Proficiency Test VII

Alec finished the presentation of his Magnitude Seal with all four judge's approval. Looking at their impressed faces, even as they tried to keep a straight face, Alec already knew that he passed.

Sure enough, the man with the silvery-white pin said as such.

"You've passed with flying colours. Not only are you able to answer all our questions about the array, you are able to improvise on the spot."

The other three array masters echoed his approval.

The man stepped forward to shake Alec's hand, all but beaming at him. His joy was infectious, and Alec could practically see the excitement in his eyes bursting out.

"Young man, are you interested in working with us?"

Alec paused, looking at the man in surprise.

Quinn continued on before Alec had a chance to respond. "The institute would like to mass-produce your seals to sell. Of course, we won't short-change you. We'll cover the manual and material cost. If you give us five percent of the profits, the rest belongs to you. However, I hope that you will be able to sell it to the institute at the base price should we wish to buy it. Don't worry, we won't resell what we buy from you."

Alec hadn't even said anything, but the grandmaster had already blurted out a long paragraph of his thoughts before he got a chance to open his mouth.

The other three array masters were staring at Quinn with surprise as well. Though they sometimes worked with the potential master candidates, they had never been approached by the institution head himself for a deal.

Still, Alec thought about it. Hadn't he wanted to sell his Magnitude Seal anyway? Not to mention, if they were approaching him now, then they were already sure that he would be able to pass the last test.

Now that the opportunity had thrown itself into his lap, he wouldn't refuse. Using the institute's good reputation, there would be more people that were willing to buy from them rather than if he worked alone.

Quinn seemed to notice that he was being a bit hasty. "Ah, of course, we can further discuss it after you have passed the last stage of the proficiency test and issue you your badge."

Alec nodded in acquiescence and was led to one of the underground rooms.

The institution had provided all the necessary materials for the candidates to use for the last stage of the exam.

There was a screen projected in the middle of the room that showed him the array that they were to modify.

It was a teleportation array – one of the arrays that usually only sects and clans were able to use, as well as the richer cities. The array was not only complex and large, it was also something that most weren't able to get their hands on to study, which was why it was being used as exam material.

The cost of using such an array was astronomical, and one usually wouldn't use it unless they were rich or were hard-pressed to do so.

Alec hadn't yet had a chance to study his sect's array, and his brief look at it earlier when they'd teleported hadn't been enough.

Still, Alec started working.

He broke down the array in front of him with a few strokes and started thinking about how he wanted to modify it.

Rather than something that cost such an astronomical amount to use, he would rather that he made a seal instead that could be used to teleport countless times in a short distance as it connected to the other seal.

The difference between arrays and seals was that arrays were almost always wide-spread and required a core to power it, whereas seals were smaller and more mobile. They were used on talismans for easy access and usage.

Rather than arrays, Alec actually preferred making seals. Still, that didn't mean that he wasn't good at making arrays as well. It was just that he felt that his mind truly expanded when he thought about how to fit everything that an array should do into a tiny seal instead with the same functions.

Starting to work, Alec didn't realize that his movements were being monitored by the array masters.

The last part of the exam was open to everyone on the institution to watch as long as they were interested in doing so. Since the last exam was something that required the master candidate to possess both intuition as well as epiphany, showing the sight of them working to the floor was something that would allow those who were not yet at that level to get a glimpse of the future and something to aspire to be.

Sure enough, the candidates from the other proficiency exams hadn't left regardless of whether they passed or failed.

As various people watched Alec work in silence, his eyes gleaming and showing no signs of tiring or stopping, they felt admiration bloom in their hearts.

Any thoughts that might have existed of him cheating had been blown away the longer they looked on.

Those that had mocked him before had red faces, as if Alec had personally slapped them himself. It was only now that they knew that such a dazzling star couldn't be contained within the confines of their 'knowledge'.

This was the first time that the Heavenly Ascension Sect disciples had seen any of Alec's work, and they felt a complicated mix of emotions. However, the general consensus was that they were proud of the honour he was bringing to the sect.

Clause watched in silence. When he saw the state that Alec sank into, he was reminded of the way his master worked. In fact, when he thought about it, Alec's slightly absent gaze at times reflected this as well.

He flushed. So, it wasn't that the other was wilfully ignoring them, but that he was always thinking about something or the other. If someone else didn't take the initiative to talk to him, then Clause didn't know whether or not he would ever talk in the first place.

When he thought about it like this, his previous unhappiness with the boy mostly faded. After all, he hadn't really held any animosity with him – he just wasn't happy that the other was snubbing his seniors with his silence.

Added with the way that he'd come to help him when Jeremy and his merry band of idiots came to bother him, the boy really wasn't that bad.

Alec completed the seal in his hands, then took his time drawing another.

The hours passed as Alec completed, modified and played around with the seal that was in his hands. He never once showed any signs of slowing down, unlike the other two remaining candidates that had been stagnating due to the stress that their mind had been put under.

Not many people could focus for such a long period of time without resting at all.

This day, there were many fans of Alecris Neil that had been born looking at the small child's sparkling eyes as he stared at the seals that he was making without any signs of wavering. His wholehearted devotion was etched into the depths of their memories – and was something that would encourage them at their lowest.