Mana Capacity

"Alright. There will be no combat tests for today. Well then, let's begin" the village chief replied with a smile.

Suddenly, a white crystal ball appeared on his hand out of nowhere. Carla was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the crystal ball and looked closely. Leon also appeared to be confused but didn't say anything.

Rick turned his gaze towards the ring on the old man's hands and nodded as he thought to himself 'So that must be a spatial ring'

"Carla Ferlon, step forward" the village chief said as he looked at the girl's figure. Carla stepped forward and looked at the village chief with a curious expression.

"Hold this ball carefully" the village chief handed over the crystal ball, to which Carla accepted gently.

"I don't have to do anything in particular, right?" Carla asked. The old man nodded and said "Just hold it carefully and leave everything to me".

The village chief then whirled his hands around the crystal ball. Suddenly, the crystal ball lit up with a bright white light, like a torch.

"Your mana capacity is... level four. Impressive" the chief said as he nodded with an approving smile.

"Next, Leon Vargas. Step forward and hold this crystal ball like Carla did" the chief said as he took away the ball from Carla's hands.

Carla made way for Leon and smiled as he looked at him. She didn't know if it was that impressive but she didn't particularly care..

Leon then stepped forward as he nervously accepted the crystal ball with his hands shaking.

"Relax. This ball won't eat you up" the chief gently said as he patted Leon's head.

Leon then nodded and took a deep breath, calming himself down. He then looked at the crystal ball with a determined look on his face.

The chief then whirled his hands around the crystal ball and a few moments later, the ball lit up brilliantly, a little bit dimmer than Carla's.

"Barely level four but still impressive" the chief said with a smile as he looked at the boy. Leon heaved a sigh of relief and handed back the crystal ball to the chief.

"Next, Rick Gordon. Step forward" the chief said as he looked at Rick's figure.

Rick then stepped forward as Leon made way for him and stood beside Carla. He then accepted the crystal ball with both his hands.

'It's rather light' Rick thought to himself.

The chief then whirled his hands around the crystal ball and a few moments later, it lit up and brilliantly illuminated the entire room. The chief was blinded for a moment but he quickly recovered himself and shielded his eyes with magic. He then looked closely at the ball and widened his eyes in surprise.

"This is- level six!" the chief exclaimed as he looked at Rick's figure as if he's a little monster.

'It's better than I thought' Rick thought to himself without showing any emotions.

Rick, on the other hand, just looked at the chief with a calm smile as if he didn't have an idea and asked "So, is that impressive?".

"Cough!"

The chief then composed himself and said "It's not impressive. It's monstrously... well.. it's impressive, alright".

'This kid.. I better not let it get over his head or he'll get arrogant with this much mana capacity' the chief thought to himself.

"Cough!... It's more than impressive but don't let it get over your head. While I admit that you're a genius, there are monstrous geniuses out there that are even more impressive than you. Also, you have to be careful with how you handle your powers" the chief warned as he looked at Rick's figure.

'I must get into his good books' Rick thought to himself when he suddenly recalled a saying from a certain movie.

"Well, they say that great power comes with great responsibility" Rick calmly replied. The chief gave Rick's words a thought and nodded at its profundity.

'It's a little off but it's a good saying. Wait a moment. Are the villagers really that wise and responsible now?' the chief asked himself and recalled the faces of his irresponsible villagers.

While the villagers aren't bad when it comes to intelligence, they are rather carefree. After living in seclusion for many years here in the village, the lack of danger within the village made them somewhat irresponsible.

This was evident in how Rick was able to sneak past the first barrier and almost had a confrontation with a magical beast.

"These words.. where did you hear that?" the chief asked as he looked at Rick.

"Well.. everyone's saying that. You know, the villagers... Right, guys?" Rick said as he scratched the back of his head while looking at Leon and Carla.

'Oh shit. I better not run off my mouth' Rick thought to himself.

Carla tilted her head in confusion but Leon unexpectedly nodded. Rick then gave Leon a thumbs up in his mind.

"Well... As long as you understand those words. In any case, let's proceed with the Elemental Affinity test" the chief said as he took the crystal ball and put it on the table nearby.

Another crystal ball appeared on the chief's hands but this one appeared to be transparent.

"Same as before, hold this ball carefully and I'll take care of the rest" the chief said as he looked at Carla's figure with a meaningful gaze.

Carla understood the chief's gaze and stepped forward. She then held the ball with her hands.

This time, however, the chief didn't whirl his hands around the ball but instead, just touched the top of the ball as he closed his eyes.

Suddenly, the crystal ball shone brightly with white light and blue light shortly afterwards. The chief then opened his eyes and said "You have a dual ice and water From the looks of it, your affinity towards those elements are rather high".

"Ice and water... that seems great" Carla said as the corners of her lips curled upwards.

The chief then looked at Leon as he stepped forward and held the crystal ball with his hands. Same as before, the chief touched the top of the crystal ball and closed his eyes.

This time, the crystal ball shone brightly with orange.

'So this kid's elemental affinity is fire, huh-' the chief thought to himself when suddenly, the crystal ball emitted bizarre sounds that seemed to have touched upon his soul.

It was at this moment that the corners of his eyes lit up!