Four Years

The silver-haired girl turned to look at the boy behind her, thinking he was just pulling her leg. "How can you come all this way for a test and not know anything?"

"I come from a poor family. I don't have access to the same information the kids from bigger families have." Ace shrugged.

Having read the files on her targets, she knew Ace wasn't lying, but from the conversation they'd had before, Ace acted nothing like an eight-year-old child from a small family. In fact, he acted nothing like a child.

"When you go up, you give your name; then the examiner will tell you to stand atop the magic formation drawn on the floor. When it lights up, it'll scan your body, telling him your age and warrior cultivation."

Almost as if it were fate, the examiner's voice rang through the hall, "Phillip Vetar, age 10, early rank one warrior."

"Next, you step onto the second formation. When it lights up, you'll be subjected to the ever-increasing pressure of the light elemental spell – Overawe. A spell designed to put pressure on the target's spirit; the longer you remain standing, the better you score." She said whilst watching the boy on the stage.

Ten seconds later, the boy on stage fell to his knees, huffing and puffing. The lights of the formation immediately dimmed, relieving the boy of the pressure of the spell.

"Spiritual Essence two times stronger than someone at the same age." The examiner coldly stated aloud. "Unqualified for the final test. Next!"

"Why doesn't he qualify?" Ace asked in confusion as he watched the dejected boy leave the stage as a new child went up.

"To pass the spiritual test, you need to achieve a spiritual essence of at least five times someone at the same age." She replied indifferently.

"Is the spiritual test really that hard?" Ace asked after spending the last 15 minutes watching as dozens of kids went up with not one passing.

"The spiritual test is really just a test on your mental stamina. There are two main ways to increase your mental stamina; The first is through meditation which requires one to empty their minds of all distracting thoughts over long periods of time. Most children would struggle to stay still for that long, let alone enter a true meditative state.

The second way is trauma. Traumatic experiences have the effect of pressuring you mentally, strengthening your mental stamina, also known as your spiritual essence."

"Wharton Baruch, age 6, early rank one warrior." Ace looked towards the stage only to see Wharton staring down at him with pride as he bathed in the crowd's awe-filled gazes.

Next, he stepped into the Overawe formation under the curious and expectant eyes of the crowd. Managing to last a full two minutes, the invigilator smiled warmly as he read the results. "Spiritual essence 11x stronger than those at the same age. High-level spiritual essence."

The crowd was in an uproar when they heard that.

Ace turned to his silver-haired dictionary at that point.

"Anything under five times is regarded as inferior Spiritual Essence. Between five and nine is superior, 10 to 19 is high level, 20 to 49 is Rare, and 50 to 99 is exceptional." She explained, understanding what that look meant.

"What about if your spiritual essence surpasses 99?" Ace asked.

"The Overawe formation is designed to only go up to 99 regardless of your age. Even if it did go past 100, there hasn't been anyone recorded in history that has passed 95, let alone 100+." She replied.

Looking at the crowd's reactions, Ace turned back to the silver-haired girl. "If there are so many levels above high level, why did they make such a big fuss about Linley?"

"First, you've seen yourself how difficult it is to find someone with superior spiritual essence, so you can imagine how hard it is to find someone who reaches the high levels.

Secondly, although that Linley's high-level spiritual essence was impressive, the thing that made him so remarkable was his exceptional affinities to Earth and Wind. He's definitely going to be an incredibly powerful mage one day." She explained slowly.

Ace nodded in understanding before lazily watching from his place in the queue.

"Even though it's not quite at the same level as his brother's, 11x still makes him a rare talent."

"He's also a true blue Dragonblood Warrior!"

"He will have his pick of both Warrior and Magus Academies as long as his elemental affinity isn't too low."

Ace was neither surprised nor interested in his results. As far as he was concerned, Wharton was nothing but a child undeserving of his attention. What he was interested in, though, was the elemental affinity test.

As if to clear his doubts, he witnessed Wharton placing his hands on a head-sized crystal ball. Almost immediately, the crystal shone a deep red in colour.

"Congratulations." The examiner said to Wharton before turning to the audience. "High affinity to the element of fire."

"Wharton, I represent the Saltier Magus Academy. I wish to offer you a full scholarship to join us."

"Don't listen to him; I represent the Knights Way Warrior Academy, and we would like to offer you a full scholarship as well as 10,000 gold coins to join us."

Wharton was bombarded with offer after offer, but none seemed to grab his attention.

"Congratulations, Wharton. You and your brother will undoubtedly bring the glory of the Baruch Clan back to what it once was!" An older man said with a warm smile. "I am an instructor from the Ernst Institute; I would like to formally offer you a place so you can study alongside your older br…"

"Hmph, stop selling dreams to the poor boy Peter. Wharton was made to be a Warrior; how could he possibly waste his time with your little magic spells when he could be tempering his body to make the most of his incredible bloodline." A towering man donning crimson armour stood tall as his booming voice projected through the hall. "Wharton, if you join us at the War God's Academy, I promise that with your bloodline, you will be taken as a personal disciple by a warrior of AT LEAST the ninth rank."

Everyone present was taken aback by his offer. A rank nine warrior already stood at the apex of the mortal world, and he said, "at least" someone that strong. The only ones above those incredible rank nine warriors were those lofty saints.

Wharton, too was shocked by that sudden offer. "Thank you, sir. I would like to ask a question first. If I was to join you, could you make me stronger than him?"

Everyone followed the direction of Wharton's finger only to see him pointing at an indifferent black-haired boy looking lazily around the room as though he hadn't heard the young Dragonblood warrior's question.

"Haha, young Wharton, you still have a lot to learn. How can some unknown brat possibly compete with someone with one of the four supreme warrior bloodlines? You'll soon forget trash like him as you get exposed to a wider world." The seven-foot titan from the War God's Academy glanced disdainfully at Ace as he continued, "But to answer your question, yes, as long as you are willing to put the effort in, I guarantee that within four years, you will have long since surpassed that brat."

Ace glanced disdainfully at Wharton, then back at the giant warrior, and smirked.