"Um, are you here to inquire about the assessment process? Please come in, and I will introduce you to the chief examiner, Lord Faverland. Lord Faverland is the guardian mage of this city and usually patrols outside. We warmly welcome newcomers like you..."

At the entrance of the Magic Tower, a young man dressed as a mage bowed excitedly to us and led us inside while chattering away.

"Are you very excited?"

I asked. His attitude seemed a bit too enthusiastic, perhaps a bit too eager to please.

"Oh!? I'm sorry if I made you angry," he said when I expressed my discomfort.

"No, that's not what I meant..."

"Molly Ann, you should be more confident," Emile said, putting her hand on my shoulder and waving her other hand recklessly at everyone we passed inside the tower. "You're so young to be participating in the assessment!"

I wonder whose fault it is that I'm so lacking in confidence...

Our guide led us through several twists and turns and pushed open a door with minimal decorations. "Lord Faverland, there are three candidates here."

"Candidates? Come in."

Emile didn't seem to care whether the people inside consented or not and pulled me through the door when our guide spoke.

A venerable mage with a tall hat and white robe sat behind a desk, conversing with another person. That person seemed to be the one who helped capture Nalesha on the other side of the city wall...

"Come in. Are you all here to take the entry-level assessment?"

"No," Emile pushed us forward. "Only these two, and it's not the entry level but the intermediate level."

"The intermediate level..."

The old magician chuckled and said something to the person who had just spoken those words, the person nodded and left straight away.

"Oh! Isn't that the bald old man?"

"...You!?"

Noiad slipped under his feet, clumsily straightened himself up, obviously recognizing Emile.

To my surprise, he didn't make any further expressions, just glared at Emile fiercely, then pretended to leave here with a lofty manner.

The old magician smiled and lifted his chin, pointing to me and Nalesha.

"You said these two are going to participate in the intermediate assessment?"

"Yeah."

"The intermediate assessment requires proof of low-level third rank. This is not something you can play with. Although I know that the lord announced that he will receive the successful intermediate assessors and distribute rewards personally, you can't just come one after another. I know that there is a lot of luck involved in the intermediate assessment, but you also need the ability if you want to be lucky. This is the eighth batch, how many times do I have to say..."

"This one," Emile threw a badge to him, "low-level third rank, holder Molly Ann, with the same magic power as her."

"Ah, is it..."

"This is mine."

Nalesha also handed over her badge.

"Ah...haha, you two are really promising."

The old magician smiled and handed back the badges, hesitated for a moment when he saw Nalesha, but still nodded.

"Well, it's also a good thing to understand the assessment process earlier. I will introduce you to it..."

He spent more than half an hour, giving us a detailed introduction to the assessment process. Well, it was the same as what Emile had said before, the only change was that he kept emphasizing the difficulty and not to think of it too simply.

"Is it because I'm too young?"

I said this to Emile and Nalesha on the way back.

"I think it's a good thing, though," Nalesha looked at me with a slightly puzzled expression and asked.

"Yes, it is..." I replied.

If I really had that ability, it would be a good thing.

Emile sensed my anxiety and laughed as she put her arm around my shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm here."

Although it's true that she said so, how could cheating make people feel at ease?

I looked up at the darkening sky.

Tomorrow I will participate in the assessment, pass it, confront the lord, deny him, find out the truth of the past, and reject the current system.

"It would be great if everything goes smoothly..." Nalesha touched the ring on her right hand, speaking with hope.

Emile grabbed her face disapprovingly.

"Hey!? What's wrong?"

I sighed and put my arm around her shoulder.

"Don't make that kind of flag, okay?"

She suddenly turned red and whispered something.

"Thank you very much."

"Huh?"

She suddenly broke free from me and Emile and ran quickly towards the Shia’s blood. Emile and I looked at each other in confusion and made the same exclamation,

"Girls are really hard to understand..."

Oh, how strange...what were we talking about?