The receptionist took a moment to recompose herself, but to her credit, her voice rang out shortly afterwards, as she nodded and answered almost absent-mindedly
"Yeah... you passed."
"Cyrus, you... You have no divine relationship?" Surprisingly, it was Sylvie's voice that rang out next, the red-haired girl staring at him with eyes full of shock.
It seemed as if Sylvie had forgotten everything else at this point, even the fact that a 14-year-old kid like Cyrus had managed to pass the Adventurers Guild's entrance test, or that the two of them were about to obtain a gold coin according to the receptionist's earlier words, as her bright emerald eyes stared at the figure in tattered clothes in front of the appraisal stone.
The guild's white obelisk appeared to have lost its remaining luster, the blue runes on its surface gradually vanishing into nothingness.
Cyrus threw one last look at them and pushed back the bitter memories that were resurfacing from 8 years ago, before he faced Sylvie and answered calmly
"That's the same for everyone in the Red Arena, isn't it? That's why we were captured and forced to fight like beasts in the first place. 'A bunch of misfits', 'trash with no talent', 'forsaken by the gods', isn't that what they call those without any divine affinity?"
Cyrus snorted as he recalled the numerous 'epithets' the guards of the Red Arena used to hurl at him and the other prisoners every time they interacted with them.
In some cases, the mental torture of being a prisoner in the Red Arena was even worse than the physical aspect. At the very least, you had a chance to fight for your life in the Bloodpit, and one's life was technically in their hands... well, most of the time, at least. But regardless of whether they lived or died, the Zyvarros' guards would make sure to constantly remind the prisoners that they were nothing more than that. Prisoners whose sole purpose was to entertain the Goddess.
To Cyrus's surprise, though, Sylvie immediately shook her head. The red-haired girl seemed to take a moment to find the appropriate words before her voice rang throughout the open area once more, this time with much more certainty than before
"That's impossible. Most of them probably had no talent, yes, but aside from a few very rare exceptions, the majority should still have a sliver of divine affinity, at the very least. It's extremely rare for someone to have no divine affinity at all! ...And no divine relationship."
Sylvie's voice turned much softer as she muttered that last part of her sentence, her words barely audible by both Cyrus and the ponytailed young woman who nodded in silence.
"...?" Cyrus didn't know how to respond to this, staring at the red-haired girl in puzzlement.
He had always thought that divine affinity and divine relationship were basically the same thing, but from Sylvie's words, it was clear that this wasn't the case.
Unfortunately, neither the priest who oversaw his test nor his parents seemed to have mentioned anything about that. At least not anything that Cyrus could remember.
Either way, the daughter of a prestigious Bloodsworn warrior should be much more knowledgeable than him on this matter.
Cyrus was about to ask Sylvie about the difference between the two, but surprisingly, it was the ponytailed receptionist who spoke next, her brown eyes fully fixated on him now
"Your little friend is right. Divine affinity and divine relationship are two completely different things. Divine affinity represents your talent, or in other words, how closely you are linked to one of the Gods. The higher the level of your divine affinity, the faster you'll be able to reach the level of Ironbound and then Bloodsworn. Similarly, the lower your affinity, the more you'll struggle in that regard.
A person with weak divine affinity should be able to become an Ironbound warrior in their late 20s, even if they don't train throughout their life, while someone with above-average affinity should be able to do so in their late teens. Of course, there are huge differences between an experienced Ironbound warrior who has spent years training their body and one who's never left the comfort of their own home, but the main principle remains the same. They are both Ironbounds!
Naturally, the level of effort you put into your training can shorten the time you need, too, but even then, your divine affinity plays a huge role in all of that. At the same time, regardless of how much effort you put into it, if you are completely talentless, you have no hope of ever becoming an Ironbound, let alone catch up to someone whose affinity to the divine is higher than yours!"
The young woman's words struck Cyrus's heart like a hammer, nearly shattering it with that single sentence.
"Impossible to become Ironbound?" Cyrus had spent 3 grueling years inside the Red Arena, all with the hopes of becoming an Ironbound warrior and changing his fate. It was only then that he could formally be considered a citizen of Astrea and hold enough power to protect himself.
After all, had he been an Ironbound 3 years ago, or even remotely close to that level, the Zyvarros would have never dared to abduct him and treat him like a caged beast.
And yet, the ponytailed receptionist seemed to have crushed his hopes right at this moment.
The young woman stared at him pitifully but didn't say anything right away. After all, for a 14-year-old kid to have reached Cyrus's level of strength, speed, and endurance, without any divine affinity to boot, she couldn't even begin to comprehend what he must have gone through.
But just as the weight of her words began to fully sink in, a sharp voice suddenly interrupted:
"That's not true!"
Sylvie's voice rang out with unexpected force, her eyes glinting with something fierce as she glared at the young woman by her side.
"I've heard of cases where people with very low divine affinity still managed to become Ironbound warriors! They prayed to the gods for many years, and the gods eventually answered!"
She stepped forward, almost as if daring the receptionist to challenge her claim. Her fists were clenched tight, and for a moment, Cyrus couldn't recognize the timid girl in front of him.
The receptionist raised an eyebrow but remained unfazed. If anything, her eyes only grew sharper.
"Yes," she admitted after a moment, "But did they have no affinity at all? None at all? Also, since you've brought this up, I'm sure you must know how rare those cases were, in the first place. How many others prayed diligently with the same purpose, without ever receiving so much as a passing thought?"
The woman's gaze swept back to Cyrus, and after a moment of hesitation, she continued
"This brings me to my second point" she added, her tone turning even more serious.
"Indeed, you could have some hope, however minimal that may be, even if you are born without any divine affinity. Perhaps if you prayed to a God's church for a decade or two, they'd take pity on you and throw you a bone.
But in your case, that's futile. You don't just lack affinity. You lack connection! No god has ever acknowledged you, not even in passing. That's what it means to have no divine relationship. You don't just struggle to reach them, the gods have been completely disinterested in you from the start! One could even say... that they've forsaken you!"