His footsteps clicked on the marble floor of the association; his hands slightly sweaty. Even if he was confident, being tested was still anxiety-striking. Arthur peered into the hall he reached, seeing people of all ages sitting inside waiting.
They each carried a box or a backpack, and so did Arthur. He knocked, making the whole room turn to him, before letting himself in. It was a habit to knock when one entered, one he picked up in kindergarten. He sat on the seat as he waited nervously.
This worry appeared when he was called for a test at the Runes Association for his Runic Bracelet. He was confident about his ability to draw runes; he just wasn't confident about his ability to hide how he did it.
The hall had thirty-people in total, making it quite noisy when everyone chatted with each other. Arthur sat alone, his backpack leaning on his leg, as he felt the unintended isolation. He peeked around the hall for any other loners, he found two only.
Even without talking to them, Arthur knew they chose to be alone. A girl and a boy, each sitting so far away yet in such a matching way that Arthur could smell the scent of high-society from his seat. They were people of high-profile with their branded clothes and formal posture.
Arthur sighed at his inability to strike up a conversation, so he simply leaned back and waited for the examiner.
The sound of high-heels soon echoed in the hallway by the entrance, and a girl in her twenties entered. She bowed lightly after she stood in front of the crowd and wore a warm smile.
"Hello, dear collogues of the runes path." She said, making the people take in a sharp breath at the clear flattery. Everyone, except for Arthur of course, seemed to recognize her as they started chatting among themselves. Picking up some words from the noisy hall, Arthur tried to make sense of her identity. In the end, he only heard the words youngest and genius before the girl lightly clapped making the hall go mute.
"Today, we'll be holding an exam for you to become Runes Apprentices. I don't expect many to succeed, since the path of runes is a long one. Just remember that everyone is running their race, so don't be discouraged if you fail."
Positive energy filled the hall at the good-hearted encouragement. Arthur saw the girl in a better light for her effort to decrease the stress these participants had. Like she said, becoming a runes apprentice wasn't easy. A select few had the skill to inscribe runes successfully since it needed extreme training since they were young.
If one didn't practice the runes inscription since they were young, it was a hard call to become a runes apprentice. If not for his ability, Arthur would have never been able to achieve this feat. That's why his group didn't think Arthur would make it, simply supporting him because it was what the club was there for.
The girl seemed to approve of their energized eyes after her words, nodding as she a circle in the air. Arthur noticed a ring glowing on her finger, creating a hologram in the air in front of them.
Inside the circle were many questions and runes. Arthur's head blanked for a second when he saw the questions. Reading the first one, he felt his head drench in sweat as his anxiety ate at him.
'What is the most appropriate material for these runes to be inscribed on?'
'Name the function of the runes on this artifact.'
'Who uncovered the following runes? Please list the date if possible.'
'Using the theory of Julia's Mana Intersection, describe the work of the following rune.'
There were these four questions. Even though Arthur knew there would be a written exam, Ori said it was really easy. Merely a formality, he called it.
Looking at the questions, Arthur could answer the second one fully. He had his legacy to help him identify runes. The first and third questions were out since he sucked at history and didn't know the materials used in blacksmithing or runes inscription, Arthur only had the last question to pass.
'I summon you, the ancient art of the forgotten. Head my call and come, Art of Bluffing Your Way Through.' Arthur picked up his pen as he prayed in his heart. Using the little knowledge in his brain, he had to write an essay about how this rune worked.
The exam was one hour long, fifteen minutes for Arthur. He used his legacy to identify the runes on the second question and what little creativity he had, plus the understanding of true runes, to explain the work of the last rune.
The others would glance in the direction of the 'confident' and 'chill' participant often, cursing their luck. What Arthur didn't know was that this exam was truly a formality, since people would have a hard time passing it. Identifying runes and how they worked were things that were impossible to know for two reasons.
The first was that runes were undisclosed to the public. One would have to come across a different artifact or attend a specialized college for them to study these runes and identify them. If one knew some of the runes by chance, they would only be one or two. Runes were diverse and some runes looked complicated yet similar, making identifying them quite hard.
For example, the gate in Avarice Dungeon was inscribed with runes, making anyone who looked at it become dizzy. People who didn't have the necessary knowledge to identify runes would simply be confused by these ancient texts.
Leaning back blankly, Arthur seemed to be one of extreme confidence. What others didn't know was that Arthur was simply mourning how he'd have to retake this exam after failing it.
The examiner, like the others, also gazed at Arthur deeply. It was her first time meeting such a 'confident' examinee, so she held some slight expectations. The ironic part was that the two participants, whom she had high expectations for, seemed to be less relaxed as they kept scribbling.
For this exam, she had brought more difficult questions than usual. The passing score was less since she didn't want to be unfair regarding the other participants, but she wanted to filter out the good ones.
When there were thirty minutes left, the calm student picked up his paper and bag and headed her way. It was then that she noticed that this ordinary, poor looking, and average-looking man was not what she had thought him to be. His eyes, meeting hers, glowed like golden embers in the darkest pits.
"Here," He held his paper in front of her making her reflexively reach out while keeping eye contact.
"… The practical exam would be half an hour after the end of this one. So, one hour from now, you should be back in this classroom."
He left after a barely noticeable nod, making her question if he merely stretched his neck. Even despite her fame, he still didn't act nervously in front of her, raising his status further in her eyes. She was dying to see his paper, but her head turned a white sheet of paper when she looked at it.
Not just metaphorically, the paper was almost fully white. He barely wrote at all.
***
'As long as there's a practical, I can still pass. I didn't think this would be this hard, I spent so much time leveling up that I barely studied things. This can't go on; I need to increase my knowledge.'
Arthur chewed on the rice and chicken he ordered from the cafeteria, enjoying the spice it held. It was aromatic enough to make his stomach growl before he started eating. He didn't know how, but the taste was enhanced greatly. He was eating at the cafeteria of the association, so there was a high possibility that the food's taste was enriched using runes.
If that was the case, he imagined himself opening a restaurant. He laughed at himself merely for thinking that way, and it seems his relaxed behavior didn't sit well with some.
"You think this is a joke?" A cranky voice interrupted his meal, making Arthur turn toward its source. It was the lofty guy from earlier, looking as if Arthur was distasteful to his eyes. Arthur kept chewing while he stared at him, not willing to ruin his meal or stop it for this guy.
'Why do they always pick me?' Arthur wondered to himself. Was it how he looked? Maybe it was how he acted? Was he inviting these people to bother him unconsciously?
The guy was alone, but Arthur noticed several participants around them. The girl from earlier was also there, neutrally looking at them.
Seeing he was being ignored, the guy felt humiliated. It was then that he flared up, flipping Arthur's tray over him. Hindered by his chair, Arthur was unable to retreat his body in time. Food splattered over his clothes, staining them. Arthur looked at his clothes, one he was worn many times because he never enjoyed the luxury to buy new ones, as he heard the snickers of the guy in front of him.
"Oh, sorry. My hand slipped. But hey, treat this as an opportunity to change those crappy clothes."
The guy held a triumphant smile as he stared down at Arthur, belittling him. The girl, who had witnessed this scene, sighed and decided to intervene for them to stop. Seeing people bullied left a bitter taste in her mouth. Taking the first step, she was forced to a halt as she witnessed an unexpected scene.
Reflexively, or anger-driven, Arthur grabbed the guy's head and smashed it to the table. Without making the guy's face dent itself into the table, he let go of his head making it bounce off like a basketball. The scene was so unexpected that a few runes masters turned their heads in their direction. One of them was the examiner from earlier, the youngest runes master.