The second test was endurance. A machine would fire hologram arrows with increasing speeds and would stop once it hit the tester. The same value system was used. The third test was a vitality test where with the help of a machine, the child's blood would be tested and a result would be produced as either healthy, sick, or terminal. Terminal children were rare cases where the child in question had traces of Supernatural blood in them and would inevitably get put down or exiled into No Man's Land.
Luke stood in the first line for the Strength test. After a few minutes, it was his turn. Just as he was about to punch the machine, there was a commotion on the last line.
"Let me go. Please! I promise not to turn into a monster. Spare me!" a child was being escorted by the guard towards a separate room. The other testers took a few steps back to be on the safe side. His result showed a Terminal status. His pleas fell on deaf ears as the other testers looked at him with pity, even the boy's parents.
None dared to refute the harsh authority of the city guards lest they end up dead in a random alleyway in the city or eaten by the dogs on the street after being severely beaten by the guards. It was not clear who ruled in the town, whether it was the Mayor or the Baron, as there was a case now and then regarding the politics of the city.
Back to the test, after the boy was escorted by the guards, Luke punched the machine, producing a result of 5.
"Excellent punch young man, move on to the next test" the supervisor in charge of the Strength test said as he passed a paper to another supervisor. The rest of the tests went smoothly, with Luke scoring a 6 in Endurance and a 7 in Vitality. However, the last supervisor noticed that Luke's blood levels neared those of Terminal children and was at a crossroads whether to hand him to the guards or let him go. She decided to overlook the matter as it wasn't a matter of much concern.
Luke got a final rank of 6 and was given a card showing his name and rank. In the end, it was determined that he did not have any power and was just a regular human.
'Rejects'. This was the name given to children who did not have any powers. Very few of them had a late awakening, giving them some hope only to realise a useless power, giving them a minuscule change in status to people who will slave their lives away serving the nobles and truly wealthy till they die.
Luke left the test centre with his mother who was trying to cheer him up that there may be a mistake or he was a late awakened. They both went back home, Luke showing a sad expression the whole journey.
"How was the test? Did our son awaken a power today?" Adam bombarded his wife with endless questions making Luke feel bad for not awakening a power. He ran towards the house to lock himself in his room and cry himself to sleep. Adam seeing this, had a confused look on his face but finally understood and let Luke be, deciding to tell him about his work later.
Luke's siblings saw him running towards his room crying and they both let out a smile seeing him despairing and decided to mock him for it later.
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At dinner time...
Adam approached Luke's door and knocked three times.
"Luke, you can't stay in that room forever. Please come out for dinner and we can talk about the test later." Adam said not getting any response from the other side of the door. He pushed the door open and entered the room.
He saw Luke laying on the bed covered fully with his blanket. Sitting on the edge of the bed and laying his hand on Luke's shoulder, he felt shuffling beneath the blanket. "Listen to me, just because you haven't awakened a power to become a Reborn is not the end of life.
You are not going to become a Reject because," Adam paused for a moment contemplating something. 'Should I tell him or wait till he's older? Most Rejects end up working common jobs and the best they can do is work in the military as infantry' Adam thought.
"because, you are a Vallaher and although the bloodline has been watered down makes you no less of one. Come to work with me tomorrow, I'll show you what I've been up to. Now come for dinner I know you are awake."
Luke, caught red-handed, slowly unraveled the blanket revealing his puffy red eyes from crying, disheveled hair and sad expression. "What's for dinner?" he asked softly trying not to croak from all the crying.
"Your favorite, chicken, spiced rice and the special family salad," Adam responded. "Now go and freshen up before the food gets cold." he said as he left the room.
After a few minutes, Luke arrived at the dinner table his face looking better and hair kempt. He sat at the table, his portion already served. Everyone was already seated.
"Took your sweet time preparing," Liam, his older brother said in a scornful manner before adding" You'll wash the dishes today lil' bro, right?". Liam's hand was already on his shoulder applying pressure, with a smile on his face.
"Y-yes, I'll do them." Luke replied, a shiver ran down his spine and body shuddered lightly from the countless beatings as if it was ingrained into his muscles to fear this man. All of this did not go unnoticed under his father's gaze. "Liam, it's dinner time," Adam said sternly as if issuing a warning.
With that, they ate slowly as they discussed the day's events and news not forgetting the Midnight Scientist. After dinner they all proceeded to sleep, leaving Luke doing the dishes and putting the leftover food in the the fridge before proceeding to his room.
' Why does my life have to be like this? My siblings bully me, the neighbors either avoid me like a plague or bully me' Luke thought lying on his bed, reminiscing on his life thus far, without mana. 'I am no better than a street dog at this point, if not for my parents' love and care. My mother treats my wounds and cooks good food, and my father trains and advises me.' His thoughts ran wild and sleep slowly took him into its embrace.