I felt disheartened. After listening to conversations and asking some of my fellow recruits, I discovered that I had the lowest affinities in the group. The second lowest was a mere 7,49% affinity!
"Life is so unfair!" I complained silently. I hoped there would be others with even lower affinities than mine, but it turned out to be the opposite. Disappointed in my talent, I waited patiently for them to evaluate our mana senses.
After nearly an hour of waiting, it was finally my turn. I stood before the training field once again, but this time, instead of a running track or strength meters, there was a circular platform in front of me. It had a diameter of at least 10 meters and was painted in red and white.
Each color corresponded to a number painted on the ground (indicating the distance in meters). In the center stood Lucio, looking somewhat exhausted. Sweat dripped down his face, and he seemed drained.
"You're the last one, right?" Lucio asked.
"Yes, I'm the last," I replied quickly.
"Very well…" Lucio seemed relieved; evaluating this recruit had taken a toll on him mentally, even if not physically. He could barely hold on after assessing Marcos.
"And we can blame this war for everything. If not for that, someone from a higher realm would have been sent to evaluate and train these recruits." Lucio pushed aside those thoughts, focusing on the task at hand.
"What do I need to do, Major?" Marcos asked respectfully. Seeing Lucio's fatigue, he was cautious not to upset him.
"Just sit in the middle of the platform. I'll forcibly activate your mana sense," Lucio explained before Marcos could ask further.
"Why do we have to force it?" I blurted out, realizing I'd spoken aloud. I feared their annoyance, but luckily, that wasn't the case.
"We're doing this assessment forcibly because you're not yet capable of controlling mana. Once you can, you'll be able to perform this test on your own."
"And as for your gift, if you don't want to spend years trying to discover the right feeling, you won't be able to use it in the short term."
After patiently explaining, Lucio instructed, "Now sit here," pointing to the center of the platform. Feeling embarrassed, I sat in silence.
"Since you're so curious, let me explain what we're about to do," Lucio took a deep breath and began.
"First, know that we conduct these evaluations to gauge our recruits' talents. It helps us classify those with greater potential. Our kingdom has been doing this for centuries, mainly to predict the future ranks recruits can achieve in the army."
"Typical of a fantasy world," I thought sadly, before refocusing on Lucio's words.
"Cutting to the chase, your mana sense will help you feel and control mana. But not everyone is equal; some sense it better than others. That's why we've created this platform—to determine how far your mana sense extends. The farther it reaches, the greater your talent for control. If it doesn't extend far… well, your future growth will be limited."
"Right now, you can't expand your mana sense because you haven't begun training your core. So, I'll extend my own mana sense toward you, then touch key points in your spirit to forcibly activate it."
Confused by terms like "core" and "spirit," I listened intently. But before I could ponder further, I heard something truly terrifying.
"I have to be very focused to do this because if I fail even slightly and forcibly touch a part of your spirit, it could trigger a violent reaction in your body. That would be very bad—most likely fatal, and if you're lucky enough to survive, you might end up like a vegetable."
Before I could complain, Lucio extended his mana sense toward me. As it entered my body, I entered a kind of trance, unable to perceive the world—just darkness.
Terrified, I lost all contact with my senses without warning. But after what felt like hours (though I'd lost track of time), I began to feel something.
It was strange—I felt oddly relaxed and tranquil. Then this sensation, which only made me aware of my own existence, started expanding several meters. After a few seconds, I returned to the normal world. I had regained all my senses, but instantly felt dizzy.
I vomited my morning breakfast. Lucio, on the other hand, was astonished by what he had just witnessed.
Everything had gone well, despite his low energy. But he realized that Mark had no ordinary sense of manna. Normally, a person's sense of mana would extend about 2 meters in diameter. Even Lucio, who was above average with a mana feeling that could expand up to 4.5 meters, fell short compared to the boy.
Even Syntia, who had demonstrated remarkable talent with an 8.3-meter mana sense, paled in comparison to Marcos.
When Marcos finished emptying his stomach, he slowly got up from the ground. He noticed Lucio staring at him in amazement.
"Did everything go well?" he nervously asked. Lucio's expression hinted that fate might be at play.
Thankfully, Lucio quickly composed himself. He looked at Marcos with a strange smile, then delivered the wonderful news.
"You have a mana sense that reaches up to 11.20 meters!" Lucio finally exclaimed.
Marcos, unaware of the significance of that number, felt dejected.
"Only 11.20 meters? Surely that girl surpassed me by far…" he murmured, oblivious to Lucio's wide-eyed gaze.
Author's note: The terms "core" and "spirit" will be explained in more detail in upcoming chapters, in case you have any doubts.