'Not all will be your friends.'
Perhaps that was just the case. That was what Emra meant when she said that not all were going to be his friends. He could feel sting of rejection roaming around him without hesitation.
'Emra won't leave me alone, right?'
Buji remained on his knees on the cold, polished floor of the platform with his head still bowed low in disappointment.
'If this was only the beginning of their plan, what will their endgame be? What did it have to do with what had just happened?'
Too many questions with no answers swirled in his mind. He had no one to guide him, no one to offer clarity. He felt utterly doomed. If only he could travel back in time, or rather was able to manipulate time, somehow, things at the moment wouldn't be his problem.
His world was crumbling right before his eyes, and he seemed powerless to stop it. But he has to, he couldn't continue putting his head down, for no one. He didn't think anyone would care if he stayed defeated.
All hope was lost. Was this what his father meant when he said he should experience things in life? What lesson was he supposed to learn from this humiliation?
'None. There's absolutely nothing.'
Instructor Hay in his usual nerdish bent slightly toward Buji and studied him with a sharp gaze, then rising again he murmured. "Interesting."
'Did he just say interesting? Does it mean awakening no talent was a unique trait for a hunter?'
'Definitely no! I can only think less of its possibility.'
Buji doesn't think so. The hall had been filled with utter shock from the students the moment Kyrexis had shut down without assigning him any talent, except his S-rank. An accolade rank which was going to end up useless without the talent. Hay just said that in his continual speech.
"I didn't expect what hadn't happened for more than a few decades now to repeat itself. The last survivor of the bloodline that existed with this kind of anomaly had been annihilated sixteen years ago," Instructor Hay paused.
Buji rose his head slightly. His curiosity to grab what Hay was about to say piqued, despite his frustration.
"Yes, he was annihilated and we had believed he was the last of the bloodline," he said curtly.
Then leaning closer to Buji and lowering his voice said, "But if the Zin's family had recommended you, let's give you a benefit of the doubt."
Instructor Hay's statement started becoming annoying to Buji. His statements grated on Buji's nerves. Hay was talkative and he, Buji didn't want any more of his talks, whether useful or useless. It was becoming unbearable.
He only wanted Hay to be a bit far from him now.
So, he mustered the courage and went to sit back on his seat. As he walked back, he felt the heavy stare of all the students from the crowd. It was very much embarrassing. But a foolish thought came to him.
'What about Kira? If I made her know I liked her, would she accept me like this? Or will she throw me off like everyone else seems ready to do? Anyhow, it doesn't matter. At least in the meantime.'
'I only wish Emra could at least be by my side this last time. This stuff or whatever it is called should just end. He needed to hear those words of encouragement from her. Even if this was the beginning of their plan, I guess she won't just change with her words all of a sudden.'
'Or will the girl, the Mage awakener encourage him like she did when he was about to give up on Kyrexis.'
Whatever was bound to happen, he just had to return to his seat and wait for everything happening inside the hall to end. Then, maybe he could go and meet Emra. That was what he finally planned he was going to do.
He hadn't noticed students were cursing at him due to he was drowned in thoughts. He only noticed now he came closer to his row.
"An S-Rank Awakener with no talent?"
"I have never seen such disgrace. That's just his name, 'A disgrace'."
"He's nothing but a failure."
"Unacceptable! The Zin has nothing to do with this, the association should do what's supposed."
"I knew it! This streak of greatness was bound to be broken especially by a Zin awakener. And look what we have—it was collected by a Public awakener."
At this statement, laughter erupted in the hall. So loud and traumatic to Buji who placed his head in between his two legs, covering his ears with both hands. But he had a fragment of another statement.
"…not his fault. How could a weakling awaken a talent? I was surprised he even awaken an S-rank. He could have supplemented it by awakening 'Weakest' as a talent."
"Muhahaha!" the laughter resounded in the hall.
Buji recognized the voice. So, he turned to the direction it had come and realized Zaki, his one-time bully in school had been recommended by the Wallos family. If only he had noticed him during the process, he would have found out what his talent and rank were.
The hall buzzed with opinions from different angles. None of them gave him any zeal, he was only waiting for everything to end. He won't be allowed to leave the hall until the end, if not, he would have preferred drowning in the river they had crossed on their way to the Academy.
'That way, more peace will be assured.'
The chaos in the hall seemed to entice Instructor Hay, so, he had kept quiet for a while but now, he cleared his throat. He had more things to attend to.
The uproar finally drew silence as Instructor Hay stepped forward and raised a hand, which helped the hall slowly fall into an uneasy silence. On his other hand, a paper parchment was seen. He held onto it as if someone was going to steal it with some kind of strange spell. Maybe from the old students since the new students did not know what might be hidden in the paper.
Since the hall had become calm, he began.
"Oh, my dear student, your awakening process is not a guarantee for greatness. It only reflected your essence within you, and was used to place you according to what it perceives." He paused, searching with his eyes across the hall until his gaze settled on Buji.
"Buji Yinyin," Instructor Hay called. "An S-rank awakener. He awakened the greatest rank but without a talent. A rare occurrence that linked what he held of an ancient anomaly a long time ago, but it will still have to be re-considered."
"But that will be after three weeks here, in this academy," he muttered, his focus on Buji.
"Unfortunately, Master Buji had awakened an S-rank talent but remains…"
Instructor Hay purposely paused to let the crowd throw their comments, but foolishly didn't allow that either as he continued with his orating.
"Miss Kira, congratulations on becoming the highest and top awakener for the day. It's your luck you beat the Zin, it has never happened. So, should I say that your name has entered the Academy's book of rare records? Last year had been Emra Zin, his daughter," Hay continued announcing.
'Emra Zin?'
'Was this connected to the reason his former schoolmate had gasped at the mention of her belonging to the Zin family or was there any other reason? Or, the boy that had stood out had no idea?'
"And either way, it is quite unfortunate to record that the Zin's family recommendation for this year, Buji Yinyin, has awakened as the weakest of the class," Instructor Hay announced, his voice sober. "But there will always be room for improvement."
'There will always be room for improvement.'
That became Buji's best statement of the day, but he still hoped for the end of the awakening ceremony."