Chapter 141: Shocking
The person at the front was a woman in green robes. She had a beautiful face and figure, and walked lightly across the ground, giving the feeling that she was in perfect harmony with the winds. It was a natural and refreshing feeling, as if she were an elf who had emerged from the forest.
Behind her was a group of men and women. All of them wore white robes and emanated an incredible aura.
The woman in green robes looked briefly at Priam. It was clear that she and the others had been watching the event from just before.
"I am an inner disciple responsible for registration and introduction. My name is Uswyn, and it is a pleasure to meet you. Now, line up. The judgment is about to begin."
Her voice was soft and gentle, without any arrogance. It was like an older sister advising a younger brother.
All the youths there moved calmly, forming an immense line.
"One by one. The registration you are about to do is very comprehensive. Your talent and qualifications will be registered in the Sect’s library, which will be very beneficial to you. The Sect will give you special attention according to your talent, and even if you fail the tests, if some aspect of your talent is valuable to the Sect, you may still join it as a worker. Our Sect trains its disciples according to their abilities. The goal is to develop the disciples’ potential and enable them in various specialties."
Uswyn began speaking in a calm but very serious tone.
"The Sect possesses divine items that protect it, known to all types of Mages, as well as resources to make you ascend quickly. Here, as long as you have enough will, you definitely won’t go unnoticed. Your talent may be greater or lesser than others’; even so, here you will have unlimited space to grow."
Uswyn’s words flowed smoothly from her mouth. They were passionate and moving, making the thousands of youths feel their blood boil.
Priam murmured, "I almost believe her."
"What? Did she say anything wrong?" Flaris asked beside him.
"No, what she said is true. But all those resources and incredible things have nothing to do with us; mere outer disciples," Priam said with a faint smile.
As if cooperating with Priam, that woman said:
"However, these resources are the foundation of the Ironweald Sect. Not everyone can enjoy them. Before you become ambitious about obtaining such valuable resources, you must first set smaller goals. For example... don’t fail the upcoming tests."
Dandara let out a little laugh and quickly covered her mouth. Priam really understood that woman’s enchanting methods.
That final change in her words was like a slap in the face, bringing all the ambitious youths back to reality.
"To summarize, inside the Sect, there is an ocean of resources. It probably far exceeds your imagination. Therefore, talking too much about it is useless. The only reason I mention this is to motivate you. I hope you work hard so you don’t live a life of regret. This world has its own rules, and they are bloody and cruel. Resources are things the strong must work hard to obtain, while the weak can only watch others benefit. The Ironweald Sect is no exception, so if you wish to receive special attention here, do not hesitate. That is all I will say, so let us begin the registration."
The people who came with Uswyn began to work.
The earth trembled, and runes appeared in the air. A huge platform emerged with dozens of pieces of equipment. No one knew what those pieces of equipment were for.
"The first in line, you may approach!" Uswyn roared, and a young man ran forward.
...
Priam watched dozens of people carrying out the registration. Each person had to go through more than thirty exams, and each one involved different things.
First the name, then the race, the age, the density of the Bloodline, the density of Ether in the body, energy control... Each exam was rigorous, with tools specially developed for it. There was no way to cheat.
Besides these quantifiable variables, there were other things too. For example, they asked about their personal strengths, ideologies, their requirements regarding partners, etc.
In the end, Catalyst Mages specialized in Alchemy, Forging, Inscriptions, or other useful things had an advantage over all the others. After identifying the level of talent in that area, they were taken somewhere else and would possibly take a different test.
...
After a few short hours, it was finally the turn of those five.
Priam was in front of them, so he was the first to advance.
Shione, Flaris, Lumiere, and Dandara watched Priam’s back full of expectations.
After registering his identity and race, he arrived before an enormous stone.
The stone released a soft light that wrapped around him, and a fluctuation spread toward his Jade Core.
*BUZZ*
The stone trembled lightly, revealing runes that connected across its surface. Suddenly, the expression of everyone responsible changed abruptly.
"What... what is happening?" The oldest person in charge of that exam stared fixedly at the stone. "Is the equipment broken? No, that’s impossible."
He was reading the pattern of runes that appeared on the stone, unable to properly understand it.
Written there should have been Priam’s Jade Core Class, as well as his initial potential. They weren’t letters, but ancient symbols of the stone, which represented the classes.
"I’ve never seen these runes before. As for his potential... it says Maximum level... how is this possible?"
Everyone around was shaken. Maximum potential had already appeared a dozen times before, so it wasn’t something so impossible. Possibly, all the youths born inside the sect had that same potential. As for his Class...
"Hmm... just note down that there is no way to confirm anything."
Uswyn said calmly.
But anyone who looked at her face would see shock and confusion in her. She had an idea of why that symbol had appeared, but she couldn’t believe it or say it directly.
If she wasn’t certain, it was better not to write anything, because making a mistake in the registration was an extremely serious crime.
As a result, the word "uncertain" was written where Priam’s Class should have been.
After several silent seconds, Uswyn spoke, now in a clearly softer tone.
"Drip a drop of blood onto the stone."
The next test was to measure the density and potential of his Bloodline. This was an important statistic, because it would indicate his future potential.
Priam helplessly let a drop of blood fall onto the indicated place, which was very large and had countless ancient marks.
When his blood fell onto the place...
*BUZZ!*
The entire stone began to tremble intensely.
Everyone was startled because the tremor only kept increasing and increasing...
**KBOOOM!**
Suddenly, the stone exploded with a loud bang, shocking everyone.