Phase Two was held in a large open field behind the main academy building.
The examinees were led there in a group, and Rook noticed that the nobles had started keeping their distance from him. Before, they had been happy to mock him openly, but now they just watched from afar with expressions that ranged from confused to irritated.
'At least they are not laughing anymore.'
The field was set up with three distinct testing areas. The first had a row of increasingly large stones arranged by size. The second was an obstacle course with walls, pits, and narrow beams. The third was simply an open circle with glowing runes etched into the ground.
"Phase Two will test three aspects of your physical capability," the head examiner announced. "Strength, speed, and endurance. You will be graded on each, and your combined score will determine your Body Tempering rank."
Jace leaned over to Rook. "I am definitely going to fail this."
"You do not know that."
"I know my own body. I can barely lift a hay bale without throwing out my back."
"Then do not throw out your back."
"That is not helpful advice."
The testing began with the nobles, as usual. Most of them performed well, their mana-enhanced bodies easily lifting the heavier stones and clearing the obstacle course with time to spare. The endurance test seemed to involve standing inside the runed circle while some kind of magical pressure was applied from above, and the nobles lasted anywhere from thirty seconds to a few minutes before stepping out.
The examiners called out grades as each student finished. "Body Tempering: Iron-Early." "Body Tempering: Iron-Peak." Occasionally someone would get a "Steel-Early," and the crowd would murmur with approval.
The commoners struggled more visibly. Without significant mana enhancement, their bodies were simply less capable, and the gaps showed. Jace's turn came, and he managed to lift a few of the mid-sized stones before his arms gave out. He cleared the obstacle course slowly but without falling, and he lasted about fifteen seconds in the endurance circle before the pressure forced him out.
"Body Tempering: Iron-Early," the examiner announced.
Jace walked back to where Rook was waiting, rubbing his arms.
"That was embarrassing."
"You passed though."
"Barely. I am pretty sure that is the lowest grade you can get without failing outright." He shook his head. "Whatever. At least it is over. Your turn."
Rook stepped forward when his name was called.
The strength test was first. He walked up to the row of stones and looked them over. The smallest ones were about the size of his head, and the largest ones were taller than he was.
'These look similar to the ones I used to haul back home. Should be fine.'
"Begin when ready," the examiner said.
Rook started with the first stone. It was light, barely any effort at all. He set it down and moved to the next one. Still easy. The third and fourth were heavier, but his arms did not strain.
'This is not so bad. I was carrying heavier loads than this when I was fourteen.'
By the time he reached the fifth stone, which was roughly the size of a small barrel, the examiner was frowning.
"Continue," the examiner said, though he sounded uncertain.
He lifted the sixth stone, then the seventh. By the eighth, the examiner had called for an assistant to bring more weights. Rook lifted those too.
'Are they running out of stones?'
The crowd had gone quiet. He could feel everyone staring at him, but he kept his focus on the task.
"That is... sufficient for the strength portion," the examiner said, scribbling notes on his clipboard. "Proceed to speed."
The obstacle course was not complicated. Walls to climb, gaps to jump, beams to cross. Rook took a moment to study the layout, mapping out the most efficient path in his head.
'Alright. Wall first, then the pit, then the beams, then hurdles. Simple enough.'
He took a breath and moved.
He cleared the first wall in a single motion, using his momentum to vault over the top without breaking stride. The gap came next, a pit about three meters wide, and he crossed it with a running leap that carried him well past the edge.
'Easier than jumping the ravines back home.'
The beams required more precision, but his balance was good, honed from years of navigating uneven terrain in the forests back home. He moved through them quickly, never hesitating or wobbling.
The final section was a series of low hurdles followed by a sprint to the finish line. He cleared them without slowing down and crossed the end point before most of the observers had finished turning their heads to follow him.
When he reached the end, the examiner was staring at his stopwatch with a frown. He checked it twice, then looked up at Rook like he was waiting for an explanation.
'Was that too fast? I was not even trying that hard.'
"That was... very fast," the examiner said slowly. He cleared his throat and made a note on his clipboard. "Proceed to endurance."
The final test was the runed circle. Rook stepped inside and waited.
The pressure came down almost immediately. It felt like someone had placed a heavy weight on his shoulders, and it only got heavier as the seconds passed. He could feel it pressing against his spine, his legs, his chest.
'This is uncomfortable, but I have carried worse.'
He planted his feet and did not move.
Thirty seconds passed, then a minute. The pressure increased, and Rook adjusted his stance slightly to compensate. Two minutes, then three.
'Just breathe. Slow and steady, do not fight it, just endure it.'
The examiner was whispering something to an assistant. Other examiners were gathering to watch, and even some of the nobles had stopped talking and were staring openly.
Four minutes passed, and the pressure was genuinely uncomfortable now, pushing down on him from all sides. But Rook had dealt with worse. He had spent years hauling game through the forests of the Lowfields, carrying loads that would have broken most people. This was just weight, and he knew how to handle it.
'My legs are starting to hurt, but I can keep going.'
The fifth minute came and went, and the examiner finally called for the test to end.
"That is enough. You may step out."
He stepped out of the circle. His legs were sore and his shoulders ached, but he did not let it show on his face.
'That was harder than I expected, but I got through it.'
The head examiner approached with his clipboard. His face was difficult to read, and he took a moment before speaking.
"Your results are unusual," he said slowly. "Given that you have no mana core, we expected your physical capabilities to be limited. However, your performance exceeds every other examinee we have tested today, and it matches the upper limits of what we typically see from second and third-year students." He paused, seeming to consider his next words carefully. "Body Tempering: Iron-Peak."
The courtyard erupted in whispers.
"Iron-Peak without any mana?"
"That is impossible, the test must be wrong."
"How did a commoner from the Lowfields get a body like that?"
Rook walked back toward where Jace was standing, and the boy's mouth was hanging open.
"You are not normal," Jace said flatly.
"I trained hard."
"No, training hard gives you Iron-Early at best. What you just did is something else entirely." He lowered his voice. "Seriously, what the hell are you?"
"Just a farmer."
Jace stared at him for a long moment before letting out a disbelieving laugh. "Right, sure. A farmer who can outlift and outrun every noble in this courtyard, that makes perfect sense."
Rook did not have a good answer for him. The truth was that he did not fully understand it himself. He had always been stronger than the other kids in his village, and faster too, but he had assumed that was just because he worked harder than they did. Now, standing in a courtyard full of mana-enhanced nobles who could not match his physical performance, he was starting to wonder if there was something more to it.
'I will worry about it later. Right now I need to focus on the exam.'
Across the field, the noble with the slicked-back hair from earlier was watching Rook with an expression that had gone from smug to something colder. He said something to the students around him, and they all turned to look at Rook with matching hostility.
"You just made some enemies," Jace observed.
"I had enemies before this."
"Yeah, but now they actually have a reason to hate you. Before you were just a commoner they could look down on, but now you are a commoner who made them look bad in front of everyone." He shook his head. "That is a different kind of problem."
Rook glanced at the group of nobles, then looked away. "I will deal with it when it comes."
Across the field, Cault was watching with the same slight smile he had worn earlier, and when Rook caught his eye, the professor gave a small nod.
'Just one more test, and then it is over.'