Tests

"Welcome Esteemed guests, it is with great honor that we welcome you to our humble village".

Early in the morning the next day, the whole village led by the village chief gathered at the entrance to welcome the academy officers.

Two carriages stopped at the entrance of the village.

As soon as the door was opened, two people got out of the carriage, they were immediately greeted by welcoming words from the village chief.

They were two men, one of them wore a simple long light olive-colored robe fastened with a leather belt, he was in his forties, he had tidy short hair, his complexion was somewhat pale, and he was thin built, he was carrying a book in his hand.

The other man was well-built, his body was bulging with strength, he was tall and big, he wore a brown leather jacket with chest plate armor and leather boots.

His arms were covered with various scars, his metal chest plate was worn out and filled with sword marks, on his back, he was carrying a straight Sword and a small digger on his waist, his complexion looked fierce.

"Thank you for your warm welcome, village chief".

"My name is Edir, I am from the warrior's division of The Royal Arcanum Academy".

"My friend here is Aldric, he is from the scholar's division"

"We were sent by the academy to recruit young talents, we will evaluate the young children's abilities, for talented individuals who we Judge as worthy, they will receive invitation letters which will allow them to participate in the academy trials".

"They will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit the academy, and maybe if they are talented enough and lucky enough, they may even be accepted in the academy and have a chance to study there".

The people looked at the carriage as if they were waiting for another officer; there were only two officers, one from the warrior's division and the other from the scholar's division; they were supposed to be another officer from the magic division.

"Something urgent happened so our colleague from the magic division had to leave to deal with it, we will carry the magic tail on his behalf".

The village chief stepped forward and opened his arms in a welcoming posture.

 "Esteemed guests, I am Bram, the village chief, you must be tired from your trip".

"Please allow me the honor of inviting you to my house to take a moment to rest after this long journey"

"Fine"

"We will carry the test in the afternoon"

"I welcome you to my humble house"

Bram signaled for Tom to come forward.

"By the way, this is Tom, my only son, he is a very smart and hardworking child".

"Tom, lead the carriages and the attendants to their accommodation place"

"Sirs. Please follow me to my house"

****************

In the afternoon, everyone gathered at the training field where the tests were carried out; a wooden training dummy in addition to some metal weights and wooden swords were put in the center of the field.

"Everybody, please pay attention, we will start the tests now".

"All children who wish to participate, come forward".

Aldric stood in front of the crowd.

Ten or so children stepped forward, amongst them were Artus, Tom and Maggie.

"I will you the rules so listen carefully"

"The test will be divided into three areas, first the knowledge test which will include basic reading, writing and simple math then you will be asked few questions about general subjects"

"The knowledge test will determine if you are eligible to receive an invitation to join the scholar's division of the academy, but you will also need a certain minimum amount of knowledge to join the other two divisions".

"Then we will start the strength test, you will be required to race around this training field, lift metal weights and finally demonstrate fighting techniques on the wooden dummy".

"This test will mainly determine your eligibility to join the warrior's division, it will have little impact on the other divisions".

"Lastly, I will use the magical stone to test your energy affinity"

Aldric took out a small square stone from his robe, it was dark gray, embedded in a rusty metal frame.

"This stone will shine when touched by a person, the brighter the light the more affinity for energy control that person has"

"This test will mainly determine your potential to become a mage, but it's also very important for those who want to become warriors since they will need the energy to perform skills and techniques but to a lesser extent than a mage".

"As for those who want to become scholars, energy affinity is not important".

For a person to become a scholar, he only needs to have a certain degree of knowledge, strength, and energy affinity are not important. As for warriors, they must have a minimal amount of knowledge and certain energy affinity in addition to a strong and flexible body. Finally, mages need to have high energy affinity and a certain degree of knowledge, they don't need physical strength.

Artus thought deeply.

"First we will carry the knowledge test".

"Children please come one by one"

The first child stepped forward; he was given two pieces of paper; one was them was empty. He started reading the page, then he was asked several questions about the subject and some other questions about general knowledge, next he was required to write a few sentences on the empty paper and solve a simple math question.

"It is hard for you to become a scholar with your knowledge, but if have enough strength you may become a warrior".

Aldric did not mention anything about becoming a mage, in fact, since the start when he mentions anything about mages, he always rolls his eyes upwards a little, for one of these poor children in this remote to become a mage is impossible, the academy mage who was responsible for the magic test did not even come here in the first place because he thought it would be a waste of time, so he only gave them the stone to test the energy affinity, he did not bother to come to conduct a proper test.

"Next child".

This boy was not even able to read a single word, he came from one of the poorest families in the village.

"You can't even read! What are you for? Leave at once".

"Such a waste of time".

Aldric scolded the child harshly, he left with tears in his eyes. His mother was standing at the side a bit away from the other villagers, she wore tattered clothes.

She held his hand, and they left the area with their heads lowered.

The villagers looked at them in pity, but that's the reality of the world.

Next, it was the turn of a small girl, Maggie's reading was clear, she was able to answer all the questions, and her writing was good.

Aldric was very pleased with her.

"Little girl, what's your name?"

"Maggie".

"Miggie, your knowledge is outstanding, to be able to reach this degree while living in this remote village is truly something unremarkable".

"I will give an invitation letter to join the scholar's division in addition to a personal recommendation letter from me".

"Thank you, Sir".

Maggie ran to her family in joy.

Then it was Tom's turn, his reading was Incoherent, he mispronounced several words. He only was able to answer a few questions, as for calculation, he had no idea how to do it.

His performance was horrible, he was not able to attain the minimal amount of knowledge required.

Aldric looked at Edir, then looked at the village chief, he took a deep breath.

"Although your performance is somewhat lacking, you still can become a worrier".

After the other children, it was finally Artus's turn.