Soul of the Warrior

Chapter 88: Diametric Expectations

Reivyn stood in front of the large, clear orb. There were bands of multi-colored light swirling about within the crystal. The only instruction Reivyn had received for the end-of-year Affinity test was that he could take it at any time from the last week of the second semester until the end of the first week of the last month of the summer semester.

The Academies only had a total of 10 testing orbs between the two of them, and they were extremely important resources. They were housed in rooms in the Administration Building permanently, and students had to be escorted by the staff to ensure nothing happened to the orb or the students. Since there were so few orbs and so many Affinities, the staff member would insert a magical disk in the podium that held the orb to program the test to the appropriate Affinity each time.

Tom, Vane, and Trick had all decided to wait until closer to the end of the summer months to take their exams, as there was still the possibility of losing their top 10 Ranking positions if they performed subpar and the competitors did well. They wanted the chance to practice their Affinity Levels and practical application of magic before they took their tests, so they would come back a little earlier from the Revenant Dungeon to take the tests.

Reivyn didn't have any such compunctions. He was firmly in first place, and he could only lose his position if he completely failed the test and didn't pass any of the others, which was basically impossible. Reivyn had chosen to take the Light and Darkness Affinity tests. Even though he was a Novice and only needed to pass a Tier 1 Affinity test and didn't need the bonus points from completing the Tier 3 Affinity test, he would get permanent credit for doing so. He would still need to take the tests each year - that wouldn't change - but his record for graduation would still reflect that he passed two Tier 3 tests while a Novice. The record would go with him when he moved to the Tier 2 Academy, too.

Reivyn didn't really know what to expect from the test as he inspected the orb. None of the other students had signed up for the Light or Darkness Affinity tests, and if any of them did, it would probably be like his roommates, at the end of the summer semester after additional practice. It was frowned upon to disseminate information about the tests. It wasn't exactly against the rules, though, which meant it did happen. The instructors didn't tell the students what was in the tests beforehand, either.

No reason to hesitate, Reivyn thought as he reached his hand out to grip the orb. He infused his Mana into the orb, and the world around him went completely white as he had the sensation of being pulled into it. The orbs created an actual side world, so the students would be physically moved to the testing location.

It was almost always completely safe, though, as combat wasn't the main focus of the Affinity tests. There were some Affinities where combat was an appropriate gauge, though it was generally against weak goblins or mundane beasts. The Academy wanted to test the students' abilities with their Affinities and weaves, not their ability to decimate monsters. The point of having them face off against any creatures at all, in the few cases it happened, was to give the students a bit of pressure and a sense of urgency.

Reivyn looked around as he found himself in a world of white. He felt solid ground beneath him, but he couldn't see it. There was no differentiation between the sky and floor, and there were no shadows cast anywhere. There were plenty of objects scattered around the testing area, but it seemed like every surface was its own source of light, preventing shadows.

Next to Reivyn was a small table. On top of the table was a wand with a white, opaque crystal on its end. There was no visual representation, but he got the distinct feeling that the ground dropped off just a few feet away from him and that it wouldn't be possible to move from his current location.

Off in the distance, he could see the only things breaking up the monotony of white. Scattered all around were floating crystals of varying shades of color. There were panes of glass with similar colors between Reivyn and the space where the crystals were, and some of the crystals were obscured by walls. There were mirrors at varying locations and angles as well. There was some sort of light barrier in front of the mirror panes, though, and it prevented Reivyn from seeing what was actually reflected.

A Notification suddenly popped up in front of Reivyn, startling him from inspecting the environment.

Test of Light Infuse the Light Wand with your Light Affinity. Use your abilities to focus the beam produced as tight as possible, and pass the beam through the colored panes to the best matching colored crystal. Some crystals have obstacles blocking their path, and you can use your understanding of the Light Affinity to pierce the veil obscuring the mirrors.

Objective: To Pass, successfully match five out of seven crystals with the best matching color. One failed match is allowed per crystal. If you fail to properly match the shades twice, the crystal will disappear. Minimum Passing Score: 65%

If five crystals aren't lit up, a failing grade will be awarded, and you will be automatically dismissed from the Space.

Reivyn dismissed the Notification and looked at the tools available to him. He could see three of the colored crystals clearly about 20 yards away, but the other four were obscured by obstacles. There were 28 different panes of color floating between him and the crystals. Each color had four different shades.

So I have to use my Affinity to make the beam as tight as possible, use it to see through the light obstruction on the mirrors to find the right obscured crystal, and I have to use my understanding of Light to match the closest shade panel to the crystal. The three easy crystals are red, blue, and yellow, the three primary colors. Without looking at the reflections, and just judging off the panes in front of me, the other four colors are green, orange, purple, and brown.

There seems to be a small circle carved on each of the crystals, so I'll have to tighten the beam to match that target as much as possible. It said "as tight as possible," so I imagine a more focused beam is better than diffuse.

Reivyn grabbed the wand and inspected it closely. The crystal embedded in the wand didn't come to a point, and its thickness was about as wide as three of his fingers held together. He pointed it off to the side, away from the crystals, and channeled his mana into it. The Notification said if I matched the wrong shade of color, he thought, but it didn't say anything about missing the crystals. The beam came out the exact same width as the crystal.

He focused his mind, and bore down on his Mana, slowly but surely reducing the width of the beam. It took quite a bit of concentration to get the beam to shrink down and stay at the size he wanted. The Mana fought back as it wanted to conform to the size of the crystal, but Reivyn could tell that that would be too large for the targets. His high Perception Stat allowed him to see that he would need to focus the beam to no larger than two fingers' width to succeed.

Reivyn activated his Mana Sight. The Light beam coming out of the wand was perfectly clear, and he could see the weaves within the beam. There wasn't anything fancy in the weaves. There were no knots or patterns, just the regular weaves.

Reivyn swept the beam to pass through the closest colored pane, but still away from any of the crystals. Something caught his attention with the Mana as soon as it passed through the pane. The weaves in the Light Beam, when it was clear, were perfectly straight. As soon as it passed through the pane, however, the weaves took on a squiggly shape. Reivyn moved the beam through the next shade of the same color, and the shape of the weave subtly shifted.

Reivyn cut off the Mana being infused into the wand and focused his attention on the red crystal that he could see. In his Mana Sight, the interior of the crystal seemed to be magnified, not by his own skill, but by the crystal itself. He could clearly see the shape of the squiggly weave in the interior of the crystal.

Reivyn reactivated the wand and passed the beam through the four shades of red, and he compared the weaves to the one clearly shown inside the crystal.

There are no definite matches, but one of the panes produces weaves that are closer than the other three.

Reivyn once more deactivated the wand and contemplated the situation.

It says to pass I need to match the best color to the crystal. It doesn't say that I have to use the wand, or that I have to pass the beam through the panes.

With that thought in mind, Reivyn placed the wand back down on the table. The crystal wand did a good job of utilizing his Light-infused Mana, but it also fought to keep the beam at an awkward size.

Reivyn pointed his index finger at the red crystal. He didn't immediately release the Beam Spell, but he first formed the shell and filled it with a perfectly matching weave. Surprisingly, his Rhythm Skill helped him the most to get the squiggles exactly right. He pointed his finger at the target on the red crystal, and using his finger as a medium, he released a one-finger width beam with a light that perfectly matched the shade of red of the red crystal.

The Beam struck the target, and the red crystal lit up with a more powerful luminosity before it created its own Beam of red light, shooting off into the distance. Reivyn nodded his head at the phenomenon.

I bet if I used the correct pane, the combination of that shade plus the shade of the crystal would have merged, slightly altering the Beam produced by the crystal, Reivyn surmised. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't really feel like finding out. Why use an inferior method when I have the ability to do it perfectly?

Reivyn quickly analyzed the blue and yellow crystals, and he duplicated his previous method to hit their targets with perfect matching shades.

The next crystal is obscured behind a light screen in the mirror, so I'll have to figure out how to bypass that to even find the correct crystals.

The light screens weren't perfectly clear, though they were close. Reivyn peered at the light screen in front of the first mirror with his Mana Sight, and, just like the crystals, he could see the magnified light weaves of the Spell. He thought about how to go about bypassing the barrier for a second, and then he infused the same, matching squiggles into his eyes.

When the Light Affinity weaves matched the frequency of the light screens, they turned translucent. The frequency of the weaves in the light screens was incredibly simple, much more so than the weaves in the colored crystals. There were four mirrors, and to pass, he would need to successfully see through two of them. The light screens' weaves grew slightly more difficult to match for each one. Since Reivyn was able to easily match the frequencies of the crystals, though, it posed very few problems for him.

The closer his own weaves matched the light screen, the clearer it became. Perfectly matching the weaves caused him to see perfectly through the light screen, and he could see the green-colored crystal reflected on the surface of the mirror. He analyzed the next color frequency. He matched the frequency of the crystal perfectly, but he had a suspicion about the light screen.

He launched his Beam spell in a manner that it wouldn't hit the colored crystal, and once the Beam passed through the light screen, his internal weave structure was altered by the light screen's frequency, changing the shade ever so slightly.

Aha! If a student isn't paying attention, they might choose the wrong panel if they're using them, Reivyn thought with a grin. The change of the frequency will mean that the end shade isn't the same as the panel, causing one to misjudge and waste an attempt.

This test seems very simple on the surface, but there are several pitfalls for the students baked into the test on a fundamental level. This is a Tier 3 Affinity test, so most of the students who choose to attempt this test will probably have an Affinity Level of somewhere between 10 to 20, much lower than my 49. I can see how it could be a suitable challenge for someone of such Affinity Level.

Reivyn adjusted his Beam based on the frequency of the light screen, and he struck the next target with a perfect match once again. The green Beam joined the other three primary colored Beams, all four colors joining at a point off in the distance.

Reivyn moved on to the next color, and following his previous actions, he once more quickly struck the target. Once the fifth colored Beam, this one orange, joined the other four, a Notification popped up in front of Reivyn's face.

Passing Grade

71.43% Completion

Exit Space?

Accept Decline

Reivyn dismissed the Notification by focusing his will on the Decline option. Since I've already decided to do it perfectly, I need to complete the last two colors.

Reivyn looked through the next mirror. This one was slightly different, as the squiggly weave was again more complex than the last light screen, and there was an additional mirror with another light screen beyond. It took Reivyn a moment to figure out that he needed to layer the next frequency with another weave behind the first one matching the first mirror in his vision. Once he did so, the purple crystal revealed itself to him. He altered the weaves based on the combination of the two frequencies, and the purple Beam joined the other five.

Passing Grade - Superior

85.71%

Exit Space?

Accept Decline

Reivyn once more Declined to leave early, and he moved his concentration to the last mirror. The frequency of the weaves on the last light screen wasn't static, and they slowly shifted, undulating like a snake.

I can either hold a steady frequency of my own and time it, or I can match the movements of the weave. If I try to time it, when the light screen isn't perfectly transparent, it might alter the frequency I see from the brown crystal. So I need to create matching undulations in my own vision to get the right frequency for the brown Beam.

Once again, Reivyn's Rhythm Skill carried the burden, and he found it wasn't too difficult to match the shifting frequency. If it moved much faster, it might have been a problem, but the shifting shape was slow and steady.

Reivyn matched the technique to the second, also-shifting frequency of the next light screen. It was moving at a slightly faster speed, creating a dissonance in the shifting of the weaves. What followed after wasn't the brown crystal, though, but a third light screen.

Reivyn found that he had to struggle to maintain three shifting, layered weaves in his vision while simultaneously deducing the brown frequency and applying the undulating corrections to the Beam. Sweat beaded his brow as he finished preparing the beam, and he finally released the Spell to strike the target. The brown Beam connected to the point in the distance with the other beams, and a final Notification appeared before Reivyn's vision.

Passing Grade - Perfect

100%

You will automatically be teleported out of the Space

Reivyn felt the pull of the world, and he quickly found himself back in the testing room, the staff member looking bored. The older man straightened up in surprise, though, when Reivyn appeared suddenly. He walked up and patted Reivyn on the shoulder with a commiserating look.

"It's normal to fail a Tier 3 Affinity test or two," the man said. "Especially since you're only a Novice. Don't take it to heart, though. This experience will help you next year if you decide to tackle the Light Affinity test again. It won't be the same test, but this should help."

Reivyn quirked an eyebrow as he eyed the man from the side of his eyes. He must think I failed because of the time I spent inside. I didn't think I moved particularly quickly, but maybe I did.

The man walked over to the orb and removed the magic disk from its slot. Reivyn could barely see that there were some new numbers shining on the surface of the disk, and the staff member froze in place, eyes going as wide as they possibly could with his jaw hanging open. He stood and stared in that state for several moments before Reivyn coughed into his hand to get his attention.

The staff member's mouth suddenly shut tight, but his eyes were still wide when he turned to look at Reivyn.

"Is there something wrong?" Reivyn asked, a frown on his face.

"N-n-no," the man stuttered. "Nothing wrong here." He shook his head and looked at the number again to confirm what he saw. "You got a 100% on the test?!" Reivyn nodded his head in affirmation. "Wow! The previous record for this test was 74%. Most people pass with a score between 65 and 70%.

"If you aren't already famous, you're about to be."

Reivyn shrugged, and the staff member chuckled after mastering his emotions.

"Ok, well, I'll just run this up to the Office of Testing - "

"Ahem," Reivyn coughed once more. "Don't forget. I'm also taking the Darkness test."

"Of course," the man smacked himself in the forehead. "How could I forget? Let me just change the magic disks out, and you can step right into the next test."

The man quickly inserted the next magic disk that he pulled out of his pocket, and he nodded to Reivyn to go ahead. Reivyn detected a lot more respect in the man's vision this time as opposed to the bored look before he began the Light Affinity test.

Reivyn stepped up to the orb, this time with illusion of dark striations, and once more infused it with his mana. After the familiar sensation of being sucked into the orb, Reivyn found himself in a world of complete darkness. A Notification popped up once more.

Test of Darkness Use your Darkness Affinity to recognize and traverse the Dark Maze. Forge a key, and exit the Space.

Objective: To Pass, travel through the Dark Maze within 20 minutes. Gather the strands of Darkness with the Darkness Affinity, and create the Key to exit the Space. You cannot generate your own Darkness Mana weaves to forge the Key. Step off the path and start over. Score is based on time spent and integrity of the Key. Minimum Passing Score: 65%

Using Light Affinity is an automatic Failure.

Reivyn dismissed the Notification and looked around with just his eyes and Perception Stat. There was nothing but absolute darkness in every direction. He couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face.

Reivyn infused the Darkness Affinity into his Mana Sight. The world shifted in his perception, and he was able to pick up multiple different shades of the darkness. It wasn't just that it was completely black, but there were layered degrees of darkness. With the Darkness infused Mana in his Mana Sight, he was able to see a gradient that started with pitch black on the far edges that slowly lightened in the center to a clear path he had to walk.

Reivyn knew he only had so much time, so he immediately set off. He wasn't entirely sure what the Key was, or how to forge it, but he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

He confidently strode down the path that was clear in his vision. It went straight for about 10 yards, and then it started to slowly curve off to the right. The distinction of the gradient also became slightly more blurry as he walked along, and occasionally the path would jerk in random directions.

Reivyn usually had a good sense of direction, but after passing through several loops that should have crossed his previous locations with no indication of the previous path, he quickly abandoned any idea of trying to make sense of the maze or mentally map his progress. Whenever the gradient would grow fuzzy, obscuring the correct pathway, Reivyn would simply infuse more power into his Darkness Affinity, and it would become clear again.

After two minutes of walking, according to his System Clock, Reivyn came to a sharp turn to the left. Straight ahead, though, just beyond reach, a singular weave of Darkness Mana floated in empty space. The Mana of the weave was distinct from the rest of the darkness in his Sight.

So forging the key must be acquiring these weaves and putting them together, Reivyn thought. One of the concepts associated with Darkness is Consuming, so I need to leverage that concept to "absorb" the weave.

Reivyn stretched his hand out and concentrated on infusing Darkness Mana into his palm. He focused his will on the concept of Consuming, and the Darkness weave began to disintegrate as it was pulled toward him from the bottom, up. Reivyn cut off the Darkness Mana infused into his palm, and the weave coalesced once more.

Hmm, if I bring it over here a little bit at a time, then the weave might not match perfectly, Reivyn contemplated. The rules are that I can't use my own Mana to forge the Key, so if I tamper with it to ensure its integrity, that should be against the rules. The rules don't say anything about using Darkness Mana, though.

Reivyn infused Darkness Mana into his palm once more, but before he absorbed the floating weave, he extended a line of Darkness Mana toward the weave and enveloped it. He had to match the exact shade of darkness utilizing his previous method of matching frequencies in order to perfectly move the weave. Once he began pulling the weave to himself once more, it kept its entire shape. Reivyn was unable to grasp the ethereal weave, so he simply kept the Darkness mana holding it in place next to himself.

The Dark Maze wasn't too difficult for Reivyn to follow with his Level 49 Darkness Affinity. Any time the gradient became fuzzy, he simply used more power. The other challenge was that the weaves for the Key began to blend in better with the surrounding Darkness, and the frequencies became slightly more complicated. This also didn't pose a problem for Reivyn, though, and he gathered four Darkness weaves, one every couple of minutes.

Once the four weaves were together and placed next to each other, they automatically combined into the shape of the Key, and it solidified into an object that he could hold in his hand.

Since the Key is formed, the exit should be nearby, Reivyn thought. He infused the maximum power into his Sight, and he began to run down the path.

Time continued to tick by, and once it reached 9:51 time elapsed, Reivyn finally made it to the exit of the Space. It was a large, solid black door with a keyhole in the center. He inserted the Key into the lock. The door didn't open, and instead, a Notification popped up in front of Reivyn.

Passing Grade - Perfect

Time Elapsed: 9:57 - No Time Penalty

Key Integrity: 100%

Combined Score: 100%

You will automatically be teleported out of the Space

The pull of the world once more dragged Reivyn back to reality, and the staff member smiled at Reivyn as he emerged. Before he said anything, he walked over to the pedestal and removed the magic disk. He nodded his head and put it in his pocket with the Light test magic disk.

"Another record shattered," the man sighed. "Alright. I'll run these up to the Office of Testing, and your scores will be recorded.

"Congratulations. Setting a new record comes with a reward of School Credits, and getting a perfect score does, too. Each of those achievements is worth 100 School Credits multiplied by the Tier of the Affinity test, so you'll get another 1,200 School Credits once it's all been processed."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Reivyn said with some surprise.

"Yeah, most students aren't record-breakers," the staff member replied. "We leave it as a pleasant surprise to those students who do so. It's not a secret, so you can tell other students if you want to. Most current students don't know about it, though, because it's been several years since any record has been broken. The record for the Tier 1 Affinities are all 100%, anyway. Anyone who gets it still gets the reward for breaking the record, though, as it's impossible to go any higher.

"The last time anyone came close to breaking a record was two years ago. A female Novice student got a 96% on the Ice Affinity test, and the record is 97%. I don't remember what her name is, but any Novice that scored that high on a Tier 2 test most likely moved up to the Tier 2 Academy."

"Well, thank you for administering the test for me," Reivyn said.

"Oh no, the pleasure was all mine," the older man replied. "It's not every day you get to see someone get 100% on a Tier 3 Affinity test. And not just one test, but two in a row."

Reivyn smiled as he nodded to the other man. They went their separate ways once they left the testing room, Reivyn heading to the exit and the staff member heading to the office.

I'll bet Melissa was the student who got 96% on the Ice Affinity Test, Reivyn thought. It makes sense that she didn't take the test again, despite not going to the Tier 2 Academy already, if she didn't know about the rewards. Maybe I should tell her before we all head to the Revenant Dungeon.

Reivyn whistled a tune in high spirits as he walked back to his dorm. He would take a week's break after the official end of the semester, and then it would be time to clear the last Dungeon in the Region, the first Dungeon he ever ran.

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