"Hmm, a second-rank formation master at such a young age, that's impressive. Did you just pass the second-rank test?" The tester asked.
"Indeed."
"Aren't you overconfident? Do you think you can skip the second rank straight to the third?"
"I'm only as confident as I should be. I've learned in my clan enough to become a fourth-rank formation master, and that's my goal for today," Ken said, explaining he didn't set his eyes only on the third rank.
Of course, Ken could take all the tests up to the sixth rank, but it was too much. He did not require that much attention.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm "Fourth rank? All right, go ahead and take the exam. There's a free cage over there."
The tester pointed at the far-left cage and beckoned Ken to enter it. With no hesitation, Ken followed his hand and walked inside the cage, letting the door close behind him. There were much fewer examinees for the third rank, not even enough to occupy all available cages.
"You have to break out within 40 minutes to- huh?"
The tester began explaining the rules when Ken broke the required nodes and went out of the cage within seconds.
"I guess you pass… here's the token. Go to the receptionist so she can refer you to one of the elders. Only elders can watch over the fourth-rank exams," the tester handed out a third-rank token to Ken.
The testers so far were all fourth-rank formation masters that were paid to supervise the low-rank tests, and they were not qualified to be the testers for higher ranks.
"Thanks," Ken said with a pleasant smile and left the room. He remembered the route the receptionist took him through, and he reached outside within minutes without taking any wrong turns.
"Hello, now I want to take the fourth-rank test as I told you since the beginning," Ken returned to the same receptionist for face-slapping purposes.
"You actually managed to pass… Young Master Sue, I apologize for the long process you had to go through, but I had to follow procedures," she began her sentence with surprise, but soon collected herself and returned to her professional attitude.
"It's all right, let me take the test for fourth-rank formation masters now," Ken shrugged.
"Yes, Young Master. Let me first register your third-rank token since you must have it to take the next one," she said and worked efficiently with quick hands. Ken waited patiently for a minute before she finished.
"It says you passed the test with flying colors in under a minute, congratulations, Young Master. I will go to call one of the elders to oversee your next test," the receptionist said while scrutinizing him with curious eyes. He didn't seem to be beyond thirteen, and she never heard of a fourth-rank formation master of that age.
"Sure, I will be waiting here."
The girl walked away and quickly ran to one of the elders she knew. Just like her, he was from a commoner background, thus treating her and the other disciples from a similar background more kindly.
"Elder Zayd, there's a new examinee for the fourth rank. I thought you might be interested in overseeing his exam."
"Oh, Luna. Right, today was the exam day, I forgot about it. I guess I can do it, but why would I be interested in them?"
There weren't applications for fourth-rank tests every month, so the elders did not always remember it. And when there were applications, whoever was present would manage them, so it was not arranged in advance.
"He is a young boy. He looks thirteen, but when I registered his token, I found out he is only nine. Have you ever heard of a third-rank nine-year-old?"
"That's impossible! We'd all hear about such a prodigy if he existed!" The elder exclaimed in surprise.
"Nobody knows because he only registered to the Formation Mastery division today! He passed through all three exams one after another, although I don't know how he managed to skip the lines and finish everything in under 10 minutes. He even passed the third test with a maximum score of under one minute! And he is so beautiful too!"
The girl said excitedly. While telling the achievements of the new boy, she forgot herself and added some unnecessary information.
"Luna, aren't you turning 19 this year? Why are you lusting over a nine-year-old? Anyway, bring him to me, you piqued my interest," the elder scolded the girl and instructed her to go.
"Yes, Elder Zayd, and by the way, he is from the Sue clan," she said embarrassedly when she realized she was too engrossed in her fantasies.
"That's a bummer," he sighed and watched the girl walk away to bring Ken to the test.
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"Hello, Ken. I'm Elder Zayd, and I will test you today. Who are they?"
Zayd asked Luna about a young couple who stood next to Ken.
"They are also here for the fourth-rank test, Scot and Fiona have been waiting for a third for the past hour," she said with burning cheeks. Normally, the examinees would wait until there were three of them so as to not waste the elders' time.
If there was not a third person, those who arrived would take the test at midday and anyone coming later would have to wait for the next month.
In her excitement about Ken's achievements, she forgot to mention them when she reported to the elder earlier.
"I see, then you two can follow me as well." Zayd let the misstep go and instructed them to follow him. Luna bowed and returned to her post at the reception hall.
The four walked in the silent corridors toward one of the free experimenting rooms, and entered, finding themselves in a large spacious room without any type of furniture.
"This is one of our training rooms for fourth-rank and fifth-rank formation masters. The rooms are made of seventh-rank materials and reinforced by sixth-rank formations, so it's completely safe for you to practice here in the future. Even if you somehow get trapped inside your own formation, the walls will absorb everything 24 hours later and free you."
He explained the benefits of the room as the three took some distance from each other and waited for the exam to begin.
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