Chương 4

Victoria walked him to the dais. Then she tapped a blank index-card-sized sheet of silver to one of the Awakening stones he'd used. The silver sheet flashed white for an instant, then settled to its original color.

"Here," she said, handing it to him.

"Take this." With that, she walked back to the desktop. He was left to scrutinize the card.

"What exactly is it?" he finally said. While she'd opened up significantly since she discovered he was an Outworlder, which he appreciated, she still seemed a woman of few words. Which might've been fine from her perspective, but there were a few instances he would've liked a little more context.

"A talent card," she said. She tapped a button, and the machine in front of him lit up with striking blue lines. She paused, looked over—saw him considering a blank card, and seemed amused at the sight.

"You have to will the words to appear first," she clarified.

"It's keyed to your soul." She started tapping again, and parts of the machine began shifting internally.

"It's a security measure." He felt slightly silly, and then decided he didn't actually. Since it would've been rather impossible to know. He did as she said, assuming that this 'willing' wasn't unlike what he'd done with the Awakening stone. Specifically—he formed a clear intent in his mind and extended it to the card. Letters etched themselves into the steel in pale blue light. Talent — Cultivation Cultivation Talent is ranked on a scale of 'F to S'.

Cultivation Talent indicates the speed at which you can take in essence from essence stones. It is distinct, but related, to Leveling talent. Just below the letters, there was an empty square. When your talent is read by the testing machine, the result will be printed in this space. The result is only visible to the holder of the key. It felt safe to assume the card would interface with the machine currently whirring to life in front of him. F to S?

He'd just taken possibly too much terminology straight to the face, but he was still mildly amused this was the official talent grading scale. As for the talent itself, the logic seemed straightforward—the faster you could take in essence, the faster you could 'actualize' that essence into Levels. The second half of the sheet was laid out with words on the left, with a second empty square beside it. Talent — Affinities Affinities talent indicates your compatibility with a type of mana.

It is typical for starter Professions to require 'fair' or 'high' affinities, at minimum. Starter Classes typically have less strict requirements. Affinities are ranked— —Slight —Fair —High —Very high —Exceptional When your talent is read by the testing machine, the result will be printed in this space. The result is only visible to the holder of the key. Slash affinities—ie, 'slight/fair'— indicate borderline affinities. With time and practice, a slash affinity will likely rank up.

As for what kinds of affinities there were—his next question—he asked, and was directed to search it up—"It's faster this way." The quick answer seemed to be, there were a lot. There were the types he suspected, the elements like earth, fire, water, air, etc. There was also 'composites,' like 'storm,' and 'specialties,' like the 'crystal' affinity. Even somewhat abstract affinities, like 'time' and 'force.'

It also seemed typical to awaken five to six affinities, which typically all fell in the slight-to-fair range.

'High' was top 10%, while 'Very High,' was less than 1%; 'Exceptional,' which that other Outworlder had Awakened, seemed incredibly rare. This he could all grasp just fine. His expectations were still kind of blank—not unlike he'd felt all of the past… he checked— 3: 39pm. Has it really been just three hours? If time flies when you're having fun, I suppose the opposite's also true. Actually—wasn't he?

He was quite confused, true, and the way his introduction to this world had unfolded wasn't ideal, but he couldn't say he wasn't intrigued. There still seemed to be a little mental distance between him and actual excitement. He wasn't sure why he felt this serene. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Maybe it is the talent aspect. Like there was an aspect of him that was bracing. Like—it's slightly… too good to be true, maybe? That instantly felt right.

I guess at some level I still just don't believe it. He believed he was here by now—in a new world. There wasn't some distinct point in time it'd all 'clicked,' but by now he believed it mentally, and he was pretty sure he believed it emotionally, too. He was at least slightly past the shock. Every aspect of this new world he learned about, felt fascinating —the mechanics, the magic… If this was all exactly as it seemed—he kept circling back to that phrase. It just feels too perfect.

If it wasn't, his future would take a 90-degree right turn. It seems the kind of thing that might happen to Bella. He smiled, slightly amused. Of the two of them, his sister was always the conventionally 'talented' one. It wasn't a fact he was at all hung up on, it was simply a fact. She seemed to excel at practically anything she tried. She was currently on a gap semester from a PhD at MIT, exploring the antarctic. Which reminds me, actually, I should text her. Her connection was spotty, given—antarctic.

But she received signal every now and again, sometimes strong enough to FaceTime. It was pretty amusing seeing her hiking up an ice sheet in all that gear. There has to be a catch, he supposed. It'd be unrealistic if there weren't, right? It would be typical—wake up in another world, a world that's… He didn't want to get ahead of himself, and he was sure there were aspects that weren't, but— a world that seems… kind of perfect for me? And then, I'm talented-gated from the start.

He wasn't even sure he'd be upset; it'd feel kind of funny, as well as true. A silence. Realistically, I'll get at least average talents? Victoria said something about Outworlders awakening higher talents, and Killian had implied it as well. Is that what I'm expecting? Victoria's voice spared him from more navel-gazing.

"Press your one hand to the sphere," she said.

"Take the card in your other." He did, his expectations still slightly in flux. The 'sphere' in question, a crystalline sphere which sat at the center of the dais, supported by a pillar of steel. There was a moment he couldn't quite bring himself to touch the sphere. And then he told himself he was being ridiculous. I'll have to face reality anyway. I might as well. Another series of taps from Victoria, and he felt a wave of coolness touch his palm.

The wave brushed out from his palm, brushed him head-to-toe—externally, as well as internally. There was a faint hum as it passed his ears. The silver card flashed once, just like it'd done when Victoria had tapped it to the Awakening stone. Then the machine went silent. New, bright letters were etched into the steel. He held up the card. His hand was very stable. Talent — Cultivation A+ (top 1%) That was all that lay in the first box. I see.

In the second box— Talent — Affinities Slight — Water, Steel, Air, Time Slight/Fair — Space, Ice, Fire High/Very high — Force Very high/Exceptional — Pure Silence. The card almost slipped from his fingers; he squeezed it tight. I see. That's… That's certainly… that's interesting. That's very interesting. His mind felt utterly empty. A few seconds passed—he noticed Victoria watching him, head cocked, as he pulled out his phone and searched up the precise % of a very high affinity. Very high—~1 in 10, 000.

Which is the rarity of my second-highest affinity. Which was a sharp drop-off from the 10% of the tier below, 'high.' Exceptional was similar. The %s seemed to follow a bell-curve, he noticed. I see. I understand.

"You said Outworlders tend to Awaken high affinities," he said.

"How high, exactly?"

"A tier or two higher than what's typical."

"I see," he said again. A pause.

"Then that Outworlder, earlier, with the Exceptional affinity—""If he's telling the truth," she said.

"He's very, very rare. I wouldn't compare yourself to him." He was silent. What are the chances—two extremely high affinity Outworlders, in the same center, on the same day? Is this just—less rare than it seems, actually? …I suppose I'll have to search up what, exactly, Pure and Force even mean. Victoria walked over and handed him a blue foil folder embossed with the D. A. logo. He placed the card inside.

"You'll select your Card and starter Shards on the 14 th floor. If you change your mind you can exchange your starter kit for another, as long as you haven't used it."

"How precise is this machine?"

"It's rift-delved tech," she said, like that was sufficient explanation.

"It's perfect, and the results are final." She seemed to have slightly misunderstood what he was getting at.

"It's done, by the way," she said.

"You can leave." But before he did—"I'm supposed to tell you I'm not supposed to ask your talents," she said.

"But you can tell me."

"I understand," he said. A pause.

"You can tell me," she said, like she wasn't sure if he didn't get her meaning.

"Just to be clear." He did get the hint, but still—"I'd rather keep it private." If she wasn't supposed to ask, it likely wasn't in his best interest to share—he was thinking of the officials outside, and their notice to the girl earlier. It seemed quite personal. And he was also just a private person. He placed the card in the folder, and put it away.

"I appreciate the help." He also simply didn't appreciate the way she'd conducted much of this Awakening. She looked at him, bemused." … Really?" A tiny part of him did want to tell her just to see the look on her face, but ultimately it felt needless. It also felt a little childish. He agreed with that Killian guy, regarding the other Outworlder. There was something a little—uncool, maybe? —about needing to tell people you were all that.

And he'd never found talents all that interesting—wasn't it what you did with them that counted? This felt like an incredibly hypocritical thought in this particular moment.

"I'd prefer to keep myself to myself." She seemed slightly taken aback. Then—"Fine," she said, casting her gaze aside.

"Whatever, guy." With that, he made his way to the elevators. It was time to select his Class.

Since he could exchange his Class kit as necessary, this wasn't a decision he'd finalize that day. He left the D. A. Headquarters with the basic 'Mage Starter Kit,' a steel suitcase keyed to his soul signature, in hand. He quickly decided he'd need to think a lot more on this, and also do quite a bit of research, before he'd come anywhere close to a final decision. He declined to see the Guild recruiters' floor, at least right then, for similar reasons ⁠; there was simply far too much to consider as it was.

An Uber later and he was back. He went inside, up the stairs, and set down the suitcase. And then he flopped down on his bed. He stared silently at the ceiling, at the little streaks of hardened paint-dots, tracing their little patterns. Tap-tap-tap — It'd been sunny when he left but a light rain just started up. Just a light rain, and the droplets seemed somehow lively and also calming. It was, somehow, still just 4: 57pm —he still had time.

He stared up at the ceiling, and closed his eyes, and he saw images start to play out in his mind. He opened his eyes and he saw them on the ceiling. He felt absolutely exhausted—mentally, not physically—and incredibly excited, all at once. I have to figure out what 'Pure' means, exactly. And 'Force'—and all the other affinities. And how all this starter-class stuff works—that Diana lady made it sound like there's already standardized builds and build guides? Even at the start? Just… an hour. Maybe two.

I have time.