Zel quickly reached his school using one of his active abilities, Strong Legs, which allowed him to move faster.
His current set of skills wasn't very strong, but it was well-rounded. Strong Legs made him faster, Enhanced Reflexes allowed him to use the latter effect to be used at its maximum potential, and the Bone Dagger granted him some attack power.
"Everyone, take a seat." An old man stood up and announced. It was one of the four elders of the village, Malden Kyth, a Fourth Level Elder. "Today, I shall be the one hosting this year's Slayer Knowledge test." The students sat immediately. Their admiration towards someone with Fourth Level Core was justified. Even Zel, who was usually calm and expressionless, felt a little nervous standing near him. "I sincerely hope you boys and girls have studied hard for this moment! Remember, if you don't score at least sixty percent, you will not pass. If you score ninety or higher, you will receive a special prize." He added, before ordering a few women to hand out the test papers.
With over five hundred participants, it took a few minutes before the test sheet was delivered to Zel. Along with it, there was also a small pencil and an eraser, nothing else. Looking at the paper, most people would frown after seeing it was not made of multiple-choice questions, but Zel had no worries at all.
As if he were a genius, he immediately picked up his pencil and started writing faster than everyone else in the school's main hall.
"What is the meaning of a red Soul Color?"
"A red Soul Color means destruction and anger, but also strength and leadership abilities."
"Explain what a Core is in a few lines."
"The Core is inside every living being, and it's located in the brain in the form of a lump of light of the same color as that of the Soul Color. It has an unknown number of levels, but everyone starts at one whether they want it or not. The higher the level is, the stronger your body and soul become. It is where the Internal Temple and, therefore, the Soul reside. Last but not least, it's what decides our Core Ability when using a Core Ability Orb."
The questions asked various things, including the Core, the Internal Temple, the Soul, Soul Colors, and even the village's past and basic survival knowledge.
Many people tried cheating, but no one could escape the trained eyes of the teachers and the elder, whose Core Level was four, monitoring them. In just the first ten minutes over twenty were caught. This number increased constantly throughout the entirety of the test until it was over.
When the time was over, the students had to submit their tests one at a time directly to the elder to avoid any outside help and possible cheating. With a rhythm of one student every five seconds, excluding the fifty-seven who were caught cheating and punished with a salty fine and those who gave up and left, it took slightly more than half an hour before everyone had handed in their tests.
Finally, the elder used one of his skills. "Autocorrect." A spell that allowed anything to get corrected automatically as long as the caster knew the right answer with certainty. In an instant, all the papers changed color! Over a hundred and fifty were tainted red, most were yellow, and only twenty-three were green. "As you all know, red means fail, yellow means you passed, and green means you get a reward. Now, Autodeliver!" He shouted, activating another skill, this time sending back the tests to the respective students.
"How did I fail?!"
"I was only a few points away! Damn it!"
"This can't be real! I studied for months."
Out of the four hundred and seven people who didn't cheat or leave, a hundred and fifty-three failed, two hundred and thirty-one passed, and only twenty-three managed to reach a score of over ninety percent.
Zel looked at his paper with eyes void of any happiness or relief. He already knew what the result would be, there was no reason to waste his time celebrating. "Another full score." He laughed, but not out of joy as one might think but instead out of interest. Since he would be getting a Core Ability Orb, he could come closer to the true meaning of a black soul.
"A Core Ability can be obtained by using a Core Ability Orb. The obtained skill is chosen at random by the Core based on multiple factors, but the most significant of them is the Soul Color, which chooses the type of spell!" Zel thought, grinning slightly.
"Everyone who has the green paper, please stand up." The elder announced, walking closer to the students. "I will now personally hand you a Core Ability Orb and you will consume it in front of me for safety reasons. This is to prevent the illegal selling of these items, please understand. Along with it, I will also give you a permit to train in the Crater Forest for the next three days to train your skills before the final exam."
No one dared to object and instead gave a round of applause to those who got a green result.
The elder called all the twenty-three students who met the requirement and personally gave the promised item.
"Your hand." The elder gently spoke when it was Zel's turn. He obviously did as told, and a bright light appeared in the air a few centimeters above his palm. After a short moment, the light turned into a solid transparent sphere the size of his hand. "Use it." Zel followed the order and consumed the Core Ability Orb by absorbing it into his body. All of a sudden, he felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, indicating that everything had gone smoothly. "Congratulations, you may return home."
Without further ado, Zel returned home.
"Welcome back!" His father said, "Your mother told me everything, how did it go?"
"Fine, but that aside, you've already returned from the expedition, did something happen?" His father had been absent for the past two weeks due to what was supposed long-term expedition that should have lasted a month and a half.
"Our group's path was blocked by a large group of wild beasts, we couldn't proceed so we retreated."
"Couldn't you have circled around it?"
"No, the Slayer Guild told us there was only one relatively safe route and that taking a different one would have killed us so… You get the point."
"Did you get something interesting at least?"
"Sadly not, but talking about interesting things, did you achieve a perfect score this time as well?"
"Of course." He replied blandly. To him, it was not something worth praise.
"As expected of my son! Say, what Core Ability did you receive?" He asked, impatiently. This was, after all, his first son receiving such an item.
"I have yet to check, and even if I knew I wouldn't tell you."
"Good, good! It seems my boy has learned that everything about oneself must be secret, especially abilities." He patted his son's shoulder.
"I'll go to my room. I want to see my Core Ability."
"Make sure to be back by dinner time!" His mother reminded him, "I'll make a special dinner just for you and your siblings today. All three of you have been very busy."
"A special dinner?" Zel thought, "Why would anyone need a special dinner for studying?" His way of thinking was rather strange but simple. To him, effort wasn't a thing. Results should not be celebrated for they are the prize itself.
He sighed and sat on his bed, closing his eyes and entering his Core.
Zel appeared in front of the mound with the temple on top and, as usual, the pitch-black soul was staring back at him with its pair of red eyes which creepily never blinked. "Let's see what you really mean, part of myself I do not know."