Standing on the stage there, the man looked at his list, his eyes scanning the names of people that would become the next mages of society.
The hearts of every child sitting in those front rows had leaped into their mouths. They all eagerly waited for the first call, waiting to see who would be the first to be called.
"Eric Grimhorn." The man called out first, his eyes moving off the pad. He looked right at the kids, watching to see which child would come.
Eric rose to his feet. He was pretty tall for his age, brown hair and eyes. His face spotted with acne, showing that he was entering his puberty stage.
He walked out with measured steps. His nervousness fought to show itself, but he forced it down eagerly. He got onto the stage, glancing at the crowd, his heart sank even more, realizing that this was the crowd that would watch him.
He looked ahead, beads of sweat forming on his head. Getting to the orb, he stared at it, knowing that his fate was tied to this ball that stood right here. He drew a deep breath and then placed his hands on it.
Seconds passed, and the orb lit up. A magical circle formed under him, red as flames, and from the circle a fire wisp flew out. It circled him, revolving around him and then bursting into flames.
The show was spectacular, but the reception was poor. Everyone looked at Eric with sadness in their eyes. Murmurs immediately spread through the entire place.
Eric had awakened as a flame mage, but it was a single wisp, which meant Eric awakened as a level 1 fire mage, the weakest level.
Magic of all forms were ranked in this world from level one all the way to nine, the most powerful known stage of magic. During awakening, the higher you got the better, because it meant that you were a higher level mage.
It didn't stop there, because it also showed that you had the ability to reach even higher heights. No one believed that a level one mage would ever make it past level three, he might never get there all his life. But for a level four, reaching level eight wasn't impossible, and for a level five mage, reaching level nine wasn't impossible.
This system had existed from the very beginning, and it had been what worked all the time.
Everyone pitied Eric, because they knew his fate was sealed, and if he ever was to become useful, then he would only work as a guard.
Eric stood on that stage, his body shivering, tears welling up in his eyes. He collapsed to his knees right there.
The man conducting the ceremony knew that pain that Eric was going through now, but the ceremony had to continue. He heaved a sigh and spoke, "Eric Grimhorn, level one flame mage. You may step down now." He ensured his voice was cold and strict, to ensure that Eric knew that he had to get off.
Eric rose to his feet. He walked off, his head bowed, tears still dripping from his eyes.
Everyone watched this scene in sadness, knowing that his life was over. For a family like the Grimhorn, a level one was completely worthless, cannon fodder, there was no way they would spare true resources to help them at all.
Every child that was to be awakened were now filled with dread, worried and scared about what could happen to them, and if they would fall into the same category as Eric.
"Luka Grimhorn." The man on stage wasted no time calling in the second person.
Another young man walked to the stage. Everyone was eager to see what he would get, and much to their surprise, he gained three light blue wisps, which meant he had awakened as a level three ice mage.
The entire hall erupted into cheers, the first good result of the day.
After that, one after the other, the kids walked onto the stage for their awakening. But it didn't go too well for everyone, as most awakened as level two and level one mages, returning the air to its original tension, as many dreams were crushed in that moment and tough reality was fed.
Elias watched with a steady expression, but his mind was in turmoil, wondering what would happen to him if he got a level one, what would everyone say.
The more he thought, the more his mind raced. He looked at that orb and for some reason it kept sending shivers down his spine. He took a deep breath to calm himself as much as possible.
"Watson Grimhorn."
Soon, Watson was called. He rose to his feet with a smug expression, like he was telling everyone, look how it is done.
He walked out, confident under the gaze of many. He placed his hands on the crystal, and instantly it lit up. The magical formation formed and from it four wisps burst out.
Everyone was stunned when they saw this, but their shock was yet to be over, as they spotted one purple wisp amongst three red ones.
That could only mean one thing, he had awakened two elemental affinities, fire and lightning. The fire was stronger than the lightning because he had three wisps of it, but lightning was far more rare.
Watson looked at what he had awakened and the grin on his face reached his ears. Pride filled his heart, he was a prodigy indeed. He looked at Elias and Elena with a look that said top that.
Even the man standing on stage was stunned, but he collected himself and spoke, "Watson Grimhorn is a level four fire and lightning mage."
With that announcement, everyone burst into cheers. Watson walked down and back to his seat, immediately his followers started praising him.
"Hahaha, I'm just that good." Watson said, then looked at Elena, "let's see trash compete with that."
"Elena." The man on stage called out. Despite the fact that she had been given the family name, many rejected it, and it seemed this man was one of them.
Elena wasn't worried about that though. She rose to her feet and then looked at Elias with a smile. "Keep your eyes on me okay? I'll wow you." She said confidently.
"Well, of course, you have to." Elias replied calmly. She smiled and walked off.
Getting onto the stage, her heart raced, but she kept a smile on her face. She could hear the sneers and muttering of the people here, talking about her, but she kept her focus and walked to the orb.
She took a deep breath and then pressed her hand on the orb, it instantly lit up, faster than it did for Watson.
The magical formation appeared, and instantly before everyone's eyes, six wisps burst out of the formation. Two were fire, two were lightning, and two were semi-translucent.
The entire hall froze. No one dared to breathe or even speak. It was like the end would come if they dared to speak.