I felt the cold metal pressing against the skin on my sternum, not completely flat against it due to my well defined abs. The enchantment on the Storm Steel plate activated and I could feel my core immediately turn sluggish.
"Finally, did I do it?" I thought out loud.
A sense of lethargy spread through me as I could feel the enchantment starting to pull mana from my core, and discharging it towards the Void Iron plate. The lethargy came from the sudden loss of mana that usually strengthened my body, as I had already gotten used to having my body supplied with mana from a Yellow core.
"Was this what the slaves felt like all the time?"
Not only were they robbed of their free will and subjected to hard labor, but they were even robbed of the natural strengthening effects from their mana core. It was a good thing that Vesperia outlawed it. I shudder to think what my fate would have been if I had reincarnated in one of those countries instead.
The next thing I tried to do was to activate my mana and cast Electro Perception, just to make sure that my mana was completely locked down. Unfortunately for me, I could still will my mana with great struggle. I initially thought I could not access it but it was just suppressed, as if I wanted to walk but heavy shackles were placed on my legs tied to iron weights. I could still move but with great effort.
After struggling for 10 minutes or so, I finally activated the spell.
"Shit..." I cursed despite my success at controlling my mana under the suppression effects on the contraption.
The ability to wield my mana meant that the suppression effects were not strong enough. I was not sure how strong the suction force of the evaluation orb would be, but this meant that my creation was not as strong as the slave collars.
Since I had my Electro Perception activated, I watched my core to see the draining effect from the plate was sufficient to reduce the overall mana level. From my previous experience, my baseline regeneration was more that enough to keep Electro Perception on perpetually. If the plate could completely drain my mana, that could be a viable way to get past the evaluation even with a semi complete suppression effect.
I watched my core for a whole hour, and even tried moving the plate around my abdomen, incase some angle might increase the effects. Unfortunately for me, it seemed that my baseline regeneration at Yellow was higher than what the plate could drain.
If I was still at Orange or Red, the plate could have been enough to completely suppress my core or drain it faster than my mana could be replenished. Unfortunately, I was a victim of my own success as my quick progression to Yellow resulted in the current predicament. Though I could argue that if I was at Red or Orange, I would not have the strength needed to hunt a Storm Raptor and get the Storm Steel needed to craft this. It was a catch 22 type of situation.
I removed the plate from my abdomen and could not help but let out a gasp as my core reactivated and the feeling of warmth rushed through my entire body. I had a feeling that my spells would have gained a level if Electro Perception was not maxed out already. Maybe something to consider as a training tool if I get through this ordeal.
I spent my last day before the inspector arrived visualizing how to clamp down the mana in my core. Unfortunately I did not have a device that forcefully sucked out mana, and the contraption already made my core sluggish, so I was not sure how to make it stand still more.
The single day I had was not enough time for me to redesign a new enchantment, melt the other plates, then reinscribe and test the designs. I figured some visualization exercises would probably be more helpful
I had considered casting spells to exhaust my core right before the inspector arrived, but the only spell that could drain my core fast enough was Lightning Bolt. Without knowing the exact timing which the inspector would arrive, I risked the inspector arriving as a bolt of lightning flew through the orphanage backyard. Also considering that my baseline mana regeneration was higher than the rate that it was drained, draining my core by casting flashy spells was just an unnecessary risk.
Everyone was waiting in silence in the kitchen today as we waited for the inspector to arrive. Marta had said there was no need for everyone to stand out front to wait. She had ushered us inside while she had waited by herself at the front door.
It was a little before lunch when Marta came in.
"Alright kids, we should head out now, I can see the Royal Inspector approaching along the road. Let us not keep the inspector waiting. We'll go with the sequence of evaluation as discussed" Marta looked at me when she said that. Giving me a look as if to say it is still not too late to leave now.
I just shook my head and followed the rest out the door. I had made my peace, I had done all I could with the resources and time I had. I would serve in the military if needed, there were worse fates than being forced to fight for your country.
I could see that it was the same inspector that had visited us around one year ago. Under normal circumstances, the earliest he should come back was next year, best case was the year after. I guess war on the Eastern front must have escalated if the Royal Family is scraping the bottom of the barrel to look for recruits.
Though bottom of the barrel was not really a fair assessment. Unlike the world I came from where personal power was limited and wars were waged with modern weaponry — there was a vast difference between a well trained mage of a higher grade with the right affinity and a regular soldier with common affinity.
My own Lightning Affinity was a good example. The lethality of my lightning spells spoke for itself with my ability hunt beasts that normally took a team of two to three seasoned adventurers to take down. I shudder to imagine a mage with a much rarer affinity wreaking havoc across the battle field.
I was jolted out of my thoughts as the inspector walked up to the orphanage after tying his ride by the same tree he did last year.
"Matron Marta" Halric Venn greeted Marta with a nod. The man look as impeccably dressed as he did last year. His Royal Inspector uniform looked neatly pressed with nothing out of place despite the ride on horseback to the orphanage. It was probably magic at work, maybe an air affinity to remove the air resistance. Or it could just be that his uniform was enchanted.
"Royal Inspector Halric Venn, our pleasure to have you with us again this morning. I never expected you back so soon after the evaluation last year. Must have been hard on you" Marta curtsied as she greeted him.
"You know how it is, the needs of the kingdom out weight the needs of an individual. This is the least I could do considering our country men are facing those Ironhold scum everyday" Halric's face turned into a scowl at the mention of Ironhold.
"Uhh hmm, forgive my lack of decorum" he apologized as he returned to a neutral expression.
"Mentioning Ironhold just get's one's blood boiling. Now shall we get on to business. I believe we have three up for evaluation as per the usual criteria, with ... let's see here" Halric paused as he pulled out a piece of parchment from a satchel by his side and began reading it "...two more to be tested with the expanded evaluation. Is that right?"
"Yes that's right Inspector Halric, I have them ready. We had a new addition to the orphanage but she's still not of age" Marta said as she passed over the documents. Her face had a look finality as she handed over what I guessed were the transfer paperwork, which included my name in the list. With the detailed records the kingdom kept, I honestly had no idea what Marta's plan was if I actually ran away. I would also need to be perpetually on the run until I escaped the kingdom's borders via sea.
"Alright, Mervath was it? I remember you from last year, you had not awakened your core yet but had a beast affinity. Procedure dictates that I still need to test you, just hold your hand out young man like you did the last time and place them on the orb." He brought out the evaluation orb, that looked about the same shape but had a lot more runes that I recalled.
"There are some changes to the evaluation orbs used this year, you might feel a slight tugging sensation in your sternum but do not be alarmed. That is just the orb doing its work. The sensation will fade once the evaluation ends" Halric explained as he held the orb up in front of Merv.
Shit, those must be the upgraded orbs mentioned in the letter Marta received.
"Alright sir." Merv placed his palm on the orb — he winced when some of the runes lit up, signaling the activation of enchantment. Unlike last year, the orb lit up brightly this time but in the same amber color it did.
"Awakened Beast Affinity" Halric said in an even note as he noted in down. "Next, Thalis? Place your hand on top of the orb. There will be a slight tugging as I explained earlier"
"Yes sir" Thal walked up and promptly placed her hand on the orb like Merv did. Unlike Merv, she did not wince and kept her eyes focused on the orb.
The orb glowed deep blue with a medium intensity. "Hmm, Awakened Water Affinity"
"Next, Wylric" the inspector called out.
Wyl walked up with his usual easy cheer, almost tripping on a loose pebble either from nervousness or his usual clumsiness. Unlike Thal who had already gotten access to the Weave, Wyl had not awakened his affinity yet.
While the chances of awakening an uncommon affinity was about 1 out of 10, there was at least ten known uncommon ones and only a few of them were what the military were after. So realistically, the odds were only about 1 in 20 for awakening something that would conscript you against your will.
Wyl gave the inspector a nervous smile as he apologized for his clumsiness and promptly placed his hand on the orb. Only the small runes lit up near the top with a tan brown color, which indicated an Earth affinity.
"Unawakened Earth Affinity" Halric said. I could see Wyl visibly relax at the mention of that.
"We have two more for the expanded testing" Halric looked through the papers Marta had handed him earlier. She had intentionally placed me for the last, not sure if she wanted to give me more time to study the orb or she assumed I needed more time to get my contraption ready.
While I appreciated the gesture, the wait was wrecking me inside and I would have preferred to get it over with.
"Kestoria, if you would little one" Halric expression seemed to have softened a bit as Kes walked up. It seems like the inspector still had a soft spot for younger children.
He got down on one knee so that he could look Kes in the eye and put the orb within her reach. "You might feel some discomfort in your chest but it'll go as quickly as it comes" Halric reassured Kes. At the end of the day, he probably remembered that we were all children mostly orphaned by the war.
The orb runes lit up in a neutral color, indicating that the enchantment activated, but after a while it faded into nothing. It was unlikely that Kes would have started forming the core to feed any mana but there were probably enough cases for the royals to warrant the expanded testing.
"No affinity detected. Next, Asher?" Halric called out.
"Ah, you're rather tall for an eight year old aren't you?" Halric had stood up and seemed to have reverted to his formal no-nonsense tone considering I did not looked as fragile as Kes.
"Alright then, place your hand on the orb"
This was it, moment of truth.
I placed my hand on the orb and true enough, I could feel the enchantment activate on the orb in my hand. I immediately felt the enchantments on the plate that was suppressing my core fighting the suction.
However, I could feel the orb winning and I immediately focused on the mana in my core, willing it to stay still. The mana in my core churned between trying to escape my core, and being forced to stay put.
What was apparently only a few seconds of the orb's enchantment activating felt a lot longer in my head as I found for control in my core. I felt the suction force began to lessen, feeling glad that the internal tug of war was finally over.
Just when I thought that I was out of the woods, a single wisp of mana was wrestled away from my control, zipping through my channels and into the orb. I could see the white runes on the orb start to show a glimmer of light blue.
FUCK! I was screwed