The courtyard of the academy was crowded, so much so that you could hardly breathe, and more people just kept coming. Ren, Powell, Lixiss, and Azriel were glad they woke up early to register for the exam and enter the courtyard when there weren't as many people. It was around mid-morning and they had been waiting in the courtyard for hours. The courtyard had long since been filled to capacity but that didn't stop people from trying to get in. A old man with a long white beard that reached down to his stomach and dressed in a purple robe trimmed in gold flashed into existence on top of the steps of the main hall in front of the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the robed figure began, causing the courtyard to quiet down in an instant, "I am Elirin Erozil, the Headmaster of this academy, and I would like welcome each and every one of you to this school. Now before we begin I would like to ask everyone who isn't participating in the admissions process to please leave and those of you who are participating to please organize yourself into three groups. Those doing martial studies gather on the left side of the courtyard, those doing magic studies gather on the right, and those of you who are undecided, don't know, or are without preference gather in the middle."

At the Headmasters direction people began leaving or going to their designated spot. It took roughly half an hour for people to leave and for everyone else to find in their groups. Ren bid farewell to Powell, Lixiss, and Azriel as they were going to the martial studies group while he was staying where he was in the center. By the time they it was done the courtyard had emptied by half and there were three distinct groups.

"Good," the Headmaster said," Now that everyone's together, if the martial students could fallow Master Riker to the training fields for their tests and the mage students fallow Madam Nizel to the practice hall from their tests. Those of you in the middle please follow me." With that groups left for their respective tests.

Ren and his group followed the Headmaster through a set of large doors into the main hall. Entering the hall the participants were amazed by how enormous it was. It had a large, vaulted ceiling that soared above their head and large statues of impressive individuals set in alcoves lined the walls. On one side were figures in armor carrying swords, bows, and daggers and on the other were figures dress in robes surrounded by strange symbols. The group followed the Headmaster through the hall for several minutes before they reached their destination. Going through another door they were lead into a large auditorium.

"Everyone take a seat please," the Headmaster said. He waited until everyone had found a seat before he spoke again. "From here on out you will be facing individual trials to best determine where you should be placed. This may take a while so I suggest you find some way to occupy yourselves. Exit the hall when your name is called and you will be lead to the testing area." with that the Headmaster left. Within a few minutes the first person was called and left the room.

Throughout the day names were called and the crowd slowly but steadily got smaller and smaller. After the first hour Ren found a quiet corner, took out some sewing supplies, and started repairing his equipment that got damaged by the journey over. The repairs only took an hour or so and Ren was getting hungry so he pulled out a piece of bread to munch on. As he ate Ren began work on another small project. This time he was creating a coin purse, though it was really only for the practice and for something to do.

Time went on and it approached evening. Ren still hadn't been called and by now the room was almost empty. While he was waiting Ren had made finished the coin purse than spent the rest of the time in a light meditation, keeping an ear out for when his name is called. The room emptied until he was the last one left. By now Ren was a little worried. Did they forget about him? Did he forget to do something when he registered? So many thoughts were swirling through his head that he almost missed his name being called. Jumping up from where he sat, he dismissed a window informing him that his concentration went up again left the room.

When he left the auditorium Ren was met by a student in a uniform similar to Leo's except it was white and they were wearing a cloak instead of a jacket. Without saying anything the student quickly led Ren through the main hall before stopping at a class room. They motioned him inside and closed the door.

Inside the room five people sat at a long table set up at the front of the room. The man in the middle, who was the Headmaster, motioned for Ren to stand in front of them. The people at the table looked at Ren for several minutes without saying anything, either because they were waiting for him to say something or because they were sizing him up

"Why have you come here?" Asked a women sitting to the left of the Headmaster

"I wish to become a master craftsmen and I hear that this academy recruits the best for their instructors." Ren replied

The five people in front of Ren were stunned into silence by his answer. They had heard many different answers to that question. Some had come here for the prestige, others for connections, and still others because of family obligations. People have said they came here for power, glory, knowledge, or for the potential to become rich. Up until this day no one had said they had come here to be a craftsmen. The expressions on their faces went from shocked to incredulity, even the Headmaster had a curious look on his face. After a few minutes the women sitting on the far right of the table recovered enough from here shock to ask Ren a question.

"What craft to you wish to learn?" she asked

"As many as I can.” Ren said, looking at her with a serious face. “I don’t the point of limiting myself to one.” The men and women in front of Ren were shocked into silence a second time

"Ridicules!" the man on the far left exclaimed as he stood up, "Boy!" he said, point a finger threateningly at Ren, "If you're not going to take this seariously then leave. Who’s ever heard of someone coming to the school to learn crafting? We take this academy very seriously and I won't stand anyone mocking this school."

Ren turned to look at him.

"I can assure you that I’m being quite serious." Ren said with a slight look of annoyance on his face

"How can you be serious?" the man half yelled, "We turn out some of the best warriors and mages on the continent! As I said before, no one has ever come here seeking to become a craftsmen! Furthermore-"

"Regulus be quite!" yelled the man sitting on the right side of the headmaster, "You can obviously see that he's serious by his tone and the way he holds himself. And also, just because something has never happened doesn't mean that it won't! I don't see a problem with coming here to be a craftsmen, though I don't know about trying to learn more than one of them, but it wouldn't hurt us to let him try."

The man on the left, Regulus, was about to yell back when the Headmaster held up his hand

"Regulus, Gilan, that's enough," He said, "We're nor hear to debate our personal opinion about this young man and his reason for coming here. We're here to decide if he should move onto the next stage of testing." The headmaster look at the other sitting at the table before turning to Ren and continuing. "Young man, why do you wish to become a craftsmen instead a warrior or a mage like your peers?"

“I could become a strong warrior that known throughout the continent by fighting all sorts of beast and monsters or I could become a mage with no equal that capable of reshaping the land as I see fit but no matter how strong I would get I would still be reliant on craftsmen to provide me with the food I eat, the potions I would use, the armor and weapons I would wield. I wish to become a craftsmen who can forge the strongest weapons, craft the sturdiest armors, brew the most potent of potions, and imbue objects with the most powerful of enchantment. I wish to cook food that would make the gods jealous, create works of art that could bring light even to the darkest of hearts, and design and build fortresses that are impervious to all but time. You asked me why I want to become a craftsmen, the reason is simple: To me there is no greater thrill and no greater joy than creating something that surpasses everything made before it, that causes other to look at it with awe. I wish to become a craftsmen because in my heart I’ve always like making thing more than destroying them. I’m sure you can understand that.” Ren said, looking at all of them.

With his short speech Ren had stunned them for a third time that evening with his passion and commitment. After a short moment the Headmaster smiled from ear to ear.

"Good!" He said, "Good! That is the type of attitude we want to see at this academy!" The Headmaster exclaimed, "Return here tomorrow for the second part of the test. I look forward to see what you can do." With that Ren was dismissed.

When Ren got back to the inn the others bombarded him with questions so Ren told them about that day’s events. Asking some of his own questions Ren found out that everybody had to take multiple tests as each one weeded out those who weren't ready or those who were not wanted. Finished with their stories, everyone prepared for the following day and went to sleep.

Ren and the rest woke up early and made their way to the academy. At the entrance to the courtyard they were again split up into their groups, Ren going back to the auditorium and the others going back to the training field. Over the next couple of hours people trickled in. Even before the last of the people had arrived Ren could see that his group had shrunk by at least half. Ren assumed that the other groups fared little better.

After everyone had arrived the repeated the same process as the day before, though it was a longer time between names. Ren again spent his time meditating while keeping an ear out for when he was called. As with the previous day, the room gradually emptied out until Ren was the last one. When his name was called Ren was lead to a different room than the day before, this time it was a large stone room that had tables lining the walls with a moderately sized raised stone platform taking up the center of the room. There were also more people than the day before, at least three time as many. Ren was motioned to stand on the raised platform.

"Today you'll be put through tests that will determine your aptitude," the Headmaster said, "because your path is different than the rest you'll be put through tests that not only test your aptitude for martial combat and magic but tests that will test your aptitude for crafting as well. The first test will be for martial combat, your opponent will be Master Riker, the academy's weapons master."

As the Headmaster was talking a large man with a slightly intimidating aura walked onto the raised platform with two swords, he tossed one of them to Ren.

"There is only one rule for this test." master Riker said, "and that is to give it your all. The purpose of this test is not just to see how well you can fight but also to gauge how much potential you have. There is no time limit. This test will go on for however long it needs to. We will begin when you are ready."

Riker held his sword in a ready position and waited for Ren, who also held is sword in the ready position and nodded to Riker. The two of them stood like statues, waiting for the other to make the first move. After a few minutes of just waiting Ren made the first move. Ren pointed his sword straight ahead of him and used [Dash], speeding towards Riker. Riker easily avoids the attack and slashes at Ren who just barely manages to deflect the attack before using [Dash] again, getting inside Riker reach, and thrusts the pommel of the sword into Riker gut. Riker jumps back and avoids the strike but Ren doesn't give him time to rest and uses [Dash] to get close before using [Flurry Strike] to try and overwhelm him. Riker blocks all of the blows with ease and slashing at Ren, forcing him back. Riker than goes on the offensive, lunging at Ren. Ren throws himself to the side to avoid the sword, losing his balance in the process. Riker take advantage of this and starts slashing at him, keeping him off balance. Riker pushes Ren further and further towards the edge of the platform. When they get close to the edge Riker slashes at Ren one last time with a strike stronger than the previous ones. Ren manages to block the strike but he force causes him to be push over the edge fall off the platform. Ren lands on his back with a thud, the sword clanging to the ground next to him. Riker jumps down and offers Ren a hand, which Ren accepts, and helps him up. Ren offers the sword back to Riker.

"Keep it." he says, as he waves Ren away, "we have plenty."

Riker than motions for Ren return to the platform and returns to his place with the rest of the teachers.

"The next test will test your aptitude for magic. It will actually consist of multiple parts which will be explained by your next examiner Madam Nizel."

"The test will be split into four parts," said Madam Nizel, who was walking up to the platform, "They will consist of testing your innate affinity, testing your concentration, testing your comprehension, and testing your aptitude." Madam Nizel walked up to Ren and pulled out a square stone tablet about the size of a dinner plate. "First is testing your innate affinity. Do you know about affinities?" Ren shook his head to indicate he hadn't. "Very well then I'll explain." She began, "An affinity is how closely you are tied to or can relate to a certain aspect of this world. There are many different affinities but the only ones that people are born with are the affinities of seven basic elements that make up this world: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Lightning, Light, and Dark. Affinities is broken up into eleven ranks, from lowest to highest they are: Nonexistent, Very Low, Low, Commoner, Novice, Apprentice, Expert, Master, King, Saint, and Deity. Each rank also has a corresponding letter designation from H to SSS. The higher the rank the better your affinity." She said, "Do you understand so far?"

"Yes." Ren replied

"Then I'll continue." She said, "Being at least King rank can grant you a bonus to you natural resistance to that element and starting at novice you will get a boost to a certain aspect like speed or strength. Most people have an innate affinity of apprentice in at least one element though it's possible to have an innate affinity in more than on. About 30% of people have more than one affinity and about half of those people have more than two. If you want an affinity to a certain element but you don't have an innate affinity for it you have to spend time with that element, receive a blessing, or find an Affinity Gem for that element which, although they can give you King ranked affinity in that element, I wouldn't bother with, as they count as legendary class treasures and people would go to war to obtain one of them."

Ren's eyes widened at this and Madam Nizel smiled slightly at his reaction.

"Finally, you can raise the rank of your affinity through training but you first have to have an affinity with that element. Getting from one rank to a higher one is easy at first but gets more difficult very quickly. It take the same amount of effort to go from Nonexistent to Very Low to Low but it takes twice as much to go from Low to novice, three times as much effort as Low to Novice for Novice to Commoner, five times as much to go from Commoner to Apprentice, and so on and so on. Besides all of the time and effort needed to go up a rank, at once you get close to breaking through to a new rank you'll reach a bottle neck. To pass these bottlenecks you'll need to deepen your understanding about that element. You can't just read about it in a book either, you have to personally understand it as it's different for everyone. Some elements will be easier for you to understand than others and, like the rank ups, every bottleneck gets more difficult to pass. I have yet to hear about anyone getting to King rank unless it's innate and those people are exceedingly rare, maybe 1 in a 100,000,000 at best. There has never been anyone in the last several thousand years recorded to be at a rank higher than King, though it been said that in the past there were people that were only a step away from becoming gods themselves." Madam Nizel said. "Now it's time to find out your affinity. This tablet will awaken and show only the most dominant element, so if you have more than one you'll have to discover that yourself. Now put your hand on the tablet."

Ren placed his hand on the stone tablet and waited. Nizel muttered something and touched her finder to a small circle in a corner of the tablet. Immediately after the tablet began to glow with a faint blue light. This lasted for several seconds before fading. Immediately after the light faded Ren felt like he was being lightly shocked. Ren removed his hand from the tablet and Nizel looked at the result, almost dropping it, extreme shock evident on her face as she tried to articulate the result.

"I-it's...h-he's...b-but...how? Nizel said, stuttering several times.

"Well what the result?" The Headmaster asked, confused by her reaction.

Madam Nizel slowly walked over to the Headmaster to show him, having given up on saying it, holding the tablet like some important artifact. When the Headmaster saw the tablet he, and the two next to him, also had a look of deep shock. The headmaster's mouth moved for several seconds before he managed to say just one word.

"S-Saint."

Everyone in the room had a look disbelief on their face. Several were looking between Ren and the Headmaster, a few were just staring at Ren. Ren just looked confused and was about to say something when a window popped up.

Ding!

System Message

Congratulations!

You are the first person to awaken a Saint Ranked affinity!

You have gained the title of [First Saint], 1000 Fame and the

Unique skill [Aura of the First Saint]!

Aura of the First Saint

Unique - Active

Beginner lvl 1 - 0%

As the First Saint your strength is legendary. You can release your powerful saintly

aura to sow terror in your enemies while bolstering your allies strength and moral.

-Enemies greater than 20 levels below yours have a 100% chance to get the [Fear]

statues effect.

-Enemies less than 20 levels below yours have an 80% chance to get the [Fear]

statues effect

-Enemies equal to your level have a 60% chance to get the [Fear] statues effect

-Enemies less than 20 levels above yours have a 40% chance to the [Fear]

statues effect

-Enemies greater than 20 level above yours have a 20% chance to get the [Fear]

statues effect

-[Fear] lasts for a minimum for 1 minute. The longer the aura is active the higher

the chance enemies get affected and the higher the chance of the [Fear] statues

stacking to increase its power and duration

-you and your allies get a 10% increase in stats; HP, MP, SP, and Ki Regen, and are

Immune to the [Charmed] and [Fear] statues effects. Higher levels increase

Effectiveness and cost.

-cost: 200mp + 10mp/sec

[First Saint]

As the first person recognized to have awakened a Saint Ranked affinity you will go

down in history as a legend. Should you reveal your identity you will gain instant

prestige and be shown the respect deserved of a king and will gain instant access to

Kings, Popes, and Emperors. You will get steep discounts and even be given things for

free. You will also have you name on the leader board. Should you decide to keep this

a secret you will not revive the above bonuses except with the faction or factions

that discovered it if there was one. Your name will not be appear on the leader board

and instead will be replaced with 'anonymous'. You can reveal you name at any time to

receive the benefits

Would you like to reveal you identity? (y/n)

"No"

Ding!

System Message

Congratulations! By being they first person to reach the rank of Saint in the element

of lightning you have been given the title of [First Saint of Lightning],1000 Fame,

and the unique skill [Lightning Cataclysm]

[Lightning Cataclysm]-Active

(Beginner - lvl 1 - 0%)

Saints are recognized as masters of their elements and as such are closer than most

people can imagine to them. Saints receive a powerful legendary ranked

[Saintly Storm] skill upon reaching that level. As the first Saint of you element you

have been gifted the powerful unique ranked [Saintly Cataclysm] skill which is an

upgraded version of the [Saintly Storm] skill. [Lightning Cataclysm] is an Area of

Effect attack skill that causes a devastating lighting storm to form and strike your

enemies with powerful lighting. At higher levels [Saintly Cataclysm] skills can reshape

continents. The effectiveness and base cost increase with level

cost: 100mp-MaxMP

[/split]

Ding!

System Message

Congratulations to 'Anonymous' for being the first person to awaken a Saint Ranked

affinity and has become both the first Saint to appear and the first Lightning Saint

to appear.

As Ren read the announcements the examiners in the room had gotten over most of their shock and were now looking at Ren.

"On the next part of the test." Nizel Said, breaking the silence, "Now we will test your concentration. Please sit or stand in a comfortable position."

Madam Nizel waited for Ren to get situated before reaching into her robes and pulling out a smooth white stone about the size of a fist. The stones surface was fill with intricate runes that glowed slightly. Madam Nizel handed the stone to Ren.

"This stone will float while you’re concentrating on it. As time goes on it will become harder and harder to keep this stone floating. The test it to keep this stone floating for as long as you can. This test has no time limit and will only end when the stone stops floating. You can begin when you are ready." Nizel finish and walked of the platform, joining the other examiners.

Ren took several deep breathes to calm himself before turning his focus to the stone in his hands. Almost immediately the stone began to glow strongly and lifted about a foot out of his hand where it stayed. Just like the examiner said, after a few minutes the stone started to drift down causing Ren to turn more of his attention to the stone. As time slipped by the stone got harder and harder to keep in the air and Ren's eyes began to hurt from staring at the stone for who know how long. Ren took a risk and blinked and, to his surprise, when he blinked the stone was momentarily easier to manage. Armed with this knowledge Ren took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The effect was immediate, the stone seemed to have become lighter. With his eyes closed all Ren could see was the stone floating within his mind. The heavier the stone got the deeper into his consciousness Ren sank.

After some time Ren began to feel a sense of peace flowing through him. Ren realized that he had arrived at the place within his mind where he spent his time meditating. While Ren found this interesting he quickly returned his attention to the stone. Ren and the stone sank deeper and deeper into the sea within Ren's mind, eventually coming to the barrier that Ren had felt the first time he tried meditating. Ren was too busy keeping the stone floating to pay attention to his surroundings and didn't notice that he had reached the barrier. What Ren did notice was that the stone started to get heavier faster than he could keep up. Ren poured all of his attention into the stone, closing himself off from the world until it was only him and the stone. Slowly he managed to regain control of the stone and, together, they continued to sink deeper into the sea of Ren's mind.

Outside of Ren's awareness things had been happening. First of all the barrier that had blocked Ren for so long was gone, shattered by Ren's will. Outside of his body a few hours had already passed and the time was moving later and later into the night. The examiners were amazed by the sight in front of them. While they were expecting something different thanks to the events before they weren't expecting this mysterious boy to last for so long. They weren't even sure THEY could last this long. Earlier when it looked like Ren had reached his limit the stone's glow had suddenly changed to a dark orange and shot back up to float one foot above Ren's hands.

It had been six hours since Ren had started the second part of the magic test and the stone had finally touched Ren's hands and stopped glowing. Ren opened his eyes and was greeted by a few notifications.

System Message

Concentration has increased by 25 points

System Message

The skill [Meditation] had raised in level and is now intermediate lvl 2

System Message

Congratulations! You have unlocked the Ki stat!

Ki is and energy that is generated by life itself and

can be used for both healing and combat. The amount

of Ki one has is related to one's own vitality while how

easy it is to use and control is determined by one's wisdom.

Ki is recovered naturally by resting or meditation.

Ren dismissed the first two messages but raised an eyebrow at the last one. He was definitely looking into the one later. Ren returned his attention to the room and saw Madam Nizel walking towards him. Ren got and, feeling how sore his muscles were, wondered how long he had been sitting there. He hand the stone back the Madam Nizel who put it back into her robe before speaking.

"The next part of the test will test your comprehension and will also lead into the last part of the test which test your aptitude. We will supply you with a spell which you are to study and then cast when you are ready. If you cannot understand the spell than please say so and the test will end. There is no time limit for these next two tests." With that she produced a Small book and handed it to Ren. The title of the book was Static Blitz and, according to the description on the first page, it was a spell that shot small amount of lightning bolts at a single target. Ren looked through the book and found that most of it was dedicated to telling the reader about how the spell worked. Quickly reading through it Ren realized that he somehow already knew a lot of what was in the book so he skipped to the back part of the book that actually held the instructions to cast it. In the back was an incantation one would have to say in order invoke the spell.

As Ren silently read the incantation he could feel a strange energy flow through him. Ren stopped reading the incantation and the flow stopped and the feeling faded away. Ren glanced around and spotted a wooden training dummy had been set on the platform. Ren stood up and faced the dummy, causing the examiners to look at him. Ren looked at the incantation one last time before reciting it out loud.

I command the lightning to come and strike down my foes, [Static Blitz]!

Ren felt the energy flow through his body and build up in his hands. The energy built up until Ren reached the end of the incantation when it was released in the direction his hand was pointing, which was at the training dummy. Ren was surprised to see lightning bolts leap from his finger and sail towards the dummy. After the spell was completed a notification window popped up informing him that he had learned a new spell. Looking at it Ren was surprised that it only cost 10mp to cast. Ren went to return the book but was refused.

The Headmaster stepped forward and addressed Ren

"Since you wish to become a craftsmen your final test will be to craft some of your choosing. We will provide the materials and you'll be able to keep what you make. The materials are on the table at the back of the room as well as any tools you may need. If you don't see something you need we will get it for you if we can. You have 1 hour from the moment you start. You may begin when you are ready."

The headmaster stepped back to his previous position and Ren when to gather materials. Ren brought the tools and materials to the platform, activated [Extreme Focus], and began working. Ren had decided he was going to make himself a pair of bracers to help augment his defense. He first began by measuring his forearms and drawing a pattern on a piece of cloth that would be the inner most layer. He did the same with the other materials than began sewing them together. After the initial joining Ren checked the fit and made some adjustments before sewing everything firmly together. Next came the embroidery, which took the longest. The design Ren went with was flames rising from the wrist meeting icicles descending from the elbow. In the middle was the same symbol that was on his other pieces.

Before Ren knew it an hour had passed and he had finished the pair of bracers. Standing up, Ren walked to the Headmaster and handed over his work. The Headmaster walked over to a group of men standing near edge of the room. After several minutes the Headmaster returned the bracers, thanking Ren, and told him to return the following day for their answer.

Ren walked back to the inn and realized how late it was. Powell and the girls had logged off for the day so Ren was alone for now. Once he got back Ren examined the bracers he had made.

Craftsmen Bracers - Rare

Type Arm Armor Quality Great

Defense 10 Durability 230/230

Bracer crafted by a skilled craftsmen and marked by their personal symbol

Provides defense as well as a small boost to crafting

+1% to crafting

After examining the bracers Ren put them in his inventory and went to bed. Advertisement Previous

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