===Skotos===
He followed Gareth out of the office and back to the vast hall. Some vampires gathered, and he learned from Gareth that the other individuals were werewolves.
"You have a lot to learn about the Magical Races. But you first need to prove yourself," the older Vampire told him.
Skotos nodded, but he still had many questions. But he had to wait for now.
There was one that he was confident that he could ask.
"You mentioned someone else that you were interested in seeing in action? A student of someone? Is it another Vampire?" he asked as they headed to meet them.
"Not a Vampire. He is a werewolf who got turned on the same day that you turned into a vampire. Mister Vlad told me you two are acquaintances, so I wonder what fate has for you."
'An acquaintance?!?' Skotos wondered in his mind.
The Vampires and werewolves made a ring with the way they had spread, and in it, there was an adult Werewolf with a young teenager who barely had any signs of being a werewolf compared to the others. His ears were barely pointy enough to draw attention but weren't as hairy as the rest. His nails were also longer and seemed sharper, but he would look like a normal child if he covered his ears with a hat or a hood.
Werewolves' skin wasn't pale like Vampires, so he looked like a healthy boy.
"Oh, here he is. You looked better since the last time. I see you lost some weight even if you overate."
The one who spoke was the adult werewolf next to the child.
He spoke as if he and Skotos had met in the past, but he didn't remember him or the boy. He remembered nothing other than the events that he kept hearing in the place of hell, so maybe what his other self was doing with his body had met him.
While in that place, he could feel that someone else had control over his body but couldn't do anything about it and didn't know who or what it was. He didn't even know what his body was doing while he was imprisoned there. He couldn't even remember how he got into that place as the events he relived repeatedly didn't contain that moment.
"Sorry, but I have no idea who you are. I am Skotos. And you are?"
"*chuckle* No need to worry about not remembering me since we never met. I am the one who brought you here. My name is Vlad, and this one here is Rubert," the werewolf said while pointing at the youngling.
"Nice to meet you… I guess. I was told there will be some test or something?"
At that point, Gareth stepped up to be between Vlad and Skotos.
"Yes, we got her to test you and the boy. You both joined our ranks, but we must first see what you can offer. But this isn't the place as it is too…. crowded."
Vlad seemed confused by the last sentence of the Elder.
"What do you mean? We wanted everyone to see our recruits in action. Oh…. don't tell me that you tested him; he wasn't that impressive in the end."
His last comment wasn't too quiet, and since most here had inhuman senses, there was no chance anybody here wouldn't have heard it.
Gareth said nothing in response.
" Well, I guess we can go downstairs then."
Vlad turned and headed to another door leading downstairs across the one that led to the cell area.
Skotos, Rubert, Gareth, and Pyre followed him, but nobody else was allowed to join them.
They went down the stairs, and at the end, there was a very heavy-looking, secured metallic door. Vlad took a black metallic key from his left pocket, used it to unlock the door, and then pushed it open.
From the sound it made when moved, Skotos could tell that it was a pretty heavy door that a human shouldn't be able to move, but Vlad did it without showing much effort.
Everybody entered the room behind the door, which didn't follow the same architecture as the stairs or the rest of the place. It was a vast cave, so there were no built walls or floors, just natural stone, but one could tell they did not make this cave naturally.
Vlad closed the door once they entered, probably so nobody would disturb them.
"So then, should we start now?" Vlad told as he looked towards the Elder Vampire.
"Well, first, we have to decide how to test them. But, of course, you don't expect them to fight each other, do you?" Gareth said in response.
"So then, what would you have them do?"
Gareth brought out another stone like the one that he gave to Skotos to find out his Element. He gave it to the boy named Rubert, who was behind Vlad when the older Vampire got closer.
Gareth gave the stone to Vlad then.
"How about first seeing what Element your student has? If he is as special as you say, he should have something other than the usual Earth Element that most of you have. That is IF he has an Element."
Skotos was curious why the old man emphasized the if.
'Could it be that one could have no Element?' he thought but said nothing out loud.
He waited, for now, to see how things would progress.
The werewolf took the stone and gave it to the boy. Then, he started explaining how to use it. Hearing the instructions with his new senses, he noticed that they differed from the ones he followed. It could be because they were different species or something. He kept that in mind as a question to ask Gareth later.
The boy followed the instructions, and they had the results in a few seconds, which was significantly faster than Skotos.
Part of the stone became liquified, while another part seemed hotter. Rubert dropped it because it started burning his hand.
'So he also has two Elements. Probably Water and Fire from the looks of it.' Skotos thought.
He wasn't sure of the reactions of the stone for each Element, but those two seemed to fit the situation. He still knew little about Element, but it seemed to be a weird combination for someone to have Fire and Water.
Gareth picked up the remaining stone, which was slightly reddened from being heated as if it were metal rather than stone.
"Truly, that boy seems to be as great as you said," Gareth exclaimed.
Vlad had a grin all over his face, while Rubert seemed confused about what had just happened.
"So, Elder Gareth, he also has two Elements?" Skotos asked.
Vlad turned to him with a curious look.
"Also? Wait, you also have two Elements? Which ones?"
Skotos was ready to speak, but Gareth raised his hand to signal that he should not say anything.
"They both have the Fire Element. That is what you need to know. But it isn't great for this boy to have two Elements…. "
The old man paused, seemingly to let people wonder what he meant.
"Fire and water are his fundamental elements, and they are clear for anyone to see as a result of the test. But he doesn't have two Elements." Gareth added.
"What do you mean? That test is never wrong, and the results are clear," Vlad exclaimed.
The old Vampire looked towards the boy and sighed.
"What a shame that Lady Pyre didn't pick the boy. I wonder what we would get from him."
Skotos was curious about that remark and was a bit offended. He had the Dark Element, which seemed a big deal, but it seemed like Gareth wanted to keep it a secret.
"Can you be clearer with what you mean, Elder?" the Princess said as she joined the conversation.
"It is quite simple, my Lady. The boy doesn't have two Elements but has three instead."
Vlad's and Lady Pyre's eyes got wide open as they turned to look at the boy.
Skotos knew that having two Elements was supposed to be quite rare, so having three should be even rarer.
"Even Skotos noticed that he has water and fire. But if you examine the stone, one can see that it strengthened, a sign of the Earth Element to be used on it."
So, the boy had three of the four basic Elements instead of a special one like his. He wondered what was considered rarer.