The Orders were assigned to different places randomly, which is why the quite prestigious Seventh Order found themselves in the tiny village of Hasira, and they were anything but pleased about it. Grumbles of discontent echoed through their ranks.
"Shut it, all of you" The General, Argon Dmitri grumbled. "You never know, we might find a hidden gem. So shut your traps and do your duty"
A lean man with wavy blonde hair walking beside him spoke, "I doubt it captain, it's super rare. Plus, even if they have high potential, they will still be weak"
Argon growled, "Samuel, you idiot! That potential is exactly what we are after"
Samuel huffed, "It's still rare..."
The guards, who had seen the Order approaching from afar had already called for the head elder, who had rushed over to greet them.
"Hello, esteemed sirs! What brings you to our humble village!"
"The potential evaluation", Argon said.
"I see, I shall prepare the stage at the center of the village. Would you like any refreshments while you wait?"
Samuel cut in,
"Nah, we aren't hungry"
The soldiers all following behind Argon and Samuel groaned. Samuel smirked as he looked back.
"Bunch of wusses"
Argon walked over to the stage and pedestal being set up, and placed a bright white orb on it once it was securely in place. He treated the orb with reverence and the utmost care. It must have been incredibly valuable. Later, I found out how it was made. It seems the Saintess sacrifices her power to create them. She becomes weaker every time she has to create one, so these orbs are incredibly precious.
Of course, the orb has other functions, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Marcus Finch, standing nearby, gawking at the knights has no idea about any of this, so for now, let's move on.
The elder, being the quick thinker he was, had already gathered everyone in the village. They all stood in front of the stage, some people had understanding looks on their faces and most children just had confused expressions. Marcus Finch had the same confused expression.
Most kids were holding their parents hands. Marcus was not. He had no parents, but since he was loved by the entire village, he did have a posse of children as well as their parents around him.
Once everyone had settled down and the knights stood in formation on the stage, Arnold, standing in front of them, beside the orb, cleared his throat.
"Alright listen up, some of you know what's happening and some of you don't, So I'm gonna explain it to you. Currently, we are evaluating your potential, to see if you are someone that is worth investing in. Children from ages 10 to 15 will climb up here and place their hand on the orb. That's it, you don't have to do anything else"
He glanced at all the children.
"If you have the potential to be an Awakened, then your life will change, a lot. In my experience, it's been a good thing. I became strong, I was able to give my parents a good life and If I wanted I could live lavishly"
He smirked, "But that doesn't mean you all will instantly have a good life after we find out you have potential. You will have to work hard and contribute to the kingdom. This can be done in many ways, whether you want to join an Order like I did, or become a celebrity and inspire others."
His expression darkened a bit, "Or even through war...But if you push through, I'm sure you will all be in a better position then you are now. To those who do not have potential or have a very weak potential then nothing changes. You will continue to live your lives, carefree. To some people, that is a better deal. So no matter what happens, be proud that you all contribute to the kingdom in your own way"
He ended his speech and stepped back. The head elder, standing off the stage to the right started calling out names, starting with the children who were 10 years old. Marcus was 13, so there was some time till he was gonna be called up there.
I'll use this time to explain a few things. First of all, ranks. Ranks start from Low, then comes Middle, High, Supreme, Argonaut and finally Godhood. These are the only potential ranks that exist in this world. No one has ever reached Godhood. That is a fact at this point of the story...I think.
I'm not 100% sure ok? I'm not a history buff. And there could be hidden Godhood rank people out there. In that case, how do you expect me to know everything?
Also these are just there to show potential. People could always not reach their full potential, so there potential values aren't everything.
Next, I wanted to describe Marcus Finch. I know I'm late, but bear with me. He has black hair with cyam tips and bright yellow eyes. He was also incredibly muscular for his age. He wore a bandana on his head, which was yellow with black patterns. He almost never took the thing off, he loved it dearly.
Coming back to the evaluation, most kids just got no reaction, with a few getting a Low potential rating. All of them were sent back to the crowd. You had to be at least Middle to even consider going with the Order to the main city, Kerlen.
Soon, one of Marcus's friends, Amelia, was called. She was a confident young lady who loved pretending to be the leader of their little group. Marcus always let her have her fun and Amelia loved to tease him for being too soft hearted, but they still got along well.
"Wish me luck!", Amelia grinned and waved as she walked toward the stage.
"Good luck!", Marcus replied with a smile.
Amelia stepped on the stage, a drop of sweat running down her cheek. She was incredibly nervous, who wouldn't be in front of all those knights? She shook of her nerves and reached for the orb.
Once she touched the orb, it emitted a burst of light that was much brighter than the lights it was emitting for the other children.
Samuel grinned.
"No fucking way..."