After a moment of silence, the oldest guy in the group stepped up and touched the glass ball.
Nothing happened.
He pulled his hand back, unfazed, nodded calmly at the instructor, and walked out without a second glance.
The guy looked to be in his thirties and seemed to know what this was all about. Durmi noticed he was the only one who hadn't chatted with anyone else or teamed up with anybody.
One by one, they all touched the glass ball. It never changed.
Some of the younger folks were probably wondering if this was some kind of joke. They left looking confused as hell.
Soon, only Durmi and Ken were left.
Dulmi went first. Again, nothing happened.
But when Ken touched the ball, the clear water inside suddenly rippled, like a tiny wave.
"...Huh?" The instructor stared at the ball for a bit, then looked at Ken. "You've got a bit of talent, but not much."
Ken's face went from confused to thrilled, then back to confused.
Dulmi perked up his ears to listen in.
The instructor didn't seem to mind Dulmi being there. He said, "Our god sometimes gives a little power to the lucky ones. But the power you get as a newbie..." He paused, like he was trying to find the right words. "It's better than nothing, I guess."
Dulmi and Ken looked at each other, both surprised.
"Of course, it's still useful at sea," the instructor added. "Come with me. We might be able to hook you up with some kind of charm."
Ken excitedly followed the instructor out. Dulmi stayed behind, mulling over what the instructor had said.
...Power given by a god?
But since Ken's talent wasn't enough to earn more power, the instructor's tone was pretty casual.
Then again, a place like the Shenlo Association seemed more "worldly" than anything else. It was no Sun Temple, that's for sure.
Come to think of it, if the Shenlo Association offered this way to get power, did other god-related groups do the same?
A while later, Ken came back alone, his face a mix of joy and disappointment.
He said, "They did some more tests on my... talent? Then they told me this was as far as it goes." He held up a small medal, probably the charm they mentioned. "They said I could never become a follower of the Sea Mirror or get any more power."
The rollercoaster of emotions had left Ken looking a bit dazed.
Dulmi patted him on the shoulder, saying sincerely, "But hey, you did get some power. Cheer up."
Ken blinked, then nodded hard.
Dulmi curiously checked out the charm. It was made of silver-colored metal, roughly square-shaped with wavy patterns around the edges like the sea, and a landmass shape in the center.
Sheran and Fogland faced each other across the sea, and on most maps, cartographers always put Sheran on the left and Fogland on the right. This charm was no different.
He asked, "What's it do?"
"I think... it can calm one storm at sea?" Ken said uncertainly. "But my power's not enough to fight those huge storms."
"That's plenty. I bet ship captains would be pretty happy to have you aboard."
They both laughed.
That's the difference power makes.
Ken looked more confident now. They agreed on when to leave together.
Dulmi bummed lunch at the antique shop.
He'd just finished high school and had been killing time lately. He could've gone to college - with his parents' reputation, he could've picked any university in the Augustus Kingdom.
But he was dead set on going to sea.
While eating, Dulmi told Benjamin about Ken Lynn.
He asked, "Uncle Benjamin, is this... 'power'?"
Benjamin thought for a moment, then sighed softly. "Yes, this is power. The power of the gods. That glass ball thing? It's a tool for testing talent, or you could say, a 'vessel'."
Sheran had seven main gods and tons of other deities. For people in Sheran—and even Fogland now—the seven main gods were woven into every aspect of life.
Even little kids weren't strangers to power. It represented the might and authority of the gods.
But could humans wield this 'power'?
"The gods grant power to humans with talent."
Dulmi blinked, looking a bit confused. "So, power can only come from the gods?"
Benjamin gave Dulmi a long, deep look.
Before Dulmi could figure out what that look meant, Benjamin had already looked away, chuckling as he said, "My dear little Dulmi, you'd better not let those zealots hear you thinking like that - they'd call it blasphemy for sure."
Dulmi shrugged and said, "Then let me ask something else."