“I will go with Jeanne to Nutmeth while Lance will take his group to Vuzax,” Ardor’s declaration elicited shock in the ladies and the most surprised among them was none other than Lance.
<Boss!> His shout did a number in Ardor’s mind.
After receiving a glare from his main body, he said in a softer tone, <What in god’s name is this? Why are you sending me away?> His somewhat scared look gave away what he truly thought. To be sent into the unknown all alone was frightful indeed.
Ardor said, “This is the best option. Lance can use his talent properly there and the ladies will also enjoy his touch.”
The others remained silent, deep in thought. They knew it was not the best choice for them, that Nutmeth could help them use their talents in the best way.
Then looked at the man they followed, who looked past their not-so-perfect histories, who gave them the love and attention they wanted, who made them feel needed.
Then they had an answer in mind–they could do it!
Seeing no complaints, Ardor discussed a few objectives they needed to accomplish, some plans of meeting up regularly and other minor things.
…
Three uneventful days passed by. The only noteworthy thing Ardor noticed was Edgar had returned to his previous arrogant self, but this time, he stayed away from their group.
The crowd came to the deck after being called and saw the plain blue sky, felt the chilly wind brushing past their skin, and noticed the red sun slowly come about. It was a new day, the day they all waited for.
“Look there!” someone shouted.
They saw a dot across the horizon since it was a cloudless day and the sky beneath them was clear. The dot grew bigger as they approached and they saw a pier, one that the airship soon landed on.
Lemari came in front of everyone and saw the eager faces, almost bursting with anticipation. Even the noble princess couldn’t keep her calm facade and the dukes near her were the same. Only Edgar looked back at her arrogantly, which she ignored.
“It is time we part. The journey might not have been the best for you, but forget that and think of this new beginning. You have factions to choose from.”
She paused for effect while looking at Edgar, Jeanne, and the princess Euphemia. “Or they may choose you. But as I already warned you, choose well, since it may be impossible for you to choose again.”
She left with her broom while the teens carried their luggage and followed a slave who was instructed to guide them. As they walked across the lush grass, and felt the salty ocean air, they noticed different colors forming borders on the ground.
The slave stopped.
“The blue one belongs to Nutmeth, while the black one is The Elementary Tower and the red one is of Vuzax. You can head over to the tents and get accepted by them.” He left for the airship.
Ardor looked at three small tents, around two meters in diameter and two meters high, arranged side by side with boundaries lined with those colors.
He looked at Lance and nodded. “Let’s go. If all goes well, we can meet soon,” he said, not knowing if the soon would be weeks, months, years, or even decades.
Lance nodded back, then looked at his women. He took a deep breath and left for the red tent. The princess left for the black tent while others in her group went to the blue one.
Ardor looked at his clone, a being who knew him the best.
‘Feels like sending a son on his adventure. One where his life and wellbeing are not guaranteed.’ He hesitated, wondering if he did the right thing, but soon shook his head knowing the answer–yes, it was.
He looked at Jeanne, who noticed his concerned gaze, and he smiled warmly. “Let’s go.”
“Mhm,” she nodded.
They went to the tent and waited in the line that was formed by the noble sons and a daughter. Ardor noticed the third group following the princess after hesitating for a long time.
The teens went in one by one, and after Gabella Mist, it was Ardor’s turn, as he was called in. He walked in and noticed how the space inside was clearly larger than what was visible from the outside.
In fact, there was a complete room with a wooden chair with a cushion upon which an old man with a long beard sat.
His sight was on the wooden office table with plenty of parchments, a quill, an ink box, and some accessories Ardor didn’t recognize in front of him, and he looked up after seeing Ardor approach and keep his brown suitcase on the side carefully, making sure it wouldn’t fall.
“Here,” he said while throwing over a globe that seemed brighter than the one he saw before at the talent testing event with Lemari.
It floated in front of him as the old man stared at it, looking for changes within while remaining connected to it with his magical power.
Ardor followed the procedure, kept his hands over it, and the gray swirling fog inside it turned fiery red and there was darkness hidden at its core.
With his deep voice, the old man commented with somewhat furrowed brows, “Hmm… there’s some discrepancy.” He took out a sheet of paper in front of him and held it closely. “Here it is. Red, low, she said.”
The man looked at Ardor. “But you’re clearly very close to medium and it’s not just red, there’s also low, darkness.”
After muttering a few things to himself, he looked at Ardor.
“Young man, her list will go to the academy so you can decide whether or not to hide your talent for darkness.” As Ardor was about to speak, he added, “But I’m going to update your red talent since it will give you better chances at the academy.”
Ardor knew when to appreciate goodwill.
“Thank you, sir,” he said, since he didn’t know the man’s name. “I would like to hide my darkness talent,” he declared.
The old man smiled as wisdom shone in those aged eyes. “As expected.” He made some changes to Lemari’s list and looked back at Ardor. “Stand in that circle.” He pointed towards his right.
Ardor looked back at his luggage.
The pale old man noticed his concern and added, “It will be sent over soon.”
Ardor nodded and walked left. He looked at the blue patterns on the ground and, staring at them for a long time gave him a headache.
“Off you go!” said the old man and waved a wand that had some cracks on it. Blue light shone from it, landing on that blue circular pattern. Before Ardor could understand what was happening, the glowing blue light rose, covering his feet.
“What is this?!” he questioned with widened eyes. He could swear his feet felt cold, that there was wind blowing on them. But he was in a tent. Where was that wind coming from?
“You’ll get used to it,” the old man repeated the same thing he had said to everyone before him.
His age had given him the patience to deal with the young ones, and perhaps that was the reason he was chosen for this task, or perhaps there was another purpose.
The blue light rose further, covering his calves, his thighs, then his little brother, and finally sped up and covered him entirely. A second later, the blue light vanished, and Ardor had disappeared.
“Next!” the old man spoke, and his voice traveled outside. Soon, Jeanne walked in with a nervous look.
The old man saw her talent details from Lemari’s list and a genial smile broke across his face.
…
Ardor opened his eyes and immediately bent over and vomited all that he ate. But he had eaten nothing this morning. ‘So this is why she told us no breakfast today!’ Ardor felt sorry for calling Lemari a cheapskate behind her back.
After emptying nauseous smelling substances from inside his empty stomach, an even nastier smell hit him back, almost making him puke again. He looked at the ground and saw a pond of what could be called ‘a collection of the contents of empty human stomachs.’
He immediately jumped back and stared at it in disgust. Controlling his urge to curse whoever took part in its creation, he took out his bag that was sent behind him and created a bucket using one LP.
“Hey, you there!” someone shouted. Ardor saw a man in a gray robe, no older than twenty, stand beneath the small stage Ardor stood on. “Get down here! That is, if you don’t want to be splashed with puke.”
“One moment!” he said. The gray-robed man waited with impatience written on his face, as blue light flashed from the location Ardor came and a pair of dainty feet became visible as that light elevated.
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