Vale nodded at the Professor and kept the book on his table.
He couldn't read it now, but he would surely study it once he returned to his dorm.
***
Lisa looked at Vale with a complicated gaze. She thought that she had gotten closer to Vale's level during this summer break, but today's assessment made her realize their vast difference.
She shook her head at this thought as she reminded herself of one thing.
'Unlike them, I have no background in the world of mysticism and barely learned something from Senior Lesley. I didn't have anyone to support me, and I didn't have any riches that could help me with my advancement. I should be satisfied that my talent isn't bad.'
She felt better at this thought as she looked at her classmates.
Their class had just finished their Power Assessment, where they had witnessed the amazing display of Vale Chambers' physique. They had also seen the humiliating defeat of Neil Sommerhalder, who had accused Vale of cheating by using the Forbidden Ritual.
She couldn't help but feel disappointed at her classmate for causing such a scene.
Anyway, Professor Shirley did not make them wait for long as they continued the assessment.
"You still have more assessments to complete," she said. "The next will be the Life Assessment."
She reached into her pouch and took out tiny red crystals.
"These are Life Converging Crystals." She said while holding up one of them.
"They are special crystals that can measure your life force... Unlike the Power Converging Crystals, they can only measure 15 Life Strands. Don't think that it's too low since I only have 11 Life Strand… Once you reach 10 Life Strand, increasing it by another strand would be extremely difficult with our Arcane Path."
Professor Shirley looked at their expressions before she continued.
"When you hold one of these crystals in your hand, it will connect with your soul to create the Life Strands on the crystal."
She looked at them with a serious expression.
"This test will not only determine how much life force you have, but it can also be the potential you have as an Arcanist and as a person. It may also determine how much freedom you have in your life..." Professor Shirley mysteriously said, which confused many of the students.
They thought that the life strands would just allow them to quantify their life force. Was there actually more to it?
They didn't expect something like that at all.
"Are you ready?" The Professor asked.
The class nodded nervously.
"Yes, Professor." They said in unison after some hesitation.
"Very well, let the test begin."
She pointed at Chad Bulmung, who was very noticeable after gaining some weight during the summer break.
"Chad, you go first." She said as she went to her seat and gave a crystal to him.
"Yes, Professor." Chad nodded confidently. He held the crystal in his hand and waited for a few seconds before it showed some reaction.
After some time, he saw four white strands appear inside it.
He smiled and announced the result to everyone.
"Four. I have four life strands."
Professor Shirley nodded approvingly.
"Well done, Chad." she said. "I'm expecting everyone to have at least 3 or 4 Life Strands. However, it wouldn't be surprising to have 5 or even 6 Strands since all of you are talented."
She turned to Dalton Stranway, a short and skinny boy with a freckled face who was quite good in academic studies.
"Dalton, you're next," she said. She was no longer looking for volunteers and decided to just call out everyone in the class and get them tested one by one.
Dalton was startled after being called so suddenly, but he still replied. "Yes, Professor."
He held the crystal in his hand and waited for its reaction
He saw five white strands appear inside it. "Five… There are five strands!" He was shocked at this result since he wasn't expecting much with his life force.
"Good…" Professor Shirley commented as she noted the result in her record book before continuing.
She turned to Warren Lawstein, a quiet student who didn't seem to have many friends in the class.
"Warren, you're next."
Warren nodded confidently, and after some time, he revealed that he also had 5 Life Strands! This made everyone excited as they felt that it was quite common to see 5 Life Strands.
Then, it was Leonore's turn.
She held the red crystal confidently and got 6 Life Strands!
Leonore faintly smiled at this result and he was already expecting this much.
'Joining the Fortune Telling Club may have been challenging, but the benefits I got were worth the price.
"Very well, Leonore," she said. "You have a higher Life Strand than I expected."
She then turned to Aubrey Hall, a smart and diligent girl who was good at both academic and arcane studies. According to all the professors in the first year, Aubrey Hall can be considered the model student in Class 2.
Aubrey nodded as she held the crystal.
She saw four white strands appear inside it, which was what she had expected. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but frown as she announced her result.
"Four."
Professor Shirley nodded sympathetically.
"It's not bad. You don't have to frown like that." She said as she recorded the score.
"Y-yes, Professor." Aubrey nodded as she kept the crystal. It was already hers since Life Converging Crystals can only be used by one person, similar to the Power Converging Crystal.
It was then followed by Lisa, who got the same result, four life strands.
Lisa was satisfied with this result since having a 5 Power Strand and 4 Life Strand at her age was definitely acceptable.
The assessment continued, and the rest of the class had similar results of three or four white strands in their crystals.
Then she turned to Vale Chambers, who was the last one to go. Vale held the crystal in his and waited for almost a minute before a result came out.
Professor Shirley smiled warmly at him.
"What's the result?"
"It's 15 Life Strands, Professor." Vale answered.
There was a gasp from the class. They already expected Vale to be awesome, but some of them started to really consider what Vale had done to get this monstrous.
Although they felt amazed by Vale, they also felt intimidated by him.
Neil couldn't help but clench his fist as he felt that this was too ridiculous.
In the meantime, Vale was thinking of something else. He was curious why the Professor had to ask them to do the test one by one and wait for the strands to appear instead of just passing over the crystals and having all the results simultaneously.
