After our initial discussion with the King, a regal figure steps forward, effortlessly commanding the attention of everyone in the chamber. She wears an elegant rosy gown that complements her curly golden hair, cascading down her back in drill-like ringlets.

“Dear heroes,” she begins, her voice calm yet authoritative. “My name is Seraphina Aeloria, the Grand Mage of Valeria. I will guide you through the process of awakening your blood talents. Before we begin, however, I’d like to explain the basics of magic: how it works and how proper training can help you achieve godlike power. Let’s start with mana…”

She goes on to explain that magic in this world relies on mana, an invisible energy saturating the environment—almost like the air we breathe. Anyone who learns to sense mana can potentially harness its power.

According to Seraphina, there are three main ways to make use of this energy.

The first is physical enhancement, which involves gathering and refining mana to dramatically boost muscle growth and physical prowess, making someone far stronger and faster. This path is common among close-combat fighters such as swordsmen, warriors, and knights.

The second way is spellcasting, channeling mana to cast various spells, including elemental magic like fire or water. Practitioners of this method typically become mages, witches, or wizards.

Finally, there is crafting, where individuals use their magical knowledge to create enchanted items and potions that others can use, even if they struggle to sense mana themselves.

After covering these fundamentals, Seraphina begins to describe something she calls blood talents: innate abilities that remain dormant until awakened by specific techniques or artifacts. They are divided into five known ranks, each based on its growth potential and how effectively a person can harness mana.

Common Rank is the most widespread, with little to no aptitude for sensing mana. Those who fall under this category must exert tremendous effort to advance, and about 99 percent of the population possesses such minimal potential.

Heroic Rank, on the other hand, provides a reasonable foundation for both physical and magical development. With adequate training, Heroic individuals can grow quite powerful. Seraphina mentions that most knights and mages serving the Kingdom are of this rank—and the summoning spell itself was specifically tailored to bring forth individuals with at least Heroic potential.

Moving on, Sacred Rank is extremely rare and grants extraordinarily high growth potential. People born with this rank can refine mana at ten times the rate of Heroic Rank individuals.

The final two ranks are Legendary and Divine, both considered extraordinary. Legendary Rank talents are many times more potent than Sacred, practically ensuring that anyone who possesses them becomes one of the world’s most powerful humans.

Divine Rank, however, is almost mythical—recounted only in ancient texts from lost civilizations. Those with a Divine Rank talent could not only rise to become the world’s greatest heroes but also, as rumor has it, even surpass the gods themselves.

———————————

After the brief lesson, Seraphina signals one of the knights to bring out a large, translucent orb and set it on the table with utmost care. Roughly the size of a basketball, it seems like an ordinary glass sphere at first glance—but the charged atmosphere in the room suggests otherwise.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Seraphina says. “Place your hand on this orb. This ancient artifact will reveal both your blood talent rank and your elemental affinity. I wish you all the best, great Heroes.”

“All right, I’ll go first,” the red-haired boy declares, stepping up with a determined glint in his eye.

His name is Tanaka Hiroshi. After exchanging introductions earlier, we all know each other’s names now. Hiroshi hovers his hand above the orb and takes a slow, steady breath as though bracing himself for some unknown force.

“Here I go… ha!”

The moment his palm makes contact, the orb flares to life with an intense red glow. Almost instantly, Hiroshi’s irises blaze crimson, and the surrounding air becomes stiflingly hot, as if a furnace has ignited in the middle of the chamber.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“This—this is unbelievable!” he exclaims, voice trembling with exhilaration. “Magical words are racing through my mind, and I can feel an immense power coursing through my veins! It’s searing hot, yet it doesn’t hurt at all!”

“My goodness!!!” Seraphina exclaims, visibly shaken by what’s happening. “I can’t believe it! Your blood talent is Sacred Rank! Your Majesty, we have a Sacred Rank!”

King Alaric bolts upright from his seat. “Sacred Rank! Phenomenal! Seraphina, what is his element?”

“Fire! His fire affinity is at a staggering 99%!”

“Uooooooooh!”

A wave of excitement rips through the crowd, the very floor seeming to rumble under the sheer force of their collective awe.

Turning to Hiroshi, Seraphina’s smile shines almost as brightly as the orb. “Mr. Hiroshi, this is remarkable! Not only do you possess a tremendously powerful blood talent, you also command near-perfect control over fire itself. You are truly among the mightiest individuals ever summoned to this realm—an ideal hero to challenge the Demon God!”

A joyous grin spreads across Hiroshi’s face, and his cheeks flare red in tandem with the orb’s glow.

“Th-thank you! I’m honored to help!”

“I’m delighted to hear that,” Seraphina replies, bowing slightly before shifting her gaze to the pizza delivery boy. “Mr. Takumi, shall we see what fate has in store for you?”

“Yes, please!”

His name is Saito Takumi. He steps forward, tension rippling through every muscle, his clenched fist a clear sign of his nerves. After witnessing Hiroshi’s mind-blowing display, the entire room crackles with anticipation, every eye fixed on Takumi’s every move.

Slowly, he extends his hand. The moment his fingers graze the orb, a soft gale envelopes him, and the sphere erupts into a mesmerizing green radiance.

“It’s like… I’m one with the wind!” Takumi breathes, voice tinged with awe.

“To think your power is so immense that the wind spirits themselves answer your call!” Seraphina exclaims. “Concentrate. Feel the wind swirling within you, and let it rise!”

“Right!”

Takumi closes his eyes, standing rigid as though summoning every ounce of willpower.

Then—Boom!

A sudden gale blasts outward from Takumi, nearly toppling everyone to the floor. I raise my arms to shield my face from the debris-laden wind, and in that instant, I catch a fleeting glimpse of two small, feathery wings sprouting from Takumi’s back.

Once again, the King appears utterly astounded. “Sacred Rank! Seraphina, is he also Sacred Rank?”

“Yes, Your Majesty! Another Sacred Rank!” Seraphina confirms, her voice unsteady with excitement. “And Mr. Takumi’s wind affinity is at 94%, slightly below Mr. Hiroshi’s. Once he masters his abilities, he’ll be able to conjure thunderstorms and whip up tornadoes with a single thought!”

Another wave of awe sweeps through the audience.

So far, two overpowered talents back-to-back!

But when it’s Nakamura Yumi’s turn…

She places her hand on the orb, and although it does begin to glow, its radiance pales compared to the earlier displays.

“Hmm…” Seraphina murmurs, brow creased. “Ms. Nakamura, it appears your blood talent is Heroic Rank. It may not be as overwhelming as the previous two, but it’s still quite impressive! You have a 78% nature affinity.”

Even so, that still sounds like a strong talent to me.

However, critical voices begin to emerge from the audience, their reactions filled with immense disappointment.

“Eh, Heroic Rank is good, but the nature element is useless!”

“Yeah, is she going to become a gardener or something?”

“Well, she’s weak, but at least she’s kinda cute, eh?”

“AHEM!”

The king swiftly hushes the crowd. All murmurs cease, and the room falls silent immediately.

But something feels wrong. An ominous tension hangs in the air. I feel a cold chill run down my spine as I watch the crowd’s reaction.

Are they disappointed about her divine talent?

No, that’s not it.

There are wicked smiles… disgustingly wicked ones.

“Heh, at least she’s kinda cute.”

In that moment, I understand exactly what those smiles and comments mean. If Yumi cannot be a strong hero, then what’s the point of her existence here? Will they even need her?

Or…

Nevertheless, Yumi’s face pales. She stands there, her gaze lowered in shame. The King shifts slightly in his throne, exchanging a quick, hidden look with Seraphina. In hushed tones, they converse briefly.

A few minutes later…

Seraphina steps forward and places her hands on Yumi’s shoulders. “Yumi, don’t be sad. As I mentioned, although your talent isn’t as strong as the two other boys, you are still amazing! With your affinity for nature, you could become a great potion maker or spirit user!”

“Th-thank you,” Yumi responds softly. “I will try my best.”

With that, it’s my turn.

I stride forward and rest my hand on the awakening orb. As my fingers make contact, the room descends into strained silence once more. All eyes are on me, clearly expecting that an adult man like me would manifest a talent as impressive as the boys’.

However, the orb doesn’t glow.

“Ehh? What? C-common Rank? Impossible!” Seraphina is taken aback. “Mr. Jack, can you try touching the orb again?”

“Sure.”

I follow her instructions, touching the orb repeatedly, but still, not a single flicker appears.

Watching all this unfold, Seraphina becomes dumbfounded and starts talking to herself. “I don’t understand. I can’t. Even Common Rank people have some kind of elemental affinity. But Jack, his affinity is… none? Nothing? How come? Tsk… could it be… even lower rank than that? No, there’s no way the summoning spell could make that mistake!”

The King furrows his brows, clearly puzzled by the situation. Meanwhile, the crowd is equally confused; some people even start to question if the orb is malfunctioning.

But as Seraphina examines the orb again, she confirms that it is still working perfectly.

In the end, no one knows why this happened. The general consensus is that I have become the first summoned individual to possess a Common Rank blood talent.

Well, no one knows except for me.

If I’m not mistaken, this has something to do with the fact that I’m not even supposed to be here in the first place.