Sylvester glanced at the Rank Chart on the blackboard and learned why the Archpriest was so agitated.
No, the metallic-silver dot at the center of the Orb was not for the Master Wizard or the Silver Knight. But instead, it was for the Supreme Wizard and Platinum Knight. There was no other rank higher than this! There were only question marks.
Sylvester loved that he had such talent but hated the attention. All he wanted was to live a long and calm life. But with this status of having peak talent, everyone would expect high and mighty things from him. It would get a lot messier for a man looking for a normal life.
"Ehm…" The Archpriest finally gathered himself up. He solemnly patted Sylvester's shoulder and gave some sagely advice. "Do not feel too prideful for having great talent, son. For mere talent will not make you a Supreme Wizard; it takes tears, sweat, and blood. Even then, many perish in the quest to ascend to the Supreme Wizard's rank.
"Be humble and gentle. Working hard is all that's instrumental. Son, remember that lesson hard. I have great expectations from the famed God's Bard."
With his mind in a mess, Sylvester sighed and returned to his seat, 'You're not good at acting, pal. I know that I'm fabulously… fucked.'
He knew that the Archpriest was merely trying to act calm. He was itching to run away and shout at the sky that he would be teaching the peak talent. But his duties to continue the class came first.
"Felix Sandwall, come forward and repeat the process," Archpriest Edmund instructed.
Sylvester saw the boy he chose to sit beside getting up and taking the test. In his case, the Orb first stopped at a golden color with a dark golden dot. But then it started to change again.
Ting!
Just like in his case, the Orb stopped at a silver color with a metallic-silver dot inside it. Sylvester was amazed. 'A peak Knight talent of Platinum rank?'
Archpriest Edmund was on cloud nine. "Magnificent, another great talent. Your magic talent may just be of Archwizard, but with the Knightly talent of platinum, you can easily fight and defeat anyone below the rank of Grand Wizard. I expect great things from you as well, Felix Sandwall."
By the end of the sorting activity, Archpriest approved only 27 students, and the class moved on.
Once everyone was settled, Archpriest Edmund started speaking in a more serious tone. "As God's Favored, all of you are deemed wizards and knights of high talent. But just because this Orb deemed you Grand Wizard, Platinum Knight, or Supreme Wizard does not mean you are unique.
"Years ago, the Orb deemed the Holy Father a Supreme Wizard as well, but if he had not worked his entire life to improve, he'd still be an Arch Wizard at most. Unfortunately, it is a fact that most die while trying and others quit or wither away from old age while trying to go beyond Arch Wizard and Golden Knight. It's mind-breakingly hard, for I can tell from my own experiences.
"Work hard, give your all, or disappear from history. Stop dreaming and thinking 'what if,' start moving and question 'how to'. As long as you are earnest, Solis will guide you."
As Archpriest stopped speaking, he moved to take out a cloth bag from a cupboard beside the blackboard. "Now, I will distribute you rank plates. Put them on your chest on the red capes. When in the Holy Land, all of you must always keep them visible."
One by one, Archpriest Edmund walked to every desk and placed the rank plate on it. Some kids quickly put them on while others stared at them in interest.
Sylvester was one of them, as he desired to see how this thing could so easily tell one's magic rank. But he had another question since he had the talent in both professions, how would it reflect on his golden plate? From what he saw, everyone got a golden plate.
So he asked directly. "Archpriest, how will my knight rank appear on this?"
The man smirked smartly. "That's the beauty of it. You don't get a silver plate unless you have only Knightley talent. So all of you are Wizard-Knights. That makes you a wizard first and a knight later because wizards are inherently stronger than knights.
"Some of you may have noticed that the rank plates don't indicate your exact level. In simple words, each rank has levels, and to promote from one rank to another, like, from Apprentice Wizard to Arch Wizard, there are five levels in each rank. And for the ranks beyond Arch Wizard, every rank has ten levels. Except for the Supreme Wizard, since none know what lies beyond that.
"Similarly, Knight ranks have levels too. But since Knights are generally weaker than wizards, they require fewer levels to step up. So there are three levels for each rank until you reach the Silver Knight rank. Then for the Golden and Diamond knights, there are eight levels. Now, does anyone know why the rank plates do not give us detailed information?"
It was an understandable thing. Sylvester responded after raising his hand. "To ensure that the enemy does not know exactly how strong you are. Two wizards of the same rank fighting will be careful about each other. A wizard of higher rank could lose to a wizard-knight of a lower wizard rank but higher knight's rank.
"The rank plate serves the purpose of identification as a wizard and knight only, not to show one's strength."
Archpriest clapped at the answer. "Brilliantly answered! True, the rank plates show one is a wizard or a knight. But, almost always, you will not see anyone showing their rank plate outside the Holy Land unless they are church members.
"The rank plates are seen primarily in cities and areas where one would not get attacked for any reason. You all will slowly learn more about the ways of the Church as time goes on. Right now, all of you will be called Deacon. By the time you become a priest, you will learn everything. So let's start with the first class now.
"I will be teaching you elemental magic and incantations. If you don't have books, don't worry. You don't need them today. First, you will be learning elemental magic. Raise your hands if you have learned it already."
All the young Deacons in the class raised their hands, making it clear that nobody here was a total rookie. Just like Sylvester, others had been training too. But it had a lot more to do with their background, as many were either from rich or noble families. At the same time, those who were not rich had the help of their local monasteries.
"Good, we will now test how many elements have an affinity with your magic. Typically, there are four elements—Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. However, in exceptional cases, there can be Light and Darkness, like in the case of Deacon Maximilian.
"If you look under your tables, you will find black paper. Please put it on your palm and send Solarium into it. You will see blue, red, white, or brown colors appear in different mixes. Yellow or dark green if there is Light or Darkness, respectively."
Sylvester lifted the top of his table and found a compartment. There was palm-sized black paper. As instructed, he put it on his palm and sent Solarium into it. Then, just like his Knight training, he covered it with magic particles.
"Ah! I have Darkness too!" One student exclaimed loudly, his paper showing three equal distributions of blue, brown, and dark green.
Sylvester focused on his own and saw the color change. For a split second, he noticed that the paper had an equal distribution of blue, red, white, and brown, but suddenly, the whole paper turned bright yellow.
'Do I have it all or just the light one? But I can easily manipulate wind and fire.' The appearance of the paper left him in doubt. So he raised his hand and asked, "Archpriest, why does mine only show one color?"
The bald man calmly approached Sylvester, but calm was only on the surface as he sprinted. "Show me the paper!"
Archpriest Edmund observed it closely to see if there was any defect in it. But he could not find anything. Even then, he couldn't believe someone could have the rare element as their only main element. And even more scary was that one can have peak talent with just this affinity.
"Let's try it again." Archpriest gave him another black paper to test.
This time, Sylvester reckoned he didn't send enough Solarium. So he used as much focus as he had learned over the years and went all out.
Woosh!—The paper turned into bright yellow once again. But this time, it didn't even flicker to show the colors of other elements. Not just that, the black paper turned into ashes.
"This is… bizarre. I have never seen this before. It seems you have an extremely high light elemental affinity only. I will have to notify the headmaster about this. But worry not. You are no less talented than anyone here. In fact, you are blessed, I would say." Archpriest patted his back and told him to sit and relax as he went to other students.
However, Sylvester had a different theory about what just happened. 'It seems my light affinity is so strong that it's eclipsing the other elements?… Can I turn this misfortune into an opportunity? If no one knows I have an affinity with other elements, I can surprise my enemies in combat.'
While he was musing about this new golden spoon, the elemental affinity test came to an end. Some had an uneven mix of two or three affinities, and a few had an equal affinity in all four elements. Sylvester made sure to record all of them in his head as he had a feeling that this class was nothing but a fighting pit.
"Good, I have recorded all your affinities. So let's end this class, for it's time for lunch. Remember, wizards must eat more because Solarium requires not just the rays of Solis but body strength. So I recommend you go and bask in the holy warmth whenever you have lunch.
"However, before I leave, I must tell you an important thing. This is not a typical class. You all are God's Favored, and we don't know yet which one of you is the real one. But time will slowly reveal the fated one as some of you pass, and others are left behind.
"However, as most of you have high talent, if you work hard enough, becoming a high-ranking clergyman of the Church of Solis wouldn't be hard, and one of you may even become the next Pope. For this, it is a must that all of you must remain celibate, for only the pure of the body can be pure of mind.
"And the church shall ensure you don't sway while you're here."
Not just Sylvester but every single boy in the room felt their body shiver upon hearing these words. After all, many in the room were heirs to nobles and royals.
Sylvester, however, merely looked at his crotch with a conflicted expression, wondering if this life was worth sacrificing these heavenly jewels. 'Wait a minute, are they going to turn us into eunuchs? Am I about to lose my little white snake?'
Miraj, too, innocently glanced at the jewels of his new beloved caretaker with eyes full of pity. He then whispered in Sylvester's ears. "Bye-bye balls?"
"..."
___________________
[A/N: Remember, MC and all these young men have high talents, they are not OP yet. But they have a good chance of becoming OP. If they don't work hard, they will stay weak. This means MC will have to grind like everyone else if he wishes strength. He just has a few extra tricks up his sleeves.]
[A/N: Look at this para comment to see the rank chart with levels. It helps you understand.]