The Patient Wizard Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The Magic Tower(2)

When the commotion settled, the red robe wizard said,

“Check the children first.”

The butler commanded soldiers to establish order. The slaves, threatened by swords and spears, lined up in rows of five and ten. The shortest child approached the cauldron at the butler’s urging. Then the child made a sad face. The child was too short to reach into the cauldron.

Chris raised his hand and stepped one step out of the line.

“I will help.”

The butler nodded.

“Do that.”

Chris ran over, picked up the child, and moved close to the cauldron. Then, leaning the child toward the inside of the cauldron, he said kindly.

“Put your hand in the water. It’s okay.”

Chris volunteered to help so he could observe the cauldron up close. At first, the water in the cauldron was clearly boiling, but now that he was here, it had cooled down enough to only steam. The blue water from the bottle, or the black soil sprinkled later, seemed to have lowered the water temperature.

Now he understood why Jack had immediately put his hand in. If it had been boiling, even someone as brave as Jack would have hesitated.

The child couldn’t easily put his hand in. Being too young, he didn’t understand how special it was to become a wizard and to be free from escape the the shackles of slavery.

As if displeased with the delay, a phlegmy sound came from the red robe wizard’s throat. If he truly became angry and lost his temper, all opportunities would be lost.

Chris gently coaxed.

“Do you see the black soil in the water.”

“Yes.”

“Put your palm there and take a long breath.”

“No.”

“If you do it, I’ll give you an egg.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

The child happily put their hand in the water.

“Are you breathing deeply?”

“Yes.”

“Do you feel anything in the air?”

“No.”

“Still, try to think about absorbing and releasing it.”

Then the yellow robe wizard exclaimed.

“Hoo.”

Judging by his reaction, that seemed to be the key point. After giving a moment, the yellow robe man glanced at the cauldron and said coldly.

“Next.”

The child had failed. Chris felt sorry, but the child pulled their hand out of the water immediately with a relieved expression.

Chris said inwardly to the child.

You just lost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. An opportunity you’ll never get again. This is not something to be happy about.

Chris helped the next child put their hand in the cauldron too and tried to feel the good thing that was said to be in the air.

Many children put their hands in the cauldron, but none passed. Chris felt anxious while counting the number of children who failed.

He checked 30 people, and not one has passed.

This meant that magical talent was extremely rare. By inference, there was a high possibility that Chris didn’t have talent either. So he hoped for someone to pass. Not for their sake, but for his own.

He hoped for a positive answer to his hope that magical talent, while rare, was not exceedingly rare.

Now the children were tall enough that Chris didn’t need to help them. Still, he stayed around the cauldron without leaving.

The slaves being tested now were old enough to understand the meaning of the test. They put their hands in the cauldron with desperate hearts and never withdrew them until the yellow robe declared their failure.

Jack stood near the cauldron like Chris. Unlike Chris, he prayed that the slaves would continue to fail and that no one would pass. The more failures there were, the more he smiled.

I’m the best here. If someone as excellent as me fails, there’s no way these pathetic guys will pass.

He muttered.

“If luck falls, it should fall to me with the most excellent talent.”

As time passed, more people had been tested than those who hadn’t. Jack enjoyed everyone’s misfortune while Chris felt sorry for them.

The red robe wizard said.

“The quality here is really poor.”

The Baron felt embarrassed, ashamed, and angry. He would receive three gold coins for each person who passed, but it looked like he would leave empty-handed.

I’ll deal with these bastards later.

It seemed like the slaves would face punishment after the wizards left the territory.

Eventually, it was Smith’s turn. As he approached the cauldron with a stern expression, Jack said.

“Don’t do it. You’ll fail anyway.”

Smith ignored Jack’s words. Breathing carefully, he put his hand in the cauldron. Not much time had passed when Jack said.

“As I expected, you have no talent. Hey, stop wasting your energy and take your hand out quickly.”

At that moment, ripples formed in the water. The water hit the cauldron wall as if waves were rising.

The yellow robe man said.

“Passed!”

Smith raised both hands high and jumped up and down.

“Yeah! I did it!”

As much as he cheered, Jack’s face distorted.

“No, something must be wrong.”

Smith turned to Jack and said as if spitting.

“What? I have no talent? Man, keep your heart pure. That’s why you didn’t make it.”

He’s Jack’s lackey. He had been since he was eight years old. Normally, Jack would have rushed at him and thrown punches. But now he just frowned.

Jack knew too. The situation had changed. Their lives had taken completely different paths.

Chris exhaled in relief.

Since Smith passed, I can pass too.

Chris felt a vague hope. Perhaps thinking similarly, Robert shrugged and stepped forward.

“If Smith passed, there’s no way I can’t.”

Robert put his hand in the cauldron, exuding confidence. His confidence didn’t last long. The water in the cauldron remained calm, and he left with his shoulders slumped like a deflated balloon.

Jack, who had been watching the cauldron as tensely as Robert, smiled brightly when he failed.

“That’s more like it. I knew he would fail.”

Chris didn’t like Jack originally. Still, he didn’t hate him, but seeing him curse others’ luck and welcome their misfortune, it was hard to suppress his disgust.

“Pathetic guy.”

He murmured quietly, but Jack might have heard as he said.

“What?”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

Seeing him ask repeatedly, he probably didn’t hear properly.

“I said it’s unfortunate.”

“It’s only natural to fail, what’s unfortunate about it.”

“But Smith passed.”

“There must have been some mistake. Right! A mistake. A mistake.”

After Smith, no one else passed. Chris continued to watch for an opportunity without taking the test.

Jack asked.

“Are you just going to watch?”

Chris wasn’t just watching. He was desperately trying to feel the good thing the yellow robe wizard had mentioned. He wanted to ask Smith how he had created the ripples, but Smith was standing with people wearing yellow belts. It was difficult to approach him. In an instant, his status had completely changed.

When Chris remained silent, Jack spoke again.

“You’ve given up. Good thinking. There’s no way someone like you has magical talent.”

Chris didn’t respond. Just dealing with him was a waste of time. At this crucial moment, he didn’t want to exchange words with a loser.

The line grew shorter, with few people remaining. Chris took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Jack said.

“Don’t waste your effort.”

Ignoring him, Chris put his hand in the cauldron. Just before his hand touched the water, he paused and asked the yellow robe man.

“May I ask for advice?”

The yellow robe man ignored Chris’s desperation.

“Do you want to fail without even taking the test?”

“I’m sorry.”

Chris submerged his hand in the water. Except for being lukewarm, it wasn’t much different from stream water.

Please.

Chris closed his eyes, and took a deep breath in and out. As he did so, he shouted inwardly.

Rise, ripples! Rise, waves!

He opened his eyes slightly, but the water surface showed no change. Chris inhaled until his stomach hurt and applied force to his palm.

Absorb! Release! Absorb! Release!

At that moment, small ripples formed.

“I did it!”

Chris shouted. Then he glanced at the yellow robe man. The yellow robe man tilted his head. The ripples had formed slightly, but it was ambiguous whether to consider this a pass or fail.

Ah, this is tricky.

Usually, this would be treated as a failure, but then the number of passing candidates in this territory would be too low.

I have to fill the allocated quota.

The yellow robe man nodded.

“Passed.”

If there had been just one more passing candidate, he wouldn’t have passed him.

“Wow!”

Chris clenched his fist and cheered.

At that moment, Jack darted toward the cauldron.

“There’s no way Chris passed. No way!”

The yellow robe man asked.

“Why do you think so?”

“Chris is a f***ing idiot. How can a f***ing idiot become a wizard?”

“A f***ing idiot can pass too. That’s what makes life interesting.”

Jack approached the cauldron.

“What are you doing!”

The yellow robe man expressed irritation. Jack ignored his warning.

“I’m going to take the test again.”

Jack’s hand went into the water.

“If a f***ing idiot can pass, there’s no way I can fail.”

At that moment, the red robe wizard moved swiftly. He raised his staff toward Jack’s back. While everyone else was looking at the staff and Jack, Chris was watching the wizard’s eyes.

Chris suddenly trembled. The wizard’s gaze was so cold it made his skin crawl. No, he didn’t tremble because it was cold. There was something beyond coldness in his gaze.

What is that?

Chris realized when a fireball appeared in front of the staff. It was indifference. An indifference like looking at a stone rolling on the road was reflected in his eyes. Even the gaze one gives to an animal raised for slaughter would be better than that.

“Jack! Dodge!”

Robert shouted.

“What?”

The moment Jack turned around, the fireball struck his body. His body instantly burst into flames. It was as if oil had been poured on him.

“Aagh!”

Jack screamed, rolling in the yard.

“Save me!”

Miserable screams continued to pierce the ears.

“Aaaah, aah, a……”

The screams and convulsions gradually subsided. Instead, the smell of burning meat filled the air.

Soon after, the convulsions stopped.

The red-robed wizard said.

“End the test.”

Although a few people whose talents had not yet been assessed remained, no one dared to step forward and demand a test. With that, the magical talent test of Baron Xavier’s estate, conducted once every 10 to 20 years, ended. Chris left the estate with the wizards.