd prince away quickly. Greyson looked confused at the prince's earlier words before Claude whispered over explaining. The 1st and 2nd princes had both passed the exam at 8. It seemed that they were talented magicians at the academy now. The competition between royalty had always been high. The 3rd prince was always being compared to his brothers, so the failure this time must have been that last thing that threw him over the edge.

The exam continued and Claude went up. He used a low level easy spell as well.

"Water elements, please attack. Water Ball!" After 15 seconds, the water ball formed and shot at a target. The straw target was destroyed from the blast. Harrison nodded slowly. This boy barely made the cut, but maybe he could be formed into something before he turns 12 with better guidance.

"Alright. Pass!"

Claude looked shocked before cheering. He ran over and gave Greyson a bear hug in his excitement.

"I did it! I did it, Grey!" Greyson laughed and nodded in happiness for his friend.

Next, Greyson stepped up for his turn. He didn't actually know any spells so he thought about what he should do. He blue eyes suddenly glowed and an ice spike formed almost immediately before shooting out. The spike impaled the target. Harrison almost lost his composure.

"You...you... How come you didn't chant?" He stuttered.

Greyson shrugged, "I just thought about what I wanted the water elements to do and then they do them. I don't know any spells. I am too poor to afford to buy any."

Harrison was speechless. The level of this genius was too much for him to handle. He had to quickly take him back to the academy for the higher ups to decide what to do.

"Alright... you pass. The two of you be prepared to leave tomorrow to the Dalia Kingdom." He waved his hand and walked down the stage in a hurry. He had to notify the academy of this genius. Greyson and Claude looked surprised at the anti-climatic ending of the exam then looked at each other before shrugging. They suddenly smiled and each other and started laughing and cheering. They had both passed! They were going to the Dalia Magic Academy!