The trainees slowly marched into a boxed formation, in ten rows and ten columns. With another order, they spread their feet a little, toes outward, and crossed their arms behind their backs. Daiden struggled to hold onto a straight expression through the process, embarrassed by how the Lord of Fire had hugged him upon departure. It intensified the envy bubbling in the hearts of the other trainees. In a daze, Daiden almost missed pairing with Rollo even.

“You have an affectionate grandfather,” said Rollo, snickering out loud. “If only my father were half as affectionate…I suppose I wouldn’t be standing here then.”

“Please don’t remind me!” said Daiden, remembering something smaller and distant. He remembered drowning in sweat and tears, as he finished second in a high-stakes competition during school. He remembered it as the only time his father embraced him in encouragement. It marked a moment of motivation, towards a path that propelled him towards stardom. He smiled, almost sadly. “Well, though, I guess it isn’t too bad to express emotion.”

“Touched something I shouldn’t have?” asked Rollo, voicing concern. “I apologize. I only jest. It’s a bad a habit.”

“Not at all,” said Daiden, hurriedly, managing to express sincerity from the corner of his eyes. “I…I just remembered my father. He, he passed away a long time ago…”

Daiden felt a dull pain emerge in his chest from the lie. With a sigh, he forced away from thoughts of negativity and beamed at the future in front of him instead. He raised his chin a little, and held to a posture of confidence. But his feet tingled immediately after. The earth tremored, urging most of the trainees present to buckle from the experience.

At a distance, Daiden noticed Valaris rise with the earth underneath his feet, in a pillar, just the same – feet apart, arms folded and behind his back. In fluid motion, he raised a hand, summoning a swirl of aeter atop his palm. The light shadowed on Valaris, now a ball of fire, growing with the accumulation of aeter in every passing moment. It hopped into the air next, bursting into several spheres of a smaller size. Valaris quietly pointed his finger towards the trainees, and the spheres followed, in gridded formation, ten rows and ten columns, one above each trainee.

“Well, this should certainly help with the explanation,” said Rollo, with a smile. “A Nis is anyone who can control two or more elementals. Ser Valaris is a purer variant.”

“A purer variant?” repeated Daiden, curiously.

“He’s more…specialized, in a way,” said Rollo. “From control to attire, Ser Valaris is best suited to combat from a distance, a war hero, mind you. We can spend some time in the library after this is finished to learn more about the Nis, if you like.”

Daiden nodded excitedly.

The spheres slowly lowered, altering in shape, size and colour, in front of the trainees. Once settled, Valaris cleared his throat and demanded silence.

“What you see is a mirror, a reflection of your potential in this world,” said Valaris, lowering his head to the crowd beneath him. “Are you a Wielder or an Elementalist? If yes, where do you stand among your peers, what ranks best as your specialization? Or better yet, are you a variant?”

With a deep breath, the Senior Knight hardened his voice and continued, “Embracing what the mirror reflects is merely a small, first step towards joining the Godvildian Army. Some of you might fail at this very juncture even…and that’s fine.

“After all, the military isn’t for everyone.”

As Valaris finished, Daiden heard several people gulp, under palpable stress from the short speech. He turned his head towards Rollo for comfort, but spat an exasperated sigh instead, at the sight of him smirking without worry.

“As you can see,” whispered Rollo, pointing with his chin, with an eye still on Valaris. “He specializes in earth and fire elemental magic.”

Daiden hummed in acknowledgement of the explanation, more interested in the sphere mirroring his potential.

“Let’s get on with it, then,” said Valaris. “Interact with your mirrors, please.”

With a nod, Daiden nervously raised an arm to feel for a touch. He isolated from the others, their gasps, cheers, and regrets. His mind narrowed to the world in front of him. He trembled a little when his Mioveroldian Page emerged without notice, in between him and the sphere. And then the words appeared, letter by letter, fuming with residual aeter.

[Your body is strengthening with a blessing from Ehedus]

[You have already been blessed with Mioveroldian Constitution…Ehedus’ imprint is now altering the blessing to further improve your constitution.]

[You have been blessed with the knowledge of basic military tactics.]

[You have been blessed with the knowledge of the highest form of Godvildian Swordsmanship, Star Swordsmanship.]

[…]

[Takshaka rejects the application of Star Swordsmanship. You have instead been blessed to apply Takshakan Swordsmanship with any weapon classified as a sword. You might face irregularities in the performance of active abilities depending on the quality of the sword used.]

Daiden smiled cheerily at the results. He breathed a sigh of relief, first for passing, and next for managing expectations. “I’m not surprised to see Takshaka react this way to other forms of swordsmanship. But I’ve at least managed to clear my doubts concerning Takshakan Swordsmanship. This is good…no, no, this is great!”

Daiden swiped further ahead to analyse the changes to his Mioveroldian Page. It made him a little giddy even.

[Granted Skills: Ehedus’ Embrace. Mioveroldian Constitution (Strengthened). Aeter Understanding and Implementation. Mioveroldian Knowledge (Fragment). Military Tactics (Basic).]

“Not bad at all,” said Rollo, with a cool whistle, peeking into Daiden’s Page. “I’m very impressed for someone so new to this process.”

Daiden dispersed his Mioveroldian Page in a fluster, his cheeks flush with embarrassment. “That was careless of me...”

“You worry too much,” said Rollo, happily. “Want to see mine?”

Daiden stared at his silver-haired friend for a moment, unable to muster the courage for an answer. In time, he relented, managing an almost whisper, “It’s only fair.”

Rollo flipped his Page over to Daiden and pointed at a message. It startled the latter. Daiden reread it once, and then once more.

“What…what are you going to do?” asked Daiden, wearing an expression of worry.

Rollo laughed out loud, despite appreciating the concern. “Relax, relax. You’re really uptight for someone so young! Let’s just wait for Ser Valaris to announce the results.”

Daiden nervously returned his gaze to the Senior Knight. He closed his eyes and found the message from Rollo’s Page appear again, clearer this time.

[You are unfit for the rank of Soldier.]