They walked into the stall, half expecting it to be abandoned, but to their relief, they saw a shabby old man sitting behind a large wooden table.

This surprised Marvick. Wood was a rare resource after all. He wondered how such a man could afford something like that. The answer to that question was right under his nose though. Upon closer inspection, Marvick noticed the man was wearing a military uniform; A dull blue jacket and short cape, with black pants and leather boots.

Seeing this Marvick immediately stood up straight with his arms behind his back, prompting Elina to do the same.

The old man grinned. “At ease, at ease. We’re not at the barracks.” he said. He looked at the group of people that had walked into his stall, closely inspecting all three of them. “I presume you’re here to get the boy tested?” He asked.

Marvick and Elina relaxed their posture and quickly started nodding. “Ye-yes sir. Are.. are you sure it’s free though?” Marvick asked. The man laughed. “Of course it’s free! Says it right on the sign doesn’t it? The government is on the lookout for new talent. They’re sponsoring these tests. Most low-borns like you don’t even try though, so it’s been rather boring here.” He laughingly explained.

Marvick and Elina were still on edge, despite the jovial tone the old man spoke with. Ruen didn’t seem to mind though. His thoughts were somewhere else like usual. He was focused on something that lay on the wooden table. A large stone tablet with symbols inscribed on it. He didn’t know why, but he felt a weird connection to the tablet. Almost as if it were calling out to him. Before he knew it, he started walking towards the table, trying to reach the tablet.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Marvick was getting ready to grab Ruen by his collar to pull him back, but the old man waved his hand and said “Let the boy walk over here, he needs to take the test anyways.”. Ruen continued to walk to the table until he was a mere 1 meter away from the tablet. “Go on then, take a seat in the chair.” The man said. Ruen climbed up onto the chair, barely reaching above the edge of the table with his head. Ruen realized he was too small and stood up on the chair so that he could reach above the table with his arms. “I must warn you, the chances of him possessing Magical Aptitude are very slim, so don’t be too disappointed if he doesn’t end up passing the test.”

Ruen’s parents nodded.

The room went silent for a few seconds. No one moved. Ruen just sat there, looking at the tablet. The closer he got, the stronger the ‘calling’ got. “Ehum..hum” the man scratched his throat. “Let’s begin then shall we? “. Ruen looked at the man full of expectations. ‘Oh right guess I should explain how it works.’ The man thought. “Alright young man, I want you to take hold of the tablet in front of you. Once you’re holding it with both of your hands, you need to really concentrate on it. Close your eyes and imagine that it is a part of your body, then try to sense the inside of the tablet as if it was another limb.” he explained.

Ruen did exactly what the man said. He leaned over the table and grabbed the tablet. The moment he took hold of it, he felt something strange. It felt as if his body had just expanded. This new part of his body was cold and devoid of any life though. To fix this, Ruen closed his eyes and concentrated on the tablet, and tried to sense it as another part of his body. As he did this, some warmth started to move from his chest, through his arms right into the tablet. The same tingling feeling he had when he first held his toy train permeated through his body again, though to a much lesser extent than the first time.

While Ruen was concentrating, the inscribing on the tablet slowly started to light up. Very dimly at first, but getting brighter and brighter until they shone as bright as a fire.

‘Holy Earthmother Gaia!’ The man was taken aback. ‘Not only does this low-born possess an aptitude, but this mana also outshines even that of some kids born into lower nobility.

Marvick and Elina were crying tears of joy. Not even once had they dreamed of their son actually having Magical Aptitude. They hugged each other. They didn’t say a word, but they both thought the exact same thing. ‘Our child has a bright future ahead of him’