-Monday Afternoon, 7th Of the 1st Month, Year 910-

Everyone from my group starts to gather around Mrs. Janson after hearing the Examiners' announcement. I walk over to her with Johnny after putting our lunch bags back down on the table like the other applicants. A few minutes later, Mrs. Janson scans over us to check if we're all here. Seeing that everyone is gathered, she tells us, "As the Vice-Principal announced earlier, the next test is the Mystic Arts Aptitude Test. For this test, we'll be going to a different area."

An applicant raises his hand and asks, "U-Um, during her speech, I heard Miss Dyer say something about gauging our potential with this test, but is it really that important? I understand the other two because you want to see how smart and strong we are. But what's the point of testing our potential? I don't really get it."

Mrs. Janson sighs and explains, "Your potential is linked to your ability to practice Mystic Arts. If your potential is low, then it'll be hard for you to advance. While if your potential is high, then it'll be easier for you to advance. You might not really understand what I mean now, but you will one day. The world is unfair, just because you want to be strong doesn't mean that you can or will be."

'...If...' Clenching my fist, I think to myself, '...If I don't have any potential, then...then what can I do with these emotions?'

'No-' I shake my head, '-Mom and Dad wouldn't have pushed me so much if I didn't have any potential. Gramps believes in me too. So there's no way, I don't have any potential.'

After I calm down, I turn my attention back to Mrs. Janson. Another applicant asks her, "Are we going to the testing area now?"

"No, for this Exam, we need to use a certain Mystical Artifact, and we only have three of them, so we have to take turns with the other groups," Saying that she crosses her legs and sits on the ground, "We have to wait for our group to get called, so we'll be here for a while."

"Seriously!?" A few applicants shout out.

"Ahhhhhn," Johnny yawns as he stretches his arms back, "...Looks like we'll be here for a while!"

"Yeah." I nod my head with a sigh, 'She said awhile, but I don't know how long that is and it's not like I can just leave and come back, so what should I do to pass the time?'

I look around the field at the different groups wondering what they're doing.

Some people are chatting with their friends, but I can't really hear what they're talking about, and I'm not that interested. Unlike them, some people found a quiet spot near their groups to take a nap or meditate. They might have been cultivating, but I can't really tell the difference since I can't sense the movement of others' Internal Qi.

'Let's give it another shot,' I close my eyes, slowly breathing in and out, trying to feel the movement of Qi in the surroundings, but, 'Nothing, I can't feel anything.'

Mom told me that the world is full of Qi, and one day I'll be able to sense it if I keep trying, 'But it's hard. I can somewhat feel the increase and decrease of the Qi in the surroundings, but I can't feel it's movements except when I'm cultivating because I'm only drawing it into me.'

"Hey, what are you doing?" Johnny calls out to me, so I open my eyes.

"Nothing," I sigh, feeling a little disappointed in myself.

"Wanna spar?"

"Maybe some other time." I wouldn't mind sparing with him later, but I don't want to attract any attention to myself right now.

"Alright, what do you want to do then?" He scratches his head with an awkward smile.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to cultivate until we start," saying that I cross my legs and sit down like Mrs. Janson.

"I guess I'll cultivate too then..." Shrugging my shoulders, I close my eyes and focus on refining the Qi entering my body, 'The Earth is holy, the Earth is the root of all life, the Earth gives me strength, and in return, I give myself to the Earth…'

●●●

"It's our turn applicants." I don't know how much time passed, but it's finally my group's turn to take the test.

I stop cultivating and open my eyes. Like me, some of the other applicants in my group that were cultivating or meditating open their eyes and stand up. I look to my side and see Johnny with his legs crossed and eyes closed, 'He must not have heard her.'

After thinking for a moment, I nudge him a couple of times, and he opens his eyes, "It's time to take the test."

"Finally!" Johnny hops up excitedly.

We follow behind Mrs. Janson with the rest of the group. As we walk to the test building, the kid from earlier, Percy, walks up behind me and bumps me hard on my shoulder, making me crash into Johnny. Johnny catches me by the shoulders and helps me stand up straight.

"Haha..." Percy's friends point their fingers and laugh at me for a bit before following him to the front.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Are you okay?" Johnny lets go of my shoulders with a frown on his face.

"I'm fine." I clench my fist staring at Percy's back as he walks up to Mrs. Janson with a smirk on his face.

'I really hope we fight in the Combat Test.' I grit my teeth as my nails start to dig into my skin.

●●●

Up ahead, I can see a large one-story building. I think it's made of the same materials as the Brilliant Sun Arena. Their walls are the same color, and there are different inscriptions engraved into the walls in some areas of the building. But unlike the Arena, it made the building seem more mysterious and mystical.

As we got closer to the buildings, an applicant asks, "What are those inscriptions? I saw them earlier on the walls of the Arena too."

"They're words written in the Language of the Spirits. Even I don't know what all of the inscriptions mean. But the Principal explained to me that each inscription has a different effect or power. Like the one over there-" She points to one of the inscriptions at the bottom of the wall, "-That inscription fortifies the foundation of the building, making it harder for the building to collapse. Each inscription supports each other, helping the building fulfill its purpose."

"What's its purpose?" Another applicant follows up when she finished speaking.

"To protect the Spirit's Blessing Detection Device which is used to detect what blessing you received and how strong it is. That's how we gauge your potential," She explains.

"Can I ask one more question?" I raise my hand to get her attention.

"Sure, but this will be the last one," She announces.

"Was this designed by the same person who designed the Brilliant Sun Arena?"

"Balt Fritz? Hmm," She thinks for a moment before answering, "It was. Balt Fritz was a major contributor to the creation of most of the important buildings in the academy."

'So that means there are more buildings around here like this,' If I get the chance to, I really want to see them later, 'But first things first, I have to pass this test.'

"Since question time is over now applicants, get into groups of three and form a line in front of the building," Mrs. Janson tells us.

"I'll go grab another person," Johnny leaves after giving me thumbs up.

He comes back a couple of minutes later with another applicant. A girl that's a little shorter than me. I can feel her eyes looking at me, but whenever I look back at her, she looks down and starts playing with her fingers. Her curly green hair bounces up and down whenever she moves her head.

"Hey, introduce yourself!" Johnny nudges her arm.

"M-My name is Jasmine Myles," She brings her head up a little to introduce herself, but the moment my eye meets hers, she looks back down.

"My name is Ryner." I introduce myself, but she doesn't look up again.

Johnny walks over and whispers in my ear, "...I think she's shy."

I nod my head lightly and suggest, "We should get in line since we have three people now."

They both nod their heads, so we get in line behind another group. After everyone made their groups, Mrs. Janson tells the first group to go in.

A few minutes later they come out with different expressions on their faces, one looks happy, another looks angry, and the last one looks disappointed. As soon as they come out, Mrs. Janson sends the next group in.

My group is sixth in line, so we have to wait a few minutes for our turn to come. Johnny and I talk about how we got here to pass the time as we watch groups go in and out. Percy's group was the only one that came out with all happy smiles. At least one or two people from the other groups before us had negative expressions on their faces.

When the group in front of us comes out, Mrs. Janson tells us to go in. We walk into the building one by one, stopping a little away from the entrance giving each other enough room to stand side by side. Together we walk over to the three examiners standing in the middle of the room.

The examiners introduce themselves and explain that each of us would go with one of them. My examiner, Mrs. Russo, has short wavy honey blonde hair and a pair of glasses with black rims covering her round hazel eyes.

She waves her hand at me, telling me to follow her. I tell Johnny and Jasmine, "I'll see you later," before following Mrs. Russo into the center pathway leading out of the room.

We walk for a few seconds through the path into a wide room. I'm not sure how the room is lit since there aren't any candles or torches on the walls. At first, I was looking for a light source, but something else grabs my attention.

'Wow...' In the center of the room, there's a large crystal altar decorated with various inscriptions.

"That's the Spirit's Blessing Detection Device," Mrs. Russo walks to my side and explains, "Do you see that Crystal Ball in the middle of the altar?"

I follow her finger and see a crystal ball the size of my head on top of a weird pillar-like structure holding it up. Just like the altar, it's made of crystal, and there are inscriptions on its surface.

"Amazing, isn't it? No matter how many times I see it, I can't help but be amazed by its beauty," Mrs. Russo smiles, staring at the altar.

"Yeah." I nod my head feeling that the altar is really amazing.

We spend a few more seconds looking at the altar before Mrs. Russo suggests, "We should start the test, we don't want to make everyone outside wait for too long."

I nod, and she explains to me, "All you have to do for this test is walk onto the altar, place your hand on the crystal ball, and then wait for a reaction."

"Reaction?" Feeling confused, I tilt my head since I don't know what's supposed to happen.

"Depending on your blessing, the crystal ball will shine a different color. The color tells us what spirit's blessing you received. While that's important, what matters even more than that is how bright the light is. Based on the brightness of the light, we can determine what type of blessing you received from the spirit. If you received a Minor or Intermediate Blessing, that means that you have a low aptitude and have failed the test, because you don't have enough potential." Hearing her explanation, I'm starting to feel really nervous, 'Although I'm worried about her finding out what blessing I have, I don't have any way to hide it. My parents should have known about this already, so it should be okay since they didn't warn me. I'm more worried about the type of blessing I received.'

Unaware of my worries, she continues her explanation, "On the other hand, if you receive a Superior Blessing or higher on this exam, and score high on the other two exams, you'll pass the Entrance Exam and become a member of Arcadia."

I nod my head at her explanation, understanding the requirements for passing the test.

"Now walk onto the altar," Stepping onto the altar I feel nervous, if I don't pass this test, that means I failed the Exam. If that happens, then I have to find another way to get stronger, and I'll end up disappointing everyone who believes in me.

"Walk forward and place your hands on the crystal ball," I reach my hands out, swallowing the lump in my throat.

I place my hands on the crystal ball slowly. The moment both of my hands make contact with the crystal ball, I feel a strange energy enter my body. A couple of seconds later, a different, somewhat familiar energy leaves my body. Before I can react, the crystal starts to shine with a weak reddish-black light. Taking a closer look, I realize that there are inscriptions on the crystal ball too. The light starts to grow brighter and brighter, so I close my eyes, scared that I would be blinded by it.

'...What?' I open my eyes and realize that the entire room is filled with an overwhelming reddish-black aura.