The Novel's Sidekick

Q: Difference between Spirit affinity and spirit purity?

A: The former shows the potential of a practitioner, while the latter shows class.

- - -

The sorting continued, and in that time, Elinor managed to calm herself down, breathing in and out.

"Elinor, why do you want to join the academy?" I asked in an attempt to make small talk.

She was startled to hear my voice again, as her entire focus was on the sorting. I had not turned around to look at her, but from the corner of my eyes; I saw her staring at me with a look, wondering what I was doing here. To her knowledge, I was already a pupil of the academy, not a good one. Nevertheless, I should not have to take the test.

"How old are you?" she asked me instead. Her eyes were narrowed, and she was tiptoeing behind me as if trying to find out how tall she was. Not particularly tall. She did not even reach my shoulder while standing on her toes, now gawking at me depressingly.

I was about to answer twenty-four, but stopped midway. I was twenty-four, but this body was not. Then again, I have no obligation to answer either. "Don't worry, you will get there," I said

"Why are you taking the test?" she asked me again.

"I am not sure," I answered.

"Maybe that is why you will fail," Elior muttered in an inaudible voice, though I still pierced my ears in a painful way.

I snorted and watched the sorting. There were a couple stood before me, and soon, my turn came, as the lady in charge of the admission gave me her sweet smile. It was she who tried to convert Scar to the magic department, knowing he had a high spirit affinity. But more importantly, she was Scar's aunt, Rosalyn Earther.

"You finally had some sense and chose to transfer to the magic department," the lady leading the magic department said. "Get in then, I will not make things easy for you since you have chosen it yourself."

I sucked in a deep breath and walked inside the building. Elinor was just behind me, ignoring others' scornful, jealous gazes. If they knew the rumours about the infamous Oscar Emberheart, perhaps then they would not be so jealous.

The hall was similar to any proper hall of the academy. The walls were plastered in white with distinctive artistic features, glossy with the natural light, while the polished marble on the floor reflected the light. A row of portraits hung on the walls. Some held older generations of the academy, while in some were rare spirit beasts to mythical creatures. A tall, majestic reindeer held the portrait just beside me with the snowy, whitish background. In one glance, I made out it was the Winterheart Reindeer.

But the one that held all the participants' attention was the huge frame, displaying the might of a supreme dragon, scaled in azure and gold, soaring in a high storm. Is this Roshear, the Tempest? Well, who else would it other than one of the twelve heroes?

In the room, about seven-eighths were girls, as most girls had a high affinity for the spirit arts. It is how they genetically are. Boys are good at brawling, while girls have weaker bodies, so to replace the hindrance, they have better spirit affinity than boys, though there was no lack of exceptions in this world.

Many boys are still born with high spirit affinity, and some girls work hard to diminish the gap in their physical strength. There were even a few who trained in both or something else.

"You are switching from the Knight department to the Magic department?" Elinor asked, her eyes glinting at me.

"No," I answered, "I just have too much free time at hand, so I decided to waste it all to learn the hardest thing the realm has to offer."

"A worthy goal," Elinor joked, picking up my sarcasm, "but the rumours say you are not that bright."

I cocked my head at her, showing some of my good white teeth. "The rumours also say I am an arrogant prick, who likes to get drunk and harass young women."

This time my voice did not have any tone of sarcasm and hearing it out Elior actually withdrew half step. I could not help but chuckle.

This lass is not really a peasant; she's too intelligent for that. Perhaps a commoner, and had education and relatively good upbringing—I concluded, as she presented herself. Yes, she was curious like many here in the hall, but in the gleam of her eyes hid the confidence many lacked in the room. Today she was not in that rag I saw the other day, but a new dress, though it got ruined with the little stunt. Also, she does have some guts, even for a teenager. Not many would call a prince not bright in the head, even in their jokes. Elinor actually read my sarcasm and concluded that I would not mind jokes about such things. Really, who is this kid?

Rosalyn came before everyone and beside her were a few tables holding crystal orbs as big as a human head, as well as the other staff. These football-sized orbs were the spirit and element affinity checker. This was the first test of admission. They will sort the students again and choose fifty or so people to take the next test.

"Reform the lines please!" Rosalyn said. "On this first test, your spirit and element will be tested and only fifty of you will go to the next round."

Most of the faces who came to pass the entrance test darkened the very moment they heard that. There were over five hundred people here and only fifty will get to take the next test. Then what would be the number that would be accepted? I knew the answer, and it was no more than five, even if there were many talented people. The number of seats for students was limited and there were barely enough professors to teach.

"Those that will fail can take the other auxiliary department's admission test. But here I would like to conclude the test with no commotion. Please begin, the instructor will help you check your spirit affinity."

I again took a spot at the end of the line with the thin girl still behind me. The test started, and it took only a dozen or so seconds for each person. Most people were sent away after their disappointing results, while a few dozens remained for the next test. They passed the test, though not in flying colours.

"So we have to touch the orb and it will check our talent?" Elinor asked me. "What is the other instructor doing there?"

I did not answer her questions and stood there waiting until she pulled on my shirt. I looked at her from the corner of my eyes and gave a cold stare. Let's see what she does now. Would she apologise, thinking I took her joke as an insult? Or see through it?

Elinor flinched a little, though she got back to normal immediately.

"I'm talking to you!" she said.

"But I am not," I replied.

"Why did you help me get in?" she asked again and did not stop pulling on my shirt.

Did this kid not know about Scar's infamous rumours? or does not believe it? That was probably it. Or how else could she have the audacity to annoy me like that? Perhaps my friendly behaviour gave her that vibe.

In the end, I decided to give her an answer as she would not stop and I could not yell at her here. "I helped you because I was curious about you," I said.

"That’s an odd reason," she said. "So do nobles like you do this kind of charity on whims?"

"You don't seem to be the type to appreciate my charity," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"That is not true," Elinor said firmly. "I am so grateful that you can't imagine. It had been a rough few months since anyone helped me without ulterior motives. It had been so tough that I forgot to talk freely, and you helped me on three occasions for no reason with such friendly behaviours . . . I can't thank you enough for that. So please excuse me if any of my comments make you feel displeased."

My eyes widened at her words. This girl is quite a manipulator for her age. Though she did apologise, she present herself so that if I give her cold shoulder now, it would make me feel and look bad. Moreover, the awkwardness she presented in the middle made it even harder. I did not know if it was natural or she played it to her advantage. Really, who is this kid?

Since Elinor performed so well, I accepted her apology, nodding slowly.

She let out a whimper of relief, perhaps to let me know she was nervous. You can't really get away with anything from the presence of nobles.

___

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