Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 303: Assessing New Students

“First, we’ll be assessing the novices. So please, adepts, wait until all novices have been tested,” Hurman declared as he and Mertin took the lead for their portion of the gathering. “Order is voluntary, so–”

“ME FIRST!!!”

Hurman was grinning from ear to ear before he could even be interrupted. Just as he expected, one young novice was dragging his friend as they climbed the steps. “Alright... Please, announce yourself.”

“I’m Pauller Practor, and I’ll be a perennial cultivator!” Without a hint of subtlety and self-awareness, Pauller declared his ambition to the world.

“And who’s this?” Mertin asked, also smiling.

Swallowing his nerves, the younger novice came forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with the slightly taller Pauller. “M-my name is Milo Practor!”

“Since you stepped up before I could demonstrate, you’ll be the example, Pauller,” Hurman stated, noticing Pauller’s smile get wider and his enthusiasm boil over. “Simply put your hand on the large crystal and focus your essence onto your palm. The crystal will naturally draw in your essence and present the quality of your affinity to everyone here.”

.....

“Of COURSE!!”

Eager and excited, Pauller didn’t know how to go slow. He speedily marched up to the magicite crystal and placed his hand on the large piece of ore. Yellow essence gathered and rushed into the crystal, putting smiles on everyone’s faces to match Pauller’s.

Mertin shouted out the result, “Peak earth affinity! Congratulations, you’ll be placed in the advanced course.”

“YES!!!”

“Now go on, Milo. It’s your turn,” Mertin encouraged his barely ascended son forward.

Milo was a little nervous but he followed long all the same. Having Pauller go first was quite helpful for him. He did exactly as Pauller did, showing some inexperience as it took longer for his essence to gather. But the result wasn’t much different from Pauller’s, almost getting Mertin’s eyes to water up.

“Peak water affinity!”

“Is that good?” Milo asked softly.

Nodding, Mertin replied with a softer voice to match his son, “That’s great! It’s better than what I had at your age.”

“Really?!” Amazed, Milo’s nerves vanished as his mind was blown.

“Now, please, we must be moving on,” Hurman stated, politely shooing his grandsons off the platform. “Though the course is new, we have plenty of students to assess.”

Pauller nodded and pulled Milo off the platform without another word, but that was only because they rushed away before Pauller could congratulate himself with a personal shout. Then, Pauller blinked and turned around. As the first to be assessed, he was the first human to join the beasts on the other side of the arena floor, where those that had been tested were to gather. But for the moment, they were the only humans standing before dozens and dozens of beast students. And most beasts only stared at them, which only confused the young boys more.

“Congrats!” A sudden cheer from the side caught their attention. And before they could realize, a large stallion had charged them, grinding to a halt just before their faces. “I’m Yeter, and I have peak Earth essence too! But I’ve become an adept!”

“Shut up, idiot. Do you want to scare them from the get-go?” A joking voice called out from behind Yeter. At the same time, a long, feline tail swatted the back of Yeter’s neck. The next moment, a large cat caught the boys off guard as he humbly bowed his head. “Welcome to Iron Academy. Don’t worry, none of us bite. Well, Yeter might if you scare badly enough–”

“Hey! Don’t say that you house cat!” Yeter shouted.

“Oh, so now you’re stealing Master Rathe’s banter too?”

“Don’t listen to Karos! I just wanted to say hi!”

Pauller couldn’t help but laugh while hearing the stallion and lynx banter as if they were brothers. Milo chuckled a little but still held onto some of his nervousness.

Sighing, Karos noted Milo’s demeanor and laid down to let the young boy look down at him. “Remember, in Iron Territory, we’re all equal. The only difference is strength, so be sure to get stronger. Now, if you’ll excuse me...” Getting up, Karos again swatted Yeter, this time across the face. “We should get going so there’s room for the others. Come on, Yeter.”

“I’m Pauller! It’s nice to meet you, Yeter!”

Lifting his head in pride, Yeter looked down at the lynx, “See, I–”

“And thank you too, Karos. We’ll remember that.”

“What were you going to say? Something like, ‘See, I got thanked and not you’?”

“Shut up!” Yeter shouted, shoulder-checking Karos in exchange for the slaps from earlier.

As more and more students were tested, they quickly finished assessing the novices, the smaller of the two groups. Now, it was time for the larger, more anticipated group.

“Adepts, it’s first come first serve!” Nixt laughed as he swapped places with Hurman. “Any takers?”

“I’ll go.”

“Oh, the Practors are representing themselves well,” chuckled Nixt, stepping aside for the student to approach the large piece of magicite ore.

Leon firmly placed his hand against the crystal. He wasn’t relaxed nor tense. He was somewhere in between, eager and anxious to know the undeniable grade of his affinity.

“Mid earth affinity and mid water affinity! Congrats, you’ll be with me!” Jonon cheered, patting his nephew on the back.

But Leon sighed, dissatisfied. He already knew what was to come in his heart from the guesses his grandfather and family had made, but hearing the flat-out truth extinguished the little hope he had. However, Leon didn’t let it keep him down. “Thank you, Master Jonon, Master Nixt.”

As Leon stepped down, Johan felt the need to come forward. He also didn’t seem too excited but it wasn’t disappointment or dissatisfaction that covered his face while activating his essence.

“High earth and water essence! You’re mine, kid, so be ready for some tough hands-on lessons!” Nixt cheered, getting a laugh from some of the people in the stands.

Johan sighed. “Thank you, Master Nixt. Master Jonon, you as well...”