Mixed Blessing System

"What did you say?" The fellow from before turned to Lothur and exclaimed in anger, feeling offended by the words of that mere mortal.

"I said I'm much better than you, didn't you hear? Are you deaf?" Lothur commented loud enough for several people in that place to hear him.

The people there turned their faces toward Lothur, Annaliese, and the man in question, causing this fellow to turn red with embarrassment at being teased by someone without power.

"Humph!"

"You talk big, but is there anything to lean on? I want to see what you're better at than me..." He paused as he looked at Lothur's annoyed face. "In the profession of formation master, of course."

"You want to bet? I'm sure I'm better than all the 1-star formation masters in this city. So, surpassing someone of your level won't be difficult..." Lothur said with a smile on his face as he shook his shoulders as if that man was an insignificant worm.

After those words were said, even the examiners there began to pay attention to Lothur, some of them not knowing what to think, while others sighed in disappointment.

'Arrogance is one of the worst evils of this younger generation... They get a little bit of power and already act as if they own the area.' An old man shook his head as he recorded the information of a young man.

But not everyone thought trust and rivalry were terrible things to have.

'Interesting!'

'Cedric is one of our association's most talented 1-star formation masters... Can this kid outdo him?' Someone operating the glass rooms in that examination area wondered in curiosity.

"What arrogance!"

"And to think that an apprentice would make such a bold statement!" Some of the candidates for that exam exclaimed while having unfriendly expressions as they looked at Lothur.

Cedric, the man who had approached him and Annaliese, laughed and said. "The best in the city? I don't know who's been telling you lies, but you should wake up to reality!"

"You can't believe the compliments your mother, sister, and girlfriend tell you! They try to make you feel better, but they don't speak the truth!" He said this with contempt in his eyes, not even remembering that he had courted Annaliese seconds ago.

To him, Lothur's offense had surpassed the level at which he could deal with this person and still think about looking good to a woman.

But then he suggested. "But I'll give you a chance. You want to bet, don't you? Then if you are approved to become a 1-star formation master and produce an Iron-grade formation with 90% efficiency on the last test, I will grant victory to you!"

"I will ask you for forgiveness on my knees, and I will even give you a set of flags for a Bronze-grade formation!"

People in the surrounding area opened their mouths in surprise, some finding it incredible that this person had suggested such a bet, while others thought about Cedric's limits.

'Cedric has yet to reach 90% efficiency in his formations, so his bet is not unfair. But, on the other hand, a set of Bronze-grade flags is valuable to him, which shows that he is willing to take a risk...' A colleague of Cedric's thought.

"He's truly offended..."

"All right, let's get on with that bet." Lothur agreed without much thought as the man doing the registration of the test candidates called out to him.

As he intended to make his entry, someone there asked him. "Wait a moment. Don't you want to know what you will have to give in case of defeat? How can you accept a bet without knowing that beforehand?"

Lothur smiled as Annaliese gave his data to the man making his record. "I won't lose, so it makes no difference."

'Bastard, son of a bitch!' Cedric felt hatred from Lothur for this blind confidence and then said. "Very good, very good indeed!"

"Then I will say this. If you lose, you will have to end your relationship with her, and I want to have a date with her!"

Annaliese looked at that fellow and frowned. But before she had a chance to say anything, Lothur said. "As I said, I'm not going to lose, so it makes no difference what you want..."

"On the other hand, a loser unable to win a woman with his abilities is no threat. Even if I delivered her to your house, you wouldn't touch a strand of this woman's hair."

"Asshole!" Cedric clenched his fists and felt like jumping on Lothur and teaching this fellow a lesson.

But as he tried to act, he was stopped by one of his friends, while another official called the next to take the test.

"Next!"

As one of the people in front of Lothur followed into one of the glass rooms, he and Annaliese left the line from before, and she explained to him. "In this test, your knowledge of inscriptions will be tested in one of these rooms."

"I believe this will be more or less like an illusion that you will have to solve a puzzle formed by inscriptions." She explained what she had already heard from other candidates taking tests there in that area.

She had not paid much attention to Cedric as Lothur teased this fellow. Annaliese was used to being wooed daily by several young men, but she was not interested in any of them. The only one who made her feel nervous, with a funny feeling in her stomach, was Lothur, who had also already won her over in a unique way...

Because of this, even the most confident words and the things that man put into the bet, she paid no attention to almost any of it!

Instead, she had noticed what this test was like from the comments of the people in the surroundings, whether they were 1-star formation masters watching the event or the apprentices being examined.

From that came the advice to Lothur.

"So that's it?" He remembered the test at the Cultivation House. "But if this illusion is too weak, what will happen? I'm afraid I won't even be able to have my skills tested because of my talent..."

Someone near Lothur and Annaliese turned to him and gave him a wide-eyed look, given this person's arrogance.

Annaliese laughed upon hearing that and then answered him. "An illusion can be created to test your mental power, or to test your knowledge and understanding regarding the Natural Laws of our world."

"The first would fail to test people with mental power higher than the formation limit. But the second one, no."

"So that's how it is..." He commented in a low voice.

"You didn't know something so basic?" The man who had just passed the first test and stood beside Lothur and Annaliese asked incredulously. "How can that be?"

Lothur saw the dark-skinned man to his right and felt that this fellow had a good aura. "I'm ignorant of common things, but my abilities are unquestionable..."

"You'll see later... But anyway, my name is Lothur. And you?" He showed one of his hands to the bald, level 7 man.

That man looked curiously at Lothur and found this guy interesting. "My name is Johann. I am also taking the exam to become a 1-star formation master."

...