Finishing up my exam
I was never much of a show off, but I couldn't help myself right now.
"I've reinforced this training dummy, all you'll need to do is show me whatever your most powerful spell is, of course, it should be at the third layer."
Looking at the dummy, it glimmered with a layer of light magic.
"Sounds good."
I took a moment to breathe, focusing on the flow of mana inside my body.
My circuits swelled, and an aura of fire enveloped me.
[Mode]
Instantly, the magic I was able to output more than doubled.
Pointing at the dummy from a few meters away, a small magic circle appeared at my fingertip.
It was smaller than the usual size of my circle, but that did not mean it was weaker.
No, it was more concentrated.
A second ring appeared around the circle.
'An explosion would be good, rifling would be pointless at this distance.'
Finally, a third ring appeared, turning the circle into the same fiery orange colour that had enveloped me.
Just by looking at it, I knew it would be far more powerful than anything I had previously performed.
It took me a few seconds to stabilise the circle, as I was unused to handling this much mana.
"Explosive magic bullet."
From my circle, five fiery magic bullets shot out in quick succession.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
My ears rang for a second, and I felt a tremor inside my body even whilst standing several meters away.
There was a large cloud of smoke, so I couldn't verify the results of my attack.
I let go of my mode, and the warm fiery aura that had enveloped me quickly faded.
'Still, surely this should be enough, right?'
All of a sudden, a large gust of wind came from my right, blowing the smoke away in an instant.
It was quite intense, as I had to plant my feet firmly into the ground to stay afoot.
'Probably someone from the rafters, I guess.'
Looking at the dummy, or at least where the dummy had previously been, I smiled.
The examiner, receptionist Alina, was also staring in the same direction.
Looking at her face, I cracked a smile.
Her lips were pursed and her eyes seemed dull.
Snapping out of her daze, she looked at me with an unknowable expression.
"You... that kind of firepower, you sure you're a third layer?"
"Surprised? As far as I'm aware, I'm indeed just a measly third layer."
I wondered what kind of thoughts were running through her head right now.
"Mm... Well, you certainly pass."
I nodded my head.
When I returned to the group of applicants, they parted like the red sea.
Looking around, some seemed scared, whilst some seemed to show reverence.
"Whoa, big bro, that was awesome!"
The mage from before was the first one to approach me, congratulating me on my pass.
It felt a little weird for him to call me big bro, seeing as his face was clearly older than mine.
'It's pretty androgynous, too?'
"...Thank you."
Not put off by my dry response, he continued to speak.
"I'm Aster! Nice to meet you, hey, what do you think about forming a party?"
'Is he dumb? There's no way he thinks that I'd party with him.'
I was not irritated by the request, more just dumbfounded.
"Did he really..?"
"It's clear they're not on the same level."
Even the people around me seemed to have the same thoughts.
But even upon hearing them, he continued looking at me with a face full of expectations.
"Sorry, no..."
Unpreturbed by my rejection, he continued to speak.
"Is it because I'm too weak, big bro? Don't worry! Once I get my license, I'll study hard at the tower, I'll be able to catch up to you in no time!"
Frankly, his energeticness was making me a little uncomfortable.
"Y-yeah, sure, I guess if you catch up, we could maybe make a party."
It was a halfhearted response, as there way no way he'd be able to catch up to me.
I was someone who studied under an archmage for crying out loud.
If he was able to catch up to me, surely my master would cry tears of disappointment.
'Can he even cry, though?'
The guy in front of me, Aster, continued chattering on with rather animated movements.
His purple hair bobbed up and down as he spoke.
I nodded along idly whilst thinking about the next test.
'...An exam.'
...
We were gathered in a separate hall with separated desks.
Unsurprisingly, many people had poor reading skills and lacked the ability to write.
As a noble, I obviously did not have such an issue.
Naturally, the association expected this sort of issue, and they granted those who could not write magical pens which could automatically write as per the user's thoughts.
But unfortunately for those with poor reading, they were screwed. Being able to read was necessary to be an adventurer, as dealing with contracts and mission papers was a regular occurence.
I couldn't lie, I was slightly nervous about whatever the test might contain.
'It should just be the basics of survival, right?'
Considering I had lived as a drifter for months after being exiled, I was actually quite familiar with camping.
My paper was handed to me, and I started reading.
Question 1) Explain one method to start a fire when in the wilderness.
'...Well, the first question has to be easy I guess?'
I wrote down a basic method utilising flint and steel.
Question 2) Name three essential items every adventurer should carry when on a mission.
Looking at the simple questions, I flipped through a few pages and was pleased to see the test was genuinely quite easy.
Subtly checking the faces of those around me, even they seemed to be quite surprised.
'Makes sense, they wouldn't want to bar competent adventurers purely because of a written exam, right?'
...
After about thirty minutes, I checked in my exam and left the room.
Outside, I found Mai and her friend loitering around.
I could only assume they were waiting for me.
"Okay... what do you guys want with me?"
Their attention could only be described as uncomfortable at this point.
[Kara]
Threat Level: Very High
S Rank Adventurer.
As I had expected, the other girl was also an S rank. They were probably in the same party.
"Hmm... we don't want anything, just a little curious, kid. My friend here said you were impressive, but after seeing your exam... that's an understatement."
It seemed her friend, who I had identified as Kara, was far more chatty than Mai.
"Then, I'm glad to have provided you some entertainment... but if that's all, I'll be going."
It was a bit blunt from my end, but I felt as if the conversation could quickly move towards a recruitment offer if I stuck around.
I turned my back quickly, only to be stopped by a delicate hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, kid, no need to be scared of these big sisters~ We're really curious about you, y'know, I get the feeling you'll become a big star around here, so why not talk with us for a bit."
Turning arounce once more, I felt a little disturbed at the seductive voice the blonde lady was using with me.
In my previous life, I was, well, to say the least, not lacking in experience with women.
Such tricks wouldn't work with me, even if I seemed to just be a fourteen year old.
"I'm not interesting in joining a party, or guild, or whatever."
At my irritated reaction, both of them seemed quite surprised.
I looked at Mai, who had been allowing her friend to do all the talking, wondering if she'd say anything.
"Isn't he fourteen..?"
I heard Kara mumble something under her breath, but I didn't catch it.
"Ahem. It's not. Like that. We're S ranks. You know? Like she. Said. We're just. Curious. So. Why not, Have a meal. With our party?"
'It's not like I have anything to do, anyway.'
I had the feeling that Mai wasn't lying, so if they weren't going to try and pull some recruitment pitch on me, I had no real reason to decline a meal.
Getting to know S rank adventurers on the first day after my arrival in this city could be a stroke of luck, more than anything else.
"Sure, if you're paying, why not."
LOG 31 - MAGES AND MARTIAL ARTISTS
Even if one is born with magical circuits, it is far from a guarantee that they would be able to become a mage. The reality is that for most commoners, getting their hands on even the lowest quality magic tome would cost them over a year's worth of salary. Learning magic by oneself is possible, but it is only a realistic option for those with great talent. On the other hand, martial textbooks are far more abundant, and creating ones own techniques even with no teaching is far easier than trying to learn spells alone as mage. This is why choosing to transform one's circuits into a martial core is a popular option for commoners born with circuits.
