Chapter 11: Recruitment Assessment
Jon, Damon, and Raina entered the building, walking past the reception counter they had seen the previous day. They continued through the hallway into a surprisingly spacious courtyard, large enough to fit over a hundred people comfortably. The courtyard was rectangular in shape, most likely located in the exact center of the building. There were six doors, excluding the one they entered through, on the other sides of the courtyard; two on each side.
There were a total of about 70 children taking the recruitment test today. The curious children surrounded a platform near the opposite wall from the side they entered, upon which sat the only object situated in the courtyard, a long wooden table with several crystal balls set out on top. These crystal balls were all different colors: red, blue, green, yellow, purple, gray, white, and black.
The chatter of the children subsided when two sets of doors opened up behind the wooden table, through which several people emerged. There were eight old examiners, each positioning themselves behind a crystal orb. The proctor of the test was the same man with the goatee. The goateed man said, "We will now begin the assessment. It is very simple; you only need to step forth and place both palms on the crystal balls. If you already have experience with feeling arcane energy, try to channel the energy into them. They will light up, the brightness indicating your level of affinity to the corresponding element. Most cultivators only have an affinity to one or two, so do not be disheartened if you do not get a reaction from some of the balls. Who would like to attempt it first? If there are no volunteers, I will just go in order of the list of applicants."
"I'll do it. My name is Alexander Thorne." A boy around 16 years old stepped forward. He had alabaster white hair, a rounded chin, a pointed nose, and round, amber eyes, framed by sharp eyebrows.
"Thorne, huh? You must be the second Prince. Welcome to the tower. Your accommodations are satisfactory, I hope?"
"Yes, Sir Reynold. The treatment I have received has been very respectful and generous. But I am not here as the prince of the kingdom. I am here as just a humble applicant aiming to enter the tower, the same as everyone else. You do not have to give me preferential treatment."
"I see… That is very honorable, Prince Alexander. Well, please step up to the platform and begin the affinity test. Although you most likely already understand the technicalities behind the test, I will explain for the entire group. The different colors indicate a corresponding element. Red is fire, blue is water, green is nature, yellow is earth, purple is lightning, gray is wind, white is light, and black is shadow."
Alexander approached the first orb and placed his hands on it. The orb illuminated brightly with a scarlet glow, indicating a high level of fire elemental affinity. As he continued to test each orb, they bloomed with incandescent lights of various intensities. The last orb, however, did not glow. The black orb released a tiny bit of black smoke. The results were: high affinity to fire, earth, and light elements, medium affinity to lightning, and low affinity to water, nature, wind, and shadow.
"Congratulations, Prince Alexander. Three high affinities are quite a grand result. It is very unlikely for anyone to surpass this result in this period of recruitment. For the others, I will briefly explain: the tower will accept anyone with at least a single high affinity as an internal apprentice, who is nurtured to become a higher realm cultivator, potentially a hall leader or elder. For those who do not have any high affinities and only have medium affinities, they will be accepted as an external apprentice. They will have access to the same resources and opportunities as the internal apprentices, after mustering enough merit, of course. Finally, anyone with only low affinities or no affinity will not be accepted to this tower, unfortunately. Bear in mind, we are the Arcane Tower of Argent Flame. We specialize in the fire and metal elements, with metal being a sub-element under earth. We will take this into consideration and may make some exceptions." The proctor explained the entire recruitment process, along with the success criteria.
The eight examiners all applauded Alexander for his success and welcomed him to the tower. Following the impressive showing of Alexander, the children grew impatient and rushed to be the next one to be tested. They formed a long line, with Raina, Damon, and Jon situated near the end of the line, in that order. It did not take long for each candidate to complete the testing process, with each examiner evaluating the level of affinity for their specific orb.
Most of the children passed, albeit only half successfully, and joined the outer tower as an external apprentice. A very select few either succeeded in joining the inner tower, with a single high affinity. This was because the potential of a child could be roughly estimated using an essence stone. Thus, only those with potential were brought to be assessed. Several were still unsuccessful and did not manage to join at all. These disheartened children were told to wait near the entrance they had entered from at the opposite end of the courtyard.
Suddenly, there was a hubbub of activity and exclamations of surprise at the front of the line. On the platform stood a small, adorable-looking boy, barely 10 years old. He was very short and skinny, with pale skin and large, round eyes. He was wide-eyed in shock, unable to comprehend why the examiner in front of him had shouted so abruptly. He had just been doing what his mother had told him to do: place both his hands on the orb. The orb in front of him had not even lit up in a bright light; the color had instead almost disappeared. It had become so subdued that the original color of the orb could barely be seen, turning transparent as though purified.
"This! This boy! He has a perfect affinity to the light element! This reaction, I have never personally seen before, but it resembles the description in The Artifacts Registry, completely! There is no way I am mistaken. Lord Adepts, please bestow your judgment!"
A set of doors on the right side of the courtyard swung open, and three figures emerged. The one at the front was a young man, looking to be only around 20 years old. He had long red hair, cascading down his back, and wore a set of extravagant, red silken robes. Following him was a shriveled old man, walking unsteadily with a cane, wearing a coarse gray robe. At the back was an elegant middle-aged woman with bundled-up black hair, brown eyes, and simple yet unblemished features, and she moved with the grace of a swan.
These three new figures were Circuit Completion Adepts of the Tower, who had been observing the assessment proceedings through an arcane spell in their own private room nearby. They had only emerged at the sight of the results displayed by the small child. They remained at the far right side of the room, far enough that their conversations remained muffled and indistinct unless they substantially raised the volume of their voices.
"This boy. He is mine," the young man declared.
"That is not fair, Senior Brother Gabriel. You have already decided on the Prince, and now you also want this boy? You need to share some talents with us! I have yet to take in a single direct apprentice since reaching the Circuit Completion realm." The young woman looked elegant, but acted coquettishly; she twirled at a loose strand of hair as she cast a playful, flirtatious glance at the young man.
"The Prince will study under me due to an agreement I have with the King of Mugthorne. Therefore, I will choose this boy as a direct apprentice from this batch of recruits. Afterwards, I will allow the two of you to have your pick of the litter." The young man held his ground and did not budge.
"Fine, fine! You win! But you owe me one now. You must listen to a wish of mine." The young woman gave in with a smile.
"Senior Brother, Junior Sister, I have yet to state my case…" The old man began to speak, but he was interrupted by the young woman.
"Senior Brother Lorenzo, let us first see if there are any hidden talents among the rabble today before presenting any arguments."
"Fine, I conceded. Your tongue is too smooth, and you always get your way, Junior Sister Evelyn. I am truly envious." Lorenzo rolled his eyes in response.
The room had stilled when the three cultivators walked in. The pressure emanating from the three, particularly the young man at the lead, was stifling to the Node Awakening examiners, let alone the many mortal children. Some of the children had even fainted due to their inability to resist the strain. The proctor, a Channel Weaving Disciple, and Damon, a mental cultivator, were the only ones largely unaffected. The quick-witted Damon fell back alongside the other children, as he did not want to overtly stand out, and managed to go unnoticed.
Noticing the atmosphere within the courtyard, the young man waved his hand, causing the pressure to disappear. As the area became filled with gasps and heavy breathing, the Adept named Gabriel indicated to the boy on the platform and called out.
"Boy, come here and stand before me. What is your name? Where are you from?"
The petrified boy wobbled over to the young man, eyes brimming with tears.
"G… Greetings… M'lord… I… I am… Edwin… Edwin Patterson…" the boy mumbled. "I… I was born… In this city… My parents… Run… A food stall…"
"A food stall? Hahahahaha! Fate can be kind sometimes. If you had been born to peasants in a rural town or village, such talent would have never seen the light of day! You were born to be a cultivator!" Gabriel laughed boisterously. He then turned to Alexander and called out.
"Alexander, come and stand over here behind me as well."
"Yes, Sir Gabriel," Alexander replied respectfully.
Seeing the commotion come to an end, the proctor perceptively resumed the testing, calling forth the next child in line. Several children went forth, but failed to gain any notice as they were remarkably mediocre. Soon, it was Raina's turn. She nervously approached the fiery red orb. The clever girl had realized that this was an incredible opportunity. If she managed to catch the eye of one of the three Adepts watching, she would have no concerns for her future cultivation and required resources. With her mind occupied by these thoughts, she placed both her hands on the orb.
Hummmmm~!
The orb illuminated in a radiance so dazzling, one could almost hear the sound of light. The orb originally shone with a bright crimson light, but soon changed into a mixture of azure and white.
"I can't believe we found another hidden gem in the same group! That coloration can only mean a variant fire affinity. It must be a combination of the fire and ice elements! This will result in a frost fire, producing a flame that burns cold! Quick, see if she resonates with the water orb as well!" the young woman yelled out.
The stunned Raina quickly grabbed the second orb, which produced a deep blue light, before also converting into the same pale azure color.
"The other affinities do not matter; I will take her as my first direct apprentice. Senior Brothers, neither of you has any complaints, right?" The young woman was palpably excited about taking Raina in under her wing.
"None at all, Evelyn. As I promised earlier, you may choose any recruit as your apprentice."
"I do not have much to do with either fire or ice elements, so there is no issue on my side."
"Great! Girl, come stand before me. You are a very pretty one. Good. Good! We must have been destined to meet, as I also have a variant flame affinity. Although it is not mixed with the water element. Instead, it is mixed with nature. I will be able to easily guide you through a large portion of your cultivation path."
The stunned Raina quickly went over to the side where the Adepts, Prince Alexander and the young boy were standing.
"Greetings, Master. I am Raina Murlox. I am indescribably honored to serve you as my Master."
"Raina, is it? Good, I am growing more fond of you by the minute," Evelyn said with a large smile.
The proctor waited until the Adepts had finished speaking amongst themselves at the end of the hall before calling for the next child. Damon's turn had finally arrived.