Kapitel 54: Book 2: Chapter 24 – Talent Test
As he spoke, each of the kids hung on his every word. For many of them, he was the first saint they'd ever seen, and even if they had seen others, it wasn't very often. Saints were exceedingly rare.
"The next thing we're going to do is the talent test. Now I know each of you has already done this, but our test is a little more in-depth," Mathias said as he landed in the centre of the mountaintop, calmly projecting his voice into the ears of each of them. "Martial Uncle Aiden, if you please."
As he said that, the children watched in awe as a tall, dark-skinned man walked through the air as if the air beneath his feet was solid.
Ace immediately activated his [Observation], only to be left dumbfounded by his discovery.
'He has no mageforce either?' Ace discovered rather shockingly. 'He's just an ordinairy peak ninth rank warrior?!'
Seeing him walk through the air, Ace assumed that, like Mathias, he too was a saint, and like the other powerhouses present, he too was a powerful mage and warrior, but he couldn't have been more wrong.
The more Ace studied the man in the sky, the more shocked he became.
'Is he…
I didn't know impose could be used like that.' Ace thought to himself as he noticed Aiden using impose to compress the space under his feet until it was essentially a solid he could walk on. 'Just who is this man?'
Sensing Ace's [Observation], Aiden glanced lightly at the boy, flashing a telling smile, making him realise he'd just been caught.
Ace already knew that his [Observation] could be sensed by those with a stronger spirit than his own after a discussion with Wukong. It was why he hadn't used it to take a closer look at the two instructors earlier, but Aiden's ability to walk on the sky was simply too mesmerising.
Still, Ace simply dispersed his haki and pretended nothing had happened.
"This is my martial uncle, Aiden Rohault – you can think of him as a guest elder of the Pavilion," Mathias explained as Aiden took his position by Mathias' side. "Momentarily, I'll call you up one by one, and when Martial Uncle puts his hand on your head, he'll channel some of his spiritual essence into you, allowing him to accurately determine your age, cultivation, spiritual essence, and affinities.
First up, Kannal Meiron."
Kannal, who still seemed pretty exhausted from his earlier climb, slowly walked to the centre. His nerves were obvious for all to see. After all, he was in front of what he thought to be two all-powerful saints.
"It's alright, we don't bite," Mathias said smilingly, hoping to put his nerves at ease.
As soon as Kannal was in front of them, Aiden calmly put his palm on the boy's forehead before almost immediately announcing the results. "Kannal Meiron:
Age – Seven
Warrior Cultivation – Late Rank one
Mage Cultivation – Not Applicable
Spiritual Essence: 24x above average – Rare
Elemental Affinity: Wind – Exceptional"
All Ace knew about Kannal's talent was what Venerin had said, but he had to admit, Venerin wasn't lying. He truly was very talented.
Next up was the cold dark-haired boy Ace had passed on the climb. Like before, Aiden wasted no time in announcing the results. "Osiris Leyran:
Age – Nine
Warrior Cultivation – Early Rank Two
Mage Cultivation – Late Rank One
Spiritual Essence: 29x above average – Rare
Elemental Affinity: Darkness – Exceptional"
'This really is the gathering place of the elites.' Ace sighed to himself as he watched the boy return to his position as indifferent as ever.
One by one, each child was called up, and each result was more impressive than the last. What really caught Ace by surprise, though, was Killian's results.
"Killian:
Age – Nine
Warrior Cultivation – Early Rank Two
Mage Cultivation – Mid-Rank One
Spiritual Essence: 45x above average – Rare
Elemental Affinities:
Earth – Exceptional
Lightning – High
Edict of Destruction – Exceptional."
Over the last half a year or so, Killian had trained his socks off, and it clearly showed. Not only had he made breakthroughs as both a warrior and a mage, but his spiritual essence had also increased substantially, going from 41 to 45x above average, but what surprised him wasn't the improvements but the results for his elemental affinities.
Whether it was the children or the adults, everyone looked at Killian in shock.
"Edict of Destruction? What's that?" Ace asked, turning to Wukong, who also raised an eyebrow at the boy.
"As you know, there are seven profound laws, but aside from them, there are still the four higher laws referred to as the four edicts," Wukong explained slowly. "Life, Death, Fate and, of course, Destruction."
"How do they compare to the ordinairy elements?" Ace asked curiously.
"There's no definitive difference in raw power between them and the seven laws, but individuals with an affinity to any of the four edicts are far rarer, making their abilities a lot more mysterious," Wukong answered when the corners of his mouth crept up slightly. "Looks like first brother won't be able to sit still this time."
"Huh, what do you mean?" Ace asked, not following Wukong's meaning.
"Killian, how would you like to be my disciple?" Mathias asked in anticipation.
His question catching most of those present by surprise, Killian included.
"Ahh, excuse my excitement. I was getting ahead of myself," Mathias said apologetically. "You need to understand, though rare, having an affinity to any of the four edicts is a double-edged sword. Its rarity makes it hard to counter, but it also makes it harder to progress as there aren't many with the affinity to learn from.
But seeing as I'm also a mage of the edict of destruction, I'm in a unique position to train you in the ways of destruction." Mathias eagerly explained.
Bar Ace, Alissa, and Amira, all the other youths watching, had to forcibly reign in their envy. The idea of becoming the disciple of a lofty saint was a dream come true for virtually every child in the Yulan Plane, so seeing their dream being lived out by another child undoubtedly stung, but Killian turned to Ace for help, not knowing what he should do.
"What are you waiting for?" Ace shouted. "You want to grow stronger faster, don't you? Well, who better to train you than a powerful saint?"
'That's right!' Killian acknowledged as he regained his composure. 'If I want to keep up with Ace, then my best shot is taking this man as my master.'
"Killian greets master," Killian said as he knelt down respectfully.
"Hahaha, excellent!" Mathias exclaimed. "You may stand. There's no need to stand on ceremony around me. After all, a master for a day, a father for life."
"Father?" Killian subconsciously said aloud.
Kil was born an orphan, so for the first six years of his life, the concept of family was lost on him. It was only after meeting Ace, Milianna, and Lance that he began to understand what the love of a family felt like. So when he heard Mathias' words, it instantly struck a chord within.
"That's right, haha. But don't worry about it for now. We can talk properly later. Right now, we need to carry on with the tests."
As the people who'd known him for the longest time, it wasn't hard for Ace, Lance, and Milianna to understand the thoughts going through his mind as he walked blankly back towards them.
"Congratulations, Kil!" Ace said sincerely.
"You deserve it!" Lance added
"We're so happy for you!" Milianna said as she lovingly rubbed his curly hair.
"Thank you," Killian softly replied, as a warm smile suffused his thick bow-shaped lips.
At that moment, Killian's heart had never felt so full. It was a feeling he hoped never went away.
Whilst Killian was embracing the warmth enveloping his heart, Mathias and Aiden carried on with the testing.
It was then he learnt precisely why it was that the fat youth was accepted.
"Julius Holorma:
Age – 9
Warrior Cultivation – Not Applicable
Mage Cultivation – Early Rank Three
Spiritual Essence: 77x above average – Exceptional
Elemental Affinities:
Fire – Exceptional
Fate – Exceptional"
Though he had no warrior cultivation, whether it was his exceptional spiritual essence or his affinity to the edict of fate, his results were no less impressive than Killian's.
"Don't any of you want to choose me to be your disciple?" Julius asked shamelessly as his beady eyes scanned each of the instructors.
"You can be my disciple." Lauriella declared. "If you promise to start training as a warrior as well."
Hesitation flashed across the boy's perfectly spherical face before a helpless sigh escaped his lips. "Forget it. It's not worth ruining my god-like physique with your silly exercise."
An amused smile appeared on Ace's face as he watched Julius waddle back to his spot, whistling as though nothing had happened.
The next couple didn't really capture Ace's attention. It wasn't until the second to last name youth's results were announced that Ace suddenly perked up.
"Amira Rohault:
Age – 8
Warrior Cultivation – Early Rank Two
Mage Cultivation – Early Rank Two
Spiritual Essence: 91x above average – Exceptional
Elemental Affinities:
Wind – Exceptional
Light – Exceptional"
Her elemental affinities were impressive, but the most shocking thing about her was her cultivation and spiritual essence.
Aside from his own, Amira had the highest spiritual essence of anyone else he'd seen at their age. If that wasn't impressive enough, despite being the same age as him, she was a rank two mage and warrior.
'It's no wonder she managed to catch Wukong's master's eye.' Ace thought to himself as he stared at her as if he were unable to take his eyes off her.
Amira also glanced his way, but only for a second before snorting and turning away, making Ace smile wryly, not realising she looked away to hide her blush.
"Oii brat. Would you stop focusing on your crush and pay attention?!" Wukong teased loud enough for the others to hear.
"Huh? Ooh, right, my bad!" Ace said hurriedly as his face heated up, realising he hadn't even heard his name called.
Mathias and Aiden both smirked, seeing the rosiness of Ace's cheeks, understanding it had nothing to do with him running over to them. Still, neither said anything. Aiden simply put his hands atop Ace's head exactly as he had with the other children before him, but unlike with the others, he didn't move it immediately. In fact, as time passed, Aiden's brows furrowed more and more.
"Is everything alright?" Ace asked, looking up at the man before him.
Aiden didn't respond immediately, but when he did, he replied with a question directed towards Ace's mother. "Milianna, was it? Do you mind if I perform a quick scan of you as well?"
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