There were many other things that are quite in the news nowadays, and the top story is still Lysara. With her recent birthday, she turned 16 two months before him.
Technically, she is older than him by two months, and on her birthday, it was revealed that she was awakened and has 100 percent affinity.
This news made the whole world go crazy. Many people wanted more information, but the Luminara family didn't entertain them much, they just released the information on the slate in public.
It was already known that Celestra Luminara is the same as Lysara Luminara, and she awakened at 14 years of age, another piece of news that shocked the world.
It was this news that made him worried, but there is a plus point, people have forgotten about him as he now doesn't go much to the parallel world. After getting the best training partner, he wasn't very keen on it.
Vaelen, in these two years, hasn't talked to Lysara even once.
Also, getting associated with her socially would definitely raise many eyebrows, which he wanted to avoid now.
She is almost like a princess of all humanity.
There was news that all the hidden lineages came forward to ask for an engagement with her.
Most hidden lineages have descendants in the age group of 16 to 18, so everyone was eager to try.
All those proposals were rejected by the Luminara family. They said that Lysara would decide that by herself when she felt like it.
Because of this, most descendants of hidden lineages are going to join the Academy this year.
It is July already, and since today was his birthday, he had also decided to join the Academy next month. He had already decided before, but now he will make it official.
Not to mention, avoiding the Academy would make someone even grumpier, and both his brother and Lucen had advised him against it, or he would firsthand feel how grumpy a woman can become.
His brother's team had successfully cleared their trial, and now humanity has 10 more top rankers in Rank 4.
The most important thing that has happened is that now every hidden lineage has one person awakened with above 90 percent affinity in his age group.
There were seven in the general public too, making a total of 16 awakened with 90 percent or above affinity. Although no one knows about his, so the total is only 15 in reality.
Six of these are above 95 percent, and five of them were from hidden lineages. Well, six from hidden lineages if he counts himself.
Overall, the awakening quality in humans has increased, and there is an assumption that from now on, there won't be anyone in a hidden lineage who would go below 80 percent affinity.
So, it is set as the new benchmark for deciding talents.
But not all is good. If humans got these perks, so do the beasts. They will awaken with better affinities or bloodlines, both are the same in a nutshell.
The most concerning point was that Sovereigns of Elements can appear in beasts too, and since no other Sovereign has awakened in humans, Vaelen had a feeling that most of them belong to beasts already.
This wasn't an assumption or anything; it was information that came to the slate.
It stated that almost all the Sovereign positions of this planet have been filled.
This was quite worrisome for humanity, which is why the barriers and defenses around the city have been improved, and because of this, the consumption of beast cores has increased.
Because the essence requirements are filled by these beast cores.
Well, he didn't know what would happen in the future, but he was already at the peak of his Rank 1. He could take the trial anytime if he wanted.
There was another thing he got to know: unlike how he had thought that he would need 1,000 Rank 1 cores to reach 100 percent, it didn't happen.
After absorbing 99 percent worth of cores, he had to absorb 500 more to complete that 1 percent.
It seems that 1 percent is really a chasm that cannot be crossed casually.
Vaelen stood up, he had to get ready for this party. Although it was only a small party and only his family members would be present, it was still going to be streamed all around the city.
What a stupid decision to ruin his future plans, he had to join the Academy now as a hidden descendant.
Also, a test of his affinity would be done here. He wasn't worried, as he was totally prepared for it. If this party had been a birthday party, others would have raised eyebrows, as how is he an awakened at 16 years?
This was a reason it was a birthday party in disguise as a social revelation party. In both, they have to cut a cake, and using candles of his age wouldn't be a problem either.
Vaelen took out the dress that was prepared for him, it was a quite luxurious black suit. He sighed and wore it.
Also, he didn't want to do his hair, but he had to do it for today. It was really a headache to do all this just to appear for about half an hour.
...
Vaelen came out of his room and made his way toward the main hall.
When he arrived, everyone was already present there—his mother, father, grandfather, uncle, aunt, his two cousins, and, of course, his brother, whose expression was enough to tell him that he was laughing at him internally.
"Welcome, dear, come here."
Vaelen nodded and went to his mother. He had already grown quite a bit; now he was taller than his mother.
"Well then, let's start and get this over with."
Vaelen didn't have to introduce himself or anything. The moment Eiselle said start, all the cameras at various locations started.
Vaelen knew that he was already on the screens spread throughout the city. He just maintained his usual expression and waited for this to get over.
...
"So that's the new descendant of the Tenebran family. Not going to lie, he looks even better than Zareth and Lucen somehow"
"Yeah, he also looks quiet type, though."
Discussions were already going on throughout the whole city.
...
Vaelen cut the cake that was prepared for him, and after a few more minutes, it was time for the affinity test.
A device almost the same height as Vaelen was brought to the middle of the main hall.
Most people were waiting for it, only the people of the Tenebran family weren't excited. They knew he would hold back.
Vaelen's father and uncle were at least hoping he would show above 90 percent. Well, their hopes didn't mean much to Vaelen, who moved the moment the device was brought in.
Once Vaelen reached in front of it, he placed his hands on the designated place and used his essence.
He controlled it more than enough and saw the numbers rise accordingly. He wanted it to be between 80 and 85, the new standard for hidden lineages.
When he reached 80, he immediately lowered his essence, and after reaching 83 percent, it stopped completely. Vaelen sighed in relief.
While people all over the city shook their heads, 83 percent is good but not good enough in this generation.
...
"Hehehe... as expected, he is totally the opposite of Zareth. Unlike him, Vaelen knows how to avoid attention."
Lucen laughed and said.
He was sitting with his family watching this. Lysara was present there too, she just watched everything calmly. She had changed a lot in two years.
She now maintains her mature personality more than her childish one. She doesn't even remember when she last used her childish tone.
"Well, at least he didn't go below 80."
Lysara's dad spoke while shaking his head.
...
"83 percent, huh? Looks like the Tenebran family is becoming weaker. This isn't a good sign."
A man from the Voltran family spoke and looked at his son.
"Volric, you are the highest affinity holder after Lysara, so you must make us proud. Also, try to win the heart of Lysara—you two are a perfect match for each other."
"Yes, Father, I will try my best."
Even without his father mentioning pursuing Lysara, he was eager to do so. Who isn't, after looking at her at her social debut? The whole city was mesmerized.
There is a reason why she is called the princess of humanity.
...
Vaelen finally came back from all this drama and got into comfortable clothes.
In two years, he had learned many things about his armor skill.
It was just too good. After various tests, he found out that he could activate that skill for about 10 minutes with his full essence.
It might sound like too little time, but the pros of this skill far outweigh the cons. Once this skill is activated, he didn't need essence to manipulate his darkness element. In those 10 minutes, he could use his elemental skills as much as he wanted.
Second, the strength of all his skills and his personal strength is elevated to the next rank.
This was too good. That means for 10 minutes, he would be as strong as a peak Rank 2 ranker.
It is impossible for a Rank 1 ranker to beat a Rank 2 ranker.
The difference, even in a single rank, is beyond imagination.
But this skill allows him to do that—not just fight but dominate Rank 2 easily.
But using this skill is a last resort, as the essence consumption is really very high.
Nowadays, his realistic dreams come only once a week, the frequency decreased as he improved.
But he had a feeling it would rise again if he reached Rank 2.