Ch4 Aptitude Test

"Classes are so boring. It's always about reading and writing, why can't we do something fun?!"

Listening to the complaints of the other orphans as we leave class. I chuckle at the bored expression on Dirk's face. It doesn't matter the world. Children will always be children.

Even then, I might have been the same way, too, if I had been here since the very beginning. Doing the same thing over and over again does get boring, especially for someone who has already gone through school like me.

Though I will be transferring to an actual school pretty soon.

"Who do you think is going to be lucky enough to leave this backwater village." Turning to the short and stumpy kid who said that, I raise an eyebrow at his arrogant attitude.

To his right is a tall but still short girl with a ponytail. Her expression was even more haughty than the boy's. Especially when she says, "Of course you and I will. We're both from a noble lineage!"

Hearing her say that, I ask Dirk in disbelief, "Are there really noble children staying here as well." Glancing over at me, he smirks while looking back at the noble duo.

"They may have come from some noble family, but they held little to no power. Why do you think they ended up in an orphanage? Because their families got wiped off the planet in the war!"

He purposefully said that rather loudly, which garnered hateful glares from the 2 noble kids. Rubbing salt on the wound, he gives them the middle finger, which gives me and surprisingly Amelia a good laugh.

There is nothing like embarrassing arrogant children to strengthen a friendship.

As we are heading out to the town square where the aptitude test will be taken, I see a few of the townspeople outside, including the old man I met earlier today.

Smiling at us, I see him and some of the others wave. "Good luck, young ones, we wish you the best. Unfortunately, we won't be able to see you, but know that even if you don't succeed, we will all be here to support you."

'Dang, although short, it was inspirational. I'm surprised they care so much about us.' Usually in media, orphans would get the short end of the stick, but with such a support system, even the most traumatized orphan might make a turnaround.

Waving back at them, Mother Ronja and a few other nuns guide us to our destination.

The walk there felt kind of nerve-wracking. Despite knowing I'm going to pass, I still feel a bit anxious. Feeling a nudge from my left, I look over at Dirk, who seems as calm as the lake. Seemingly sensing my emotions, he smirks at me.

"What are you so worried about? We're both going to make it." He radiated confidence, and that helped me to calm down a little.

"Ehm!" Hearing a cough to my right. Amelia looks offended. "You mean all three of us will make it!"

Smiling, I stretch out my hand and ball it into a fist. Already knowing what I'm hinting at, they both bump my fist.

"Of course! We have to stick together, so don't let me down." Rolling their eyes, Amelia gives me a playful punch.

"Let you down?! That's my line! I'm the most talented, so you guys don't fall behind." Clearly joking around, Dirk and I play along as we finally enter the square.

If I were to guess, there were probably around 200 people here!

About 70 children around my age were already lined up. In front of them was a booth where Faustus and a rather tall muscular man in knight's armor were standing. On the table was an orb sitting on top of a wooden stand.

Our entrance was met with a lot of mixed reactions, especially among the kids. This was the first time that I'd seen any malicious expression targeted at us.

'What's with this change all of a sudden? Or is this just the villager's inner thoughts being projected by their offspring?'

Most of my interactions have been nice, but it was only with the older villagers and not their children. It seems their true feelings have shown themselves.

Though I don't understand why we are met with such looks of disgust when we are just trying to live our lives.

Getting in line at the very back, the large clock attached to the town hall not too far from us turned to noon.

"Attention!" Hearing the deep voice of the armored man, the chatter stopped, and everyone paid attention to him.

"The aptitude test shall begin now. One by one, you will place your hand on the orb. If it glows, you may go back in line and wait for further instructions. If it does not, you must leave." Done with his announcement, he allows Faustus to speak.

Seeing the nervousness on some of the kid's faces, Faustus gives a gentle smile before speaking.

"Thank you, Sir Burns. Though most of you will fail, those young enough can try again next year. Mana cores tend to develop around the age of 10, but sometimes, it can happen when you're younger or a little older. Once over the age of 12, though, the chances are pretty slim."

Flabbergasted, I stare blankly at Faustus. 'What kind of pep talk was that? You just made them even more nervous!'

Starting from his left, Sir Burns calls up the first child on the line. A short brown-haired kid walks up to the orb. Being told to rest her hand on it, she does so and waits expectantly for a response.

10 seconds turned into a minute, but there was no reaction. Seeing that Faustus gives her the bad news.

"Unfortunately, you have not passed. But you can try again next year."

For the next 30 minutes, 25 kids went up, but none passed. That was until the 40-minute mark when a tall blonde boy got a reaction.

The orb glowed a faint blue color. Though it wasn't as magical or bright as I expected it to be, he did pass.

Yelling excitedly, he quickly went back into the line with a pep in his step where he stood proudly at the front. Smiling at his parents, they sigh in relief and give him a loving smile in return.

Another 15 minutes go by before the orb glows again but a lot brighter than before, garnering her many envious gazes. This time, it was a red-haired girl who looked to be 7.

Surprisingly, the bald boy directly after her also made the orb glow. He didn't seem shocked and just nonchalantly went into the new line forming at the front.

35 more minutes go by and only 5 more kids passed, which seemed to surprise Faustus. Either because this was a lot more children than he was expecting to pass or that there were a lot less.

Now began our turn. After a 5-minute break, the first of the orphans were called up.

Of course, there were many failures, but unlike the first group, 3 out of the first 10 passed. 2 of them are elves, and the final one was a fox beastman.

This momentum kept going for another 10 orphans as 2 more passed, both being twin dwarves.

'I see the difference now.' Since the very beginning, I've been ignoring the bigger picture! The reason for the disdain of the villagers is that they are almost entirely human while we are all comprised of many different races.

Despite our pool being smaller, the chances of, for example, a beastman developing a magic core is way likelier than a human.

Though humans are still quite dominant in this continent. 'Maybe they breed as fast as the rabbit beastmen to be able to keep up. Or, more likely, humans produce better-quality card weavers.'

Next up on the roster is the group of five that looked at me weirdly in the assembly hall yesterday.

They were a pretty diverse group, but I noticed that they would constantly try to avoid me throughout the hall and in class.

Not surprising to me in the slightest, they all passed and made the orb glow in varying degrees. The two that I've designated as the leaders made the orb shine the brightest so far.

'Why did I have to find trouble with the most talented kids!' If their performance today gave them a boost in confidence, then they may retaliate as they know that they are superior to me not only in numbers but probably talent as well.

Feeling a sense of dread, I pay attention to the next batch, who just so happen to be the two nobles.

Watching them both put their hands on the orb one after the other, Dirk's mouth went agape.

'They both passed! And the orb glowed nearly as brightly as the girl and boy from the last group.' Shaking my head, I wanted to punch Dirk for taunting them.

Now, there will probably be two groups of people ready to bully me.

Although we were calm for the most part, the adults who knew how rare it was to find so many talented people were shocked.

Unknown to me and the other children, the usual amount that comes out of this place is at most 6, so the recruits being more than doubled this year was a shock.

Now, it was time for the final 6 orphans to show our stuff. I know that I'll pass, but I'm not sure about Dirk since I hadn't created a mana sense card last night because I was too excited.

'I'll have to make it later today. There's no doubt that it would be useful.'

There were three students ahead of Dirk, Amelia, and me, so we waited for them to take their turns. For the first time in several minutes, those three failed, bringing down the mood that had risen to its peak not too long ago.

As Amelia was next in line, she stepped up. Slowly putting her hand on the orb, a blinding blue light emits from it, forcing everyone to cover their eyes.

'Shit! She's a monster.' The light gradually dims. Uncovering my eyes, I am greeted by the confident smile of Amelia. Frowning in disgust at her, she giggles before joining the line in the front.

Sighing, I walk up to the orb. Each step felt like I was being weighed down by Mount Tai. The gazes of both groups of kids were sinister. Although one of my group members surpassed both groups' talent, that doesn't me Dirk and I will as well.

Placing my hand on the orb, there was a sudden silence as the orb emanated an extremely bright white light that although looked blinding, was more soothing than anything. There was no eye strain as I stared right into it.

A few minutes go by and the light doesn't let up, so I reluctantly take my hand off the orb revealing the awestruck faces of both Faustus and Sir Burns.

"Incredible!" Faustus seemingly was about to explode from excitement but Sir Burns regains his cool and reprimands the teacher.

"You may leave now." With a neutral face, Sir Burns send me off.

Ignoring the mixed reactions from everyone around me, I watch as Dirk who lost a bit of his confidence walks up and repeats my actions.

*BOOM*

A sudden white light emerges from the orb that just spontaneously combusted. It threatened to rival the sun with its brightness.

The silence after the light dimmed was deafening. Even I lost my composure as everyone didn't know how to react.

'What! Is Dirk the son of a deity or something? That reaction was a little too extravagant. Some would even say he's the MC of this world!' Every other reaction garnered from the orb paled in comparison to what Dirk just accomplished.

No other reaction was so exaggerated. Even my soothing white light was still in the realm of normality!

The minds of the knight and teacher were in disarray as they tried to figure out the implications of such an event.

They both thought in unison. 'He's a once-in-a-lifetime talent!'