A brown color. Not the best, but not the worst.
"Hmm..." Emperor Kaelith furrowed his brows. "15% blood purity. You're classified as Ember Blooded."
Disappointment was clear, and that seemed to affect Sylis as he looked to the ground and clenched his fists before slowly walking away.
And like before, the emperor continued.
"Elandra Varekan. You're a troublemaker, but you show great strength. Step up."
A girl with fiery red hair and an awful temper stepped forward. Still, she pricked her finger and let a droplet of blood fall.
The colors began swirling, until stopping on a color that made the emperor's brow rise in surprise.
Red. Clear red.
"This is very impressive. Your bloodline purity is... 45%. You're classified as Crimson Blooded. Congratulations."
Elandra puffed her chest. "Well, I did say mine's going to be high. Thanks grandpa. See ya later."
The moment she finished those words, silence ensued as she innocently walked back to the rest of the kids, ignorant of her discourtesy.
Yeah... still crazy. Raelis remarked with a chuckle. Who calls the emperor grandpa in official events? But I guess she is still a child...
"Next." Emperor Kaelis flipped his note. "Therin Varekan. Your health isn't great, but your swordsmanship is impressive. You have potential if you find a cure to your disease. Step up."
Even after several seconds, Therin didn't move, only remained standing.
Raelis sighed and tugged at Lydia's skirt.
"Go wake him up," he whispered.
"Wake him up...? Young master, are you sure—"
"Just do it. The others aren't going to." Raelis added.
He felt bad for Therin. Out of all the siblings in Raelis's age group, only he was nice to him.
Lydia gulped, slowly approached Therin and pinched his cheek, causing him to flinch as he looked toward the emperor.
"Y-Your Majesty, I'm sor—"
"Step up," Emperor Kaelith replied coldly.
Therin sprinted toward the orb, picked up the dagger and slashed his finger.
The colors swirled immediately until eventually stopping on orange.
"Not too bad," Emperor Kaelith remarked with a nod. "Your bloodline purity is 29%, which makes you Kindle Blooded. With enough effort, you may be able to push it higher. Congratulations."
"T-Thank you your Majesty!" Therin bowed, and ran away, his expression pale.
With that, only two people were left. Raelis, and Zeri.
Emperor Kaelith checked his notes, and flashed a glance at Raelis before moving onto Zeri.
"Zeri Varekan. Your affinity for the flame is commendable. Your trainer had told me you're very close to creating the first star for your flame body technique. Very impressive, step up."
A wide smile appeared on Zeri's face as she skipped over to the testing device, hesitantly pricked her finger.
The moment her blood fell onto the device, it began emitting a wild rainbow color, surprising even the emperor himself.
It lasted longer than it did for the others, stretching to over 30 seconds.
Finally, it settled down, and the device began emitting a faint pink glow, causing the emperor to stand from his seat, a wide grin on his face.
"Magnificent..." Emperor Kaelith muttered. "60% Bloodline purity. You're classified as Scarlet Blooded. You're a prodigy I did not expect to see in this batch, and I'll make sure you get all the resources necessary to advance further."
"Thanks." Zeri giggled, playing around with the pink orb. "Can I take it? I really like this color..."
"No, Zeri," Emperor Kaelith said warmly. "But if you achieve the first star for your flame body technique by the end of the week, then I shall build you a manor dyed in pink. How does that sound."
Zeri's smile widened as she extended her pinky. "Pinky promise?"
The emperor stared at her for a few moments speechlessly, and reached down, confirming the promise.
"Go now, Zeri. There is one more person who needs to partake in the test," Emperor Kaelith said and sat back down on the throne, pulling out his note.
Zeri skipped away, flashing Raelis a thumbs up.
A faint smile couldn't help but appear on his face at her behavior.
After all, this was nothing but an act.
Cheerful. Naive. Desperate for approval? She was none of that.
Zeri was a perfectionist and a manipulator hidden behind a graceful smile.
But I'll play along... even if I'm way behind, Raelis thought, turning to face the emperor with a resolute look.
"Raelis Varekan. Step up," Emperor Kaelith said coldly, gesturing toward the orb.
Huh. It feels weird not being called a bastard for once, Raelis thought, calmly approached the device, pricked his finger, and waited for the blood to fall.
The moment it did, a bright flash of white light blinded everyone present.
"Raelis recoiled. He definitely didn't remember this happening last time.
But when the blindness finally cleared, he was met with the emperor's frown.
"1% Bloodline purity. You're Ash Blooded. Not the best for a royal. Get out of my sight."
Yet Raelis remained rooted in place, not believing in what he was seeing.
There was a faint gray, borderline black hue pulsing from the orb. In the past, it was simply pitch black.
I-I... my bloodline is awakened? How is this possible? Raelis pondered, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. No... this has to be a dream, right? I need to wake up—
"I thought I told you to get out," Emperor Kaelith repeated, causing a deadly pressure to engulf Raelis.
He dropped to his knees, his neck straining under the crushing force.
With a mere flick, the emperor tossed Raelis towards the door, which was swiftly opened by the guards.
They picked Raelis up by the shoulders, and began escorting him out, their gazes filled with ridicule.
Finally, they brought him back to his room, and tossed him in front of the door.
Raelis landed on his feet, entered the room in a daze, and collapsed onto the bed.
As much as he wanted to deny it, he wasn't hallucinating.
The bloodline test didn't lie. It simply couldn't.
I actually have a bloodline now...? Raelis thought in a daze, his heart beat growing unnatural.
Too unnatural...
That was when he suddenly felt a pain in his chest, causing him to curl up into a ball, clutching his heart.
"Agh..." Raelis gasped. "What now!?"
The pain was growing by the second, and it almost felt like his blood was boiling.
But just as suddenly as it appeared, the pain vanished.
It was almost as if he was imagining it. But as he laid on his back once more, he saw a surprising sight.
There were a few glowing panels right above him which displayed some nonsense.
Or he thought it was nonsense, but...
<+1% Bloodline Purity>
"...Huh?"