NORTHERN MARKETS
EPISODE FOURTEEN: Bob can’t explain o.0

“This is pretty much the written part psycho-assessment stage of the Third Job Advancement test. It is not graded on how well you perform, but it more gives the teachers in El Nath a psychological view. Keep in mint it will also factor into the results of the 3JA exam and wether you pass or fail. They don’t want to pass mages, warriors, bandits, sins and bowmen who they think will suffer hardships later on or become dangerous to the people around them” Mr. Greenberg, the level 81 magician turned teacher explained to his class of level 69ers. He pointed to the details on the chalkboard that he wanted his students to write down.
BobdaBeaverSlayer13 sat in the fourth row. Even though the level 70 fighter listened, his mind kept drifting to his last project with that noob magician. He hadn’t seen her since yesterday when he and the bus driver handed her over to the clerics.
“Keep in mind, folks that it is NOT a wise idea to wait until you are 99% experienced before heading to Nath. If you are even at 94, you should go immediately. for if you encountered Balrogs on the ship or had to fight off summoned monsters, or anything else major, your experience will go up. Not a worry if you are level 69, but if you are level 70 and still havent taken the 3JA exam, I suggest you get your butt over to the station and catch the next flight” Mr. Greenberg was saying, checking his watch. “…which leaves in an hour. If you don’t know your %, come up after class and use the experience test machine by the door” he said, pointing to a funny looking wooden box like machine.
“Because if you hit 71, and you are not 3J, it will serve as a disgrace to the people at Nath and reduce your odds of passing, and even compromise you 4JA at Leafre. Understand?”
The students nodded.
“It’s about 2:30 now, so you have about 30 minutes to go over the packages I have given you and the criteria of the tests and their projects” the old teacher said, sitting at his desk.
Bob looked everything over. The test would include a written part, containing history questions, questions on the job class, and other topics. The other part would be a hands-on project assigned by the people there.
The advanced project is an essay basically written by the lv 70 hopeful explaining why he or she wants to advance.

Bob snuck out of the classroom and dashed down the hall when nobody was looking. He hurried to the Librairy to his room below it to grab some things. The ship leaves at 3:30 and he wanted to be on it. He entered a hallway that was the adminstration of the Library and he went for the elevator pods to the residence quarters and mess hall below-
“Bob!”
Bob stopped and turned around- it was Master Zeleznik,one of the man all Ad Libs and trainees answered to. Zeleznik was shorter than Bob, a bit chubby with a receding gray hair line, but none the less, this level 90 poison mage packs a powerful punch.
“Yes sir?”
“How ya doing?” Zeleznik came up to him, his fat rippling through his green robes.
“I’m allright, sir”
“And how’s that field report coming along? I figure you are just about finished it, hmmm?” Zeleznik said, the pleasantries gone.
Bob felt sweat breaking out under his clothes. He hadn’t even started the actual field report yet.
“I’m working on it, sir”
“Good! And your partner?”
“She’s almost done too, sir”
“Good!” Zeleznik said. “I would ask for it right now, but hell, today’s Friday and me and my pals are going golfing down in Henesys this weekend. Perhaps you could, ah- research my fine golfing talents for your next project, hmmmm?”

“…Uhh I’m booked this weekend” Bob said nervously.
“Doing what!?”
Oh no! Bob thought. There’d be trouble if he said he was leaving for Orbis for the job test. That could take over a week plus travel time. Not to mention the unfinished field report he and Azure were to turn in.
“Umm…i have some work to do…helping out my friends in the garage, and other studies-“
“Yer finally taking up schooling, eh lad? Good man!” Zeleznik said loudly. Then his messenger rang.
“Well, be off with ya. Don’t forget, field report on my desk, Monday morning!”
“Thank you sir” Bob said, walking away.
As he walked, he heard Master Z talk. Then….
“Bob!”
Bob stopped, turned around, forcing the frustration down. “Yes sir?”
“It’s Lady Shuma on the line. She’s been asking for you since yesterday! Said your messenger’s turned off! What the hell’s with that, boy?”
“It’s turned off?” Bob pretended to say in disbelief. He reached into the pocket of his noob slacks and pulled out the messenger. Yesterday, he set it to block calls from Azure or Shuma.
“It is off. I’m terribly sorry, sir” Bob said.
“Never mind that! Get to Madam Shuma’s office! On the double!”

2:51 PM
“…it was turned off, ma’am” Bob said, putting away his messenger. He sat on the bench in Madam Shuma’s office, just having spared himself her wrath he would have incurred had she known he blocked her calls on the messenger.
“Fair enough. I have been trying to reach you all day today in regards to your partner Azure.”
Bob nodded. He figured he wouldn’t be making the flight today.
“I read your draft summary, and Azure has mention a couple of details that it does not contain.”
“Like what?” Bob asked.
Madam Shuma put on her reading glasses and examined the papers in her hands. “I talked with Azure yesterday. If you are wondering she is in good health compared to the morning when you brought her in. But she is suffering from severe mana and energy exhaustion- an important detail which you ommitted in your report. You said nothing about Azure being tired. I trust you were going to add these details on the final report?”
Bob nodded. Shuma continued:
“She said to me that she witnessed you being critically injured or in her words; killed at the hands of a crusader who used a spear to…gut you”
There was a silent moment. Bob shrugged. “I-I dont understand…”
“She said to me that the Crusader threw a spear at you and when it hit, it sliced you open and your innards came out! Excuse my explicit details” Shuma said.
“That didn’t happen” Bob said. “I wasn’t ripped in half by a spear…” Then a memory hit him. He remembered it, but not the part Shuma was talking about. Bob recalled running through the Free Market streets looking for Azure when he passed that baby market, then the next thing he knew he was somewhere else surrounded by mages, then, wandering around aimlessly until a bunch of hackers attacked-
“You recalling anything?” Shuma demanded. “I’ve known Azure since she was very little and she would never make a statement like that without good reason!”
“She may be right, but I have no clue. The baby market was set on fire by some fire arrows and a bunch of mages rushed in- ice mages, water mages and a bunch of clerics were moving in to save those babies, then i remember being hit with something, but then it blanks out”
“And?” Shuma demanded.
“I was in a tent full of people. They were all standing around me.”
“Clerics?”
“…maybe…” Bob guessed.
Madam Shuma wrote some notes down.
“Bob, we’re going down to infirmary. I want some scans done on you to see if we can cast any light on this issue-“
“But I have to go for my job advancement! The ship leaves in-“
“Silence!” Shuma raised her voice, standing up. “As a astaff person of this institution, I override any other plans you might have because you are not finished the project! It is only completed when you AND Azure both turn in a solid accurate well done field report, and that has not happened yet! The Institute holds authority over both of you until it is finished and that is not now! Azure’s in the infirmary at the moment not able to work, and so far it’s as if you’re trying to ditch! That could bring in serious penalty and discredit to you especially since your partner is a trainee!”
Bob said nothing. She was right.
“Sorry, ma’am”
“You better start co-operating if you want to see this project through AND if you want to go to El Nath! These infractions bring in involvement with the GM i hope you realize that.”
“Yes I do” Bob said, resigned to this lame change in his weekend plans.
“now, if you’ll come with me, we’ll go get you looked at.

3:20 PM
In the infirmary on the other wing of the Institute, Bob lay back on the metal stretcher that would retract into the BMS machine.
“Alright guy, just relax and breathe slowly. got it?”
Bob nodded. He had stripped to his boxers and it was chilly in the room.
Madam Shuma was in the room watching. Dr. Hemming now had a crew of medical school students from both here and Kerning at his command. “Allright, fire it up”
The team went to work, pressing buttons. The machine hummed to life, and pulled Bob in.
The computers and crystals started beeping and glowing, and the printer started up.
“The cat-scan* is coming along nicely. Good work boys” Dr. Hemming said to the magican guy at the controls. The components inside the machine whirred and hummed as Bob was scanned from head to toe. The machine recorded body temperature, energy levels, mana levels, and this time scanned body structure looking for signs of old injury, scar tissue and other physical abnormities.
An amethyst crystal beeped and glowed, meaning it was full of memory. Dr. Hemming looked at Madam Shuma and she took the crystal from the metal stand it was on. a student replaced it with a fresh one.
Shuma walked to the big table in the center of the room and placed the crystal in the center of the table, charging it with some blue magic energy. She took a wooden-silver wand from a shelf nearby and used it to beam magic at the crystal. The amethyst responded and cast a magical 3-D hologram like model of Bob’s body. First it glowed blue.
“This is new to me” Dr. Hemming said, amazed.
“Shouldn’t be” Shuma replied, roating the hologram around using the wand. “This should be the exact same as the images shown on your screens, only this method brings a better view to the table. What is the blue for?”

The doc looked closely. “That is the current mana present in the man’s body. The lighter shades of blue represent the magic energy just created from mana absorbtion. Since this is not an MRI image, we have to use the magic data to find what you are looking for.”
Shuma sighed. “I am looking for signs of old injury from the last 72 hours. This man and the girl were on a mission together in the Free Market. According to the girl, he was attacked and stabbed in the abdominal area with a spear.”
“uhh, zoom in to the lower stomach area”
Madam Shuma did so, and the 3-D hologram became larger, but everything except the lower torso area disappeared.
She used her wand to examine different areas, and finally found several spots where mana absorbtion and magic production rates were higher or lower than average. What she saw was scarring everywhere.
“From what I can see, its as if he was ripped apart then instantly healed. The brighter spots are where clerics must’ve healed…”
“So what the girl said is true, he just can’t remember it” Madam Shuma said.
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Cat-scan: 3-D x-ray image of inside the body. Catscans are used by medical personnel in hospitals when doing emergency surgeries or checking for internal injuries. something like that