When the helmet was placed on my head, my vision immediately went dark. I focused, trying to sense my surroundings as instructed. After about a minute, I began to feel something surrounding me. Concentrating harder, I saw transparent orbs slowly approaching me, gathering around me. The sound of the machine interrupted my focus, and the helmet was pulled off. I looked around, noticing the doctor's amazed expression and the supervisor's ecstatic face.

"Did I succeed?" I asked them, trying to gauge their reaction.

"Yes, yes! It seems your affinity is very high, not just 70% as the supervisor initially thought," the doctor said excitedly. "Normally, it takes about an hour to sense the elements. The less time it takes, the greater the affinity. The shortest recorded time was half a minute, achieved by the human hero Chen Ming."

I didn’t care much about Chen Ming, despite his reputation as humanity’s strongest hero. What mattered to me was the doctor’s words about my affinity. If I understood correctly, my affinity likely exceeded 80%, a significant improvement over 70%, indicating a better future and greater potential.

Before I could ask about my elemental affinity, the doctor moved to the computer, studying the data with a troubled expression. My optimism faded as I saw his face. Before I could voice my concerns, the supervisor spoke.

"What's the matter, Doctor Ling? Why the long face? Even if it’s a weak element like water, his high affinity should still mean a bright future," the supervisor said, clearly worried.

"I wish it were that simple, but the machine can’t identify his element," the doctor replied, frustrated.

Confused, I asked, "Does that mean the machine is faulty? Can we try another one?"

The supervisor, now panicking, urged, "Try again, Doctor Ling. This can’t be right!"

The doctor shook his head, more solemn now. "The machine is not wrong. It’s never been wrong. We both know why it can't recognize his element."

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The supervisor's expression turned grim as he muttered, "I know, but it's such a rare condition... How could it show up here, in a child from the slave area?"

Ignoring their exchange, I pressed for answers. "Sir, what do you mean by a rare condition? Why can't the machine recognize my element?"

The doctor sighed before explaining, "As you know, there are five basic elements: water, earth, fire, wind, and light. But there are also rare elements like darkness, thunder, creation, destruction, illusion, space, and time."

I was puzzled. "Isn’t it good to have a rare element?"

He hesitated before replying, "It would be, if you were from a wealthy family. Rare elements are difficult to nurture. Most monsters have basic affinities, so finding a monster core for a rare element is incredibly expensive. Without significant resources or a powerful sponsor, developing such an affinity is nearly impossible."

Panic and sadness welled up inside me. "But there must be skills for these elements, right? There are so many monsters out there."

He considered for a moment. "Some rare elements, like thunder, are more common than others, but even those skills cost three times more than those for basic elements. And for elements like time, it's almost hopeless—only two types of monsters with time affinity have ever been discovered. Time and destruction are the rarest. Thunder is the most common among rare elements, while the others are all quite similar in rarity, except for creation, which is different."

"What do you mean by 'creation is different'?" I asked, choosing to ignore his suggestion of becoming a servant.

"The creation element doesn’t have a monster core. To advance, you must absorb the cores of all the basic elements—fire, earth, water, and wind—just to reach the second level. The pattern continues for each subsequent level. It’s a costly path if you don’t have money, but easier if you hunt monsters."

"So, how do I know what my element is? What if it’s creation? Maybe I can find someone to hunt the necessary monsters early on," I asked, clinging to hope.

He sighed again. "Identifying rare elements requires a talent stone, different from the one used to measure affinity strength. It’s a one-time-use item, hard to find, and usually located in areas teeming with powerful monsters, making it very costly."

"Could I have the creation element?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Impossible. Creation requires affinity with all the basic elements, and you showed none. My advice? Accept reality."

He turned to the supervisor. "Take him to get an ID card. Even though he won’t become an Asper or a warrior, Federation rules require ID cards for everyone with an affinity, even those with rare elements".

It was clear he was done with me, leaving me to grapple with the harsh truth on my own.