Two days later, the youth of the household who were turning sixteen or below were ordered to gather in the trial ground within the Avery Manor. This was a sacred area of sorts within the family that was opened up once a year specifically for the trial. The moment Will entered the trial ground, he felt a dominating aura sweep over him, giving him the slight shivers. He couldn't identify where that pressure came from, it felt like the entire room was diffused with it. He immediately became more circumspect and respectful partly in awe and partly in fear and his subtle gaze towards others seemed to suggest that they were the same way.
Only when all the prospective trialists had silently organized themselves in the grounds did the audience begin the appear. The trial ground was shaped like a large arena with a podium surrounded by a large space for audiences to gather and observe. The audience, was naturally the entirety of the Avery family, from young ones to old, totaling more than several hundred individuals. While the community was called a 'family', not exactly everyone originated from the main ancestry. Instead, the family would often absorb talented individuals as adopted members over the years and Will's ancestors were also of a similar vein.
Looking at the large gathering, the youths at the arena felt a bit of pressure. But one youth stood in front of the group with towering confidence and a hint of arrogance. It was none other than Oliver Avery. The crowd observed his dominating visage and nodded in expectation as murmurs began to fly through the crowd.
"That's the next generation family leader, Oliver."
"He is already quite strong. When he cultivates the Nanosynthesis Gene Strengthening technique, he'll become a certified monster!"
In a more reserved and quieter area in the audience, the family's high elders and the leader were quietly observing the participants with curious eyes. Oliver being a high talent was already a foregone conclusion, so they had instead turned their eyes at other youths to find a diamond in the rough.
"Hmm, I see at least three good seedlings this year." The family leader Aldous Avery mumbled to himself as he looked at the other high elders, who too were nodding. Beside Oliver, there was a girl who was slightly chubby faced but her eyes were cold and she had a menacing aura surrounding her. Her name was Estrella Avery and she too originated from the ancestral line, but was not from the main bloodline. She was also considered a high talent and had a high comprehensive strength. The third person the leader was talking about was a young man who was considerably large for his age. He was sixteen just like the others, but his body towered over the others and his pectorals were a clear sign of the terrifying physical strength waiting to erupt from his body. This young man, Cason Avery was bone with inborn high strength. However, he was considered rather bull headed and slow when it came to thinking.
Will essentially remained holed in the middle, inconspicuous and fairly ordinary within this family. No one paid attention to him, just like they didn't pay much attention to the several others who had been overshadowed by the aura of the talented trio.
The Elder presiding over the Trial finally stepped onto the podium to explain that there were three parts to the trial. The first part was a fairly basic process of comprehensive physical assessment. Setting up the assessment pillar onto the podium, the elder began inviting the students one after the other to get their values checked. Since everyone already had a decent idea about their own stats, the pillar only displayed a comprehensive average of the statistics based on the scores of strength, speed and reflexes.
"Your score is 1.2. Next!"
"1.4!"
The majority of the scores were from 1.2 to 1.5, with a few weaker ones lagging behind at 1.0 which caused a lot of the audience to murmur in disappointment and leaving those specific participants extremely ashamed and embarrassed. Eventually Cason Avery was called to the podium. His towering figure was even taller than the elder who had called him up. Once he completed the test, his score caused the atmosphere of the room to be stunned!
"A comprehensive physical score of 2.8! Excellent!" The Elder spat and patted the young man's shoulder, urging him to go back. Several of the high elders nodded in appreciation.
"This boy has great natural gifts. I hope he can make good use of it." The Leader murmured.
Estrella was the next major name to be called and her test brought a score of 2.0 which was also very good, but the seismic performance earlier seemed to have damped her acknowledgement from the crowd. She coldly swept her eyes at the two major competitors of hers before returning.
When it was Oliver's turn, expectation once again built up significantly as every family member wanted to see how the next generation Family leader would perform. Will, who was himself anxious for the arrival of his own test also turned his attention to the pillar. Oliver calmly walked over and performed the various tests. His eyes were calm and his body relaxed. He didn't even seem to be giving it his all. When he punched the pillar as asked to, it was a casual slam of the hand with the dismissive arrogance of an elite. However, when the score came out, every one was stunned.
"2.8! Well done young master!"
The Family Leader couldn't help but give a sly chuckle. "My son is a little too playful. He didn't give it his all and purposely matched the first lad's score."
A high elder smiled and replied in response. "It just shows how exceptional young master Oliver's control over his body is."
The Family Leader nodded. "Yes, he is talented. But he needs some tempering. I sense a seed of arrogance in him that could hurt him in the future." Aldous Avery was a powerful man and he was also a very astute man. He could see that years of being unchallenged by his peers had made Oliver become a little too self confident. He hoped that some trials in the Realm against other geniuses would temper that.
Names passed by and finally Will's name was called up last. The audience had already moved on from this test since the stars had already had their turn. They were more interested in seeing the performance of the trio in the next stages of the trial. Few were paying attention to Will as he walked onto the stage. The presiding Elder nodded to him, asking him to follow up on the test. Will quietly did so, gritting internally and giving it his all.
"Not bad. Your score is 1.6" The Elder replied with a smile. He knew this kid Will, an orphan who worked hard and was very humble. He had a good impression of him and as the score keeper, he saw that Will had come fourth in this batch, which wasn't a bad result. Will sighed and walked back into the crowd. Everyone had been dazzled by the performances earlier and few spared a glance at Will's performance.