Chapter 12: Separation
As the proctor called for the next in line, Damon ascended the platform.
"What is your name?"
"I am Damon Fletcher from Pinemist Village."
"Damon… There you are. Okay, proceed with the test. Place both your hands on the orb and wait for a reaction," said the proctor, after locating his name on the list.
"Thank you." Damon stood before the first orb. He was slightly tense, but he did not delay and placed his hands on the crystal surface.
Damon was prepared for any result. He did not expect it to become transparent like Edwin's. Nor did he expect it to produce a special result, like Raina. He hoped it would glow with a blinding light, like Alexander. A low or medium result wouldn't have fazed him too much either, as it was just the first one.
However, the reaction of the orb made Damon speechless. As soon as he touched the orb, his mental power stirred. The crimson swirl deep inside the crystal didn't flare up; it slowly dimmed instead. The brilliant glass turned into a dull, cloudy gray.
"..." The orb's reaction was obviously not a positive one. Upon taking his hands off, the color returned, as though it had come back to life. Slightly demoralized and confused, Damon moved on to the next orb. The blue orb also lost its luster the moment he touched it, also turning into a dull, cloudy gray.
Starting to feel hasty, he quickly moved to the third. The originally quiet hall fell completely silent as everyone watched his assessment. The third, fourth, fifth… one by one, the vibrant crystals lost their radiance, just like the first two. When he reached the end of the table, Damon had turned utterly despondent. Every single stone reacted the same.
What..? Why..? How did this happen? Do I really have absolutely no potential in arcane cultivation? Even if I had very little potential, to cause every orb to become dull and lifeless… Dejected, Damon powerlessly raised his arms and placed his hands on the final, black orb.
The result for this orb was no different. As the last strand of hope and strength within Damon's body was about to be extinguished, he felt a subtle tingling sensation in his palms. He had felt this sensation before, but he couldn't remember where. Still crestfallen, Damon teetered back down from the platform.
"Haha… Hahahahahaha!" Some of the nearby children erupted into laughter and giggles at the sight.
Even as the raucous laughter rang out from the group of children near the platform, the atmosphere near the Adepts remained indifferent.
"Master! Damon was tested by my grandpa before. During the test, the energy within the essence stone had disappeared while he was holding it. My grandpa was certain he must have an innate constitution of some sort. Could you please check?" Raina implored her new master with pleading eyes and a desperate tone.
"Hmm? The energy disappeared?" Evelyn raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued momentarily. "Let me have a look!"
Evelyn's eyes flickered with a verdant light as she examined Damon. Through her arcane sight, she could see the flow of arcane energy. There was arcane energy flowing through his body, though it was the same as any other mortal. The arcane energy entered his lungs and left with his breath. It did not accumulate in the body, nor was it absorbed.
"This boy… He is no different from a mortal. He likely possesses no affinity for the elements," Evelyn responded without much care.
"But… The stone! Why did it turn into a gray rock? It was similar to those crystal orbs!" Raina insisted.
Evelyn looked deeply at Raina for a minute, causing her to feel slightly anxious and embarrassed. Afterward, Evelyn glanced at Damon again. She did have another conjecture. Her arcane sight could only see the flow of arcane energy. It could not perceive auric energy. There was a possibility he was an Auron. Only cultivators could absorb the energy from an essence stone, after all. However, the boy emitted no pressure. An accomplished Auron would be full of vitality and aura, the strength of their bodies obvious at a single glance.
If he drained a stone, he is likely an Auron. Evelyn thought, her lips curling into a mocking smile. But to have such a weak presence? He must be a pitiable wretch who barely scraped into the bottom rung of the cultivation world. An early stage Node Awakening Initiate. Such a figure trying to sneak into the Arcane Tower to walk the path of dual cultivation? With such poor control over his power that he couldn't manifest even the lowest affinity to the elements, he is not worth my time, nor my notice.
"He is but an ordinary mortal with no elemental affinities. You must forget about the boy from now on. You are on a different path from him. You are destined to rise above all of your peers, as long as you serve under me. Do not bring the matter up again." Evelyn declared, dismissing the conversation. She had refrained from exposing Damon's suspected physical cultivation to Raina, as she had already noticed Raina's affection for Damon. She didn't want her new apprentice to be upset by his secrets and lies, lest it affect her cultivation.
"This… How can that be?" Raina was stupefied. She felt a sharp pain in her chest without knowing why.
Damon could not hear this conversation. He walked to the far end of the courtyard, the mocking laughter of the other children fading into the background. His face was blank as he stared at the ground beneath his feet. Beneath his exterior mask of desolation, his internal thoughts were actually completely different.
These results… I don't believe they are accurate. The feeling when I touched the crystal was similar to when I held an essence stone for the first time. Something happened when it came into contact with my mental power. I have a theory, but I will need another essence stone to experiment…
An idea settled in Damon's mind. He hadn't failed to resonate with the elemental energy contained in the orbs; he had absorbed it. He wasn't certain as to how the powers of the three paths interacted with each other, yet he knew the results weren't caused by just a poor aptitude. He continued to speculate silently, near the door he had entered from.
The proctor, though dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed, was a competent worker, and recommenced the assessment.
"Next in line! You, boy, what is your name?"
"Sir, I am Jon Crowe, also from Pinemist Village."
"Ah, there you are. You must have been friends with the child just now. How unfortunate. Make sure to do a better job at the assessment so that your entire village doesn't become a laughing stock to the other children!"
Although the words were meant as encouragement, Jon could only hear them as mocking. Gritting his teeth, he stepped up to the first orb with strong determination. This determination did not last long as his hopes and expectations were shattered. The balls lit up incredibly slightly, barely at the low affinity level. As Jon heard the sound of laughter from behind him, he became choked up in frustration. Just as the frustration was turning into depression, he reached the black orb. The black orb released torrents of black smog, covering the surprised examiners and filling the platform. The smog cleared not long after, due to Jon having taken his hands off the orb in alarm. The examiners were holding their throats while coughing uncontrollably.
The eyes of the shriveled old man lit up at the sight. "I will take this one then. Although just a high affinity to the shadow element, that is a good match for my cultivation arts."
"Indeed, Junior Brother. He will be a fitting addition to your line of apprentices." A strange glint passed through the red-haired young man's eyes as he said that.
"Senior Brother Lorenzo, although he has a high affinity to the shadow element, his affinity for all else was very low. Are you sure you want to choose him instead of waiting to find a better one from a different batch?" asked Evelyn.
"We attended this recruitment to witness the assessment of the Prince with Senior Brother Gabriel. I do not have the leisure to continue attending further assessments, so I am satisfied that I have found even one decent hatchling. Boy, come and let me have a look at you! I specialize in the dark arts. It is a branch of magic that combines the shadow element with some non-elemental properties. Therefore, I am fit to be your Master. Are you willing?"
Jon had renewed hope for the future as he approached and kneeled down at Lorenzo's feet. "Yes, Master! I am willing to be your apprentice!"
Following Jon's turn, only a few children remained. They also had similar results as Jon, but without the high affinity to the shadow element. The proctor was surprised to see the rest of the children fail. How did the last seven children produce such abysmal results? Is it just a coincidence? Or… Is there an issue with the crystal orbs? He shook the thought from his mind and concluded the recruitment assessment for the day. The eight examiners guided the successful apprentices to the elemental hall they desired.
The failures were led outside by the proctor himself. As Damon trailed behind the other unsuccessful candidates, lost in his own thoughts, he heard someone call out to him. It was Raina.
"Damon! Master said that I can go bid my farewells to Grandpa before reporting back to her in the inner tower! Come, let's go together!"
"Wait up, you guys! I'll come with you too!" Jon had also run over after taking his leave from his new Master.
Damon gave a slight smile to the two children whom he had grown close to during the past few months of travel. Though I am fairly confident in my analysis and believe I will still be able to walk the arcane path, these two probably think I'm completely unable to cultivate. I should thank them for trying to cheer me up.
"So, Damon… What will you do now? Where will you go? Would you… Stay in the city? If you do, I… I can support you…" Raina started to ask Damon, before her voice started to fade, becoming inaudible by the end as a flush appeared on her cheeks.
"I don't know. I will leave the city to travel, but I do not have a set destination. However, I would still like to try my hand at cultivation."
Hearing the conversation, Proctor Renold interjected, "If you need a destination, I recommend you try the Arcane Tower of Auxiliary Paths to the east. They do not accept apprentices through elemental affinity, so you may well have a chance as long as you have the determination." The proctor had realized the potential of these two new direct apprentices, plotting to lend them a hand while they were still young and inexperienced, and hoping to receive assistance twofold once they matured under the nurturing of their Adept Masters.
"The Arcane Tower of Auxiliary Paths… I guess that will be the best option for now. Thank you, Sir…"
"Reynold. You may call me Reynold."
"Yes, thank you, Sir Reynold. I am indebted to you."
"Hahaha! No need for all that. I just hope you remember me once you grow into an important figure over there!" Reynold laughed heartily while sneaking glances at Jon and Raina. These two were the ones he was actually trying to make indebted.
They exited the building to the eyes of many guardians trying to find their kith or kin, Feylis being one such guardian. Seeing all the disappointed faces on the other children, Feylis immediately came to the worst conclusion when he saw the three. Why do all the other children look so disappointed? Did all three of them fail? My essence stones…
Feylis approached the three with an odd smile on his face, trying to reassure them while hiding his anguish. "It's okay, children. We can always try again, or we can try a different association… Don't be stressed, everything will be okay."
"Grandpa, Jon and I both passed with flying colors! We have been accepted as the direct apprentices of two Adepts!" Elated after reuniting with her grandfather, Raina started to exclaim, before remembering Damon's situation. "Unfortunately, Damon failed the assessment…"
Feylis' expression went through a series of changes as he listened to Raina's words. It went from stunned to exhilarated to bewildered and finally, thunderstruck. "Damon… failed? Damon… His innate constitution… Absorbing essence… Moving objects with his thoughts?" He mumbled under his breath while in deep thought.
Suddenly, he raised his head to look at Damon. "Damon, what are your plans going forward?"
"Grandpa Feylis, I was advised by Sir Reynold to attempt to join the Arcane Tower of Auxiliary Paths to the East. Although I do not know the way, I am planning on following his advice."
"The Arcane Tower of Auxiliary Paths… That should be the tower located within the Faragrant Kingdom. It is a kingdom to the east, adjacent to our Mugthorne Kingdom. I can draw you a map with the best path marked if you would like."
"I would be deeply grateful if you could provide a map for me, Grandpa Feylis. It will be my first time traveling alone, and I would be uneasy traveling through unknown territories."
"Okay, when will you depart? I will need a night to draw out the map for you."
"I plan on departing tomorrow morning. I can't afford to stay in the Silver Chalice Inn anymore, and I do not want to impose on you for the payment. I will find a different place of accommodation that only requires a few copper coins for the night."
"I see. Well, let us meet in front of the Silver Chalice Inn tomorrow, and I will hand you the map then."
"Thank you, Grandpa Feylis. Goodbye, Jon. Goodbye, Raina. When we see each other next, I am sure it will be in very different circumstances. Work hard in your cultivation. I will make sure to catch up," Damon said with a determined voice.
"Bye, Damon. Good luck and stay safe on your journey. Thank you for everything, Grandpa Feylis. I am here thanks to you," said Jon with a smile. Although he did not want to separate from Damon, he secretly felt slightly happy that he was departing.
"Bye, Damon… Bye, Grandpa… I will miss you both. Safe journeys to you. Don't forget to send a letter when you settle down," said Raina with a forlorn expression.
Having scheduled the meeting, Damon exchanged his farewells with Jon and Raina. Jon was fine, but Raina was quite reluctant to leave both Damon and Feylis before heading into the tower.
The next morning, Damon met up with Feylis in front of the inn and received his map. After expressing his gratitude once more, he shared farewells with Feylis before departing on his solitary adventure. Though he was slightly anxious, he had already traveled for many months before; therefore, he believed it would not be much different alone. Thus, Damon embarked on his solitary adventure. Little did he know, the road ahead of him was filled with many dangers, the likes of which even the history of the Celestial Peak Continent had never seen before.