31 Progress and a surprise
"Keep moving around, Kayden, one brick at a time builds a house," Heimer encouraged the boy.
"I don't know what happened to him, but I would bet my life that Kayden is a genius, just not a wizard genius," Heimer thought in his mind with a hint of pity.
A few minutes later, and spending almost 3 times more mana than the first time, Kayden felt his heart constrict and his veins quickly dry up. An indescribable pain assaulted the boy's body, but he remained calm. Pain was an old friend.
"Kayden? Are you okay? This wasn't supposed to be painful," Heimer muttered and continued sending mana to the boy. He trusted his friend's judgment.
Watching the progress that spontaneously occurred in his body, Kayden saw his heart getting somehow a little more potent at sending the manas through the loop. At the same time, his veins began to accept a greater amount of mana with the same space.
10 minutes later, Kayden collapsed to the floor exhausted. His heart and veins were unusually painful, similar to the sensation of feeling a phantom limb. When he caught his breath, he got up with the biggest smile he had:
"Pain is necessary for what I want, don't worry," Kayden reassured his friend.
"Don't try to overwhelm yourself for momentary gains, Kayden," Heimer thought the boy was circulating more mana than he should have to force a more powerful rank 2.
This was a theory often used by those who reached the end of their lives, as pushing mana beyond what is needed causes a destabilization of the core's foundations in exchange for more strength than its peers.
"Relax, Heimer, I'm coming back now. I need to digest my progress," Heimer did not continue the discussion. He knew everyone had their secrets.
The advance consisted of two main steps. The first and most basic was to move forward, and the second was to digest what was gained by moving forward. Typically, this should be done after the base has fully stabilized.
Back at the orphanage, Kayden was considering writing a letter to David, sharing his progress. Walking without paying attention, the boy came face to face with the old man. Reflexively, Han cast a mana barrier, causing Kayden a minor accident.
"Watch where you're going, kid..." At that moment, he noticed that Kayden had advanced to the second rank. Not only that, but he felt that the boy's body carried at least twice as much mana as a standard level 2. "Congratulations Kayden on your breakthrough."
Looking at the old man, who didn't even apologize for the accident, the boy smiled and thanked him for the congratulations.
"Come to the living room tomorrow at 9 am. Let's see something interesting." The old man refused to give the boy any more details. Kayden only knew that the government had declared a 3-day holiday, but nothing more.
"I'll be there, Dad." Kayden knew something big was happening. It probably should have been public, but this last month has been spent focusing on one thing. He didn't have time for gossip or anything like that.
He went to his room and started writing the letter to David. Even though cell phones and communication technologies existed, scientists refused to use something like that for this purpose. It was a secret capable of causing wars.
The next day...
The day started normally for Kayden. He ate his breakfast and practiced with his sword. He was getting stronger every day. He had no way of estimating it precisely, but he believed that he had 80% of the strength and speed of a knight of the same rank.
That might not sound like much, but it was insane when you consider that his main class was pretty much that of a conventional image. That is to say, he was better than a mage of the same level and almost on the same level as a physical fighter.
Returning from his training, he saw the old man arranging several sofas outside the house and using a giant holographic TV on a stone wall. That kind of television was something Kayden had never seen. It consisted of two open bars at each end of an invisible rectangle.
Coming closer, he addressed the old man. "Dad, what's all this for?" It seemed like a lot for something trivial.
"You're too laid back, Kayden. I'll tell you since there's little time left." The old man began to create a table with treats. "For the first time in history, the government will broadcast the Sun Academy admission test."
A slight surprise took over the boy's face, which was soon replaced by curiosity. What is a continental-level genius capable of doing? What's the average? What sets them apart from the rest?
Questions like these popped into his head. Kayden hurried to shower and change into something comfortable. When he returned, he saw several children sitting expectantly on the sofas. His eyes glittered with impossible dreams.
"Kayden, here!" Heimer screamed. The genie had saved a spot for his friend on the front sofas.
Upon joining him, Kayden noticed Ryan and the old man on the same couch. Nobody said anything. Everyone was waiting anxiously. Within minutes, the screen received a different image. There was a man in a room typical of the narration of many sports games.
Dressed in a suit, he introduced himself and began the broadcast: "Good morning everyone, My name is Draven and I will be your narrator for today." Unbeknownst to Kayden, this man was the most famous narrator.
requested from the kingdom. "I know many must be anxious, so I won't be long."
As he spoke his words, the video was switched to an ordinary room. "Academy entry consists of three phases: the test of innate talent. This will not be broadcast. The second is the 100-Step Ladder." Leaving the image of the room that referred to the first test, he was passed to a huge staircase.
"Made entirely of marble, it is 1 kilometer wide." This caused a ripple of murmurs among viewers. It wouldn't even fit in the recording. "Each step on that ladder represents a different attack on your subconscious, from panic attacks to rage."
A series of examples were demonstrated on the screen. "It sounds simple, but you must remember that you cannot effectively defend against attacks on the subconscious. You can train yourself against pain, but not against anxiety and depressive thoughts."
The image changed to a tiled dais. He was round and there was nothing else around him. "Here is the third test. It consists of a free choice test. You can ask for a battle, make potions, practice healing magic." An example was given for each of his lines. "The most important thing is to demonstrate something that differentiates you from the rest."
"However, only some of the best performances will be recorded. This will not be live, unfortunately." The presenter made a sad face. Kayden had to admit the man was charismatic.
"In the end, you can bet on the highlight of the year and try to get some extra money." The man gave a sly smile. "Without further ado, let's start with the ladder."
The screen changed to an image of thousands of people climbing step by step. At first, most were fast, but the speed slowed down considerably from the 10th step onwards. As the teenagers were shown, a little about them was presented: name, level, and rank of innate talent.
Logically, they could not show all of them, but the main ones were disclosed. The amount of 4th and 5th-rank innate talent was frightening. It made it look like there was one on every corner.
AN: Hello , unfortunately, we did not reach the goal, but today was a very good day for me, so I will release an extra chapter, I hope you like it
