All eyes were on him. Heigdal made a move with his hand, the wind obeyed him, and the curtains behind him opened. In the center of the stage was a glass ball, out of which came five glass pipes. At the base, they contained a small layer of sand of different colors and a different symbol engraved on each pipe.

‘For those who are not familiar with this process, I will explain it by means of a demonstration,’ Heigdal announced, approaching the device behind him. ‘This glass ball, which is connected to the pipes, is a channeler of magical energy. The sand you see has a specific affinity for each type of element. The symbols engraved on the pipes are the runes that identify each element.’ He got closer to the pipelines.

‘From right to left: white sand belongs to the water element; red, fire element. This crystal-like sand has an affinity with the wind element. Yellow, element of earth, and finally, this black sand has affinity with the element of shadows. When interacting with a magician with stable magic energy, the sand will begin to move and ascend in the glass pipeline; the degree of ascension will mark the affinity for that magical element. Now I will proceed to show how it works.’ Heigdal put his right hand on the glass sphere.

The glass sphere began to shine slightly. However, nothing else happened. The sand in the glass pipes didn’t show any reaction.

‘It is currently configured for the water element. I have no affinity for that element.’ Then, with his left hand, he turned the water pipe lever to a closed position, and then he changed the air pipe lever to an open position. The crystal sand began to float and rotate in the pipe until it reached the mark of twenty-eight percent in the pipeline graduation.

The nobles in the room began to applaud the demonstration. A magician with an affinity of that level was considered a high-class magician.

‘Now we shall carry out the identification and measurement of the present talents. When you hear your name, please come up to my position.’ Heigdal was prepared to call the first talent.

‘Aelio de Raeven.’

A young white man with black hair, brown eyes, and noble clothes, adorned with more golden garments than was necessary, approached the stage. He climbed the stairs and put his hand on the glass ball. After a few seconds without a response on the white sand, they switched to the red sand lever. Immediately, the red sand began to move, rotate in circles, and ascend. Seconds later, it stabilized. They continued testing the other elements without a response.

‘Aelio de Raeven, fire magician, six-percent affinity,’ Heigdal announced as everyone applauded. He was a low-level magician, but with a decent affinity and an element with high destructive power.

The boy came down from the stage with a feeling of pride, his chest sticking out. He approached a man who was probably his father; they hugged each other for a few seconds, after which they separated and continued to watch the show, smiling.

‘Astrid van Castin.’

A girl of white skin and red curly hair, in a dress with exaggerated brooms and too many ornaments to count, went up to the stage. She walked slowly, with gentle but exaggerated movements, her head up, and a forced smile, as if she were modeling. After climbing to the stage, she put her hand on the glass ball without waiting for instructions. The white sand column began to rise rapidly. After testing the rest of the elements with no results, the test was concluded.

‘Astrid van Castin, water magician with an affinity of fifteen percent,’ announced Heigdal. ‘Excellent affinity, miss,’ said Heigdal.

Immediately, the spectators burst into applause. A middle-level magician was an excellent addition to any family.

‘Your daughter will be a surprising mage, leader Velen,’ flattered Lugo.

‘It is logical; she is a Van Castin, after all,’ boasted Velen, proud.

Once the applause round came to a stop, Heigdal called the next young man.

“Volar van Dennis.”

A tall, blonde boy went up to the stage. His clothes were also ostentatious and fully adorned with gold and silver. He walked with firm and secure movements. However, upon completion of his test, his face was in total despair. The whole room was silent as the boy came down from the stage with his face defeated and staring at the floor.

‘Volar van Dennis, shadow magician, three-percent affinity.’

Volar returned with his family and silently left the room. Everybody knew that shadow magicians had no future. The scene made Xavier even more nervous.

‘Clinton van Ferra,’ Heigdal called, breaking the solemn aura that prevailed in the room.

A blonde boy with bright eyes and a thin, slim nose, taller than Xavier, went up to the stage. His face was indifferent; he climbed the stairs slowly, placing his hand on the glass ball according to the instructions, without showing much excitement.

‘Clinton van Ferra, fire magician, with an affinity of ten percent.’

A new round of applause shook the room. Clinton came back with his father. His face remained as indifferent and stiff as ever. Although he was somewhat disappointed, he remained on the border between low-level and middle-level magicians. At least he had an affinity seven points above his father. His father, on the other hand, was out of his mind, dreaming of all the prestige that Clinton would bring to the family.

‘Xavier de Vonder,’ called Heigdal.

Xavier approached the stage with a nervous step. He climbed the stairs as if he were climbing a mountain. He didn’t want to be a shadow mage. It would be a tragedy, though it was better than being a peasant. Xavier stood frozen, staring at the glass ball, as a thousand ideas and scenarios passed through his mind at a time.

“Young Xavier, please put your hand in the sphere,” Heigdal said, bringing Xavier out of his trance.

‘Oh, yes, of course,’ said Xavier, lifting up his trembling hand.

When Xavier’s hands touched the glass ball, it began to shine, creating a weird sensation. It felt as if something was flowing from his hands into the glass. A few seconds passed. The white sand showed no response. Heigdal turned to the red sand, and Xavier’s face lit up as it began to move. However, the sand did not rise; it moved slightly, but it did not move forward.

‘Interesting,’ said Heigdal.

They switched to crystal sand... No answer. Only the yellow sand with the earth affinity and the black sand of shadows remained.

‘Oh heavens, please let me be an earth magician, please,’ Xavier begged from the bottom of his heart.

However, the earth was not his element either. With such a low affinity for fire, he would remain a talent; he did not have enough affinity to be declared a fire magician. The black sand, on the other hand, rose at once.

‘Xavier de Vonder, dual magician,’ said Heigdal, to which everyone reacted with surprise. The magicians of dual elements were rare.

‘Affinity to fire lower or close to one percent, and affinity for shadows to twenty percent.’ Announced Heigdal.

“Oh!” Many of those present let disappointment escape their mouths. Although he was on the border of being a high-class magician, his element, shadows, could not be more useless.

As he came down from the stage, Xavier returned to his original position. He looked towards Lugo and Samanta, who avoided his gaze. The message was clear. They weren’t interested in a shadow magician, and on top of that, a peasant. The change of attitude was expected. Xavier’s shoulders sank when he realized that his future was no longer so bright. But at least his family was noble now and could avoid paying half the taxes every year. Besides, he had the option to work on subjugation missions... It was better to die of myasma disease at the age of forty than to live miserably, eating oatmeal with watery milk for the rest of his life.

The reaction of many of the nobles caught Clinton’s attention. Especially his father’s face satisfaction when he saw Xavier come down the stage in defeat. He understood the meaning. A mere peasant should not have magic blood; it was an insult to the nobility. Although Clinton shared the ideal, seeing his father satisfied annoyed him. Although he expected that after his magic affinity test, Sven would be happy like a pig in mud, seeing it happen pissed him off. His father was thinking of using him as an asset, but Clinton van Ferra was not born to be a tool; he was born to rule and reign over the inferior, and his father was inferior; he did not deserve to be so cheerful on account of Clinton’s talent. Now that he had confirmed his superiority, he had no need to continue playing the good-child game. With the intention of harassing his father and securing his goals, he approached Xavier. This poor bastard was his best choice.

‘Interesting; it’s weird to see a dual magician.’ Clinton’s voice brought Xavier out of the universe of misery into which his thoughts plunged him.

As he looked in the direction of the voice, the blonde boy who did the test before him looked back.

‘Seriously? I didn’t know,’ said Xavier thoughtfully. ‘Although it doesn’t matter; they’re just traces of fire, I’m basically a shadow wizard.’

‘Well, maybe you can do something with those traces of fire; anyway, you are still a rare magician,’ said Clinton with an optimistic attitude, extending his hand to Xavier.

‘Thank you,’ said Xavier, shaking Clinton’s hand.

Although the contact with the young peasant was unpleasant to him, his father’s angry face was worth it, so he just endured the nausea. In addition, he had to secure the entrance of a shadow magician to the Liev tower, someone he could manipulate and blame in case something went wrong. All the peasant magicians from the Dinasty were sent to the Liev Tower by Deffoult.

‘Elisio de Frier’ called Heigdal, causing the two young men to concentrate on the stage again.

While the others in the room were paying attention to the test, Clinton looked at his father, who looked at Xavier with a slight gesture of disgust that disappeared when he looked back at the stage or other nobles. A smile appeared on Clinton’s face and disappeared almost instantly, leaving an inexpressive face worthy of a marble statue.

Meanwhile, on the stage, a brown-skinned boy approached the glass ball. After putting his hand on the glass, the reaction was immediate. The white sand began to rise to stabilize at seven percent. They continued testing elements.

‘Oh, interesting!’ said Heigdal.

The black sand of the shadows began to move slightly, much to the surprise of Heigdal and Elisio.

‘Elisio De Frier, dual magician,’ announced Heigdal. The audience reacted with surprise.

‘Another dual magician?’ asked Velen.

‘Wait a moment, could the testing device be defective?’ asked Lugo.

Meanwhile, Xavier’s shoulders sank again. The only positive thing about his test was the fact that he was a dual magician, and now another one had appeared.

‘Is there a volunteer to test the device?’ asked Heigdal.

‘I will do it,’ offered Cliford, climbing up to the stage.

Cliford gave positive for the crystal sand of wind with a six percent. The test worked properly.

‘Elisio de Frier, dual magician, magic of water, seven percent affinity, and magic of shadows, one percent affinity,’ Heigdal announced.

Elisio was an authentic dual magician with a useful element. Upon leaving the stage, Lugo, Samanta, and others approached the young magician with the intention of ensuring more interactions after the event was over.

‘Maurius van Felding.’

Maurius separated from Cliford and went up to the stage. Although he was slightly nervous, his parents had explained the process to him many times, and he had also seen it. Without hesitation, he put his hand on the glass. The white sand began to move; however, it did not progress much, stopping at one percent.

‘This is a strange day,’ said Heigdal, thinking of another dual magician while he was adjusting the levers.

‘Impossible!’ he shouted when he saw the red sand move too.

‘What’s going on?’ asked Cliford.

‘There is magic of water and fire at the same time in this boy,’ replied Heigdal.

The people in the room began to laugh.

‘The test is broken,’ assured Sven, along with some nobles and magicians, going up to the stage.

Listening to this, Xavier regained hope. Perhaps the reading was wrong all along and he had more affinity for fire, or it was even possible that he had affinity for another element entirely.

‘But it is right,’ said Sven. ‘The test works properly.’

All the magicians in the room tested their magic ability and affinity; the test worked perfectly for everyone.