There were eight corresponding Talent Ranks for a Talent Assessment or Evaluation.
These assesments held the same Ranks as the power scaling of Awakened, namely from Beta rank to Candela progressively.
In simpler terms, this meant that if an Awakened is Evaluated or Assessed to have Mortal Rank Talent, or even Candela rank talent, then it was very much likely for that Awakened to grow powerfully enough to reach the very pinnacle of the current Awakened system.
It meant they were very likely to become Candela ranked Heroes.
Same thing applied if their Talents were estimated to be Mortal, then they had a higher chance of making it to Mortal Rank.
Same with Hero Rank, Quadra, Scribe...and so on.
The point was, A Talent Evaluation or Assesment was literally directly equivalent to the potential of an Awakened.
But both the words Talent and Potential are honestly vague, so in most cases, these Evaluations aren't always exactly right and only provided a vague estimate that was more or less opened to interpretations.
One can be estimated to be a Mortal Ranked talent, but end up breaking through all the way to Hero or Quadra rank. In the end, Talent or Potential can not be calculated, and only estimates can be made.
There were also other variables that could constitute to the Talent of an Awakened throughout their lives.
Awakened Heroes, after all, were a pretty sporadic group of people.
But those cases and scenarios were actually in the minority.
They weren't rare, but they weren't necessarily common. It was actually kind of hard to find Awakened like that.
In the end, the results of an Evaluation were mostly ninety-eight to ninety-nine percent right in most cases.
The remaining one percent was left up to the various types of variables that may appear or happen later. So it also wasn't odd to have a second Evaluation later, or even a third one.
One's Talent deeply influenced and mattered to an Awakened's worth and standing in the world of Heroes.
No.
In the World of Aethoria as a whole.
But...
"...this....this doesn't make sense." I muttered, the pure absurdity of it all hanging over my head like a guillotine.
But I stared at the crumpled piece of paper in my hands that contained my data and analysis and results from my Evaluation.
"How is it possible that my Talent is null?! Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"
Null...
Didn't that just mean I didn't have Talent at all?
Null is zero, right?
No.
Null is definitely zero!
Not Beta Rank, but outright zero!
"Bullshit." In the end I couldn't stand the sight of my Evaluation result paper and crumpled it before stuffing it into my pocket.
...no matter how senseless it was, I still couldn't afford to loose the paper...
"Haa..."
I ruffled my hair with my fingers and breathed out deeply.
I had just stepped out of the building used for the Evaluation, and it was only until the doors were finally shut close behind me did I feel the strange and numerous gazes stop probing my back.
I could almost still hear the whispers of shock and disbelief of the other cadets who were present when I had been evaluated.
I took in another breath and stared blankly at the campus spread out before me.
'For now let's find a seat and sort this all out.'
There was no point in agonizing and panicking over what just happened. Fact was, it already did. What had happened and happened.
All that was left was to calmly piece together my thoughts and determine my next course of action.
Quite frankly, I was certain my evaluation was dead wrong. The fact I was an Awakened alone was already enough proof of that. It was also why even the staffs and other candidates were that perplexed.
I walked for a few minutes and eventually found a bench in what was like a park-like area and took a seat.
Languidly, I watched as various students in uniforms and people walking by. It was still quite early, I guess.
The Evaluation generally began by 10 am in the morning, and took about an hour before my turn. The current time was probably about 12:30, or even as late as 1:00.
Wait then, isn't that late?
Ah, whatever. Point is, it's still just noon.
'Null talent...'
From what I know, there has never been an Awakened with that level of Evaluation according to my knowledge.
'Meta, what do you think of this?' as I watched the scenery drag on, I calmly asked Met inwardly.
[There are numerous flaws found in the evaluation, and the evaluation system as a whole.]
Even Meta admits my Talent assesment was far from the truth.
Null Talent meant, Zero talent.
No Talent.
That literally meant, I had no hope as an Awakened.
Even Heroes with the lowest ranked Talents, had Beta Talents, or Mortal Talents.
That meant, their peak and prospects were permanently, or majorly limited to Beta Rank or Mortal Rank.
But here, Null Talent meant I wasn't even an Awakened at all.
Did that make sense?
Clearly, I could use Aura...and even Mana. I even had access to skills, and possessed a more sturdier body and abilities compared to an average mundane human.
Not to mention...
...
[Rank: Mortal ]
...
I was an Awakened at the pinnacle of Mortal Rank.
I was already this close to my next advancement and breakthrough.
All of this pointed towards my evaluation and talent assessment being pure bullshit.
And I could only think of one reason. It also seemed like Meta was aware too, of course she was.
I leaned back on the bench and sighed exhaustedly.
"Haha... I knew it. In the end it's because of that right?'
Ether.
In this case, this was my own 'variable'.
It made reasonable sense when I thought about it.
The primary energy of the world and Awakened is Aether. For starters, for one to awaken, one needed to become aware of Aether in the world and in their bodies.
But after the Dungeon of Laplace incident, the primary energy inside of me has been replaced by the mysterious and enigmatic energy that was Ether.
Though, in actuality the two didn't seem to be that much vastly different from each other, I had always known for a while now that, Ether is way more than it seems.
For starters, it allowed me to use both Aura and Mana.
In the end, the 'legacy' of a Demon Lord couldn't be just as simple as a change in name, right?
And perhaps Ether may be more than just an Inverse of Aether that allowed me to use both Aura and Mana. But that was something I'll have to discover on my own eventually.
The true potential and properties of Ether...
But back to the topic.
"That evaluation device... The Orb couldn't gauge my Ether, could it?"
[Negative.]
"Haaah."
That was it.
Mystery solved. Case closed.
It's almost ironic and funny.
When I thought about it, I almost chuckled.
"Ah... I was so worried about having Ether be discovered in my body, to the point I was contemplating hiding it's trace with the Ring of Solomon."
But rather than having my Ether been found out, it was what masked my evaluation.
Ether is the inverse of Aether; the words of the description rang clear even at this moment.
That device was obviously specially made to evaluate the talent of Awakened by measuring the quality of their Aether and a other aspects like that.
It wasn't manufactured with the capacity to estimate something like Ether , which was completely unheard of.
The device couldn't 'read' my Ether like it was supposed to for Aether, and as such, my Talent evaluation came out as this.
As zero.
Nothing.
As nonexistent.
In a way, it wasn't wrong.
In the end, I really didn't have Aether inside of me.
"Hehe..." I let out a small self-mocking chuckle.
"Wait, does that mean I'll never get to realise what my real Talent is then?"
Ah.
While I was fixing in the blanks, I suddenly thought about a small problem.
"Hey, Meta, you sure you really can't tell me what my Talent is? Huh?"
[That is currently impossible. Ether is a variable, and besides, it's not like it matters to you.]
Ah, well. I guess Meta had a point.
Beta, Mortal, Hydra or even Candela.
What does any of it even matter at the end of this road for me?
My path probably lies further beyond. As of now I've no basis on the advance ranks and their strength. So I can't exactly say if even being Candela-rank will be enough to survive the vision.
Haaa...
'I feel like I've been sighing a lot just today.'
Ah, I could feel my head throb just from thinking about how my evaluation may cause me some pains.
I mean... Yes, maybe I've been attempting on being low-key over the past few years, but I was thinking there's no point for doing that now anymore.
Suddenly discovering I didn't have talent... I wasn't sure if I was to consider it being convenient or not.
Now definitely, no one will be expecting much from me.
Damn.
I can already almost imagine how Adrianne may react.
...
20 Powerstones... already again. Really killing me, guys— I mean, it! Really killing it!
Bonus Chapter incoming then. Also, I'll be going privilege soon, but more details on that later...