Author Note: Enjoy the Extra Chapter!
I could see the white runes on the orb start to show a glimmer of light blue.
FUCK! I was screwed
Halric's eyebrow lifted at the anticipation of the runes lighting up in a color other than the usual common affinity. But just before the runes fully changed colors, they sputtered and died, like a car engine that ran out of gas midway.
"That's never happened before" Halric said with a frown, lifting the orb away from my hand to study it. The wisp of mana that escaped my control was probably not enough for a proper evaluation, but had hinted at the possibility of an uncommon affinity. My best guess on how the orb worked was this — if there was some mana detected but insufficient for even a Red core, it would classify the mage as un-awakened like in Wyl's case.
That single wisp was not enough to even give any accurate reading. My heart was beating faster and faster like a car engine being revved to the maximum output. I tried not to let the panic show on my face as I looked at Halric for his verdict.
"I'm sorry young man, but we'll have to do the test again. This has never happened before, though this is the first year we're using the new evaluation orb" I even thought Halric looked a little apologetic when he said that. Though his expression returned to neutral when he held the orb out in front of me.
I took a deep breath to try and calm my nerves. You've got this, now that you know how it feels you can control it better. I tried to psych myself up as I placed my right hand on the orb for the second time today.
I fully focused on my core even before the orb's enchantment took effect. My mana began to churn but I willed it to stay in my core this time. I could feel the suction force from the orb pulling at the mana through my channels.
This time, instead of letting up when the suction force began to lessen, I stayed focused until the very last second. Even when I felt the suction force fully fade away, I kept my focus, waiting for the announcement from the inspector.
"No affinity detected" Halric announced. He then looked at me for a second before saying "You can let go of the orb now". Without realizing, I had been gripping the orb with my right hand as hard as I could while I was focusing on my core. I was lucky that the orb was made from a sturdy material. It would definitely raise more suspicions if I accidentally crushed the orb with my Yellow grade strength.
"Thanks for cooperating young man. It was weird that the orb malfunctioned in the first pass, I shall report this to the artisans when I get back" cold sweat rolled down my back at the mention of that. Hopefully they will just dismiss it and attribute it to an error within the margins.
I could see Marta also exhale behind Halric's back, just a small sigh of relief as I watched her shoulders drop once the tension was gone. She quickly put on a friendly expression again once Halric turned to face her.
"I must get moving, more evaluations now that the parameter has increased" Halric said as he kept the orb and the notes he had scribbled down. "As always, thank you Matron Marta for your service." Halric nodded his head slightly, about as much respect you would expect of a man of his stature to give someone who ran an orphanage in a small town.
"You're unusually tall for your age young man. If you do awaken an appropriate affinity, you would make for a fine soldier. The path of military is still open for common folk if you should choose it, even if you don't awaken the right affinity." Halric walked to his horse after. It was the second time he had mentioned my height. I was not sure what's the extent of the research Vesperia had done in regards to effect of core development on the human physiology, but if someone had made that correlation, they might guess at my early awakening.
Everyone watched the Royal Inspector ride away before retiring into the house. It was now lunch time and if it wasn't for the evaluation, Marta and Thal would be in the midst of cooking right about now.
The younger ones went about their activities, whereas I retired into the kitchen. I quickly unstrapped the suppression device from under my shirt and couldn't help but gasp when my core's mana flooded through my body again. The feeling of lethargy was not one I liked.
Thal and Marta walked in shortly after, looking at me with concern. At this point they knew I had done something to fool the evaluation orb. While they knew I was making preparations in the last two weeks, I did not share any details of what I was working on.
"Are you alright Ash? Did you do something to your core? You looked pale earlier." Marta asked while approaching me to look me over.
"I'm fine now. It was the device I made. With its help, I was able to suppress the mana in my core so that the orb can't detect anything" I explained, gesturing at the plate I left on the table. Merv walked in at that time.
"Does it work on just anyone? Can I try?" Merv picked up the plate, surprised at the weight of it.
"Knock yourself out" I just said, too tired to stop him.
"Why would I do that?" Merv looked at me confused.
"No, it's just a saying... never mind. The plate is attuned to my affinity. It doesn't just work for everyone." I explained. At this point, it was an open secret among the older ones at the orphanage that I had awakened my core early with an uncommon affinity.
"Hmmm, I see" Merv placed the plate down, suddenly losing interest.
"So what's the plan for the both of you, now that the evaluation is done" I looked at Thal and Merv.
They exchanged a look, which indicated that they probably talked about this.
"I plan to go into town and work on the farm. Hopefully learn some practical spells for my affinity, or at least give me opportunity to figure things out by working with more farm animals" Merv said. "There's a lot of land to the back of the orphanage, maybe one day I can come back and start a small farm. Make this place more self-sufficient you know."
His plan was more thought through than I had expected, especially his point on self sufficiency. I looked at Thal next "What about you?"
Thal looked at Marta instead, which Marta returned with a nod, as if confirming whatever agreement they already had. "We discussed it, Marta and I. Things aren't as tight anymore, now that there's some money coming in from selling soap to the baroness. Marta has agreed to let me continue staying at the orphanage even though the crown will not be providing a stipend for me after this winter."
Thal continued to explain before I could ask questions "I wanted to be able to help Marta out, also Wynnis is really attached to me. So it would be good for me to be around. I'm not in a rush to learn any spells so I'll figure things out as I go along."
"You should take the Fundamentals of Spellcraft, I won't be needing that anymore" I offered, having already memorized most of its contents.
"Thank you" Thal accepted without ceremony.
"I'm glad to hear you'll have more help around" I said to Marta.
"Yes, Thal is kind enough to stay back even though I told her I'll manage fine on my own. Which reminds me, we should start on lunch. We'll let everyone know when food is ready" Marta said as she gestured to Thal to help her out.
While Marta said she was fine on her own, I could tell she was happy that Thal would be staying. I had zero cooking skills across both lifetimes so I decided to get out of their way and head up to the room.
I collapsed on the bed that was starting to get a little too small for me, exhausted from today's ordeal. My body was not tired, my mana core was brimming with lightning, but I was exhausted mentally from fooling the evaluation orb twice. I decided to take a nap while lunch was being prepared.
Lunch was a cozy affair, the spirits were higher now that the evaluation was over, and Marta decided to pop out the good stuff as a mini celebration. It was the last of the Glimmerwasp Nectar which she used as glaze over some sort of roasted meat dish.
I did not try to over analyze and just enjoyed the food and company, not worrying about anything for once.
We were cleaning the dishes when Branwen unexpectedly arrived, choosing to surprise us through the backdoor in the kitchen.
"I heard voices in the back, I hope you don't mind me letting myself in." Branwen said as she came in.
"Nonsense darling, come here" Marta said as she pulled Branwen into a big hug. I had seen Branwen often enough due to my frequent trips to town but I guessed it had been a while since Marta had been.
"Brannie!!" Kes ran in through the back and gave her a big hug as well. Wynnis was still sticking to Thal, having never seen Branwen before.
"What brought you here? Don't you have work?" I asked when the rest finally let her get a breather. I noticed she had cleaned up from her usual smithing attire and there was no soot on her face like she usually did when I saw her in town.
"I got master's permission to take half the day off" Branwen explained.
"I came to check in on everyone, I saw the Royal Inspector in town yesterday and saw him riding out towards the orphanage this morning" she continued, eyes pausing on me a second longer than anyone else.
"Everything is fine darling, there was nothing out of the ordinary and no one was conscripted" Marta reassured her. Branwen's brows relaxed when she heard that, feeling glad that no one had to join the army.
"I also came here to bring you this" she said as she took a long parcel from the satchel on her back. I could probably guess what it was from the exterior shape without having to open it.
"Wow, nice!" I received it, feeling for the groove in the barrel, exactly as I had asked for. "Thank you. I did not forget but I was busy. Was it difficult to work with it?"
"Yes, Garrick mentioned you were busy with..." she paused, not quite sure how much to say, choosing to change the subject instead "I don't know where you found this, but it completely rejected my Fire Infusion spell. I had to heat it in the forge like other smiths. It also took a lot longer to shape than regular steel. I'm charging you double for this"
"I'll make sure to pay up" I grinned and put the package away, choosing to examine it later.
"You should stay for dinner since you have the day off, and stay the night" Marta added.
"Oh no, I shouldn't impose, I will head back after this" Branwen declined.
"Don't be silly, you're family" Marta was not going to take no for an answer.
"There are still extra beds. Stay, it'll be like the old times. I'll tell you all the mischief that Ash has been up to." Thal came to Marta's aid, looping an arm around Branwen to break the last of her resistance.
"Oh fine, if everyone is sure there's enough food" Branwen finally agreed.
After dinner that night, when every one was almost settled in for the night, Branwen stopped by the boys' room, gesturing for me to follow her. We went to the kitchen, as it was the only area in the house that still had a lantern lit.
"Is everything actually alright? How did things go this morning?" Branwen asked
I considered how much to tell Branwen, my guess was that she probably already had her suspicions but never really pushed for an answer — waiting for me to tell her when I was ready. I decided to come clean, considering all the help she had rendered me in the last two years.
"I've awakened my core for some time now." I paused, waiting to see her reaction "my affinity is one the military is after"
She went quiet for a bit, as if deep in thought "There were signs, but I figured if you didn't say anything, I wouldn't ask. Thank you for telling me." she looked down at her hands, as if unsure how to phrase her next question.
"You want to know how I got past the evaluation?" I guessed. Branwen gave a quiet nod. "I was able to craft a device that partially suppresses my core, but its tuned only to my affinity. With its help I was able to avoid detection for the time being."
"But I'm sort of living on borrowed time. Everyone awakens by twelve at the latest. I could run away but that would get Marta in trouble. Eventually I would have to reveal my affinity. I am just delaying the inevitable" I felt a weight lift off my chest, finally telling someone what was left unsaid from this morning.
"If there's anything I can do to help..." Branwen said.
"I'll let you know for sure" I finished her sentence. And perhaps she really could help with that. Maybe my solution was not to avoid the military entirely, but to give them a weapon that could cause more destruction than a single mage could inflict.