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Book 1, Chapter 1 - Truth and Consequence (1.2/1.3)

"Next!"

The indifferent voice of the guards brought many of the youths back to reality, waking them up from their stupor. The next person in line silently got up onto the platform, and wordlessly placed his hand on top of the crystal ball. Like before, the crystal ball silently flickered before resuming its normal calm.

Looking at the results, the instructor once again announced them in a bold voice.

"Age - 14! Talent Stage - None! Affinities - None! Not qualified to become an Invoker!"

The youth silently got off the platform, and left without a word. After witnessing the previous display, nobody would dare beg admission into the academy, nobles and commoners alike.

"Age - 15! Talent Stage - Null! Affinities - None! Not qualified to become an Invoker!"

"Age - 14! Talent Stage - Spark! Affinities - None! Qualified to become an Invoker!"

"Age - 15! Talent Stage - Revolving! Affinities - Darkness! Qualified to become an Invoker!"

The examination continued in this fashion, and the results at the end were appalling. Only one out of every three hundred or so people had latent talent with Channeling Energy at all, while one out of a hundred seemed to possess talent that surpassed the Null Stage.

Even though these odds were truly rough, it was still much better when compared to the average ratio of people with latent talent to people without in the city.

From the few thousand students who came here, only roughly five hundred or so were still remaining. Naturally, Synth was among those remaining, although he was placed in the last group. He also found out a pleasant surprise when it was his turn to be examined - that he had dual element affinities!

"Age - 14! Talent Stage - Spark! Affinities - Fire, Light! Qualified to become an Invoker!"

Although Invokers could cast spells of all elements regardless of their affinity, having affinity towards an element naturally would amplify the effect of the spell if it was that particular element. However, to be able to have affinities required one to have the talent of at least the Spark Stage, and was still rare to have an affinity, nonetheless.

Synth had affinity towards the fire and light elements, and even though his latent talent was only at the Spark Stage, he still would have an advantage over his peers at the same level due to his affinities.

In the group of students that got tested, only six of them had any affinity at all, out of the few thousand that came. This showed how rare having an affinity towards an element was, not to mention having dual-affinities!

If Synth was to cast a light-based spell and his opponent was to cast the same one, due to having an affinity with the light elements, Synth's spell would be at least 50% more powerful than the other caster's!

After the examination was over and the people who were not qualified had left, the instructor turned around and swept his gaze over the few hundred youths that remained. Clearing his throat, he announced, "You all are qualified to become Invokers! However, some have talent better than others, and naturally we will provide benefits for those who scored better in the entrance exam. Those having innate talent above the Revolving stage will have their tuition waived, and those who have talent at the Revolving Stage will have their tuition halved!"

Oh, this guy is quite generous. Maybe my tuition will be discounted as well?

Just as Synth was beginning to praise how generous the instructor was being in his mind, and daydreaming about a discount from the tuition price, the next words that the instructor spoke left him dumbfounded.

"For those of you under the Revolving Stage, you will have to pay double or triple the tuition price! Those at the Static Stage will pay double, and those at the Spark Stage will pay triple, if you want a spot in our academy!"

Just as Synth and many others were about to protest, the instructor waved his hand in a silencing gesture. Steeling his gaze over the group that Synth was in, the instructor said, "Listen. You all are already very lucky that we have extra vacant dorms at the academy grounds to live in, because normally, with your talent, it would be impossible for our academy to accept you."

"At best, you could go to some second-rate school, and the Magecroft Academy would be a far cry for all of you. However, this is a rare opportunity, as this year's seniors have graduated, and there are not enough people to completely occupy all of the available dorms. Seeing that you all are still qualified to become Invokers, we are making a special exception and allowing you a spot in our academy."

"Do you see how generous we are being already? Normally, we would only accept students from the first and second group, and dismiss those in the third group right away. Compared to more promising students, you are all just ants, not worthy of even being stepped on!"

This short tirade almost made the three hundred-some students in the third group become scarlet in rage, but they knew that what the instructor was saying did make sense. After all, the Magecroft Academy was a first-rate school, and naturally the bar for admission would be set high. Now, they were being given a chance to enroll in this place where normally they would not even have the chance to set their eyes upon, even though the cost of doing so was double or triple the tuition price, which was already extravagant at one Bryu. Despite all that, the offer could already be seen as being generous.

Knowing this, most of them could only tightly clench their teeth and dig their nails into their hands in rage, and not act upon their feelings.

Hearing this, Synth let out a sigh of relief that the tuition wasn't jacked up any higher than it was. Although three Bryu for one year's tuition was truly extravagant, what the instructor said ringed true in all respects.

At least I still have enough money to pay for three years. I can always figure something out if things don't go well.

That thought still lingering in his mind, Synth quickly reached under his tattered coat and pulled out the bag of Xena that his father had tossed at him. Although it contained 1000 Xena, it was still rather light due to the alloy that Xena was made out of, making it possible for Synth to actually carry that amount.

Noticing Synth's actions, the instructor let out a coy smile. The reason why they had made an exception this one time was not only because they had extra dorms, although that was one factor. It was mainly to raise money for the academy, or more specifically, for the school's Weapon Master to forge a special set of equipment that would be given to the outstanding students of the academy when they participated in the inter-school competitions.

The instructor harbored no sympathy for these youths that were getting tricked out of their money. After all, what he had said was still going to hold true - that those Spark Stage and Static Stage students would be able to enroll at the academy and take lessons from there. However, what he didn't mention was that if one's performance was poor enough, they would be expelled from the academy...

After mumbling a few times about the unfairness of the examination, most of the nobles had already paid the extra tuition fee. The commoners that were among their number naturally did not have that type of money to spend on the tuition costs; as after all, one Bryu was a lot of money for them and most of them were hoping for a scholarship, and left the academy grounds.

It must be known that according to city-wide law, when a youth turns fourteen, he is given the choice to go to a combat academy's entrance examination to see whether or not he has the potential to Channel Energy and his latent talent. One day before the youth turns sixteen, it is mandatory for them to go to an examination. Also, if their talent was at the Revolving Stage or higher, they were forced to enroll into an Invoker academy or Chevalier academy.

The reason why this was so was widely known - it was because the Human Army was planning to take some of their lost territory back from the beasts that now inhibited them, and to do that, they needed combat potential. In a sense, this whole system was one very similar to a military draft.

This was why all of the youths that came for the exam were roughly all fourteen to fifteen years of age.

When the people who did not want to pay the increased tuition cost left and the ones that remained had paid, the instructor rounded the remaining children up and told them to follow the three guards in the azure-white armor. The groups's numbers had significantly dwindled, from a few hundred to roughly two hundred or so youth remaining.

The youths were soon led to a large, one-story building, composed mainly of a black material while the edges of the building were faintly streaked with red. Slightly above the large metal doors that led the way into the building, were two golden dragons clashing with each other, every feature sculpted in extremely fine detail.

When they entered the building, Synth noticed that it appeared to be an auditorium, with rows of chairs set up in front of an elevated podium, where presumably that same instructor or the school headmaster would stand and explain to them what life in the academy was going to be like.

Walking over to the chairs in the back row, Synth randomly plopped down on one of them and silently waited for the speaker to show up. The remaining commoners all occupied the back row as well, while the nobles sat up front.

I might have already made some people suspicious due to my display of wealth while looking like a commoner. It's best to stay low for a while and blend in to this new social profile.

Thinking that, Synth began to observe how the commoners around him were acting. He noticed that unlike the nobles, they were all rather demure and quiet, while avoiding eye contact with each other most of the time. No one was introducing themselves, and everybody just kept to their own little worlds.

Seeing this, Synth's opinion of the common people was somewhat lowered, as he truly did not like the atmosphere. Being brought up in an aristocratic family, he naturally sat through many etiquette classes almost since his birth. The ways of aristocracy were already firmly emblazoned in his personality, which made him detest these commoners all the more viciously.

Staring ahead, Synth noticed that the nobles were all conversing happily with each other, although their voices carried a hint of arrogance. He currently saw that many of the youths were currently kissing up to a blue-haired male, which made him narrow his eyes and tightly frown.

If I remember correctly, that person should be that Flame Stage examinee, the one who scored the highest on the Innate Talent test.

His lips curving upwards in a sneer, Synth snickered. It was just so like the nobles to curry the favor of other high-ranking nobility or people with talent. He had seen this quite a few times, as he had watched various people kissing up to his father before as well. Although Synth exhibited all the traits that aristocracy carried, including their aloof, arrogant air, he made sure to stay away from pointless praise and not give in to self-exaltation.

He knew that the people trying to kiss up to the blue-haired youth were doing so mainly because they wanted to use him in the future, which would only lead to a very hollow relationship, with almost no loyalty guaranteed at all.

Seeming to notice Synth's actions, the blue-haired youth turned around, a haughty expression clearly displayed on his face. He locked his eyes on Synth, and shot him a look of disdain, before turning around and resuming conversation with the other people who were crowding around him.

Synth let out a wry smile. It appeared as if the blue-haired youth had seen him snickering. He hoped that he had not made an enemy right off the bat, because having him as an opponent was truly going to be troublesome.

Hopefully he sees dealing with me would be way below his social status. After all, which noble lowers themselves to quarrel openly with a commoner?

Thinking hopefully, Synth once again turned his head around to quietly wait for the appearance of the instructor. It was unlikely that the blue-haired youth would actually care about something as trivial as Synth, with his current appearance as a commoner, snickering at him. It was only when a commoner truly offended a noble that a noble would actually take action.

After all, why would a noble take the time and effort to lower themselves to deal with a lowly commoner?

An hour soon passed, yet no one came. Synth was currently resting, closing his eyes in a half-awake state. He was truly exhausted after the climb up the mountain, and also because he was kicked out of the household at roughly 5:00am.

He hadn't gotten much more than a few hours of sleep at the very most.

"Hmmn. The qualities of this year's freshmen truly is rather horrible."

A harmonious, soft voice soon broke the silence. Although the voice was pleasant to the ear, the unconcealed disdain in that voice made quite a few people look angrily at the speaker. Annoyed at this tone of voice, Synth quickly opened his eyes to see just who was so audacious to say something like that, potentially making enemies out of all the new students here.

As soon as he opened his eyes however, he wished he had kept them shut. Because what he saw made his eyes turn round, and unconcealed shock was displayed all over his face. His expression almost looked as if lightning had struck and paralyzed him in place.

Quickly hiding his shock, and once again furtively sneaking a glance at the person standing in front of the podium, Synth buried his head in his hands, and almost wanted to cry.

Heavens, why must you play my life out as a joke? This truly isn't funny...