Belle rubbed his eyes and opened them once again to get a full view of the room he was transported to. He touched the ring on his finger and kept his guard up if he needed to draw the dagger he kept in his clothes.

Using Circulation, he slowly moved his Karmic Qi to warm himself up in case he was in danger while he looked around more thoroughly. The room he found himself in was bear with no semblance of having ever been filled with any furniture.

It was dimly lit and wasn’t large by any means. Belle sniffed and circulated his Karmic Qi toward his eyes, enhancing his vision to take a closer look at the surrounding space. There were footprints on the ground, faint and losing touch at every second that passed but there nonetheless.

His finger twitched and he paused, almost robotically before he looked to his left side, at a normal-looking wall. He stared for a few scant moments before he stiffly walked toward it a walk which by the end turned almost leisurely as he started to whistle lowly.

He brought his face closer to take a look before reeling back and delivering a devastating punch toward the wall. The wall shined and the number appeared, surpassing hundred and delving into the high thousand range before it dimmed. The strange wall opened up in the shape of a door.

Something else shifted in place but even while relying on his other senses, he couldn’t grasp that elusive presence so he just shrugged and walked through the gap that opened in the wall.

“Slightly dusty; recently cleaned?” He rubbed his fingertips against his nose, he sniffed, and then coughed, not used to the dust. The Orphanage was always clean and all his physical reactions to harmful stimuli were taken into account. He was annoyed by the dust but since it wasn’t severe to the extent of an allergic reaction, he trudged on.

There was nothing significant to where he was, it was just a colorless hallway. Mysterious, a color he could see but couldn’t identify with anything he had ever seen before. It couldn’t be described as white or black or even grey.

‘If I had to identify it by some abstract measure, I would say that it was something that lay beyond the conventional color spectrum,’ Belle felt his mind wander as he was barely stimulated by his surroundings. Which, in turn, made them much more sophisticated.

There were whispers in the corner where he could not see nor bother to look or turn back on the path. All he cared about was leaving. Thankfully, though they were numerous, they had no urgency to their tone but one was quite vocal. He ignored it.

An instinctual reaction.

Moments later it was forgotten, like snow turning into a puddle that was slowly evaporated.

A light, which would normally signify the end was near, came into his eyes even though he saw that he had more of a distance to walk. He felt his body float somewhat before all senses vanished and he was gone.

*

“Belle…”

A voice reached his ears and he tensed, opening his eyes with a sharp look to his gaze. He contained it as he saw something he found familiar.

It was a tail. Soft and bushy, which had a color distinctly similar to caramel. He wanted to touch it, it was a feeling, a genuine feeling but it didn’t mean it was good or appropriate so Belle waited. He waited for his full vision to appear and then he finally saw where he was.

A room.

‘I’m getting sick of this.’

Thankfully, the room wasn’t as boring as before at all and had various people within. On the first try, coming from nothing but a cursory glance, he noticed at least a dozen people his age. Each of them held quite a unique aura to them that he could not explain.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

A hand touched his shoulder and he turned, seeing Mathew standing next to him with a smile.

“You made it, about the 17th person to arrive here, with I being the 5th of course,” He kept his smile but a want for something bled from his tone.

“Nice,” Belle nodded and turned his attention back to the tail and saw the four sisters standing to his left with Mathew being on the right with his green-haired friend.

Welf was at the front of the large room, the lights from above shone on his face. Making the unrestrained and flamboyant senior seem quite handsome and respectable. High above the ground on a stage, he stood above them all with Jen and a few other seniors and even instructors by his side.

“What happened?” Belle asked lowly, not wanting to attract attention to himself.

“A test,” Mathew winked, “Different tests for all of us here of course.”

Belle drifted his vision around the area once more and he could vaguely feel mass occupying spaces that he previously knew were empty as more people just popped into existence. Strange, ever since coming to the train station he had been feeling ill at ease.

“You can sense it…?” Nataly spoke in confusion as she saw Belle jerk about with his eyes somehow finding all the new entries without fail as if he had predicted it. “Related to your aberrant hold?”

Belled rubbed his fingers against each other, “That’s personal.”

“My sister is snuggled up in your arms like a marshmallow, we could be considered close by association don’t you think?” She crossed her arms and Belle could feel Mathew turning his head, his voice trailing as he spoke to his friend.

He could feel the caramel marshmallow wanting to climb onto his back and he was vaguely reminded of his hometown and the kids there, “I don’t think that’s the same thing.”

“Her tail is wrapping around your waist,” She pointed it out blankly but Belle kept a straight face.

This was normal. He was used to indulging younger kids than himself. There was no harm anyway and the girl herself looked so comfortable, it would be a waste to disturb her.

“Should we stop her?” Nayu couldn’t help but ask.

Belle shook his head as a loud voice began to arise, “It is fine.” After some deliberation, he added, “If you’re okay with that of course.”

She sighed and didn’t speak, shaking her head as she turned to the podium that held all the instructors and seniors. The girl beside him kept his right hand in both of her soft palms and turned toward the front. He sighed and did the same, lest he implicate himself and others for not paying attention.

One of the instructors, a fairy with brown hair and ringlets, floated forward.

“Good morning, students. My name is Yaruz Teryu, I am the supervisor of the Beast Hall. It is truly a pleasure to welcome you all to our academy,” She floated from side to side for a moment, trails of crystalized Qi trailing behind her movement, “I’m sure you all are confused, save for a few of you with Surveyor Hold types or more commonly the Clairvoyance type. That is okay, it was just a small test to figure out what type of aberrant you are.”

A buzz ran through the crowd. Belle sighed, a bit apprehensive that his Aberrant type had been revealed so early but he was also comforted.

Why?

Because the Instructors had no way to know of the specific details of an Aberrant Hold at all.

Yaruz acknowledged the buzz as she spoke once more, her voice was particularly soft, with a silky texture that soothed the listener, “I’m sure that among some of you, there are those who are slightly cautious or angry, rightfully so. Your type had been revealed to us after all but it was inevitable, as without that basic knowledge there would be no way to provide aid to you all in the slightest! Also as I’m sure many of you have realized…”

“You can’t know the specifics of our abilities or rather our Aberrant Holds?” A girl raised her hand to say confidently. She had a pair of pink twin tails with two strange hollow cubes that held them up above her chaotic hairstyle.

Yaruz hummed, “That is true…” She acknowledged before flocking her finger in the girl's direction and a harsh sound resounded.

Thwack!

“Don’t interrupt!” Though her voice was soft, it was quite harsh and the girl nodded tearfully. Despite her crouching down to touch the place she was hit, there was no blood but there was still a small red bruise.

The instructors nodded in unison as if respecting her decision.

“Moving on,” Yaruz commented, “I believe that is all from me.”

Belle didn’t know who but someone started to clap and naturally, he followed, as did everyone else. Yaruz nodded, pleased. Before she backglided in the air, still facing them as she went back into the exact spot she was in before her introduction.

‘Such accuracy!’ Belle was impressed, there was not even a millimeter in difference from what he saw at all. His senses were hard to fool and Yaruz did this so naturally, it was a given he was impressed.

A man stepped forward and his hands trembled. A thoughtful expression on his face when he saw the man.

He spoke.

“I am Temperance Elder Tang Zhiru. I believe it is time we move this hassle along. If I were you all, I wouldn't want you to miss out on any other; more pleasurable activities, by being long-winded with my words.”

He appeared out of thin air. His voice and status sent massive waves throughout the students in the know. Belle looked over as he felt a mild disturbance and he saw the serious Instructor Yaruz looking at Elder Tang with displeasure. He stole her flow!