12 Aptitude Test

George followed the witch's instructions and placed both of his hands on the crystal ball.

It was quite cold, yet not cold enough to make him wince in pain. A strange tactile feeling was transmitted from the tip of his fingers. George's head hurt as if there was a there were ants eating his brain. Along with the start of his headache, the crystal ball in front of George started to emit a small glow.

"Very good! Don't let go! The witch stared attentively at the crystal ball.

As the pain increased, the crystal ball in George's hands also grew brighter.

Numbers started to go up...One...Two...Three...Four...And after reaching five, George shouted: "No! No more!"

George clenched his teeth, and the pain that practically split his brain into two caused him to loosen his grip uncontrollably.

"Amazing...To think that there would be a grade 5 talent in this batch of apprentices", The witch nodded her head. She took out a goose feather pen and scribbled on his form, "We have ranked the aptitude of the acolytes into five grades, with the first grade as the worst and the fifth grade as the best. You are in the fifth grade, an incredible talent that only appears out of a thousand apprentices!"

Behind him, Helena smiled uncontrollably. It was a great addition to the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, since most grade 5 talents would turn into magi eventually, or die trying so.

"Let's test your affinities, you little rascal", Helena spoke

George followed her next to a white-beard man who praised him for his talent: "Fifth grade? This is quite the incredible talent indeed...Let's test your elemental affinities. Based on the results, you will be able to focus on the study of one or two elements, allowing you to cast incredible elemental spells!"

The old geezer knocked on the tabletop and it split open, and a black basin rose from the centre. This water basin was not smooth. It seemed to be made of stone, and there was a kind of liquid metal flowing inside that resembled mercury.

"Carefully look into the basin!" The old geezer's voice sounded, seemingly carrying an authoritative tone.

George could not help but to divert all his attention towards the centre of the water basin. With his constant focus, the mercury in the middle swirled continuously and turned into a whirlpool, as if a mouth had opened at the bottom.

"Now, tell me, what do you see?", the old man asked

"Shadows, and a black coloured whirlpool! And there are green spots near the outer circumference!"

"Is there a lot of green?"

George answered: "Yes, but not as much as black...The black seems endless..."

"Anything else?"

"No...Nothing"

"Your test is already over! In the aspect of elemental affinities, you have the highest affinity with the Shadow element, and you surprisingly have some affinity with the Nature element. It's a pity you already signed a contract with the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy...we could have used a talent like you...", the elder spoke with regret, before waving his hand.

Helena smiled and said: "You must have heard the statistics. A grade 5 talent has 90% of becoming a magus in his lifetime. If it's you, I am confident you will be part of the majority. Come! It is time to go to the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy"

George bade farewell to the members of the [Furze Alliance], while recommending them the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy before leaving. If they listened to him, then he might earn some allies there. If they didn't, it didn't really matter. With his talent, George would naturally have a lot of acolytes following him.