It took a while before the test to determine one's innate magic power came to an end in the grand beast hall.
It was the strongest guild in the Leon Kingdom.
It was heralded by the head of the Royal Family, the Master of the Golden Dragon, the Slayer of Overlords, the Terror of Demonic Beasts, the Great Guardian God of the Human Race, the Founder of the First Safe Haven for Humanity in the Dark Age, King Leon, himself!
Garrick looked at the gathered crowd and spoke, his voice loud and authoritive, leaving no room for arguments.
"Those who have passed the test, follow me. I will take you to awaken your beast taming seals. Those who have failed, leave."
Around a thousand people had come to participate in the trial this year.
Out of those thousand people, over a 900 people left with dissapointment etched on their face as their dream of making it big was dashed and they had no choice but to continue living in fear and misery.
Within the Leon Kingdom, mortals occupied a pitiable position. Not only were they worked like beasts of burden, when violence occurred against them, it rarely invited consequences. That was true even if they were killed because of a beast tamer's violent temper or greed!
Only when the slain mortal hailed from a family of beast tamers did matters become more complex. In such cases, the offender might be compelled to pay a fine, but their lives were rarely demanded in return for the life lost at their hands.
Basically, it was an exception brought forth by the love of family, not the rule!
"Here we are."
Led by Garrick, Jon and fifty others arrived at a courtyard filled with fresh air, lush trees, and blooming flowers.
Some spirits greeted them excitedly, waving happily at the sight of new faces after a year. Others returned the waves with vacant, foolish smiles, while a few cast stunned glances before turning away.
Jon found himself among the former.
A ritual circle was drawn over a clear patch of grass, with a stone path leading straight to it.
Under Garrick's lead, they went and stood around it.
"Just like demonic beasts and beast tamers, beast taming seals are also divided into several ranks. From weakest to strongest, they are: Ordinary, Extraordinary, Rare, Unique, and Divine.
"Ordinary beast taming seals simply grant you the ability to tame beasts—usually by exhausting their mental power until it drops to a level where they can be overpowered through the cooperation between you and your seal.
"Extraordinary seals have an additional effect.
"If a seal possesses two additional effects, it is classified as Rare. This pattern continues up to the Divine rank. A Divine beast taming seal can help you forcefully tame a beast regardless of its rank. However, it is not omnipotent—if the beast's magic power greatly surpasses its master's, it can eventually break free from control. Still, awakening a Divine seal would make you a national treasure. Ample resources are provided to such people to help realize their potential as quickly as possible," Garrick explained.
"I hope one of you will be able to awaken a divine-rank seal. But even if you awaken a weaker seal, as long as it's above extraordinary rank, I will recommend you to the Beast Hall. If it's unique, I will take you in as my student."
Those from powerful backgrounds had already researched everything about beast tamers and found the explanation dull and unnecessary, but they were excited about the prospect of reaching greatness in one leap if they managed to awaken a good enough seal.
As for people like Jon, who were ignorant of many of these details, Garrick's words were valuable. They cleared away much of the confusion that lingered in their minds, and they felt grateful to him.
"Until this point, is there any confusion?" Garrick asked.
"No, sir," the crowd replied in unison.
"The type of seal you receive will be determined by the vision that manifests during your awakening. Now, without further ado, form a line and step into the center of the ritual circle one by one."
Following Garrick's advice, Kiana was the first to step into the ritual circle.
It lit up as he reached its center.
A bright white light shot out of it. Following that, a cry was heard. An aerial beast made seemingly of sand flew out. It was not real, only a vision, but it said a lot. The sand bird vision and the beam of white light lasted only for a few moments before dissapearing like an illusion.
"Kiana. Extraordinary-rank taming seal. Above average talent."
Garrick didn't have more words for him, and the tone he used to announce his result also lacked affection and emotion. It was close to being montone.
Well, it was to be expected.
Beast tamer with above average talent might have a high status in a small town like this, but in his eyes, they were nothing special, not worthy of special treatment.
"Step out." Garrick gesturned for Kiana to step out of the ritual circle to make way for the next person.
Kiana found his lofty attitude offensive, but didn't dare show his anger on his face. He was a coward who only dared to run wild in front of the weak and the poor. He didn't have the courage to offend the strong, following his command obediently.
"Next!"
A beautiful woman with silver hair stepped into the middle of the ritual circle with an aloof and frosty expression.
She was Chansi, Kiana's sister.
Since young, she was used to people looking up to her, so she had become cold, distant, and arrogant.
Her magic power was revealed to be 69, second only to Ray, which further boosted her confidence.
Now she was as arrogant as Xerxes, a famous historical figure from before the common era, who was known for having eyes above his head.
Kiana and her admirers wished her good luck but she didn't even bother replying.
"Why is nothing happening?"
A bead of sweat slid down her face.
There was no reaction.
The ritual circle wasn't responding to her presence!