He didn’t know why himself. The only think Vidio could think of though was Cori, and the moment he had held her for the very first time. It was such a strange feeling.

Unlike his beloved, Helial’s future Master came from a humble Clan. It was nothing like that of the Episcopous of the Mana Congregation. Therefore, Vidio had been bullied all his life.

“Those cloths you’re wearing are the same ones you clean the floor with?”

“Does your mummy work as a whore at night to afford any food?”

“We’ve heard the Master caught you snooping on noble girl through the lock once again. Do you really think a little duck turns into a swan eventually? Watch out and stop biting off more than you can chew!”

Vidio hadn’t always been a strong independent man. Quite the contrary. Just like many others before him, Vidio had grown up a simple kid, nothing less nor more.

And all that venting did weight down on young Vidio’s heart. Every day he would find new ways to grow stronger and fill the lack of his Clan and family. But often he would fail. His results could hardly compare those of the others.

The day before his Affinity test, which every scholar had to take before reaching the First Phase, all the big Clans’, Sects’ and Guilds’ young promises had already worn their best proud smiles. They had all been provided with thousands of resources so as to stand out amongst the others.

Sitting cross-legged, Vidio was trying with all his might to sense the power of some Element within his Soul. For how hard he tried though, he had to admit he sensed none. Inside him was only empty face. Vidio was in utter despair. He still gave sign of no Affinity for any Element whatsoever. The test to take part in the Mana Congregation was only a few minutes away. If he hadn’t proved talented enough, he wouldn’t have by any means become a member of the most powerful institution in the entire nation.

Meanwhile, the room was bustling with voices.

“Did you see? It’s Vidio again. He’s still trying to sense some Element out!”

“Hahahah!” The little pleb is a pig head, isn’t he? How could he even get as far as here? He really is untalented. He’s trash. I wonder why his parents would still invest their little money on him.”

The villainy behind these words discouraged Vidio. He lost his concentration, which prevented him making a last minute miracle.

The sky was dark grey. It looked as though a giant laid his huge ash hand over the earth. The clouds didn’t encourage Vidio quite either. The boy was in the most unstable mental condition.

Splat

Tiny raindrops began to fall on Vidio, drenching his hair. Great. Vidio stood up and ran under a tent to take shelter together with a few other guys. He stood at safe distance from them.

This was common of him. Vidio on one side, everyone else on the other.

Some servants were sent to cover the heads of a few contestants. They were First Phase servants, they could create a Mana barrier screen their young masters from the rain. None of them stepped close to Vidio. The youth stood under the downpour, his clothes drenching.

The Masters of the Mana Congregation were afraid of no squall for sure. They decided to let the kids take their Affinity test nonetheless.

Two of them where white-bearded and had long reached the Fifth Phase. They stepped out and created a long Mana barrier as they stood near a giant crystal wall.

“Look! That’s the Soul Crystal!” said of the kids.

“It’s to check your Soul’s Affinity! It’s the best tool to check what you’re inclined to, and how to develop it afterwards.”

“I want so bad my body to show the Affinity for Lightning!” sighed one.

“Idiot. There’s nobody here who could dream such Affinity. An Affinity for Lightning is too powerful and shows an outstanding talent. It means you have the brightest future ahead. Nobody with an Affinity for Lightning could become nothing other than a genius.”

As they all began to move towards the training ground, Vidio wore a gloomy expression. They had all found shelter from the rain but him. He barely had the necessary, a servant ready to protect him with a Mana screen was out of the question.

Vidio’s mother was an ordinary mortal woman. Her health was poo. The last of her long string of diseases was particularly invasive, so much that she was bed-ridden for several weeks. Even today, the day of the test, she hadn’t enough strngth to be able to stand up.

Before leaving home, Vidio had held her delicate hand and promised solemnly: “Don’t worry, mum, I’ll bring home the sexiest girl as well as the living expenses all young member of the Mana Congregation receive. I’ll find a nice Master girl and she’ll help me heal you.”

Nobody in their Clan would care about them.

Vidio gazed at the raindrops as they fell on his clothes. I have no Affinity of any kind, he sighed to himself as he sat in the mud, under the rain pouring down. Everyone glanced at him with a disdainful smile on their face.

He was about to go back to his meditation, hoping to find anything. His heart though was wrung. He knew there was nothing to hope for. He wouldn’t sense some Element and develop an Affinity right away for sure. The young posh guys were trained since early childhood in places filled with specific Elements. This way, they would develop a tendency towards that Element through their Breathing Technique since the youngest age.

Vidio wore an helpless smile, his shoulders curved and his eyes visibly sleep-deprived. Then he began to close his eyes.

Boom!

A lighting hit the earth a few meters away from the building that hosted the Mana Congregation. Everybody jumped in fright.

“Heard that? Hahahah!”

“One day, my Lightning Mana will let me create a lightning like that!”

“Cut the bullshit, man! Best-case scenario, you have an Affinity for shit!”

Everyone was laughing and joking. None was scared; they were ready to take the test. They had all already taken an Affinity test inside their Clan. This test was merely a formality to check any possible progress or major change.

On the other hand, Vidio had never really trained to spot his Affinity. His Clan wouldn’t pay much attention to him, after all. It surely wasn’t wealthy enough to afford a Soul’s Crystal that checked the Affinity of its young user.

Vidio got lost into the whirlwind of those young boys’ laughter. They were all gazing at him with disdainful eyes, mocking him. Everyone was laughing but Vidio. His expression was sad and resigned instead. His heart was pounding much louder than any other. He wanted so bad to be strong enough to change things. But reality was much harder than that. He was drenching under the pouring rain while the young posh promises of the biggest Clan stood under the shelter of Mana shield.

“Stop, shut up!” a girl suddenly cried.

At the sight of that stunning young girl, everyone fell silent. She looked so beautiful she would make empires crumble by a mere smile. Her jade skin glistened under the clouded sky. She must be the same age as Vidio. Right behind her stood a servant who exuded a terrifying Aura.

Judging by her clothes and her powerful servant - who looked even stronger than the Masters standing beside the Soul’s Crystal, that girl must the some big shot’s daughter.

The young girl tapped her feet and vehemently reached for Vidio. All laughter shut down. None dared utter a word. Nobody could afford offending such a high-up person. Even though everyone there was some big shot’s son or daughter, there’s always a sky over another sky.

Most of the noblemen acted disdainfully towards those weaker than them. Being raised in the most flexed wealth, they were kind of used to forgetting about all the benefits they had had while other had not. Their heart grew cold and full of contempt. It could host nothing other than their own image. Some people, on the contrary, knew perfectly well that their accomplishments were mostly due to their Clan’s or Sect’s funds. This was the case of the girl.

The girl’s name was Cori. She was the Mana Congregation Episcopous’ only daughter. One of the most powerful men all over the nation. Despite being the daughter of such a rich man though, her talent was of a mediocre kind. Without her Clan’s resources, she wouldn’t probably get anywhere. Cori knew perfectly well that she would be no other than a beggar without the Clan she was born in. It was for a twist of fate that she didn’t wear rags. This was why she felt the deepest sympathy for the weak she met in the Capital.

Cori pointed her finger towards the young Vidio, sitting in the mud, and told her servant: “He needs shelter too.” As these words died out, Cori stretched her hand covered in white silk towards the boy, a beaming smile on her face: “Come on, stand up. The test will begin in a matter of minutes.”

AS Cori stretched her hand outwards, another lighting fell down. Time seemed to stand still.

It was as if raindrops moved in slow-motion before Vidio’s eyes. Cori’s pearly teeth shone out in the dark like a lighthouse. Vidio gazed up at her hand and his heart melted. Despite being a noble, the little girl had paid him more attention than he had ever been paid in his life.

But her hand stretched out meant so much more than this.

If Vidio stretched his hand, he would hold hers, he would allow her pity him, he would resign to his own weakness. A man accepting her pity would be a man who resigned to be weak.

Suddenly, while the world seemed to move in slow-motion, his gaze fell on the lighting behind Cori.

Wild, swift, ruthless.

He felt some strange connection to that lighting, as if he could see through its very essence. The lighting had been amassing charge inside the cumulonimbus, as if in wait for the time to shine and unleash its power.

Vidio stared at the lighting in silence as time around seemed to finally stop. He slipped into a deep meditative state. A great flow of Mana rushed from the outside inside his Meridians. He felt his skin tingle along with a strange feeling, slightly painful.

In that very moment, Helial’s future Master fell into the most outstanding state. He was sensing an ultimate deep communion with Mana, which many people wouldn’t get the chance to experience in a lifetime. It was the kind of experience that smoothened the experiencer’s Dao of Mana in many ways. It would give a load of information that, if used properly, would bring the greatest advantages over anyone else.

Without even his knowing, the girl had just bestowed Vidio with the most wonderful gift. She had made his heart shake and opened his soul to a unique experience. Despite his not really knowing that had happened, the young Vidio sensed an inexplicable force flow its way out of his body, establishing an ever stronger connection with the lightning.

Vidio inhaled deeply.

BOOOM!

Time went back to normal speed and the lighting fell to the ground, unleashing a terrifying thunder.

The girl gazed down at Vidio, a strange smile on her face. He seemed sort of wonderstruck. Before she could tell him not to be scared that she wasn’t her to mock at him, the muddy boy before her rushed upright like a spring. He totally ignored her hand.

Once on his feet, Vidio smiled maliciously and said: “Do you want to become my fiancé, miss?”

He grabbed Cori’s hand to hold it in his. However, that clutch cast a jolt of electricity through her body.

“Ahhh~,” she rushed backwards and let out a faint cry. Meanwhile, everyone stared at the shameless young boy, speechless. Even Cori’s servant didn’t spare the sneering boy a glare.

Cori gazed down at her hand, then at Vidio’s. She noticed that he was surrounded by a thousand sparks glistening in shades of blue, as if he were a tiny lighting amongst a pack of inert swans.