I was enjoying the show. Many commoners and nobles had come forward to test their talents, but nothing out of the ordinary had happened so far.
Mother glanced at me and said, "Aren't you zoning out too much, child? Many nobles here are discussing what results their heirs might get. Aren't you interested in that?"
"No, Mother," I replied slowly. "I was just not paying attention to the nobles talking."
"It's alright," she said gently. "But today many high noble families have come here—not only to recruit talented individuals, but also because many noble heirs are participating in the ceremony this year."
While we were talking, the elders on the stage began speaking. They were not shouting, yet their voices were perfectly clear throughout the entire arena.
I wondered how they were doing it. Perhaps it was some kind of technique or talent.
Yes, techniques existed in this world. They could be learned, but they were extremely rare. Moreover, they could not be practiced unless the person was compatible with them.
For example, the elders on the stage most likely possessed wind affinity, which probably allowed them to use this technique to spread their voices across the stadium.
One of the elders spoke calmly.
"Now then, the preliminaries are over. We request the noble families of the country to send their heirs to the stage."
So now it begins, I thought.
Including me, there were six other children waiting.
We began walking down the stairs toward the stage and approached the platform where the testing artifacts were placed.
Among us were two girls and three boys, all belonging to powerful families—families even larger and more influential than ours.
Although the event was held in our territory, most of the great families participated because it was the largest ceremony in the entire country.
Our land might not be fertile, but it possessed something unique that none of the others had.
It was malleable.
A mountain range existed within our territory where the clay was extremely special. The massive stadium—far larger than any other in the country—had been constructed using this clay. That was one of the main reasons the ceremony held here was so famous among nobles.
The names of the young nobles were Henry, Diana, Kim, Donald, and Stain.
They all belonged to powerful families, and their eyes carried the unmistakable arrogance of nobility. I didn't bother trying to start small talk with them.
However, two of them seemed different.
They were laughing and talking with each other like friends—but not quite. One moment they looked friendly, and the next moment they seemed like enemies.
What a strange pair, I thought. It's better not to get involved with them.
Unfortunately, they noticed my gaze.
The boy named Henry started walking toward me, and behind him was Kim.
I suddenly felt nervous. I had only looked at them the same way everyone else had. Why were they coming toward me?
Henry stopped in front of me and smiled.
"Hello," he said. "My name is Henry Walter, and this is Kim Silvermoon. I noticed that you are from the Valton family, correct?"
I hesitated for a moment. Should I talk to them or not?
But then I thought about my family's reputation. Creating unnecessary conflict would not be wise.
"Oh, where are my manners?" I said. "Yes, I am from the Valton family. My name is Aron Valton, son of Yan Valton."
Kim looked at me carefully before speaking.
"Oh, so you're from the Valtons, huh?" he said with a slight grin. "I was expecting someone with a larger frame. Most Valtons are knights, after all."
I simply laughed lightly at his remark.
Before the conversation could continue, the elders called out from the stage.
"Donald and Diana, step forward and pour your blood into the artifact."
Instantly, the entire arena fell silent.
Not a single person made a sound.
These were heirs of the great noble families. They were expected to possess great talents and powerful affinities.
But even then, nothing was ever guaranteed.
Donald and Diana stepped forward and carefully poured drops of their blood into the artifact.
The crystal glowed, and colors began to appear.
The stadium erupted with excitement.
Both of them had achieved yellow-level talent.
For their affinities, Donald awakened Fire, while Diana awakened Water.
The noble families congratulated their parents, and the ceremony continued.
Next, the elders called Kim and Henry.
Both of them already knew what to do, yet the elders still spoke a few calming words, perhaps to steady their nerves.
The test began.
As they poured their blood into the artifact, a blinding light suddenly burst from the crystal.
The light was so intense that it seemed to dim even the sun for a moment.
Everyone instinctively squinted their eyes.
Those of us standing closest to the artifact were the most affected.
When the light finally faded and we looked at the artifact again, the entire stadium froze.
For a moment, no one moved.
Many people blinked repeatedly, as if trying to confirm that what they were seeing was real.
Both Kim and Henry had achieved Indigo-level talent.
Henry awakened Earth affinity, while Kim awakened Wind affinity.
For a few seconds, there was only stunned silence.
Then the entire stadium exploded with cheers.
The roar of the crowd was so loud that even the magically reinforced stadium began producing faint creaking sounds.
They were true geniuses.
Across the entire country, Indigo-level talents could be counted on one's fingers. They were so rare that even the most powerful families would fight desperately to obtain such individuals.
Enemies of our country must be feeling fear right now, I thought.
Indigo talent was considered near-divine genius, and today we had witnessed two of them appear together.
The crowd continued cheering wildly.
Even my mother looked incredibly happy. She quickly walked over to congratulate the parents of Henry and Kim.
I wasn't sure what kind of relationship she had with them, but judging by the way they spoke and smiled at each other, they seemed quite close.
After all, they were now the proud parents of Indigo-level geniuses.
Aron Valton's talent test — which is usually where fantasy novels introduce a big twtwistt