We sat on the floor after our supervisor said to do so.

Thankfully the floor was made of wooden furnishing. Otherwise, we might all freeze our ass here because the full-body suit fabric was very thin.

The full bodysuit that we were told to wear was quite flexible and fit us perfectly. Although it was a bit breezy and some people might find it uncomfortable but not me.

When I was just a little brat back in the demon realm, I used to roam around the street almost naked most of my time. Even after I was promoted as the Overlord I still roamed around my castle naked from time to time. Thankfully my wife hammered on the etiquettes and I finally got rid of those habits.

This situation just brings back memories.

Hence that’s why I felt comfortable.

It didn’t take long for everyone to settle down on the floor.

“Alright folks”, Ms. Thesia shouted,

“Now listen up, as Sir Salvador said before, you have to go through 3 tests to decide if you have the ability to become a mage. Failing any one of those tests means that you can’t become a mage. I know that every one of you here wants to become a mage but life isn’t fair. But keep in mind, even if you fail to become a mage, don’t lose heart. There are many more other professions you can pursue besides being a mage. Life is not everything about being a mage, you can also become like~like… uh, becoming a merchant or a blacksmith, and many more such professions.”

Everyone looked a bit disheartened hearing her words.

She was trying to motivate everyone but it was doing the opposite effect.

But her words do make sense.

It is said that only 1 out of every 20 people has the potential to become a mage. That’s the average of people who successfully formed a mana core, the most vital piece to become a mage. Although most mages belonging to the commoner’s background end up being low-tier mages. But they still are treated quite fairly compared to your regular citizen without mage abilities.

Few mages rose to the top mage tiers despite being born to peasants. Such people are quite popular with the populace and even revered for their ideals.

People that become a mage directly promote to higher family status. They are even given true citizenship which allows them to travel around the cities all over the kingdom without restriction. There are also many more benefits like tax evasion and getting government jobs for the mage’s family members even if they are not a mage.

Hence why many people wanna be mages.

Meanwhile, those with royal blood and nobility have even higher chances to give birth to kids with strong mage abilities. Many powerful mages belong to nobility after all.

Hence why there is a hierarchy system in place which tries to keep the bloodline pure.

Right now there are about 500 candidates here and after the end of this test more than half of them would fail this test.

Miss Thesia just stated the truth here.

Seeing the depressed atmosphere, Miss Thesia scratched her head and let out a sigh.

“I just wanted to give some encouraging words to motivate everyone but it just backfired. What I meant to say was just good luck. I am no good with pep talk so let’s just jump straight to the point. Let me explain your test first.”

She turned around and walked towards one of the mana crystal balls placed on the pedestal.

“This here is a mana neuron crystal ball. This is a very low and diluted version of a mana replenishing item. Explaining will do no good, so let me just show you.”

She then waved her hand in front of the crystal ball and suddenly the crystal ball’s purple color started turning into pure white color. That was not the only change, I also saw small white glowing threads wiggling from the ball like living worms.

“These crystal balls were sealed with my mana and this is exactly how it looks, kinda gross.”

She continued,

“As you can see these small white worm-like things look like they're alive but they're not. These creepy white wiggly things are pure mana condensed in the form of a thread. It looks alive because of the unstable mana trying to escape to the environment. Hence the seal.”

“For the test, all you have to do is touch the crystal ball for about a half-a-minute and you can pass this test. Let me show you how it works.”

Saying so she stretched her arm and slowly moved her hand towards the crystal ball.

Everyone watched it carefully without batting their eyes.

I had seen mana potions and other items that replenish mana. But I never came across such an item before so it also piqued my interest.

As soon as Miss Thesia’s hand reached the crystal ball the mana threads reacted. They started wrapping her hand like a snake snuggling its prey. The threads were attracted to Miss Thesia’s hand like a moth to a flame.

She didn’t mind the threads and just grabbed the crystal ball. The mana threads wrapped around her hand started glowing. At this point, her hand was covered in those mana threads.

Miss Thesia looked at us with a smile,

“As you can see. The mana thread has wrapped over my hand and I am safe. I am a mage so I was able to easily touch it. Right now the mana thread is trying to channel the mana from the crystal ball to my own mana reserves. These threads detect your mana pores which are similar to the sweat gland except for sweat it emits mana through your skin.”

She took her hand away from the ball and the threads wrapped around her arm separated and returned back on the ball.

“If I held on to the crystal ball for too long, I might end up absorbing all the mana. Anyway, now that you have seen me do it. You should understand the test now right?”

Hearing that everyone was in awe and the room became noisy.

Everyone was excited.

“Hey, this sounds like a piece of a cake.”

“That examiner gave me a scare but this looks simple enough.”

“Just touching that crystal ball is the test? I hope the rest of the tests are also so easy.”

“But aren't those wiggly threads kinda gross? It sure looks gross to me, how can Miss Thesia touch it without getting disgusted?”

“Miss Thesia, will this ruin my fingernails? I had applied new nail polish and I don’t want it to be ruined.”

And more such pointless questions were asked by both the boys and girls.

At this point, everyone already decided that he/she will pass it.

Even the boys sitting around me were excited and began a group discussion.

“I know I can pass this test. When I was 12 years old I felt something very different. I can’t describe this, it’s definitely the birth of my mana core.” said one of the guys beside me.

“I know exactly what you felt. I also had that feeling.” replied the guy in front of him.

Suddenly the rest of the guys chimed in,

“Yes, me too. Also, my voice has changed-”

“That’s just your puberty nothing to do with mana core.”

“Really?”

Just when-

“Quiet down everyone!” shouted Mr. Hagar all of a sudden.

The voice boomed and echoed in the hall like thunder.

Everyone quickly fell silent.

“Thank you, Hagar,” said Miss Thesia and turned towards us, “I wasn’t done talking so please listen. Being optimistic is a good thing at such a time, but after the end of this test, almost 70% of you will fail this exact simple test. Why? Because those without mana pores will get a strong adverse rejection. It might even harm you if you forcefully try to grab the ball.”

A smirk appeared on her face,

“This 3 test is all about your affinity with mana, if you face rejection you’ll fail. Now without any delay let’s begin the test.” she turned to Mr. Hagar, “Please read out the first names.”

Mr. Hagar slightly nodded and flipped the pages of a file,

“Candidate Armin Greshia, Julie Nor, Simmon Penney, Pel Belgor and Mason Cook. Please come to the stage.”

Soon 5 of the people got up from their seats and went on top of the stage.

There was about 1 girl and 4 boys who looked a bit nervous.

They each stood in front of a pedestal.

Miss Thesia stood in the center while Mr. Hagar was observing carefully while writing notes from the sidelines.

“Alright, I’ll be removing the seal. If you feel rejection and discomfort, withdraw immediately,” she instructed.

“Yes, mam.” shouted the kids in a harmony.

After hearing it Miss Thesia glanced at Mr. Hagar who gave her a nod in reply.

“Alright, let’s begin.” saying so she waved both her arms, and in a second all the purple crystal balls turned back into white. They all had those condensed unstable mana threads.

“Alright, gently try to grab the ball. Don’t be afraid of mana threads. Only back away if you feel pain or discomfort.” she instructed while carefully observing the candidates.

The 5 kids on stage slowly approached the crystal ball at the same time.

It was going well for the first few seconds.

“Aaah!” There was a loud scream from the girl candidate.

She fell on her butt and clutched her hand as if it were in pain.

The rest of the 4 candidates stopped in place in fear looking at the girl.

“Are you alright, Julie?” asked Madam Thesia with concern.

“I felt this sting like pain in my hand. I-uh” said Julie while checking her arm.

Although there were no visible injuries.

“I understand. There will be healers waiting just outside this room. Just get checked just in case. After that head to your room.” said madam Thesia as she helped her get up.

“Does that mean I failed the test?”

Miss Thesia gave a wry smile,

“Unfortunately, that was a rejection. I am sorry Julie.”

“Can I give it one more try?” asked perplexed Julie.

“If you force yourself, you might end up getting hurt. Some kids just lost their limbs because of their stubbornness not long ago. You still wanna do it?”

The girl was dumbfounded by her response.

Is Miss Thesia talking about the kids from B-8 who got injured which resulted in us waiting in the hallway?

But the examiner Salvador said it was a minor injury and nothing to worry about.

“Living an ordinary life is much better than losing your limbs and living as a disable, don’t you think?” said Miss Thesia while patting the girl’s head, “Also if you guys are injured the ceremony organizers will once again cut my already non-existing paycheck. So hurry back to your room.”

Wait, is Miss Thesia really concerned about the girl’s well-being or just worried about her paycheck?

I can’t understand this woman.

She then turned to the other 4 candidates who were standing like statues,

“Hey, you boys, what are you waiting for? Don’t tell me you all got cold feet. Begin the test already, we don’t have a whole day!”

“Yes, mam.” replied the 4 boys while gritting their teeth.

At this pace, it will take forever to complete this test.