Chapter 34: Affinity Test [2]

The sky had finally cleared.

Golden rays of sunlight descended upon Arkham as if the previous storm had been nothing more than a bad memory. The clouds, now scattered and slow-moving, drifted away with an almost insulting calm.

Adam held that image a moment longer than necessary.

Too much calm after too much blood.

He kept his face serene as the pain in his ribs insisted on reminding him of every previous reckless movement. He shifted his weight slightly onto his cane, without letting the gesture appear to be a necessity.

In front of him, Alaric finished crossing the training field. The small wooden box rested carefully in his hands. His expression, however, was different.

Adam looked away slightly.

Renna stood stiffly beside him. Her hands clenched the fabric of her clothes too tightly, and a faint sheen of sweat covered her forehead despite the cool air of the day. She wasn’t used to this.

Alaric stood before him. His expression remained unchanged as he held the small box in his hands, as if afraid it might fall, and said:

“Young master, let us begin.”

Adam adjusted the weight on his cane. He nodded with a slight smile.

“Let’s see if I really have a talent for magic.”

Alaric held his gaze for a moment longer than necessary. It wasn’t just an academic assessment. There was something else in that observation… calculation, perhaps. Or expectation.

Finally, he lowered his eyes and opened the box.

The interior contrasted with the exterior’s simplicity. It was lined with bright red cushions, similar to those used by noblewomen to store their most precious jewels. In the center, on a delicate velvet cloth, lay several crystals of different colors.

Alaric looked first at Adam. Then at Renna. He took a deep breath, as if the air weighed heavier than normal, and said in a grave voice:

“These are affinity stones. They are used in wizard towers to determine if you have a talent for magic… and what your affinity is. It could be fire, water… wind, earth… or something rarer.”

Their eyes were fixed on him. Serious and attentive.

…Or so it seemed.

Adam kept a calm expression.

Renna, on the other hand, tried not to breathe too heavily. Her hands were slightly tense at her sides, as if she feared breaking something invisible just by existing.

Alaric noticed. And for a moment, he hesitated.

Carefully, he picked up one of the crystals from inside. It was small, opaque gray, with a faint glow at its core, similar to the weak sparkle of a star that refuses to go out.

“This stone will determine if you have a talent for magic. If you react, it means you have a talent for magic.”

Adam stared at the crystal without looking away.

It wasn’t the first time he had witnessed that test.

In his past life, he had seen that same glow repeated countless times. He had witnessed the birth of prodigies… and the premature end of many of them.

Alaric deliberately removed his glove and placed his bare hand on the glass surface.

The change was immediate.

A dull but intense glow spread from the center to the edges, as if something inside it had awakened.

Adam did not react.

It was exactly as he remembered it.

Next to him, Renna held her breath. Her eyes reflected the light from the glass with an almost painful clarity, as if she were witnessing something sacred.

That look…

It reminded him, for an uncomfortable moment, of the expression he himself had had when watching his father train with his sword under the setting sun.

Alaric removed his hand from the glass.

The dull glow gradually faded, like an ember refusing to die out… until the stone returned to its gray, inert state. Then he placed it back inside the wooden box.

And he said:

“As you can see, if you have a talent for magic, it will react. Who wants to try first?”

Adam glanced at Renna.

She was more rigid than before. Her shoulders were tense. Her fingers were slightly curved, as if they were holding back an invisible tremor.

“Go first.”

Renna looked up suddenly.

For a moment, her eyes seemed to ask something.

Really? Will you give me that place?

Adam held her gaze, impassive. That interpretation was hers. A projection, perhaps. He had no idea what was really going through the young slave girl’s mind.

And that struck her as… interesting.

He made a slight gesture with his hand, inviting her to come forward.

Renna swallowed. The sound was barely audible, but in the silence of the training ground, it seemed louder than it should have been.

Each movement seemed heavier than the last, as if she were walking toward a sentence rather than a test.

Alaric held the crystal in his hands and watched her approach.

Renna swallowed hard.

Her hands trembled slightly as she followed Alaric’s instructions. She hesitated for just a second… and finally touched the crystal.

The change was immediate.

A dull but intense glow appeared in the center of the stone and spread toward the edges like a silent tide. The light illuminated Renna’s face, bathing her cheeks in a grayish glow that seemed to have been torn from a dying star.

The air grew heavier.

Renna opened her eyes in surprise. The light reflected in them, making them seem even larger, more vulnerable.

Adam watched her silently.

A slight smile appeared on his lips.

It wasn’t a surprise he felt.

It was confirmation.

Asterin’s words were true. Renna had a talent for magic. Adam watched as she removed her hand from the crystal and waited for Aleric’s confirmation.

“You have a talent for magic.”

Alaric’s voice was firm, but not cold.

Renna’s face lit up as if the sun had decided to rise just for her. Her eyes sparkled, and for a moment she ceased to be a slave, ceased to be a girl marked by fear.

She was just a happy young woman.

“Adam!” she whispered, turning toward him with a smile she couldn’t contain.

Adam held her gaze for a few seconds.

And smiled.

He took a step forward.

“Looks like it’s my turn.”

His voice was calm.

He placed his hand on the glass. First, the coldness washed over him. Then, the brightness.

The stone reacted immediately, giving off that dull, dense glow… like a dying star refusing to fade away.

Alaric narrowed his eyes slightly.

Renna held her breath.

Adam wasn’t surprised.

He already knew.

The glow faded.

Confirmed.

Alaric looked at them both in surprise and sighed:

“You also have a talent for magic.”

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