“The evaluation will be conducted in a few minutes. Please enter this room when your number is called,” said a man in his thirties. His sky blue robe draped over his body, almost touching the ground. His soft voice somewhat resonated throughout the room. A chain necklace hung around his neck, which had a circular symbol that resembled a lighthouse with its lights shone from the right side.

“What did he say, Kane?” asked Gako.

“We must wait here until our numbers are called, then we go into one of those wooden cubicles,” said Kane, translating for the two. He pointed at the five doors. The rooms were temporary and only built for this evaluation.

“Then, what is our number?” asked Xiirag as he showed his paper. Gako too followed him

“...2794, 2795, and 2796 for me,” Kane told them a bit reluctantly.

“Don’t tell me they’re calling in order from number 1.”

“They are…”

“What the hell!?” they both screamed, alerting some people in the vicinity.

“Don’t worry, the process is fast so it shouldn’t take a whole day waiting for our turn.” Kane tried to comfort them.

“How do you know that?” Xiirag asked again.

“My dad told me.”

They sat on the floor like many others who didn’t get a seat. Four hours later, their number finally got called. Only a couple of people remained in the hall. Each of them entered a separate room.

---

Kane pushed open the door. He saw an elderly woman wearing the same necklace as the man he’d seen previously. Her weary eyes darted at Kane as she said, “Sit down.”

Kane immediately grabbed the wooden chair and sat on it. He waited for further instruction.

“A mixed-race from an oni tribe...” she commented while taking out a sheet of paper from her desk. “Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” Kane replied.

“Good, good. I don’t have to use my dictionary then.” She dipped her pen into the ink, ready to write. “Full Name?”

“Kane Foxsnove.”

“Age?”

“13.”

Finished writing, the old woman took out two dice: a d4 and a d10. “Now, hold these,” she instructed as she gave them to Kane. Tiny glowing white magic runes were inscribed on the surface.

The method was different from Kane’s previous life aptitude evaluation test. He took the dice without a reply.

“Those two dice will determine your talent. The triangular one is for your aptitude. It has red, blue, green, and grey colors on each edge, which represent strength, agility, magic, and blank in that order. The other one is for your aptitude rank, 1 is the lowest and 10 is the highest. Any questions?” she asked. It was apparent that she had been saying those sentences many times.

“What will happen to the d10 if I got the grey edge? Is this evaluation depending on luck?” he asked.

“It will always show number 1. The dice have been enchanted with special magic specifically for the aptitude evaluation. I can assure you it will accurately determine your talent,” she explained.

“I see. That’s all.” Kane nodded.

“If there are no more questions, then let’s get started. Throw them onto this desk. And please be satisfied with the result.”

Kane held the dice hard, hoping for the best. He then released and threw them on the air.

Strangely, the dice were floating rather than rolling on the desk. Curious, Kane asked, “What happened?”

“They’re assessing your talent.” As soon as the old woman finished her sentence, the dice fell.

The d4 spun as the d10 rolled for a second. It then stopped abruptly.

“Th-this is...” The old woman stuttered. “Impossible!” She creased her brows and moved away from the table.

Kane stared at the dice in silence, wide-eyed. Before he could say anything, the old woman suddenly said,

“Let’s redo the evaluation.” She took the first dice and replaced them with another pair of dice. They had the same appearance.

“Alright,” Kane agreed. He also couldn’t believe his eyes.

He threw them again with a different angle, just to make sure. The process was the same.

The dice stopped.

“...”
“...”

Silence ensued for a while. Kane spoke first, “Again, blue edge and number 10...”

“Y-you!” She stood up and shouted. “I can’t believe this! You’re an exceedingly rare mage prodigy! Level 10 Mage!” The woman then slammed the table, slightly leaning forward.

“A mage?” Kane was confused but still maintained his calm. “But I’m a half-oni. Isn’t that impossible?”

“It is.” She nodded. “But that fact proved to be false.”

The old woman began to write the result as she said, “Interesting, very interesting. You are probably the only one who has this kind of talent in this country in the last ten years.”

“That is… amazing?” Kane wasn’t sure of his feelings right now.

“So, tell me, Kane Foxsnove. What is your secret? Did you drink some miraculous potion that awakens your magic? Or perhaps you’re using a trickery spell to manipulate the result?”

“No… I didn’t do anything special. I only trained my physical strength. I’ve never practiced magic in my entire life.”

This was especially true for both before and after the reincarnation. In his previous life, Kane had a rare body that had no mana at all. The condition was nigh impossible to be cured and thus becoming a mage wasn’t a choice.

“Wh-what!?” she exclaimed. “If that’s true, then… Ah, nevermind. Anyway, here’s your certificate. Dip your thumb in this ink and place it on here. Due to your level 10 prodigy talent, I am required to give you the special one.”

Kane followed her instructions and received the paper. Rather than an ordinary piece of paper, it was a paper with diamond ornaments on the edges. Unless the paper was seen at a close distance, it would be hard to see the ornaments. Based on his experience dealing with minerals, Kane was certain that the ornaments were made of 100% real diamonds. On the bottom corner, it had her signature and a stamp that glowed faintly. His fingerprint was now forever marked on the paper.

“Am I really a mage?” Kane asked, still in disbelief.

“That’s right. Congratulations, Kane. Not only is magic the rarest of the four, but you also possess the highest talent level! Additionally, you’re probably the first oni sorcerer ever in entire history!”

“Thanks... but could you keep my talent secret?” Kane gave a wry smile. He yearned to become a warrior, but now he must learn his least familiar field: magic. He also didn’t want to create a ruckus before he was strong enough.

“That goes without saying. One of the reasons why the evaluation takes place in an enclosed space is to protect confidentiality.” The old woman stuck her nose in the air.

“I see.” Kane gave a slight nod.

“To be honest, I seriously envy you. If I had your talent, I would’ve become an archmage many years ago, not stuck in this low-rank mage hellhole,” she complained.

“Can I go now?” Kane was starting to get annoyed. He got up from the chair.

“Yes, yes, you may. But before you leave, I must tell you something important,” said the old woman.

“Fine, what is it?” asked Kane, sitting on the chair again.

“Your talent is extraordinary, no, even that word is an understatement.” Her expression became gentle. “So, you must not flaunt your talent openly, otherwise, you’ll be in grave danger. Especially when you have no strong backing.”

Kane raised his eyebrows. “Why did you tell me all of this?”

“No reason. You reminded me of my granddaughter.” Her eyes muddled. She rested her cheek on her hand. “Say, have you thought of which academies you will enter?”

“Obviously not. I never thought about it.”

“I can give you some recommendations...”

---

On the other side, in the hall. Gako and Xiirag stood waiting in front of the room where Kane was evaluated. It had been quite a while since they had finished the evaluation. There were only a few people remaining.

“Why is Kane taking so long… I’m dying to know what my result is,” said Gako.

“Yeah, me too. We probably should learn to read and speak the human language so we don’t have to rely on Kane,” added Xiirag.

“Eh? But that’s too troublesome. I’ll just keep relying on him,” Gako laughed.

“You…” While Xiirag was uttering the sentence, the door where Kane’s evaluation was at opened.

They saw him leaving the room and immediately greeted him, “Finally, you’ve come out, Kane!”

“Haha, how long did you two wait?”

“Just for a while, but we couldn’t wait for you to translate these,” said Xiirag.

“Is that so? Then, let me check.”

Thanks to Kane, they finally knew their talent. Apparently, Gako had Warrior level 3 and Xiirag only had Warrior level 1. When their talent was revealed, they both were disappointed. They had expected to be above level 4 at least. Gako asked Kane about his talent, but he didn’t tell them the truth. Not that he didn’t trust them — Kane just didn’t want to explain the reason why he had it.

When the three went outside,it was already dusk. When they were on the way to their carriage, they found Bokar sitting on the carriage seat. He was smoking a cigarette while having some conversation with some strangers. Noticing the children, he left the circle and approached them.

“Why did you three take so long? I’ve been waiting all day, you know,” said Bokar. He put off the butt with his bare palm and threw it away.

“Sorry uncle, there were thousands of people inside,” replied Gako.

“Oh wow, I suppose that can’t be helped. Can I take a look at your result?” He looked at the three.

Xiirag handed the paper, then Gako. Bokar nodded and smiled. He said to Gako, “You have good talent but that doesn’t mean you can relax.”

“I know, uncle,” said Gako.

Bokar switched his sight to the next oni. “And as for you, Xiirag, it could be better but you shouldn’t give up trying to become strong.”

Xiirag nodded silently. Ever since Kane had told him his talent, he’d been staring at the ground and often sighing.

“Now, Kane. It’s your turn.” Bokar extended his hand toward Kane.

“Can we go somewhere else first, away from those two?” asked Kane in common language.

“Sure,” Bokar nodded. He then looked at Gako and Xiirag and asked the two to wait. They had no idea what language Kane was speaking.

Kane and Bokar went behind a big tree that was quite far from the carriage. There were a few passersby, but Kane ignored them.

“So, what happened?” Bokar asked first.

“This.” Kane showed his certificate.

Bokar raised one of his eyebrows. When he saw the ornaments and read the bottom part, his eyes widened.

“10… level 10 Mage!?” he shouted. “Is this for real?”

“It is, I even retried the evaluation. Do you know what caused it?”

“If a century-year-old ax saint doesn’t know the answer, how could I?” Bokar gave a half-smile.

Kane rolled his eyes. “Forget that I asked you then.”

“Wait, I’m just guessing but maybe it has something to do with your reincarnation?” Ezar asked, stroking his chin.

“I don’t think so. The evaluation is dependent on one’s body, not the soul.” Kane shook his head.

Bokar paused for a moment, he then said, “Hm, it might be related to your mother, then. The previous Kane’s mother, that is. Aptitude talent is sometimes inherited from the parents.”

“My mother, huh? Do you know anything about her?” Kane’s eyebrow rose.

“To be honest, I don’t. I’ve never even seen her before. 13 years ago, back when I met Ezar again after a year he went alone, he brought you as a baby and begged me to find a place to settle. Later, when we arrived at Deven, I asked him about your mother, and he said it was a secret! It was the first time he hid something from me.”

“You didn’t press on?”

Bokar scratched his head. “No, I just assumed that you were, err... sorry, an accident. Mixed race babies tend to be like that.”

“So, Ezar ra—”

“I didn’t say that. I believe that my old friend isn’t someone who would commit such a vile act. There must be another reason,” Bokar interjected.

“Whatever the reason is, my mother is most likely talented at magic. She’s definitely not a random woman,” said Kane.

“I agree, but I don’t think it’s as simple as that.”

“Why?”

“Because—” Before Bokar could complete his sentence, he sensed a man approaching them.

“Oh, so you two are here. What are you guys talking about?” Ezar asked.

“About this,” Kane replied and gave his certificate to his father. He read it and showed an expression similar to Bokar, but then he blew air through his nose.

“I see. To think you inherited your mother's talent… I guess anything is possible with her,” Ezar murmured.

“What do you mean? I thought no oni could have a talent in magic. Not even mixed blood can escape this curse,” said Kane.

“Yes, that’s how it usually goes, but you’re a special case because…” Ezar paused. He clicked his tongue before continuing, “I can’t tell you right now. I’m sorry, Kane. It’s for your safety.”

“Fine,” said Kane. “I won’t ask anything about her then.” Kane walked away. He was not that interested in his mother's identity anyway besides her connection to his aptitude talent, although he had to admit that the secrecy was infuriating.

“She told me to not tell you anything about her until you’re strong enough,” said Ezar with a solemn tone.

Kane halted his steps and replied, “That’s vague.”

“I’ll tell you everything when you’ve beaten me.”

Hearing that, Kane grinned, revealing his teeth. “A challenge… Alright, just wait for me to become a full-fledged mage and you better be ready.”

“Heh. I’m always ready,” said Ezar.

“Ah, having a family seems nice,” murmured Bokar in the background.