"Hey, are you okay?"
There were some noises coming from very deep.
He wanted to talk, but he couldn't make a sound.
"Hey, you!"
The sounds became clear after a small ringing and Aceia felt his body shake.
He opened his eyes and suddenly saw the man he was talking to shake him.
"Well, well... what exactly happened?"
He mumbled something while trying to understand what had happened.
"This is how the level gauge works. I told you."
After a short transit, Aceia rounded up his mind and remembered again what he had come here for.
"Oh, that's right! What's my conclusion?"
He was excited and waiting for the result.
He was waiting for the attendant's speech with glowing eyes.
The guard, on the other hand, missed his eyes after a quick glance at Aceia.
"The meter said that you were a level C close-range technical combat. He also measured levels of elemental skill as E. But what's really interesting is that the part of your predisposed element shows nothing. I don't think you're capable of any element, son. Fate sometimes wants to deter us. Don't give up."
In an instant he analysed the situation and squeezed the card with the results into his hand, and directed Aceia to go quickly to the back area. He obviously didn't want to talk to Aceia much.
Aceia has a sour smile on his face.
He had worked hard, but he knew deeply that he was not talented. Still, he couldn't help but hope.
With that puckered smile on his face he slowly made his way to the back area, where there were different guards waiting for him, as the previous officer had mentioned.
He went up to them and handed out his card without talking too much. He didn't want to hang around here anymore.
Her level was pretty bad, and he didn't even have to look at the academies to get him.It was all going to be garbage.
When the guard examined the card, he burst into laughter when he saw that he was not prone to elements.
"We're not here to make fun of students. Our duty is to guide them in their selection for the academy."
When the sarcastic saw this person, he straightened his statement quickly, and bent his head to apologise to Aceia.
"Come with me."
He told her to follow him, but no longer interested in them, turned around and went on.
Aceia thought this guy was one of the people here, so he went after him without thinking too much.
After walking for a while, the man brought him to a field and turned around and looked Aceia in the eyes.
"Hi Aceia, my name is Lee. I've looked through your card and I'm going to recommend an academy. You should listen to me because this is going to determine how the life of speech will be shaped in the future."
"First of all, your elemental skill level is so bad that you're not even apt to any element. That's why you won't be accepted by magic-based academies. Those who do will not help you."
"Your wariness is much better than your Elemental ability. It would be much better for you to go over a close-range technical fight. But your level of close fighting is not too high, so I have a perfect academy offer for you."
Aceia was surprised to hear Lee's speech. He was thinking about how he could find me a good academy by throwing me in my face with all this junk.
"Senior Lee, what's the name of the academy you're proposing?"
Aceia agreed with everything Lee said. It was a natural waste of magic. He believed that if he could at least master martial arts, he could become a good warrior in the future.
"Vuxena Academy. There's no better choice for you. This academy is based on the laws of forests. Everyone can study at this academy, regardless of their level. Student dying is a simple thing for the academy. If you want to get stronger, the best risk you can take is going to this academy. Confronting death over and over will empower even a low-level student like you."
Aceia had already heard of the Vuxena Academy but didn't know it was such a cruel academy. It was an important decision stage for him.
He could have made his living in this school and become stronger if he won the bet.
He could take his life in this school and die if he gambled.
Aceia thought. If he went to an academy that he couldn't improve, he'd stay low in this world's system and be crushed for life. He can't support his family, maybe they'll be slaves to others.
In a world where power is so important, powerlessness was even worse than death.
Actually, Lee made the decision the moment he told him about school. He just wanted to make himself a little more comfortable. Even if he lived in a world dominated by power, it wasn't easy for a 14 year-old to make a living.
"I have made my decision, Senior Lee. How do I complete my registration?"
Aceia decided there was no point in thinking any further. He wanted to get things done quickly. He feared his longing for power would diminish as he lengthened the process.
"Come back to school tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you here. We'll reach the academy together using teleportation portal. They will complete their registration there."
Aceia thought there was something interesting about it.
"Senior Lee, can't the enrollment process be done with certain signatures and approvals? Why are you trying so hard for me?"
Upon the question of Aceia, senior Lee burst out a loud laugh and looked Aceia in the eye.
Aceia felt like he was dying under those looks, but he still insisted on not missing his look.
"Every year I come to find students for the Vuxena academy. We've had a very low number of students at school recently. You know, the competition is huge."
Aceia instantly understood the implication behind these words. If he's coming to find students for the Vuxena Academy, he must be one of the staff of the Senior Lee academy.
But how sensible it was to intimidate students with frightening innuendo. Aceia couldn't make sense of it.
"Senior Lee Academ..."
"Be here tomorrow."
Aceia was going to ask about Senior Lee's assignment at the academy, but he acted fast from Senior Lee Aceia and disappeared after a simple order.
Aceia took a while to find him, but after deciding he couldn't, he left to find Martin.
Martin's name was already read before him. If there was no problem, it should be over now.
After wandering around the school for a while, Martin finally came into sight. Looks like he was talking to a few seniors. To avoid disturbing them, Aceia stopped within sight of Martin and began to wait.
After waiting for about 15 minutes, Martin speech was over. As Martin turned around and was about to leave, he saw Aceia waiting for him and came running to him.
"I succeeded Ace, the seniors at Sun Academy said they would be glad to see me at the academy."
Even if he didn't succeed himself, he smiled happily, rejoicing from his friend's success.
"Congratulations. I believed you could succeed. And don't call me that."
'Ace' was the way Martin called him. Aceia hasn't liked this way of calling since he knew himself, but he had to be tolerated because he used to be his best friend.
"How was your measurement?"
The question that Aceia was waiting for finally came up. It was a question he had to face, so he explained it without bending his head.
"Fair as I expected. My long-body training has paid off just a little bit. But I can't say the same for my elemental talent. I have decided to go to the Vuxena Academy."
Martin was listening calmly until Aceia's last sentence. It was a well-known fact that Aceia's talent was not great, and it didn't surprise her.
But the Vuxena Academy gave him a fortune telling.
"Aceia, you can't do this! People are dying in that school; you must have other options."
Aceia knew that people would oppose this decision.
He breathed deeply and placed his customary bittersweet smile on his face.
"I have to get as strong as I can, Martin. I don't expect you to understand this, but at least understand it."
When Martin saw the look on his friend's face, he closed his eyes and, after a two second pause, threw his arm over Aceia's shoulder.
"Have a safe journey Ace, I hope you do your best."
Aceia grabbed his friend's arm around his shoulder and answered with a smile.
"You too, Martin. This is a temporary farewell."
The two friends were leaving for the first time in years. Even though they knew this day would come, the separation was still not easy.
The two boys walked long distances in opposite directions.
The breath of Aceia quickly poured into his lungs and yelled with all his might.
"Don't call me that again!"
Martin, with his back turned, stood where he was and looked over his shoulder into his friend's distant image.
After a short period of time, one breath burst into a big laugh on both sides and continued on their way.
When Aceia got home, her sister greeted her.
"Are you hungry?"
"I'm pretty hungry, Yuri."
Yuri was 13 years old and only one year younger than Aceia. She had black hair and green eyes, like her older brother. She was a beautiful looking girl of average height. She was studying at the school that Aceia studied, and she was much more talented than Aceia.Despite the potential differences, they were always a good match.
"My mother won't be able to come today, so I'll make the dinner."
Their mother had lost her ability because of a past accident, and she was now just like a regular person. She was a nurse at a hospital. Their father left them when they were very young and never came home again.
Aceia and Yuri fed them with the food they prepared on that day and talked about the future planning of Aceia. As he expected, Yuri challenged the Vuxena Academy idea and said she would tell her mother.
Aceia made it clear that he would not change his mind and went to his room.
It was midnight, but Aceia was still up.
He went to the edge of the window and let the cool air beat him.
He breathed a little bit and began to think about his future.
He couldn't burden the family to look after her.
He swore that whatever difficulty he faced that night, he would face it.