The white, sterile room was a strange sight to wake up to. Normally, he should have been sprawled out in the dirt half-dead, but here he was, laying in a bed with a light blanket pulled over him.
An itchy, tingling sensation tortured the fingers on his right hand, so he went to scratch at it with his left and… missed.
Oh, right. He had forgotten about that. That was pretty hard to forget.
He took a deep breath, lifting the blanket up.
And he screamed.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Why did this happen?
Was it his fault?
Was fate working against him so that he may not become a Mage?
Was the Tower not meant to be climbed by him?
What was that thing that had mutilated him?
Why did this happen?
Why did he get separated from everyone else?
Was the Tower out to get him?
Why did this happen?
Why did this happen?
Why?
WHY?
.
.
.
.
.
.
A few people came to see him while he was bedridden. They told him strange things like, "Welcome to Veritate," and, "You aren't too late to start the admission test," neither of which made much sense. They… also... told him something that he would never forget in his life.
"Your arm will be gone until you become a Soul Foundation Mage and regenerate it yourself."
What was a Soul Foundation Mage? He didn't know, but despair overtook him.
What was an armless Spagyrist? How could he do a fraction of all the techniques required? Was he going to flunk the admission exam?
…
A few hours passed and he was out of the white room and walking around in the city. By his side was an escort that was supposed to lead him to the 'Gauge', whatever that was.
It just wasn't fair. How did this happen in the first place? Why did it?
As much as he tried to circumvent them, hostile, destructive emotions and thoughts clawed at his spirits.
Why why why why why wh-
"Saiph!"
"Eh?" A shout awoke Saiph from his trance.
"Here, take this. You'll need it." It was the escort.
"Oh, okay. Thanks," Saiph halfheartedly replied and received whatever it was that was passed off to him.
"Eh? What's this?" Saiph asked. The object that he had received looked like a metal plate with two lines carved into it- one vertical, the other horizontal.
"Sigh, stop spacing out. I know you're upset but it really isn't the end of the world. You can still get into the Academy, you know. So, like I said, this is for keeping your scores from the exam. Don't lose it."
Saiph looked at the man next to him for the first time. He was probably around 18 or 19 years old and looked pretty normal for Saiph's standards. There was a high chance he was from Orion as well.
Absentmindedly putting the slate away, Saiph nodded to his escort.
"Hi, I'm, uh, Saiph. Nice to meet you."
"Oh, uh, yeah. I, uh, am Jack Massachusetts. You with me now?"
Saiph nodded in response and waited for Jack to continue.
"Here. The doctor said these will help with any phantom pain you develop. Just take one whenever you feel your arm again." Jack pulled a vial out of his pocket and handed it to Saiph. Inside, there was a bunch of little pills.
"Now, let's go," Jack continued. "We gotta go try your aptitude exam first. It's been a few weeks since it all started so there's probably only a few days, maybe one or two, left until the aptitude testing ends. That is where the Gauge is."
Saiph maintained his silence and followed along with Jack until they reached an open auditorium with hundreds of kids Saiph's age standing around it.
"..And it's another gold talent. Better luck next time. Oh, wait."
A loud voice projected from the stage, entering Saiph's ears a few hundred feet away.
"Gold?" Saiph questioned. "Isn't Gold good? Why 'better luck next time'?"
Jack smiled wryly and chuckled. "Well, the Gauge is really old. No one really remembers who designed it, I don't think, but the color scheme for it seems really skewed. Some even say that it's backward, placing Magenta as best and Gold as second to last like that."
"...Now I'm really confused," Saiph sighed. "What is with this Gauge?"
Jack shrugged and replied, "It's pretty simple once you know it for a while. There are six possible ranks assigned by the machine, 4 of which have the talent to become a Mage. So, as long as you don't get Vermillion or Gold, you're good!"
Jack gave the much smaller boy a pat on the back.
"You'll do fine. Probably. You survived a fight with a Dead V, after all, from what I heard. That's a Chaos Beast, normally. Now, go on up and show him your identification plate."
With a light shove, Saiph was pushed up the stage without time to think about what a 'Chaos Beast' was. He stumbled up the stairs and made his way over to the Gauge and the person standing by it.
"Identification plate, please," the man asked Saiph while holding his arm out.
"Here." Saiph obliged and handed the plate over.
"Name?"
"Oh, I am, uh Saiph Glendoveer."
"Mm." The man nodded and inscribed something into the plate with his fingernail, it seemed. "You can go up now. Step inside the Gauge and relax. It'll do all the work."
Walking over to the Gauge, Saiph took a closer look at the machine. It was mostly metallic with some other materials accenting it. Its shape looked most like a gazebo of sorts, where someone could walk in and be sealed inside.
Saiph stepped inside and tried his best to relax to no avail; the pressure was just too great.
This was the moment that every single human in the entire Tower looked forward to their entire childhood. If he didn't have the talent to become a Mage… he'd probably end his life from shame. He needed to become a Mage! Even of the worst tier; it didn't matter. The power to change fate and reach the top of the Tower could only be achievable if one was a Mage, so even if he turned out to be the worst, at least he would have the opportunity to change that fate of his and become better, in time.
PSSH
Just as all of these thoughts were passing through Saiph's head, a tremendous pressure dropped down on him, bringing him to his knees in an instant.
BZZZZZT
A loud humming reverberated inside of the machine, splitting Saiph's head from the intensity. The pressure kept building and building until concluding with a final hum.
The release of pressure felt excellent and Saiph's headache immediately went away. A soothing feeling washed him over and eased the taut muscles all over.
After a few moments, the door opened once again.
PSSH
The airlock broke and fresh air flowed in, further relieving Saiph. Saiph warily stepped out of the machine and looked over to the orchestrator of the Gauge.
The man had a slight smile on his face and nodded.
"Ladies and gentleman, Jade talent!" he projected out to the few hundred spectators below.
A giddy feeling washed over Saiph and he took a deep breath, a joyful smile strewn across his whole face.
"Hehehe ahahah! Ahhh, I can become a Mage." Tears of joys dribbled down the boy's cheek, who needed this good news.
The orchestrator inscribed something into his identification plate and handed it back over to Saiph. He received it and went back down the stage and over to Jack.
"See? Told ya." Jack was wearing a cool, relaxed smile.
Saiph wasn't even sure what to say. He was just too happy about the result of the aptitude test.
"Oh!" Saiph exclaimed. "What is Jade?"
"Middle of the pack, completely average, and the bare minimum to become a Mage," Jack responded, then sighed deeply. "So, you're probably not going to break into the 3rd Realm, especially with your arm. If you can't get into the 3rd Realm then you can't get into Heaven… The road ahead of you is tough. Good luck."
Jack took a beat and pondered to himself for a second.
"Next… is… probably the runic test. C'mon, I'll show you the way," he finally said after a bit, striding off in a seemingly arbitrary direction.
Saiph nodded and followed along, thankful to have this escort here to show him the gist of it since he had missed the initial introduction.