35 Array Exam, First Time??

Before William executed his plan, he would need to pass a test at the Array Hall. He didn't plan to take the test before, but given his knowledge acquired from the System, William assumed he would be able to at least pass a simple test.

He returned next door, but Fowley wasn't around. He walked up to the front counter and met with an unfamiliar Elder.

The Elder spoke with a kind smile, "Do you need anything from us, young man?"

"Yes, I am looking to take the Array Hall's test." William replied quickly.

The Elder was surprised, but held back any rude words, "The Array Hall's test is usually reserved for those between 10 and 15 years of age. You're a bit older than most of the candidates. Is there a reason why you waited this long to apply? The others may hold an advantage over you."

"I'm just trying it out, I've never performed Arrays before." William was nonchalant.

"Not a problem young man, the fee is 2 Gold, but it will be returned to you if you pass the test." the Elder held out his hand, to which William placed the Gold. The Elder gave William a slight look of disdain when he saw how unwilling William was to let go of such small change. He pocketed the money and requested William follow behind another Elder that appeared from the left hand side of the room.

They entered a separate room through one of the side doors on the left of the Hall. The room had nothing in it besides a table and a chair. On the table was a sheet of thick paper, on which were hundreds of Runes.

At this moment the Elder spoke again, "Take a seat, the test will begin after I explain the rules. Your task is to name as many of these Runes as possible. Point at the Rune, then say its function. On the other side of the paper, I have listed their names, however you can only flip the paper one time. The passing score is 30, and your score is doubled if you don't flip the paper at all."

"What's the highest score?" William asked.

"The highest score anyone has achieved is 402. The highest possible score is 600 as there are 300 runes on the sheet." the Elder felt William was somewhat confident in passing the test since he asked about the highest score instead of being worried about failing. "You have an hour, you may begin now."

William looked at the sheet in front of him. They were all Basic Runes except the last five, which were Intermediate. He didn't know if there was a specific order to go in, so he started from the top left corner.

"Rune of Strength, Rune of Agility, Rune of Speed, Rune of Aversion, Rune of Heat, Rune of Expansion.." he quickly listed off the names of each Rune. The Elder confirmed each of his answers. He wasn't even surprised when William passed as the test was common knowledge and 15 correct guesses without turning the paper over was the bare minimum. William also looked to be older than the usual participants.

William continued listing the Runes. By the 5 minute mark, William had already read off 200 Runes without looking at the other side. His Array Talent was no joke. The Elder had even gone silent, as William just read off the record-breaking number of Runes without consulting the other side of the paper.

William didn't stop there. He read off 295 Runes, and was left with the last five. The Elder said something for the first time since the start of the test, "Ok, you've listed off all the Runes. You passed a long time ago, so let's head back."

"Wait I'm not done, that is the Intermediate Rune of Absorption, and those are the Intermediate Runes of Flatten, Reflect, Retract, and Reduction." William finished.

The Elder opened his eyes in shock. He never expected a new Array Member to recognize an Intermediate Rune. 600 points...that record can never be broken! We might need to implement a test with more Runes now.

"Uhh, right. Follow me young man." the Elder was still visibly startled. He led William to the front counter.

"This young man passed the test." the test Elder told the Elder at the front counter.

"No problem, what was his score?"

"600 out of 600."

The Elder began writing, "Ok, 600 out of..what?!?" he looked at William with surprise. "Did I hear you correctly? 600?"

"Yes, I was surprised too."

"Wow! A new talent has joined our Array Hall, how long has it been?" the Elder remembered that William claimed it was his first time with Arrays and he was just testing things out. No one would have expected William to achieve the highest score possible.

"I think 40 years or so."

The Elder at the front counter was in a much better mood after hearing of William's talent. "Okay young man. Your Array Member Level 1 badge will be ready in a few hours. If you want to improve your rank, feel free to take a test at any time. We will give you materials to help you in learning Arrays, but we request that you assist us in the future with some jobs when you reach Level 3.

If you didn't already know, Array Masters are paid quite well, so do your best to improve your skills." his last sentence made William's eyes sparkle. He was still having trouble earning money, this seemed like a good path.

-Joined the Array Hall: +50 Potential Points

Seeing the System message and learning of his future profits, William decided it would be good to ask about the Rank now. "Is it possible for me to take the Rankup Test now?"

"Now? Well sure, but creating a Rune is much more difficult than recognizing one. It takes very precise control of your Mana, and a thorough understanding of Arrays." the Elder replied.

William created a Basic Strength Rune in the air. "Is this enough to pass?"

"What?!? Are you sure you are doing this for the first time?" the Elder asked. Normal Array Members would only create their first Rune after a week of training. It made sense if William was previously involved in Arrays, but otherwise...

The Elder in charge of William's Test spoke up, "I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Elder Ren, and I am a proctor for admissions. If this is the first time you're using Arrays, I have only met a few who could create Runes with such ease."

William didn't know what to say so he simply nodded, "Hi, I'm William."

Elder Ren noticed there were no formalities used, but didn't get angry. "If you'd like to take the test you can, but what you've shown is already enough to become a Level 2 Array Member."

"What about higher? Can I test to see how I qualify?" William already knew Fowley, so he wasn't worried about being taken advantage of. In fact, Fowley might place even more importance on protecting him if he was also talented in Arrays.