With a flicker the kid materialized inside a great courtyard, he took two quick steps and picked up the orb.

'57th ',sounded a deep voice, 'good job kid on passing the first one, now go straight for the third testing ground, you can skip the second. Just go stand there in the line and keep the orb close.' The kid looked up and saw a wizard pointing a finger towards a table that had few dozen children near his age standing in front of it. He took his place in the line and waited.

The line was shrinking at a steady pace and soon he was standing at the front of it.

'Next! Do you have a token or an orb or trying for power entry?'

'Orb, sir.' He quickly placed the orb he was holding on the table.

The examiner swished the orb under the table and said, 'Well you are in, that is of course if you can use any sort of magic at all, place your hand on the middle of the table, palm first.'

The kid complied and asked, 'But, sir. I bound the orb by blood, shouldn't I undo the binding?' Just as he was finishing his question he felt a jolt through his body as his power was being sapped away into the table. It lasted only a moment and before he could withdraw his hand it had already ended, the table had become slightly warmer, but it was almost impossible to notice.

'Hah, low level fire magic, you really drew the short stick. No problem, no problem the orb saves you a spot, take the robes from the red basket and channel some of your mana into the iron emblem on the uniforms chest. Hmm, bound by blood you say? It was all an illusion, you should have noticed by now that you have no wounds on your body, how on earth did you make it through? Carry on now. Next!'

The kid moved towards the baskets, grabbed a robe from the red basket and pulled it over his head. The robe was white linen with a fire emblem on the back and an iron fire emblem on the front. The collar was also red. He looked dumbfounded at the iron on his chest trying to figure out how to channel mana into something. He tried touching it like with the table, but nothing happened.

'Never been trained with magic before, eh? There is mana in blood you can use that for low level magic binding. Name's Roland by the way.' The kids attention was drawn by slightly taller youth near a blue basket who was emitting cold aura from his hand and into his emblem of a snowflake.

The kid reached for the dagger on his belt to try it out but found that the dagger had disappeared with a small sack that held his food supplies. Both had been given to him shortly before the first test started. He remember what the third examiner had said about his blood-bound orb and figured the supplies too had been part of the trick. He responded quickly to his surprise with puncturing his finger on the tip of the fire emblem. It flashed bright red for a second and then regained its usual appearance with a slight addition. At the hearth of fire there was now slightly redder dot.

'Thanks Roland, I'm Hierohn,' said the kid holding out his hand.

Roland grabbed it for a brief shake and then noticing the slight dot on his chest exclaimed, 'You are really weak, how did you escape the goblin? Oh right you couldn't use mana anyhow, I guess you would have had to use the teleportation scroll they gave you, still the chant should have taken you quite some time. You must be really fast to have outran a grown goblin warrior for the whole duration of the chant. I saw the orb that's how I know you won, I got it too. It's easier for other mages, fire is really weak and even if you had known any spells you couldn't have killed him. I froze mine in place you see, bound his legs then created walls of ice in front of my tunnel and chanted there, still his throwing axe almost got me. Oh we should get going a new patch is coming through, it seems the second test has ended.'

'Second test?' Hierohn asked hurriedly as he followed after Roland through this one way street towards a great hall where everyone seemed to be going.

'Oh I don't know what it is either it's just I saw them giving tokens to the examiner, as far as I know it tests character. Orb would be proof of passing the first test, token the proof for second and if you have really strong mageforce they will let you enter without passing any test. The third test is actually for that, to see if and how well you can use mana. My older brother passed the first test but then didn't make it because my grandpa had sealed his mana as a joke few weeks before. When grandpa got sober he undid the seal and bro tried again next year, he's in now and almost graduated. Master level earth mage, just like everyone except me in my family. Earth mage I mean, first master level in a few generations though, my folks graduated after reaching beginner level mage, but he decided to stick around to reach Wizard.'

'A fire wizard? That's pretty powerful and of the right element, don't know if it will be enough?', mumbled Hierohn to himself.

'Nah, you are fire type. Fire types are really weak, you won't make wizard with fire, usually you should stick to your element, but almost everyone in fire will choose something else, it's just too weak. You will see. If you weren't polar opposite you should try out ice it's pretty neat.'

'Why is fire so weak' Hierohn asked his well taught companion.

'Dunno, but brother said so, so it must be true, he is a master mage after all. You should really start to think what to learn though, you will be weak anyway but that way you might still hold a chance.' Even Roland didn't know everything. Hierohn had already started to believe he did, so he was slightly taken back by this new revelation. But the advice sounded solid and his bro was, after all, a master mage so he started wondering about what magic to learn, sadly he didn't know much. Just as he was about to ask for more advice they reach the great hall and everyone in there had fallen deathly silent, so he stopped his words from pouring out and closed his mouth tight. Following Roland to stand amongst other newly accepted in this great hall that could fit thousands.

The silence lasted for five more minutes before the second patch entered while talking. Seeing that nothing happened to them the first kids who had been shocked by the size and detail of the hall overcame their initial fright and started talking amongst themselves again.

Roland started discussing magic with a girl to his right seeing that she too had a snowflake on her chest. Asking her how she got in and why she had skipped the first two tests. As it turned out she was called Lianne and had failed them both last year so she couldn't retake the first one and didn't have to retake the second one this time, it seemed you could only try once for the orb. She also couldn't speak about the second test but was quite willing to discuss the goblins. She had been too weak to enter last year, but after another year of training under a magic teacher she passed the third test and entered with ease.

'I was lucky to get in, next year I would have been eight and couldn't have joined anymore. Then I would have had to try for a smaller school near the outskirts.' She said with relief yet disdainfully emphasizing the outskirts. 'But they really are cruel making us die in the first test and everyone has to take it. I heard very few make it through.'

Roland started to preach his achievement but loud noises threw his attention to the entrance where a few hundred kids where entering from. It seems the third test had concluded as well as the examiner was following that last patch. The last one was the biggest as it composed of those who failed the first and second exams as well as those who passed the second on their first try after all everyone was tested for magic power. As they took their places Roland turned to Lianne again trying to tell her how awesome he was, but a strong and sure voice disturbed him and quieting everyone else in the hall.

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'Hello I'm the headmaster of the seventh ward and I welcome you to the greatest magic academy in all twelve kingdoms. In this seventh ward of Stonepalm Magic College you will gain your basic magus training, when you have reached mage level you will graduate from this ward. If you have the potential you will be then accepted along with the able of other twenty wards into the inner tower for wizard training. Now there is a system at place here in the seventh ward as in every other, if you prove yourselves to your teachers or benefit the ward you will be given service tokens. You can spend tokens on all sorts of things, magical equipment or spells, private lessons with your seniors, even food and bigger lodging for a year, entry into dangerous parts of the library and even a chance to tame a magical companion.'

'Okay now, first order of business would be to award with tokens those who have already shown some merit and to let you know about the danger level to require them. Those who completed second test will be rewarded a token for their troubles, if they also passed any of the three extra tests they will be rewarded with an extra token for every test they passed, as for those who managed to acquire the orb they will gain 5 tokens if they won through killing the goblin warrior they will receive additional 2 tokens. I'll now award the four who managed to earn seven tokens.'

'Grey of The Icehowl Clan, Jonah of The Bullborne Clan, Hierohn and Lady Everen of Tresden,' as the names were being cried out even among youngsters quite few people understood the implications, Icehowl and Bullborne where both powerful clans of the Tresden Kingdom and had been taught magic for quite some time before entering the academy. As the toll reached Hierohn people where perplexed as to who he was and how he had managed it, almost everyone thought him to be an apprentice to a powerful wizard, only thinking why one would teach an orphan. Orphans weren't rare in Stonepalm they just didn't stand out so soon, but the discussion around Hierohn died out as soon as the royalty was declared, everyone was moving around to get a better look at her, making it hard for Hierohn to climb onto the stage.

He was pushing people aside mumbling one 'excuse me' after another making way towards the stage, He was the last one to arrive but only barely, making it soon after Everen. Had he been a second slower he might have not made it at all as the human wall split open before the princess and closed almost right after her, had he not pressed himself into the empty circle he would have been drowned under curious mass of children. This act of pressing into the circle earned him quite a few angry stares that were bound to bring trouble later.

'Good, good you four have earned the points and can choose on what to spend them first, if you go through that door behind me and to the right. But first let me congratulate you on defeating a grown goblin of the goblin warrior tribes, it's good to see youths with such magical capabilities. Just step forward and receive your pouch, bind them with magic and you are ready to use the point tokens. Everyone who hasn't earned any points yet will receive their pouches tomorrow in the class, those who have reached the requirements to get the pouch now please line up in front of the stage so that those who finished the first test are at the front.'

As the headmaster was talking his gaze was pulled towards one of the four he had called on the stage. It was the clumsy kid who had entered just after the princess, the kid was pricking his hand and using blood to bind the pouch. He was slightly shocked at this and even more so when he saw that the kid was wearing fire apprentices robes. But understanding soon flooded his eyes.

'Ok, now the masters of the elemental schools will describe your lodging and rest of your life on the school premises, listen to them closely.' As he finished he walked towards Hierohn and as he reached him he asked, 'Why did you use blood to bind the pouch?'

Hierohn looked up into the headmasters kind blue eyes and felt warmth wash over him. He bowed and said 'Excuse me headmaster, I don't know how to channel mana'. Headmaster nodded, his earlier guess turned out to be right, the kid hadn't used the weak fire magic to burn down the goblin, he also knew that he hadn't killed him with bare hands or the dagger they were given, as the illusionary goblin he had created could have only been killed by magic.

'So how did you kill the goblin?' Although he thought he already knew the answer he wanted to confirm with the kid. Because with his fire magic, the weakest magic, it would have been impossible to kill the goblin, and with that lone dot at the middle of his flame he would have been hard pressed to even kill a rat.

'I activated the defensive rune, bound it with blood and then bound the orb. After that I tricked the goblin into trying to blood-bind the orb.'

Just as headmaster had though, he had bound both sides of the formation and making them one powerful enough to burn the goblin. He was only surprised at the kid tricking the goblin. If he knew how the kid had bound the orb he would be a lot more impressed.

'So, you cheated.' Hierohn heard a high confident voice and sliding his eyes to the side saw that the princess had spoken. 'No wonder an orphan made it and here I was starting to think you were trained by a powerful hermit. Like the ones in the stories.'

Lady Everen of Tresden was also clad in white linen, only from her chest stared back a scull, and her collar was pitch black. She was already looking quite nice and would grow up to be a rare beauty, but which princess wouldn't. Hierohn made a mental note to ask Roland about the skull.

'Lady we give everyone a chance to pass the first test with maximum points, although usually no one passes that way,' said headmaster respectfully.

'Hmph, so everyone can pass. And to think I thought you needed talent to earn tokens.' With that the princess turned and headed for the award chamber to trade in her tokens.

With a sigh headmaster turned to Hierohn. 'You better get going too, I will go and help with rewarding the others. Oh right your current residence is at the 3rd dormitory fifth floor room 5711, press your hand against the door and you should get in.' He closed the book from where he had read kids information and went to the middle of the stage and started handing out pouches to rest of the applicants.

As Hierohn turned towards the award chamber he could hear whispering and see hands point towards him, he picked out from the noise a single word 'Cheater'. It seems that quite a few people had heard the young miss.

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AN: Explaining a world a bit and his coming troubles, will settle him in at the beginning of the next one and then get into using magic and how it works. Will try to lead it into action soon.