"I need your verification letter."

I take the somewhat sloppily folded piece of paper out of the back pocket of my pants and hand it to him.

"All right, do you need to change?"

"Do I look like I have to?" Oh God, Miko's unfriendly behavior is contagious.

"All good. Please follow me."

He strides through a heavy door that leads us into the gym. The testing stations are much bigger than expected, probably to ensure safety distances. On the way to the station with the number four, I can take a quick look at someone juggling with fireballs.

There's a table with two chairs right in front of the station, and before the guy in front of me says anything, another young man comes jogging towards us from the other side of the desk.

He has pale skin, black, shoulder-length, wavy hair, and piercing yellow eyes.

"Good afternoon, my name is Wace. I'm going to guide you through the practical exam."

He offers me his hand, which I shake shyly.

The other guy passes Wace the paper and disappears back in the direction we came from.

"Please sit down. I'm going to read through this for a moment."

"Did anyone from your guild accompany you?"

"Yes, why?"

"Who may I ask?"

"Her name is Miko."

"How did you end up with this guild?"

"Is that part of the test?"

"No, no, just my curiosity."

"They found me and want to keep me."

"Sounds like them."

"Why?"

"Let's get to the test. My name is Wace, I'm part of the Mage King's guild. I have been appointed an official examiner by the ministry. I will evaluate the assessment with all my expertise, purely from an objective standpoint."

He can't just ignore my question... I sulk for a second and miss half of his introduction.

"We start by testing the amount of your mana. Then you will show me a sample of your magic, and I will give you a rating for control and power."

Wace briefly reaches into a box and then places a device on the table that looks like a simple wooden board with strange writing on it.

"Please place your hand inside the circle on that board and activate your mana flow. The device drains mana from your body, and you may feel dizzy momentarily. However, the mana will be returned to your body almost immediately. So don't be afraid."

It's always bad when someone tells me I shouldn't be afraid.

But I do as I'm told and place my hand on the board. The second I let my mana flow, all feeling of it disappears out of my body. I become freezing cold, but shortly afterward, I feel it flowing through me again, and the sensation of warmth spreads through my body. It was almost as if I had died for a brief moment.

Meanwhile, the letters in a language I don't know light up a little, and Wace is already busy writing something on a spreadsheet.

"How are you feeling?"

"Everything's fine. So, how much mana do I have?"

"Not that much, to be honest. But don't worry. Most mages who get their license this late start out like this. And by using magic frequently, your mana pool can always expand, even if not as quickly as when you were younger."

He smiles at me almost apologetically, as if he could do something about my mostly magic-free life so far.

"Well, let's get on with your magic. What is your specialty?"

"Healing."

He chuckles. "Good, how do we do that? What's the worst injury you can probably heal?"

That's an abstract question. What's he getting at?

"I don't know, maybe a broken bone?"

"Whew, that sounds painful."

"Right," I swallow noticeably loud.

"Can you do anything else besides healing?"

"A bit of wind magic."

"Okay, show me this first."

Of course, I was prepared for this, so I take a small paper ball out of my pocket and place it on my hand. I concentrate on my mana and let it flow out to make the ball float.

At that moment, Wace's eyes turn a deep red.

"Not really wind magic, but it works. You can stop."

"What?"

"You didn't use the air around us nor create wind. You actually levitated the ball with your mana. If you eventually learn to do that with bigger and heavier objects, you could learn to fly."

That is absolutely not what I have in mind, but what person doesn't dream of flying?

"That would be enough for me to let you pass, but your healing magic can improve your rank quite a bit. So do you want to demonstrate it?"

I nod firmly, "Yes, please!"

"You'll return the favor one day."

"Huh?"

With a fast movement I can barely follow, Wace slams his forearm on the table's edge. As he extends it towards me, its unnatural shape catches my eye.

"It's broken. Would you please heal it?"

My pulse jumps - indeed, he didn't just break one of his own bones? I carefully place his arm on the table and roll up his shirt sleeve.

"It hurts."

Due to a lack of equipment, I decide not to take a closer look at the injury and just concentrate on healing. I close my eyes and place my hands carefully on his arm, breathing in and out deeply as my mana flows into him.

I've never actually healed a broken bone before, but how is this different from a cut? Usually, it would just take longer to heal on its own, so a little more mana should do the job.

"Thank you."

His words bring me back from my thoughts. I open my eyes and see a well-shaped forearm.

I end the touch, and he starts to inspect himself. There is no sign of a fracture, at least on the outside. He swings his arm around confidently, only to put it back on the table with a broad smile.

"Do you always close your eyes when you use magic?"

"I think so."

"I'll be honest with you. This way, you'll die in a dungeon sooner or later. Your healing magic is incredibly potent, but you can't allow yourself to close your eyes."

This is not the time to say I don't intend to enter dungeons.

"Understood. Thanks for the advice."

He fills in other things on his sheet and writes a little text. I don't even try to read along upside down. I probably wouldn't be able to decipher his writing the right way around, either.

"All right, I'll stamp the paper now, and you can return to the ministry with it. Once you've passed the theory, you'll have to fill in a few things for your register, and you can call yourself an official, certified witch."

That's it? I made it?

"What rank do I get?"

"I'll give you a C for your performance. Theoretically, you can challenge it and take another test with a different examiner, but they'll definitely be stricter than me."

"No, that's fine, I trust your judgment."

"You can go far with your healing magic, work on your mana pool, and break the habit of closing your eyes, and the world of magic will open to you."

"Thank you for your time."

"With pleasure. See you around."

He hands me the stamped note and flashes me a nice smile.

"Oh, and say hello to your guild for me."

"I will," I wave to him and leave the test station. Before I've even turned the corner, a girl with long turquoise hair stomps past me and slams her hand on the table where I was just sitting. Someone seems to be angry, so I pick up the pace and exit the hall.

I still can't believe he just broke his arm and hoped I could heal him. What's wrong in your head if you can inflict such an injury on yourself. I shudder when I think back to it.

"How was it?" Miko asks this question again.

"I passed."

"Congratulations," after seeing Wace smile, I notice the forced look on Miko's face even more, but I'm still happy.

"Thank you. And I was told to say hello to you from Wace."

"Ugh, I knew why I was waiting outside."

"I thought he was quite nice."

"Of course, you do, since you love it when someone is so obnoxiously friendly."

"Let me see," she points to the piece of paper in my hand, which I hand over. She scans it quickly and sighs heavily.

"That bad?"

"Have you read the comment?"

"Comment?"

"I recommend the applicant to look for a school for magic. With the background that she can use healing magic, a scholarship is likely."

"There are such schools?"

"Three in our country."

"But I don't want to go to school anymore."

"You don't have to. I understand why he suggests it. Your mana needs a lot of work, and the teachers will help you learn the basics to understand magic properly. For me, magic schools are useless. I think sometimes, it's better if you don't understand what you're doing."

I would be lying if I said I was not interested in visiting such a school. But I don't want to learn again. The last few weeks of studying have been absolutely enough for me.

"But C-rank is really great. You definitely earned yourself more than a crêpes."

"Perhaps you can feed it to me?"

"You're disgusting."

"I know."