Death Beach
A few hours after the mysterious white-robed acolyte called Crow announced their arrival, an old witch with a hunched back and a seemingly ominous snake folded around her neck like a scarf greeted them
"Alright! Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the intermediate stop of our travelling destination, the Death Beach! You will all decide on your future academy here, and then return back to your respective academies with your teachers to practice magic!"
The horse carriage halted, and the two white-robed acolytes came out and gathered the apprentices, then the white-robed acolyte Crow began speaking.
"Now, follow me into the campgrounds, and choose an academy. Remember, you may check on all the various academies, but once you have signed a contract to join one, you must not renege! Anyone who disobeys will be hung to death at the gate of the camp!"
Crow's words iced the atmosphere. The scene of the giant magma ball annihilating knights and direwolves in a pure art of destruction was still vivid in the memories of those who had fought against dire wolves.
"Crow! What a surprise! For someone of your standard to come to the Death Beach so late...You must have met some trouble on the way" A voice sounded, and a fatty walked out from the camp grounds. He too was wearing a white robe: "Don't scare these adorable newbies! Joining a new academy, like the Waterfall Garden Academy, is not something scary, but an opportunity to gain footing in the arcane arts that have been passed down for thousands of years"
"There were some difficulties along the way!" Crow dismissed, not willing to discuss their misfortune in encountering bad weather and an unusually big pack of dire wolves. As an acolyte, he was given a mission, and there had been too many deaths to obtain a flawless evaluation, meaning that they would not get the full reward for a mission that took over a year to complete.
"Alright! Newbies! Now follow me into the camp!" Fatty spoke with the white-robed acolytes and the Witch for a while more, then turned his head and shouted to Ourin and the rest.
"You guys can call me Jevon, of the beautiful Waterfall Garden Academy. Trust me, if you are to choose an academy, the Waterfall Garden Academy is definitely your best choice! You might even get to learn how to sail and explore the limitless potential of the big sea"
Jevon said as he brought the acolytes into the camp.
"Ourin Ironguard", the witch shouted as the apprentices lined up in a file, "Come here and put your hands on the crystal ball. We will evaluate your affinities and talent"
Ourin, a bit startled by the fact that he was called first, nodded and came forward. He knew that this was of primordial importance, the next few moments likely to seal his future as a magus. Whether he would be graded as a grade 5 talent and become a top magus prospect, or as an untalented grade 1 talent, fate would decide how difficult it would be for him to rise to the top. He had seen what acolytes were capable of, and read what magi could do from the book.
Ourin breathed in confidence.
However, the witch's words crushed his dreams.
"This is your limit?", the witch said as she realized Ourin's eyes were twitching in pain at the first level of arcane pressure, "Tsk...another grade 1 talent. Barely fitting the minimum standard to learn magic, huh...Tell me, young man, what do you see in the orb?"
"We have ranked the aptitude of the acolytes into five grades, with the first grade as the worst and the fifth grade as the best", Crow quickly explained, and Ourin being untalented came as a shock to the rest of the apprentices, who seemingly laughed off Ourin's misfortune and grim future, "Those with grade 5 talent are almost sure to become a magus with enough time and resources. Grade 4 talents have statistically only graduated and become magi with a 49% success rate. As for grade 3 and below, only a small percentage of them actually get to breakthrough the magus realm"
There seemingly was some pain in his voice, as if he was angry against his own low talent: "Still, with enough perseverance, even grade 1 talents can become magi. It is just a matter of how much more resources and hard work they need to put in to achieve results"
Ourin listened to Crow's comforting voice, but grasped his mind. So what if he was just a grade 1 talent. So what if he did not have plot armour? In this world, everything was possible. As long as he worked hard for it and used his biochip's memorization abilities, he was confident he could surpas the odds and become a magus regardless of talent.
Looking into the orb, he muttered: "I can see green particles overflowing..."
The witch nodded and asked: "Can you see anything else?"
Ourin shook his head in disappointment, knowing this meant that he would only be able to wield nature elemental magic in the future. Disregarding his emotions, the witch serpent hissed at him and pointed him the exit.
Crow did not give him a second look either. He was free to wander in the Death Beach, the Southern Magus Union Settlement, and search for a suitable academy. Besides the huge tent that had been built to house the academies, some wandering acolytes had also joined the event and tried to sell trinkets and magical ingredients. However, Ourin did not look twice at their shops, not knowing the true value of what they were selling.
After a couple of days of resting and analysing the most suitable academy to join, Ourin finally chose the Mercifura Academy, specializing in Fire Elemental and Nature Elemental Magic. It was an academy that would join hands with the Sage Gotham's Hut Academy and defeat the Abyssal Bone Forest in the coming Acolyte Bloodbath event, that would take place in several years.