*Ding*
{Warning. Intrusive energy attempting to disclose information locked by Magic System.}
{Self-defense initiated.}
{Reflecting energy back to source.}
The system announcements rang in his ears and by the time Damion fully registered what the system said, it was too late. Damion's stomach sank as he watched the crystal crumbling into dust in his palm.
"What the hell," Dean Thorn blurted as his crystal disintegrated.
The look of disbelief on Dean Thorn's face quickly turned to rage as he looked at Damion with hate in his eyes.
"These crystals are quite costly boy. Know this, no matter what your magic affinity or talent is, since you destroyed my crystal, you'll never get trained as a mage!"
Before Damion or his mother could protest, Dean Thorn turned and stormed out of the police station. Leaving everyone who witnessed the brief exchanged at a loss for words.
"Tell me honestly Damion, did you do anything to cause that?" Damion's mother asked gently.
"No. The crystal felt warm and then all of a sudden it just fell apart."
There was no way Damion could explain that his Magic System, which had his magic affinity and talent locked until he turned eighteen, decided that the testing crystal trying to reveal his abilities was a hostile act towards the system. Seeing that the Magic System could defend itself from anything prying into its secrets made Damion glad and worried at the same time.
Damion decided it was best for him to give up trying to find out his magic talent or affinity until the Magic System was fully unlocked. With the ability to defend itself, Damion could at least rest assured the system would not easily be revealed.
"The crystal must have been defective in some way then," Damion's mother said consoling her son. "You can get tested at the school with the other students when it's your turn."
Damion was not sure if his mother was ignoring what Dean Thorn said or if she believed he would calm down before it was time for the school tests. What Damion did know was that it did not matter if he was tested again or not. The Magic System would block the next test the same as it did this one. Damion was not sure how the magic schools would view the results of multiple tests that were, for lack of a better term, inconclusive.
Sure, the tests would show there was something unusual about Damion. But what? And how would they react? Damion did not look forward to the possibility of becoming a lab rat, should the magic schools decide to try and find an explanation for the test's failures.
Once at home, Damion was let off with a light lecture from his mother that was mostly repeated by his teacher the next day in class. Thankfully, no one bothered to question how Damion got all the way across town and Damion was able to put this little adventure behind him. At least until the school principal came over the intercom with an announcement.
"Attention students. We have a special guest today from the Silver Spire Magic Academy. All students should gather in the auditorium this afternoon after lunch."
The announcement caused a furry of chatter in Damion's class, many rightly guessing that the special guest was here to test for magical aptitude. Damion, however, sulked. He knew there was no way Dean Thorn would have cooled off this quickly. Even if he did let Damion test again, Damion was afraid that if he broke the crystal this time, then many of the students in the school would miss out on their chance to be tested today and they would despise Damion for it.
"Mrs. Colman," Damion called out to his teacher. "May I go to the library to read. I'll make sure to be on time for the meeting after lunch."
"Yes, you may Damion. But remember what we talked about earlier," Mrs. Colman answered.
She was of course referring to the lecture about wandering off and what to do in the event of a beast wave. Damion gave her a smile and a nod of his head before gathering his things and heading to the library.
In the library, Ms. Teft was sitting at her desk and as usual reading a book when Damion came in. She gave him a smile, but otherwise let Damion take his usual seat at a table. Damion passed the day reading ahead in his class book and completing his worksheets for the next week.
Given his realization that he had no way to find out his magic affinity or aptitude, Damion decided to do the only thing he could think of, his schoolwork. The idea of going out and exploring occurred to him, but he did not want to risk getting caught skipping school so close to the events of yesterday.
"Aren't you going to go to the auditorium Damion?" Ms. Teft asked after the principal made another announcement after the lunch hour finished and Damion remained in his seat. "I'm sure you will find the reason quite exciting."
"No." Damion said, trying to sound like he did not care.
"Are you sure? Someone from a magic school is here to test all the students," Ms. Teft said trying to entice Damion.
"Dean Thorn tested me yesterday and somehow his magic crystal broke making him mad at me. He even said no matter what my magic talent is I'd never get to be a mage."
"What?" Ms. Teft was shocked at what Damion told her. She quickly got up and walked over to Damion's table. "Give me your hand."
Not understanding, but also not wanting to argue, Damion offered his right hand to Ms. Teft. She took his wrist and appeared to be taking his pulse. After a few moments she let his wrist go before eyeing Damion closely.
"Your body is doing well. I don't know if your parents ever mentioned your injury from when you were a baby, but you've nearly fully recovered. And I can sense a fair amount of magic in your core. You can definitely be a mage. That coot is just mad at losing face."
"Ms. Teft, are you a mage?" Damion asked as he began putting together the pieces.
"I am indeed. Though I am retired now, I took this job to give me something to do." The librarian answered confirming Damion's guess. "And I'm sad to say, I even taught Mr. Thorn in my younger days."
"What should I do if I can't join a magic academy?"
"I don't think you have to worry about that, eventually you will be discovered. Mages are too rare to let anyone with potential be overlooked. What you should do for now is train. Many mages are so weak physically, if anyone got in close or snuck up on them, most mages would die before being able to get a spell off."
"You mean I should train like I want to be a knight?" Damion questioned. He had already invested a good amount of his time in this life training his body since the system could show him his status. Training more or more seriously, probably would not be an issue.
"Exactly. Knights can't cast spells, but they do learn to control mana and can channel it into magic items. But their main strength is their bodies. They have to be able to physically keep up with monsters to be able to fight them. If you train like a knight and then become a mage, you will instantly become one of the most promising mages in history."