The ceremony began, and soon they would either become mages and wield the power of the Construct or remain ordinary people.
A Second Rank mage stood at the altar in front of a floating orb. His core had Two Circles holding his spells, wielding power that the 16-18-year-olds before him could only dream of.
He put his hands behind his back as the great sphere filled with light.
"The Awakening Ceremony begins now. Remember, you have one chance. For only two years, the energy in the human body is most active, and the Construct is ready to connect with you, but if you fail, it will close forever.
"The orb will show your results. An Empty Circle is for commoners. If you see a Broken Circle, you are a mage, but I'm afraid you will remain at the bottom forever. As we know, the Broken Mages cannot progress. Those who receive a Full Circle can rejoice. You have become Mages, and from now on, everything depends on you."
Becoming a Mage was crucial, as the Broken Mages were forever limited. They were above ordinary people but weaker than all Mages. Mages could reach the First or even Second Rank as the ceremony master. Perhaps someone would reach the Third Rank and become one of the strongest in the town.
A young man stepped forward and placed a blue crystal on the altar.
As soon as the crystal cracked, two streams of energy connected the young man and the sphere, and his eyes shone brightly.
Then...
Flashes ran across the sphere, forming a Full Circle.
A happy smile spread across his face as he imagined his bright future. With his family's resources and his talent, he could reach the Second Rank or maybe even the Third Rank!
Fire filled the circle, showing his closest element affinity.
"First try and a Full Circle right away?" the man raised an eyebrow. "Good job, guy. What's your name?"
"O-Oren..." he stammered. "What did I see?"
"That's the Construct. It's your power and your future. Get back in line."
"Yes!"
Envious glances fell on Oren, everyone wanted to be in his place, hoping to become a mage.
The ceremony master tossed the depleted crystal aside.
"Next!"
Soon, the ceremony hall was filled with the desperate cries of those who had the Empty Circle.
"Commoner! Next!"
Ten people after Oren had failed to establish contact with the Construct, even though some of them had higher-level Ascension Crystals!
The crowd thinned out.
Ethan knew that his turn would come soon.
The gray crystal in his hand was all he could afford after several years of work. The lowest quality, pale in comparison to the green, blue, or even the red crystals of others.
A magic circle floated in the crystal — a sign that it was 100% purified, meaning that energy could interact with him harmlessly. That was the reason for its enormous price. The worse the crystal, the lower the density of energy, thus the less time the candidate had to connect with the Construct.
Sometimes, only the quality of the crystal determined whether a person would become a mage or not. Some needed only a moment to contact the Construct, others needed more.
The worst part was that it was impossible to know what led to failure. Was it a bad crystal or a lack of talent? That's why everyone tried to get the best crystal possible.
The risk was unacceptable. Everyone had only one attempt in their lifetime. If a Construct closed, it disappeared forever.
"Ethan Thorne!" the ceremony master exclaimed. "Step forward! I repeat, for the last time, Ethan Thorne!"
A 17-year-old boy with black hair and gray eyes stepped out of the crowd.
Behind him, mockery rang out at his crystal. He was one of the few who had come to the ceremony with the worst one.
"Hah, just look at him. A gray crystal?" Leyna Staher's sneer rang out across the hall like thunder. "Didn't you have enough money for a white one? If I were you, I wouldn't even try, you're just wasting everyone's time!"
Ethan took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. There was no point in listening to their taunts, not now.
"Enough!" The ceremony master struck the column. "The crystal is not as important as your talent. If one is destined to become a mage, it will happen."
Soon, Ethan's crystal cracked due to the pressure of the altar, calculated correctly so that the energy would flow through the crack and the crystal would not be crushed into dust.
The noise disappeared, and Ethan saw only a faint stream touching his chest.
The ceremony hall disappeared, replaced by endless darkness.
Huge gears moved further and further away until Ethan found himself in front of the core, the great mechanism of all mages — the Construct.
"This..." Ethan's eyes flashed. "I did it! R-Right?!"
The circle soared behind the core, lines heading toward the center, forming a complex grid.
Ethan knew what it was. He was looking at the Full Circle.
And then...
One part after another shattered, leaving no more than half of the former glory.
"NO!!!"
Ethan exclaimed as if it could change anything.
"Broken Mage!" The ceremony master announced with a wave of his hand.
"Agh?"
The orb showed the Broken Circle, the same as in the inner chamber.
Ethan's eyes widened in disbelief. "But! I saw it!"
Thump.
Leyna hit him on the shoulder.
"Out of my way! Now it's my turn! The fact that you turned out to be a Broken Mage is the best you could hope for with your pathetic crystal!"
The red crystal with three circles crashed onto the altar.
It took a whole minute to break such a powerful crystal, but a crack appeared.
The great circle soon filled the orb, complex and exquisite, directing lines to the center of the grid, lightning charges bursting out.
"I think I deserve an announcement, don't you?"
Leyna tossed her hair.
"Hah, what an exquisite pattern. Another Mage. Full Circle!"
"Pffft, it was obvious. Unlike some."
She glanced at the failures and stopped at Ethan.
"I have both talent and money. An unbeatable combination!"
The ceremony continued.
One by one, the youths placed their crystals. Some, like Ethan, had Broken Circles, and from time to time, Full Circles appeared.
Tap.
The ceremony master touched Ethan's shoulder, bringing him out of his trance.
"Hey, kid, wake up."
Ethan glanced around. Everyone had already left. Only he and the man remained in the hall.
"I know. At first, you were happy to see the Construct, but you ended up at the bottom of the food chain in the mage world. You will remain at the same level forever, but that doesn't mean you can't become stronger."
He patted Ethan on the shoulder.
"Just do everything in your power and you will live a decent life. Khm, don't take risks with experiments, they will ruin you. Also, don't pay attention to someone like Leyna, she'll only cause you problems. It's unfair that people like her have everything, but the best thing you can do is not be jealous, but use what you have to the fullest."
Strangely enough, none of this bothered Ethan.
Time and again, he remembered how his circle was almost complete, and then the space collapsed.
'Do I lack Leyna's talent, or did I just run out of time because of the cheap crystal?'
Ethan clenched his fist with a fiery gaze.
'I'll get what's mine. I'll force my Construct to work!'
He wouldn't let failure and poverty affect him.
He had been at the bottom his whole life and wasn't going to stay there anymore.