From the side of the plaza, the East Warrior Academy Headmaster, who sneaked in to watch the event, clicked his tongue. 'That old fox moved faster than me.. Hmph, let's see if the kid can pass the second test, a magus without enough mana is just an expensive scholar..'
.....
"Now, we will start the second test, the mana growth test." announced Magus Nemo after Hans returned to the line.
Two apprentices carried a big black stone to the podium. The stone was around two meters tall, its surface was rough, and there were many small cracks that looked like a dry riverbed.
"This is called the Soul Stone, a gift from the ancestor of this academy." said Magus Nemo. "All of you only need to put your palm on the stone, and the stone will measure how fast your soul grows mana. The crack will light up according to your talent. One light means low, three lights mean average, five lights mean you will be a good magus, and seven lights.."
He stopped for a while and looked at the sky as if he was remembering something nostalgic.
"..The last person who lit seven cracks is now the Magus Supreme of the capital, so do not dream too high."
"Sir, what happens if there is no light?" asked a thin boy from the line.
"Then you are not a magus, you are a customer." replied Magus Nemo calmly. "Go home, and don't forget to tell your family that your admission fee was a donation."
'This guy is really a salesman..' thought Hans.
Hans looked at the stone again. As a person who had Roland's knowledge, he was curious about it. 'Mana.. Energy that is stored in the soul. If it is energy, there must be a way to measure it. But how does that stone know the growth speed? Is it just a decorative thing for dramatic effect, or is there any real mechanism there?'
Hans stared at the stone with a researcher's eyes. And somehow, when he thought about it, he felt that the stone was staring back at him.
'Hmm?'
"Next!!" shouted an apprentice, and the line moved.
One by one, the participants put their palm on the stone. The first boy got two lights, and he almost jumped from happiness. A girl after him got three lights, and her family who watched from the outside of the plaza cheered like crazy. A tall man got only one light and was escorted out by his sobbing friends.
"Four lights!!" the apprentice shouted when a boy with a sword on his back finished his test. The boy was one of the three who got blue in the first test, and he looked at the others with a very arrogant face.
'Four lights and he already acts like a king.. I wonder what he will do if he sees seven.' thought Hans while yawning. 'Anyway, how many lights should I get? Honestly, I never trained my mana.. I don't even know how to train it.. Maybe zero?'
Then a fear crept in his mind. 'Wait.. If I got zero.. Does it mean I have to pay for the red pillar?'
'Mr. Roland.. Please do not let me down..'
"The next one.. The boy named Hans!!" the apprentice called loudly. The apprentice's voice was clearly more excited than for other participants, and the whole plaza became quiet immediately.
Hans walked slowly. Layla, who stood behind the rope, clasped her hands together. Magus Nemo and the two Headmasters, who now did not even hide themselves, stared at him without blinking.
'So much pressure.. Hahaha.. It was easier to face bandits.' thought Hans.
He took a deep breath, then placed his small palm on the Soul Stone.
A second passed.
Two seconds.
Five seconds.
The stone remained black. Not a single crack lit up.
Someone in the line coughed. Someone else tried to hold his laugh but failed.
"Pfft.. Hahaha!! Red comprehension, zero mana!!"
"I knew it, the world is fair after all.."
Magus Nemo's face, which had been shining like a sun for the last hour, now looked like a cloudy day.
'No.. It can't be..' Hans felt cold sweat on his back. 'Is it over already? Do I have to pay the 100 gold a year?'
But just when Hans wanted to remove his hand, the Soul Stone trembled.
It was a very small tremble, so small that only the person who touched it could feel it. Then, from the deepest part of the stone, something started to move, not like light that spread across cracks, but like a huge door that was slowly being opened from the other side.
'What the f**k is this..?' cursed Hans in his mind.
"Stop." said a calm voice inside his head. It was neither Roland nor his own voice.
"..You are not from this world, are you?"