"No, that can't be right." She muttered before pulling out a spare of the assessment crystal. Setting it on top of the crystal before presenting it to Leo once again. "Alright, try again with your other hand." He did as she asked and redid the whole thing only for it to show the same results.
"And you are certain that you never cultivated anima before?" She questioned but she only got a nod in return. The pink-haired receptionist couldn't help but accept the results even if she wouldn't believe it. "Is it that hard to believe? Those from Terra didn't seem too concerned about the results." Leo asked as he waited for her to regain her bearing.
"Those from Terra?" She asked confused. Was he already rejected by them? She shook her head at those thoughts. No faction in their right mind would refuse a talent of this man in front of her.
"Well, Terra doesn't really care about the affinity, but your talent is practically tailored for Arcanum. You are a perfect match for our guild." She explained professionally but it didn't lessen the enthusiasm in her voice.
"Of course, I used the reference guide and asked around until I came to the conclusion that Arcanum, the mage guild of this world, would be the greatest fit." Leo looked at her confused expression before it cleared with understanding.
"Mage Guild? Oh! You are from earth! I guess that explains your talent…" She nodded to herself as if that explained everything.
"Why does that explain my talent?" She was surprised by his question, but she realized that common sense didn't apply to those that weren't from this world.
"I apologize. I probably should explain." She started as she led him outside the room and then down a hall to the side, which made Leo realize that the inside of the tower was a lot larger than the outside.
'Some space fuckery. Maybe they even have some space rings! Those would be immensely helpful!' Leo thought excitedly.
"You see, everyone coming from earth are always a cut above most natives, which is one of the main causes for some native's animosity." Leo wasn't surprised since it made sense.
Of course, people that live here would feel apprehensive of other people coming here especially if they were more talented than they were. The only thing the natives would have in favor were their resources, knowledge, and time, which isn't anything to look down on.
Though, one question remained, "In what way are we more talented?"
"It depends on the person really but usually the ability to absorb anima is higher than the average of the native of Orbis. For those of earth most could hold onto the crystal for a minute, talents are able to last two minutes and the cream of the crop can absorb for 3+ minutes.
In comparison those from Orbis averagely absorb from this particular crystal for only 30 seconds, talents for 1 and a half minutes, with only the top being comparable to the ones from earth." She patiently explained to him.
"So, six minutes is a pretty big deal." She said looking at him to see if he really understood the severity of the situation.
"I assume that the time being able to hold onto the crystal isn't linear to the talent one possesses." She smiled slightly. "No, it is more of an exponential growth, which is why you should keep it under wraps for now."
He could only nod at that. Wouldn't that mean he possessed a monstrous talent? Leo fell into deep thoughts as he thought about the actions he had undertook yesterday and today.
No one besides his girlfriends, Terra, and now Arcanum knows about his talent. "Don't worry even if you had told someone about your time. Most would just think you have already cultivated before hence the results."
He nodded in understanding. This crystal didn't measure raw talent, just someone's capabilities to absorb anima and their affinity. With a higher cultivation one could absorb more of the anima inside. The only reason why his results were impressive was the fact that he hadn't cultivated with anima before.
Still, Terra knew it was his first time, what if they decided to pay him a visit or use some mind control to force him to join him.
'No, if they were the kind to do something like that, they would have already done it. Not like anyone else knew of our arrival.' As Leo realized that point his impression of that faction only grew.
"Other than the talent in the way of anima, most people from earth that made it to the other side and didn't break on the transitional islands are exceptional tough. Their will and determination are usually greater than those of Orbis. It was because of their attitude that they were able to gain a footing in the form of the faction known as Terra."
Leo nodded in understanding. Most people that were invited to the other side were fighters of the highest caliber and he wasn't surprised if those people didn't let the natives trample all over them.
"Good to know." Leo decided. "This tower is really gigantic." Leo finally said as he looked around making the receptionist follow his gaze before her eyes flashed with understanding. She facepalmed. "Right, you don't know. We aren't in the tower." She dropped the news at Leo.
"W-we aren't? I thought you folded space to make the inside bigger, are you saying, you didn't?"
"Of course, we don't fold space to expand our interiors!" She said exasperated. "You know how hard it is to fold space! No way in hell would we waste manpower to make a house bigger! We would rather just build a bigger house!
Besides how do you know about folding space in the first place, didn't you say you were from earth?!" She eyed him suspiciously. Obviously, his results made her think that he was pulling her leg and was indeed someone experienced with cultivating anima.
Leo held up his hands defensively which made her realize how unprofessional she was. She coughed slightly before continuing to explain to him that the moment Ms. Magenda opened the door that she just opened the portal of the doorway to teleport them here.
The tower was just a branch that was meant to report back to the headquarters and to recruit new recruits from earth like Leo.
"Alright, we are going to test your ability to conceive the laws of the world and test the extend of your mind. Just go inside and let the room guide you through the test." The receptionist explained as she pointed at a black door.
Leo held back a sigh as he thought, 'How many tests do I have to pass until I get to the good stuff?'. Leo stepped inside, but since there was no perceivable light source, he couldn't see anything.
He just walked into the dark room blindly until a small orb of light shone in front of him. "Examinee, please hold the orb until you perceive the effect inside it."
The light orb dimmed slightly as it approached Leo. "Not cryptic at all, why can't it be even more ambiguous?" Leo muttered as he held up his hands to catch the orb.
The light orb now was barely glowing, but one could see the light inside swirling around as if it was a sentient mist. It moved around as Leo turned it around.
"Perceive the effect, they say. They do know that this is the first time I came into contact with this, right? She said it was about conceiving the laws of the world…" Leo shook his head. He slowly sat down and started to feel up the orb, but he couldn't figure out anything.
It was just a perfect round orb with a bit of misty light inside it. "Might as well just meditate." Leo wouldn't know where to start so he just used what he knew.
Gazing Meditation. It was a yogic tradition that was externally focused. Usually used with a candle or some other external focus point to gaze at. It would remove distracting and unhelpful thoughts. It is one of the easier methods to start meditating with.
The goal is to get into a state similar to the one when one gazed off into the distance completely losing oneself. This was now something Leo started doing as he gazed at the light orb.
There are many states a human can enter with just practiced focus. An ego death with drugs or in meditation for example, where one loses a complete sense of self, becoming one with their surroundings, or the flow state most athletes in any sport enter when just everything they do works as they intended.
Those states are usually the peak in which the human body can manifest their abilities to the fullest and it doesn't stop at just specific activities like meditation or sport, no with a lot of training a human can take their focus of a task to its limits at which he would perform at his best.
Leo was already very experienced in entering a state of maximum focus, so sitting in a dark room with just a light orb in his hand and a task at hand was enough to make him perform at his peak. In a few moments Leo's gaze turned intense.
An intense focus that could be compared to a person's gaze when they saw someone, they hated from their very core only to come across their hateful enemy in a random place they didn't expect them to appear. Their focus would snap towards their target of hate and obsessively observed every little movement of the person.
With the dark room helping there were no distraction in Leo's mind, just this little glowing orb filled his thoughts. It was just a moment later that Leo saw the light flow towards his hand not unlike the crystal that was being used for the assessment.
He felt the energy that made up the light enter his hands. He felt the warmth that spread from the skin of his palms deeper into his hand until it flowed up his arm in fine lines. He felt and saw how the energy was stripped from the light, of the very law that birthed the effect that made up the glow.
In just a moment there was no light, there was no anima supporting the glow. The only thing that remained was a pure law with a purpose to make it shine. To brighten the world around it.
Something changed inside Leo in the instant at which he looked at the pure law. He found himself staring at the pureness of reality, at the laws that held up reality, that made it work. He understood.
Without any anima to support the law, the effect and the law vanished into nothingness as if it had never existed and Leo was brought out of his stupor. He looked around, however, nothing but darkness greeted him.
It was an impulse to see that made him do it. To use what he understood to birth light, to recreate the law that shone away the darkness that surrounded him. In an instant the dark was banished from the room by the intense light shining from the orb that Leo used as a medium to hold his light.
An indescribable feeling of accomplishment filled his heart as he willed the light into existence. He had officially stepped into the ranks of the supernatural.
"Test Completed. Please go through the door for the second phase of the test." Leo didn't respond as he walked to the door. The orb dimmed again after Leo stopped supplying the orb.
The orb in his hand suddenly crumbled as it lost all its integrity. Leo shook off the dust as he stepped through the door and surprisingly found himself feeling faint. He couldn't keep his eyes open for much longer as he tiredly took a step forward.
His body slowly lowered itself and took in a position to sleep on the floor. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an unfamiliar bed.
What appeared to be a nurse stepped inside the room Leo found himself in. "I am sorry to say this, but you failed to pass the test."