Top of the class

Glenn panted, holding his knees, as he stared at the hole he had just made in the steel pillar. An uncomfortable silence had settled in, as every candidate had stopped to see the source of the loud drilling noise. Even the examiner, Tom Delora, was bent over from his own pillar, gazing down at Glenn's work.

The steel pillar sunk into the ground, and Tom Delora descended to Glenn's height, inspecting the one-meter-wide hole that he had created in the five-meter-thick steel pillar. Tom's arms were clasped behind his back, as he saw that the walls of the hole were perfectly smooth, as if it had been intended to be this way.

Ignoring the various steel shavings that had been created by the drilling around the pillar, Tom stepped on the ground, the shavings sucked under his robe.

Diamanes whistled, equally surprised and impressed, much like the other candidates for the Fixer job. Even though he had spent a lot of time watching Glenn's memories, he couldn't possibly have had the time to understand every single thing existing in Earth's modern civilization.

Even though he was a 'special' being, his original world had been similar to the one they were in right now, so things like drills still seemed extremely weird. He could understand the principle and the workings behind it, but he would have never come up with this idea by himself.

Tom's hood turned toward Glenn, his face still hidden underneath it. An item slipped out of his robe, delicately landing on a steel pillar that had risen from the ground at the occasion. Picking it up, Glenn discovered a small steel plate, the size of his thumb, engraved with runes. On the backside was something written: "Magi Brotherhood."

The same organization that had provided the identifications and the Convergence back at the Frozen Gate.

'I wonder who they are? Some kind of Mage guild?' he wondered.

Tom Delora's chilling voice resounded as words escaped from his robe.

"Come... See... Us... After the... Damned tests..."

He then rose back up on his steel pillar, watching over the remaining candidates who had yet to fell their own columns.

"Get back... at it... Maggots!!" he spat, clear disgust present in his raspy voice.

Sahro, who had managed to cut his own pillar in two, approached Glenn, and they both sat in the stands, waiting for the test to be over. Sahro's eyes were filled with confusion and curiosity.

"Glenn, how did you manage to do that? What was that, actually?" he exclaimed, curious about the spell's workings.

Glenn shrugged, a smirk hanging on his face. He raised his arms out with his palms forward, looking as confused as Sahro.

"Well, it's evident, no? I just did an Arcane Auger."

Sahro's brows furrowed as he rubbed his chin. What the hell was an Auger?

Glenn exaggeratedly gasped, his hands on his cheeks.

"What, you don't know what an Auger is?"

Sahro hurriedly scoffed, a forced smile on his face, as he crossed his arms.

"Hah! Of course, I know what it is! Who do you take me for?"

Glenn grinned, as he breathed out in relief.

"Ah, alright, I'm relieved. I almost thought of you as an idiot right there. Phew!"

Diamanes laughed inside Glenn's mind.

'Can't you stop bothering this guy? He's just curious!'

Glenn crossed his hands behind his neck, smiling.

'I mean, I have all this experience with trash-talking people on the internet; I have to use it somewhere.'

Diamanes scoffed, not bothering to continue the conversation. In the meanwhile, Sahro looked to be deep in thought, apparently searching his mind for the definition of auger.

The candidates who could damage the steel pillars were clearly separated in different kinds, with some chipping away at them with repeated attacks or spells, while others had a hard time even scratching them. Glenn noticed the robed person who had sat next to him earlier in the waiting room, the one who smelled like mint.

They were standing in front of a steel pillar, not moving. Finally, a slender hand emerged from the robe, with white sparks appearing around it. Slowly placing their hand on the pillar, a big shock shook the entirety of the Testing Hall, as sand rose up everywhere, creating a cloud that blocked everyone's sight.

Having witnessed the whole thing, Glenn saw what happened, but he couldn't really believe his eyes. When the dust settled down, he discovered that he hadn't dreamed it. The steel pillar was bent. Literally, bent, with the top of the pillar touching the ground, while its foundations didn't move one bit.

The person headed for the stands as well, with Tom Delora seemingly ignoring them. They sat a few meters from Glenn, making him feel like asking this person how they did that. After all, it looked really cool!

An almost timid voice resounded in his mind, as Diamanes chimed in, 'You know, if you go touch this pillar, you can 'take' this spell.'

Glenn's eyes widened.

'Wait, I can use that? For real?'

Diamanes virtually acquiesced, his grin hidden under the bandages of Glenn's left hand.

'Yep, it's at your level. It's pretty powerful, but it works in similar ways to your Arcane Auger. It uses relatively low-level Mana for high-level results.'

Glenn smiled but quickly contained it. Wouldn't it be weird to go back on the field now that he was waiting there? Oh, maybe he could do this to feel less weird.

Turning toward his absolute best friend ever, Glenn smiled widely. Sahro shivered as a chill went down his spine, seeing this a**hole's sudden friendliness.

"Hey, wanna check that out with me?" he asked, pointing at the bent steel pillar.

Sahro was about to answer positively, as he was also intrigued by this new kind of magic, but all the steel pillars, untouched or destroyed, sank altogether to the ground, forming a grey shimmering liquid that was once again sucked by Tom Delora's robe.

His raspy voice echoed loudly in the Testing Hall, as paper sheets started flowing out from his sleeves.

"The Power... Test... Is over... Maggots!!"

Glenn stared at the sheet gently placed on his knees, while feeling dejected about missing the opportunity to finally "take" a cool spell. Sahro's sheet arrived similarly gently on his knees, same for the robed person.

Every other person seemed to fight with their papers as they flew without any control in the air. The giant with the equally giant sword, who had been flung away at the beginning of the test, seemed to have passed, as he roared with laughter after struggling to catch his results.

'So that's what it feels like to be top of the class? I don't hate it,' remarked Glenn.

He gazed down at his paper, discovering his results. A few words were written on it, different from the previous test.

"Silver Might? Recommended to the Magi Brotherhood for a Savant position?" he read aloud, wondering what it all meant. The 'Silver Might' he could understand, which meant he probably had the minimum required strength for a Silver-ranked Fixer.

Talking about Silver, he had heard one of the candidates talking about the ranks, saying that he hoped for at least a "Bronze" rank. If he understood correctly, the rank system was classified this way, from lowest to highest: Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Black Gold, Platinum, and apparently Diamond, but they talked about it as if it was a legend.

It seemed like Silver was the highest rank that one could attain with the Workshop's tests. Not that Glenn disliked it, as he would probably be able to avoid grunt-level contracts, quickly going for the ones that paid more.

The robed person quickly stood up after receiving their sheet, leaving for who-knows-where. Glenn still took note of them, as their spell had really intrigued him. Low-level spells that could exert this kind of power were surely a rarity.

Why didn't Tom Delora give them a recommendation to the Magi Brotherhood? After all, it was quite a strange and peculiar spell. Well, whatever. There surely was a good reason.

Glenn and Sahro once again compared their results, with the latter having simply received a "Silver Might" mark as well. Since he only used Aura, it seemed pretty logical for Tom not to be interested.

Mary, Glenn's previous tester, came to guide them out of the Testing Hall, while saying that they would be contacted personally for the next tests. Glenn was a little dispirited, as he thought that they would be able to get to work as soon as the tests were done, but it seemed like administrative procedures also plagued this world.

Along with Sahro, Glenn decided to go back to the Auberge to rest. The day had been long, and he needed to discuss with his companion whether he should go see this 'Magi Brotherhood' or not.

As they entered the majestic inn, they walked upon most of the candidates who passed the tests. Some were drinking away their sorrows, having failed the trials, while others were drinking happily, dancing and singing as they celebrated their success.

The owner of the Auberge, a small round man with blond hair and blue eyes, smiled happily while he served each of his customers at the bar. Ignoring the ones who failed, the atmosphere was pretty good, rubbing off on the two young men.

They decided to eat supper before resting. Glenn was paying once again, of course, but he swore to himself that he would make Sahro cough up any coin he earns later to reimburse him.

With interest. After all, ignoring his five shiny gold coins, the rest of his money stash was withering away quicker than he was comfortable with. He had three silver coins left, and around ten copper coins.

He had initially had a lot of those, but after paying for drinks multiple times, as well as renting a room for two in the Auberge, whose price was absolutely massive (two damn silver per person), his reserve had quickly dwindled.

He had also given some money to Giselle to pay for the food which was given to him as well as for his tent, since he really didn't want any debts. She had accepted the money with a giggle, leaving Glenn with a clear conscience.

As he used the money more and more, he began to understand how the monetary system worked. One copper coin was equal to a mug of beer, two was a glass of Fiery Spirit, and three was a meal. A silver coin was worth a hundred copper ones, and a gold coin was worth a hundred silvers. It was pretty simple, and it also made him understand why the owner of the Cold Beer had reacted this way when Glenn had given him five gold coins.

Ordering food for the both of them, Glenn relaxed in his chair, enjoying the festive atmosphere, with Sahro starting to also chill out, as he finally understood a bit more human customs.

Tonight, they would rest, and tomorrow they would check out this 'Magi Brotherhood' while waiting for the Cleaner's Workshop's next test.

It seemed like a plan.

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On the Still Peak, a caped figure swiftly climbed the stone stairs, rapidly ascending to the top of the mountain. The magic that had made the whole place completely still was gone, and snow had started to cover the charred stone.

The icy and violent wind made the peak a place where living beings weren't welcome and where dangers awaited at any instant. Yet, the caped figure didn't seem perturbed, as he held his sword in his hand, striking the ground and breaking the scriptures with the Moon Rift described.

He ignored the tent and went directly to the room where the giant white crystal awaited. His face hardened when he discovered that it was lying in the pool, with the previously pristine water completely frozen. He tried to touch the crystal, but received no feedback.

The figure breathed out a cloud of hot air, while his fist tightened. Finally, after a few minutes of standstill, he punched the crystal, obliterating it, and the shards of the crystal burst everywhere.

He walked in the middle of the shards, picking up a black mirror that had been sealed within it. A face was imprinted on it. Glenn's face.