CHAPTER 229: THE ENTRANCE EXAM (5)- EVERYONE’S AFFINITY REVEALED.

The questions were not hard per se but the last ones were not easy too.

’Are they trick questions?’

Theo had not taken a single test for years even in his own world and to do it again was like easy and hard at the same time.

Luckily, the first 15 questions were very easy so he breezed through them and then they announced the time again, which was 10 minutes.

Theo did his best to answer these questions, one of which he had no idea about.

When he was done, he started revising with satisfaction; whatever they needed from him to get in the academy, it was done.

He waited patiently when finally, his vision came back. Theo saw someone pulling on the slate he had written his answers on and it was one of the uniformed people that had given it to him.

They went about their way, leaving the children in the seating to wait for what was coming next.

"How did it go? What was the answer for the last 5?" Theo asked Ron in curiosity, thinking the guy would know.

But when Ron did, Theo realized something—that the questions might not have been the same.

When the ruckus in the hall erupted again, Theo looked at Ron with squinted eyes.

"Are you a unique affinity holder too?" Theo asked.

Ron was looking ahead and when Theo asked that, he giggled cheekily while nodding.

"From the moment I came to know there was someone in my generation who got one too, I tried finding about them only to come across Merrick Barony’s name. Your family is quite popular among the nobles even though you’re only a Baron, no offense." He explained with a smile.

That was when Theo looked at Ron’s stat for the first time, he was only level 2 with only ’Ron’ written in the name. It made him curious until he divided a theory in his mind.

"I am from an orphanage a few hours from here. It’s in a cozy, small forest." He stated while popping his fingers.

Theo nodded and asked the next big question, "What’s your affinity?"

The cheeky kid didn’t say anything for a moment before he moved his head to look at Theo again.

"You’re about to find out."

There was silence among them after that where Ron just kept looking at the instructors on the stage.

Within a few minutes, the cloaked man came forward again.

"The written portion is complete. Your answers will be graded in time, but the true measure of a tamer... is not ink on a slate." His words felt heavy for a moment there and Theo was sure he was doing it on purpose.

Theo sat up straighter. His nerves were kicking in after a long time, and last he remembered, the last it was in front of his father when he was trying to prove his decision for taming the mantis.

The man spoke again, "The second stage, the bond testing, will begin now. This will reveal your affinity, your beast’s loyalty, and the strength of your connection for all to see. It cannot be hidden, nor can it be faked."

The murmurs of excitement and utter dread could be felt around the room.

Some of the children started tapping their feet to the ground, making sounds, it was a really nerve-racking moment for a few.

Theo could even see some kids praying, while others, mostly nobles, smirked as if the outcome was already decided, which was not as it would have to be for him too then.

Theo glanced at Ron, who still wore that cheeky grin. It annoyed him a little. He couldn’t tell if Ron was actually confident or if he was just a dumb kid.

Uniformed individuals began walking between the rows again, this time carrying small rune-etched crystals. Each one glowed faintly, like a beating heart.

"This is an artifact that was made by the benevolent artificers, it can detect the bond level between a tamer and beast with a single tap of the palm."

"When your turn comes," the cloaked man explained, "place your hand on the crystal and let it sit there until it is said for you to move it. The bond between the beast will show its true nature." He spoke and soon squinted his eyes, "Those with shallow ties will be sent back no matter how well you did in the written exam."

The uniformed individuals began distributing the crystals row by row, and the atmosphere thickened with tension.

Theo finally received his.

"It’s warm."

"It sure is."

Theo’s stomach tightened before he meditated with his eyes open, the only efficient way he had found and by far, it was working as he and the crazy Ron seemed to be the only ones calm right now. Some had even started crying, seeing that the result would be there any moment now.

Mantis was inside the bond just in case he needed to show it too while the ant queen, the workers, and the spider were in the room they were allotted.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sudden change in the color of the crystal.

Theo saw it change from red, then yellow, to blue and stop.

The uniformed individual wrote down the color of the crystal and asked away, "Please tell me your name."

"Theo Merrick." Theo spoke soon, making the uniformed woman’s eyes flash for a moment before she went away.

"Blue means your bond is good, that’s amazing!" Ron shouted yet again, making some kids squeal or jerk suddenly.

Theo chuckled awkwardly and asked for his which was at yellow.

Soon enough, the first row of children began stepping forward to the stage one by one.

The first child, a girl from a noble family, moved up the stage toward the cloaked man.

The cloaked man said something to her, making her move and place her hand on a small orb of light.

Theo could swear that thing was the same that he had seen in the ceremony hall.

"Fire." The cloaked man spoke and the girl moved back to her seat in nervousness.

Everything was being written down and nobody was getting their result right away.

Theo saw many kids go up and then come back only for their affinity to show.

"Illusion."

When the affinity was stated out loud, almost everyone erupted in shouts as if something great had happened.

There was a girl with blue hair and a serious expression getting out of the stage.

Theo didn’t know if Illusion was good or not but he knew it was something he had only read about one time before.

The list went on, and many other kids got the different affinities, some Theo had no idea for until it was his turn finally.