With that settled I head down to dinner with the others, now I can't wait for the morning. I make sure to give all three of them some attention during dinner, I feel bad having been so busy the past few days. Bones pretends not to care, although I can tell he enjoys it, while Kechara and Asuna always love the attention.
After eating I spend a bit more time with Kechara before picking up Asuna and heading to bed. Again Asuna falls asleep before I even reach the bed, but this time after putting her down I surround her with pillows. Hopefully that will keep me from getting smothered, I make sure to tuck them around her so she is comfortable.
Then after feeding all my power into my core I try to go to sleep, although it takes a while since I am excited. I may not know what is in the test but I still kind of feel like a kid on christmas eve. After about an hour of tossing and turning I finally manage to fall asleep, only to wake up in the morning with a mouth full of fur.
The nest of pillows I made is still there, she must have just rolled right over it. She has also grown again, she is now about the size of a medium dog, soon I won't be able to pick her up anymore. She manages to sleep through me getting up and getting dressed and still doesn't wake up when Yui calls us to breakfast.
So I reach out and very carefully start tickling her toes, making her twitch repeatedly. Finally she wakes up and gives me a dirty look but I just ignore it as I pat her head and then pick her up. Carrying her in one arm is a little difficult now so after a bit I put her down and let her run ahead to the dining room.
When I arrive she is already in her spot, although the servants have changed her chair since she no longer fits in a high chair. When the food arrives I start eating, but I eat slowly unlike normal. I want to be full but not overly so, I don't want anything to interfere during the test.
When the others are done eating I give Kechara and Asuna a bit more attention before sending them off to the library. Since I can't die in the test then there is no need to worry them about it, I will see them when I come out. Although I don't really know how long I might be in the test, so if I am gone a few days I will just make it up to them later.
"Yui, I'm ready to take the test."
Yui says "Alright, follow the sprite please."
The sprite that arrives to guide me is a bit unusual, not only is it bigger than most but it is the first white sprite I have seen. I follow the sprite up the stairs until we reach the fifth floor, then it leads me down a long hallway. Walking down the hallway I start to get suspicious, this is far too long of a distance to be going straight.
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"Wait! Yui, is the tower bigger on the inside?!"
Yui says "Affirmative!"
As I am following the sprite I can't help but burst out laughing, Yui seems confused by my laughter. So as I walk along I find myself explaining Dr.Who to Yui so that she can understand why I find it so funny. Eventually the sprite leads me into a large room with nine giant freestanding circles, they look a lot like gates from Stargate.
Three of the gates are white and the other six are blue, each gate gives off a feeling of pressure. The amount of mana in this room is what is truly staggering, even the reading room doesn't compare. With the amount of mana in here I could easily enchant over a hundred items.
Yui says "Please proceed to the first white gate on the left. This is the beginner knight test."
"What are the blue gates?"
Yui says "Those are the mage tests."
"Oh, makes sense."
As I step before the gate that Yui indicated the ring starts spinning, again making me think of Stargate. As the gate spins up a massive amount of mana gets sucked into it and the pressure increases. Now I understand why there needs to be such a massive amount of mana in this room, it is barely enough for the gate to function.
Yui says "Be aware, nothing you are carrying will be in the test with you. Everything in the test is up to your ability and skill."
"Okay, sounds good!"
Yui says "Good luck!"
In the center of the gate a small blue dot appears, and then quickly it swells until it completely fills the gate. After that it stabilizes until it looks just like a plane of blue glass, at that point Yui tells me I can enter. So I take a step forward, as my body passes through it just feels like a puff of ice cold air.
I find myself in a small room with only one exit, and as Yui warned me I am wearing nothing but a loincloth. At least I have that much covered, but to my surprise even Blitz which is bound to my soul is not with me. Apparently the gate system is even able to overwhelm a soul bond, I find that surprising yet interesting.
Since there is nothing in the room with me I walk out the exit and find myself in a long corridor. It isn't brightly lit but there is still plenty of light for my eyes and ahead of me I can see something. As I advance I can see details and can identify it as an orc, one wielding a large axe.
I am not too worried, even bare handed an orc shouldn't be a problem. Then again I don't really have to be bare handed, I have multiple options I can use. If I was in the mage test I could probably just kill it with a few wind blades, but it probably has high magic resist.
'Mind Blade!'
*DING*
Congratulations! Skill Mind Blade has progressed to level 4!
Mind Blade
Level: 4
Int +8 Willpower +4 Dmg = Int x 1.5
A blade created with mental strength.
With a copy of Blitz now in my hands I advance towards the orc without any worries. Although I am surprised that mind blade suddenly leveled up since I haven't used it much since the last time it leveled up. As soon as I get within twenty feet the orc lets out a roar and charges straight at me.