28 The Assessment

!!TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of s*x assault and su*cide.

Victor glared at all the people in the room. The room where he is to be assessed is packed. Most of the heads of each noble family are there – mostly from the capital region and southern region as the ones in the West, North, and the island regions have mostly returned to their territories after the foundation banquet. Victor is very annoyed.

There was no reason for the nobles to "need" to know about his level and magical gifts. He knows there was something wrong with his magic lately but he doesn't have anybody he trusts to fully assess his ability (his medics are also not magically gifted or educated) and he did worry if there is something wrong then what kind of danger will he face? That is something he does not want other people to know. If these nobles know something is wrong with him, the ambitious ones would try to use this against him. It's exhausting living in a noble society where the culture is very toxic.

He also knows that this curiosity is driven by the rumors going on about his ability to see the future. How did they get that conclusion with only a few examples? Most of the things he said aren't even related to the future. He just pointed out things that were already a fact in the empire (facts that were ignored by the nobles due to their misguided belief about themselves). It's just a coincidence that among the knowledge can be seen as a little clairvoyant. After all, being clairvoyant isn't just about seeing the future but also knowing things that one shouldn't suppose be privy to. Such skills would be a big deal for everyone because knowing the secrets of your enemy is a very useful skill without the risk.

Even if there is a special gift Victor has, he can have the option to work in the palace instead of the church (he's not religious) or the magic tower (no way!). But that would make a dent in his plan to get away from the palace and live a peaceful life. Living in the palace is stressful. People think it's spacious, beautiful, and intriguing but to Victor, it has memories of pain, backstabbing, cursing, scheming, and death. He can't live his life watching his back for his entire life. That's no way to live.

Victor glanced at the emperor who smiled sheepishly at him before looking away. He knows that the emperor could have made a decision to avoid this but often he has to relent to the council especially if the decision is unanimous. Although the emperor has the final say, to keep the peace, he sometimes has to quell himself even if he is against the decision.

At the center of the room is a large crystal ball that is hovering over the floor. Yellow glittery lights are swirling around the crystal ball. It's one of the assessment tools. It doesn't just measure and record people's magical abilities but also magical items and other products. It's one of the best magical inventions of all time. They come in many forms and sizes and Victor only knows that they used this tool for theatrical reasons. They could have used a smaller and more convenient tool. It works just fine. Although the bigger it is, the higher levels it can record. However, the tools are heavily regulated and only available through the palace, the magic tower, and the church. The merchants have expressed interest to have access to such a tool as they are useful in assessing ingredients and other materials for their mana value. Unfortunately, they were not even given any access to it at all.

Aside from the emperor, his cousin, his older brother, the secretaries, and the whole nobles in the room, the fourth, sixth, eighth, ninth, and tenth princes are also present in the room. It's a freaking party! Ducal Sirhossis is also present. He is the leader and head of the magic tower. The man is tall, pale, with long white hair and a white small beard, silver eyes, and wearing black robes with gold beadings and designs. He also looked to be in his fifties. Beside him is his eldest son, Rudgar. He looked like his father only more muscular and his eyes stiffer. They both looked eerily at him when he entered.

Although this is the first time they met, Victor has met them in his first life so it was easy to recognize him. To Victor, Ducal Sirhossis is nothing more but a scumbag. The man used his children as slaves and experiments (with the exemption of his official children from his official wife), and he was the one who enforced the toxic culture that has proliferated the magic tower. He was also misogynistic and classist. Because of this, it is very hard for a new mage to enter the magic tower especially if you are a woman, a bio, and come from a low nobility. Abuse and harassment are so common but most mages couldn't fight back because the moment they enter the magic tower for employment they become contracted so they are bound by the magic tower. In the novel, it has mentioned that there have been several su*cides happening in the place but they were all covered up as accidents. And because they weren't from nobility, there were very few issues with families raising questions about the loss of their children.

To Victor, this is stupid. No wonder Claes has not expanded in their magical innovation and economic and social progress. They have magic but there is barely even any magic used anywhere (unless you are a noble). When you have a homogenous group of people like this in power, anything beyond tradition is often barred or ignored. Even the empire itself as a society with hundreds of years under the rule of the Claes dynasty, stagnation of their economy, culture, and magic is expected. But it is currently happening now but many do not seem to want to shake the status quo for the preference of stability. Victor is only lucky he lived and remembered his first life and life on Earth to provide him with some ideas for improvements but it is sad how the empire's progress is halted because a group of people refuses to allow more diverse ideas, growth, and people into the mix.

Victor and Lysander both stood next to the emperor as they faced the crowd. "We will just have to keep this short and simple. The church and the magic tower have requested an assessment for the third prince and have been vetted and approved by the council. They have made arguments that any future leader including yourself needs to be fully assessed of your magic. Because you have not gone through the process of assessment in the 13th year of your life, the council believed that it is best to know about your abilities." The emperor stated formally. "Prince Victor, are you familiar with the assessment tool?"

"Yes, your majesty," Victor answered.

"Do you know how to use it?" The emperor asked.

"Since this is my first time to ever see one, I only have some idea on how to use it. I assumed all I have to do is release my mana into it?"

"Yes. That is correct. To test if the tool is working, Grandmaster Sirhosis will confirm and show it to you."

The old man walked towards him and gave a respectful bow. "Your majesty." Then towards Victor and bowed again. "Your Highness."

Sirhosis then proceed to the assessment tool, touched it, and released a massive amount of mana that the assessment tool glowed so bright. Victor has to close his eyes for a second to avoid getting blinded.

Once it was over a message is written on the air above the crystal ball.

Name: Ducal Sirhosis

Title: Grandmaster of the Mages

Mana Level: SS (89% breakthrough)

Elements: Darkness, Earth, and Fire

Blessings: From the God of Magic, Haka

Gifts: Gifts of Precision, Enhanced magic, and Shadow Work.

Everyone was at least in awe at the sight of the result. Some even clapped. The man then turned towards the throne with a smug looked before bowing and left to join his son in the crowd. Victor noticed that when Sirhosis bowed, there was a slight twitch and a frown from the emperor.

This is because Sirhosis and the emperor do not like each other. Sirhosis is a distant cousin of the emperor and he is a very competitive man. Triple S is a rare level. Even in the noble and royal family, the average level is S class (and that is achieved through years of training). Even the emperor is an SS class. However, compared to Sirhosis who is already at the 89% potential breakthrough to become an SSS class he is a threat to the imperial throne. The emperor is also SS class but at 85%. Sirhosis is not a trusted person and the idea that someone would be more powerful than the emperor is also very troubling. This is why the emperor has him and the rest of the Sirhosis family kept under watch. Yet in the novel, they were still able to slip from surveillance and commit the various crimes that resulted in Victor, Julian, and the rest of the people whom Victor loved to their deaths.

Victor turned to Lysander who did not bat an eye. Victor already knew that at this stage, his brother would have already overcome the grandmaster's level. Unfortunately, he was stuck and has not experienced any progress. The novel never mentioned how Lysander was able to raise it but that a series of experiences, journeys, and wars have helped him grow his mana level and expanded his magical abilities. He achieved the A class level when he was 13 years old, the highest a child his age was able to achieve. This only led to pressure on the younger princes to use various methods to increase their mana strength, level, and abilities to compete with the second prince. Victor just shook his head at the thought of the protagonist's aura. It's too OP.

Victor in his first life is an S-class but was able to move it up through lessons and training despite having incompetent teachers. Compared to Lysander who got an A-class when he was 13, and later in the years achieve the SSS class level, his level was nothing.

"Your Highness, if you please." One of the secretaries has shown him the path to the assessment tool.

Victor only sighed. 'Let it be S class at least. Please no issues.' He thought. S class, fire, and lightning elements, and as far as he knows he has no gifts or blessings. After all, he has not been blessed by the church or chosen a god or goddess to serve. He doesn't mind a lower level but judging from his progress since he got back, he highly doubts it.

Victor touched the cold crystal ball and pushed his mana into it. He can feel the mana surging through his body like an electrical current running around his veins. They all head towards the crystal ball that is glowing brighter and brighter and it got too bright that Victor has to shut his eyes and cover it with his other arm. The rest of the people in the room followed suit.

"Bright! It's too bright! What is this?" He heard from the crowd a lot of murmurs and groans.

CLANG! CRASH!

"What was that?"

And the bright light dissipates and everyone was a little stunned and wobbly once they got their bearings. They all looked at each other. Some of the men were crouching on the floor. An instinct most people do when they hear something loud and a crash. It is a protective measure to avoid whatever it was.

Victor turned towards the crystal ball. It's now on the floor. There is a large crack in the crystal ball and the floor looked like it was hit by a bomb. The cracks expand to the door. 'Well, the floor is made of marble. Not exactly a strong type of stone' he thought.

However, the lights of the crystal ball are flashing on and off but his record is still visible for everyone to see.

Name: Victor Wilhelm von Claes

Title: Nasdyuoixhcfgueld

Mana Level: SS (99% breakthrough)

Elements: Fire, Lightning, Earth, Nasdyuoixhcfgueld

Blessings: Nasdyuoixhcfgueld

Gifts: Nasdyuoixhcfgueld

Everyone in the room is gaping. Victor does not know why there was gibberish coming out in some of the results but it doesn't help the fact that the mana level is double SS and he is only 1% left towards a breakthrough to be a SSS if there is further growth in his mana.

Victor could not believe it. There is no way. Everyone in the room looked at the flashing result in disbelief.

Lysander and Adrian looked stunned. Even though the results were mostly gibberish, the level was still shown very clearly. Adrian looked at his cousin full of concern and anger. Lysander couldn't believe it. He has spent his years achieving the 95% SS level and has experienced a bottleneck. But his brother who never got a formal education and experience got a 99%? Soon, if he is able, he could be the first SSS in the empire. There isn't much difference left.

Victor turned to everyone in the room. "I think it's broken." He said with a blank face.