Chapter 7: Walking Contradiction
Avesta yawned and stretched his body. His was a very complicated and elaborate stretching routine. Starting right from the tips of his toes to the top of his skull, he stretched every single muscle in his body. From his pectorals to his quadriceps, to hidden muscles and even tiny muscles that couldn't possibly help in movement. He felt like a new man every time he finished. And this time was no exception.
With a deep exhale, he brought his mind to what the board of admissions had requested of him. He took a seat next to the entrance of the admissions hall and let his mind wander.
'Someone applying at this time of the year… I wonder who it is'
Then the door opened. Avesta turned his head to welcome the newcomer and froze.
There was a tall brown-skinned boy standing in front of him. He was dressed in dirty brown rags that looked like scraps stitched together and had an overall unclean appearance. Avesta scowled, What was the board thinking?
"Are you the one named Yaaro Ilay?"
"I'm sorry. I don't understand what you're saying… But if you're wondering, yes, I'm Yaaro Ilay."
Avesta's eyes widened. Throughout the continent of Iyropa, believers in the Lord who could also use the voice were a very tiny minority. A lot of those dirty heathens from the Empire had the ability, but the person standing in front of him couldn't possibly be someone from that place.
"I see." Avesta responded using the voice. He was one of the exceptional few who could use the voice— something he was very proud of. He looked the boy up and down, "I will be overseeing your admission exam. Are you prepared?"
"No."
Avesta doubted his ears, "You said 'no'?"
"Yes I did. How can I be prepared when I don't know what I'm going to be tested on."
'That is a fair point', Avesta thought. Despite his ragged appearance, the boy's mannerisms were completely unlike those from the slums. He was refined but not as much as those of the nobility. Avesta found this perplexing. 'Is he a fallen noble? Perhaps he has forgotten his manners…'
"These are very simple tests, you do not need to worry. I shall explain as they come." Avesta beckoned the boy to follow him.
They walked to a room which had a giant crystal held up in a bronze colored pedestal.
"You are to place your hand on the crystal and do not let go until I say so."
"Ok."
Avesta stood on the other side of the crystal. Operating a translucent blue panel, he quickly calibrated it and let his mind wander to the event he had that evening.
When his eyes landed on the panel, his eyebrows scrunched.
'That's odd.'
On the hovering translucent blue panel in front of the crystal, a number was present.
'Strange. How can he use the voice? '
He threw a glance at the yawning boy in front of him and thought those old men on the board had finally gone insane, because the number on the panel was a big 0. This boy had no magic power whatsoever.
"The exam is over." Avesta powered off the system.
The boy's expression shifted slightly.
As the two walked to the exit, the boy asked, "When can I expect the results?"
"Right now actually. You have failed." Avesta smiled, "I wish you all the best."
He shut the door on the boy and turned around with a relieved sigh.
Now that that was over, he grew excited. A few days ago, he had asked his coworker on a date to his favourite restaurant. Good food and good company, what was not to like? So with an excited hum, he headed home to get ready.
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Yaaro walked back dejectedly. He didn't have the energy to stand up straight, so he walked with slumped shoulders.
10 million mana.
And he was rejected.
No doubt that crystal was some sort of mana measuring device. Was the 10 million mana he was so happy about, such a small amount?
Had he really come to this new world with no cheat-like power? Feeling lost, he looked to the side, where there was some ongoing construction work and the thought of earning money wormed its way into his mind.
"Y—ng—n."
The first course of action would probably be to find a new job. Without money, he was sure to starve. Manual labour was strenuous and he didn't think he had the energy for that. But the employers would feed him. Surely?
"Young man."
"Huh?" A deep voice had brought him out of his reverie.
It was a man he'd never seen before. With a patterned black suit, a gold-accented black cloak and golden epaulets, the man looked regal. With his deep eyes, lush white beard and full silver hair, the man had a depth that spoke of his years.
He looked around, coldly scanning the crowd,
"Mr.Ilay. I'd like to invite you to have a talk with me.", The man said, "However, this hardly seems like the environment for such a thing."
"A talk about what?" He asked.
"Something of benefit to the both of us. I give you my word."
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The two were inside a sizeable and well-furnished room. With everything having a brown color palette, it looked like an old-money style office back on Earth.
The setting sun cast an orange tint to the room.
There were some things in the room that really caught his eye. Like the large skull of a three horned beast on the wall. A clock with no hands. And a stone statue of a beautiful woman standing behind the desk. The man took a seat behind the desk and motioned for Yaaro to do the same.
"Mr. Ilay, allow me to be brief.", The man said, "Please, join us."
Yaaro's brows furrowed in confusion, "I thought I was rejected?"
The man smiled and for a while, Yaaro's words hung in the air.
"You can use the voice." The man said.
The reply left Yaaro stumped. One of the first things that Ariadne had taught him was to imbue mana and intent into his voice, and then simply speak. For such a basic thing to be held in such high regard was strange. Just what the hell had Ariadne taught him?
"I don't understand one thing." Yaaro said. The man simply nodded, allowing him to continue.
"Is it not an easy thing to do? What exactly is the 'voice'?"
The man roared with laughter— shaking the room with his hearty laughs. Yaaro wondered if he had said something funny. It might have been his imagination, but even the statue seemed amused.
"For you to consider it easy… That alone speaks to your skill." The man nodded, "Could you tell me a bit about yourself?"
Blank.
"I…", His mind raced to concoct a story, "I am a traveler from a far away land."
The best lies were half-truths after all.
"Our caravan was ambushed a day from Tuszeldwarv. As a result I have no identification, nor any belongings." He wistfully looked outside the window, "My name and these clothes are the only thing I have."
The man listened carefully— His attentive expression remaining unchanged.
"I came here to learn the magic of this land and…", he paused, "Go home."
The man leaned back in his chair and gazed at Yaaro with a glint in his eye.
"One more thing." The man mentioned.
"Before you join", the man asked, "Could you give me a demonstration?"
"Of my mana I presume?" He quickly corrected himself.
The man's eyebrows slightly scrunched, "Yes. Whatever you are proficient in."
Yaaro's lips curled up.
He had read countless webnovels, lightnovels and manga. Isekai especially, was his favourite genre. The draw of coming to another world as a peerless protagonist was irresistible! Everytime the protagonist showed their power and left onlookers gobsmacked, Yaaro would pump his fists with excitement, as if he himself was the protagonist.
And now, he was in that impossible situation.
A wide grin formed on his face.
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A single coffee mug rose on the table, which the man stared at intensely.
As it floated in the air, a black tentacle materialized out of thin air, and it seemed that it had been holding the coffee mug.
And when the boy's smile disappeared, the tentacle slowly placed the mug down, and swiftly retracted into his back.
"So, when can I join?" The boy asked, grinning with a proud expression. But the Chairman simply continued to stare.
It must have been for more than a minute, because the boy asked again.
"From this moment", The man pressed a button on the table.
In a few moments a maid entered and curtsied.
"Guide Mr. Ilay to the dorms" He said.
"Thank you uh… Mr…" Yaaro's voice trailed.
"Chairman."
"Mr Chairman." Yaaro bowed, "Thank you."
Yaaro bowed and left the room, following the maid like a lost lamb.
The Chairman listened intently as the boy's footsteps quietened. And when they had completely disappeared, he turned around.
"Undine." He murmured.
The beautiful marble statue behind him shifted.
In a matter of seconds, its face transformed from polished marble to pure white skin. Her eyes too, were completely white. There were no irises or pupils, only the grayish outline of her lashes. Immediately she closed them.
"My Lord." Her ethereal and soft voice sounded behind him.
For a moment, silence was her only reply.
Suddenly the Chairman chuckled, "That was a very strange display."
The stoic statue smiled, "Indeed it was my Lord."
"I invited him on a hunch…" The chairman murmured, "But is he really a player?"
The beautiful statue was silent.
"My Lord, although his power seems to suggest so, I did not sense the Mark of the System from him."
"Neither did I. A player without the mark cannot exist…"
The Chairman thought out loud, "But he called it 'mana'… To call it that is equivalent to blasphemy. You know this as well as I do." The Chairman said, stroking his lush white beard.
"So how could there be a player without the mark?" He mused.
"Forgive me for I do not know my Lord. The Professors of the Academy of San Malo might know, in addition to the Akashic Records on Aachthaven proper."
The Chairman scoffed, "Ask the professors, you can forget about the Akashic Records."