Lorie cleaned her face with her handkerchief. After being creamed like that, there was only rage left in her heart. "That bastard was lucky, I didn't get a good look at him! Tsk. Dark hair, huh? I'll slaughter you, bastard! If I have to beat up every dark-haired individual to get him, then I'll do it."
Seething with hatred, Lorie watched the assembly continue on its own course. "This assembly be done already! Damn it!"
The dormant violent side of Lorie is slowly budding out to the world. To think that the kind princess has this side of hers is very thought-provoking.
...
"Its like a festival out here."
It's only now that Deron realized there are a lot of bards in the assembly. Each of them is holding artifacts, Deron believes are called Cameras.
Are they journalists? Bards, that specialize in truthful information? It's Deron's first time to see a journalist, not to boot, in droves like this. The most striking among them are the people carrying cameras of a larger proportion, big enough to fit one's shoulder like a sack of rice.
If Hero work is the number one luxurious job, then journalism comes second. The orphanage had a TV, so Deron is not ignorant of what are Journalists. They are preachers of truth and reporters of ongoing events across the world.
…
Meanwhile, further ahead opposite Deron is Alfir. When he accidentally bumped into the guy, he thought that he's gonna be swept into some kind of event. Well, he did... but not that extreme. Fortunately, nothing worse happened.
For now, Alfir decided to remain as far as possible from the protagonist, and the other 'special characters' of the novel. Alfir watched the journalists weaved among the crowd of people. There were even some people in their food carts selling their stuff just adjacent to the assembly.
It was hectic. Alfir started to doubt his writing ability. "What is even medieval about this?"
After the principal, an old man that oddly resembles Gandalf made his boring speech, the applicants are led to an assessment area to measure their abilities.
It is divided into three parts—
1.) Individual- to see the latent potential of every applicant through a demonstration and some in-depth check-ups.
2.) Group- to be put in a foreign environment to fight monsters. This is to see the powers of the applicant and how they adapt according to their situation.
3.) Combat- the staple tournament setup usually seen in novels, it's a set-up that allows the protag to exhibit his awesomeness. Alfir doesn't want any of that, he only wants to see potential recruits.
Points shall be tallied for each part. Depending on how many points you gather, your classroom assignment will then be assigned.
The individual assessment is easy. Using the percentage system, the applicants are ranked according to their tapped potential. The higher it is, the stronger they are... Champion-grade Heroes are said to tap 100% potential.
100% is Champion. It is the pinnacle of mutation powers. This is when an individual is able to manifest the absoluteness of their powers, changing topographies would be a cinch for mutants at this grade. These mutants are generally called the 'evolved'.
99% is Peak. This is the 'peak' of mortal abilities. Strength, agility, intelligence, etcetera… the Peak-grade is when a mutant reaches its maximum humanly attributes.
98% to 80% is Destructive. Also known as city-destroyers. They can deal significant damage. This is the starting point of the truly strong mutants.
79% to 50% is Magical. This is when mutant abilities start to look magical in the eyes of an ordinary person. They represent competency.
41% to 49% is Ability. Mutants in this grade are those who have overcome their talent.
40% to 6% is Talent. The starting point of any mutant ability.
5% and below are Human, and these people are unqualified to attend the academy.
Through an artifact, they are able to detect an individual's tapped potential. Alfir got an easy 41%. "Ability grade, huh? Not bad, I guess... I can only think positively from hereon anyways."
This system is used to separate the betters from their peers. This very same system has also been used far and wide, being adapted to many organizations and the like. Zentury is also using this same grading system.
Training can increase tapped potential. So long as a student perseveres in the academy, 80% potential is not impossible. In fact, there was a 6% Talent-grade that was able to rise as a Champion in the academy, he is Flamecore.
The percentage system is not quite accurate. What their artifact measures are the soul fluctuations of the human body and not their mutations. It is an indirect approach.
Zentury's Immortal King for example appears like an ordinary human in these artifacts. This is how the Immortal King stayed under the radar for so long.
The stronger the mutation is, the stronger the soul becomes. This is not true for everyone. The Immortal King's soul's frequency stayed the same after his mutation since his soul is immune to change— that is how 'tough' his soul is... In other words, for him, the stronger his soul is, the stronger his mutation becomes.
In Zentury's research findings, they called the Immortal King's soul to be a perfect soul, born without faults. This is how they came up with the Soul Method in the first place.
But no soul is truly perfect. Even the Immortal King suffers from dementia.
The outcome of individual assessments is privately disclosed to the tested and related staff, but Alfir already knows the outcome. There will be 16 Ability-grades, and 320 Talent-grades. No, there would be 17 Ability-grades including Alfir.
A ruckus is happening in front of Alfir. A certain red hair is arguing with someone.
"Looks like it's beginning." The so-called event, is a naturally occurring phenomenon, in a novel that allows its protagonist to shine. Alfir hid in the crowd of people, anticipating a fight.
Deron doesn't know that the potential grades are to be privately kept. Some random guy asked him what his potential is. Clearly, as an honest person, Deron answered truthfully...
"22%? We have here a weakling huh? I guess that's it. The academy will be a cinch."
Alfir watched with apathetic eyes. It's situations like this that the academy is trying to avoid. Potential grades are not everything, but some people can't help themselves but think that it is...
Honestly, Alfir felt sorry for the bullies. Deron's true potential grade isn't 22%. It's 44%, it's because the artifact for measurement malfunctioned due to a third party's interference.
"Hey, 22 percenter. Want to be my bitch? I won't treat you badly, lick my shoes, I might just let you go."
It was a rough-looking guy. Maybe a year older than Deron, but their age isn't that far. His thug-like demeanor was created by the slum's cruel environment, hence his roughness.
"Hey, are you deaf? Did you not hear me?" The bully started pointing fingers. He tapped Deron's temple… once…twice…thrice… it was with provocation.
"Stop it," Deron politely asked.
"What? Like this?"
Instead of retrieving his index finger, the bully forcefully tapped Deron's chest with it.
'Remember, in the academy, don't let others look down on you. But that doesn't mean you should look down on others. One of the heroes' strongest traits is their honor.'
These are Eron's words to him, and Deron remembers them well.
"I don't want to hurt you." Deron helplessly sighed. He is not annoyed, just feeling pitiful by the bullies in front of him.
…
"I am sorry, this is gonna hurt."