Asher felt like this was some cruel joke. There was no possible way this should happen. As a duke heir, he was pretty much required to be an omnimage. But no, that was impossible. There were a few ways to increase a person's element, but these processes would often overload the person's body resulting in them becoming crippled in some way. And that was if the result was favorable. The truth is that most people who attempted to increase the number of elements died shortly or became a vegetable after the fact.
With a disappointed look, Asher asked the monk. "What are the elements?" He still held hope. If the elements were powerful and rare, then his lack of number would not matter. It would be able to make it at least worth it. There were 30 elements that any person could have, but among them, there were some that were rarer than others.
Blessing, Summon, Life, Miracle, and Soul were the rarest and most potent. These were known as the divine five elements. A person with any of the elements was considered to be a God-given gift. They were someone who was meant to change the world. They could be a uni-mage, but if that element is one of the Divine five elements they would be treated on the same level as a noble from the royal court.
'That is how these stories work, right?' Asher tried to reason with himself. They were overpowered in stories where the hero would be reincarnated into a new world. Maybe he had one or more of the divine elements.
The monk looked at the ground. The longer the monk stood silent, the deeper Asher's heart sank. He began to lose hope as the monk spoke. "They are.... enhancement, enchantment, alchemy, taming, illusion, and spatial." This news felt like a thunderbolt to Asher's heart, confirming his fears. Not only did he not have one of the divine elements. All his elements were considered overall useless.
Enchantment and alchemy require a deep understanding and preparation, so most people who didn't specifically focus on crafting skills did not bother practicing. Taming was helpful in pets, and illusion was party tricks. Spatial was functionally valuable but had no offensive or defensive capabilities, and enhancement meant that he could temporarily increase his physical ability. Still, it would do nothing against some of the most physical magics. They were nothing special. Asher could only imagine the trouble this would cause. The following events were a blur.
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He was brought to his father and Caroline. They were informed of his issue. His father became worried about the news. Jude had almost jumped for joy hearing that his brother was useless, but he remained calm. He thought this was his chance to usurp his brother. His father suggested canceling the party until they figured out what they would do about Asher. However, Caroline had made a plan since canceling the party would have made the family lose face.
Many people wore beautiful clothes and smiled as many adults talked over wine. Balls of multiple color lights floated over the garden. Many delicacies from the Richt territory were spread out on several tables, and some servants carried silver platters loaded with foods and wines to some of the guests. There were several nobles from the surrounding area of the Richt Dukedom. Many people walked up to Jude to introduce themselves, hoping to meet the future duke. He smiled and shook their hands.
"Hello, young man, you look so handsome. I am Lady Landre from the head of the lorddom of Landre under the dukedom of Richt." The woman bowed at the boy respectfully. He may be younger, but he was a higher higher noble. Not to mention a noble directly above her. "I think I should set you up with my little girl. She would make you a perfect wife." The woman before Jude wore a large, elegant gown with a sizeable, jeweled wig that sat on her head like a tower. Jude was impressed that she did not fall over from the weight.
"Well, you would have to talk to my father about that," Jude replied nervously. He did not like when the mothers of this girl offered them like cattle just for his favor. It always made him uncomfortable.
"You must be Asher correct. You will be the next Duke if I am correct. I hope the Landre family can serve you in the future." Although Asher and Jude had little in the way of similar appearances, other nobles had seen neither, so they had to guess what they looked like. It was not uncommon since young nobles would not be allowed to participate in noble society until their awakening. This protected them from any unsavory plots that other nobles might cook up.
Jude was annoyed by the comparison to his useless brother. He now could think that without a hint of irony. His brother was seemingly perfect, but now he is a worthless hexamage. "No, that would be my brother." He made sure not to add any anger to his voice. He could not offend this woman.
"Oh, but I heard this was Asher's awakening ceremony." She stated this with apparent confusion. She worried she had mixed up the names of the children.
"We are twins, but he is the older sibling," Jude explained, unwilling to show how much this angered him.
"Oh. Then where is your brother? He should be around here somewhere, correct?" The lady explained. It made sense since Asher was the duke, he would be the center of attention.
"He will not be in attendance."
"Why not? If he is to be the next duke, he will need to meet the lesser nobles under him." The woman did not hide her annoyance as she told this. It was rude and could be taken as arrogance by the family not to let the less nobles meet the next duke.
Jude had been answering this question all night. So, he replied with what Caroline told him to say. "He has Mana sickness."