Chapter 7 - Each Child's Future

Daniel watched Evan walk out in front of the crowd and then tap his spatial ring. A short flash gave way to a human sized transparent rock.

“As you all know, this is an Energy Crystal. All those who need to have their Martial Spirit Rank tested, please get in line.”

The children precipitated themselves to the line. Leaving Dellons to join the line, Daniel could not wait to know his spirits’ rank. The Energy Crystal lit up as a brown-haired girl put her hands on it and words in an unknown language appeared on the crystal.

“Rank 3 Sylvan Boots. Cheer up, Emma. Although it’s a low rank, it’ll be immensely helpful for hunting and scouting.”

“Rank 3 Aquatic Sloth. It excels in defense and has decent water compatibility.”

“Rank 4 Midnight Hawk. It can evolve into a Roc if you work hard. It has a lot of potential.”

“Rank 5 Blacksmith Hammer. You can go ask Careus about forging.”

“Rank 2 Arboreal Sloth. Another Sloth? That’s rare. Don’t just laze around just because people can’t find you.”

“Rank 3 Fire Spirit …”

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“... Rank 6 Giant Ground Sloth. Lucky you, Ivan. It’s the strongest sloth. You’ll get a lot of power with this Martial Spirit.”

Although each child’s level of joy was different, all of them seemed interested by their new plaything. As each child got their Martial Spirit appraised, Daniel’s excitement grew. It was finally Daniel’s turn.

“Rank 7 Luminous Phoenix, Rank 7 Black Leviathan, Rank 8 Hermit Sage, Rank 8 Sea of Vitality, Rank 8 Fafnir and Rank 4 Mutated Common Ash? ….”

Evan and Daniel were both dumbfounded. This didn’t make sense. Putting aside the high rank Martial Spirits, why was the central sapling a Rank 4?

“Let’s talk about it at home.”

In the end, 75 Martial Spirits and 69 people were appraised. Among them, two were adults who had their ranks re-evaluated. One was a female huntress who had reached rank 5 from rank 3 as he had ingested a Rank 3 Lightning Eagle’s spirit which was incorporated into his own Rank 3 Wind Eagle Martial Spirit, which led to a successful mutation to a Rank 5 Storm Eagle. This was one way to break free of the intrinsic boundaries of a martial spirit. The other man was the Seventh Elder, Mulcan Dove, who managed to mutate his Rank 6 Fire Hammer through the sheer hard work of tempering it into a Rank 7 Volcanic Hammer with his comprehension of Laws. Such mutations were rare event, but happened twice this year, increasing the festive atmosphere.

The crowd dispersed to celebrate in their homes.

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The orphans and Elders followed Evan and Daniel to the Town Hall, which also functioned as the father and son’s home. After entering the premises of the building, the Elders settled around the long oval table.

“Let’s get the thing going. I’ll just call dibs on Gérôme.” said a boisterous man with a substantial midriff, pointing at the child who had manifested a Rank 5 Blacksmith Hammer. He was Aaron Schmid, the Third Elder, from the famous blacksmithing clan, the Schmid Clan.

“Don’t forget the procedure we made, fat-ass.”

“Shut it. You aren’t the main characters today. The childrens are. Let’s start the meeting already.”

Before the swearing between the Seventh and Third Elders could intensify, First Elder Hellen cut them off by announcing the start of the meeting. Her dazzlingly intense black eyes cut the two men off. No one dared underestimate this beauty. She was the strongest of the sworn siblings after Evan. Swaying her black hair, she asked a young girl to come forward. The girl seemed to tense as she approached the woman. Hellen chuckled and stroked the girl’s head.

“Just relax. We’re not going to bite you.

So Nance here has manifested a Midnight Hawk. What ideas do you guys have?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the Second Elder spoke:

“I guess a hunter could take her in as a disciple. What do you say, Careus?”

“Why not? The second hunting squad leader should be able to teach her the ropes. I mean, her Storm Eagle’s pretty similar to the Midnight Hawk.”

“I disagree. The Midnight Hawk’s appeal is that it’s attuned with the Darkness Element. She should join my Shadow Corps…”

The conversation went on to a consensus that she should either join one of the Fourth Elder’s Hunting Squads or the Sixth Elder’s Shadow Corps. Seeing that both sides had valid arguments, Evan chose to ask the subject of the debate, Nance, what she thought. Irresponsible as it was to let a ten-year-old make the choice by herself, it was after all her life. She had to take the reins of her life because parents could not do it for her.

The brown eyes looked up at Evan and said naively:

“Grandpa Pete says that Daniel’s daddy is very wise. He said that I can trust Daniel’s daddy. What do you think I should do?”

The adults broke out in laughter.

“This again from the first one this year?”

“I should also ask Grandpa Pete to instill that I, Aaron Schmid, am a good person.”

Yet, during this commotion, the brown eyes stayed on Evan.

“Keith, can you teach her about the rudiments of the Darkness Element for a month or so? And then Nance can join the Hunting Squad under Teresa (the second squad leader) for another month or so. You can chose then what you want to do. Right, Nance?”

The girl nodded.

“Ok, stand behind the Sixth Elder.”

“Now, next. Gérôme. -”

“I want to study under the Third Elder!”

As soon as he stepped forward, the tall child shouted out his will.

“HAHA. You’ve got eyes, kid. Good choice. You shouldn’t learn blacksmithing under a Dove, but a Schmid.”

Aaron snickered.

“Oh, you -”

“Ok. Next.”

The meeting continued on until only the three friends were left. Evan left no room for discussion.

“I’ll take these three. No one disagrees, right?”

“ “ “ Nope.” ” ”

“Ok. That’s it. The meeting’s dismissed.”