"You will get a god mark just like me! I know it!" a woman said as she was encouraging a teenager who was walking towards a line that led to a glowing platform.
The entire town was abuzz with activity and people could be seen coming out from almost every home, heading in the direction of Arena at the eastern part of the city.
The test is held every year, as a lot of kids reach the age of 10 every year. There are different places where the test could be taken. And big cities have multiple centers for taking the test since they have more people. This city though, well, it's not that big and only has about 120 participants taking the test each year.
On getting to the arena, the stands were already filled to the brim with people, and they were all chatting about the possible result of today's test. A kid could be seen on the Arena's stage, this indicated that the test had started.
"Time to register, they have already started." I said to Kushi.
"Come on, let's go and get you registered big boy!" Kushi said as she walked towards the place for registration. A table and a chair were set up there and also a man could be seen sitting on the chair taking down names.
"Hello sir, I'm here to register my boyfriend for a test," Kushi said towards the man sitting on the chair.
The man had visible confusion on his face and nearly fell out of his chair.
"Ignore her." I said to disperse the war going on inside his head.
"Okay, what's his name, and exact age," the man said politely.
"His name's Akatsuki, and he is 10 years and 5 months old" Kushi replied with a smile
"Okay, he will be the 49th person called up," The man said after taking down my details.
"Okay sir!" Kushi turned and was about to leave with me.
"Currently, 3 people have already gone up to take the test, just be prepared. If his name is called, and he doesn't come up the stage within 1 hour he would be skipped and will have to wait till next year to have his test done."
"Okay, thank you sir" Kuchi thanked him sincerely before taking me with her as we looked for a place to sit.
"Now sit down and behave. Wait for your turn patiently and don't get nervous okay." Kushi advised me calmly, but she always told me thing, like I was some sort of wild beast, it was like she wanted me to be one.
While the brother and sister duo were still talking, a loud voice could be heard from the platform.
"Tuanko, weapon mark sword. Grade... A+ Rank!" The Elder who took the test declared the result of the test loudly.
The entire arena immediately went into an uproar when this result was announced.
"Did he just say A+ grade?"
"Oh my God, A+ appeared"
"The last time a A+ appeared, all the big academies fought for who would admit the student into their school"
Talents are graded with letters in the classic grading letters, -F to SSS+. With SSS+ being the highest and -F the lowest. D and C talent takes up the majority of the population, while the talented have B to S.
There are rare cases of people who have multiple Marks. It was said the King of the empire is a Dual Marker and had a Weapon and Beast marks, S+ and A grade respectively on each mark. The King is the strongest awakened known to the public.
But in this case, none of the Academies wanted to miss out on such a talented individual. Although the Academies had a good relationship outside, they were still competing against each other.
"Cough, cough, Why don't you allow him to choose which Academy he would like to enter as a student" The Elder announcing the results couldn't allow the Academies to lose face in front of the crowd, so he quickly tried to stop their dispute.
The representatives quickly calmed themselves and looked at Tuanko with eager looks.
Tuanko felt glad for attracting such attention from the representatives. "Seniors, can I go talk with my parents before deciding on which Academy I will join?" Tuanko asked respectfully.
"Yes of course, besides, the test is still ongoing," The representatives said with a smile. Usually, they wouldn't have been so courteous towards anybody from such a small city, but, the case was different for Tuanko. Tuanko was someone who will grow to become a powerhouse later in the future with his talent, so, having a good relationship with him isn't bad even if he will only be able to join one of the Academies.
Everyone looked at Tuanko with envy, he was currently the center of attention in the entire arena. His current status has already risen to a new high as even in the Academy, he will be someone the Academy will nurture greatly.
"Wow, a A+ grade." I said with a tinge of envy while looking at Tuanko who was walking towards his parents with a smile on his face.
"Don't worry, even if you get trash, your sister with the SSS grade god mark of poseidon will protect you!" she said as she did a power pose.
"Did I ask?"
"Okay now, let's continue with the test" the Elder shouted as he tried to restore order to the arena
After the 10 minutes break, the test continued. Quickly, it got to the 49th name on the list. I tensed up as it was soon going to be his turn. My palm became sweaty and my nervousness could visibly be seen.
"Calm down big boy, no matter the outcome of the result, promise me you'll remain the same," Kushi immediately held onto my sweaty hands.
"Yeah..." I nodded.
"Next up, Akatsuki." The Elder shouted the next name on the list, everyone in the arena looked on with interest awaiting the boy whose name was called up.