Minutes passed quickly as Seven stood in line.
Occasionally, he would glance around to search for the presence of the weird girl from earlier.
Hff…
He let out a deep breath.
"Whatever."
He decided not to dwell on it too much. In the first place, it was not his problem.
"I just happened to pass by."
The line moved steadily.
One by one, the people ahead of him were called to the platform in front. The ones who were registered were guided to the right to list their names.
The ones who failed were told to head left, often greeted with polite words like "I hope you get in next year."
It was obvious.
Even in the novel, the ones without a Zaen gate or Zaen ring tried their luck, only to be turned away at the first step when the device scanned their Zaen affinity.
Seven bit his lip.
"Will it be okay?"
He could not help but to think that as he watched those people who did not make it and were guided out.
Some of them had a Zaen ring opened, evident by a star-shaped tattoo on their wrists and Zaen gate opened, evident from a bracelet tattoo.
One person even had a brown bracelet, the mark of someone who had neat control over the basics of Zaen.
Seven glanced down at his own wrist.
"Fudge."
One ring.
A single white ring, to be exact.
The kind that symbolized a freshly awakened Zaen gate.
Step.
A woman, the one guiding the previous persons, walked over him with a list in hand.
"Ah, hello! You must be next.
"I'm Amari, third-year student and assistant for today's admissions screening. I'll be guiding you to the assessment platform."
She gestured towards the platform.
He looked at her.
|| Basic Information ||
|| Character: Amari Noell ||
|| Age: 19 ||
|| Talent: Scout ||
"Please follow me.
"Once your resonance is measured, you'll either proceed to the right to finalize your registration... or to the left if the system detects insufficient—"
She paused after seeing Seven's blank face.
"Um… excuse me? Are you alright? You're… kind of just staring into space."
"Hey."
The man behind him tapped him on the back, only then he returned his focus to the reality.
He looked at the man, and the man gestured to Amari in front of him.
"...Sorry."
"Um, no, no. It's completely okay."
Amari replied.
"Don't worry, it's not as intimidating as it usually looks."
She blinked as she realized of how suspicious she sounded.
"Ah! I didn't mean that in a bad way! I-I just meant there's nothing to be afraid of! Really!"
"...."
Step.
They walked towards the platform.
But in the process, she asked Seven a question and listed his answers on a paper. It was basically the basic information to probably make the process later a lot faster given the number of applicants on the line.
More than that, she was not surprised after hearing that Seven carried the blood of Hart with his frail body.
Instead, she smiled.
"Good luck! I believe in you.
"Ah… I… I mean that in a supportive way!
"..."
Step.
Seven stepped above the platform.
In the center stood a wooden podium with a heptagon shaped crystal.
"Um… hands on the crystal, please."
Amari instructed from below the platform, but Seven already pressed his palms against the crystal just like what he observed from the previous persons in line.
Affinity Verification.
It was the most crucial first step to proceed to the remaining steps on the registration.
Its purpose was to sort out individuals who lacked basic understanding of Zaen energy.
The method was quite simple: it would analyze the flow of one's internal Zaen to match the indicator on their wrists, either bracelet or a star.
For instance, one may have a black bracelet tattoo but the flow was erratic, which means their control is lacking even though they reached the peak understanding of the first gate.
Cases like this were atypical, but not too rare.
Those who exited on the left side failed to pass the first registration step because of their control.
After all, power without control is a wasted potential.
Humm~
The crystal let out a soft hum that only Seven himself, who was next to it, could hear.
It glowed white radiance.
One.
Two.
Until the timer reached the thirty second countdown, it remained white.
That means he passed the first step.
Hff…
He let out a deep breath.
"Of course, it worked."
After all, Eden helped him in opening the first gate and she must have made sure to steady the flow given that a slightest erratic flow would ruin his body given how frail it was back then.
He took his palm off against the crystal.
"C–Congratulations!"
Amari exclaimed below the platform.
"Your potential meets the threshold. This way, please… your name will be officially added to the registry."
She gestured for him to walk towards the right wing.
Step.
But Amari did not follow.
Instead, she tore a page from the list she held and handed it to another student-looking person sitting behind a desk stacked with documents.
It was the basic information she noted from Seven's responses earlier.
"B–Bye!"
Amari waved, then quickly turned around to guide the next person Souma, the man who let Seven cut earlier.
She gave him the same bubbly, helpful expression as she led him toward the platform.
Exactly the same.
She treats everyone the same, after all.
"..."
Seven shifted his attention back to the person at the desk.
"Levian. Third-year substitute student. Five steps right, two steps left, ten steps forward. Knock three times. Open the door."
Levian said it all in one breath.
"Move."
|| Basic Information ||
|| Name: Levian Montaigne ||
|| Age: 19 ||
|| Talent: Cursed Healing ||
'Cursed…'
Seven narrowed his eyes.
That was the same talent as Iria.
He knew talents were not unique as multiple people could share one, especially the ones that came from the same family background.
But still, it caught him off guard.
And just like that, a new question formed in his mind.
'Is there also someone with an unpredictable—'
"Tch."
Levian clicked his tongue.
"Hey, I know I'm handsome but move already. I have no interest in male bodies."
"...?!"
Step.
Seven turned and walked away as he followed the directions. But under his breath, he muttered,
"Fudger. Neither do I."
Step. Step.
Following Levian's instructions, Seven found himself standing in front of a massive wooden door with a polished quartz handle.
It was a dual-panel door and was big enough for five people to walk through side by side.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Without waiting for a response, he pushed it open.