Five years passed, since I was reborn in this world. In the past five years, I trained diligently. Waking up early to train my magic skills and then spending the rest of the day gathering pure energy to advance my inner worlds. Aside from my training, I also spent time learning the language of this world. My days, for the past five years were very busy.
*I can't believe it's already been five years. Time sure flies huh.....and if I remember it correctly, today is supposed to be my Awakening, but the problem is, I am already awakened and not only that, my inner worlds are already at the solid blue stage.*
"Cassian are you ready?" My mother called
"Yes. I'll be there. Just a moment!"
*Well let's think about that some other time. For now I should head out.*
I opened the door to my room and stepped into the living room, where my parents and sister were already waiting for me.
"You are not nervous, are you?" My mother asked.
"I am not nervous. I am actually really excited."
"That's a relief. Let's head out then" said my father
I walked to the main door, with my family walking right beside me, and opened it.
As soon as I opened the door, I could feel the winds crashing on my face. They carried with them a sweet fragrance of flowers and fresh grass.
The scene in front of me was breathtaking. It was a bright and beautiful day, with the sun shining high in the sky, casting a warm and inviting glow over the landscape. The landscape was covered in green grass with patches of wildflowers in every color of the rainbow. A gentle breeze, rustling the leaves of the trees and making the tall grasses sway back and forth.
It was my first time stepping out of my house. Even after I could walk on my own, I never really went outside and would either train or study. Hence, the scene in front of me was enough to mesmerize me.
I took another step forward and stepped into the small garden of our house, which was covered with fences along its perimeters. Outside the garden was a dirt road, which led to three different ways. One to the north, one to the east and one to the west. The north road led to the village centre. It's the place where we'll be heading to.
In the past few years, I learned that my father is the village chief. Though he is the village chief, he prefers not to live in the village center and rather live outside of it.
"Isn't this a beautiful day Cassian? A perfect day for your awakening ceremony." My sister said. She was really excited for my awakening ceremony, even more than me.
"Why are still standing there? Let's hurry up. We have to reach there as fast we can." She said
We started walking on the dirt road.
After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the village center.
The village center was pretty noisy and crowded today because of the Awakening ceremony. In the distance I could see a house, a little bigger than the surrounding houses. It was made of stone, while the other houses were made of wood and other materials. Many families were entering the place one by one and we did the same.
Upon entering, the first thing I noticed was a large orb, slightly larger than a human head. The orb was transparent, and was kept at the center of the room we were in.
*That orb.... It must be the orb father mentioned to me.*
As I was lost in my own thoughts, father called me.
"Cassian"
I turned back in response "Yes, father?"
"You remember what I told right? You'll be getting appraised by that orb over there. You know how it works right."
"Yes I remember it. The orb takes a small amount of energy from our body and determine what inner world one possess based on the energy. It also determines a person's inner world grade."
"Correct. You get full points" he said giving a thumbs up.
"Oh it's the village chief" said someone
"Good morning chief"
"Morning chief"
"Haha good morning everyone" he said
"Are you here to get your son appraised?"
"I sure am"
"Time sure flies huh. I remember seeing him when he was just three months old. I am looking forward to what inner world he has."
"You go first chief."
"Haha alright alright. We'll go first."
With that we approached the orb and stood right in front of it.
**I really don't want everyone to know about me possessing both gates, not to mention their grades.**
"Put your hands on the orb." A man standing next to the orb said.
"U-uh s-sure."
**Drake, is there a way to hide my inner worlds from getting appraised?**
[I can do that.]
**Perfect. Then hide my mana gate.**
[Should I also hide your inner world grade?]
**Yes please do. Make it seem like a black grade.**
I placed my hands on the orb. The orb started glowing and I felt like some of my energy was being sucked inside the orb.
The shine went out after a few seconds and some words started appearing on the orb.
The words on the orb said-
Name: Cassian talen.
Ki gate- opened
Ki gate grade- black
"You possess a Ki gate of the black grade" said the man standing next to the orb.
"Congratulations Cassian, you have a Ki gate." Said sister as she hugged me from behind.
"Congratulations son, you possess a Ki gate, just like me." Said father. He had proud expression on his face.
"I am sure you'll grow just as strong as your father someday." Said mother.
After our turn, many families stepped forward to get their childrens appraised. Some awakened a mana gate, some awakened a ki gate, while some didn't awaken a gate at all. It seems their inner worlds didn't open yet. They'll have to try again next year.
After half and hour, all the families were done getting their childrens appraised, we decided to go back to our house.
On my way home, I could see the disappointed looks of the children, who didn't awaken their inner worlds yet.
"Oh right. Next year is the student selection competition and Emma will be participating in it."mother said
"Student selection competition? What's that mom?"
"You don't know yet right? I guess it is obvious since we didn't tell you. Student selection competition is a competition between all the nearby villages. 10 year olds from every village participate in it. This competition is divided into two divisions: Magic and martial arts. The top 100 children from each division will be given a chance to join the most prestigious academy in our kingdom, of course they'll have to pass the academy's exam to officially join it. For magic users it is the "Lumus" academy, located in the royal capital, "Roxana". As for the martial arts users, it is the Arvandor academy, located in the border city of Arvandor."
"This is a very important competition for us, since there is no other way for commoners like us to join these prestigious academies."
*So that's how it is. Sister Emma has been studying and training diligently to join the Lumus academy. Ki users join the Arvandor academy, so I guess that's where I'll be going. I am looking forward to that day.*
After a few minutes, we arrived at our house. I spoke first
"Father, I would like you to teach me martial arts tomorrow."
"Oh? Are you sure you want to start learning martial arts this early?"
"Yes. I believe the earlier I start, the better."
"Let me think...."
After a bit of pondering, he agreed to my request.
"Alright we'll start tomorrow, but remember, don't push yourself too hard. You are still a kid, so enjoy your childhood and don't just keep training all the time."
"Hm, I'll keep that in mind."