29 Acting Brave

One after another went back and there weren't even more than ten that passed the test in front of their eyes.

"Number 133!" One of the men at the table called.

They have learned that they were teachers from their grandfather. After this number, it was soon one of their turns. There was nervousness among the boys. The old man tried to calm them down when he noticed this.

"Whether or not you passed the test, I will support you little rascals with knowledge so that you can make your own money and not starve even after you grow old."

Along with his words, he chuckled.

The boys look up to him with love and admiration.

"Number 134!"

The number belonged to Richard. Even he, who is always energetic, has sweat on his hands. Upon reaching the front, he becomes extremely nervous and glances back at his friends. He saw Luke, gesturing with his hands, cheering for him. Slowly his lips moved, whispering, "You can do this.".

Richard brushed away his orange hair bangs to alleviate his nervousness, and he smiled at Luke. With a deep breath, he turned back to the front and began walking to his first stone. With his eyes closed, he put his hands on the stone. A moment later, after not feeling anything, he peeked at his hands on the stone before opening his eyes completely.

His eyes glanced to look at the teachers and the look on their faces showed that they weren't interested in him. Suddenly, he remembered that he didn't bow to show them respect. Fearing it would become worse, he immediately bowed to them. However, most of them didn't care.

He moved in front of another stone to continue his test but it was the same. Again and again he tried. Nevertheless, it doesn't work. When he arrived in front of another one, he didn't even want to open his eyes again. Strangely, his hands felt warm, and he could see some light without opening his eyes. The light died down some time later but his arm felt some hands pulling him, it was enough to make his legs move from his original position.

When he opened his eyes, only white lights could be seen, blurring his view here and there. He realized, as his vision became clearer, that all of the people watching him with cold, uninterested eyes were surrounding him. As they spoke simultaneously, he felt as if he were being cursed. His vision turns blurry again and he loses his consciousness.

The old man rushed up to Richard in a hurry. He didn't give a damn about elementalists. The thought of Richard becoming like this, who is always energetic and free spirited, worried him.

"Richard…Richard!The boy was taken into his arms by him. Richard's head was placed on one of his knees as he went onto his knees. Then he lightly slapped Richard's cheek to try to wake him up. Luke and the other two boys were also experiencing various emotions while watching this scene.

Luke remembered one thing he had read in a book in the library of their orphanage, "Are there no water elemental here? Do something!" His voice rang out.

Hearing his words, one of the teachers barged into the group of men. She was the only woman in the teacher group. Upon touching Richard's forehead, water coming out from her hand melted beneath his skin, and some drops of liquids with black colors came out of his forehead. Soon after, Richard opened his eyes.

"Gramp?" He called to the old man holding him in his arms. No reply came from the old man. The old man looked at Richard carefully. His head slowly rested on Richard's chest. He was nervous, worried, and tired, as a man in his last days had used every ounce of strength. He needed a break.

"Are you all right?"Richard, who had regained his senses, was awakened completely by the old man's actions. Through his clothes, he could feel the old man's heavy breath.

The old man's head shook slowly on the boy's chest, and he muttered, "I'm glad you are okay."

His words helped Richard grasp the significance of what happened. He noticed that he was surrounded by all of the teachers and his friends also had expressions he had never seen before. Normally he wouldn't have had this reaction since he was not the type of person that would collapse like he did today.

He was soon explained by the teachers that he possesses compatibility with the light element. A different location was recommended for him because of his element. In any case, the teachers here don't know much about teaching light elementalists. The test only included all of the stones in order to direct the students to another school if a special element appeared.He and the old man were told where the school was.

The female teacher recalled who the old man was and she congratulated him. She told Richard that he was lucky to have him as the headmaster. Richard's pride in his old man prompted him to agree on the spot.

Eventually, the two returned to the boys. The boys touch Richard's face to examine if he's truly okay. Throughout this entire touchy period of his friends, Richard had a big smile on his face.

"Are you sure you are fine now? Like really really fine?One of the boys, whose name was Mike, asked. In their group, he has the weakest heart. He would be startled by the wind moving a leaf.

"Yeah really really fine." Richard answered him back with a grin.

"Number 135!Unlike the previous calls, this one was called with an energetic voice.

It was the turn of Mike.

Mike went to the testing place without batting an eye to the teachers. He started touching the stones one by one for half a minute each then moved on. When he was done with them all, he returned to the group.

The word 'amazement' was written across all of the faces of his friends.

On his way back to his friends, Mike's knees start to go weak. Luke caught him just in time when he almost fell. He helped his friend stand in a stable position.

"How was it?" Mike asked them with a smirk. The group of friends burst into laughter and gave him a thumbs-up in unison.