5 Crawling Through the Mud

"Next!" A deep voice called from the front of the group. The boy in front of Damian gave him one last look before turning away.

Despite having his eyes blindfolded, Damian showed his enraged teeth at this idiotic boy, who had just come out of his shell and was trying to act tough in front of him.

As Damian looked around, he noticed that the line he was in was moving forward, allowing him to catch glimpses of the people ahead. Two individuals were seated at a table with various items on it that were too far away to discern clearly.

After some time, only five or six people remained in front of Damian, with three more individuals lined up behind him at some point.

Like him, they probably came from a service background and were here to make up the numbers.

"What a waste of my time. This boy has no magical talent and very little mental strength. Utterly useless, worthless. How was he even chosen?" Suddenly, a young man in charge of the evaluation loudly exclaimed.

Damian quickly looked over and saw a chubby boy with a smile, squinting his eyes as he handed something to the complaining young man. "My talent is average and can improve over time; please be patient with me, sir Mage."

Not only were tower residents being evaluated, but also individuals from different parts of the continent, hence the presence of arrogant fools who didn't know their place.

Unexpectedly, the obviously young apprentice mage extended his hand and took the coin pouch. "Are you trying to bribe me with money? It seems that's what you've come here with, thinking you can manipulate the tower mages with your measly coins."

The pampered boy, who had always been untouchable, froze. His current method didn't yield the expected results, and his smile turned stiff.

"This isn't what I meant, sir." He was about to argue further when he saw the young man suddenly flick something with his thumb.

From Damian's angle, he couldn't see clearly, but it seemed to bounce off the boy's face or perhaps his mouth.

Then, Damian witnessed a scene he would never forget.

The boy's movements suddenly stiffened, and then his entire body melted into a puddle like a candle, with his facial features, hands, and feet still vaguely visible in the liquid.

The man next to the young apprentice, Mage, frowned in disgust.

"How filthy, repulsive... Wouldn't it be better to send him off as a servant? At least he would be of some use."

Damian, who heard this, felt numb all over.

He, too, was a mere servant.

At that moment, the hardcover book that had been silent for several days suddenly flew into Damian's eyes and opened once more.

"[... Era Calendar of The Great Mage Flamme, year of the unknown moon, you have survived for 3 days.

Congratulations! You have finally entered the ranks to become an apprentice mage.

But have you forgotten how you became a servant? Could it be that you were once an apprentice aspirant but ended up as a servant?

I hope you find the answer soon; death might be closer than you expect…]"

Damian followed the team forward rigidly again, hearing several uncomfortable whispers behind him.

If he took the exam like this, he might not pass.

Judging by the contents of the dark book, he probably didn't even have the talent to be a mage and would end up like a broken egg on the ground.

Damian lowered his head and looked at his left hand, hidden under his sleeve.

A left hand as pale as bone that could intimidate servants, even common housewives, certainly didn't intimidate apprentice mages.

Which hand should he use?

As soon as Damian thought of this, lines of text appeared beneath what had been written before.

"[... Which hand should you use?

Due to that thought, there are two possibilities: if you use your left hand, you might create something astounding, but if you use the right, you will die at unknown hands.

After finding the best path for you, you will become a successful apprentice mage, and fortunately, tonight you will die turned into a heap of bones…]"

Damian furrowed his brows.

Would he never get to see Syndra again?

Fear once again filled Damian's heart.

What did he need to do to pass the test?

Even if Damian decided to give up now, all that awaited him was death. He didn't need a book to tell him that.

Every step forward felt like approaching an abyss. and he was about to fall!

"Think fast; think fast; there must be another way."

Damian's eyes were fixed on the approaching table, upon which were laid out the instruments used for the tests.

He watched the testing process intently.

Participants were to perform the tests one by one, from left to right.

The first on the left was a black crystal ball used to measure magical power.

Take a crystal ball and place it between your eyebrows. The more transparent it becomes, the greater your magical power.

In the middle was a wooden doll, carved realistically—a small doll but with eye holes and a dark interior.

When the evaluator stares into the doll's eyes, it will start moving. The greater the movement, the better the mental score.

The paint-dipped brush seemed to measure elemental affinities.

Draw a circle on white paper, and the paint will automatically change color. Then, the young apprentice mage will report on two elements, and another man will record them.

Damian nervously observed the testing processes of the two individuals.

But Damian soon noticed that the people being evaluated all had pale expressions.

After finishing the third test, they all staggered to the side, one of them seemingly on the verge of fainting.

Perhaps, well, although he wasn't sure yet, now that he had a new plan and the book hadn't appeared,.

Damian reaffirmed his idea.

At that moment, he no longer had the right to withdraw, so he could only push through this death barrier.

There were fewer and fewer people in front of Damian.

Finally, it was his turn.

The young man, lazily leaning on the chair, was immediately surprised that Damian had his eyes blindfolded.

"What's going on?" Damian thought as he grew increasingly nervous.

"Let's begin." The young apprentice mage elongated his voice and pointed to the black crystal ball on the left.

Damian honestly reached out and took the brush used to test elemental affinity.

Before the young mage spoke, he held the brush firmly in his right hand and quickly drew a shaky circle on the white paper.

The circle he had just drawn was black.

Damian withdrew the brush and waited with great anticipation.

The young mage didn't seem very pleased, but he squinted and ultimately said nothing.

The black circle slowly changed, various colors appearing; the longest section was no more than the length of a pinkie and still black.

Other areas were indeed red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, gold, and white, all colors merging.

When the apprentice mage looked at the result, he smirked a bit and muttered, "I don't know if you're lucky or doomed to die."

Damian heard him laughing at himself and lowered his head, feigning fear.

"Dark element, fire element, electricity, and others I can't identify..."

Another man beside him wrote on the paper, "Dark elements and clear-class elements."

"Be more specific; we'll be scolded if we make mistakes."

Damian waited for them to finish speaking before picking up the doll, removing the blindfold from his eyes, and staring at the doll.

In just an instant, he noticed a tremor growing in the doll's body.

"Fly, scream, or come to life; I must be at least good at this." Damian felt a sudden dizziness, unsure if he was succeeding or failing utterly.

"That's enough; you can stop." The deep voice of the apprentice mage reached his ears.

But Damian didn't stop; he was carried away by the sound he was perceiving through his ears.

"It's enough; do you want to die?"

Damian jumped and looked away, staring at the doll that was shaking abnormally and then at the apprentice mage, who had an angry expression.

Then, before the apprentice mage could say anything, the doll exploded into a thousand pieces, and Damian ended up fainting.