Test Over

Seeing the complete lack of fear in Minos's eyes, the old man couldn't help but smile even wider.

Given his position and authority, most people would look at him with fear, this went even more so for those who were being tested by him.

To find a young man that was not at all intimidated by this authority was quite a surprise, and the old man couldn't help but look on Minos with more favor.

…

Hours flew by in quick succession, and soon the test had come to an end. The old man cleared his voice for a moment before speaking.

"Time's up. For those who have failed to complete their refining, you've unfortunately been disqualified and may leave the room." The old man said, causing a few disheartened people to walk out of the room, tears still beading their eyes.

"For the rest of you, let's begin the quality test." The old man said after everyone who had been disqualified left the room.

"The quality test is simple, over here I have a pillar made of pig iron. We can calculate the grade of your weapon based on the damage it does . Now form a line and let's begin."

With the old man's words, a line quickly formed, with Minos finding a spot near the back. As he was waiting patiently for his turn, he felt a tap on his shoulder from behind.

"Hey Minos, congrats on passing the first stage!" Zatiana said, giving Minos a thumbs up.

"You too." Minos returned with a smile.

The two continued chatting as the line shrunk. While talking, Minos paid attention to the test, keeping an eye on the other competitors' weapons.

The difference in skill between each weapon refiner became abundantly clear as the test continued, with the vast majority of them failing.

Based on what Minos had seen, your weapon had to leave at least a centimeter deep cut in the iron in order to pass.

A centimeter may not seem like much, but one has to realize that with a few cuts like that, most mortal weapons would be destroyed beyond repair.

The best weapon so far managed to cut three centimeters deep, which would already allow it to cut through a lot of mortal weapons in a single slash.

Minos was naturally impressed with such a result. His first Wood-Shift Dagger had only managed to leave a cut of about one and a half centimeters when he used it.

Of course the dagger he used to test it against was made of better iron than pig iron, but the difference wasn't that huge.

It reminded Minos that this was still a skill he was just a beginner at, and even other people his own age had managed to produce results as good as him.

There was no space for arrogance on the road of improvement, and this was another subtle reminder of that fact in Minos's mind.

With new respect in his heart, he soon reached the front of the line. The old man stood in front of him with a slight smile, before speaking.

"Well young man, let's see your weapon."

Minos nodded before handing his weapon to the old man. The old man held the weapon up against the light as he inspected.

As he ran his fingers across the blade, he would occasionally flick it with his finger, as if the sound of it reverberating revealed its true nature to him.

With a slight smile, he finished his inspections. Holding the dagger up, he proceeded to slash against the pillar of pig iron. The sound of iron clashing filled the room, attracting all eyes.

Naturally since each test-taker had different strengths, they weren't allowed to wield the weapons themselves. Only with the old man's control, could it be assured that it was the strength of the weapon being tested, and not the person wielding it.

As the old man pulled the dagger away, a deep cut was revealed. The old man looked at the cut for a moment before announcing.

"Impressive, very impressive! Your dagger left behind a five centimeter deep cut, one of the best results I've ever seen!"

The old man's praise shocked the entire crowd. Plenty of people had taken this test multiple times, yet they had never heard the old man praise anyone.

The one most affected was the young man who's weapon had previously left behind the three centimeter deep cut, with the wide smirk on his face suddenly twisting into an ugly frown.

While he wanted to argue the results, he was smart enough to know annoying the old man would only affect him negatively, so he swallowed his anger as he burned Minos's appearance into his mind.

"Many thanks." Minos thanked the old man, as he joined the small group of those who passed on the side.

Joining the group, Minos immediately noticed the young man who had been glaring at him earlier.

The young man noticed Minos's gaze, and returned it with a smile of cordiality on his face, unfortunately his aura of envy and anger revealed his true nature.

Minos ignored this, instead focusing on Zatiana, who came right after him. This time he watched the old man's testing process more intimately, seeing if he could learn anything.

The one technique he was most interested in was the 'flicking' technique, where the old man flicked the blade with his finger as he listened to its vibrations.

He would love to ask how exactly such a technique was used, but now wasn't the time. Instead, he refocused on Zatiana, watching as her weapon was tested.

Zatiana was slightly shaking as the old man slashed out with her weapon. She had already failed at this step so many times that just standing here filled her with an instinctive fear.

Soon enough, the old man pulled the weapon back, revealing the cut. With a quick inspection, he revealed the results.

"1.2 centimeters, congratulations." The old man said, handing the weapon back to the frozen Zatiana.

Her ears almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. After years of failing, she had finally passed.

With tears filling her eyes, she took the weapon, slowly joining Minos's side. Minos patted her heavily on the shoulder, as he congratulated her.

"Well done, but unfortunately for you, you lost the bet." Minos said with a smile, causing Zatiana to let out a loud laugh.

As she was laughing, reality fully set in. She had really passed, after years, she had done it. Her family wouldn't have to suffer anymore, and she could pay them back for all the sacrifices they had made to raise her.

"Thank you." She suddenly said to Minos, catching him slightly off guard.

"No need to thank me, I haven't even done anything." Minos said, feeling he didn't deserve it.

"No! You've done a lot. That bet may have just been done on a whim by you, but it helped lessen my anxiety, giving me the chance to perform to my best." She said, with sincerity in her eyes.

"Then you're welcome." Minos said with a smile, finally accepting.

Seeing Minos's pure smile, Zatiana couldn't help but slightly blush as she looked away. Minos noticed her embarrassment, but didn't say anything.

Just like that, the two sat in a slightly awkward silence as the test continued. Fortunately for them, the test was soon over, and the old man speaking relieved the tension between them.

"For those who have failed, just remember, without mastering failure, you'll never know success, so keep trying your hardest and never give up."

"For those who have passed, good job. You may follow me to attain your One-Moon Weapon Badges, and congratulations on becoming true members of the Weapon Refining Union."

Just like that, the old man slowly walked out of the room with Minos' and the others, leaving behind those who failed.

As Minos was following the old man towards the exit, he couldn't help but look back at the room that was dense with sadness and anger.

The aura of despair filled the entire room, polluting it with a sense of depression. As he left, he could almost physically feel the darkness being purified from his heart.

He was already aware that when emotions became strong enough, they could begin affecting others, but this was the strongest he had ever seen, with even him being affected.

Fortunately these effects were only temporary, and Minos's mood soon returned to a calm as he left the dark atmosphere.

Soon the small crowd followed the old man into a room. The first thing Minos noticed was the familiar Nux Printer, but this time an older lady was behind it, rather than the young receptionist he had seen the first time.

"So these are the young ones who passed this time?" The old lady said as she looked up from the desk at the group that had entered.

"These are them. One of the best groups we've had in a long time." The old man said with a slight smile, seemingly happy at such a result.

"Is that so? Well you kids must be especially talented. Line up and give me your I.D cards, I'll have your badges ready in no time." The old lady said, causing the group to quickly form a line.

Just like that, the old lady read the information on the I.D's before printing out matching badges and scraping the I.D's.

Unlike the I.D's that were just plain white cards with basic information, the Weapon Refining Union badge was a deep silver, with a single moon in one corner, and the words Weapon Refining Union on the other.