Chris took a break from practice as Haven’s grandpa needed more help around the house for a bit, and because Chris missed working in the fields with his dad. Chris was easily able to handle all the magic feeding, while his dad handled plowing the fields and fertilizing the crops. Over the past year since Chris' accident, and after being healed by that wandering healer, Geralt managed to quit drinking, and smiled a lot more. He was able to get back to work, and finally was proud of himself again, let alone the pride he felt for his son.
He didn’t know how big the world was, but he knew that in comparison to the village, his son was special. He could only hope that with his son’s training that he could make something of himself and get into Academy. Geralt had never seen someone from the village pass the test, so he didn’t know how hard it was, as there was even a boy who could use a firebolt spell that was not allowed in. He gave Chris time off from the field in hopes that it would be enough to become on par with those from the bigger cities and affluent families. ‘If it’s Chris, I know to believe in him.’
And with those thoughts in mind, time passed, Haven came back to training, the field work was done well, Chris turned eleven, and an envoy from the Holy Unity Church arrived. They had an artifact for testing magic potential, as well as being a trusted entity within the Sarkov Kingdom, so they were the natural choice for examination. Adults and children gathered around the envoy as they set up a tent with the proper measurement tools. There was a device to tell how much mana the body contained, as well as a crystal to determine how much mana a person could imbue within a set time limit.
Chris and Haven were running late, so they both used physical enhancement to dash quickly there. “I bet I can beat you there!” Haven was determined to finally beat Chris at something. Haven used a burst of mana from his hands to run even faster, slowly pulling away from Chris. “You are so on!” Chris had a look of determination crawl across his face, and with that he sprung into action.
He decided instead of running down the hill, avoiding obstacles, and worrying about tripping, he would just sprint overhead. He dashed across the sky as quickly as he could, using the mana from his feet both to create a foothold and to spring off. It took them a single minute to cross a distance that a fit adult would take several. When they arrived, Chris walked down from about twenty feet in the air, slowly descending step by step, and Haven skidded to a stop having to use the mana burst in the other direction.
The young priest in charge of the test took zero notice, as he was half asleep testing people. ‘These plebeians wasting my time, none of them are even worth a glance, but here I am, wasting my precious life to make sure we don’t miss any talent,’ the priest scoffed. It took a little longer to get to the end of the line, because a few teenagers in the village tried showing off their skills to prove themselves, since the measurement tests were not in their favour.
Haven’s turn started and the measurement tool to determine body mana glowed purple, meaning high and dense mana contained in the body, and when Haven focused his energy on the crystal, it glowed a bright, light blue, filling the entire orb with its light. The final test, to prevent people with simple utility magic from getting accepted into the magic academy or the military, depending on age, was to show off a single attack or defense magic. Haven focused all he could, and fired his mana-burst into the forest, creating a shockwave of wind, and destroying several trees in the process.
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This was Haven’s best move and even Chris was impressed at what going all out looked like for Haven. The Priest walked up to Haven, “Son, that was incredible, the lord must have blessed you with divine power. You have been accepted, please begin packing your things and return to the cart within the next few hours.” Haven ran up to hug Chris, “Thank you so much master, I did it!” The Priest leered at Chris, “Did you say this young boy is who taught you magic?”
The look in his eyes scared Chris, it was the look of greed, and he hadn’t seen it in his life that often. It made him uncomfortable. Chris whispered into Haven’s ear, “Play along with what I say, something is weird.” Chris looked to the man, “He only calls me master because even with his magic skills, he can’t beat my swordsmanship, that’s all. He’s the one who taught me the advanced stuff, after helping me read through our family's magic book I had found.” Chris began leaking mana from his body to prepare for the next test.
The Priest’s eyes returned to normal, “You’re right, there’s no way someone your age could be better than what that boy just mustered, but if your sword skills are what you say they are, there’s still a chance for you. Magic swordsmen are very sought after for the Academy as well.”
The Priest scanned Chris, and instead of the deep purple that Haven had, instead it was a lighter purple, meaning the mana in the body was just as dense, but there wasn’t as much. Then the crystal test began. Chris focused on the ball, emitting as little effort as he could while still getting close to Haven, as it was clear this man was impressed, extremely so, and that Haven was far past the standard. Chris made the ball glow a slightly darker hue, but with the same intensity. “It seems you aren’t on par with him, but you aren’t too far off either. Depending on your sword skills, you might also qualify for the Academy.”
Chris called forth a body enchantment spell, rattling off the incantation, to lessen the eyes on him even more, and called a false water spell, pretending he was saying the water whip spell, when in reality he was calling upon his vibro-sword. He cleanly cut through a tree with ease, dispersed his mana, and sheathed his sword. “That was the best I could do, did I pass?!” Chris feigned excitement, and worry. “You two are exemplary, it seems you both will be enrolled into the academy. Please go discuss your departure with your family, and return within the next two hours.
Chris returned home, letting his family know of his and Haven’s accomplishments, and told his parents about hiding his true power for now. “Why would you do that, what would you have done if you weren’t accepted?” Chris looked his mom directly in the eye, “Something was wrong with that Priest, he looked at Haven with greed after seeing how great he did, and said he was blessed with the god, let alone the look when Haven called me master. I made sure I did good enough by comparison, and I am still considered exemplary even after hiding my strength,” Chris sighed, “Besides, I’m not strong enough to protect you guys yet if something goes wrong.”
His mom and dad hugged him tight, fed him dinner, and helped him pack all his things. Chris was desperately worried now, ‘I know that me and Haven were strong, too strong, that creepy priest made that sentiment very clear. The book that healer gave me had so much information that wasn't anywhere else. It made us far stronger than we should be. This book is too important to show off.'
He grabbed his suitcase, and placed the book in the bottom, then placed some wood over the top of it, a false bottom. Then he packed the rest of his things, headed downstairs, hugged his parents one last time, and returned to the carriage. Haven was waiting for him, bouncing up and down. Haven was making progress towards his goals, and him and his best friend were heading to the capital together to learn even more magic. After a three week carriage ride, they arrived at the illustrious capital: Golden Bloom.