Silence.

A long of period of silence overtook the crowd as they patiently waited for the result of the assessment.

Suddenly, a man spoke up among the Royal Army. "Well then, Cedric, what's with the hold-up? Show us the boy's [Status] now!" As he stood up from his seat, clearly impatient.

The man was huge and muscular, with a bald head and a thick beard on his face. He's a general of the Royal Army of Strega Kingdom, Beltram Strauss. His name was known throughout the land, mainly because of his exploits during war between Strega Kingdom and its neighbor, The Grenada Kingdom. Although the war ended because of a truce, his great, but also horrible deeds in the battlefield earned him the title {The Mad General}.

"Well? What are you hell are you waiting for?!" Beltram said, now shouting.

"Th-this, well.." Cedric hesitates, looking at the still shocked Sion. He then looked at Garrett, who was now wearing a serious expression on his face.

Beltram saw Cedric's hesitation, which infuriated him even further. "In the name of the Great King Arthus Strega, I demand you to show us the damned thing!"

This was followed by thunderous sound of the royal soldiers' spears hitting the ground, shocking the onlookers.

Cedric looked conflicted. An edict from the royal king is not to be trifled with, even by a Magus like himself.

"Fine, I will now reveal Sion Claude's [Status]." Cedric said as he looked pitifully to the motionless Sion beside him, still distraught by the event that just transpired.

Cedric raised his staff and a flash of white light appeared once again, forming a gigantic parchment in the air. The crowd then started to read its contents.

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Sion Claude

Level 1 - Human

Status:

HP:125/127

MP:0/5

Strength:49

Speed:47

Agility:42

Endurance:58

Intelligence:46

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"Look at all those stats! As expected of the White Death's son! But...wait, why is his mana capacity so low?"

"Even with those stats, I don't think the Insignia Academy will accept him, right? He's trash after all..."

"Hmmm... I think he will do well as a Commander in the Royal Army. Who knows, maybe with his talent he can even become a General!

Countless people reacted to Sion's [Status], some impressed at his other stats and few were mocking him for having such a low mana. A classic case of schadenfraude.

"Oh gods, Garrett." said Leonorra as she breaks down, crying at Garrett's shoulders.

Garrett just stood still, not allowing his composure to stir. He prepared himself for anything, after all. Including this. He does feel a pang of sadness for Sion, now not even moving an inch from Cedric's side, as if his spirit has been crushed by his ordeal.

But no...

He musn't show his emotions.

Not now.

Not while "they" are still here.

Suddenly, a commotion was made as different factions tries to recruit Sion into their ranks.

"Alas, tis quite unfortunate about your mana capacity my boy! However, on behalf of the Legendary Swordsmen Sect, I would like to invite you to be taught Patriarch Xu Lin himself! By then, achieving [Legendary Swordsmanship] would be as easy as the dragon soaring the skies!" An old man, most likely from the Tian Continent, said as he tries to entice Sion to join him.

"Young warrior, you do not need magic nor swordsmanship to make a name for yourself.A real warrior only needs strength to stand atop the world! Come join the Raging Lion Guild, and our leader will make you into a formidable warrior in no time!" A big lion-morph, wieding a huge battleaxe sticks his chest out proudly, clearly from the continent of Evernus, the paradise of the demi-humans.

"Your talents will only be wasted on fighting, child. You may not have enough mana capacity, but you have the potential to become a great scholar! The doors of the Moratem Academy are always open for people like you, Sion." A pointy eared woman said with a smooth voice. With the classic elven features she has, she's most certainly from the Faeneris Continent, the elven sanctuary.

Before more factions could speak, a voice suddenly made everyone stop. They looked at the man very carefully, as if they're afraid of displeasing him at any way.

"Quiet!" Garrett says, before he walks towards Sion and Cedric. This action made Sion snap back to reality, curious about what his father is doing.

"Sion won't be joining any factions today. Anyways, thank you for your time." With that, Garrett continued to walk towards Cedric and Sion.

Then suddenly..

"I don't think so, Garrett."

Beltram Strauss, The Mad General, stood on Garrett's way.