2 The Banishment Test

An old man was seen walking through the door. His face had a scar that ran across the left eye. His long grey hair was tied into a half-bun. His eyes were purple and he had a long beard on his chin. He had a sword on his waist and was looking around as he was walking. His wrinkly face had a broad smile as he walked towards Ben. "My liege, it is time", he said in a deep voice.

Ben looked at him and smiled. "Leon, you haven't said anything to Lucas yet", he said. Leon looked at Lucas and shook his hand. "Happy Eighteenth Birthday, Third prince", he said. He shook hands with Leon and did a salute to him. "That's alright, Lucas. You don't have to do this today", he replied.

Then came a huge cake with Lucas's name on it. "Make a wish, my dear son", said Martha. Lucas closed his eyes and made a wish. He picked up the knife and cut the cake. He first gave a slice to his mother, then his father. He then gave a slice to his master. "Boy, you know I am not allowed to eat confectionaries right?", he said with a chuckle as he took a bite.

"Master, it's not like you are going to die from this one slice. Just eat it for today", he snapped back. Leon smiled as he ate his slice. He then gave two slices to his siblings and took the final slice for himself. There were two more layers of the cake, but he left those for the people who work in the palace. After eating, Ben's face turned serious.

"Son, let me explain our ancestral tradition, the Test of Banishment. The test has three stages."

"Stage one, you shall fare against beasts that shall be released from the prison underneath our palace. We have captured quite a number just for this test. The beasts shall range from the basic tier to the legendary tier. You will be given only one weapon, a legendary tier. With that, you must defeat all the beasts that are put before you", he said.

Lucas shuddered at the thought of going against an advanced and legendary tier beast. He knew his situation and to defeat higher-level beasts, one must be able to use mana. And Lucas can't manifest a single ounce of mana! That was his predicament. He racked his brain for a solution, then a question popped up in his head. "Will I be getting beast gear?", he asked his father.

"The tradition doesn't allow us to not use beast gear. But in your situation, since you can't use mana, I and your grandfather have decided to allow you to use beast gear after you've passed the advanced level of the first stage", he said. This news gave him a little bit of relief.

"The second part of the test will be a combat test. You will be pitted against Kate and Sam for round one. After you best both of them, you shall fight me and your mother. We will be putting limiters on us, limiting us to the fourth class. After you defeat both of us, you will have passed the second stage", he said.

"What about grandfather?", he asked. He knew that his grandfather used to take part in the second round before. When both his brother and sister took the test, he saw his grandfather and master fight them at the same time. And every time, he would hit them and make them lose badly. But still, in the end, they would pass as they had sufficient skills.

When he thought back on fighting his grandfather, he was relieved he didn't need to. "Grandfather is in a league of his own. Not just him, all of his friends are in a league of their own. I wonder if dad or I will be able to reach that level in the future", he pondered on that fact.

"The third and final part of the test will be for you to steal the Ancestral Scroll from the sealed place. You will be given a time limit and you must bring the scroll to me before it ends. If you exceed the time limit, you fail. If you get caught, you fail. You will be given only some information about it and the place. The rest will be up to you", finished Ben.

Lucas nodded his head as he took in all of the information and processed it. He began to think of a plan to make sure he clears the first stage of the test.

"The test will begin tomorrow. You shall choose your weapon today and make sure you be in the training grounds at eight in the morning", said Ben in an authoritative tone. "And son, I hope you will pass this test", he said with a hint of worry in his eyes.

Lucas placed a fist on his heart and said, "I, Lucas Heart, will put all of my heart into clearing this test. And I shall bring honor to the Heart family name", he said solemnly as he took a vow. He turned around and left the throne room, heading towards his room to think about what has passed here.

He was deep in thought when the door opened and he missed his mother walking into the room. She sat next to him and waited for him to finish his thoughts, as disturbing him always made him think through it again all over.

"It looks like I have to choose a good weapon, and have some beast armor ready. I don't even know what parts of the armor they have allowed for me. How I wish I could wield mana just like my father and mother. They must be disappointed in me", he thought as he let a deep breath.

He turned around to check for a good weapon in the treasury when he saw Martha by his side. He gave her one of his beautiful smiles and tilted his head sideways. "What brings you here, mother?", he asked. "Am I not allowed inside?', she smiled back. Lucas fell on the bed looking at the ceiling. "It's not like that. You can come inside. Can I ask you something?", he said.

"Yes you can, my Luca", she said with a charming smile on her face. Lucas stretched out his hand in front of his face towards the ceiling. "Are you disappointed in me that I cannot use mana? Will I ever be able to wield mana like Sam and Kate? Mother, will I be useless if I venture into the outside world?", he asked. Martha took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

"Luca, we don't know why you can't wield mana. There are some of the family traits in your eyes, showing that you indeed have our elements inside you. The magic test that you took also confirmed that you can wield mana. But as to why you cannot manifest or wield it, I do not have the answer. Neither does your father. Even Sam and Kate tried to find a way to make it possible when they were venturing outside. It's just that certain situations made us call them back before the period was over. Maybe you might find the answer outside", she said.

She then took out a pendant from her neck and placed it onto his palm. Lucas looked at it and then back at her. "Open it", she said in a soothing voice. Lucas opened it and saw a picture of all of them in it.

"Whenever you miss us or feel like giving up on your journey, or you're lonely, I hope this will help you keep on moving forward", she said as she got up from his bed. "Thank you, Mother", he said as he clutched the pendant tightly, then placing it around his neck.

He got up and left the room, making his way towards the treasury. He dropped by his Master's room, to get an opinion on the type of weapon he could use for the test.

"I have taught you to wield a lot of weapons. The sword, spear, dagger, staff, and some others too. You are even good at dual-wielding. I would suggest that you go for the sword. That way, you can wield another weapon, on the other hand, making your attack unpredictable for the beasts", he said in conclusion. "Thank you, Master", he said as he made a salute and left towards the treasury.