Chapter 21: First Test

As he thought vaguely about the difference between then and now, one possibility came to mind.

Was it the presence or absence of an incantation?

An incantation was a formula used to clearly define what kind of technique the spell was.

However, when Qiu Nuoya had first released his magic, he had not used any such formula.

He had simply released his mana directly.

But according to the study of magic arts, using formulas should make magic more powerful.

It did not make sense for reciting an incantation to somehow reduce the strength of a spell.

However, if non elemental magic without an incantation directly consumed his own mana to increase its power, then it was possible that he could unleash extremely powerful magic as long as he did not worry about his mana reserves.

The problem was that Qiu Nuoya had no idea how much mana such a spell would consume.

Perhaps it would be safer not to recklessly experiment with it.

"Well, I think that’s enough practice for now," Igor said. "If you practice too much and run out of mana before the actual exam, it’ll just turn into a joke."

Qiu Nuoya stopped and looked toward him.

Igor’s words made Qiu Nuoya nod.

Even so, the mana consumption of these basic four elemental magic spells was apparently only around 10 points.

With Qiu Nuoya’s maximum mana of twenty thousand, it was not something he needed to worry about at all.

The three of them returned to the guild to have lunch.

However, Qiu Nuoya could not help wondering.

Were Igor and Viktor really planning to spend the entire day accompanying him?

"Um... are the two of you not supposed to be working today?"

"Hm? Ah, it’s fine. Our income is not so poor that we would struggle to live if we didn’t rush to complete requests every day."

"We just finished a Rank B Mission yesterday too."

A Rank B Mission?

What kind of job was that?

It was probably something far beyond Qiu Nuoya’s current level.

Perhaps they had defeated some dangerous monster or something similar.

Out of curiosity, Qiu Nuoya asked about it.

Igor then explained that yesterday’s mission had been a bodyguard mission. "There aren’t many particularly dangerous monsters around here, so requests to hunt monsters are actually pretty rare. Instead, there are a lot more escort missions for merchants and the like. We met you while returning from one of those escort missions."

"An escort mission was Rank B Mission?"

"Normally, a regular escort mission could be accepted at a much lower rank. However, the goods the merchant was carrying this time were apparently extremely valuable gemstones. They wanted to be extra careful, so it was classified as a Rank B Mission. We did run into a few thieves along the way, but overall, it was a fairly simple job."

Igor said that with an easygoing smile.

While listening to stories about the kinds of adventures the two of them had experienced before, Qiu Nuoya finished his lunch.

And then, finally, it was time for the practical exam.

This was it.

Don’t get nervous!

"There’s no need to be so tense."

"That’s right. Qiu Nuoya, you will definitely pass."

Qiu Nuoya suddenly realized something.

He did not have a staff.

A mage was usually imagined as someone who carried a staff, right?

But now that he thought about it, Viktor did not use one either.

The content of the exam was the same as the swordsman test. The examinee was allowed to attack freely while the examiner evaluated their performance.

"Water Ball! ... Aero!"

Oh!

This was his first time seeing Aero.

From the tip of the staff held by the female examinee, water spiraled upward and rushed toward the examiner.

The examiner easily dodged it, but that Aero was really cool.

Could he use it too?

The spell formula seemed to be something like water swirling around like a dragon.

Water magic plus wind magic?

If that was really all there was to it, then understanding spell formulas might actually be easier than he thought.

Just like with Lloyd’s test, the examiner eventually launched a magical counterattack at Alice.

However, Alice could not avoid it completely.

She let out a small cry, lost her balance, and fell onto the ground.

Even so, her test result was still: "Pass."

Although she looked embarrassed about falling, Alice smiled happily.

Now it was Qiu Nuoya’s turn.

He stepped forward and bowed politely to the examiner.

"Um, you’re Qiu Nuoya, right? You don’t have a staff?"

"Is one necessary?"

No one had told him that he needed one, so he had not prepared one.

But if it was actually required, then that would be a problem.

"If you believe you don’t need one, then it’s fine without it."

After hearing that, Qiu Nuoya thought that he should ask Viktor about staffs later if they actually affected magic in some way.

Though, at the moment, he did not even have the money to buy one.

That was probably why Viktor had not mentioned it either.

"Then, let’s begin."

The test would likely be the same as the previous two.

First, he would be allowed to attack freely.

Then, the examiner would counterattack at the end.

Qiu Nuoya closed the distance between himself and the examiner before attacking.

Why did he move closer?

Because his magic was not very powerful.

It did not travel very far, so he figured he would have a better chance if he fired from as close as possible.

After all, he had barely managed to hit the targets from a distance earlier.

Then Qiu Nuoya tried using the Aero spell he had just seen.

His understanding of the spell formula seemed to be correct.

The power was weak, but the magic activated successfully.

Qiu Nuoya quietly celebrated inside his mind.

Yes.

At this rate, perhaps he could even try that.

The examiner, who had been focused only on defending, finally switched to attacking.

Qiu Nuoya carefully watched for that moment.

"Earth Wall!"

He slammed the magic into the ground.

The earth began to rise and swell, forming a wall in front of him.

The examiner’s magic struck the barrier and was completely blocked.

He did it!

It worked!

"This is..."

The examiner looked slightly surprised as he stared at Qiu Nuoya.

"There is no question about it. You pass."

Yes!

He passed!

From today onward, Qiu Nuoya would officially become an adventurer!