Chapter 529 – Magic Aptitude Test

Chapter 529 – Magic Aptitude Test

Pushing aside the gray cloth curtain, Mo Lan stepped into the Ancient Mage Class recruitment tent.

“Samantha, you’ve got a customer! Samantha, you’ve got a customer…”

A shrill, grating voice repeated itself like a broken record.

The person on the reclining chair jolted upright, a book sliding off her face. “Who?”

Meeting Mo Lan’s gaze, Samantha’s eyes went wide. “You…”

“Samantha, you’ve got a cust—”

The mynah bird in the cage was still squawking. Samantha hurled the book in her hand at it. “Shut up!”

Only then did Mo Lan speak. “I’m here to register.”

“Ahem! Our program only accepts students with an initial psychic power above 100, a minimum elemental force affinity of 60 across all elements, an affinity above 80 in at least two elemental forces, and who have not practiced any elemental meditation techniques.” Samantha collected herself and spoke in a proper, formal tone.

“I should meet the requirements,” Mo Lan said.

“I figured as much.” Samantha wore a knowing expression. “Follow me next door to test your magic aptitude. As long as you meet the requirements, you can join the Ancient Mage Class.”

Their Ancient Mage Class might not get a single new student for years on end — they didn’t even have their own testing equipment.

The Alchemy Branch’s recruitment tent next door was much more spacious. Two children were currently taking tests inside. Seeing Samantha walk in with Mo Lan, the examiner looked puzzled. “The Ancient Mage Class sent two recruitment instructors this year? Is that really necessary?”

“What are you talking about! She’s a student!” Samantha said.

“A student? Isn’t she a bit old for that?” the alchemy mage asked, bewildered.

“We don’t have an age limit for enrollment!” Samantha said. “Forget it, I’m not going to argue with you. I’m going to find Tamiya to help us with the test.”

Mo Lan followed Samantha deeper into the recruitment tent, where they found a mage organizing files.

“Tamiya! Let me borrow the portable initial aptitude tester!”

Tamiya looked up. “Sure, here you go.”

At that moment, Samantha whispered to Mo Lan, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine~”

“…” Mo Lan gave a slight nod without saying anything.

Honestly, she was starting to suspect she’d walked into a Witch Academy recruitment station.

The witch concentration here was a bit too high.

Samantha, the recruitment officer for the Ancient Mage Class, and Tamiya from the Alchemy Branch recruitment tent — the moment she laid eyes on them, they gave her a strikingly familiar feeling. They were clearly witches.

Once the initial aptitude tester was brought out, Tamiya had her place her hand on it.

Almost immediately, the values for elemental force affinities and initial psychic power on the tester shot off the charts. Mo Lan hurriedly suppressed her output — suppressed, and suppressed again.

Samantha’s heart leapt into her throat. This person was…

Tamiya quickly pulled the tester away. “That’s enough! All elemental force affinities at 85, initial psychic power at 300.”

“Oh! Right!” Samantha pulled out a silver card and tapped it against the tester, then said to Mo Lan, “Imprint it with a psychic power seal — you only need a tiny bit of psychic power.” She placed heavy emphasis on “tiny bit.”

This person’s initial psychic power alone was enough to overload the aptitude tester. Too much might blow out the student card as well.

Mo Lan simply hadn’t expected it — the moment the initial aptitude tester made contact, it began drawing out her active psychic power, and she lost control for a moment.

But imprinting a psychic power seal was something she was quite practiced at.

“Your name?”

“Moira.”

“Al… alright!” Samantha resisted the urge to stare. “Moira, this is your student card. You’ll need it to enter the Dormitory and the Mage Tower, so be sure to keep it safe.”

“Understood,” Mo Lan said.

“Now there’s one last thing — signing the enrollment contract. Once that’s done, this card will be activated.”

As she spoke, Samantha produced three contract documents.

“The 《Ordinary Student Contract》 is for students of average aptitude with limited chances of reaching Peak level. Upon signing, initial Academy points are zero with no point subsidies. All points needed for studies within the Academy must be earned through completing tasks. The signer is forbidden for life from acting against the interests of the Mage Empire, prohibited from transmitting any knowledge learned at the magic academy to others in any form, but may leave the Academy or even the Mage Empire at any time.”

“The 《Outstanding Student Contract》 is for students of excellent aptitude with a chance of reaching Peak level. Upon signing, you receive 1,000 Academy points immediately, plus a monthly study subsidy of 1,000 Academy points. The signer is forbidden for life from acting against the interests of the Mage Empire, prohibited from transmitting any knowledge learned at the magic academy to others in any form. When the Empire has wartime needs, you must respond unconditionally, and you are not permitted to settle anywhere outside the Mage Empire.”

“The 《Elite Student Contract》 is unique to the recruitment stations at this enrollment plaza, available only to students of exceptionally outstanding aptitude with a chance of surpassing Peak level. Upon signing, not only do you receive a monthly living subsidy of 1,000 points, you also gain unlimited access to read and study all magic books within the Academy. Like outstanding students, elite students are also forbidden for life from acting against the interests of the Mage Empire, prohibited from transmitting any knowledge learned at the magic academy to others in any form. When the Empire has wartime needs, you must respond unconditionally, and you are not permitted to settle anywhere outside the Mage Empire.

Additionally, after an elite student surpasses Peak level, 5% of the gains from each visit to the Well of the Sky must be remitted to the Academy as repayment for the Academy’s investment in the elite student’s development.”

Mo Lan: “…”

What a fine work-study, lifelong-loan enrollment contract.

The better the benefits, the steeper the price.

However, since these contracts were made by Lady Carmela, just as Dayla’s grandmother had said, Mo Lan had nothing to worry about. “The 《Elite Student Contract》. I’ll sign that one.”

“As expected of someone who, like us, is ‘wholeheartedly loyal’ to the Imperial Magic Academy. With this choice, just focus on improving yourself from now on. Until you surpass Peak level, you won’t have to worry about magic resources at all,” Samantha said.

Clearly, both she and Tamiya had signed the 《Elite Student Contract》.

Now Mo Lan understood why there were so many witches here.

Lady Carmela’s Contract Magic included not only the Golden Pen Technique — which used the power of contract to write binding contracts — but also the Counterfeit Golden Pen Technique, which bypassed the power of contract entirely.

Many other races knew about the Golden Pen Technique, but the Counterfeit Golden Pen Technique was known only to the witches.

Mo Lan hadn’t previously understood the purpose of the Counterfeit Golden Pen Technique, only knowing that many other races, despite being unable to use the Golden Pen Technique themselves, were quite fond of employing the supremely binding contract documents it produced.

The Counterfeit Golden Pen Technique was the backdoor Lady Carmela had created for the witches.

Those who possessed the Counterfeit Golden Pen Technique could easily distinguish between traces of the genuine Golden Pen Technique and those of the counterfeit — but those who only knew the Golden Pen Technique could never tell the difference.