5 Chapter 1 (2): The examination, part 1

Chapter 1 (2): The examination, part 1

After we left the two of them to make their way back to the magician's guild, the headmistress took over my registration and brought me to a crystalline slate, which would display my mana as a number. The average for a human was about 100 per elemental affinity, and a half-elf would be more like 150 per, which would mean that mine would be around 2500... were I a normal half-elf. As it is, a half-elf half-demon would be more like 300 per, or 5000 in total... but I'm a Demon Lord, regardless of the rest of my bloodline, so 3 million or more per element, or about 50 million in total, at a minimum. However, I'm wearing my weapons, which act as limiters, so...

"I'm sorry, I must be going crazy. Is that... 50 in total? I'm not missing some zeros?" (Headmistress)

"Ah, right. I forgot to mention that I'm wearing some items that suppress my mana and aura... Let's see, first, a barrier to keep my aura from leaking out, then... hmm... I'll remove my earrings, axe, and bracelets" (Ryuu)

When I removed those, the headmistress's eyes bulged from the sudden increase in my aura, and I put my hand on the slate again... and it shattered. More accurately, it exploded, though the shards were blocked by a second barrier.

"Uh... I've never seen that before... can you put those things back on as I get another slate?" (Headmistress)

She raced out of the room, and I put on my earrings and bracelets, leaving my axe on the counter. Soon after, she came carrying a second slate, one twice as large in each dimension.

"Please try it again... And if it doesn't explode, remove them one at a time until it does. I'd like to see what this one can handle, or rather, the mage's guild would probably like to know" (Headmistress)

I did so, the first time showing 504, then 5039, then 50386, then it exploded.

"So... each one you remove causes a tenfold increase in what it can read... how many more do you have that you could remove?" (HM)

"Well... I have another four beyond what it last read... doing the math, it's about 500 million" (Ryuu)

"That's... 30 million per element... are you... like, a demigod or something?" (HM)

"No, I'm just an ordinary half-elf blessed by who knows what... my father was not a god, and my mother was an ordinary elf" (Ryuu)

"You said 'was'... does that mean they're dead?" (HM)

"Yeah, my father died in the war two months ago, and my mother was never healthy to begin with, so the shock of his death killed her, I think" (Ryuu)

"He must have fought valiantly to the end" (HM)

"No, he died from some cowardly tactics. You remember how the generals on the demon's side were assassinated along with the Demon Lord, and how the demons retaliated by poisoning the food and water supplies? My father died because of that, not any spell or soldier in combat" (Ryuu)

"Oh... I'm sorry... I said something insensitive. Please forgive me" (HM)

"It's fine. I hardly ever saw my father, because he was always busy with work. I met some of his friends though, they were the ones who taught me how to use all kinds of weapons and magic" (Ryuu)

"Speaking of, I guess we should assess how good you are with the ones you have written down... and speaking of the form, I guess we should decide on what value to put down for your mana. Maybe 5000?" (HM)

"That sounds good. It's higher than almost anyone would have, but it's not as crazy as 500 thousand or, even worse, 500 million. 294 mana per element is above average for a half-elf, but it's not out of the realm of plausibility, I guess" (Ryuu)

After that, we moved on to the sparring ring at the back, and I was asked if I needed to borrow a weapon for the exam.

"I know I look like I have some, but those... they're special, for the most part. I will use my own axe, as its special effect is integral to my fighting style, unlike the rest... for the most part. For swords, I'll ask for two swords and two sheaths, as well as multiple opponents who work well together, as my preferred fighting style is better against a group than a single foe. I'll also use a few special items to mimic the special effects of my swords' sheaths, as that is also integral to my style" (Ryuu)

"Understood. Fortunately, we have a trio of A ranked swordsmen, triplet brothers, who are with us. First, however, we'll start with the spear, as I send someone for them. Alicia will be your opponent" (HM)

A tall elf woman walked forward carrying a long spear for herself, and I picked a spear that looked huge when compared with me, to the amusement of those watching (which was just the instructors and hired hands for the tests)

"You sure you wish to pick that one? I'd recommend one more suited for your size, but do as you will" (Alicia)

"I'm good... actually, it's a bit shorter than I'd like, but it's the best we've got, I guess" (Ryuu)

When the starting signal was given, I slowly moved towards her, and when she got close, I thrust my spear at her, and when she deflected it to my left, I continued with that motion to sweep at her legs with the butt of the spear, which she nimbly jumped over while thrusting at me. I used the shaft of my spear to deflect hers to my right as I planted the butt of my spear in the ground and used it as a pivot to swing my feet into her stomach, knocking her back as her spear flew from her hands. Before she could get up, I had the head of the spear resting on the bridge of her nose.

"I give... But damn, girl, that's quite the unorthodox fighting style, but it's very effective. I'm impressed at how well you could handle a spear so much larger than yourself, and use it to do two or even three things at once. In addition, you didn't resist the motion that my deflection caused, but instead used it to smoothly transition into another attack. You even seemed to predict my actions, as I could see you preparing to transition like that before I even started to move, now that I look back on it. Your spearmanship is on par with an A rank's" (Alicia)

"Thank you. However, it's not all skill, there's a lot of raw talent. My dynamic vision and reflexes are better than anyone my teachers ever knew, even to the point of being able to catch arrows with my bare hands" (Ryuu)

"Even so, that doesn't change the fact that you could predict my moves and utilize every part of the spear to attack or block, and do both at once, which is much harder than it sounds or looks. You beat me, an S rank, without a long battle at all, and showed me a style that could catch anyone off guard. Now... fess up, the staff on your back is really a spear that can change length at will, right? That's why you learned this style, to make the most use of that function, unless I'm wrong" (Alicia)

"It is, but it has a few other features, one of which, one I can't control, actually, is why I didn't use it" (Ryuu)

"Mind if I ask what it is?" (Alicia)

Hmm... there's not much of a reason not to tell her, so long as I don't tell her the true extent of the effect, I guess.

"So long as it's not in use, it suppresses my aura. That's the same with all of my weapons, actually, and the increase in aura is enough to make people who aren't used to it hesitate, which means that it would make the test not show my real strength as well. The axe is special, in that it can keep that effect even while in use, though... doing so means that I can't use any magic besides what I use through the axe" (Ryuu)

"I see... That's interesting" (Alicia)

The headmistress then pulled Alicia away to have a quick chat as I put away the spear I borrowed, and a man whose thin body contrasted with his muscular arms stepped forward.