Chapter 70: The Riki Affinity Test

Veyron suddenly threw his head back and let out a loud, booming belly laugh.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Rexi flinched at the sudden outburst and looked at Alexis.

"...What’s wrong with him?"

Alexis awkwardly watched Veyron laugh.

"I... I think he’s really excited too."

Veyron finally stopped laughing, wiping the corner of his eye with one hand as a huge grin spread across his face.

"Wonderful!"

He looked at Arthur with excitement.

"Absolutely spectacular!"

Arthur blinked.

Veyron stepped forward and placed a firm hand on Arthur’s shoulder.

"Kid, you’re going to go down in the history of the Empire."

His grin widened.

"And I will most certainly make sure you do."

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly at Veyron’s declaration.

"That’s quite the bold claim, Instructor. Are you absolutely certain you can back it up?"

Veyron laughed again, though this time it was shorter and more controlled.

"Of course! Do you have any idea what you’ve just shown me?"

He gestured toward Arthur’s chest.

"Transcendent potential. A breakthrough to the Second Realm within minutes..."

Veyron shook his head in disbelief.

"...You’re going to advance at a rate most cultivators couldn’t even dream of."

Rexi folded his arms.

"Okay, but what does that actually mean for him?"

Veyron glanced at him.

"It means that if Arthur survives long enough to fully develop his potential, he could reach heights that most Riki Handlers would spend their entire lives trying to approach."

Alexis’s expression became serious.

"So he could actually become one of the strongest Riki Handlers in the Empire?"

Veyron smiled.

"Could?"

He looked back at Arthur.

"With that potential? The question isn’t whether he can become powerful."

His grin returned.

"The question is when."

Arthur felt a strange warmth in his chest.

He already knew his cultivation potential was amazing. He was an experienced player, so the knowledge wasn’t particularly surprising.

But hearing it from someone who actually understood Riki cultivation made it feel different.

That feeling was like when you got a new gaming setup and you showed it off to your bros in the group chat, and they began absolutely geeking out over it.

The feeling was very similar.

Veyron suddenly gave Arthur’s shoulder a firm pat.

"Which means you have even more reason to take this seriously."

Arthur nodded.

"I will."

"Good."

Veyron released him and turned toward the other two cadets.

"And you two."

Rexi straightened immediately.

"Yes, sir?"

Alexis also stood a little straighter.

Veyron pointed toward Arthur.

"You just witnessed something that most Riki Handlers could go their entire lives without seeing."

He folded his arms.

"So don’t waste the opportunity."

Rexi glanced at Arthur.

"You mean we should learn from him?"

"Exactly."

Rexi scratched his cheek.

"...Even though he’s been cultivating for, what, five minutes?"

Veyron stared at him.

"Yes."

Rexi sighed.

"Great. So we’re supposed to learn from the guy who skipped the part where you’re actually supposed to struggle."

Arthur’s lips twitched.

Rexi pointed at him.

"Don’t look at me like that. I’m serious. I’ve been standing here trying to get this energy to move properly, and you practically speedran an entire cultivation realm while I was still figuring out where my own energy was."

Arthur couldn’t help but chuckle.

Rexi noticed and pointed at him.

"Don’t laugh! This is humiliating."

Arthur raised both hands.

"I didn’t say anything."

"You didn’t have to."

Alexis shook his head with a small smile.

"You’re taking this surprisingly well."

Arthur looked at him.

"What am I supposed to do?"

Rexi immediately answered.

"I didn’t know. Maybe stop looking so damn pleased with yourself?"

Arthur paused.

Then smiled.

"No."

Rexi groaned.

"See?!"

Veyron laughed again.

"HAHA! Good! Keep that confidence, Arthur!"

He pointed at him.

"But remember something."

Arthur’s expression became more attentive.

"Talent can open the door."

Veyron’s smile faded into something more serious.

"But only discipline will keep you walking through it."

Arthur nodded.

"Understood."

Veyron gave him an approving look.

"Good."

He turned toward the rest of the training hall.

"Now, all of you, get back to cultivating."

Rexi blinked.

"Already?"

Veyron looked at him.

"What did you think this was? An opportunity to slack off?"

Rexi glanced toward Arthur.

"Honestly..."

He sighed.

"After watching that, I thought maybe we were allowed to take a break."

Veyron’s mechanical eyes narrowed.

"Do you want me to bash your faces in again today?"

Rexi winced at the memory.

"...No, sir."

"Then sit down."

Rexi quickly crossed his legs and sat on the floor.

Alexis followed shortly afterward.

Veyron waited until all three cadets had settled down before speaking again.

"Now that you’ve all managed to sense and circulate Riki, the most important thing is figuring out which type you’re naturally most suited to using."

Veyron raised one finger.

"First, try to command your Riki to successfully perform one of these tasks within your own mind."

He raised a second finger.

"Try remembering something distant. A memory from years ago. Something you haven’t thought about in a long time. Don’t simply recall it normally. Use the Riki and try to make the memory clearer."

He raised a third finger.

"Then try heightening your senses. Your sight. Your hearing. Your sense of touch. Try to perceive things that you normally wouldn’t notice."

A fourth finger followed.

"After that, try to make sense of something you previously couldn’t understand. It could be a complicated concept, a difficult problem, or even something you’ve struggled to comprehend before. Don’t simply think harder. Try to use the Riki to assist your mind."

Veyron lowered his hand.

"And finally, try manually controlling a part of your body that you wouldn’t normally have direct control over."

Rexi’s eyebrows rose.

"Like what?"

"Anything you can find," Veyron answered. "The important thing is that you attempt to consciously control it with your Riki."

He looked at all three of them.

"I’m sure I don’t need to point it out, but this test will help you find out which Riki type is your strong suit."

Arthur nodded.

"Understood."

"Good. Don’t worry about succeeding at every test. Just pay attention to which one your Riki responds to most naturally."

The three cadets closed their eyes.

Arthur took a slow breath.

All right.

He began with his memories.