(Author's Note. In the future, I will start putting both the metric system and the imperial system in parentheses.)
As the voice left her ears, Anemone stepped away from the painting and sat down at the wooden desk. According to the voice, she was supposed to complete these papers, so she might as well get started.
Anemone began to read over the papers, which were out of order, and then put them in order.
'Please answer each question truthfully.'
Question 1. What is your name? Anemone.
Question 2. What is your age? 18.
Question 3. What is your height? 167 centimeters. (5'5" and 3/4)
Question 4. What is your species? Human Female.
Question 5. What are your magical affinities? Wind and fire.
Question 6. Are you affiliated with any noble house or guild? No.
Question 7. Are you trained in any weapons? If so, which ones? No.
Question 8. Do you possess any formal magical training? Where? No, self-trained.
Question 9. Have you completed any bounty work or mercenary contracts? No.
Question 10. What's the largest creature you've fought (if any)? Licanthrope
Question 11. Are you skilled in any non-combat trades (alchemy, tracking, healing, cooking, blacksmithing)? Cooking.
Question 12. Can you read, write, or speak multiple languages? No.
Question 13. Are you currently wanted by any city, kingdom, or empire? No.
Question 14. Would you kill for payment or only under threat? Yes, only wrongdoers.
Question 15. Do you have your own gear? A wand, no mage robes or armor.
Question 16. Is there anything you would like to state? No.
"Finally! I'm done." I blurted to myself. It may not have been many questions, but my brain felt fried as I let out a sigh of relief. The voice entered my head again.
"Please open the chest and begin to imbue mana into the orb."
I immediately got up, already wanting this to be over with, as I wanted to do the actual test at the Adventurers Guild. Then I reached into the chest, pulled out a purple, sparking orb, and the outside surface seemed to be a type of glass.
As I gazed at the orb, it began to glow with a light red, and looked like an aurora. Stars sparkling, then I began to hold it close, sat back on the chair, and began to imbue mana with my eyes closed.
Instead of focusing on myself this time, I focused on the crystal ball, drawing mana to it instead of myself. I began to look for the surrounding mana particles, red and grey. (Author's note. Wind will be changed to grey henceforth.) I began to draw them towards my body. No longer permeating my dress and skin, but instead going to my hands, more specifically, the crystal ball.
As I was getting close to doing it, the voice entered my head for the fourth time. "Use your mana, not the surrounding mana, now please set the crystal ball down and pick it back up."
'So rude.' I said to myself as I set it down. After a few seconds, I picked it back up and began to imbue my mana into it. Within a few seconds, it was glowing a very bright and solid red.
"Now, please pick up the papers and walk back out the door." The voice said again.
I then set the crystal ball back into the chest, grabbing the papers, which now had a new line of text.
'Which mana core color are you?
black
purple
red *
brown
orange
yellow
green
blue
pink
white
gold'
'So I am a red core mage?'
She then walked through the door with her satchel and the papers in hand. This time, she arrived in another room with four target dummies evenly spaced out with a single lantern in the middle of the room. To the left of the dummies was a shield hung up, along with a few swords ranging from a blade length of one meter (3.3 feet) to just about twenty-five centimeters (10 inches) in length. There were also wooden swords lying on the ground from what Anemone could assume were previous applicants.
"Please use your weakest spell once on each of the first three dummies in quick succession," the voice instructed.
Anemone nodded her head, not knowing if the person could even see her.
'I don't even need to nod,' she thought.
She then pulled out her wand again, the maple wand with a white topaz at the top. Anemone pointed the wand and began to imagine her simplest spell, Wind Arrow. After about two seconds of concentrating, a whistle filled the room, and then whoosh! It flew at the dummy, destroying the straw it was made of, but not the wooden post it was staged on.
Again, Anemone fired at the second dummy, this time it took two seconds again, then the third time it took three seconds. And at the fourth dummy, she used her most powerful spell, which took a lot longer to conjure. Wind Barrage, in simple terms, it was a collection of Wind Arrows that did less damage but a lot more.
Anemone began to imagine multiple small, spinning points in the air, around fifteen to twenty, each was about half the size of Wind Arrow, spinning at a slower speed. Thirty seconds after imagining the picture, they flew.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. All of them collided on the target; a few hit the head of the dummy, the majority hit the chest and stomach of the dummy, while the rest hit the legs, with around two or three missing completely.
Anemone then stumbled back, sweat pouring down her face as the voice entered her ears.
"How many times in one day can you use Wind Arrow and Wind Barrage?" the voice asked.
"Twenty times, and two times respectively," Anemone replied.
"Pick up the papers and please exit through the door," the voice said.
Anemone then walked over, sweat dripping as she picked up the papers. It had recorded everything, from how long it took to conjure the spell, the velocity, and how fast it reached the target, how fast it was spinning, and how much mana she had used, how many projectiles were in Wind Barrage, and how much air was condensed into each conjuration. Put simply, it said that her third casting of Wind Arrow took longer, wasted more mana, had less velocity, less rotation speed, and was less condensed than the first conjuration.
As Anemone exited through the door with her belongings in hand, she found herself back on the second floor, new people sitting down, but now the tree in the center of the room had a small slit opening.
"Please slide your papers through the opening on the bark of the tree, then you may leave," the male voice said.
Anemone immediately put them through the small opening, wondering which door to leave through. But the doors this time, just like when she left, had the numbers, and one now said exit. She then walked up to it, opening it and finding herself back in the library after the white light filled her vision.
'I should try to look for a book on the Seven Savants from the previous tenth century,' Anemone thought.
Knowing it might take a while in this large library with a wide selection, Anemone went up to the librarian again.
"Hello ma'am, how may I help you?" a different, rather young female librarian said, this time she was wearing a white dress adorned with sunflowers, short red hair, and glasses.
Anemone smiled at her kind appearance and opened her mouth, "Yes, where may I find books on the Seven Savants, or any similar topics?"
"As you may know, the Seven Savants are the seven most powerful and influential mages. The book on the Seven Savants will be in aisle five, which will be the closest shelf to me. While a similar book, The Seven Bladewrights, is about the seven most powerful swordsmen, which should be on the shelf directly to the right," the librarian explained.
"Thank you!" Anemone said while turning away and then rushing to the corresponding shelf, finally stumbling upon it.
The book was red with gold writing 'THE SEVEN SAVANTS 10-11th century.' When Anemone pulled out the book from the shelf, the front had a silhouette of a mage firing multiple different elements at a swordsman in a fighting stance.
Anemone then brought the book to the librarian. "That will be one gold, please."
'One gold? That's outrageous,' Anemone thought.
She then reluctantly gave her one gold, leaving her with four left. Anemone turned around, sighing with a deep breath, then left the store, wanting to read this and know more about Malrek Thayne. She exited the door she walked to, the same recurring thing happening, the bright light covering her vision as she was transported to the familiar city, facing away from the door to the Limitless Tower.
***
Anemone then arrived at the shop. Father was running it alone, and she found him selling even more Moonwine.
"Hi Father!" she called.
He looked at her with sparkling eyes all of a sudden, and Anemone knew what he was about to say, 'I am so...'
"I am so proud of you, young one!" Father said.
'How did it...' Anemone thought.
"How did it go?" he said with a bright smile.
Anemone knew him very well and could tell what he was about to say with just a glance.
"I can't say, I feel kind of disappointed. I am only a red core, and looking at what was written on the papers after I listened to their instructions, it didn't seem good," she admitted.
"What did it say?" he said with an empathetic tone.
"Don't be sad, too! I am fine! Long story short, it said even after one use of my lowest spell magic, I was not consistent, and the required sources compared to the outcome of the spell did not match. I used more mana for less force," Anemone explained.
"Well! You are self-taught! That is to be expected!" Father said.
"I guess..." Anemone replied.
"..."
Anemone then took out the book, wanting to change the subject.
"But look what I got! It's about these people called the Seven Savants! I have never heard of them until now. They are these famous mages who are supposedly very influential and awesome!" she said.
"Oh, do you plan on reading it?" Father asked.
"What else do you get books for?" Anemone replied.
His face got flustered. "Umm, to collect."
"Well, yes, I'm going to read it, Father," Anemone said, shaking her head while looking at him. "So how much did we sell today?"
"Four liters (1 gallon) of Moonwine, leaving us with nine liters (2.4 gallons). We made twenty-six gold in total!" Father replied.
"Would you want to go take a break since it is eight in the afternoon and eat?" Anemone asked.
He didn't even answer; he just began to pack up, turning the hanging sign in the front of the cart around, so it said closed. As they walked around, Anemone and Father decided to go to a high-end inn known for its selection of exotic meats. As they arrived at the inn with a hanging boar sign in the front, it had another sign on the ground that said, "Welcome to Boar Hat."
Anemone entered to find a handsome man with blonde hair running the bar, as he was the owner. They soon found a seat as a serving maid helped them.
Anemone looked to the young lady, "I would like Bernia Ale and Boars Medallion, please."
The Boar's Medallion was thin slices of a boar tenderloin, seared with a white glaze and plated with chestnut mash and berries; it was around seven silver.
Anemone then looked to Father as he ordered, "I would like something simple, seared duck breast, please," which was worth two silver.
***
As time passed and their meal was gone, Anemone opened the book in the inn before they left and flipped to the summary page, deciding to read in-depth another day.
The Seven Savants - The most powerful, enigmatic, and influential mages. Each Savant represents an element: fire, water, air, earth, light, lightning, and life.
Role - Mysterious mages that can decide the fate of an entire empire with their might, save them, or destroy them. Seal beasts, the likes of which most humans would never imagine.
Background - Each Savant is equal in rank and does not belong to any empire; instead, they work for the good of the known world, choosing that the longevity of Earth is more important than one nation.
How to become one - Unknown
What each current Savant is known for
Fire Savant - The first person to ever kill a dragon
Water Savant - The first human ever recorded to become a pink core mage
Air Savant - The first to use all elements
Earth Savant - The first person to ever be able to conjure all metals
Light Savant - The first to ever completely master both light and darkness
Lightning Savant - The first to use lightning magic successfully to increase bodily speeds: Thoughts, movements, reactions, speech, etc...
Life Savant - She is the first known person to bring someone back to life with soul and memories intact.