Scott took a step forward. He was about average height and average build, the only remarkable thing about him was the close-cropped shock of orange hair sprouting from his head. Wren wasn’t sure where his confidence came from but it oozed from him. He hadn’t really watched the boy during the other few tests, only noticing him when he’d joined the rest of the group who had passed the power test and the rest of the class started whispering amongst themselves about him being a Legacy.

“Distance is my family’s specialty.” He told the small group.

“Very well. Off you go Mr St Clair.” Said Anastasia, unbothered by the boys bravado.

He raised his arm and after closing his eyes, the wind slice was released; it collided with the first target and lit it up. He hadn’t released the skill with as much expertise and grace as Xiao had but it still hit its mark so it didn’t matter. Wren couldn’t even hope to be as skilled as Xiao was so he had no right to judge the other recruits.

Scott quickly hit the second and third targets as well, lighting them both up. The fourth target seemed to prove more difficult, but only slightly as he hit it on his second shot. He had reached the point in which Xiao had to stop and he was showing no signs of slowing down.

Wren had to give him praise, he’d thought that they were just empty words when Scott had spoken but he was putting his money where his mouth was.

He fired off his wind slice at the final target. It was twenty-five metres away and none of the recruits had managed to hit it so far. It veered too far too the right and ended up colliding with the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust upon impact. He readjusted his aim and released the skill once more. Again, it was too far to the right but it was definitely closer this time.

“Come on.” Scott said to himself. The group were silent, watching the display so they picked up on his words.

Three times really seemed to be the charm as the target furthest away from the group lit up upon impact. He’d really done it, he’d hit all five targets, outclassing all of the recruits there.

“Well done Mr St Clair. It seems distance really is your family’s specialty.” Anastasia said, congratulating the boy.

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The group let off a small round of applause as Scott took his place amongst them. Wren found it a lot easier being amongst the smaller group. There were no jealous glances, or heated whispering. The group hadn’t made him feel like he shouldn’t be there, they all simply got on with the tasks and congratulated each other on their successes. If only it was like that with the rest of his class around.

~

Liam was up next. Similarly to Xiao he plateaued on the fourth target, not being able to go any further than that. The two were neck and neck when it came to sheer ability, both excelling in the physical tests and getting the highest scores on the power test. The only thing separating the two was the finesse that Xiao displayed in everything she did. Where Liam liked to power through with sheer force and reckless abandon, Xiao showed delicacy and a controlled level of skill. In Wren’s books it put her slightly above Liam but it was still very close, if they were to fight he had no idea who would win.

The last recruits to take the distance test were the two girls. Nina and Natalie. Wren hadn’t really watched how they performed during the physical tests but like him they’d both scored a one on the power test.

Nina was the first of the two to go. She seemed to struggle a bit with calling up the wind slice. He recalled how she had taken a while to do it during the first test, but she was taking even longer now. After five minutes she managed to hit the first target but that was her limit. She attempted to hit the second target but the skill faded into nothing as soon as it passed the five metre target. She was clearly the weakest of the group.

Natalie on the other hand did a lot better. She didn’t take anywhere near as long as Nina to call up the wind slice and she managed to hit the first three targets. She had however taken the most shots out of the entire group, her aim was significantly lacking, but it was impressive to see her use the skill so many times in such quick succession.

“I can’t go on anymore. I think I’m done.” She said to Anastasia.

“I’m not surprised with the amount of shots you fired off there. I told you to be careful and watch your aim.” She told the girl.

She looked down at her clipboard and made a final few notes.

“Right, I think that’s everyone. Well done all of you, we’ve got some very good scores here.” She said that looking at Scott who stood with a smile so bright that it could rival a lighthouse. “We only have one more test and then you’re all done for the day and you can relax.”

The group followed Anastasia back to the first area with the large target. They stood there with questioning looks, wondering what the third test had to do with the large target.

Anastasia held up the clipboard that she’d been carrying around all afternoon.

“You may have been wondering what I’ve been writing all day. As well as recording your scores on the first two tests, I have also been making a note on the amount of times you’ve used the wind slice.” She paused for dramatic effect. “The third and final test is the capacity test.”