A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 369 Standardization Testing

After Andrei filled out Hannah's file, he glanced at her companion Martin: "Mr. Martin Weber, it's your turn to be tested."

After saying that, Martin put on the iron cap. After activating it, he didn't feel anything, except that his neck was very tired.

Andrei didn't even bother to take out the crystal to determine the level, because in Arcane Vision, this kid was a complete powerless being, his dim aura was not even as good as a tree on the roadside.

Therefore, the result given is "no spell casting potential".

Martin watched as Andrei stamped the red seal fiercely, and a chill ran down his spine. He felt he had missed something.

After putting away the hat, Andrei was about to proceed with the next test for those with potential. He gestured for Miss Vogel to follow him and opened the next door for her: "Congratulations, please come with me for the next test. Excuse me, Mr. Martin, please wait a moment." Andrei stopped Martin from following Hannah.

The light behind the door was an eerie red. Martin was extremely uneasy and wavering, and Hannah was also very hesitant. But then Andrei seemed to say something to the girl, and Hannah's face lit up with immense joy. She immediately turned to Martin and said, "Sorry, Martin, please wait for me."

The two were talking as they walked, and the door closed before Hannah could finish speaking.

It was decisive and resolute. Martin was somewhat stunned. He no longer called her "Miss Vogel," but instead called her "Hannah."

"Don't worry, they're just going to do the next test." A new young man appeared behind Martin and patted Martin on the shoulder: "My name is Rorschach."

"You are Master Rorschach!"

"You know? Well then, I can tell you what kind of test you were just taking—we're going to see if you have the potential to become a mage."

The immense shock struck Martin; he was clearly out, while Hannah was the lucky one. Arithmetic can be taught, but spellcasting cannot be acquired through tutoring.

"Your resume says you majored in literary history during the old imperial period, but you also know accounting?" Rorschach raised an eyebrow; this gentleman's resume was remarkably similar to Miss Hannah's.

Martin hesitated for a moment, and Rorschach also failed his test.

"I could calculate faster than you in elementary school!" Rorschach stopped Martin from continuing his sweating calculations and instead asked him if he had any other talents.

Martin quickly offered up his collection of poems, which Rorschach then flipped directly to the last page:

Ah, little daisies, little daisies in the sunlight.

Your fragrance, your petals, remind me of the tips of her hair.

"It's winter, why are you acting like it's spring?" Rorschach asked as he flipped through the pages. "Did you write that for that lady just now?"

Martin hadn't expected Rorschach to start reading from the last chapter: "No, oh, yes, I haven't shown it to her yet."

Rorschach found this kind of doggerel rather pointless and closed the notebook. He then approached Martin step by step, painting a picture of the future for him: "You wouldn't want to see Miss Hannah become a mage and drift apart from you, becoming like strangers, would you?"

Martin swallowed.

Then Rorschach whispered like a devil, "If I gave you the chance to become a spellcaster, would you be willing to take the risks? The worst-case scenario is death."

Martin watched as Andrei and Hannah entered through the doorway; the thin sheet metal felt like a thick barrier to him. The young man quickly made up his mind: "I do!"

On the other side of the door, Andrei handed Hannah a contract. Before she entered, he had told her that tests showed she had the potential to become a mage, but she needed to sign a contract.

The contract stipulates confidentiality; no one may disclose any information related to magic to others without permission, and the parties agree to bear the consequences of their studies.

"Drip your blood into the rune at the center of the contract, and it will take effect." Andrei instructed Hannah to prick her finger and drip blood. After Hannah finished, she said, "Now that you have my blood, can you control me? Or can you take my life with a single spell from a thousand miles away?"

"You think that way and still dare to do it?" Andrei quickly dispelled the misunderstanding: "Miss Vogel, you're overthinking it. We just want you to keep it a secret. We can use the secret contract to lock your location when necessary, but we will never easily threaten your life."

The room they were in was now enveloped in a red magic lamp, distorting the original colors of everything. Andrei handed her a card with a string of words written on it.

"Stare at it and repeat it ten times, imagining the color of the card in the process, then bring it out through the door on the right."

The card is actually white, but it appears red under red light. If Hannah has a talent for transformation and illusion, she could likely change the card's color under ambient light.

When she walked into the next room, she was already holding a pink card in her hand.

Andrei smiled with satisfaction: "Very good, Miss Vogel. Now please listen to my description, and then pick up this crystal ball."

He began to describe how to infuse an object with endogenous magic, telling her to visualize patterns and how to relax all the muscles in her body.

After Andrei finished explaining, the crystal ball in Hannah's hand really lit up.

The actual Light spell does not require a crystal ball. Instead, it can give most objects the property of luminescence or create floating orbs of light. However, none of these test subjects had received any spell training, so their potential in evocation magic was tested using a crystal ball with a built-in incomplete Light spell circle.

Andre had suggested using the crystal ball to test magical talent directly, but Rorschach rejected the idea, arguing that the Evocation school did not represent all magic, and the first test had to be passive, without requiring the test subject to actively complete anything.

In the penultimate test, Hannah saw a small metal sphere suspended in the center. Andrei placed a colorful crystal under the base of the sphere, and soon the sphere began to rotate. It spun faster and faster and began to emit an incandescent light.

Hannah inexplicably felt a pressure rushing towards her like a gust of wind, her entire being caught in a strange alternation of heat and cold. Andrei's voice rang in her ears: "Calm your breathing, stabilize yourself! Take a deep breath!"

Hannah did as she was told; she forced herself to take a deep breath and then exhale, and the discomfort subsided.

Seeing that Hannah had passed the protective resistance test, Andrei stopped working on the miniaturized prototype of the anti-magic device that Rorschach had made. Rorschach's prototype could not achieve the expected effect, but it could still generate chaotic magical winds, so he placed it here as a testing instrument.

Leading Hannah to the last room, it was empty except for one wall painted with a huge magic circle, the core of which was a hexagonal rune.

"Congratulations on passing all the previous tests! This means you have talent in transformation, illusion, evocation, and protective magic!" In Andrei's eyes, this woman was already a true all-rounder. "Next, you only need to try activating this magic circle using the technique of lighting the crystal ball to prove that you also have potential in nature and conjuration magic."

"Don't worry if you can't light it up. You've already passed, and I'll use magic to help you."

"That's not right." Hannah stopped and started counting on her fingers: "Transmutation, illusion, psychic powers... how come divination is missing?" She was a member of the "Thoth Key" society and loved divination the most.

Can I say it's because Professor Rorschach isn't good at it? Andre felt it necessary to maintain the company's and Rorschach's Tower's prestigious image, explaining, "Prophecy magic is too esoteric; aptitude can't be judged by a simple test. With further study, you'll also have the opportunity to learn about astrology, profiling, and other related knowledge."

"Alright." Hannah accepted Andrei's suggestion, placing her hand on the rune and channeling her magic.

The magic circle lit up, and Rorschach's "magic cloud" gained another connector.

(End of this chapter)