Talent Registration [II]

"Trust me, I was surprised when I found out I was still alive." Nia said from behind, hitching straight for the group.

They could recall how the dungeon had swallowed her up with its tendrils but everything about her was surprisingly intact, except her annoying bubblegum.

"I could use a hug."

"Were we close before your death?" 

"Fancy words to use for someone who literally saved your flat ass when you were knocked out." Nia scoffed, rolling her eyes playfully.

Dawn spoke next, her eyes laden with a look of uncertainty. 

"Was it really you who saved us from the mage hunters?"

"You could just refill my token card as an appreciation." Nia replied wistfully.

"Waw…" Armin cooed, still fazed by the truth before then. "You're really a tough one, Nia. I guess I might have underestimated you when I sent the invite for our guild."

She smiled, releasing the content in her pocket without bringing it to the surface. "Wanna know the secret of my clan? We don't die until thirty."

"Nia WinterBlade!" Erik called again, collecting their attention back to himself at once.

"Here!" Nia responded, matching towards the podium immediately.

Arriving at the podium, Erik instructed her to step towards the wordless book pulsing faintly within the aboriginal orb that was undoubtedly the centerpiece of the auditorium.

"If your ability is poor, the aftermath of the registration with the wordless book will cause you to faint, draining your life force to its minimum."

"Sir Erik, can I apply to redo the class directly? I barely had time for kills in the dungeon." Nia whispered, tabling her complaint.

Erik gave her a negative nod, signaling she should attempt the registration nonetheless. Nia surged forward with her right hand touching the cold surface of the orb which changes its primate color at her touch.

The orb's surface turned cold, pulsing softly as it recorded Nia's talent. The students present in the auditorium watched keenly, ready to see what part of the academy's hierarchy Nia would be tossed into.

As the pulsing continued, her ability began to foster with the orb, glowing absurdly with a mist formation crawling around its existence. 

Alas, Nia's talent was the water element. A testament to how she must have broken free from the tendrils of the dungeon walls. 

The ranking for the talent and summon one has determined their survival within the walls of the academy and as well tables a golden plate of respect for them outside the walls of the academy.

An A-rank ability tailored with mythical creatures as summons was the peak rank every student would want to fall into, but that doesn't make an hierarchy one if they all awakened abilities in the same rank.

After all, one of the laws of the world was harnessing a society where the rich only get richer and the poor live below the subline— a perfect illustration to what fusions with the hierarchy present in a world of magic.

Finally, Nia's registration was over and a template of her ability card appeared in view for all to see, but Erik read out her results anyway.

"Nia WinterBlade, water element, ability rank: B-rank, summon: manticon(S-rank).

The collective murmuring of the students about Nia's results rippled across the auditorium, their topics glazing on the beastly summon Nia possessed which was the sole booster to her ability rank but just definitely, she would be tagged a prodigy.

A smile of satisfaction gnawed on Nia's lips as she mounted down the podium, walking back to her position with the eyes of the other students hinged on her skin, adoring her prolific talent.

"Linton Ming!..." 

"...Lina Hidalgo!..."

"...Stew Dew!..."

"..."

Erik called the next students, and this continued for a while with their talents falling far behind Nia's rank. Some had a C-rank talent with a F-ranked summon which was useless and forbidden, a plague to whoever has awakened such trash talent.

"Dawn Von Eldridge!"

Dawn's registration was smooth, mounting to an all perfect kill rank since the beginning of the registration. 

"Dawn Von Eldridge, fire element, ability rank: S-rank, summon: elemental Phoenix (SS-rank)."

* * *

"Ace Kiryū!"

It was time.

"Break a leg!" Armin cheered as he watched Ace mount towards the podium, his pace smooth and precise as he walked through the field of students, casually brushing shoulders with them.

Erik was quick to brief Ace about the whole process and soon, his fingers were yarning towards the orb. The minute the placement of his bare skin etched a print on the orb, the auditorium fell silent— his fate ready to be pronounced after his registration.

For a long while, nothing happened. The orb which was supposed to give color in response to his talent remained numb and null. The once soft pulsing light within it was drowning into a fainting light, falling out of existence.

"What is happening?" Someone murmured as they watched the event unravel before them.

"Don't tell me he has no talent, yet." Another mused, glad the odds were turning against Ace.

Soon, that auditorium was clustered with wild gossips, the tension in the hall rising faster than dough assaulted with yeast.

"T-try it one more time, okay?" Erik's tender voice cut through the space, but Ace would not budge.

With his fingers still pressed against the orb, he closed his eyes, shutting the overwhelming noise surrounding him out of his mind.

The once dying light within the orb slowly began to come back to life, swirling and fighting unseen forces that threatened to break out of the orb. 

The charade of whirlwind slipped out, flapping his hair into fluttering paces and lifting the short skirts of the girls up to their inner thighs, forcing them to scream as they tried to hide their modesty.

"Kyaaah!"

This phenomenon continued, the colors within the orb changing from time to time and soon, they all could feel a shift in the foundation of the auditorium as the immersive light force continued to heighten until Ace lifted his fingers from the cold surface of the orb.

After the tide had died down, giving view to all to read Ace's ability card, Erik finally made the pronouncement, a confirmation to clear the doubting souls of the students— undoubtedly, he himself was surprised as he read the results out.

"Ace Kiryū, ability: all four elements, ability rank: SSS-rank, summon t-the celestial dragon(SSS-rank)."

"A true genius!"