“What kind of line is that. At the least you could have greeted me first didn’t ya??” The lady said in an irritated voice.

“Can’t women join the military??Huh?!!”

“N..No I’m sorry about that. Its not that, it just slipped out from my mouth. I’m sorry.” Mephisto was sincere.

“Well. Since you apologize I’ll let this one go. But be careful, cause you’ll find a lot of women in the magic discipline.

“I’ll certainly keep it in my mind.”

“Now to the task at hand. So you’re the one that the kings recommended. Here catch.”

Saying that the lady threw at him a ball glowing in bright blue. Mephisto caught it. It was about three times the size of marbles.

“My name is Kris. I am the captain of the 3rd squad. I’ll be testing your mana capacity and your magical capabilities.”

“Now try and channel your mana into that marble. It will tell us what we want to know.” Kris said.

“How do I channel my mana?”

“Well channelling mana should come instinctively. It’s like asking me how to breathe or how to think. Just try to focus your spiritual energy.”

“Huuuuh….Ok”

Mephisto relaxed his body and focused his mind. He remembered the time when he used to change the laws of nature with a flick of his hand.

But right now nothing happened. Even when he tried real hard.

“Looks like this won’t help. Lets try it another way shall we?” Kris said.

She stood still for a while and then suddenly released a gust of mana towards Mephisto. It was hard and fast enough to knock him off his feet.

It seemed like Mephisto almost lost consciousness. But he got up soon enough.

“What was that??” Mephisto’s head was spinning.

“I just blew you over with a mana charge. That should help you recognize what its like.” Kris Replied nonchalantly.

“Yeah but why did you have to knock me down. Couldn’t you do it more gently?”

“Well gentle is something you’re gonna see less and less of from now on sweet heart. Now, try that again.” Kris replied.

“You are not gonna let me off without that will you.” Mephisto was tired already.

“What did I just say??? Now again!!!” Kris didn’t show any sign of letting loose. It was apparent that Kris was stricter than Will.

“OK I’ll give it a try.”

Mephisto tried again. He focused his mind and tried to channel his mana. Sadly, he failed. Unable to do anything.

“Stop. Stop. There’s something wrong. I can feel your body has mana but your mind cannot release it. Something is blocking your thoughts. Is there something on your mind??” Kris pried.

“I don’t know. I think that I’m trying my best. Maybe can’t do magic at all.”

Mephisto was reasonable. Maybe he had aptitude for physical warfare but couldn’t do any magic.

“You’re wrong. Everybody can do magic.” Kris replied.

She had her reasons for doubting Mephisto. From her point of view, it was like the basic knowledge of the world was unknown to him.

“Everyone???” Mephisto asked.

“Yeah. Though not everyone might have the aptitude to engage fighting magic but very low level magic can be performed by everyone and that includes all the other races.”

After asking for a detailed replay Kris explained to Mephisto that in the past not many people were capable of magic. But throughout the time more and more people started adapting to it. It’s not like the soldiers who practice swords can’t do magic. It’s that their abilities in physical fights far outshine their magical abilities. That’s why many soldiers choose the physical discipline instead. But everyone has to test their physical and magical adaptability before starting their training.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

After a while Kris dismissed Mephisto for the day. After a few failed attempts even Kris got frustrated. It was evident that even the soldiers who ultimately choose swords don’t take this much time for this test. There was something wrong with Mephisto’s case.

Mephisto immediately went to his bed and lied down. He became frustrated as well. It was his first time that any task had taken this much time and yet he failed. But Mephisto was not at fault. When he accepted the purge he not only lost his physical prowess but also his mental capacity. He could now only think at the level of humans. He might be a little better at the thinking process but that was it. Also the planet earth was one of the many creations of Mephisto. At his current mental capacity, it would be extremely hard to recall everything perfectly. Yet he was at a huge advantage with retaining even the information that he had. He knew secrets of the topology of the planet that nobody could. That would explain how Mephisto quickly figured out how to get out of void even with its pseudorandom tendencies.

What Mephisto was not good at however was perceiving human emotions. He was in no way dense, but could not figure out the hidden intentions of something. It may not have mattered when he was a Moderator on the Gram-Divide, but now even emotions and feelings had a lot of effect on day to day life of everyone. Empires build and fall because of emotions. It was not like he was incapable of perceiving emotions, but it was only imaginable how long it would take before he does it.

But that night Mephisto decided to sleep. He figured that a fresh mind was necessary for something like mana manipulation. He had a hard time getting to sleep. He found it very relaxing on his bed, but still could not sleep. After a while though, he fell asleep. What was unusual about that night was that, he dreamt of something strange that night. That night Argus came into his dream. Usually he would taunt Mephisto or maim him, but tonight he came to his dreams for another purpose entirely.

“Oi Mephisto it’s me Argus. How are you?”

Mephisto was very surprised to see his old friend here.

“How come you’re appearing in my dream?” Mephisto asked.

“It’s because I wanted it so. I can do that you know.” Argus replied.

Mephisto tried to pinch himself but was stopped by Argus.

“Stop! If you do that I won’t be able to convey you the message. I’m here to help you get past that trial.”

“Then all the more reason that I pinch myself.” Mephisto replied.

“I don’t understand; why would you deny a hint when you are stuck here?” Argus confronted.

“It’s because of that reason that I can’t let you help me old friend.”