Chapter 13 Potential Testing II

As Zephyrion touched the stone, he felt energy coursing through his body, but he couldn't make sense of it. When he opened his eyes again, the stone was giving off a dim blue light, much to his relief. He thought to himself,

'thank god, I didn't want to experience that bright light up close!'

Zuriel then took back the stone and announced the results in a disinterested voice, ("Zephyrion Thunderheart, body potential normal.") Despite not understanding the language, Zephyrion could tell from Zuriel's expression that it wasn't good news.

Some people in the room shook their head in pity since they knew the future would be dark for him. Others just looked at Zephyrion with contempt and disinterest. Thomas, the golden-haired woman, and the butler were in this group. Helena had a sad look on her face. She just hoped that Zephyrion somehow could break the shackles of his talent and show everyone that he has the destiny to be someone great.

Zuriel took the stone back into his robe and pulled out a transparent glass ball with no special features on it. He said,

("we will continue with the element affinity test!") 

Zuriel put the glass ball in front of Ethan and took his hand to let him touch it. As Zephyrion saw that, he hastily closed his eyes, already expecting a light show like the two last times. He thought to himself,

'not this time, you damn brat!' 

Suddenly, the ball started to change color, beginning with white, then red, and finally ending with purple, with purple shining the brightest on the ball and white the dimmest. Zuriel nodded his head in approval and took back the ball to announce the results. 

("Ethan Thunderheart, Light affinity mid, Fire affinity high and Lightning affinity exceptional!") 

Everyone in the room gasped. They had already expected Ethan to have a high affinity for an element, but what they didn't expect was an exceptional affinity for an element. This fact blew their minds, and they couldn't react at all.

Suddenly, one of the aristocrats started to clap, and soon everyone else in the room followed the applause, except for Helena. However, she couldn't help but feel shocked as well.

("That's more than impressive! Thomas Thunderheart himself only has a high affinity to the lightning element and is already a great hero, but this child doesn't only have high affinity to fire, but on top of that, exceptional affinity to lightning!") exclaimed a aristrocat in the room.

("I'll take back what I said before, he isn't a one in a thousand prodigy but a one in a million prodigy with his element affinity!") said a another aristocrat.

("Mister Thunderheart, I don't even mind if you just let my granddaughter be the concubine of your child. Please consider it,") begged a old aristrocrat.

Thomas had a bright smile on his face. He couldn't remember the last time he smiled like that. He couldn't help but feel proud to have such a great child. The golden-haired woman and the butler behind Thomas were literally crying with happiness because of Ethan's great future.

Zephyrion opened his eyes and was perplexed by the loud applause and excitement in the room.

'What's so impressive about that child's light show?' he thought to himself. 'Why don't I have a light show when I touch those strange objects?'

Zuriel kept being professional in his job and held the glass ball in front of Zephyrion. No one in the room bothered to watch, as they had already given up on Zephyrion, and continued to talk excitedly about future prospects.

Zephyrion didn't close his eyes this time, since he knew there would be no light show when he touched the glass ball. If only he had known how wrong he was. Suddenly, the glass ball began to shine with a myriad of colors, each becoming brighter than the last, blinding Zephyrion once again. He thought to himself,

'I know I asked for it, but for **** sake, why does it have to shine now!?'

The colors included white, black, maroon, dark green, silver, purple, dark red, light green, transparent gray, indigo, bright yellow, and gold. Finally, the last color filled the entire room with a bright white light mixed with hints of gray, destroying the glass ball in the process. 

Zuriel moved his cape to shield his eyes from the intense light, while everyone else in the room held their arms in front of their faces. Ethan managed to move his head away just in time, but Zephyrion didn't have the chance to do so and was temporarily blinded by the intense light, which even penetrated his eyelids.

Zephyrion cursed nonstop in his mind, 'Bloody ****, f*ck you, you damn ****weasel! Why are you making me blind?!'

He wanted to shout these words out, but sadly, he was just a child and could only shout in his mind...

Zuriel was in disbelief. He had never seen the glass ball break before, not in his 40 years of using it. Everyone in the room was still trying to understand the situation, but they couldn't make sense of it. Only Helena seemed to have a small smile on her face and a hidden glint in her eye when she saw the results, but she quickly suppressed it.

After a few moments of silence, one of the aristocrats couldn't bear it anymore and asked Zuriel for the results.

("Mister Zuriel, please tell us the results!") exclaimed one of the aristocrats.

("Yeah, we've never seen that sensation before. Please explain it to us and tell us his results,")

("Isn't that glass ball an artifact? How could that child have broken it purely with his affinity talent?") 

Thomas watched the situation with interest. He didn't expect his bastard child to have something special. Meanwhile, the gold-haired woman behind him bit her nails in frustration because the whole show was stolen by Zephyrion.

Zuriel finally woke up from his trance and coughed a few times. Then he told them the results,

("I don't know every color shown on the ball, nor do I know why the ball exploded. But I will tell you what I know for now. A future test will be held if Mister Thunderheart wishes so.") 

("Anyway here are the results: Zephyrion Thunderheart, light affinity low, dark affinity low, (unknown) moroon colored affinity mid, (unknown) dark green colored affinity mid, metal affinity mid, lightning affinity mid, (unknown) dark red colored affinity high, (unknown) light green colored affinity high, spirit affinity high, (unknown) indigo colored affinity high, (unknown) bright yellow colored affinity exceptional, (unknown) gold colored affinity exceptional and null-element affinity with an unknown grade!")

Everyone was in shock as they heard the results. Zephyrion had four high element affinities, two exceptional element affinities, and one unknown affinity grade that was possibly even higher than exceptional, which was already the highest known grade. Though his mana and Qi control potential were lacking, and his body potential was only common, his element affinity was basically godlike!

Every aristocrat immediately thought about the possibility of marrying off their children to Zephyrion, in hopes of producing an unparalleled talent that the world had never seen before. They all voiced their thoughts as quickly as possible.

("Mister Thunderheart, would you like to have a deeper alliance with our family?") 

("You really have 2 exceptional children, Mister Thunderheart, but since your 2nd child's future looks rather bleak, how about marrying him off to our instead family?")

("It doesn't matter which child you want to give my granddaughter to. I'm sure she will have a bright future, even as a concubine!") Said the same old aristrocrat from before. 

As the aristocrats were keep voicing their thoughts, a tall and imposing man strode slowly towards Thomas. His piercing eyes, a mesmerizing shade of gray-blue, were hidden behind a pair of thin-rimmed glasses that added an air of sophistication to his otherwise rugged appearance. His chiseled features and sharp jawline gave him a striking handsomeness that was further accentuated by the light blue mustache that adorned his upper lip.

The man stood at an impressive height of 6'2, his lean and muscular physique covered by a well-tailored blue suit that complemented the bright blue shade of his hair. 

He carried himself with the confidence of a warrior, and a deadly lance strapped to his back which was a impressive weapon to behold. The shaft was made of a sleek silver metal, with intricate designs etched into its surface. The spearhead was sharp and pointed, with a slightly curved edge that gleamed in the light. But what truly set it apart was the faint bluish-white glow that seemed to emanate from it, as if the weapon was imbued with the power of ice itself. As the man walked, the air around the Lance seemed to chill, and a thin layer of frost formed on the ground beneath his feet.

Thomas turned around and saw the man with a wrinkled forehead. He didn't know he was also present and gave the butler behind him a stern look. The butler looked away at Thomas's gaze and said nothing.

The man with light blue hair walked in front of Thomas and said with a smile,

("Hello Thomas, I'm sure we can skip the formalities and get straight to the point.") 

Thomas grunted and waited for him to continue. The man said,

("I want my daughter Elizabeth to marry your child Zephyrion when they both come of age, to form an alliance with it.") 

Thomas's wrinkled forehead slowly returned to normal as a mocking smile grew on his face.

Thomas started to laugh out loud, shouting,

("HAHAHAHAHA, DID YOU HEAR THAT!? THE GREAT HERO WILLIAM FROSTBANE WANTS TO MARRY OFF HIS DAUGHTER TO MY BASTARD SON AHAHAHAH!") 

William's smile never disappeared, as if he hadn't even heard the mockery. When Thomas noticed that William didn't cared, his face returned to an annoyed expression and said,

("Tch, you with your stupid emotional dysfunction, sure, whatever. Your daughter can marry my son, as long as your family stops pestering mine!") 

William nodded and added with a innocent smile, ("That's not a problem, but make sure to keep your word, or we will have a problem!") 

Thomas's face changed once again, this time to a playful smirk. ("Is that a threat? You think I'm scared of you? Haha.") 

William's smile still didn't change, and he said, ("No, just a simple warning. Different from you, I wish for a better future for humanity, and this child could be the key. I agree that your son Ethan is a prodigy and push humanity forward. But I'm sure a child from your son Zephyrion and my daughter Elisabeth would be even a greater talent never seen before.") 

Thomas just shrugged his shoulders, having lost hope in humanity a long time ago. But if William still wanted to dream, then it was his matter.

So, Thomas waved his hand and said, ("Do what you need to do. You can have my son in the future and marry him off to anyone you want. I don't care. Just finally leave my place and stop pestering the air.") 

William nodded and extended his hand for a handshake. Thomas did the same though reluctantly, and they shook hands, having reached an agreement. Unknown to Zephyrion who tried to move his tiny hands to rub his eyes which hurted like hell, still cursing non stop in his mind.