Ob woke up after a full night's rest. The meal Helvuna provided was incredible. He could feel the magic infusion refill all of his attributes. He thought about how great that skill would be to have and wanted to learn it. Maybe he could ask Helvuna to teach him how she does it. He thought it would be good to see her again anyhow.

Walking to the tree, he saw Vincent sitting there reading. "Are you reading?" Ob said in a mocking tone, "Or are you Abigail who is practicing a new magic spell?"

"Aahh, the man wakes up a jester," Vincent said, looking up from his book. "Sleep well, my friend?"

"Very," Ob responded, "y'all?"

"Yeah, we did; we slept well. We have to get you signed up for the next Maverick assessment. To do that we need to get you registered with the Crusader Federation and then with the Mavericks."

"Any advice for the assessment?"

"I have never taken it, so no clue. I know that it's two weeks long, but that's about it."

"They will test you holistically," Abigail said, putting her hair in a braid, "it is a test of your aura, your soul, your powers, and your attributes. The two weeks will also test your ability to work with a team and see how you take on monsters alone. They do allow people to bring soul-link so you are in luck."

"Smooth," Ob said with absolute confidence.

"You do not seem concerned," Abigail said, looking at her friend.

"I'm not. I know my abilities and I'll have Eclipse by my side.

"That's right!!" Vincent cheered. Just then, there was a knock on the door, "Come on in!" There was a maid who had a pile of food for them. There were various fruits and what looked like yogurt. Ob grabbed some of the fruit, gave it an odd look, and then took a small bite. It was sweet and salty. He grabbed some more of that fruit and began eating, "Thank you, Galice." Ob said with a warm smile. Galice nodded and walked out.

The group made their way out of the Inn and headed to the Crusader district. It was all the way at the top. Ob had wondered how they would get up there, then he saw several options, pipes - that used magical hot air to propel you up, stairs - about 2 thousand, portals, and a pulley system. Ob looked at the stairs and immediately said NOPE.

They went to the portals and stepped through. It brought them into the lobby of the massive building. The building had a white interior made of marble. There were pillars along the top of the large dome of the room. It was very bright due to a few well-placed windows. They walked over to a billboard with directions for where they needed to go. They found their way to the front desk. "Welcome to the Crusader Federation, how may I help you?" The clerk said.

"Hi, Bill." Ob said, "I'd like to register for the Crusaders, and then the Maverick assessment as well."

Bill looked him up and down, "The Maverick assessment is meant to be done by the biggest and the strongest; no offense, you do not fit that description. To get registered as a Crusader is easy. Here is a form to fill out and then you will receive a badge via messenger bird. That should happen in a day. Maverick assessments run every three days, with a different instructor. The next assessment starts today, you can rush over to get registered if you would like to do that now."

"With all due respect Bill. I am offended that was unnecessary and rude to say that." Ob said back sharply.

Bill's eyes widened; he had meant no disrespect. "I am sorry, I meant no disrespect. It is just a dangerous assessment, and few people perish. Many fail."

"Next time then, keep those thoughts to yourself," Ob whispered angrily to the clerk. He grabbed his form and walked off without another word. Bill looked at the man he had just insulted and grew afraid. The look he had on his face was not anger. It was peaceful and calming. His words, though, were sharp as steel; he was a beautiful samurai sword. Peaceful and calm but deadly if needed. He certainly had misjudged him. He would be a powerful Maverick.

Ob decided that moment, after what Bill had said, that he would do the assessment today. He headed to the Maverick Federation HQ via teleport. He had said his farewells to Abigail and Vincent. The two had wished him luck and said they would see him when he was a Maverick in a couple of weeks.

The HQ was nothing special; it looked like a standard four-story office building outside. Ob found that to be strange. All the other buildings looked incredible, but this one looked plain and out of place. Perhaps that was the point? To give the illusion that it was not hard to be a Maverick.

Ob walked through the front doors to have his senses completely reduced. There was only one person in front who looked up from their task and smiled. It was an elven woman, "Good day sir. Are you here for the assessment?"

"Yes ma'am, I am," Ob responded.

"Very well," her voice was calming and proper, "Right this way for the aura and soul assessment. Your aura and soul will be fully displayed for our examiners to view." She began leading Ob down a hallway corridor that was well-lit and had several offices. "In the room, you will have a clergy from the god of wisdom, the god of the see-er, and a maverick federation representative. If you have any soul-links, they will need to be out and present during this assessment, they will be assessed as well. Good luck." With that, she knocked and began walking away. Her speech was practiced and precise, leaving no room for questions. She had likely done that a million times.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Ob walked into the room; it had stone walls with no design. It looked like a classic interrogation room he would see in TV shows back on Earth. There stood three other people. The clergy wore robes that had symbols and colors that Ob presumed to be the colors and symbols of their gods. The other person was wearing a practical black suit with a dark slate blue tie, the color of the mavericks.

"Hello there sir." The woman in the orange robes with gold trims spoke up. "I am Priestess Sarah, I am the priestess for the god of wisdom. This next to me," she gestured to the man about the same height, "is my brother, Priest Aaron. He is the priest for the god of the see-er. Lastly," gesturing to the maverick representative, "We have Charles, representative for the Maverick Federation."

They all bowed slightly as a sign of respect towards Ob. "What's going on, my name is Ob. Nice to meet y'all." Ob said very casually.

"It is time for the soul reading," Sarah said, "if you could please release any soul-link you may have." Eclipse came out of Ob's eyes. Charles flinched and reached for his weapon. He had no idea this man was a Draconian Ally. The audacity to approach the federation to join while being one. "Calm Charles, this was not unknown. So any others you may have?"

"Nope, just Eclipse here," Ob said.

"This process has been known to be quite uncomfortable so please bear with us during this time and try not to scream too loudly," Charles said with a smirk. Ignoring him, the priestess began chanting some words. Her eyes turned completely orange, and then orange swirls began to engulf both Ob and Eclipse. As that was happening, the priest Aaron, who was wearing a lime green robe with gold trim his eyes also turned lime green. Ob froze, that color, he thought, that’s the same color as the jerk who attacked me! Ob elected to not do anything, he continued to watch Aaron. Aaron also chanted a quick spell, and his eyes grew hot with a deep intensity.

Ob felt like his soul was burning. It felt like it was being set on fire. He grimaced at the pain, but in no way was it the hardest he had ever felt his soul be attacked. His whole life on Earth had been people being rude and condescending, breaking his heart, giving him away, and treating him poorly for how he looked. These two people use magic to find out about his life. It was not hard. It was a relief, actually, not having to explain but to have people see it.

The swirling and intensity stopped. Both the clergy looked at each other and then nodded. "You have passed the trial of aura and soul assessment. You may now proceed with the field assessment. Charles, you may take him with the other recruits." As Ob was about to make his way out of the room, it turned lime green, and there was a woman standing in front of him. This woman had no head, just an eye floating over a bodiless robe.

"I am Qohva, the goddess of seeing," the goddess said in a divine voice, "I am not what you expected?"

"Truly, I had no expectations, but this is different." Ob said with a small chuckle, "What can I do for you goddess? Why did one of your priests attack me?"

"He is not one of my priests,” Qohva said calmly, taking no offense to the accusation. “He is someone who received a keystone andgot a power to see in the dark. I am the god of seeing after all. Nevermind him; you have a dangerous path ahead of you, Ob. Your soul is unique. It is a Draconian and a Celestine. Seek a clergy of my kin, the god of wisdom. He will be able to inform you of the history of the two."

"I see, I am sorry for the accusation,” Ob bowed his head slightly. “Let me guess, they were either rivals or allies, both at one point hated by the world. Then the Celestines disappeared but dragons stayed. Then rumors spread that the dragons and the Draconians killed all the Celestials?"

"Just as you say," the goddess replied with a shocked tone. "You are wise for being so young. Your potential is way more than what it takes to be a Maverick. I hope you make it to the Ancient tier. Your power rivals us gods, I say this as a warning, for you have met two gods who are fond of you Ob. We are not all as relaxed with powerful mortals."

"What can you see? The future, the past, my potential?"

"I can only see glimpses of the future and can only make vague prophecies of them. I can see your past, I can see your potential. That is why I can simply hope you make it, not guarantee. You have free will in this world Ob, use it to be balanced for good." She walks up to Ob and holds out her robe for him to shake. He awkwardly looked and put his hand inside the robe sleeve where the hand should have been, shook the goddess' hand. As he pulled his hand back, he felt something in his palm, "Good luck, Ob Jones. I hope to see you soon." After that, the lime green faded, and Ob returned to the stone room he was in.

Aaron looked at Ob with wide eyes and a hint of jealousy. He knew what had happened; his goddess had stopped to visit Ob personally, and this was a rare honor. It was also something he picked up in his soul reading. Why had she talked to him personally? What was so special about this man?

Item: Contacts of Sight

Bondable Armor

Divine

You have been given the gift from the god of seeing, Qohva. Contacts of sight are wearable armor that will boost your soul and aura defense from being read. You are now immune to all tracking and soul/aura reading. Would you like to wield? Yes/no? Warning; your soul-link's connection to you will change. You will no longer have white eyes when Princess Eclipse of the Astrological North Dragon Clan enters your soul home.

Yes.

Bond is being established. Princess Eclipse of the Astrological North Clan will now appear on your body inside your spectral cloak as the sun in the Solar Eclipse. You are now no longer able to be seen as a Draconian Ally. Those who have already known will continue to see. Unless you tell people, your Draconian aura will be hidden.

Ob stood in shock at the gift he just received. This would help him a lot, especially now, during his assessment. He knew he was still going to bring out Eclipse, but this time, he could do it a bit more covertly, should it allow him.

Ob wondered why these two gods decided to talk to him directly, or any gods for that matter. Ob couldn't help but be amazed at how casually he had reacted to gods, real-life gods in his presence. It's not like Ob didn't believe in god. He had trouble accepting god fully because of his life of suffering. He was taught that there was a god, the creator god, the ones of the monotheistic religions, and there were polytheistic mythological gods, like Zeus, Thor, and Neptune. His acceptance of one didn't mean he was vicious or discounting others' beliefs. Now, he was meeting gods, and that was insane.

What was more insane was the fact that there are gods who don't like him, and he has potential that rivals them. He heard a throat get cleared, shaking him out of his thoughts. "If you would, Mr Ob." Charles said, motioning to the door, "It's time for your assessment."