Jonathan's Talent

"You're Jonathan, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"You're very good. Come stand inside that Magic Array over there. Remember to hold on as long as you can—the longer, the better."

"Thank you for the advice, sir."

Jonathan was just as surprised that he had exceptional talent in two elements. He wasn't surprised by his Dark Element talent, since he had been practicing a Dark Element battle manual for a long time.

But the Earth Element talent truly caught him off guard.

Perhaps one day he could comprehend the same Earth Element secret technique as the protagonist, Linley.

After Jonathan stepped into the Magic Array, the bald old man asked gently, "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

Suddenly, Jonathan felt a pressure descend upon him inside the Magic Array. At first, it wasn't too bad, but as time passed, he began to feel dizzy.

At the same time, it felt as though a boulder were pressing down on his shoulders, forcing him to bend and kneel.

Jonathan's will had long since been tempered into something exceptionally resilient.

Even now, he was distracted by the thought, If the cooldown on my Dao Fruit had ended, I'm afraid I'd have scared this old man.

He estimated that he could withstand the pressure of a ninth-level spell for quite a while. As his strength grew, the Dao Fruit's soul-protecting power would only become more astonishing.

Time trickled by. The dizziness gradually turned into a headache, as though someone were jabbing his head with silver needles.

The pain kept getting worse, and he began to grit his teeth.

Jonathan's expression grew increasingly pained, but the bald old man's smile only grew brighter.

At last, Jonathan could no longer endure the pressure. Like Ford before him, he fell to his knees and braced himself with both hands.

He lowered his head and let out a long breath. "That should be about enough. I wonder how many times stronger my spiritual force is than other people my age?"

Jonathan's soul was unusual to begin with, and every time his strength advanced, his soul was strengthened and transformed. As a result, even he didn't know how powerful his spiritual force really was.

He figured he had lasted a little longer than Ford, which should be about right.

If he kept going much longer, his head would start to hurt in earnest.

The area fell silent. Even the sound of people swallowing could be heard clearly.

Everyone watched the bald old man, waiting for him to announce Jonathan's talent.

The bald old man swept his gaze over the crowd. His face flushed with excitement, and his body trembled slightly as he said, "His spiritual force is..."

He paused deliberately before announcing the figure that would astonish everyone.

"Sixty-four times that of his peers!"

"Jonathan Bard has exceptional elemental affinity for both the Earth Element and the Dark Element, and exceptional spiritual force!"

This was no ordinary exceptional rating.

For the spiritual force test, thirty-two times the norm was already considered exceptional. The reason sixty-four times still fell under the same rating was that exceptional was currently the highest category.

However, the bald old man recorded the exact result for each person's spiritual force test, so that the important figures above wouldn't overlook them.

Hearing the result, Jonathan thought to himself, Not bad.

The moment the result was announced, the crowd around them erupted.

The recruiters from the various Magic Academies surged toward Jonathan, their faces flushed with excitement as if they had been injected with stimulants.

As for the noble who had mocked Jonathan earlier, he had already disappeared.

"Jonathan, come to Jiede Magic Academy! Our academy sincerely invites you to join. We'll waive all your tuition and fees, and we'll also provide you with a generous scholarship every year."

"Furthermore, we'll invite an experienced master mage to teach you!"

Every academy present offered Jonathan generous rewards, hoping he would study at their school.

Jonathan didn't accept any of their offers. He was waiting for someone from Ulada Magic Academy.

He had intended to take the magic talent test, so he had naturally looked into the academies beforehand.

Ernst Academy was widely recognized as the best Magic Academy on the continent, but unfortunately, it wouldn't accept students with Dark Element talent.

The second-best Magic Academy was in the Yulan Empire, while Ulada Magic Academy ranked third. It was in Black Phoenix City, the capital of the Bandas Kingdom, the foremost kingdom under the Dark Alliance.

He couldn't attend Ernst Academy, and the Yulan Empire was rather far away, so Ulada Magic Academy had become his first choice.

Besides, he had Dark Element talent, and the Dark Alliance had no shortage of experts in that field.

As for the Earth Element, it was fairly common, and every academy offered courses in it.

"Hello, Jonathan. Ulada Magic Academy sincerely invites you to become one of our students."

A middle-aged mage in a black robe stepped up to Jonathan with a smile and asked politely, "Would you be willing to join us?"

Magic wasn't something one could simply decide to learn. In addition to talent, one needed someone to teach them. Otherwise, even great spiritual force would be useless.

As soon as Ulada spoke, the recruiters from the other academies fell silent.

In the Dark Alliance, they simply had no power to compete with Ulada.

It wasn't just a matter of teaching staff. They couldn't afford to offend the force behind it, either.

Ulada Magic Academy was the Dark Alliance's dominant academy, built with funding from the Dark Church. Many mages graduated from the other academies only to join the Dark Church directly.

"Sir, it would be an honor to become a student at Ulada Magic Academy."

The middle-aged man in black was pleased with Jonathan's response. He nodded with a smile. "I'll report your information to the academy. Come back on February 12 next year with your identification and take another test. After that, you can officially become a student."

As he spoke, he took out a black letter. "This is your admission letter. Be sure to arrive at the academy by February 12, or you'll miss the enrollment date."

"Thank you, sir. I'll remember."

The commotion Jonathan caused was considerable, but the tests still had to continue.

Ford also received an invitation from Ulada Magic Academy. Excited, he accepted the black admission letter.

"Jonathan, thank you for your blessing!" Ford looked at him with utter sincerity.

Jonathan was at a loss for words. Talent was innate, and very few things could change it. What did that have to do with his blessing?

"If you really want to thank me, just give me a little blessing fee."

Ford immediately looked embarrassed. "My father only gave me enough for the registration fee, but I'll definitely pay you after I enroll next year!"

Jonathan glanced at him and patted his shoulder. "Ford, you're taking me too seriously. I was joking."

"My father's here. I'll be off."

Ford waved. "See you at Ulada Magic Academy next year!"

Jonathan walked over to Abraham, then followed him away in silence.

Abraham didn't speak at all along the way.

He truly hadn't expected Jonathan to have such outstanding magic talent, or to receive an invitation from Ulada Magic Academy.

Still, it was only natural.

Jonathan's magic talent would likely rank among the best in Ulada Magic Academy's history.

"Jonathan, are you really going to Ulada Magic Academy?"

"If Ernst didn't refuse to accept students with Dark Element talent, I'd want to study there."

"Father, do you disapprove?"

Abraham shook his head. "With talent like yours, you can't let it go to waste."

"Once you're there, study hard."

"I can't go with you, and you can't fall behind in your warrior training, either."

Jonathan nodded. "Father, I'll remember. I won't let you down."

"Let's hurry. We might not make it back before nightfall, and we still have to get up for training tomorrow morning."

Abraham smiled. The two of them quickened their pace and ran all the way back.

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