Raven got away from the mage's area and headed towards the much longer line meant for warriors.
Just to spectate.
The line was almost 4 times bigger than the line for mages.
Which made sense, since mages in general were weaker at lower levels because they not only lacked physical prowess, but they also were slower.
They needed to be protected in the back of a squad.
And mages without special abilities were even weaker.
Like simple elemental mages, with just their elements to depend on.
The best example of this is Raven himself.
Well, Raven, before he met the silver woman and inherited those two special abilities.
So, only the brave or the talented chose magic as their pathway, since it was better after a certain threshold.
Raven, as a part-time warrior himself, wanted to see what the level of the warriors was.
And, without being a surprise to anyone, he wasn't even close.
Since warriors in general were more powerful than mages, and he was on the weaker side of warriors, the level here was on a different level.
The techniques, the precision, the speed, and everything else.
They were out of his league.
Sigh!
It was quite a bummer to watch, and he realized he should probably stick to being a mage now.
But this didn't mean he would completely abandon this path.
It was still good for his physical fitness, and as a backup in case he runs out of mana.
He tried finding Pevon in the massive line and noticed him in the middle of the queue.
'Looks like I'd be here for a while.' He said as he crouched near an unassuming corner.
Immediately, he felt a glaring stare on his back.
His head flicked towards the source of the glare, and it was… Eve?
She nudged her head for an instant and flicked it back to the candidate.
Deciphering the signal accurately, he stood up straight.
Looks like he wasn't even allowed to sit up anymore.
Thankfully, nobody noticed this brief interaction of theirs.
He alternated his gaze between the warriors and the mages' performance and analyzed their fighting styles.
Maybe he could include some in his own?
Take some inspiration, perchance?
As time passed, he waited calmly, and at last, Pevon's turn came.
Finally!
He had no other reason to stay back but to watch him go all out.
They had never officially fought each other, but he had high expectations of him.
Mostly because his father wanted to scout him as a knight of his family, once they had a noble title.
He wondered what his father saw in him.
And his answer was questioned the next second.
Pevon's eyes sharpened, and,
Fwshh!
A purple mist slowly evaporated from his body, making people around him gasp in surprise.
Because so far, only one person had performed this phenomenon here.
Even Raven was surprised.
Aura manifestation.
The first step into being a knight.
Being able to manifest an aura was the first step to being a knight.
'Just this showcase of aura should be enough for him,' Raven thought.
He couldn't help but chuckle at this absurdity.
Who knew a lackey of a minor, trashy, bratty noble would have the strength and talent of this kind?
The average age range for knights to be able to achieve this was 25 to 27.
And Pevon was around his age.
Dash!
He dashed towards Eve at a speed that was hard for most people to track, and clashed with Eve.
Eve, of course, blocked it without flinching.
The rules were the same as there.
One chance was all they had.
Whistle!
A few whistles echoed from the queue.
"You can go!"
Unlike Mark, Eve wasn't passing on any compliments to the candidates.
So there was no way to decipher how impressed or unimpressed she was by their performances.
But it was clear that this would definitely be on the better side of their evaluation.
Pevon left the area and started moving back when he finally spotted Raven in the corner.
Clap!
They dapped each other up.
"Damn, Pevon," Raven said, his tone reflecting his surprise, "What was that?"
Heh!
Pevon chuckled as he opened his mouth, but no words came out.
The cool boy persona was turned off.
He was clearly a bit shy about that.
"My father's money, I guess." He twisted the response to cope with the shyness.
"Don't be so self-effacing," Raven said, "If money were all that mattered, then I would've been a Master already."
He was a Marlowe, after all.
They both started to move to the other side of the facility, since it was mentioned in the paper that their second test would be conducted immediately after.
As they walked, Raven asked for some tips, but all Pevon could say was some random gibberish and how it came naturally.
It didn't seem like he was lying.
So Raven realized that he was a natural.
It happened often with geniuses in his grades.
Unlike him, who was only powerful because he had to use everything in his arsenal.
And had logic behind every one of his hacks.
Pevon seemed to be a natural.
"Raven!" Their conversation was interrupted by a familiar voice that he knew from two days ago.
The pretty sapphire-eyed, purple-haired airhead.
Janet.
Pevon immediately gave him a side eye, asking for answers to questions not even uttered yet.
But Raven still knew what those questions were.
"Fancy meeting you here, Janet," Raven gave her a normal handshake and continued, "I didn't see you back in the facility."
"Nice meeting you too," She returned his greeting, and then followed it by the answer, "The people with special abilities had a different place assigned for testing."
"I see," Raven wondered what her special power was. "By the way, meet my friend from my hometown, Pevon Frusco."
He turned around, "Pevon, this is Janet Lacassue, an 'acquaintance' I made two days ago."
He made sure to emphasize the acquaintance part.
"Oh, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too."
Their greeting was a lot more lukewarm, since it was their first.
Wanting to break the ice, Raven immediately changed the topic and asked Janet, "What's the next test, by the way?"
"I don't know much either, but," She paused for a second, "The next test has something to do with the duos."
The conversation continued after that, when suddenly,
Urk!
Something pulsed on his shoulder.