The sound of loud eerie music permeated the air, filling the arena with a strange chill that ran down the spines of everyone.
There were hundreds of new adults, all lined up in several rows, standing before seven altars.
Standing before them was an old man dressed in all black rags, that clung to his body.
The priest gripped his bone-carved cane firmly, supporting his fragile body, his eyes held untold wisdom, and the scars around his body showed the countless battles he survived.
Streaks of sunlight barely trickled into the wide arena, leaving the illumination to the magic crystals embedded in the walls.
The priest cleared his throat, garnering the attention of everyone. None dared to speak or whisper at this crucial moment.
"Welcome, new adults of the Lux kingdom." The priest's voice was loud and audible, allowing everyone to hear him loud and clear.
"As you all know, ever since the gods left us to fend for ourselves, we have been under constant attacks from the creatures of the night." The priest continued.
"The gods knew that man was too weak to defeat the night creatures, and as a result, bestowed us with the gift of talents." The dark priest's words made people smile and hearts skip.
"Each man was given his own talent, allowing him to fight against the evil creatures that roam the Earth." Everybody already knew this, and were just waiting for the priest to get to the important part.
"Today, we are gathered here to awaken the talents of the new adults, the future of this great kingdom." The priest stamped his cane on the floor, and everyone erupted in cheers.
Every individual in this planet already knew the chaotic state of their world, both from the stories and legends of old, and their personal experiences.
Werewolves, vampires, ghouls, lougawus, strigois and many more, all roamed the Earth freely, picking off the humans like prey.
The old men had tried their best to fight these creatures with their talents, but they were far too inexperienced, and it lead to a loss of 99% of the human population.
Now that a new batch of humans has reached the age of adulthood, it was time for them to awaken their talents, and work towards becoming formidable opponents against the evil creatures.
"Before you all, are seven orbs, which would not only determine your talent, but your talent potency." The priest's words made everyone go silent once more.
Yes, everyone Awakened a talent, but not everyone's talents has good potency.
For example, a man could have a fire talent with enough potency to boil a kingdom, while another could have the potency to cause a spark.
Talent potency was what determined not just your powers, but your social status, respect and chances of earning decent income.
For less privileged individuals like Maximus, awakening a highly potent was their last chance at becoming something useful in life.
"There are 7 magical orbs before you." The priest said while pointing at the seven individual orbs which were held up on pillars.
"Place your hand on them, and it shall determine your talent." The priest spoke, and everyone quickly organized themselves.
They had all lined bumps before the pillar prior to the priest's speech,they were arranged in the order of their arrival, making those who came earlier get their turn first.
A brown haired girl with dark blue eyes walked to the orb and placed her hand on it, causing it to pulse blue.
A magical screen hovered above the orb, displaying the relevant information.
[Name: Ashley Smith
Talent: Ice
Potency: Gold.]
Ashley stared at the screen with a bittersweet look on her face, she was expecting a higher potency, but she had to be greatful for what she got.
The potency ranks were: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Elite Master and Grandmaster.
Getting a potency above Diamond was very rare, and a potency around Gold was considered average.
Only very few humans had awakened Master, talk less of grandmaster, Ashley wasn't exactly satisfied with her result, but it wasn't bad either.
Others placed their hands on the crystal, going one boy one, awakening various talents, some were impressive, while others were lackluster.
There was also a different category of people, those who awakened powerful talents, but had trash potency, and those with trash talents, but decent potency.
The gods didn't see all men as equal, and potency was fixed for life, there was no chance to change it in the future.
Many had speculated different rumors on how to increase your chances on getting a higher potency before the test, but it had all been debunked.
It all came down to each individual, no one knew how potency was determined, but everyone prayed not to awaken with a terrible potency.
Hours passed, and the initial excitement had died down, there was just a single student left, Max Drael, the infamous orphan child of the kingdom.
Max was a 5"10, curly black haired, brown eyed teenager, with a facial structure that would put him on the covers of various magazines.
However, his malnourished looking body, pale skin, and horrible acne, were enough to deter any girl.
Coupled with his tattered rags he called clothes, and the horrible stench that emanated from his underarms.
"It's the orphan." A member of the crowd said while pointing at Max, whose hair clung to his skin.
"I wonder if life would screw up his fate once more." Another member of the crowd spoke.
Max had lost his parents at a very young age, and was ostracized by the entire kingdom for reasons he never knew.
He had tried multiple times to make a name for himself, but his every effort resulted in countless failures.
This was his last chance to finally become someone in this kingdom, everything he had was riding on the results of this test.
Max placed his hand on the orb, and a strange glow pulsed.
"Is that,ash?" A member of the crowd pointed at the ashen orb.
So far, everyone else's orb colors were bright, he was the only person with a dull color.
A magical screen projected above the orb, and Max looked to it with hopeful eyes, hoping that the gods would finally change his fate.
[Name: Max Drael.]
[Talent: Null.]
[Potency: Error]