Under the guidance of the priests, everyone on the square filed into the main hall of the church one by one in an orderly fashion.
Inside the church's main hall.
It was a massive hall with polished marble floors and enormous crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Even with several hundred people entering, it felt far from crowded.
At the very front of the hall, a row of chairs had been set up, occupied by recruitment personnel from various academies. Right in the center was the testing area.
The black-robed priest spoke up with a bright smile: "The testing area is in the center. Those taking the test should come up one at a time. No one else is allowed to enter the central circle. Those preparing for the test, please form a line. Parents and relatives, please step to the side."
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Lin Lei then took the ten gold coins and went to join the line. He saw boys and girls of all ages — the eldest around seventeen or eighteen, the youngest only six or seven. The children formed two long queues, and the Church priests collected the test fees.
The central circle had a diameter of ten meters. Inside it stood three adults: two were responsible for conducting the tests, and one was in charge of recording results. The testing tools were a crystal ball and a complex hexagonal magic array.
"First one."
The balding old man pointed directly at the crystal ball: "Place your hand on the crystal ball first to test elemental affinity."
The first candidate was a boy of twelve or thirteen. Nervously, he placed his right hand on the crystal ball. Immediately, the entire ball began to emit a hazy, faint red glow, with occasional wisps of pale green intermingled within.
The balding old man glanced at the paper in his hand and declared in a flat tone: "Age: 12. Elemental affinity — Fire System: medium. Wind System: low."
"Now enter the magic array to test your mental power. Remember — stand straight, don't kneel or collapse. Try to hold out as long as possible." The balding old man's voice remained emotionless. The boy nodded and stepped into the hexagonal magic array. A sacred white glow immediately rose from the old man's body, and a beam of white light flowed into the array.
Light System Magic — Intimidation!
"The testing methods are still so primitive," Derinkoort flew out and materialized beside Lin Lei.
"Grandpa Derinkoort." Lin Lei felt reassured the moment he saw the old mage.
"A magic test treats elemental affinity as secondary — testing mental power is what really matters. After half a year of meditation, your mental power should be sixteen or seventeen times that of someone your age," Derinkoort said with a smile at Lin Lei. "All of this should be very simple for you."
After only a short while, the boy in the magic array could no longer hold on and collapsed.
"Mental power — approximately twice that of his peers. No possibility of becoming a magician." The balding old man announced this coldly. The magic array shut down, and the boy trudged out dejectedly.
Murmurs erupted from the crowd.
"Silence." The balding old man's cold voice cut through the noise, and immediately the crowd of nobles dared not make another sound. "Next."
Derinkoort watched the proceedings with keen interest.
One boy after another was tested, and the first ten all failed to qualify. At this point, a girl was inside the magic array, and she was holding out longer than all ten before her.
"Oh?" The balding old man's eyes lit up, and he immediately increased the array's intensity.
After quite some time, the girl finally dropped to one knee.
The balding old man nodded with satisfaction, and a hint of a smile finally appeared on his face: "Mental power — eight times that of her peers. She meets the minimum threshold for becoming a magician, and her elemental affinity is also at medium level. She can become a magician!" The old man's verdict sealed the girl's fate.