Chapter 810 - The aptitude

Chapter 810

(Unedited)

…

Children ages 8 to 13 are walking towards the center of the hall and extending their hands to touch the crystal which is placed on the small table in the middle. The crystal would glow according to the element with which the child is compatible. Though it is an efficient way to determine someone's ability, yet for Shin Jiao it is too outdated.

He could actually create a far more efficient way of testing one's aptitude and their underlying elemental compatibility. He knew that a mage is not only compatible with only one or two elements. In fact, they are compatible with all the elements once they became a mage. However, only one or two elements have higher compatibility than the rest.

But of course, that does not mean that one cannot improve the others. It would take years for a mage to know these things and it would take them many more to discover their other elemental compatibility.

While watching the children, Shin Jiao noticed the object that one of the white-robed mages is holding. That object is slowly gathering mana in the air and it emits an eerie aura. Shin Jiao knew that the object is an artifact that could block or negate the mana in the air.

Judging from the way it disperses the mana before it could touch the surface of that ball.

It did not take long before all of the children have finished their assessments. A few of them passed the test but many failed. One of the children that failed is the son of Fabio Mur, Mario Mur, a 9-year-old child.

The child stood upright with a sad expression on his face.

He is trying to hold his tears back as one could tell the indignation in his heart.

A year ago, when Mario Mur was still 8, he and his father are attending a party. The new princess of the kingdom visited a village along with the prince to give thanks to those who sacrificed themselves in the war.

Since Fabio Mur belongs to the believer of the light, he attended the ceremony along with his talented son.

At that time, Mario Mur can already cast a level 2 spell even though he is only a level 1 mage. He is considered a genius of their village and his father was really proud of him.

But that party was far from peaceful, in fact, that party was a trap. The forces of the light are actually hunting one of the escapees from the castle, a dark mage.

The dark mage is one of the generals that belongs to the dark god Ruel worshipers. He was known as the scourge of the battlefield and has killed countless mages that belong to both factions. Hence that mage is hunted by both the dark and the light worshippers.

But something happened in that party, the dark mage general was able to escape the net of traps, and then he held the princess as a hostage in front of everyone.

When he was about to kill the princess, an 8-year-old child suddenly appears behind him and struck the dark mage general's back.

The child successfully rescued the princess, but before the dark mage general died, in his desperate struggle he waves his hand and a dark energy bolt was sent flying towards the princess. The young boy did not hesitate to push the princess and once again save her life.

From that point on, the genius mage was no more, and the trash known as Mario Mur was known.

The royal family who promised to help the child in any way they could seem to have forgotten their promise. When Fabio Mur once requested if he could ask for help from a magical alchemist to cure Mario Mur's underlying wound, he was greeted with a simple nod and nothing more.

Fabio Mur lost fate in the words of the nobles and those in power. He knew that they are only treated as disposable pawns that could easily be thrown after their usefulness.

He works hard as an alchemist and was able to get a name for himself and at least stabilized the condition of his son. However, because of the years of experimentation, his body suffered. In his desperation in finding a cure, he has poisoned himself.

Fabio Mur looks at his son while holding his tears. Though his son recovered, the magical energy in his body is not enough to cast any magic. He can only make a small fire, a gust of wind, a small amount of water, and a clump of earth. Although he is able to move four types of elements that should be considered as a miracle, yet it is not enough for the child to be called a mage.

"Son… I'm sorry… your father is useless…" Fabio Mur muttered in a low voice.

His wife heard him and held his hand to comfort his husband.

Fabio Mur looks at his son and when their eyes met, he nodded as if trying to tell his son that everything is alright. That everything would be fine someday. He is still young, he still has many years to learn and grow.

As if knowing what his father is thinking, Mario Mur just flashed a forced smile.

The exchange between the two did not escape Shin Jiao's eyes. The reason for this is because he could see the unique ability of the young boy.

With just using his eyes, he could already see four different types of elements being attracted towards his small body, plus a fifth element that is like the one being attracted by Im Ao and Im Jae, a dark element.

He did not know how the boy was able to do this, but from what he could tell, the balance between those elements is truly outstanding.

Suddenly, a strong fluctuation could be felt in the air as the magical particles suddenly vanished.

Shin Jiao knew that the mage holding that weird object activated it.

Everyone was stunned and as they could not feel the mana in the air. The mages who are familiar with this process showed fear in their eyes because they are a bit familiar with this type of magical object. The worshipers of the dark god Ruel have used this kind of artifact in the war. It could negate the power of its target rendering them unable to use or manipulate mana in the air. Thus a mage would become susceptible to any type of attack.

Everyone showed a panic expression on their faces.

Suddenly, Emil Vanatia walks forward as the rest of the children ran to their parents. Since the ceremony is already finished and those who passed have already been named, Emil decided to initiate his plan.

"Someone from the crowd has offended the Great White Tower of Dugal. And as High Mages in charge of the outer world, we would like to exact judgment upon that person." He said with a smile.

Those who saw his smiling face knew that there is trouble brewing in the air, and the Great White Tower of Dugal is going to bully someone.

With a wave of his hand, Emil Vanatia pointed towards Shin Jiao and his group.

Jason Mirk was too afraid that he subconsciously takes a step to the side along with the crowd leaving Shin Jiao and the three with him left standing in the middle.

Everyone gasped and began muttering how unlucky those four people are.

The smile on Emil Vanatia was too pronounced as he could not hold his excitement anymore. He knew that with the activation of the orb and the target being the man who is leading the group, that guy would not be able to fight back.

Someone from the crowd suddenly jumps forward. It was Rakshid Hamas who have been waiting for this chance to act. He has been suppressing his anger and humiliation and wanted to vent his frustration. And now that the plan of his master is already in action, he could not wait anymore.

"Master, may I do the honors!" he said as he held a one-meter-long wand in his hand.

"Yes, but don't kill him…" Emil Vanatia said with a smirk.

With a nod of his head, Rakshid Hamas immediately formed a fireball by extending his hand with his palm towards Shin Jiao's direction.

Upon seeing this everyone in the hall immediately scattered and run away to the sides. They did not want to be implicated in this battle.

"Master Shin, do you want me to act…" Im Jae suddenly said while glaring at Rakshid Hamas.

"Hmm… How about it, Miss Nariz… Do you want to try?" Shin Jiao said in a low voice.

Nariz Gumal who is standing behind Shin Jiao showed a faint smile on her pretty face. For the past two days, she began learning about a magical artifact that Shin Jiao called a 'gun'. Though it is small, she learned that it is actually very dangerous just like the energy rifles that the human race uses in the war against the High Elves.

Hidden beneath her cloak are two of such guns. Now that Shin Jiao wanted her to test what she has learned, Nariz Gumal's golden blood is boiling with a hint of excitement.

"Do you want me to kill him in one go?" she said with a playful smile.

"Up to you…"

With a nod, Nariz Gumal takes a step beside Shin Jiao.