Two days later...
Nick stood among an assembly of students at the front of the Main Tower where a stage had been erected. The time was about five minutes before 12 pm and Nick observed the other students around him, various images of the environment all around himself appearing within his mind, like a collage of photos, without him even moving his head.
(This new talent of mine is something else. Seemingly random images of the space around me just appear in my mind without me doing anything. If I focus, however, the images stop appearing.)
After Nick's spar with Tanner, which ended with them exchanging phone numbers and going their separate ways, he went back to his room at Inn Number 1 where he attempted to get accustomed to sensing the dreadful aura hidden within himself and also tried to find out more about the new ability that he seemed to have gained.
During the past two days, Nick not only became able to release the dreadful aura at will in a short burst but he realized that he had obtained a new talent called Spacial Awareness or at least that is what Slade called it. The talent allowed Nick to unconsciously receive depictions of his surroundings within his mind, like silent images, even if he was not directly looking at his surroundings; Slade suspected that the talent was space path related and thus the name.
(I still don't understand how exactly I earned this new talent.)
Slade offered a guess:
[Talents are not always gained voluntarily. They can be gained through a mixture of factors that you cannot control like your genes, accidents that cause physiological or psychological changes or influences from your environment that accumulate. I do remember that you went through something stressful before the talent manifested.]
Nick thought for a while before realizing what Slade was referring to.
(You mean my encounter with the wicked being?)
Slade replied:
[Yes, that encounter could have stimulated you enough to manifest your new talent or it could be something else. I cannot be certain what the cause was but I am fairly certain that this talent is related to space magic, call it the intuition of a former wisdom path archmage.]
Nick was still unused to how unpredictable his development was becoming so he internally sighed:
(When I get back to Grand Earth, I'm going to do some research on talents.)
Not long after Nick decided on his future plans, Victor Durant, dressed in his grey magician's robe came to the center-front of the stage and addressed the students, some who were even suddenly appearing at the venue at this time as if out of thin air covered in dirt, various fluids, blood, a mixture of all three or completely clean. Due to the number of students that suddenly appeared, a thick odor started to pervade the area. Nick slightly covered his nose in response.
(I never realized just how much body odor is generated while out in the wilderness before today. About two hundred students must have been forced here from the wilderness.)
Durant ignored the happenings in front of him and spoke with authority:
"You have all been participating in this exam for a duration of ten years and whether that participation has been to your benefit or not is for you to decide. You should all know your individual scores gained from the cumulative kills that you made and deaths that you experienced at the hand of other students..."
Nick looked at his right palm, ignoring the mark of his Cursed Vessel talent and willed for his score to appear in his palm. A series of lightly glowing orange symbols appeared slightly hovering over his palm, indicating his score of '20,398'. After ten years, this was Nick's result in terms of the exam; he felt nothing as he looked at it.
(I don't care about my score this time around. I've already realized that I have too much experiences to digest and too much to do after I leave this place to be concerned about a grade. I have a feeling that our cultivation was the hidden purpose of this exam anyway.)
Durant continued:
"...Your individual rankings within your year will be passed on to you by your academy's administration after some time once you've returned to your respective academies. Assuming that this might not be your only visit to this realm, it would be wise to properly think about your experiences during the past ten years before returning here. Before your departure from this realm, Commander Jeffery Wallace, one of the commanding officers that has influence over the entirety of this military outpost, wants to say a few words."
Nick watched as two men that he had already met walked across the stage, taking Durant's place while Durant proceeded to stand at the back of the stage. One of the men was middle aged and wore a standard green military uniform that sported an emblem with five horizontal gold bars positioned below five gold, five pointed stars that rested side-by-side.
The other man was younger looking and maintained a genial expression with squinted eyes, sporting a light smile on his face while both his hands were kept in his pants pockets. This man was also wearing a standard green military uniform but had an emblem that had three horizontal blue bars positioned below two blue, five pointed stars. Nick recognized this man as Andrew Wiles who had previously propositioned him.
Commander Jeffrey Wallace spoke with vigor that was in contrast to his apparent age:
"Young men and women, I hope that your time spent within the Never Ending Battlefield has not been a waste. Our country will always require strong and enterprising Magicians and that is why the Ministry of Magic even allows for these exams and acknowledges their importance. I, as a commander within the ministry and as an experienced Magician wish you all the best going forward."
Most of the students did not truly understand the status of the man speaking to them nor were they that moved by his words but the few that did appreciate the man's intent for what it was felt gratified that he would take the time to encourage them.
They knew that many embarked on the road to becoming a Magician but only a small portion of those persons actually survived to become a notable one. Nick stood firm with his hands at his side and his expression indifferent, muttering under his breath with much hidden emotion:
"I am not a loser. I am not a loser..."
Commander Wallace continued:
"Before you all depart, I have a little test that you all can participate in. My subordinate here, Lieutenant Andrew Wiles, has in his hand a Ministry of Magic military brass ring. This type of ring is suitable for only rank 2 Apprentice Magicians and may be used to access a limited amount of ministry exclusive documents when you get back to Grand Earth. I propose that whoever is able to impress us by being the first to take it from his palm, gets it and the benefits that it may lead to."
Lieutenant Andrew Wiles immediately stepped forward and radiated magic power from his body in the form of ghost white flames that spread all over his uniform as he held out his right hand, revealing a brass colored ring that had a circular top that sported the Ministry of Magic military logo of a wyvern flying over a gun and a sword.
The flames on Lieutenant Wiles's body did not emit heat but instead radiated a dominating, magical aura that pressured the students, making it difficult for them to move. Victor Durant who had been observing the address in silence raised his right eyebrow in shock at the commander's and lieutenant's boldness.
(Do they think that I am just a fixture and that they can test the students as they please? Where is that good for nothing Flint Lockwood, he is supposed to be here so that the military does pull things like this. They are simply trying to win students' favor by impressing them, steering them away from the Magicians Association before they graduate.)
Durant was about to intervene but as soon as he set his intention, he heard Flint's voice echo within his mind:
(Don't interfere. This is allowed.)
Durant stopped in his tracks and subtly grit his teeth, realizing that Flint Lockwood had made some sort of deal with the military behind his back.
(I cannot interfere recklessly if that is the case or I may hit my toe on a hard stone.)
Durant let go of any notion of interfering and stood completely still. Many of the students became restless under the influence of a rank 3 Magician's aura and some even panicked. Every student present was surprised by the offer but immediately became interested since most of them were aware of the value that military information could have on their cultivation even at rank 2.
While many wanted to run up to the stage towards the ring, Andrew's power made it difficult for them to take even a few steps forward. Uriah Narco who Nick had met previously gritted his teeth in frustration, thinking:
(What kind of magic is this? I can barely move.)
Jessie Auburn, who stood at the very center of a group of students from Richter Order Academy eyed the ring in Andrew's hand, preparing himself to make a move.
(I don't care about the military information but this is an interesting challenge. This power affecting us seems to involve a path that I'm not familiar with though, it'll take me a while to overcome it...)
While the other student's were contemplating on how they would get to the stage in order to take the ring, a few memorable words said by Courage appeared within Nick's mind as his emotions surged:
(With me around, encountering suffering becomes bearable.)
Nick then spoke aloud and since Andrew's power suppressed the situation, everyone present was able to hear his words clearly as his voice seemed to be infused with magic energy:
"Give me the ring!"
At that moment, a dreadful, shocking aura spread throughout the group of students, also enveloping Commander Wallace and Lieutenant Wiles. Both men were slightly surprised by the viciousness of the aura but quickly disregarded it as a young man suddenly appeared in front of them.
The young man had a head full of short, white, curly hair, was brown complexioned and had two strange, spiraling eyes; he wore a pair of dark blue jeans with a matching denim jacket and a red and white striped polo shirt while sporting a sheathed sword at his left side. Commander Wallace lightly smiled while Andrew only slightly squinted his eyes further. Wallace lightly said:
"Oh, it's you. I know who you are since you gave our people some trouble in previous months but that's all water under the bridge now. Are you going to take the ring?"
Nick nodded at the old man and reached out to take the ring from Andrew's palm but when he was half way there, Andrew lightly grinned before saying:
"Hold on, one further test."
Durant immediately frowned upon hearing Andrew's words and sensing a change in Andrew's magic power. The white flames that were spread over Andrew's uniform suddenly dissipated and a bright sphere of white light was generated above the stage, bearing down a formless pressure on Nick as dazzling specks of light fell from the glowing white sphere while twinkling, sending Nick to his knees.
(Star Might)
Nick found himself unable to move but continued radiating the dreadful aura as he had practised during the past few days. He guessed that the spell that the lieutenant had cast was probably rank 2.
(If not, I'd be dead already. This is supposed to be a test? For what? I already have a deal with this guy for when I leave this realm. His spell might be rank 2 but its effects are too strong. I can't overcome it.)
When Nick had that latter thought, however, an image popped into his head as a result of his Spacial Awareness talent. The image depicted the wicked being holding Nick by the right shoulder with his right hand. Nick turned his head slightly to his right shoulder in response but saw no one there.
Before his confusion could fully manifest, a deep, eerie voice echoed at his right ear:
"If you cannot overcome merely this, then go die."
A shiver went down Nick's spine and his emotions surged once again, intensifying his dreadful aura. Wallace and Durant frowned in response, Durant thinking:
(Is this his spell? No, the profundity of the magic power that I'm feeling is consistent with a talent. What an unpleasant talent this young man has.)
Wallace mused:
(Talents are basically spells bestowed by nature on living beings. This is the aura that little McKoy told me about. It certainly is...dark.)
At this time, Nick remembered the laws for the rank 3 spell, Gravity Shift, that he learnt while in the undergrounds and unlike before, the meanings of the patterns of laws that the spell consisted of were very clear to him, as if he had designed the spell himself.
(Eyes of the Fated is even effective on the laws of spells that I think about. Since this guy is pressuring me like this I will return the favor.)
Nick's thoughts spun madly and within only milliseconds, using his Eyes of the Fated talent, his space path mastery and the laws of Gravity Shift, he developed a spell to counter Andrew's method.
(As a space path master, when working on a space path spell, milliseconds in my mind become hours.)
About forty seconds after Andrew cast his Star Might, Nick held out his right index finger.
A sphere of dull-red, rippling space appeared at Nick's finger tip, being about the size of a tennis ball and within a few seconds, it then shrunk to the size of a marble before radiating magic power in all directions. At that point, Nick whispered:
"Mars."
Nick instantly felt the pressure around him lift as a force seemed to spread out from his right index finger tip and began pulling at everything around him. Many students were immediately lifted off the ground but not before most of the stage that the four Magicians were standing on broke apart and was raised upwards starting at the two opposite ends. Seeing what was happening, Durant disappeared from the stage and then immediately reappeared among the foremost group of students.
Durant raised both his hands and quickly cast a spell:
(Petty Time Barrier)
A thin layer of dull silver light suddenly formed all around the stage area before it seemingly disappeared. The students who were being pulled from the ground felt that pull dissipate as their bodies eased.
The students then proceeded to watch the events that were occurring on the part of the stage that was still intact where three people still stood. They were unable to hear any sounds coming from the stage. Durant internally reasoned:
(Petty Time Barrier halts the time that influences almost anything that comes into contact with the layer of my almost imperceptible magic power that is now surrounding the stage and that includes magic energy, sound and other formless materials except light.)
"Ha, ha, ha, ha..."
Lieutenant Andre Wiles chuckled non-stop while thinking:
(Nick's spell is disrupting the downward pressure of my Star Might. My spell is rank 2 and works by intensifying the gravity around it, focusing it in the direction where its light shines brightest. Nick's spell seems to interfere with the gravity within the vicinity by focusing its center at his finger tip, dragging objects towards it. My spell is of the star path and Nick's spell seems to be of the space path but he was still able to appropriately counter mine. How high is his attainment in space path?)
Not more than two seconds had passed since Nick cast his spell but since Wallace, Andrew and Durant were high level Magicians, they could perform basic movements and think at inhuman speeds using minimal magic energy. Commander Wallace's thoughts were spinning as he looked all around the broken stage.
(This young man really surprises me. Being able to counter little Andrew so well is no easy task at his level but his method is a bit troublesome because its effects are so all over the place. I didn't really intend to single Nick out, I just wanted give the students a good showing and any student could have come up here but this does the trick although little Andrew's last move was a bit much. Alright, I'm satisfied, I better ease the situation before this stage moves in to crush us.)
Commander Wallace snapped his fingers, following which the stage, Andrew's Star Might and Nick's Mars all degenerated into ash and dust.
Nick, surprised by the suddenness of the change - his magic power turned into dust before his very eyes and he lost his footing, fell six feet towards the ground while Andrew and Wallace levitated in midair. Once he landed, Nick quickly got up while ignoring the dust on his clothes, realizing that he had already stopped releasing the dreadful aura.
Andrew smiled at him and tossed the brass ring towards him, saying:
"Remember our agreement."
Nick caught the ring and nodded his head. Although their test was harsh, knowing that the two military officers did not really intend to harm him, Nick accepted the reward without much to say.
Commander Wallace ignored what Andrew said to Nick and spoke to him in a fatherly, calm tone:
"I will see you again, Nick, someday."
Wallace then gave a nod to Durant, signalling that he should remove his time path barrier. Durant responded by cancelling his spell and lowering his hands but he looked on at the two military officers grudgingly, thinking:
(Hmph! Doing as you please because this is your territory. I will be making a report about this after I get back to the academy.)
While the other students went into an uproar, discussing what just happened amongst themselves, Wallace and Andrew both disappeared as if they were never there.
"What the hell just happened?"
"I thought the exam was already over. Why would they try to test us at the end?"
"Who cares, did you see that last spell from that guy with the squinted eyes? Awesome!"
"Aren't you forgetting to mention how Nick countered him. What was the spell that he used?"
"I suspect that it was a space path spell. Too bad Commander Wallace destroyed the stage and interrupted the confrontation before we could get to see more."
...
Nick had already become somewhat of a celebrity because of his actions over the past year so naturally, people recognized his appearance as soon as he went on stage. Nick held the brass ring in this right hand and declared internally:
(Commander Wallace broke through my and Lieutenant Wiles's spells with so little effort and without causing us backlash. I can't even compete with him the way I am now. I have to get stronger!)
Durant still stood among the students and had already adopted a tone and stance befitting a composed administrator, soon declaring:
"You will be returning to your academies now!"
After he said that, he performed one clap with both hands and the space around Nick warped. When the space normalized, Nick found himself standing at the gates of Richter Order Academy with a few hundred other students.
Almost everyone around him turned their attention towards him like he was some sort of strange zoo animal.
Nick was getting uncomfortable with the attention so he cast Blink in order to quickly leave the area before anyone could say anything to him.
*************************************************************************
Within the Dean's Administrative Building, dean's office, at this time...
A black woman who seemed to be in her early thirties that had long, straight, black hair walked into the dean's room and announced:
"Dean Gecko, the second years have returned from their mid-year exam. You asked me to keep an eye out for Nick Capitol's results. Why is that, they seem mediocre at best? Out of the over five hundred second years that the academy sent to the Never Ending Battlefield, Nick's results only placed him in the top ninety of the grade."
Dean Xavier Gecko raised his head from his paper work in response to the woman words and replied:
"Samantha, that young man is a promising seed, of course I would pay attention to his results. Just because he did not do that well in terms of his score this time around does not mean that he is any less promising."
Samantha Bell replied while putting Nick's collated results on the deans desk:
"If you say so, Dean Gecko. On to more important matters, a few of our third years are planning to tag along on a mission to a realm whose entrance rights are owned by the Nefari family. The mission is set to take place one year from now and wouldn't usually be worthy of note but a child from the British royal family is also taking part. A correspondence has been sent to this office for your attention. Please take it."
Gecko took the document in hand and creased his brows, saying:
"The Nefari family...they are a strong supporter of the royal family and are rumored to have the fourth largest accumulation of wealth in the country. They are powerful and have a great reputation but from my own experience, all their members are devils. In any case, just make sure that the third years that are going on the mission know not to embarrass the academy in front of royalty. You may go now."
Samantha nodded her head silently and proceeded to leave the dean's room. Dean Gecko placed the document in his hand absentmindedly on his desk and muttered:
"The soul tag that I placed on Nick has indicated extreme improvement, not only in the strength of the boy's soul but in the quality of his magic power. He's growing fast; the best time to research his body to find out more about his unknown affinity should be when he reaches the peak of rank 3. I'll wait until then before I act."
**************************************************************************
United English Bank's Richter Order Academy branch...
"I apologize for the freeze on your account, Mr. Capitol, but transactions done across realms are not suited for the type of bank account that you have set up. When you made your last transaction, the account was frozen for suspicious activity."
Nick sighed in exasperation, saying:
"That's the reason for the freeze? You people had me thinking that I lost everything somehow. Please set me up with an account that can be used across realms."
Thirty minutes later, Nick walked out of the bank with a new bank account and renewed hopes.
"Now that I am backed by my finances again, I'm ready to transact with confidence."
Nick's next stop was one of the mineral stores located on campus where he sold the remainder of the peppermint crystals that he had within his space band. That sale netted him about £465,000,000 and when Nick checked his bank account balance when exiting the store, he couldn't help but put away his usual indifferent expression and smile from ear to ear.
The time of day was still early at about 2 pm but Nick wanted to go to his commercial building and rest before doing anything else. During most of the ten years that he was within the Never Ending Battlefield, he never got much rest because he was almost always anxious and on edge. Now, he finally had the chance to sleep in his own bed.
Nick suddenly thought of something and took out his phone, making a call to someone that he never really had any interest in contacting until now but he felt that his need was urgent. After the person answered the call, Nick spoke flatly:
"Hey Cindy, I want to talk to you about the exam that we just finished. Is it fine if we meet up at my place twenty minutes from now. I'll text you the address."
Cindy Reece on the other end replied:
"Nick? This is very sudden and I didn't expect you to call me after our last encounter in the undergrounds."
Nick reassured:
"That's all water under the bridge. If you're coming, come alone."
Cindy mumbled something, then said:
"Since you want to talk, I'll find my way to your place. I didn't have anything major planned for the rest of the day anyway."
After a few more innocuous exchanges, Nick hung up the phone, then texted Cindy the address before he cast Blink several times, soon arriving at his commercial building within the academy's commercial district. Nick walked through the glass front doors, no key being needed since the security system recognized his identity.
A middle aged man dressed in a black and white butler attire emerged from one of the back offices on the ground floor and greeted Nick:
"Welcome back, sir."
Nick nodded his head at his steward and said:
"Good to see you Dewy. I'm going to go up stars to my bedroom to take a shower. A woman will be arriving here soon, so just guide her up there and have her wait on the sofa if I'm not done in time."
Nick immediately went up stairs and like he said, he went to the reconstructed second floor and entered through his bedroom's door. Before the exam begun, Nick had the second floor redesigned, repurposing half of it to be his bedroom/living room and the other half to be a work space. Nick spent fifteen minutes taking a shower and by the time he was done, a knock was heard at the room's door, following which Dewy's voice sounded:
"Sir, the woman, Cindy Reece, has arrived."
Nick replied indifferently:
"Let her in."
A moment later, the door opened and a white young woman that had short, blonde hair and was currently wearing a fitting, dark-blue jeans pants and a white buttoned up blouse. Nick did not change his tone as he spoke although he was a little nervous but did not let it show:
"How was the exam for you?"
Cindy replied:
"The exam wasn't difficult or easy. We were allowed to do what we wanted and I happened to learn a few things over the ten year period."
Nick nodded in understanding before saying:
"So did I."
Cindy slightly frowned as she looked over the room that they were in and then asked a question:
"Is there any reason in particular why you had me brought to your bedroom when there are sitting areas down stairs?"
(Blink.)
Nick disappeared and then suddenly reappeared directly in front of Cindy, crossing one meter of distance. He spoke while looking her in the eyes, his right hand slightly shaking from his nervousness:
"After we completed the last end of year exam, you made a certain gesture back then when you and I were close. I would like to believe that your feelings haven't changed."
Cindy put on a thoughtful expression as she thought back to that time and then her face slightly flushed. She replied:
"Did you actually ask me to come here so that you could use my body?"
Nick sighed internally, his nervousness lifting since the cat was out of the bag. Yes, he had asked Cindy here so that he could have sex with her; he had an urge and he thought that he might as well try to satisfy it given his increased status among the students. Cindy was one of his limited choices because he did not know too many women.
(She shouldn't really be this surprised; she made a move on me first even if that was months ago. In any case, if she says no, I just have to wait for another opportunity.)
Nick replied to her:
"Yes, that right. I want to have sex with you. If it's a no, then so be it but if you say yes, you will earn my 'friendship'."
Nick felt vomit rise up in his throat when he mentioned the word friendship but he kept it down and waited for Cindy's reply. She looked at him blankly for a few moments, then said:
"You know, I barely know you."
Nick replied indifferently:
"I don't care. Make up your mind or leave."
Nick now understood how Magicians thought more than how he even understood how women thought so he knew that taking a stance of 'take it or leave it' was the only way that he could emerge from this situation with his dignity intact.
Cindy looked Nick fiercely in the eyes for about half a minute before sounding a relenting sigh. Her expression softened and she finally spoke:
"You better mean it when you say that we will be friends."
Nick internally pumped a fist in triumph.
(Power attracts and self interest is the lever that will move people. This turned out to be a good learning experience. Now for the reward.)
Nick cast Space quickly and enveloped them both in his special space, using it to teleport all their clothes away. Cindy was momentarily shocked by Nick's speed but steeled her determination soon after. She asked:
"Shouldn't we go to the bed?"
Nick looked at Cindy's naked, firm body and his fifth limb instantly engorged. He replied, still maintaining his indifferent expression:
"No, right here is fine."
He then grabbed Cindy's frail shoulders and turned her around, bending her over slightly against the door, his fifth limb sliding against her buttocks. Nick spoke to her softly while he held her in place:
"This might hurt a first but I'll try to be as gentle as possible."
Cindy felt that what Nick said was a little strange so she asked in response:
"Huh? What are you..."
At that moment, she felt her butt cheeks part and her eyes opened wide in response, feeling a mixture of both pain and arousal.
"Awwwwwwwwwww!"
*************************************************************************
One hour later...
The door to Nick's bedroom door opened and he led Cindy out and down to the entrance of his building. Cindy seemed to be walking shakily after their encounter but Nick ignored it. When they got to the outside, Nick spoke to Cindy as indifferently as always:
"I had a good time. I'll call you when we can meet again."
Cindy nodded her head silently, not wanting to speak, fearing that she might say something that would ruin the results of her effort for the last hour.
(This man...hmph! If it wasn't for the fact that you are stronger than me, I'd do to you what you did to me just to teach you a lesson in how not to treat a lady.)
Cindy left silently, presumably returning to her dorm. Nick went back to his bedroom on the third floor and locked the door before falling into his bed. He immediately fell asleep and only woke up the next morning when Dewy knocked at his door, saying:
"Sir, will you be needing breakfast this morning?"
Nick groggily replied:
"French toast. A dozen eggs, scrambled. Canadian maple syrup. Please."
Dewy then left to prepare breakfast and Nick did a few reps of pushups before taking a shower. He had Dewy bring his breakfast into one of the first floor offices where he ate it while watching motivational videos.
"...I promise you guys. If you give it all here today and never say good enough, then tomorrow you will always have enough..."
Nick soon stopped the video and pondered on his next actions. After a few minutes of thinking, Nick brought out the brass ring that he received from Commander Jeffrey Wallace and Lieutenant Andrew Wiles. Nick then proceeded to put it on and a 6 digit code was revealed to him as it hovered over the ring's top like a hologram.
(This should be the code that I need to access the ministry's exclusive documents for rank 2 Magicians.)
Nick opened his browser and went to the Ministry of Magic's military website where he went to the 'Archives' section. Once he entered the six digit code that he was given, he was brought to a search bar that he was supposed to use to look for information. He was also alerted that he had three search opportunities available.
Nick pondered for close to an hour what his first search would be and then at the end, he typed in his first keyword: 'Talent'. When Nick clicked search, thousands of links to digital materials were populated that had some relation to the word, talent. Nick spent half the day sorting through the links and was finally able to isolate information on magical talents and even the details of various Magicians whose talents were well documented.
Nick spent the next two days reading up on talents until he gained a proper understanding of what they were.
"So talents are the manifestation of the effects of laws derived from nature itself, similar to spells but not directly observable like spells..."
Nick nodded his head many times in understanding.
"I've read about a few dozen Magicians and their talents and I even found two Magicians who had earned two talents that I am very interested in. Gregory Marvis was a soul path Magician with the talent, Soul Cradle, which gave his soul inhuman self regenerative abilities. The information says that he earned the talent by consuming fifteen million magic beast souls but the information doesn't specify the rank of the souls. Next, we have Valerie Nottingham who was a space path Magician with the talent, Space Breach, which could detect faults in space. The information says that she used that talent to discover many realms which allowed her to enrich herself. She apparently earned this talent by eating the entire corpse of a rank 6 space idol, a magic beast that can be found in certain realms that the ministry has access to."
Nick gulped after he mentioned the latter talent.
"Never mind eating the humongous corpse of a rank 6 magic beast, how would I dare to enter a realm that such magic beasts inhabit? The information says that space idols are incredibly formidable in combat and an ordinary rank 6 Hero Magician cannot defeat one without help."
Nick rubbed his chin with his right hand in frustration.
"I can possibly earn the former talent even though it is difficult but the latter talent is impossible for me at the moment but I will set earning both of them as goals. Talents are a great help in a Magician's development and so I don't mind spending some effort in going after these two..."
Nick paused for a moment before making a sudden realization:
"Isn't it a little odd how after I became interested in talents, I ended up with the military brass ring that has given me exclusive information on ones that I am interested in..."
Nick pondered on his latter statement for about a minute before deciding that he was just thinking too much.
RING RING RING
Nick's smart phone rang and he quickly answered it in response without checking the caller ID.
"Hello, Nick Capitol speaking."
The person on the other end who was clearly female spoke in an authoritative yet feminine tone:
"Nick, your exam has clearly ended. I want to meet up with you to discuss new customers that I have obtained for the business."
Nick paused for a few moments, trying to remember who the person speaking to him was. As soon as a name appeared within his mind, he awkwardly blurted out:
"...Carla. Uh, yeah, no problem, just text me the time and place."
Carla spoke in reply with a grudging tone:
"You forgot about me, didn't you?"
A bead of sweat fell down Nick's face when he heard the accusation of this rank 4 Magician. He nervously replied:
"I definitely did not!"