Chapter 12: The Cost of Weakness

"Happy birthday, young mistress." A maid said to Liora who was walking by, a warm smile on her face.

Liora waved at her, a smile etched on her face "Thank you." She said happily, though deep inside she was very worried.

Her system had awakened the night before and today was the day her magical attribut was going to be revealed. Liora could feel her stomach twist with unease, she had a strong gut feeling, telling her that today wasn't going to be a good day.

As she walked down the mansion halls, Liora's eyes lingered on the paintings of her ancestors. Each and every one of them were powerful Elemental Magic users, each one carving history and bringing pride to her family name. The Rohart family.

Her brothers, Carl and Lance, were both High-Tier Wind Magic users. She also had a sister, one she hadn't met yet, but heard that she would be coming to visit her today. From what Liora heard, her sister had a Talent, and an S-Ranked One at that.

Her name was Lisa, and she was the pride of the Rohart family. She was the only one among the 4 children of the Rohart's to have ever awakened a Talent, she was considered a genius, a mighty swordswoman and strong Magic caster.

'But..i have 2 Talents..what would they think of that?' Liora questioned herself as she turned around a corner, her chest rising up and down in anxiousness.

'System,' Liora called out inwardly, curious about something 'What ranks could my 2 Talents be considered?'

[Both Talents are very powerful, coming from the Grand Beast Master profession. A rough estimation would likely make them both around SSS-Ranked] The system explained.

Liora blinked, her mind going blank for a second. SSS-Ranked?? That's not even possible, she had heard that most Talents only go up to S-Rank, with a few managing to go up to SS-Rank. Those people are considered to be favoured by the gods themselves.

"SSS-Rank?? That's ridiculous!" Liora breathed her breath coming in short ragged gasps. If they knew about the Talents' Rank, it could cause alot of problems for her.

A few stories spread around that once a person was discovered to have a Talent, especially a high-ranked one, the kingdom would use all means necessary to train and utilize their potential to it's limits by sending them to gruelling training far away with the nation's military.

Her sister was one of them, she didn't even have the chance to meet her, because as soon as her Talent was discovered she was immediately taken by the military to train her and make her a weapon for the nation.

"Liora!" Carl's voice rang out as he approached her with hurried steps, an annoyed look all over his face "Come, they are looking for you."

Carl then grabbed Liora's hand and began to drag her to the ceremony hall, Liora could barely keep up with Carl as she was being dragged away. Her heart started to pound in her chest, her mind felt hazy and her vision blurred a little as all the stress was threating her to fall unconscious.

They approached the ceremony hall, the grand giant two double doors looming over them. Carl pushed one of the doors open, revealing the grand inside of the place. The room was huge, filled with fancy decorations that complimented it's importance.

Liora's eyes widened as she looked at the figures standing in the room, each one a proud member of the Rohart family. There among them stood Lisa, her short golden hair brushing against her shoulders, standing tall and imposing in her military uniform.

Across her chest dangled badges, all gold with the proof of her accomplishments with her time spend in the military. She was only 15 years old, yes, 15! Crazy right? But you couldn't deny that her strength in the army, just as young as she was, Lisa was already a perfect candidate for head of the family.

Her promising Talent and Legendary-Tier Water Magic made her a force to be reconked with, from what the maids told her, Lisa was apperently capable of causing a flood with her current level of strength, she was undoubtadly one of the strongest people in the kingdom and probably the youngest at that.

'So that's her? God, she's so beautiful' Liora thought as she looked at Lisa's emerald eyes, her facial expression remained focused, a clear sign of how the military training had changed her.

'And...so strong...' Liora shuddered as she felt the power coming of Lisa, just being in her presence was already something to be terrified of.

Liora's father stepped foward, his tall frame looming over her. "Liora," he called, "Step forward." He commanded and Carl yanked her foward, almost making her stumble.

Liora, hesitantly began to move forward. She felt the eyes of everyone in the room on her, making her legs feel like jelly. Lisa's gaze was probably the most terrifying, though she had just seen each other, Liora could tell that Lisa was expecting great things from her.

In the crowd her brother Lance stood by Lisa, his eyes gleaming witn curiosity as a creepy smile formed on his lips. Liora felt her heart skip a beat as she locked eyes with Lance momentarily, recalling all the terrible treatment she suffered at his hands made her tremble.

After a few seconds Liora reached the center of the room, 2 crystal balls standing on a lanctern. One was for discovering her magical affinity and the other her Talents-if she had one to begin with.

"Place your hands on the crystal balls." The Awakening instructor instructed, he was a tall man wearing glasses. He wore a white robe, probably showing that he was from the church.

"O-okay." Liora chocked, her heart almost leaping out of her chest. She closed her eyes as she slowly lowered her hands on the crystal balls.

'Please system! Hide my Talents if you can!' Liora cried out in desperation.

[Granted! Host's Talents will now be hidden!] The system chimed in her mind, making Liora breath a sign of relief. It worked, the system actually worked like they did in most novels.

Liora's hands cupped the crystal balls as one of them began to glow with a weak green light, the instructor next to her was very suprised as he took a step back. When the colour of the crystal ball glowed weak, it could only mean...

Liora froze in place as she gazed at the crystal ball beneath her hand, the soft glow representing her awfully weak magic.

Silence...

The room was quiet, everybody stared at Liora with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Liora could hear her brothers laughing under their breaths, silently enjoying Liora's predicament.

Liora's father sighed, feeling dissapointed and ashamed of his daughter. Liora's mother covered her face with a fan, hiding her beautful face from the shame she was receiving.

"Well?" Liora's father's voice boomed, his tone pitched with frustration and anger. The instructor trembled slightly, feeling the strong killing intent in his eyes, while stuttering he spoke nervously:

"L-Low-Tier, Beast Taming Magic." He chocked, sweating pouring from his forehead, "S-she also doesn't p-possess any Talent, your g-grace."

Lisa looked to the ground, sighing in dissapointment, bringing her military cap down to hide her face. Secretely, she was overjoyed upon seeing her younger sister, she had high hopes that her sister would become just like her, someone powerful and respected by all, now she couldn't help but feel sad by the outcome.

Unconsciously, a tear escaped her eye as she was overcome with a wave of sadness. For so long, she had wanted to meet her younger sister, but she knew she would never have that chance ever again.

Because when young nobles don't awaken a powerful Magical attribute, they get banished, stripped from their noble titles, or even worse in some cases, get executed.

"What!?" Liora's father yelled, his magical aura intensifying as cracks formed underneath his feet. Everyone in the room looked calm and collected, totally unbothered by the powerful display of magic, except for Liora as she felt her father's bloodlusting anger choke her.

The magical aura was so intense that Liora struggled to breathe, falling to her knees as she weakly used all the strength in her lungs to gasp for air.

After a few seconds he let his killing intent subside, he turned around and snapped his fingers, immediately all the people present in the room began to leave as two guards stepped into the room.

He glanced at Liora once more who was still coughing for air, with a cold tone lacking emotion, he ordered:

"Kill her."