Chapter 3: Testing Once More

The moment the milky-white light enveloped Rollin, a dense white mist surged up from the base of the black stone pillar. The mist rose swiftly as soon as it appeared, in the blink of an eye reaching the fourth mark. After pausing only slightly there, it surged onward, passing the fifth mark in one breath. There, an unmistakable red line signified that his mental strength had reached five times that of an average person—granting him the qualifications to become a mage.

Yet, the white mist did not stop after crossing the red mark. Instead, it continued to barrel upward—sixth mark, seventh, eighth... Amidst the gasps of astonishment from the crowd, the mist finally came to a gradual halt at the nineteenth mark.

Mental strength: Nineteen times that of an ordinary person!

"This... how is this possible!" Doug, the examiner, rubbed his bewildered eyes hard. Even after blinking, the white mist remained steady at the nineteenth mark!

"How could the results differ so much after two tests with the same mental strength instrument? There must be a mistake!" Doug muttered as he pressed several buttons on the stone table and tested Rollin’s mental strength once more.

As expected, the white mist remained at the nineteenth mark.

Still refusing to believe it, Doug seized Rollin’s hand and marched him around to the other side of the stone table, pressing it firmly onto the crystal ball. Immediately, dazzling lights burst forth from within.

Purple and black light dominated most of the crystal ball, with nearly a fifth of it bathed in fiery red.

Affinity for the purple lightning element—supreme!

Affinity for the black darkness element—supreme!

Affinity for the red fire element—high!

The results for elemental affinity were exactly the same as before.

"Hmm, what’s this—" Suddenly, a voice echoed in Rollin’s mind.

He knew at once—it was Kus, speaking to him through ‘soul transmission,’ a method Kus had taught him on their way back, allowing them to communicate privately. At that moment, Kus was floating in midair, visible only to Rollin, while the other townsfolk remained oblivious.

"Uncle Kus, what is it?" Rollin asked quickly.

"Boy, do you know about the seven great elements?" Kus asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

Although Rollin didn’t know why the old man brought this up, he replied, "That’s easy. Everyone in the Europa Empire and throughout the entire Aragon Continent knows them: earth, fire, water, wind, lightning, light, and darkness."

"Look closely at the center of the darkness element in the crystal ball!"

Rollin, piqued by his words, scrutinized the black portion that filled about two-fifths of the crystal ball. Guided by Kus, he soon noticed something odd: at the very center of the evenly distributed black, there was a thread as fine as a hair—‘jet black.’ Surrounded by so much black, it was almost invisible, but upon closer inspection, it clearly stood out as something alien.

"Uncle Kus, what is that?" Rollin asked in confusion.

After a moment of contemplation, Kus replied, "If I’m not mistaken, this should be one of the two great energies outside the seven elements!"

Seeing Rollin’s growing puzzlement, a wry smile flickered across Kus’s skull-like face. "You’ll walk the path of a mage one day, so there’s no harm in telling you now. There has always been much debate about these two energies beyond the seven elements. Most cultivators can’t sense them at all, but the rare few who can are invariably extraordinarily powerful if they succeed in cultivating them."

"What exactly are these two energies?" Rollin asked eagerly.

"Space energy and time energy," Kus replied, pausing before continuing, "I cultivate the darkness element, and I can assure you that this jet black thread is definitely not darkness. As for the other six elements, it’s even less likely. So I believe it’s one of those two energies—whether space or time, I can’t say."

"How does one cultivate space or time energy?" Rollin pressed, voicing his deepest concern.

Kus shook his head. "I’ve only heard of them in passing, never actually seen them. As for how to cultivate them, there are probably very few on the Aragon Continent who know. That’s something you’ll have to discover for yourself in the future!"

He then muttered under his breath, "How odd—when I refined the white stone, my mental strength and elemental affinity only increased slightly. There was no sign of time or space energy at all!" It was the changes during his own refining of the white stone that led him to tempt Rollin with the promise of becoming a mage. Yet, Rollin felt no pain during his refinement, and the unusual thread emerging in his body left Kus utterly perplexed.

While Rollin conversed with Kus, Doug once again placed Rollin’s hand on the crystal ball for two more tests, but the results remained unchanged. To Rollin’s amusement, Doug even dragged his hand back to the black stone pillar, preparing to test his mental strength a third time.

"Master Doug, didn’t you say each test requires a fee? I don’t have another hundred gold coins to give you!" Rollin protested.

"Oh, no, Rollin. You’re an exception. For these additional tests, you needn’t pay a single coin," Doug replied, forcing a smile.

"Doug, stop wasting time. We have much to discuss with young Rollin!" As Doug prepared a third test, the surrounding academy recruiters objected. They’d been eyeing Rollin—the dual-element prodigy with mental strength nineteen times the norm—for some time.

Realizing this, Doug released Rollin’s arm in embarrassment, but he still couldn’t understand how someone who’d failed the test earlier could now display mental strength nineteen times above average.

No sooner had Doug let go than the recruiters swarmed Rollin, each extolling the virtues of their academy, leaving him both amused and contemplative. Before, when he’d failed to meet the standard, not a single one had paid him heed. Now, he was the most coveted talent in the room. Through these twists and turns, Rollin experienced first-hand the truth that power and potential rule all.

"This... It can’t be!" Young Master Menliet stared in disbelief as Rollin was courted by all the major academies, muttering as if in a dream. Suddenly, his eyes brightened, and he rushed to Doug, stuffing a bag of gold coins into his hand and insisting on a retest for himself.

The other children soon caught on, crowding around for another chance at the test—naturally, gold coins in hand. Unbeknownst to Rollin, his unexpected success had brought the Holy See a handsome profit, though all the others left disappointed after their retests.

Rollin now stood beside a tall recruiter, while the others watched in resignation—he had already chosen an academy: Porter Academy, located near the imperial city of Hertz.

Porter Academy was founded by the Holy See of Light, one of the three great powers of the Aragon Continent. It was the most prestigious magic academy on the continent. More importantly, to attract talent from within the Light Alliance, Porter Academy waived all tuition for students from the empires, kingdoms, and duchies of the alliance—a huge draw for Rollin, whose family was penniless.

"Rollin, here is your admission letter for Porter Academy. Keep it safe—you’ll need it when you report in," said Harvey, the recruiter, as he handed Rollin a gold-embossed letter made of special red magical material.

Rollin accepted the letter, his feelings a mix of joy and disbelief. For as long as he could remember, he’d dreamed of becoming a powerful mage—and now, miraculously, that dream was coming true.

Just then, a sweet voice called out, "Brother Rollin, we’ll be at the same academy now. Please take care of me!"

"Karina, you got into Porter too!" Rollin saw before him a beautiful, gentle girl with long silver hair—the daughter of the richest noble in town, who had also passed the test earlier with remarkable talent.

Harvey smiled warmly. "Indeed, your little town has produced two exceptionally gifted mages at once, both joining Porter Academy. That is a rare occurrence in our history." He looked them both over with delight, his gaze lingering on Rollin with particular excitement.

After chatting a while longer, they each went their separate ways.

Elated, Rollin tucked the admission letter away, mounted his little black donkey, and hurried home—eager to share the good news with his parents and brother.

Yet as he approached the house, he heard the sounds of a heated argument.

"Well, Geiger, when are you going to pay back the gold coins you owe me?"

"Brother, keep your voice down! Don’t scare little Hawk. Don’t worry—we’ll scrimp and save, and as soon as we have enough, we’ll pay you back."

"You, a poor clockmaker—when will you ever save enough? When you borrowed the money, you claimed Rollin would become a mage. And look—damn it, I should never have lent you those seventy gold coins!"

Rollin recognized the voice—it was his uncle, who was richer than his father and rarely visited. So the gold coins for his magic test had come, in large part, from his father borrowing from his uncle.

As the argument grew louder, Rollin hurriedly dismounted, strode forward, and pushed open the door.