A/N: Changing Psyker energy and Psyker beasts to Psionic energy and Psionic beasts. I just can't stand it any longer.
Yi Long chuckled, a hint of nervousness in his tone. "Well, we..." He motioned to himself, Wang Hao, and Wang Wei. "Have to go trade our goods, and you..." He pointed to Lief. "Have to apply to the knight order, so it makes sense, no?"
Yi Long looked at the pouch that he had just given to Lief. "That'll be your fallback savings in case the Flaming Leopards don't pay enough." He thought for a bit. "It'll also cost 20 shirkams just to register for the exam."
Saying that, he turned his head and walked away, pulling the other villagers with him. "Don't worry, we might meet again someday!"
Lief sighed and looked underneath the banner to see the counter. A stocky man dressed in a studded leather tunic was playing with his thumbs on the wood.
"I'm here to apply for the exam." Lief's light voice rang through the man's ears. As he looked up, his eyes widened as he saw Lief's unnatural appearance, though he quickly regained his composure.
"Silver-r?" the man asked.
Lief withdrew some shirkams from his pouch. Eighteen, nineteen, and there! Twenty! He quickly tossed them onto the counter.
The man handed over a sheet of parchment. "Fill in your information on this form. It's your ticket to the test." Then, he looked away and went back to playing with his thumbs.
The parchment was smooth against Lief's slender fingers. Name: Mo Xuan. Age: 17. Weight: bars? Rhysa how much is a bar.
"Saint, weight here is measured with stone bars. One bar is 2.2 pounds from where you're from. Four hundred bars is one brick."
Rhysa processed another idea in a fraction of a second. "I'll explain distance units as well. Bamboo in this nexus is a Psionic species. It has extreme uniformity, with sections separated evenly. Therefore, it is used to measure distance. One stick is around 3.3 feet. One stalk, a fully grown bamboo, is 1000 sticks."
How many sticks is 6'1? Lief asked. The Imperial Shelters hadn't taught much, just basic general knowledge.
"Approximately 1.9, Saint" Rhysa responded nearly instantly. "And you are 186 bars due to overly dense musculature."
The Kyran flesh really did help a lot, didn't it? Lief chuckled internally.
"Your natural Shapeshifter abilities also contributed greatly. I'll brief you on it once you get to the testing grounds," Rhysa reminded.
Alright. Lief continued filling out the form. Weight: 186 bars. Height: 1.9 sticks. Immortal: Yes. Affiliation: Neutral.
Lief finished the application form. He looked straight at the receptionist and asked clearly, "Where are the testing grounds?"
The man was surprised by the sudden noise, before promptly answering. "Door behind me." He stood up from his chair and took a key from his belt. He moved the curtains away and motioned for Lief to follow him.
He inserted the key inside the hole slowly. A light clack was heard as the door creaked open. Pushing open the door, he declared, "In here."
Lief walked in, long white hair flowing on non existent wind.
A large clearing could be seen, the ground sandy dirt and the walls made of steel plates. Several dummies, stuffed with straw, could be seen dangling from ropes. A large man was sleeping in the middle of the clearing.
"Ser Hao, you got an applicant!" the receptionist shouted loudly.
The man, probably Ser Hao, woke up with a jolt. Deep black eyes glanced at Lief. Hao was wearing a chainmail leggings, plate shin guards, and a leather tunic. While most of his stout body couldn't be seen, his thick, tanned, arms made it evident that this was a strong man.
"Ser Hao, have you been drinking?"
Ignoring the receptionist, Hao groggily muttered, "Form?"
Lief handed Hao the parchment.
"186 bars? We're see about that." Han thought Lief must be lying, seeing his thin figure.
"I, Ser Hao of the Han family, shall test your abilitity." He motioned for Lief to come at him. "Give me all you got, rich kid," he said with a smirk. Hao tossed Lief a iron sword.
Rhysa, this is a great time to brief me on Shapeshifter abilities.
"Not true, but it should be fine if I just briefly speed up your mind processing." Since Rhysa wasn't a Psychomancer herself, she flipped a switch on her control board, causing Lief to feel "light".
"Shapeshifters is a very misleading name, in my opinion. Most Shapeshifters can't actually shapeshift freely much, due to the immense difficulty of arranging cells, or even atoms, one by one. Due to this, most Shapeshifters use Techniques. But since you don't have any Techniques, the other major importance of being a Shapeshifter: Passive Physique Enhancement, is whats important to you right now."
Lief looked at his lean muscles and structured form.
"The types of enhancements range greatly, but some of them are so important that all higher level Psykers, except Reynir, are Shapeshifters. These core powers are Longevity and Super Strength. The passives you have are Longevity-" Lief breathed a sigh of relief. "-Super Strength, Hyper Regeneration, Enhanced Senses-" Lief winced at that one, for it was both a blessing and a curse. It would magnify the amount of pain he felt by degrees."-and Passive Purification."
Sounds good. Lief picked up the sword from the floor and brandished it.
"I'll return your mind to regular levels now." The immense lightness Lief had previously felt was now gone, replaced by normal sluggishness.
Inhaling, Lief imbued his blade with a drop of Psionic energy from his reserves, just enough that the blade wouldn't break.
By now, Han Hao was feeling nervous. After all, the sword was now circulating with energy and crackling with red lightning. The brightness and heat radiating from the steel blade made all other places look dark and dim.
The sword itself was brimming with power, the immense heat even slightly melting the steel, despite Lief carefully controlling it to prevent destruction of the metal.
With a deep exhale, Lief swung the sizzling blade with all of his superhuman strength.