Chapter 52: The White Room

In his entire life as a Magic-User, this was a first for Legris.

For him to be so flustered as to play directly into the hands of a child. It was so embarrassing, yet refreshing.

'He was able to cast three different spells of varying elements at the same time. No, four elements. He used that earth spell at the last minute to offset my balance...' Legris thought to himself.

Jared's quick casting, effective use of his spells, and fluid combination of multiple spells to form a different yet more powerful result were outstanding.

The boy was exceptional in every way, which amused the examiner even more. Unfortunately, Jared was about to meet his final challenge which would prove difficult for even him.

While he had conflicting thoughts concerning the matter, there was nothing Legris could do concerning the examining process. A question of utmost puzzlement rang in his head as he called the next entrant for testing.

'Why... why does that kid have a White Core Grade?!'

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The passage I passed through was meant to be dark, but the glowing stones affixed to the ceiling made it very bright.

As I walked in absolute silence, only hearing the clacking of my heels while moving in the empty space, I mulled over what I would do in the last stage of the exams.

I had passed the first two flawlessly, no, exceptionally. However, this last part would prove difficult. The existence of my two extra Mana Cores wouldn't be an issue, since the only detection method available even with modern magic was limited to the primary Mana Core which was situated in the stomach region.

The other two, located in my brain and the base of my neck respectively, would not be noticed in the slightest.

The problem, however, was that a White Mana Core, especially one as pure as the one I possessed meant the Magic-User was weak and untalented since they couldn't use higher levels of magic.

'Tsk!' I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

No matter what I thought of, none of them would be effective in the coming test. Realizing there was nothing I could do about it, I decided to let the thought go and simply participate in the test.

'Hopefully, my other results help.'

I could finally see an opening at the end of the deep tunnel after moving for about a minute.

The next aspiring student must have begun his spell by now. Did that mean I would be done with the third stage before he would walk down this passage?

There was no way to find out.

'Let's do this!' My mind rang.

At the end of the hallway was another door, similar to the one I used to enter from the start.

I opened the door and got myself into a white room. It was tiled all around and had a glimmering brightness that made me cringe my eyes.

"Welcome, examinee 458. Please come closer." A voice broke through my stunned state.

I slowly opened my eyes, getting used to the sudden brightness after transversing the hallway. Taking in the sight around me mode steadily, I was finally able to see everything surrounding me.

It was really an empty white space, save for two other things present apart from myself.

A woman clad in white stood beside a massive black orb. The large ball was nearly as tall as the woman and had a glimmering dark shade to it.

"U-um, okay..." I replied, my voice trailing as I drew closer to her.

Upon closer inspection, I analyzed the woman better. She donned a white lab coat and had glasses hinged evenly on her face. Her long dark hair flowed to the back of her neck and the stern expression she gave indicated she was in no mood for any dilly-dallying.

Now before her and adjacent to the black orb, I gulped, locking eyes with her jet black ones.

"Stand before the orb and place one of your hands on it." She said, holding a book and pen in both hands, most likely to record the results my test would bring.

I nodded and obediently went to the orb. Taking a short breath, I placed my right hand on the black orb and suddenly it started reacting to my touch.

Feeling my whole body twitching as the mana flow within me throbbed, my stomach especially felt hot and the mana in the core within me swirled.

>SHIIIIIINNNNGGG!!!<

A sharp glow of white light spread across the dark orb and it transformed from its original state, taking on the color of my core.

"Oh? A pure white Mana Core at this age? This is the first I've seen..." The woman muttered, writing some things in her book.

Her words made me embarrassed. Even though I knew my decision not to advance my core grade was the correct one, having someone like her give a condescending remark about it was nothing short of mortifying.

'Welp, it's not like I can lecture her on the importance of a pure core.' I reasoned.

"You can remove your hand now. The third stage of your exams is over." The woman said, not bothering to give a second glance at me.

"You may leave."

Her fingers pointed to a door at the far end of the room, opposite where I came out from. She still refused to look at me, most likely due to her disgust for my lack of talent. However, I wasn't done with her.

"Er, excuse me... I have a question."

The woman raised her head from the book she held and stared at me blankly.

"What is it?"

"Could you tell me more about how this third test works? Both the first and second stage examiners explained the criterion for the test, her you told me nothing." I smiled, giving her a very endearing look.

However, I was sure she could sense that beneath my sweet smile was an air of attitude caused by the displeasure I had with her reaction toward me.

"Tch, cheeky brat." She whispered under her breath.