A few days later Nox returned to see the still dazed reception lady to hear the results.
Nox's POV(Point Of View):
"Young miss. Might I inquire about my application results?" I said as politely as I could, while brushing up on my snob speech.
"Y-Yes! Right away sir… Sun-am?"
"Yes, that would be me."
"What a unique sounding surname. Where is it from?"
"Apologies, miss. I have another appointment later today, so might I ask if it is not necessary for my family history to be disclosed, might we skip these pleasantries and determine my future as an educator." I said, hoping this day could end before my brain short circuits from having to stop myself from cursing every single squealing girl and woman trying to cop a feel.
"Y-Yes! Of course, right away!"
Gaining both respect and pity for a certain playboy, I was planning to neuter someday. I waited for my test results.
"Congratulation, Mr. Su..Eh?"
"The young miss may refer to me as just Mr. Sun, if my strange name is too difficult to pronounce."
"Y-YES, SORRY! CONGRADULATIONS MR. SUN! YOUR TEACHER'S APPLICATION HAVE BEEN APPROVED TO THE NEXT STAGE!" The receptionist yelled as her face turned red with embarrassment.
That bitch just yelled my personal info to every squealing teen in the building. I was planning to wear something to hide my looks, just so those little shits would stop harassing me during class, but now that idea is out of the question. Nothing spreads the word quite like the gossip of teenaged girls. Realizing spaying that bastard might actually be a mercy, I asked.
"Miss, might I ask? You mentioned a 'next stage'. What might that entail?"
She snapped out of her embarrassed muttering at my words.
"What? Oh! Yeah! If you would follow me Sir Sun"
The reception lady that I hereby dub miss 'loudmouth', led me to a room in the building next door. Inside was a crystal ball that flickered with different colored lights. As miss loudmouth was about to explain a certain grumpy looking guy with a black beard, that I hereby dub 'Blackbeard the Mage', had followed us into the testing room.
"VICE PRINCIPAL!!!" Miss loudmouth yelled in astonishment.
Blackbeard gestured for her to be quiet. I was truly in awe of his knowledge of the arcane. As it had granted him the power to make this loudmouth shut up.
"You are that overconfident little liar, correct?"
"I'm afraid you might have mistaken me for someone else Sir vice principal. I am but a humble mage seeking to apply his knowledge as an educator." I said as I was wondering if this freak of nature figured me out, and if he has ratted me out to that playboy yet.
"Hmph. At least you have some manners." He said as he gestured for loudmouth to leave.
"Might I kno-"
"THERE YOU ARE!!!"
Cutting me off was another old dude I hereby dub 'Graybeard the mage'. Graybeard looked exhausted, as he was sweating from what I can only assume was searching for his buddy Blackbeard.
"Get back to your work! I'm going to test this applicant, myself." Blackbeard said.
"OH, IS THAT SO! *Huff* THEN I AM TO! *puff*" Graybeard responded, making me worried he might have a heart or lung condition with all that labored breathing.
As the two bearded geezers were having a lover's quarrel, I grew tired of waiting.
"THAT IS WHY-"
"IF YOU WOULD EXCUSE MY BOLDNESS?!" I yelled interrupting Blackbeard, as I could visibly see his opinion of me drop even further by the expression on his face.
"Might I ask what part of my qualifications are to be assessed today?"
"HOW INSOL-"
"Ah, what a polite young applicant we have." Graybeard said cutting off Blackbeard's angry rant.
"You see here mister…?"
"You might refer to me as Mr. Sun if you so wish."
"Excuse my rudeness. So, what we have here, Mr. Sun is an artifact that roughly measures your body's elemental affinity. This test is mostly just a formality, as we emphasize more on knowledge and experience when evaluating your ability as an educator. That said, this is still a magic academy, hence we still need to have a general understanding of your capabilities as a mage."
"YOU CLAIMED TO BE A 4TH TIER SPELL CASTER, CORRECT?! IT'S TIME FOR YOUR LIE TO BE EXPOSED!" Blackbeard interjected as he pointed at me.
"There is no need to test my aptitude! I can just tell you the results outright."
"AS IF WE CAN BELIEVE YOUR WORDS! DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW FEW MAGES CAN EVEN REACH BEYOND THE 3RD TIER?! THE VERY IDEA THAT A YOUNGSTER SUCH AS YOU COULD ACHIEVE WHAT MANY CAN'T WITHIN A LIFETIME IS PREPOSTEROUS!" Blackbeard said, yelled as Graybeard gave him a disapproving look.
As I sighed, I took off one of my gloves and moved up to put my hand on the crystal ball. Having already figured out how to activate it, I started talking while the flickering lights inside the crystal disappeared.
"As you fine gentlemen can see. There is not a shred of elemental affinity in my body."
…
Kyle Lichtenstein/Graybeard's POV:
After searching all over the academy for that troublesome coworker of mine. I finally found him interfering in that rather optimistic applicant's aptitude test. The applicant seemed to be a rather tall and pretty faced youth, who despite his somewhat arrogant application forum might suggest was surprisingly well mannered and humble. What impressed me the most was how he tolerated the wrathful ravings of my crazed co-vice principal, without flinching or losing his rather eloquent speech.
After the first somewhat reasonable accusation of my coworker, bringing in the validity of this youngster's tier. The young man confidently waltzed up to the measuring device and…
"As you fine gentlemen can see. There is not a shred of elemental affinity in my body."
And with that all my hopes and dreams of clocking out on time were smashed.
"AHA! I KNEW YOU WERE LYING ABOUT YOUR TIER!" That hooligan said as he poured salt on my wounds
"I did not lie about my tier. I merely forgot to mention my aptitude on my application as it has rarely come up in quite some time now."
'Please. Just stop' I begged from inside my poor old heart.
"DO YOU TAKE US FOR FOOLS! EVERY MAGE KNOWS THAT TALENT IS EVERYTHING! YOU ARE NO 4TH TIER! YOU AREN'T EVEN A MAGE!"
"That is a rather rash judgment, as well as an incorrect inference." My shattered last hope said as he put back on his weirdly decorated glove.
"PROVE IT THEN! I DARE YOU TO CAST A SPELL! OH WAIT, YOU CAN'T! HAHAH!"
"As you wish!"
And in that instant, a small yet complex red magic circle appeared at the tip of the young man's fingers as a blue light could be seen glinting in his eyes. Before anyone could react, it activated, creating a tube of fire in my coworker's direction. As my coworker was sent flying through to the next-door reception hall the name of the spell flittered through my mind.
"That was, 'Inferno'" I muttered
'Inferno' is a 4th tier spell capable of creating a pillar of fire so large its diameter could engulf the building we are in. The only reason why the entire room wasn't set ablaze was because the spell itself had been miniaturized beforehand, limiting its range. Looking back, I saw the young man replacing what I now realize are low grade magic stones embedded in his gloves.
"As you can clearly see. Talent is not everything. Even if one lacks the affinity to cast the spell, if the mage in question possesses both the prerequisite knowledge and experience, they can easily substitute their lack of talent with the right equipment." The silver haired young man said as my hope returned, shining brighter than ever before.
"Now then. May I inquire as to my test results?" He asked.
"HAHAHAH! Do you even have to ask? When can you start?"