Kara's C-rank Exam

All jobs are D-rank unless specified

• Wedding Crashers - With Matabei Goto (C Rank - 50EXP)
  
  
• To Earthland...and beyond! (25EXP)
  
• Be a Model! (25EXP)
  
• Find This Book! (25EXP)
  
• The Rarest Flower - With Akihime (With Teammate - 32.5 EXP)
  

Total - 162.5EXP

KaraMath wrote:All jobs are D-rank unless specified

• Wedding Crashers - With Matabei Goto (C Rank - 50EXP)
  
• To Earthland...and beyond! (25EXP)
  
• Be a Model! (25EXP)
  
• Find This Book! (25EXP)
  
• The Rarest Flower - With Akihime (With Teammate - 32.5 EXP)
  

Total - 162.5EXP

Approved get with you gm or what ever for your exam.

Zuo sat at his desk twirling a pencil in his hand staring at a pile of papers. The papers in question were reports of jobs completed by his first guild member Kara Matheson, and to be be completely honest Zuo wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do with these. He racked his brain for the answer, he had lived a long time he was sure that he had heard at some point what a guild master was supposed to do when their guild member showed signs of great progress as a mage. He sat there for several long hours trying to work it out, sweat rolled down his forehead as he kept nervously twirling the pencil. He didn't like not knowing things, it drove him insane especially when stakes were high. He feared that if he didn't react properly his guild members might see him as weak and leave the guild, which was naturally one of the things Zuo fought very hard to prevent.

After what seemed like an eternity Zuo remembered. "Oh I am THICK. So incredibly thick, and slow, very very slow. But I get there ooooooh how I get there." With a gleam in his eye Zuo spoke into the horn place on his desk, now this horn was designed to make his words echo through the entire guild hall, "Kara Matheson please come to my office, as soon as possible. Thank you." With that Zuo sat back and waited, his mind abuzz with possibilities and a stupid grin on his face. It just occurred to him though that in the time it took him to remember what a rank up exam was, a beautiful evening had passed into the dark of night and he had missed his chance to get out an enjoy the weather. His smile disappeared as was replaced by a frown as he awaited Kara.

It had been a long day for Kara. She'd been waiting in the guildhall most of the day to hear news about her C-rank exam that she'd applied for, but with nerves taking hold she was unable to sit still. It was a terrifying dilemma that had led to her doing the unexpected; cleaning the guildhall and adding amethyst to each of the statues eyes. Why? Because she thought they looked better that way, and it was payback to Zuo Cii for dropping her into entry examinations at every given opportunity. In all honesty, she'd probably done enough entry exams to make it up to C-rank, but of course none of those exams were ever official.

"Kara Matheson please come to my office, as soon as possible. Thank you." the guildmaster's voice rang out throughout the hall, making Kara jump. This was it. Her exam was about to start. She walked through the guildhall, receiving the occasional smile and a hand on the shoulder as encouragement. Her mind was a little bit of a haze for a moment, before she snapped herself out of it. No...I must be focussed.  Losing her focus now would result in her master smacking all of her efforts back down to the ground. She walked down the corridor to his office and knocked on it twice before entering. "You called me?"

Zuo nodded at Kara as she came in and stood up, "We are going for a walk." Behind him was a smooth blank marble wall, the old man would turn around and press his hand against it, with his molding magic a 6 foot by 2 foot slab of the wall would seemingly melt away this would create an opening in the wall that led outside. Zuo would whisper "Marble Make: Small Mold" in response a block of marble the size of a refrigerator would rise from the ground several feet below them. With a wave of his hand Zuo molded it into a stair case leading down from the gap in the wall. He proceeded down the stairs beckoning for Kara to follow. Once at the bottom of the stairs Zuo would flick his wrist and the gap in the wall would close and the stairs would disappear. They would find themselves standing on a small hill looking down at the town of Hargeon, still in a state of constant repairs and construction even late at night.

Zuo began walking towards a cluster of buildings his steps soft on the growing grass as he walked he spoke not looking at Kara "When I founded Lamia Scale I wanted to build a place where the youth could learn to funnel their power and direct it in constructive ways. I wanted to teach people to do the right thing because it was the right thing to do, to teach people to stop people from doing wrong because it was wrong. There will always be moral grey zones yes and you must adjust to such situation, but at your level as a mage the most important thing you must learn is that some things: you just do. No ifs, ands or buts about it." Nearing the buildings Zuo turned and looked at Kara "Tell me honestly, what does that mean to you?"

"We are going for a walk."

No explanation, just that one short announcement before Zuo Cii put his hand against the wall behind him and created a gap large enough to step out of. He then proceeded to create marble steps leading to the ground outside. Kara followed somewhat cautiously, unsure of quite what her master had planned. I swear, if he drops me in some kind of an underground tunnel then I'm going to scream... she thought to herself. As the two arrived at the bottom of the steps Kara became aware that they were now overlooking Hargeon in its revival.

"When I founded Lamia Scale I wanted to build a place where the youth could learn to funnel their power and direct it in constructive ways. I wanted to teach people to do the right thing because it was the right thing to do, to teach people to stop people from doing wrong because it was wrong. There will always be moral grey zones yes and you must adjust to such situation, but at your level as a mage the most important thing you must learn is that some things: you just do. No ifs, ands or buts about it." The Lamia Scale Guildmaster turned to face his understudy as he asked her a question. "Tell me honestly, what does that mean to you?"

Kara chuckled and walked over beside the old man, looking at the various buildings before them "I think you talk in riddles Master, knowing that no-one elses mind works in the same way as yours, but wishing to drop just a fraction of your knowledge and your aims in life on those who are willing and deserve it." Perhaps this was a little brave of the young noblewoman, but there was more that she had to say.

"To me...the first part is simple. To understand what's right is right and to work towards that, while to stop what is wrong. That much is simple, and should be the fabric that all people should try to abide by. The grey areas are where things are more complicated and your own thoughts and conscience comes into play. Sometimes it may not be clear what you should do, but sometimes you must act without prior thinking in order to prevent something bad from happening. A split second too long can mean failure to prevent a catastrophe. It's about knowing when those times are." After speaking she giggled and shook her head. "You've dropped me into those entry exams too many times...I'm starting to sound like you."

"You thought those were exams? Well then you are going to have bad time today. Now you seem to have a basic understanding of these principles. To pass you will have to go a little deeper, come." Zuo began walking again, he was about to head towards the coast when he heard yelling and screaming behind him. He spun around and saw a pair of men sprinting out of a nearby building that was suddenly roaring with fire, the two men were carrying large sacks on their shoulders and the darkness made it impossible to see any facial features. "That is problematic, Kara do what you must. I will take care of the rest."

It may have appeared Zuo had staged this incident but in truth this was an honest to god actual emergency. The old mage was more then capable of dealing with the situation, but he felt it important Kara got some real world experience in a crisis with little to no time to gather information and little to no information provided. If things went south he would step in, but he chose to believe in Kara. It would serve as a decent warm up for the real exam.

Kara immediately rushed forwards, passing the two men with their sacks and towards the burning building. Do what I must?! I can't fight a fire! she thought to herself, yet kept running forwards all the same. Before long she had reached the building which was absolutely roaring with flames. Only two windows had yet to be engulfed in flames, and those appeared to be downstairs. This wasn't good, as the top floor would soon give way, trapping anybody who might have been downstairs. Kara put her hands down to her side as she ran. "Amethyst Make: Soaring Spear!" she yelled, before launching her thin shard of amethyst at one of the windows. It struck the top corner and caused the glass to simply shatter and fall harmlessly downwards. Meanwhile she was already busy preparing her next spell.

"Amethyst Make: Twin Sabres!" she burst through the other window using her sabres as protection, before looking around and taking in her new surroundings. The room she'd jumped into seemed empty, but she could hear some dull thudding from the room next door. She moved towards it, only to find the door was locked. She had a few choices now. She could attempt to break the door down or cut it apart, but that would result in hurting whoever was on the opposite side if they weren't able to move away. She took a look at the door hinges quickly and nodded. That was the safest route. She gripped her sabres tight and took a swing at the first hinge, slicing it off with relevant ease. The second one however took a little longer. The first attempt simply scratched the hinge. the second attempt left a gouge a few millimeters thick, but still didn't break through as the blade shattered from the impact. The Amethyst mage growled and gripped her last blade tightly before bringing it down with full force on the hinge. Both the hinge and the blade broke on impact, and the door started to come down in Kara's direction. She sidestepped and allowed it to hit the ground with no harm done.

Dust and smoke billowed out from the room, and it took Kara a moment to be able to see clearly. When she finally could, she was able to see a figure curled up by the wall just beside the doorway. It looked to be a young boy, about the age of Jornaal back at the guild, or perhaps a little younger. He seemed to be somewhat conscious as he looked up at Kara, but was seemingly unable to move on his own. Either he'd been injured or the smoke had left him disorientated. Either way, Kara had to help him out quickly. The floor above them wouldn't last too long, and she could already feel the heat beginning to seep through the floorboards. "Come on, let's get out of here." she spoke softly, despite the ever-growing concern of the floor above. Using the wall behind him, she supported the boy to his feet and the pair began to walk over to the window. Just as they reached it, a part of the floor above the room Kara had entered collapsed, sending embers into the room they were in. "What's your name?" she asked the boy, trying to take his mind off of the situation they were in. "J-Jacob..." he stuttered in reply.

"Hi Jacob, I'm Kara. We're gonna get out of this alright? You just have to try your best and work with me." The boy nodded. "Right, I want you to take a firm grip of my hands, then try and climb out. If you get stuck, don't worry. I'm right here and will help you." Her voice remained completely calm, something she'd not expected. Was this what Zuo Cii was talking about? She shook the thought from her head for now, and focused on helping Jacob out of the building. As the clear air rushed to meet him, he seemed to become more aware of his surroundings and able to move. Within a few seconds he was halfway over the windowledge and beginning to descend. Then Kara heard it. A creak from above. In a split second reaction she turned around and put her hands in front of her. "Amethyst Make: Jagged Wall!" she yelled out. The wall appeared before her just as the floor above gave in and fell. The flames licked the wall, but were unable to travel beyond it for the time being. The wall wouldn't last long though, so Kara had to move fast. She looked back at Jacob who'd been oblivious to what had just happened, and was now running - or rather, staggering - away from the building and the smoke and heat being produced from it.

Kara wasn't going to wait around and watch him. She jumped up to the window ledge and then jumped out of the window without looking back. She was about to start moving away when she felt her wall disperse and immediately ducked. The flames rushed out of the window to meet the cool air, before recoiling back into the building once more. Kara sighed with relief and crawled a few meters away from the window before she got back to her feet and walked towards Jacob and Zuo Cii. "Now I'm dreading the exam..." she mumbled under her breath, able to joke to herself now that she was out of the inferno. She stopped and sat down on a grassy patch, looking up at the building as water mages, merchants and townspeople began to battle the fire. There was nothing more she could do to help now unless she found a bucket, but by the time she'd gotten the water and returned the fire would most likely have been out.

"You should be. But first there are a few loose ends that I must tie up." Standing behind Zuo Cii were the two figures from earlier, who as Kara approached would attempt to run towards Jacob but would be stopped by Zuo, he turned to them and smacked them both "You are both without a doubt the worst parents I have ever met. Leaving your child behind in a burning house while escaping with your valuables. You should consider yourself grateful that I am letting you keep your son. Now as for the fire...." Zuo approached the burning building signaling with his hand for everyone to stand down, standing only a few meters from the still burning fire Zuo said in a loud and clear voice "Carnival of the earth!" With that he would sink into the ground.



For a moment nothing would happen but then the people standing close enough would see some loose earth was swirling around the fire as if caught in a strange breeze, but then it intensified with large chunks of earth being uprooted from the ground and joining the orbit before long it formed a whirling dome around the fire before ultimately collapsing inward and smothering the flame completely snuffing it out in just a second. Zuo Cii would then reform "Now that's taken care of, come Kara there is still more we must discuss." With that he would resume walking towards the beach as if nothing had ever happened, not looking back for a second.

As Kara watched, her guildmaster approached the burning building signaling with his hand for everyone to stand clear of the building. He came to a stop just a few meters from the still burning fire before saying in a loud and clear voice "Carnival of the earth!" The suddenly...he was gone. Many of the townspeople were left confused, whilst Kara simply watched with a smile. She knew what his magic was, but it was always good to watch the man at work. She couldn't see it clearly from where she was, but from what she could see, he'd begun making a dome out of the rubble and the earth around him. Then, in no time at all, the fire was out. He'd smothered it completely, cutting off the oxygen.

And then there he was, reappeared and walking past Kara as if nothing had happened. Now that's taken care of, come Kara there is still more we must discuss." Kara gave out a short sigh and nodded before she got to her feet. The boy was safe with his parents - who Kara glared at as she turned around - so her work here was done. Now it was on to the actual exam, something which, she knew, would be considerably more difficult. Still, she'd had a warm up, so that was a positive...hopefully...

Zuo stood at the edge of the beach and looked out at the sand knowing Kara was close behind him."Well Kara the time for your exam to formally begin has come. Your goal is to get to the ground, you can do so in anyway you see fit. There are no rules simply do what you must. Now then tremble before the power of the earth!" Zuo would punch the ground "May the earth itself strike you down!" with that the world would begin to shake, Zuo would slowly rise to his feet raising his arms to either side of him "Rise Earthbound Immortal!" Then just like that Kara would be sent skyward. The giant titan of earth would shoot up from the ground directly underneath her feet faster then you could say "goddamn" and once the immortal stood tall and complete Zuo would turn to dirt and merge with the giant being. As he would do so bands of energy would form all over the giant creature humming with power as Zuo spoke again "Now Kara your exam begins."

She would be stuck standing on the head of Zuo's giant creature with the great task of having to get down. Zuo had felt kind and not put any limits or rules on her, but the straight 40 meter drop in any direction was the least of the girl's worries. For Zuo while he had permitted her to do whatever she needed to do, he was in no way going to simply let her get down. No, nothing could ever be permitted to be that easy. So the first C-Rank exam of the reborn Lamia Scale would began on the shoulders of a giant.

So here it was. Kara's C-rank exam, finally starting after the diversion of the fire. Kara had been sent flying into the air unexpectedly and now she found herself stood on the top of a giant titan of earth, standing at least forty meters in the air. Her exam? To get down. Definitely a trial easier said than done, especially where Zuo Cii was concerned. She knew the arms would most likely just fling her into the air, whilst scaling the torso would result in her being batted off with ease. She'd reach the ground, but would risk serious injury that would make the exam completely pointless. The alternative was to scale down the back, but then she could simply end up flattened if Zuo decided to drop backwards. Then of course there was the option that, in all honesty, wasn't really an option; jump, and probably kill herself in the process. This was quite the predicament, and not one she'd been expecting after his talk earlier. How was this a 'Right or Wrong' or a 'Grey Area'? Still, this was Zuo Cii. He was mad at the best of times, so him making sense would've been a shock really.

She didn't have many options, so in that sense this was a grey area. She'd have to act and then go with whatever happens and work with it. Stone was usually quite slow so, in theory, she should have time to act upon whatever Zuo Cii did. Of course, she'd have to think before she acted. A wrong or overly predictable move would put her in even more trouble. Kara decided to go with what was essentially the route that used the least magic in the early stages, making a move towards the golem's shoulders and across the arms. She needed to see exactly how fast his reactions were in this state so as to plan her descent carefully.

"Remember Kara until this exam is over I am your enemy." As Kara began to attempt a decent Zuo came up with a terribly wonderful idea. He located a stray dog roaming by the coast side and fast as a blink he moved his right arm to scoop up the ground underneath the dog(and by consequence the dog itself) and raised the arm holding the dog straight up. The considerable reach of the golem stranded the dog another 40 meters above the head of the golem, with that taken care of Zuo would incline his other arm downwards to the ground presenting a gentle slope with witch Kara could descend easily to the ground. "What will you do now Kara?" Zuo waited eagerly to see how Kara would react to this change of the playing field.

Lamia Scale was about a lot of things, some of those things would not be revealed for a very long time, but it's fundamental goal had always been to help people when you can. "I know at the present the obvious course of action is to go and save the dog, but I have stated the rules of the exam. If you get to the ground you pass the exam, no if's ands or buts about it. So tell me Kara, what will you do now?" Zuo couldn't help but feel it would have been easier to just throw Kara off a cliff and tell her to survive for her exam, but at the same time he knew this would benefit her more. Also there were no good cliffs in Hargeon.

With that one simple move Zuo Cii had completely changed the playing field. Had the older man offered this choice to Kara a year or so ago she would've jumped at the opportunity to end this exam immediately and taken the easy option. However, the events of the past year had changed her drastically; no more was she the selfish noble who'd grown accustomed to having everything handed to her on a silver platter. She'd learned compassion, had learned to work for what she wanted and learned what achieving something herself really felt like. If she took the easy route out of this exam now, it was like saying she'd wasted the past year of her life.

Zuo Cii was an enemy here, and so she couldn't consider that he would spare the dogs life if she took the easy route. She ran towards the golem's raised arm and put her hands down to her sides. "Amethyst Make: Twin Sabres!" The two blades appeared in her hands again, ready to be used. She began running up the arm and plunged the sabre into it, using it as a support for her to climb up the creature's thick appendage. "As a mage I must prevent a wrongdoing if it is possible!"

Indeed, by stating he was an 'enemy' Kara was able to make the decision with no trouble at all.

"Predictable." Zuo craned the massive head of his Immortal to look at Kara with it's large unblinking blue 'eye.' He leaned the head close to exam Kara's method "It is a miracle you are able to get those blades as deep in my arm as you have, what would do if I were to...." Zuo concentrated a bit more on the magic that held the golem together, when he had originally cast it he had intentionally used less magic then required giving the Immortal weaker skin, slower movements, weaker attacks because he did not think it's full power would be required for this exam. But seeing a possibility to push Kara harder he increased the magic output to increase the density of the immortal's stone body to it's maximum. Zuo hoped this would force Kara into a bad situation as at the higher stone strength would prevent her from continuing her current method of ascent.

"You understand only the basics of what you must learn, master the lessons of the beginner if you wish to survive." As he said this Zuo utilized the regenerative properties of golem to seal the holes Kara had made behind her stranding her a quarter of the way up the arm. "I am Zuo Cii of the Earth! Commander of the Earthbound Immortal! Guildmaster of Lamia Scale! Savior of Hargeon! I punched Acnologia! How do you expect to over come me? You cannot save this dog and you cannot save yourself." Zuo was shouting at Kara at this point, the golem already made his voice echo strangely but not it was booming and a person could feel the vibrations of his words. He raised his large head as close to Kara as he could gazing at her unblinking with the massive blue spot of energy that served as his eye in this form, awaiting how his student would react to this shift in events.

Well...crap. Kara was now about 20 feet above where she had been before, with no footholds and no way of getting up, nor any way of getting down without breaking a bone or 5. There weren't very many options available to her right now. "I am Zuo Cii of the Earth! Commander of the Earthbound Immortal! Guildmaster of Lamia Scale! Savior of Hargeon! I punched Acnologia! How do you expect to over come me? You cannot save this dog and you cannot save yourself."

He was right. Zuo Cii far outclassed her abilities on all counts, and had already achieved so much in his time in Fiore. What had she done? Nearly died in Era, worked in restaurants and prevented a wedding from being crashed. The gap between the two mages wasn't some mere jump, it was a canyon larger and deeper than the height between herself and the ground right now. Nonetheless, one thing Zuo would know very well is that Kara was a stubborn noblewoman who had rarely had to take no for an answer. "You're right on one count Master. I cannot expect to overcome you. To think so would be absurd. But to give up on saving a life...to give up after one simple obstacle...I refuse. I WILL save the dog and I WILL reach the ground, no matter what you do. Because that is the right thing to do."

As she spoke, Kara pulled herself up and was crouched upon her two sabers. she placed her hands down to her left side and growled. "Now get that eye out of my face. Amethyst Make: Soaring Spear!" And there it was; the spear shot through the air and struck the immortal directly in the eye. Sure, she'd still have to get up to save the dog, she'd still have to get down again, and the spear would probably do very little in the long term. But the spear was simply a sign of her defiance. Her refusal to back down and to give up on a task she'd started, regardless of how difficult it looked.

Zuo Cii watched Kara go off on her little temper tantrum and watched completely unfazed as the spear bounced harmlessly off "Honestly Kara, show some dignity." He raised his free hand directly under Kara "You have proven you ability to stare into the face of the impossible and charge head on. Not what I meant for you to experience today, but it is close enough." Zuo would then scoop up Kara into his hand and hold her out over the ocean and at the same time returned the dog to the ground with his other hand. "There is one last stage to your exam for you to overcome, first tell me what you want from Lamia Scale. Then second, jump and hope I liked your answer." In all honesty Zuo was making this up as he went, he just needed to do something that seemed exam like to make sure Kara didn't think of him as a lame fraud Guild Master. Which in all honesty he kind of was.

This part of the exam was meant to test Kara's ability to trust Zuo Cii and as an easy way for Zuo to get some guild feed back. 2 for 1 now that is a good deal. Zuo was already feeling relieved as he felt he was getting to a point where he could call the exam completed without being called out on being a fraud and a failure of a guild master. He was sure Kara would also feel relief soon, or would have if she wasn't 40 meters above the ocean. At this time Zuo was faced with a very pressing question: how far could she fall without dieing? That was pretty important information and he had only vague guesses at best. However he showed no signs of his lack of fore planning and just hoped for the best, he also hoped Kara wouldn't do anything to make her fall even more dangerous for some stupid reason. That would really over complicate things. But Kara was smart, she would never do something that dumb. So Zuo hoped.

Kara watched with an unchanged facial expression as her spear simply bounced off of the golem. She'd expected no less, but she simply couldn't just give in. "Honestly Kara, show some dignity. You have proven you ability to stare into the face of the impossible and charge head on. Not what I meant for you to experience today, but it is close enough." Zuo Cii's voice boomed in the otherwise silent environment. He placed the dog down on the ground and scooped the amethyst mage up in his free hand holding her above the ocean. A sudden breeze coupled with her downright refusal to give in caused her to shiver briefly.

"There is one last stage to your exam for you to overcome, first tell me what you want from Lamia Scale. Then second, jump and hope I liked your answer."

The old man seemed to have method behind his madness. As always. Kara looked down at the ocean below, getting a second shiver as she realised just how high above the water she was. It was one hell of a drop, and the water would most likely still be fairly shallow in that area.

"...there are two things I want from Lamia Scale..." she said softly, knowing that Zuo Cii could hear her. After all, he was within every tiny particle of the golem itself, including the hand holding her fourty feet or so above the ground. "...I want to become a better person..." The first desire left her lips as she remembered everything that had happened over the past year or so, and the people she'd met and grown close to; Marick, Matabei, Jornaal, Akihime and Ren. To become a better person and to show she appreciated them...that was one of the most important things to her. "...and I want to help and save people in any way I can...just as I was saved."

With her last words, the noblewoman took a step forward, held her breath and jumped. What happened next...well...that was down to her guildmaster.

What happened next? Well Zuo Cii had to think fast ((for about 4 days)) he had in all honesty not really thought this through very well. He could just try to catch her but he was pretty sure the impact of him moving his hand that fast would injure her. If injury was unavoidable he would have to make sure it was as little injury as possible, he pointed the palm of his hand at Kara and said "Marble make: Small mold!" In response a block of marble about the size of a refrigerator shot out of his hand and instantly shaped into a long chain linked to the Earthbound Immortals hand, at the end of the chain was a shackle that would shoot downwards towards Kara. Before she was even half way to the ground the shackle latched onto her arm, at the very worst it might get dislocated or potentially her forearm might get broken but those were things that could heal in time.

A little too late Zuo Cii considered the possibility that Kara had a frail body that would suffer more damage then expected. He then rationalized if she was really worthy of the title of c-rank then she could handle getting jostled around like this. If she wasn't and he accidentally killed her...... well the ocean was right there, his throwing range is very impressive and no one was watching. He held her up by the chain and inspected her, she appeared to be alive and for the most part unharmed. Great work Zuo Cii that's one murder cover up avoided. So he gently set her down on the ground and shrunk down to his normal size and shape. He now stood before Kara and said "Well done Kara, if you would accept it, I would like to present onto you the title of C-Rank mage. You have completed your exam."