Chapter 157: New Generation of Prodigies

The first to step forward was a boy from one of the noble families, the son of Baron Wintermoor. He walked up to the crystal with his chin raised and placed his hand on its surface without the slightest hesitation.

The formation beneath him lit up at once, glowing a deep crimson.

A Warrior Core.

Light rose inside the pillar, dull grey at first, then turning green as it passed the second tier, then blue, then a deep indigo as it climbed higher still... before it finally came to rest at the fifth tier, glowing orange. A faint breeze stirred around the boy, tugging at his clothes, and a moment later, the light drew back into the heart of the crystal and formed a small sigil, glowing blue.

An A-Rank Warrior Core, a C-Rank talent, and a wind affinity.

Along with the core, a person’s innate affinities were unlocked as well. The more intense the element that gathered around them, the stronger their affinity with it... though its exact grade could only be determined through a proper examination later.

The baron’s family broke into relieved smiles, and the boy returned to them with his chest held a little higher than before. A few nobles exchanged satisfied glances, while others barely reacted, having expected similar results from their own children. Among the commoners, however, the boy’s awakening drew considerable attention. Some parents looked at him with envy, while others quietly encouraged their own children, hoping they might achieve something similar. The official noted down the talent he had awakened in his ledger and called the next name.

One after another, the candidates stepped forward.

The nobles’ children rarely left disappointed. Nearly every one of them awakened both a core and a talent, and their families received the results with quiet pride, as though it had been expected all along.

For the commoners, it was a different story.

A girl from a small village placed her trembling hand on the crystal, and the formation glowed a deep blue. The light climbed, flickering grey... then green... and stopped. A D-Rank Mage Core. No sigil appeared, and no element stirred around her. Yet when she turned around, her parents were smiling through their tears, and her mother pulled her into her arms the moment she stepped down. For a family like theirs, even a D-Rank Mage Core meant their daughter might one day have a future beyond the fields. A few people around them even congratulated her parents, who struggled to contain their happiness, while nearby, another mother tightened her grip on her son’s hand and whispered words of encouragement.

The boy who came after her wasn’t as fortunate.

He pressed his hand against the crystal and waited. A second passed. Then another. The formation beneath him remained dark, and the crystal stayed completely still. The official waited a moment longer, then quietly marked his ledger.

The boy didn’t move. Somewhere behind Ethan, a woman let out a soft sob and covered her mouth. The boy’s father stepped forward, gently put a hand on his son’s shoulder, and led him away without a word. The next name was called only moments later, yet the look on the boy’s face lingered with those who had witnessed it. A few parents exchanged worried glances, and some of the children waiting in line lowered their heads, suddenly unsure of their own chances. For those who had travelled for days or even weeks to reach Northwatch, returning home with nothing was a frightening thought.

Ethan watched them disappear into the crowd. In his previous life, he didn’t pay much attention to such things as he was taught early on that most people remain unawakened. Now, standing among them, he could feel how much a single moment in front of that crystal could change a person’s entire life.

Hours passed as one candidate after another stepped forward. Dozens awakened Warrior Cores with different affinities, while a smaller number awakened Mage Cores. Yet the highest any of them reached was A-Rank. Yet despite the occasional impressive result, most of those who came forward left without awakening anything. As the ceremony went on, the excitement in the hall gradually gave way to nervous anticipation. Some families celebrated, while others quietly left after receiving results they hadn’t hoped for, and whispers spread whenever someone awakened an unusually high-ranked core or talent.

Then the official read out another name.

"Sepharina Ashwood."

Sepharina flinched. For a moment, she didn’t move at all. Then Anna gave her a small push, and she stepped forward.

The short walk to the formation seemed to stretch on endlessly. Sepharina could feel thousands of eyes following her, and her heart was pounding so loudly that she could barely hear anything else. What if she failed to awaken anything again...? The thought made her fingers tremble. She glanced back at her family one last time, then at Ethan. His faint smile gave her just enough reassurance to take the final step.

She stopped in front of the crystal and raised her hand.

Please...

She pressed her palm against its cold surface.

The formation beneath her lit up, glowing a deep blue.

A Mage Core.

Before Sepharina could even react, light surged up the pillar... grey, then green, then blue, indigo, orange... climbing higher than anyone before her that day, until it finally came to rest at the sixth tier, burning a brilliant gold.

An S-Rank Mage Core.

A murmur swept across the hall. Yet Sepharina barely heard it, because in that same instant, warmth bloomed around her. Small flames rose from the air itself and circled around her in a gentle ring, flickering softly without burning anything they touched. It didn’t frighten her. If anything, it felt strangely familiar, as though the fire had always been waiting for her to notice it.

Then the light drew back into the heart of the crystal and formed a sigil, glowing silver-white.

An SS-Rank talent.

At the same moment, something awakened within her. A name surfaced in her mind, as though she had always known it...

Nature Verdant Alchemy.

Along with the name came a sensation she couldn’t put into words. She could almost smell the herbs she had gathered since childhood, yet there was something more to it now. She could sense the life within every leaf and root, as though the natural world had suddenly become something she could understand in a way she never had before. Her eyes widened. Without even realising it, she let out a shaky breath.

The official leaned closer to the formation, read the script that had formed before her, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face before he quietly noted it down.

For a brief moment, the hall seemed unable to comprehend what had just happened. Then the murmurs erupted into an uproar.

"An SS-Rank talent?!"

"And an S-Rank Mage Core as well?"

"Who is that girl? I’ve never even heard of the Ashwood family!"

High up in the gallery, Marcus, Elena, and Evelyn were visibly surprised. Until then, most of the results had fallen within their expectations, and none had particularly caught their attention. Sepharina’s awakening, however, was different. An S-Rank Mage Core paired with an SS-Rank talent was an exceptional result. Unlike the rest of the crowd, apart from the core rank, they could also clearly read the rare talent awakened due to their keen perception. Even though Elena had expected a good result, she hadn’t anticipated a talent so rarely seen in the North. Aisha glanced at Elena and noticed a sharp spark of interest appear in her eyes.

"An S-Rank Mage Core and an SS-Rank talent..." Evelyn murmured, leaning slightly forward. "Isn’t she one of the sisters Lady Elena mentioned earlier?"

Marcus didn’t take his eyes off the formation. "Let’s watch the next one," he said quietly.

When Sepharina finally turned around, her eyes found her family in the crowd. Elene had both hands pressed over her mouth, tears streaming down her face, and William looked as though he was about to collapse on the spot. Anna was smiling at her... yet Ethan could see her hands trembling at her sides.

"I-I really awakened..." Sepharina whispered, her voice breaking as she returned to her family.

Elene pulled her into a tight embrace without a single word. Ethan only smiled.

The people around them began congratulating her, as though another prodigy was about to rise in the North. A few of the older nobles quietly began discussing the Ashwood family, while some of the younger candidates watched Sepharina with newfound respect... and others couldn’t hide their envy.

After a minute, once the noise had died down, the official called the next name.

"Anna Ashwood."

Anna’s breath caught.

For a moment, she simply stood there. Her mother squeezed her hand one last time, and Sepharina whispered something to her that no one else could hear. Ethan gave her a small nod.

Then Anna stepped forward.

Each step towards the formation felt heavier than the last. She had walked a path just like this twice before, and both times, the crystal had remained dark beneath her touch. She remembered the pitying glances that followed, and the way her father had smiled and told her it didn’t matter, even when she could see the disappointment he tried so hard to hide. She remembered the nights afterwards, lying awake, wondering what was wrong with her.

This is my last chance...

She silently prayed that this time would be different. She wanted to awaken something, not just for herself, but so that she could stand beside her sister and one day repay Ethan for everything he had done for their family.

She stopped in front of the crystal. Her hand hovered in front of it for a long moment, as though she were afraid to touch it at all. Then she closed her eyes, made up her mind, and placed her palm against its surface.

For one terrible moment, the crystal remained silent.

Then the formation beneath her blazed to life, its deep blue radiance spreading across the carved runes.

Anna’s eyes flew open.

Light surged up the pillar, climbing faster than it had for anyone else that day. Grey. Green. Blue. Indigo. Orange. Gold... yet it didn’t stop there. It passed the sixth tier without slowing in the slightest, and only came to rest at the seventh, burning a brilliant silver-white.

An SS-Rank Mage Core.

A wave of murmurs swept through the hall. Yet before anyone could make sense of the result, heat rolled outward from the formation. Flames erupted around Anna, far more intense than the gentle fire that had surrounded her sister. And woven through them came something else entirely... countless metallic fragments shimmering within the flames, their cold, silvery surfaces catching the light as they revolved around her, ringing faintly in the air.

Two affinities.

Anna stared at them, unable to breathe. The fire didn’t burn her. The metal didn’t cut her. Both of them simply circled around her, as though they had finally found where they belonged.

Then the light drew back into the heart of the crystal, gathered... and formed a sigil.

It burned crimson-gold.

An SSS-Rank talent.

In that same instant, something awakened deep within her, and two words surfaced in her mind as clearly as if someone had spoken them aloud.

Runic Artificer.

Along with the name came an unfamiliar sensation. The runes she had only ever admired from afar, carved into stone and metal, suddenly seemed far less mysterious. Their patterns and structures felt as though they were just beyond her reach... waiting for her to understand them.

Anna’s knees nearly gave way.

Even Ethan found himself staring at the sigil. He had expected something good from Anna... but he certainly hadn’t expected it to be even rarer than her sister’s. A genuine smile slowly spread across his face.

Up on the gallery, Evelyn slowly straightened, her eyes fixed on the blazing crimson-gold sigil, while Marcus said nothing at all, his expression turning sharp and solemn. Further along the gallery, Elena and Aisha had both risen to their feet, and even Sarah stood frozen, one hand still resting on Amelia’s shoulder. Apart from Sarah herself, no one in the North had awakened an SSS-Rank talent in the past few years... and this one was among the rarest talents of all. The official standing beside the formation stared at the script before Anna for a long moment, his mouth falling open, before he remembered to write anything down.

And for the first time since the ceremony had begun, the entire hall fell completely silent.