Chapter 32 - 30: Blood Ranks

Chapter 32: Chapter 30: Blood Ranks

Chapter 30: Blood Ranks

"Put your finger here."

He remained uneasy. His knowledge of the instruments was limited. Noah looked at the crystal ball before him. He held out his hand. Before entering, he had moved most of the mana into the magic marrow. If the academy’s test worked as Silva had described, there would be no problem.

The sorceress pressed a part of the metal base beneath the ball, and a thin silver needle came out of it.

"One drop."

Noah put his finger on the wound. He felt a slight prick, and then a small drop of blood appeared. The moment it touched the ball, it disappeared inside as though the crystal had absorbed it.

Noah watched. A blue thread appeared at the ball’s center and spread slowly. It turned a deep blue over time.

The sorceress stopped writing and looked at the ball for a moment before rereading the paper in front of her.

"Noah Lupton Charlemagne..."

She raised her eyes toward him and said:

"High quality. As expected from that man’s son." The last part she said only to herself.

She took up her pen again and started writing, then added without much interest—

Noticing that Noah was still looking at the ball, the sorceress said:

"You don’t know the blood classification system?"

"I know sky-blue means I’m a noble."

She shook her head, disappointed.

"Blood quality is divided into four grades. Low blood is the blood of the lower classes of humans, and those of mixed blood in most cases carry barely any mana, except in rare cases. After it comes noble blood of middle quality, which shows as a dark blue. It’s the most common among nobles, and among some of the noble mixed-blooded as well."

She pointed at the ball in front of him.

"Sky-blue means the high quality, which is much rarer. Most of the people who have it are from the Platinum or Golden houses. The azure color represents supreme quality, and it hasn’t been seen since the fall of the Six Great Mages."

Noah thought for a moment, then asked:

"Does the blood level decide a person’s ceiling?"

The sorceress looked at him calmly before going on.

"Of course. The higher the blood quality, the easier it becomes to walk the path of magic, and the higher the limit its holder can reach. Those of middle quality can reach the low-grade mage rank, though reaching the middle grade is extremely hard for them. For people like you, reaching the middle rank is all but certain unless some accident happens. You even have a chance at the high mage rank, with resources and a bit of luck."

She paused a little before adding:

"You need to understand well that mages of the middle rank are very rare. One is enough to lead a Golden family. As for the third rank, those are the real power behind the five great families. Anyone who reaches the third rank can become a core member of a Platinum house."

The information wasn’t completely new, but he hadn’t expected a mage of middle rank to be so important. When Robert saw his blood turn sky-blue, the way he dealt with him immediately changed. Noah thought the reason was simply the discovery that this body carried pure noble blood, but now he understood a few things.

High quality was not just for special families.

This meant that his blood wouldn’t be an obstacle to achieving a high grade in the future.

The sorceress turned her attention back to the ball, then moved her finger over the metal base. A small rune appeared on its surface, and the light inside the crystal changed.

"Now we’ll check the mana density in your blood."

At those words, Noah grew more alert.

A shiver ran from his finger to his arm, The effect passed through the blood, but it did not reach the Magic Marrow.

At that, Noah felt some relief.

This tool was checking the mana in the blood, and it could not detect the reserve he had hidden inside the Magic Marrow.

Moments later, several lines of light appeared inside the ball. The sorceress looked at them, then wrote something on the paper.

"Half a step to low-grade mage at fourteen years of age."

No surprise showed in the sorceress’s reaction. It made sense, given Noah’s talent.

And that was exactly what Noah had wanted to see.

But he did not let himself get too optimistic.

Noah looked at the rune that had formed beneath the seal, but he did not try to use his mana sense on it. He had decided, from the moment he entered this area, not to reach his awareness toward any tool or formation he did not understand, and there was no reason to change that now.

The sorceress handed the paper back to him.

"Blood quality: high. Current mana density: good. You may move on to the next test."

Noah took the paper, but he stopped when he heard her speak.

The sorceress pointed to the door behind her.

"Go. There’s another candidate waiting."

Noah said nothing, and he opened the door leading to the next room.

The place was a little wider, and in its center an old man with a white beard sat at a table. From the middle of it rose a black stone basin holding a metallic liquid that resembled mercury, its surface moving slowly under the light.

The man held out his hand.

"The paper."

Noah gave it to him.

The man looked at the results, then stopped at the line for blood quality.

"High quality? Not bad."

He set the paper on the table, then tapped his finger against the rim of the basin.

The liquid inside started turning slowly.

"We’re done learning your blood quality."

The man raised his eyes toward Noah.

"Now we’ll see your elemental affinity."

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Blood Classifications

Low blood: doesn’t turn blue.

Middle quality: dark blue.

High quality: sky-blue.

Supreme quality: azure.

Mage Ranks

Low-grade mage

Middle-grade

mage High-grade mage