—Your destiny, your preferences, your life: this test indicates which energy contaminated you the most as a child—Dorien commented calmly, focused on his task—However, it's not absolute: you don't necessarily have to follow the test; it's simply a tradition in our empire to identify up to three main attributes of a magician during their initiation ceremony.

—Is the side effect of this test that you can't have children?—Apolo deduced, recalling a crucial point as to why there were no nobles seeking to become magicians.

—I doubt it's a side effect; there are many interests at play...—Dorien mused reflectively—But you're right, Apolo, taking the test will make you infertile for the rest of your life...

—Is it worth it?—Apolo commented, not quite pleased with the consequences. Nevertheless, he had accepted them a long time ago; there was no turning back at this point, and he couldn't lead the life he sought without the sponsorship of the empire.

—No, it's not worth it!—Dorien shouted forcefully, startling the young man—And it's even mandatory...

Unwilling to speak, Apolo watched as the cauldron in the fireplace began emitting a bluish mist, gradually filling the room until it covered half of the young man's body. That's when Dorien dipped a wooden ladle into the cauldron and removed three small black stones. Carefully, the magician took a pair of metal tongs and poured each of the stones into vials of water he had prepared beforehand. Upon entering the water, the black stones began to dissolve as if they were ice, until they vanished from Apolo's sight.

With the three vials now prepared, Dorien proceeded to seal them with corks and carried them to the desk where Apolo waited with anticipation and curiosity. Seating himself at the desk, the magician opened the black book he had fetched earlier, and to Apolo's surprise, the interior of the book was filled with blank pages with nothing written on them. However, Dorien was flipping through them as if searching for a particular page, even though they all looked identical. Then, one of the blank pages changed color, transforming into a bluish sheet like the mist enveloping the room, causing the magician to stop at that page.

As if he had found what he was looking for, Dorien took one of the vials and poured its contents onto the paper. The bluish paper dampened as expected, and yet nothing apparently strange had occurred.

—Well, tell me what you read, lad—Dorien requested as he handed the book to Apolo.

Apolo wanted to comment that the bluish page was blank, but when he tried to warn Dorien, he noticed that the notebook page was changing, and finely written words began to fill the bluish sheet:

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

> "Few know my secrets..."

—"Few know my secrets?"—Apolo read, not understanding what this phrase meant.

—Oh, look, and what symbol formed?—Dorien asked, looking at Apolo suspiciously.

—There's no symbol: only that phrase is written—Apolo replied as he focused on the bluish page and noticed a drawing beginning to form on the paper—Wait, there is a symbol: it's a little bird.

—Well, that's interesting and quite unusual for someone from your family...—Dorien murmured reflectively while stroking his beard.

—What does it mean?—Apolo asked eagerly.

—It means your primary attribute is one of the great sins of mankind...—Dorien explained, looking at the young man before him curiously, trying to imagine what kind of story led this young man to defy his family's tradition and seek to become a magician instead—The sin of greed: "few know what you desire so much, Apolo"...

—It makes sense... I think... I didn't know that greed could be an attribute...—Apolo commented reflectively, trying to accept this destiny and understand it, just as his ancestor had told him.

—Very few do know...—Dorien murmured with quite a bit of concern. He then got up to retrieve a book from the wall shelves; it didn't take him long to find it and return. Apolo watched as Dorien opened an old book with leather covers and yellowed pages. From the content of the book, the young man immediately realized it was a registry.

Dorien flipped through the registry until he found the page he was looking for, then carefully began to read it.

—Deo from White Town, Eco from the Red Marshes, Thais from The Valley, and Helena from Small Village. It seems that the empire has only had four magicians whose primary attribute is greed. Considering that these records date back over 2000 years, I would say there are very, very few magicians like this. You should disregard this test and search for a more common attribute among your fellow magicians. What do you decide? Do we try another test, or do you stick with this option?

—Deo... Eco... Thais... Helena...—Apolo muttered, so baffled to hear these four names in real life that he began to look at Dorien with suspicion, thinking this could be another strange nightmare. However, the fact that Helena wasn't here and wasn't in the forest only made it more unsettling.

—Shall we retake the test?—Dorien insisted upon noticing Apolo murmuring to himself.

—No, it's okay. I accept my destiny as the fifth magician of greed...—Apolo replied, somewhat uncomfortable with the discovery, understanding that it was impossible for all this to be a coincidence.

—It's a bad idea; you should retake the test—Dorien recommended with a concerned tone —There's very little material, very little research. It's highly likely you'd be starting from scratch with this attribute.

—But it's my destiny...—Apolo said, not quite understanding what Dorien was getting at.

—Partly, but destiny constantly changes. That's why the test isn't absolute...—Dorien responded calmly, trying to enlighten the young future magician —The test can only offer a guiding path: it doesn't define us as people. It indicates something you would naturally want to investigate, something you grew up around. It's not like there's really such a thing as a fire or water magician; it's just people who researched those specific topics until they became experts in the field.

—So, what is a greed magician?—Apolo asked, looking at the records in Dorien's hand and seeing the four names from his dreams actually written in the registry.