5 Chapter 1 2 : The examination, part 1 (1/2)

Chapter 1 (2): The examination, part 1

After we left the two of them to make their way back to the magician's guild, the headmistress took over my registration and brought me to a crystalline slate, which would display my mana as a number. The average for a human was about 100 per elemental affinity, and a half-elf would be more like 150 per, which would mean that mine would be around 2500... were I a normal half-elf. As it is, a half-elf half-demon would be more like 300 per, or 5000 in total... but I'm a Demon Lord, regardless of the rest of my bloodline, so 3 million or more per element, or about 50 million in total, at a minimum. However, I'm wearing my weapons, which act as limiters, so...

”I'm sorry, I must be going crazy. Is that... 50 in total? I'm not missing some zeros?” (Headmistress)

”Ah, right. I forgot to mention that I'm wearing some items that suppress my mana and aura... Let's see, first, a barrier to keep my aura from leaking out, then... hmm... I'll remove my earrings, axe, and bracelets” (Ryuu)

When I removed those, the headmistress's eyes bulged from the sudden increase in my aura, and I put my hand on the slate again... and it shattered. More accurately, it exploded, though the shards were blocked by a second barrier.

”Uh... I've never seen that before... can you put those things back on as I get another slate?” (Headmistress)

She raced out of the room, and I put on my earrings and bracelets, leaving my axe on the counter. Soon after, she came carrying a second slate, one twice as large in each dimension.

”Please try it again... And if it doesn't explode, remove them one at a time until it does. I'd like to see what this one can handle, or rather, the mage's guild would probably like to know” (Headmistress)

I did so, the first time showing 504, then 5039, then 50386, then it exploded.

”So... each one you remove causes a tenfold increase in what it can read... how many more do you have that you could remove?” (HM)

”Well... I have another four beyond what it last read... doing the math, it's about 500 million” (Ryuu)

”That's... 30 million per element... are you... like, a demigod or something?” (HM)

”No, I'm just an ordinary half-elf blessed by who knows what... my father was not a god, and my mother was an ordinary elf” (Ryuu)

”You said 'was'... does that mean they're dead?” (HM)

”Yeah, my father died in the war two months ago, and my mother was never healthy to begin with, so the shock of his death killed her, I think” (Ryuu)

”He must have fought valiantly to the end” (HM)

”No, he died from some cowardly tactics. You remember how the generals on the demon's side were assassinated along with the Demon Lord, and how the demons retaliated by poisoning the food and water supplies? My father died because of that, not any spell or soldier in combat” (Ryuu)

”Oh... I'm sorry... I said something insensitive. Please forgive me” (HM)

”It's fine. I hardly ever saw my father, because he was always busy with work. I met some of his friends though, they were the ones who taught me how to use all kinds of weapons and magic” (Ryuu)