"—Welcome to the aptitude test."
"The content of this exam is simple: deal damage to the orcs."
"They're elite specimens of the family, so I doubt I need to explain much."
⸻
A dense surge of mana burst forth from Konan.
A few children who were about to ask questions immediately fell silent under the overwhelming pressure of his lightning aura.
⸻
The next moment—
Electricity surged forward, forcing open the doors of the main hall and dragging in ten orcs.
There even seemed to be dozens more outside.
⸻
"All of them have their limbs bound…"
"That must be high-tier magic."
⸻
One by one, the branch family children stepped forward.
As expected… most of them could only cast one to three intermediate spells.
Only one stood out.
⸻
"Caius Velton…"
"Even though he's from a branch family… he can use three advanced spells."
⸻
Three attacks landed almost instantly on three different orcs.
However, only one died immediately—the others were still alive.
⸻
"—Eight points."
Konan's voice echoed.
⸻
"…That's actually kind of funny."
"If he had used two spells instead of three… he could've gotten nine points."
⸻
"Even if the rewards are different, a nine would've drawn the family head's attention."
"It could've changed his fate as a branch member."
⸻
"Still… considering his background and bloodline…"
"He's quite impressive."
⸻
Next came the main family.
As expected, the three brothers each scored nine points—
three advanced spells, three orcs slain.
⸻
Which also meant—
There was no perfect score of ten in this exam.
⸻
"—Cyan Velton. You're the last."
⸻
Cyan stepped forward without hesitation, focusing on the orc before him.
⸻
"To be honest… this orc looks far more terrifying than in the game."
"It feels much stronger—not just some low-level mob."
⸻
"…But I have to do this."
⸻
As the image of lightning magic formed in his mind—
Two spheres of thunder overlapped in his hand.
⸻
They shot forward instantly—
Mimicking the effect of a high-tier lightning strike.
⸻
—BOOM—
The attack pierced straight through the orc.
The electric shock and critical impact caused it to collapse within a second.
⸻
Right after releasing the spell—
Cyan's body felt as if all his mana had been drained.
⸻
"…Still around 30 mana left… this is exhausting."
⸻
"…Wait."
"I didn't even finish chanting… so how was that spell executed?"
⸻
"…Could it be…"
"No-chant casting—a rare non-elemental trait that almost only appears among royalty?"
⸻
"Even in a top mage family like the Veltons…"
"Only three people can use it."
⸻
"…Maybe my talent isn't so bad after all."
⸻
Konan calmly observed the result, resting his chin in thought.
⸻
"…No-chant casting, huh."
⸻
"That useless brat really is something else."
"Even with a spell like that, he couldn't kill an orc instantly."
"This is the worst result among the main family… yet he can use no-chant casting?"
⸻
"…Still."
"The orc died within one second."
"I can't give him less than eight."
⸻
"…But something's off."
"When I first observed it, the lightning energy seemed stable."
"How did it turn into such an incomplete spell?"
⸻
"…Whatever."
"The result stands."
"I hate lazy brats who sleep all day…"
"But talent from the main family doesn't just disappear."
⸻
The other children couldn't hide their surprise.
⸻
Lowbro, Midbro, and Highbro looked at Cyan with disdain.
Even though he wasn't as useless as they thought…
This result was still mediocre.
⸻
More notably—
Caius Velton stared at Cyan with clear hostility.
He had trained hard for this day…
And now, due to poor spell control, he ended up with the same score as the family's so-called "failure."
⸻
"—The exam is over."
"This batch is so disappointing there isn't even a single ten."
"The three who scored nine will receive rewards."
"Follow me and claim a portion of the ten-point reward."
⸻
"As for those with eight points…"
"Your rewards will be delivered to your maids."
⸻
With that, everyone quickly moved to collect their rewards.
Meanwhile, I fell into thought.
⸻
"…So it's finally over."
"So many plans are forming in my head…"
⸻
"…I should probably visit a blacksmith."
"I need adamantite… to obtain its atomic data."
⸻
After asking around the estate, I learned that there was a forge owned by the family beyond a nearby forest—
close to the family's military grounds.
⸻
"…Maybe I'll go there in a year."
"For now…"
"I need to focus on training—"
"Until I can use advanced magic." 🔥