1 The City of Lumious
[Year 2341, Lumious - Capital City of the Human Continent]
Bright sunshine glistened over the most beautiful city in the Human Continent. 4 horse-drawn carriages could fit comfortably on the stone slab roads. The smell of local cuisine and the loud clamor of the local markets filled the air. Human, Elven, and Dwarven merchants filled the streets with multiple wares. Crystal clear water flowed through the city via an aqueduct system designed by clever city planners. Enormous malls and offices owned by powerful clans and guilds towered the local citizens, smaller shops, and peddlers on the streets.
Today was an important day for many young children across the Continent. It was [Selection Day], and children would learn of their talents and shortcomings, while also having the chance to be admitted to schools and other academies. It was a day where dreams were both created and destroyed...
This was all for the sake of recruiting and unearthing strong talent. An elemental device would privately display the individual's [Status] for recruiters of the many schools and academies to judge.
[Selection Days] were conducted at the Adventurer's Guild. Children of the age of 13 or older had the right to attend, so long as they were a citizen of the Human Continent. The elemental particles in Lumi allowed for citizens to mature and grow up faster, while also allowing for long life. One who longed for power could essentially end up living for over 200 years, and there were even rumors of adventurers achieving immortality...
Among the long queues that had formed, a brown haired boy with deep purple eyes was waiting patiently. As he watched the rich and poor families arrive, his pupils tinged green as the nobler carriages dropped off wealthy citizens. Wealthy children and their families walked out, with clothing dripped with style and swagger that common folk had no means of competing with. The females wore either wore beautiful dresses that displayed grace and gentility or tight fitting outfits that showed fierceness and accentuated their curves. On the other hand, males were wearing clean fit suits that enhanced their gentlemanly aura.
There were rumors of this year being a year of dragons and tigers. The top clans and guilds all had genius aces participating in [Selection Day]. As people were discussing many different topics, the Adventurer's Guild filled with chatter and laughs.
"Do you think the Fire Guild's ace will get admitted into the Royal Academy?" Many children standing nearby turned their heads to a certain conversation. They all longed to join the Royal Academy, where they would have the best chances of learning from the cream of the crop. This would in turn lead to survival during future adventures and wars.
A brown haired boy with purple eyes quickly turned his head over, removing the negative thoughts from earlier and eager to listen in to the conversation.
Someone eagerly pitched in from nearby. "You mean Darius Phoenix? He has the skills and innate stats to become a top power. Especially when you consider his family inherited skill [Phoenix Flame], his strength is unparalleled within our age group."
The boy silently agreed; however, he knew Darius was lacking in maturity. During his elementary school years, Darius was known for his arrogance and hot-headedness, and that would lead into critical issues when trust and synergy were of utmost importance. However, some things need not to be said, as the boy would only bring trouble onto himself.
"Agreed, his family's [Phoenix Flame] is such a beautiful and deadly skill. The Phoenix family is so blessed..." Many spectators had agreed with the analysis, at least on the surface level. Some knew of Darius' personality, but who would bring it up and instead bring trouble onto themselves?
There were many guilds across the Human Continent. In general, numerous families run guilds; for example, the Fire Guild contains powers such as the Phoenix and Helix families. Larger family clans, whose roots went as deep as the First or Second generation of the [Human] race, could rival such top guilds as standalone entities. The top 10 family clans, in no particular order, were the Chu, Sato, Park, Johnson, Garcia, Agnes, Bruno, Amari, Varma, and Silva. These ten families were widely spread across the continent, venturing in multiple businesses and defending multiple fronts against monsters and other races.
Many of the children participating today yearned to enter the Royal Academy, the top school within the Continent. However, its tough requirements left many with empty dreams, as they were mature enough to know that not all things in life were granted freely. When a school accepted a prospective student, they would hand that person an envelope, which contained a contract inside. This was to prevent betrayal from its students.
Gold colored envelopes were strictly reserved for top level schools, and the next tier was Silver, then finally Bronze. Dejected groans could be heard as many left empty-handed, other voices belonging to those with Bronze colored envelopes.
Three hours into [Selection Day], the brown haired boy stepped onto the stage. His purple eyes stopped at an ancient stone stele. Walking to it, the boy brought out his hand, and he felt the coldness of the stone as he placed his palm down. Within moments, 9 colors lit brightly. A wave of mana brushed past his body before slowly dissipating, and a panel of recruiters stared at separate stone tablets to see the results.
The majority of recruiters kept plain expressions, as they only showed emotions for those from the top guilds or families. Magical lights flickered on the recruiters' faces as they scrutinized the status screen before them...
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[Status]
Name : Zeno Tross
Title : [None]
Race : Human
Class : [None]
Health : 100/100
Mana : 100/100
Strength : F+ (23/100)
Vitality : E- (174/1000)
Agility : E (569/1000)
Intelligence : F+ (45/100)
Spirit: F (96/100)
[Skills]
Dual Dagger Mastery (Beginner/Passive) : Stage 3/9 (453/1000)
Analyze (Beginner/Active) : Stage 2/3 (76/100)
Stealth (Beginner/Active) : Stage 4/5 (202/10000)
Acrobatics Mastery (Intermediate/Passive) : Stage 1/9 (0/10)
Void Assault (Beginner/Active) : Stage 1/9 (7/10)
Tailwind (Beginner/Active) : Stage 1/9 (5/10)
[Elemental Affinity]
Fire : F-
Water : F-
Wind : S
Lightning : E-
Earth : F-
Light : F-
Dark : S+
Time : F-
Space: D
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15 minutes later, Zeno found himself on the streets outside of the Adventurer's Guild. He held tightly on a silver envelope and jumped onto the roof of a nearby shop. And with a slight grin, he prepared to take a leap on his navigation home.
"Tailwind."
A flash of green enveloped the rooftop figure as it dashed from building to building, and leaves fell from where the figure had once stood.
