"Argh! Forget it. It is my fault for letting country bumpkins inside completely unsupervised!
"Is it so difficult to sit tight for a bit? How are you going to cultivate with this patience??"
"Hmph. Anyway, the crystal is not something you can damage."
A faint guilty look crossed Eluraa's face, turning her cheeks red.
He is scolding me this much for just using this! Wonder how will he react if he notices the crack??
Sweating bullets, she tried to calm down her nerves.
Throwing her a disdainful look, the tester continued with this rant.
"Hmph. No matter how many times you try the violet color is not going to change."
"As if this non-noble punk is going to have any affinity at all. Why even bother testing the common folk? It is literally a waste of my time."
"If only the emperor headed to my suggestions! Sigh."
"That's enough of wasting my time. Let us finish the testing process fast. I still need to go through some reports this afternoon."
The tester rushed Eluraa and pointed towards the testing crystal, "Young lad, turn towards the east and place your hands gently on the crystal."
"Wait till I speak and then you can remove your hand."
After barking out instructions, he turned around and gathered his things ready to retire to his room.
This was the only scheduled testing today.
The forest clan attack reports were increasing. Days were becoming more and more dangerous.
They desperately needed to train more experts and here he was wasting his time, with this non-noble country bumpkin.
When it was almost time, he took the official report ledger and even started writing violet affinity and then lifted his head, "Hey lad! What is your name again?"
Eluraa covered her mouth and calmly replied "Eluraa, my lord".
"And is this the official name you chose in the naming ceremony?"
"Yes, my lord," Eluraa replied fidgeting her hands.
The association tester then proceeded to verify the affinity calculated by the crystal.
The contempt he felt for the non-noble common folk and the arrogance he paraded around for being from nobility was clearly written on his face.
But suddenly, he dropped his belongings and stared at the crystal. "Guard come here quickly. Come here this instant" he shouted.
The entry guard trembled and rushed to the testing room.
This time, with a much gentler and polite tone, the tested said, "Young miss Eluraa, can you please remove your hands."
"Please close your eyes, turn east and place your hands again on the crystal"
He then silently whispered to the guard, "Tell me, are we really seeing yellow?"
Ding. The one minute was up and now, both of them were shocked. The crystal was again glowing bright yellow!
There was a complete pin-drop silence.
After a few minutes, Eluraa slowly enquired, "My lord. I am sorry, did something happen?"
Though she spoke calmly, she was frantically hoping that they wouldn't discover the crack and the broken affinity crystal.
Clearing his throat, the association tester politely answered her with a very gentle voice, "Dear young miss, please wait outside with your parents. It has been a while and they must be anxious."
"I will soon report outside with your results. Thank you for your patience."
Eluraa was surprised by the sudden change in attitude and lack of condescendence but brushed it off.
As long as they didn't discover the crack, she was in the clear.
She walked outside and told her parents that they would get the results soon.
Inside, the tester and the guard helplessly looked at each other.
They immediately made an official report of her test and rushed outside. They dared not make a future yellow combat expert wait.
This might even be the birth of a new noble family!
The association tester walked out respectfully and informed the happy trio the test results.
He completely explained to them about the testing procedure and informed them that a representative from the Empire's Academy Association would be arriving shortly to escort Eluraa to her designated academic institution.
Eluraa heaved a huge sigh of relief and returned back home chatting happily with her parents.
They had a huge celebration, with the rest of their village folk.
Her parents were very proud of her and talked about her brilliance with everyone.
Her mom and dad only stopped boasting, after making every single one of the guests jealous.
Eluraa sat there and warmly gazed at her parents.
Once she joins an academy, it might be a while before she gets to meet her parents again.
With her crystal eyes sparkling, she smiled contently, "At the least, I spent wonderful times with kind parents in both my lifetimes".
Unfortunately, shortly after their celebration, Eluraa's parents had to leave already.
After all, they still had the humongous task of rebuilding their village community in the new land and resources allocated to them!
Even though they were poor, they still managed to scrape together decent clothes and consumables for their precious daughter.
After bidding farewell to her parents, Eluraa patiently cultivated in her room, waiting for the representative to arrive.
Soon, the end of that week arrived and a mysterious man emitting a strong aura knocked at her room's door.
Just by looking at the man, you could tell that he was dangerous and can slaughter you in an instant.
Common people could barely withstand the pressure around him and this is even after concealing his strength.