"So you have to do both the tests?"
Arthur asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Then there's no problem."
He handled it quickly.
His instructions to the boy were simple, he was to stand beside him.
"Ezra Ashford, right?"
The professor asked.
"Yes."
He stood some distance away from away for the man.
Ezra's case was different.
He wasn't a mage nor an assassin, his class was among the rarest classes among awakeneds.
The Sorcerer class.
Unfortunately, there were hardly any sorcerers in the academy so there was no need to waste resources for a class with no students.
To testify, Ezra was the only one with the sorcerer class among the first years.
So, he was assigned to the only first year sorcerer teacher in the academy who also happened to teach mages and assassins.
And now, he was here.
'I'm going to be called first.'
He mentally prepared himself for his name to be called, it was only natural that the one who had caused the most trouble to be called first.
"You there."
The professor called.
"Me?"
The boy standing at the beginning of the line for mages.
"Yes, come out."
Ezra blinked in surprise.
'Not me?'
He wondered.
The boy that was called stepped out.
"He's good-looking, but doesn't look punchable."
Ezra murmured to himself, making a mental note as he watched the boy step out.
"Name?"
"Lucas Wycliffe."
"Now Wycliffe, use mana burst."
The man ordered.
The boy blinked for a second.
"Did I not make myself clear? Use mana burst."
Mana burst.
For mages it was relatively simple to use.
But for people like him, it was much harder.
The boy shuddered for a moment under the professor's intense gaze.
He quickly turned away before focusing on himself.
"Stand on there."
He gestured towards a machine.
The boy complied.
It only took him a few seconds to do it.
A wave of magic burst out from his body, going in all directions. Only to be held back within the platform.
It only lasted for a few seconds, the same amount of time it took him to charge it up.
'Is that all?'
Ezra wondered.
The machine displayed a number....
"210."
The boy got off the machine and turned in the direction of the display.
On it, the numbers 2 and 00 could be seen.
"Move to the side if you're done."
The professor's strict words rang out. The boy almost tripped over nothing but thin air, he managed to stop himself from falling down before walking to the corner.
"Next."
The next in line was a girl.
"Name?"
"Yvette Von Selwyn."
Without being told she went towards the machine and stood on it.
"Perform a mana burst."
She complied quickly.
A wave of magic spread outwards, unlike others it expanded slowly before being stopped within the barriers of the machine.
"240."
He called out the number displayed.
Without being told the girl calmly went to the side next to Lucas Wycliffe.
"Next."
One by one the students went towards the machine and used mana burst.
"190."
"234."
"250."
Surprisingly, the number did not once exceed the 300 mark.
It hovered around the 270 mark but never broke through at its highest, at the lowest it was at the 150 mark.
Slowly the numbers on the line dwindled and most of them ended up walking away dejectedly.
"Next."
The last person on the line for mages coincidentally happened to be the instructor's sister.
"Name?"
"Celestine Vaelthorne."
'Wait.'
Ezra's eyes narrowed.
'She looks quite similar to him.'
Even though they were of different genders, there was no denying some of the glaring similarities between them.
For one, both of them had the same shade of hair. Along with that they looked quite similar.
'Maybe they're related?'
He shook his head to get rid of the thought.
'It's not important.'
What was important was the fact that he was the one going last, everyone in the mage category was done with their tests.
All except him....
Celestine walked towards the machine slowly, almost as if walking too fast would make her slip.
She stepped onto it.
She did it on command instantly.
Her mana flared out instantly, forming a protective barrier around her that threatened to expand even further.
Fortunately the machine held it back.
It was like she had been preparing for it since the first person had done it.
'So that was why she was walking like that.'
It made sense now.
"269."
Arthur called out as he wrote it down in the clipboard he held.
Celestine stepped out of the machine, she didn't look back to check the number, instead she walked towards the corner.
She had the highest score so far.
But it was only to be expected considering that she had been preparing for this, even going as far as to stay at the back of the line because of it.
It had paid off considering that she had gotten the highest score so far.
"Damn it."
The realization finally came.
"I should have done the same thing."
He muttered.
"Ezra Ashford."
The professor called out, his stern voice reaching his ears.
He blinked before turning his head in the man's direction.
"Sir?"
"You're next."
"Oh, right."
Ezra walked towards the machine.
He could feel eyes on him.
Numerous sharp eyes that pressed down on him.
He wasn't even halfway there yet.
Everyone was staring at him at this moment, before they were too preoccupied with the people who were taking the test to notice them.
But now—
All eyes were on him.
That was partly due to the currently most prominent feature of his — aside his good looks of course.
It was blood.
Dried blood on his face, dried blood on his snow-white hair and on other parts of his body.
With his good looks he would have been the center of attention before the professor came. But, most people wouldn't want to associate with someone like him.
Even the guards were a little skeptical on allowing him in due to his appearance.
"Haah."
Ezra let out a deep breath, he ran a hand through his hair as he stepped onto the machine.
"Use mana burst."
Ezra nodded to the man's words and focused on himself, closing his eyes in the process.
'Mana burst.'
He thought.
'It's not particularly hard.'
He mused as he directed his mana.
For mages the process was almost automatic. For sorcerers however, it needed to be manually.
As well as every other form of magic....
For sorcerers to use magic they had to direct mana through the pathways, all the while casting chants. The only good thing about it was that sorcerers didn't have to connect nodes.
The reserves were found quite close to the mana heart, so they had to be channeled from their through the pathways; otherwise known as veins.
For mana burst however, he had to channel the mana throughout all the pathways.
'Done.'
Ezra's mana flared outwards to form a barrier around him. It was chaotic.
Unlike the others whom had more controlled ones, his was the complete opposite.
It only lasted for a second, completely unlike the others as well.
"300."
The professor called out.