"Can cat people also use the stone slab?" Lillim asked.
"If Jessica can, then there shouldn’t be a problem for Maya either," Faye said.
Given this, Malin also supported his little Leopard Girl in giving it a try; after all, the test was free.
So Maya cautiously stepped in front of the newly replaced ability sculpture stone slab, carefully pressing down her hand.
"Seven points," Faye announced first.
"Seven points, quite normal. Maya has opened her Spiritual Energy Pool and become an Apprentice to Saya; it would be strange if her magic affinity wasn’t at least seven points," Clovis said.
Malin nodded, looking towards Matilda who had approached: "Seven points, though I actually thought it might be eight."
Having witnessed his little sister’s lightning arrow volleys, Malin had assumed the girl would have a magic affinity of eight.
Encouraged by her brother, Maya changed to a different slab.
"There’s a ghostly glow," Faye frowned and looked at Clovis beside her, "I’d give it five and a half, what do you think?"
"I give it six points, I think that score is about right," Clovis looked at Faye and replied, "A Shaman would have at least six circles in curse-related spell formations, and with Maya’s talent, that’s enough for her to use all the formulas."
"I also give six points," Malin felt his judgement was close to Clovis’s; as for Faye... with only a one-point affinity for curses, her judging it as five and a half was already an academic overachiever’s performance.
Matilda wrote the scores on a piece of paper, then watched as Maya moved to the third slab: "How many points are needed for a Shaman’s assistance magic at least?"
"I’m not sure, Clovis, do you know?" Malin asked.
"Seven points, a Shaman has seventh-circle assistance spells, and some can get eighth or even ninth-circle legendary spells, needing as much as nine points," Clovis replied.
At that moment, as Maya placed her hand on the third slab, Malin looked at the sea of flowers before him and exclaimed, "Nine points."
"Nine and a half," as she lowered the observation scope she was holding, Clovis turned to Lillim with a smile, "You’ve got a rival now, Lillim."
"I never knew Maya would become this strong after awakening her Spiritual Energy," Lillim spread her small hands, "Faye, what’s your score?"
"Nine and a half. I have a feeling that all of Maya’s spell formations will reach their peak... this is just too outrageous, wasn’t it supposed to be a trade-off?" Faye said with a frown.
"Indeed, but that’s a human trade-off," Clovis turned to look at Faye, "We orcs don’t have such a thing in our natural vocations. Actually, human Mages wouldn’t have any issues if they just chose to progress as generalists; and you... aren’t you an elf?"
"Ah, right, I am an elf," Faye slapped her forehead, "I forgot I’m a dominant half-elf."
"Malin is human-dominant, so Mr. Colin and the others were so surprised; in fact, he’s not entirely human either," Clovis finished, turned to Malin, "Mr. Malin, what do you think the score should be?"
"Nine and a half," Malin sighed, "I never knew my sister was stronger than me in spell formations."
"That’s because The Great Forest Land has rituals to awaken Spiritual Energy. Without the ritual, an orc’s affinity for spell formations is very low," Faye explained, and then turned to Maya, who now had her hand on the fourth slab, "This time it’s a bit lower, only five points."
"I also say five points, though Shamans rarely use protection spells, and at most, they reach the fourth circle," Clovis added.
"...Matilda, record, five points," Malin smiled at his sister, "Come on, continue."
"Brother," before touching the fifth slab, Maya looked at Malin uneasily, "Am I... Am I really that amazing?"
"Yes, Maya is incredibly amazing, and I’m sure you will become a very formidable Shaman," Malin nodded with a smile.
"But I don’t want to be strong. What if that Divine Master named Mina finds out about it? She might want to take me away again, and I don’t want to go," the little Leopard Girl said, pulling her hand back in retreat.
Faye and Clovis put down their observation scopes, waiting for Malin’s answer, and Malin finally relented, "Alright, then let’s not continue. Matilda, tear off this page and the next two pages, and fake the scores as five, four, six, three, two, and four points."
"No problem," Matilda tore off the paper she was holding, then began to falsify the information.
"I knew it, you’d never let us sisters down. Now the question is, Malin, why did you go for the second cup of this potion?" Faye walked over to Maya, tidied up the little Leopard Girl’s fur, and asked curiously.
"Well... because it smelled very nice, and tasted very sweet too," Maya said.
"Hmm? Jessica, you didn’t add sugar to it, did you?" Malin walked over to the barrel and poured out a cup.
"How could I? The potion was still prepared by that fellow believer. Didn’t you watch him make it?" Jessica said with some dissatisfaction.
"Then I’ll have a taste," Malin said and drank it down in one gulp.
Hmm, still that familiar taste; Malin felt his face crumple up, it was about the same as the herbal medicine the old dean used to brew.
At that moment, Malin seemed to see a kindly old lady standing beside him, smiling and saying—Malin, it’s time to take your medicine.
Well, shaking his head, Malin put down his cup and looked at his sister, "I declare that Maya’s sense of taste must have undergone a mutation in some way."