VOL2 Chapter 5: it’s time for your exam

The beautiful glass elevator swiftly took the group up to the 30th floor, where the exams would be conducted. When the elevator doors opened, they were greeted by a long and majestic hallway with walls decorated with intricate engravings detailing the fundamental principles of alchemy, while the floor reflected a soft glow, as if imbued with mana.

As they walked down the hallway, the group arrived at a beautiful, elegant-looking waiting room filled with shelves, books, and desks scattered around. Various people of all kinds could be seen doing last-minute reviews, their expressions ranging from confidence to terror.

"Well, now we just have to wait for them to call you, and you should head to the door with the indicated number." Sigrún commented as she pointed to some doors visible a bit beyond the waiting room. Erik nodded while looking around with a calm expression on his face.

"Alright, I'll be waiting here then."

"Well, Erik, we have to go. We'll try to come back before your exam ends, but if we can't, we'll see you at home, okay?" Eleonora said with a slight smile, causing Erik to turn to his masters and bid them farewell with a smile.

"Alright, see you later then."

With a smile on her face, Sigrún gave her disciple a big farewell hug, while Eleonora bit her lips, a bit mortified, as she also wanted to give him a small farewell hug. But after glancing around a bit, she shook her head and then left the building, where they disappeared in bursts of light, reappearing in the faction's meeting room.

…

"It's a pleasure to see you again."

Sitting at the head of the table, the director, who was the only one in the meeting room, greeted the women who had suddenly appeared. They took their respective seats and responded with different expressions on their beautiful faces.

"What do you need now, old man? We've already done even more than what was asked of us, and I'm not willing to leave the planet for at least 20 years." Sigrún commented, a bit annoyed with her arms crossed. Eleonora slightly nodded in agreement, a serious expression on her face.

"Hahaha, don't worry; I didn't call you to do anything. And regarding those 20 years, I agree. News of your achievements is circulating throughout the galaxy and surprising everyone; it's only fair that you have a well-deserved rest." The director replied with a casual smile, prompting Eleonora to ask curiously.

"So, what's the reason for this call, Director? Did something happen?"

"Rather than something happening, I mainly called you to talk about something."

The director responded with a casual attitude, but suddenly, his expression changed, becoming serious and solemn. He then asked while looking directly into the eyes of the youngest masters in history.

"How much do you know about the Children of the Myst? Or better yet, how much do you know about Erik?"

Upon hearing the director's question, Sigrún and Eleonora's expressions immediately turned serious. They sat up straight in their chairs and looked at the faction leader with solemnity.

"So you already know, Director." Eleonora commented in a somewhat solemn tone, to which the director nodded and continued speaking gravely.

"Yes, although it may not be easy for others to notice, that's not the case with me. I personally met a Child of the Myst; moreover, I was present in the crusade carried out against him, where we managed to kill him."

When they heard the director, the mana of Sigrún and Eleonora burst wildly from their bodies, ready for battle. But at that moment, the director continued speaking seriously.

"Calm down; I have nothing against Erik; that case was very special."

As the mana of Eleonora and Sigrún calmed down—since they knew the decrepit old man, and he didn't seem to be joking—the director leaned back in his chair. His gaze became deep and melancholic, as if recalling a crucial moment of his life. He then continued speaking in a serious tone, far removed from his typical playful attitude; after all, what he was about to tell them was an event that changed the universe forever.

"In the universe, the birth of a Child of the Myst is seen as the greatest blessing for a civilization and is said to mark the ascent of their species to new heights, but there was an exception to this, and that was the case of the Silvari..."

...

...

...

In the middle of the waiting room, Erik sat at one of the available desks and took out some notebooks, where he began scribbling mathematical calculations, magic circles, and runes. He continued doing this, completely focused, until a melodious and elegant voice sounded nearby.

"Excuse me for the interruption, direct disciple Erik, but it's time for your exam."

Hearing the voice, Erik looked up and found a beautiful red-haired woman gazing at him with a professional smile. She was dressed in a tight black dress, similar to what Sigrún and Eleonora's assistants wore. He simply nodded, stored all his things in his storage ring, then stood up and asked with a smile.

"Thank you for informing me. Where should I go?"

"It's my duty, and please follow me; I'll guide you to the examination room." The woman replied in a formal tone while bowing respectfully. She then began to walk once Erik nodded to her.

"Alright."

With a calm stride, Erik followed the woman to one of the doors. Upon passing through it, he could see the so-called examination room, which was a large hall with a gleaming marble floor and several individual workstations, each properly equipped with all kinds of ingredients, tools, and cauldrons.

Meanwhile, at the upper part of the room, standing on elevated platforms, were several people dressed in the typical university uniform. Noticing Erik's arrival, they turned to look at him, analyzing him carefully with sharp eyes.

"Am I the first? I don't see anyone else." Erik asked curiously as he looked around.

"Actually, Direct Disciple Erik is a special case and will be the only one evaluated in this round; that's why you're the only one in this room." The woman responded politely before bowing and speaking one last time.

"Direct Disciple Erik, if you would, please proceed to the center of the room, and once there, they'll inform you about the exam. If you'll excuse me, I can only accompany you up to this point."

"Alright, thank you anyway."

After bidding farewell to the woman, Erik approached the center of the room, where there was an individual workstation larger than the others. Although it was equipped similarly, it had more ingredients. At that moment, one of the people on the elevated platforms spoke in a grave and solemn voice, catching his attention.

"Direct Disciple Erik, today you will be evaluated on your knowledge in the area of alchemy. The exam will be divided into five parts: Material Selection, Mixing and Proportions, Reaction and Transformation, Ethics and Safety, and finally, the Oral Defense Exam. Any questions?"

Curiously, Erik studied the person who spoke—a man who appeared to be around 40 years old, with olive skin and black hair, sporting a serious and unyielding gaze. He then shook his head and replied loudly.

"No, we can proceed."

"Then let's begin. In the first test, you must differentiate and categorize all the ingredients found at your workstation. You have one hour to complete it and can make up to three mistakes. If you make more or fail to finish in time, you will be disqualified and won't be able to take the exam for 10 years. You may start." The man spoke in a serious tone as he looked at the young man with starry hair, who nodded casually.

Erik looked at the large pile of ingredients on the workstation, sighing a bit at the vast amount of mixed items there. Without saying anything, he summoned dozens of ghostly hands. At the same time, a stack of blank sheets and dozens of pens appeared over his hand, which he tossed into the air to be caught by the ghostly hands.

Simultaneously, behind Erik, an elegant and comfortable chair made of solidified Myst formed, where he sat casually. At that moment, his ghostly hands picked up the ingredients and sorted them, while other phantom hands wrote their names on the sheets and arranged them in alphabetical order.

At the top of the room, the examiners watched the spectacle in surprise—not only because it was a never-before-seen way of controlling solidified Myst, but also because the boy only occasionally glanced at some ingredients himself, and everything else was done almost automatically by the solidified Myst hands. This led some to think he was cheating, but no matter how much they checked, the boy was doing nothing more than controlling the Myst around him.

Initially, the examiners wanted to deliberately increase the difficulty of the exam by increasing the number of ingredients, their rarity, similarity, and so on. This was mainly due to the young man's age; after all, it was uncommon for someone under 200 years old to take the exam. They wanted to be sure if the boy was truly that capable or just being arrogant, but the spectacle he was giving them was beyond anything they expected.

Time passed in silence, with the only sounds being the movement of ingredients and the pens writing on the sheets. This lasted about 20 minutes, at which point the star-haired boy looked up and spoke calmly and neutrally, surrounded by different piles of well-labeled ingredients.

"I'm finished."

The man who had spoken earlier nodded his head, and immediately all the ingredients, along with the accompanying sheets, flew into the air and were divided equally so that each examiner could review a portion. After a couple of minutes, the man spoke again.

"No errors here."

"None here either."

"Same here."

...

One by one, all the examiners said the same until it reached the last of them. At that point, the man who seemed to be the leader of the group of examiners nodded and spoke again, looking at Erik.

"You have passed the first exam, Direct Disciple Erik. Next is the second one; you have 30 minutes to prepare."

"Ah, that's not necessary; I can do it immediately."

Erik responded casually, as it hadn't been complicated at all, and he had been sitting the whole time, which caused a slight smile on the man on the platform. He nodded before speaking again.

"Then let's continue."