***
The next day.
Caer Vireth Palace.
Agares and the others had prepared. The maids from Caer Vireth Palace came with uniforms for them; dark green with black abstract patterns, a mix of medieval style and fantasy academy uniforms. The five looked good in the uniforms.
The man looked back; Livia had arrived with Secilia and Aaron. The three were ready to take the affinity test scheduled for today by Helderic, held at the Palace's magic center building.
"We're ready," said Livia, a woman with back-length blonde hair.
"All right. Let's go there," Agares replied.
They followed Agares out of their house compound, heading west to the magic center of Caer Vireth Palace. What a surprise! Archmage Helderic was waiting at the door of the building.
"How was it? Did you enjoy your time here?" asked Helderic, Agares and the others nodding firmly.
"Very well. Before we do the Affinity Test, I have something to tell you," Helderic explained.
Helderic explained that affinity was the first gateway to unlocking jobs and stages. Everyone gains their affinity when doing this test, but there is a big difference among the basic elements.
Those with a dominant light element were referred as Lux, they were descended from the legendary Divine Knight. There was a possibility that they could inherit the power of the Divine Knight someday.
"However, I am actually hiding one last element from you," Helderic replied.
"What is it?" asked Jonathan.
"Darkness!"
"The element of darkness?"
"In fact, it is impossible for a human to have the element of darkness, that's because the process of forming his soul and body is purely by the five elements," Helderic replied.
"I hid it because I thought the dark element would never appear in history. You, the chosen heroes, must have one of the five basic elements except darkness."
Agares was silent, Jonathan and the others responded similarly. Things were awkward now, Helderic realized he had ruined the moment. He immediately invited them to enter the portal where the magic portal would lead to the affinity test dimension.
"Come on in. We'll test it in there," Helderic ordered, Agares and the others obeyed.
The man turned around and told the staff in the building to record all the changes that happened in the affinity test dimension. That way, Helderic could make conclusions about the chosen heroes.
The five arrived at a vast hall with hundreds of pillars reaching into the sky. Right in the center of the hall, they witnessed a large magic ball with iron ornaments rotating around its axis. It was an elemental stone.
"That is an elemental stone. It works simply, you just put your hand on the elemental stone and let it glow according to your dominant element," Helderic replied, stepping in and standing right beside them.
"Red is fire, blue is water, ash is wind, brown is earth, and gold is light."
"Does anyone want to be the first to try it?" asked Helderic, turning his head.
Agares and the others looked at each other, doubt and fear written all over their faces about this. Agares told Jonathan to go first.
Jonathan did so without hesitation. He stepped up the stairs and stood right in front of the elemental stone. True to Helderic's word, Jonathan pressed his hand against the stone.
What a shock! The elemental stone began to glow with different colors to detect the dominant element in Jonathan's body.
[DING! Congratulations on your affinity test!]
[Name: Jonathan]
[Affinity: Light (87%)]
Helderic could not hide his surprise to see that Jonathan's affinity was light, so dominant at 87%. That was more than enough to call him a Lux Knight.
"Lux Knight?! How lucky we all are," said Helderic, happy and proud as he laughed out loud.
Livia and the others applauded, including Agares. Jonathan smiled as he withdrew his hand, stepping back to meet Helderic and the others.
"I don't know what it means, but the temperature of the elemental sphere feels cold," Jonathan replied.
"Haha! You got the dominant light element, you must be famous, Joe," Agares explained.
"You can definitely get the light element like me. I'm sure of it," Jonathan replied, patting Agares lightly on the shoulder.
Then Livia wanted to try it. Just like Jonathan, the elemental ball changed color when Livia touched it. The color stopped at blue, a sign of the dominant element being water.
"Ms. Livia has acquired a water affinity. Congratulations!" said Helderic.
"Next," Helderic ordered.
Secilia was the third. She touched the elemental sphere and its color changed to ash, indicating Secilia had the wind affinity.
"Ms. Secilia has gained wind affinity. Congratulations!" said Helderic.
The fourth turn belonged to Aaron. He did the same and touched the energy ball. What a surprise! The elemental sphere turned into the color of fire, the affinity of the fire element.
"Sir Aaron has the fire affinity. Congratulations!" explained Helderic.
The old man turned his head, looking at Agares who had yet to perform the affinity test. Agares nodded. He was pretty sure he could get one of the five basic elements, considering his friends had gotten their own affinities.
"Come on, Agares! You can do it," Jonathan said, encouraging Agares.
Agares strode up the steps until he was fully in front of the elemental orb. Taking a deep breath, Agares raised his hand and touched the sphere's wall, which felt cold indeed.
The color changed as the elemental sphere began to detect the dominant element on Agares. Agares looked shocked, the others also responded in kind.
"This... can't be!"
No color shone from the elemental sphere, the first time this had happened in the history of the Great Empire. Helderic squinted, wondering if there were people born with no dominant element?
"What's going on? Why doesn't the elemental sphere show any color?" Jonathan asked.
"I don't know. I've only seen this happen in my life," Helderic replied.
While everyone was in confusion, Agares spoke while looking back. He wanted to try one more time to test his affinity. Helderic nodded, there was no harm in Agares trying twice.
Agares touched the elemental sphere again and focused his mind. Slowly, the elemental sphere began to emit a stable color within a few minutes, but the light from the color was a little dim, unlike before which was very bright.
[DING! Congratulations on your affinity test!]
[Name: Agares]
[Affinity: Light (1%)]
'What? My dominant element is only 1%? If so, what's the other 99%?' Agares asked, confused.
"Although it is faint, but it can be confirmed that your dominant element is light. Congratulations, Agares," replied Helderic, smiling with his mind still distracted by something.
Jonathan jumped with joy as he stepped up to the podium, saying that he was right about Agares' affinity. Joe was glad to have a friend with light affinity like him.
"This is quite odd. Your light-dominant element is only 1%, it's possible that the other 4 basic elements are below that."
Helderic walked up to Agares. Helderic's eyes lit up to confirm something on Agares' body. However, he found nothing but a speck of light on his heart.
'This is very odd. I must report this incident to the Great Empire. They might know something,' Helderic explained.
"But look on the bright side, you've gained your element. That's a sign that the five of you can take your jobs later," Helderic replied.
"You may rest now. We'll meet again tomorrow."