Chapter 20 - Discovering Affinity

After a few more days of physical training and broad education, the time came for what the Summoned Heroes were most anticipating. Within the Great Hall of the royal palace, not a single student could be found missing; without exception, it was granted that everyone had been looking forward to this day.

For today, they would begin learning the basics of what was called ‘magic’.

“I see that everyone has gathered. Good. As you may or may not have heard, my name is Albert, and I am Seronia’s Royal Court Magician, but frankly, it matters not what you call me, so address me however you wish.”

The same robed old man the class had seen beside the princess on numerous prior occasions was once again standing in front of them, though this time, Her Highness was nowhere to be seen. As stated, his real identity turned out to be the palace’s Royal Court Magician, and his name was Albert. It was the grandest position a mage could hold in the Seronian nation, and yet he had announced it as if it was no big deal, alluding to his many years of experience.

“You should have all been briefed by your tutors before today, so I shall save any unnecessary explanation and there shall be no wasting time, for both our sakes. This here is called an Affinity Orb.”

With an apprentice by his side, Albert presented a dim, transparent crystal orb towards the class; about the size of two average adult male’s fists put together.

“Individually, I will ask you to step forth, place your hand on this Affinity Orb, and inject your mana into it. Thereupon, your innate mana affinity shall be revealed.”

Magic.

Finally, the students would dip their toes into this fantastical subject for the first time.

“It might sound nonsensical at first, but it is no daunting task in reality; simply hold your palm gently to the orb, and with a little inner focus, you should begin to feel a natural flow within yourself. Concentrate on that feeling, harness it, and carefully guide it through your body; ultimately, let it emit from your fingertips and the central palm as it will be naturally inclined to.”

“You are all naturally gifted Otherworlders, so although there are bound to be those of you who do not possess a particularly outstanding talent in terms of casting magic, the exercise should not be difficult for the majority of you.”

Among the immersed students teeming with exhilaration and anxiety, the first to step up was Amy Purello, a rare A-ranked student.

Observing from the back of the class with a keen intrigue as she followed Albert’s instructions calmly, Ryan’s eyes narrowed. As someone he marked as a ‘Very High Priority’ target in terms of recruiting into his party, he was naturally interested in Amy’s potential when it came to magic.

It didn’t need to be mentioned that she declined his invitation without a second thought, but he didn't mind that fact too much since she was considered to be quite a reserved person anyway. She also still had yet to join anyone else’s group, so there remained a chance.

As Amy stood before the esteemed Royal Court Magician, Ryan activated Great Sage’s Eyes.

Silently, she placed her petite hand firmly on the orb. Closing her eyes, she concentrated her senses just as he had previously instructed.

“......”

Channelling the faint mana lying dormant within her body, she roused it; the drowsy mana began flowing through her without hesitation.

And then, everyone’s eyes widened.

Wooosh--!!

"...!?"

In an instant, an aura of pitch-black darkness bloomed from within the orb and exploded outwards, emanating from the object like a revolving black sun as shadows flooded the hall.

It was not ominous; just so deep and devoid of colour that it made one’s head spin. To the student onlookers, it almost seemed as if looking at it for too long would suck them in, like a black hole.

It was dark, and that’s all it was. Nevertheless, this blackness, darker than the night itself, contained such a powerful “glow” that the entire room in which they stood was bathed in almost absolute obscurity, painting even the areas where the mana didn’t touch with impenetrable shadows.

Exclamations burst out from the observing class whilst Albert nodded as if he had already expected it, albeit with raised eyebrows at the unanticipated intensity. He then explained to Amy the results as she turned to him; the darkness slowly receded back into the orb as she withdrew her hand from the orb.

“Mmh. Miss Purello, you appear to hold an outstanding affinity for dark magic; greater than any aspiring royal magician I have ever had the displeasure of meeting, in fact. Furthermore, you controlled your mana brilliantly, swiftly, and very composed for it being your first time. Extraordinarily impressive.”

Without a verbal reply, Amy nodded to express her thanks. Her starting title and class was Shadow Master, and she already possessed a couple of skills related to it, so such a significant affinity towards dark magic was not entirely unexpected for her. Although she held a minor concern about whether dark magic was something to be withheld, similar to Jae’s worries about his curse, she thought it would be fine considering how they didn’t say anything when they examined her Status during the ceremony.

Amy then walked away with a perfect poker face and returned to her room, seemingly uninterested in everyone else’s results, and everyone watched her leave with glints of awe reflected in their eyes.

What a shame. She’s got the most potential out of anyone I want to recruit by far, but she’s a damn loner. Tsk.

Keeping his eyes pinned on her nonchalant figure as she went past, Ryan crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Without realising it, his brows had naturally furrowed, but this was considered by many to be his resting look, so they didn’t bother him.

Hm...?

Just as Amy passed him by and left the hall, he thought he caught a glimpse of something previously unseen as she closed the door behind her. With the intuitive feeling that it was something invisible to all the others, who failed to react, he glanced briefly around the room and even at himself.

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Although he couldn't tell what precisely that change was at first, his activated Great Sage's Eyes didn't miss it.

Is she...?

Something not just darker than anything he had ever seen in a literal sense, but that could be more aptly described as an absence of anything material; like what lay beyond the event horizon of a black hole.

Another "presence" had appeared within the room she had just departed.

Whatever the case, Great Sage’s Eyes had allowed him to witness something peculiar.

...Hah. The brat. How cheeky.

Laughing internally as he rectified the image of Amy he had in his mind, he shook his head and concentrated on the rest of the class.

Ryan stood back whilst the others had their affinities tested; myriad hues of varying intensities dyed the walls of the hall around them as he contemplated what the class had been informed about very briefly just before this by one of their personal tutors.

Magic in this world was linked heavily to the ‘System’. Well, they said that about everything else, too―as it was the System that practically ran the world, but anyway.

Specifically in terms of magic, humans were greatly reliant on the System. Without the System’s assistance, magic was not a force that humans would be able to utilise so easily, if at all, and it was only by understanding 'how' that one could fully realise what made other demi-human races such as Demons so outstanding.

To start with, before one even attempted to learn magic, it was necessary for a human to figure out one’s own affinity because the only magic a human is capable of casting is the kind they hold an affinity towards; the Affinity Orb came to be as a result of humans wanting to figure that out effortlessly.

Magic, in general, could only be cast by possessing the related Magic Skill at the required level, and because humans in particular are not able to acquire said Magic Skills without affinity towards the related element, it was strictly impossible for a human to cast magic if these conditions were not met.

And, unfortunately, the truth was that the majority of humans possessed no affinity at all.

In the end, humanity was not a species blessed by mana, and they were never the ones intended to utilise it in the first place.

Whooosh--!!

Suddenly, an explosion of golden light dominated the room, its highly concentrated aura flickering about like wild flames.

“Oh... As expected of the Hero, you have a magnificent affinity for both holy and light elements. I think I can just about make out an intermediate level of fire element affinity as well...? What more could one ask for? An affinity for three elements is remarkable in and of itself, and although not perfect, your speed and control of handling mana are also decent. Well done.”

“A-ahaha. I don’t think I did anything special to deserve it, but since I have it, I’ll use this power to do what I can. Thank you.”

Conversely, there were some people who held an affinity for multiple types of magic.

Ryan’s face twitched at Chris' showcase of talent.

This son of a bitch? Tsk, just wait ‘til it’s my turn. I’ll make sure to wipe that stupid grin off your face, bastard.

“Next...”

As Ryan solidified his understanding of the topic by reading his recorded notes in the meantime, it was finally his turn to have his mana’s qualities measured.

He observed the spectacle from the back of the room up until now and witnessed colours ranging from the Shadow Master’s sable black to the Hero’s dazzling gold, to even hues such as a verdant green, infernal red and deep sea blue.

What remained true for all of them, however, was that they possessed one affinity at the minimum, meaning every single person in the class was capable of casting magic, at the very least.

Being able to cast magic didn’t necessarily mean that one should try to learn magic, of course, since some students' talents were not even worth considering, but it did serve as evidence to prove the fact that the Summoned Heroes were still exceptional compared to the average person, even at the lowest rank.

There were over a dozen unique types of elements that humans could be born with an innate affinity towards, but out of everyone that had been tested, there was no one who had possessed an affinity for more than three elements.

Needless to say, it could be reiterated that having an affinity for even one element was worth praise, but still, three remained the heroes' limit.

Now, it was Ryan’s turn.

As the last one in the class to measure his affinity, as well as one of only two Special-class students, everyone watched with eagle eyes as he stepped up to the orb, placing his hand on it and arousing his mana almost without delay.

Immediately, a notification appeared.

You have acquired the Magic Skill: 「Magic Sense」

Vhuummm~

In the next moment, a low hum rang out as bewitching violet light calmly blossomed from the translucent orb lying beneath the palm of his hand―a phenomenal sight, and more enthralling than even the Hero’s glaring holy light from before.

It was a spectacle even greater than the one he had shown during the ranking ceremony, showing that the increase in Status since that time had indeed had an effect, and beholding it for a second time was enough confirmation that this was indeed the most marvellous sight out of the entire class.

Withdrawing his hand from the orb, the magnificent purple aura maintained its brilliant radiance as it slowly diminished and eventually vanished into nothing. Then, Ryan smirked and put his hands on his hips as he turned his head towards the speechless old man.

“So?”

A second’s hesitation later, Albert responded.

“...Ah-- Yes, of course... First of all, your affinity is... Ahem... Not limited by any one element of magic.”

Not limited.

In other words, he was an individual capable of using all elements of magic.

Put another way, it could also be described that Ryan possessed an affinity for ‘all’ magic.

“Furthermore, the quantity is considerably higher than the average for your level, and the quality of your mana is the purest I’ve ever seen... If it were you, I would imagine you possess the potential to not just cast, but perhaps even grace the extremity for all forms of magic... A true master... However, something like this hasn’t been recorded ever since--”

Albert suddenly paused in the middle of his words; turning his gaze towards the undoubtedly genius boy in front of him, he could only hold one thought.

...So, that really is the case.

The Status of the boy he saw on that day was not a lie.

Gods, who must be watching over us at this moment.

First the Hero, and now, the chosen one of the Great Sage himself.

What is your intention in doing all of this?

Not noticing Albert’s inner distress, Ryan snorted at the sight of his classmates bursting into a hushed uproar. He glanced around at the satisfying reactions, whistling at the Royal Court Magician's assessment as if entertained.

“Aha. Well, ain’t that just dandy, eh?”

There wasn’t much else to say about it.

Ryan knew from the very beginning that his aptitudes were more magic-oriented thanks to the distribution of his attributes and starting skills, and since he was determined to be an S-class talent, there was simply no way he would be forced to face the same weaknesses as the other so-called “riff-raff” in the class.

Or at least, if there was a glaring weakness, he knew his vulnerabilities would likely be drastically reduced.

Guess it ain’t bad to get it confirmed, though.

The students' magic study would officially begin the following day, but only for those in the class who met the minimum level of talent for it; those who didn’t meet the requirement would instead be left to either continue with their own physical training or to practise their skills.

In the meantime, it was fine to revel in the admiration and astonishment of envious classmates.