Now that she was standing in front of him and had plenty of time to eyeball his body, the Nephilim woman became aware of the most obvious change in the boy: his height.
Nine days earlier, he was only reaching around her shoulders and she had to look down to meet his gaze. The puny teenager was more boy than man.
Now Anaphiel didn't have to look down. Like most Sorcerers with a powerful Life Spark and a powerful physique she was tall for a woman and could still grow. She was still taller than Ikaris but she was only an inch or two taller. And obviously, the teenager was still young. His growth spurt was far from over.
"So. What Talent Rating do you want to officially flaunt?" She asked him while smoothing out the folds of her form-fitting black dress to hide her fluster.
Ikaris didn't think twice and asked her right back,
"What is the proportion of D, C, B and A-Talents among the new applicants?"
"Mhm. Good question." Anaphiel tilted her head with a thoughtful expression. "It's supposed to be confidential and I'm sure the other Ruling Houses will withhold some information about their new recruits. The only one who knows the actual numbers is Iannaril but his neutrality is legendary. It's impossible to pry the truth out of his mouth. As far as the Magic Academy is concerned, I would say that about 80% are D-Talents and the only reason they are there is because their families or parents are rich or they are lucky enough to own a Stele. This is considered the bare minimum to hope to travel far on the Sorcerer's path. Most won't make it past the Sorcerer Realm but it's enough to live comfortably anywhere on the continent.
"C-Talents and above make up about 10% of our numbers, but the high Soul Strength type like Ellie are pretty rare. Some will treat her as a B-Talent just for that reason. Most are just long-lived species with a high constitution that allows them to endure the radiation emitted by their Divine Spark much longer. Elves for example are all at least D-Talents, even the mediocre ones.
"B-Talents and above account for less than 1% of our foreign students, but this year their proportion has doubled. Including you, the Magical Academy recruited 1,038 new students this morning, including 172 new Lords. That's at least 20 people who are B-talented.
"A-Talents are even rarer and we don't recruit them every year. This year is considered exceptional because with you and Kellam, I know for a fact that your class has at least 7. As for an S-Talent, the last one the school recruited outside of the six Ruling Houses was 9 years ago. Though, if you ask me your S-Talent does you no credit. A new rating should be invented just for you. It's just how absurd your existence is."
"Outside of the six Ruling Houses?" Ikaris noted the discrepancy in Anaphiel's words.
She smiled. " Perceptive. Everything I said does not include the Ruling House scions. Our Bloodlines are strong and we are trained hard and rigorously from infancy. They're all at least B-Talents and every year we make sure we have at least one A+ or S-Talent in each new class to defend our reputation. My little brother will be in your class and I have already briefed him about you. In this campus, he's your best backing. Don't hesitate to call on him if you can't handle a situation."
"What about students with a Talent Rating of E or below?" Danchun changed the subject. Anaphiel hadn't mentioned them.
The beauty in black stared at her intensely, and then answered with indifference, although Ikaris and the others somehow managed to catch a hint of pity in her voice,
"E and F-Talents are a minority of about 5% in the Magic Academy, but they are common in the other three academies, including the Martial Academy. Under normal circumstances, if they are not members of a Lord's retinue or Lords themselves we do not accept them.
"I've spared you this bother, but as I said earlier the six Ruling Houses invest huge sums of money in nurturing the students of these Academies. Each Ruling House and Lords has a quota to meet. In your case, my father gave you 10 allocations but when he will... find out your new rating, I am sure he will gladly double it. Usually it's between three and five."
Another stunned silence filled the room. There were six of them. Asselin and his retinue were six too, but only five if one considered that Irkan was not a student but a bodyguard.
"Lucky me, I guess." Ikaris chuckled mirthlessly. "Back to the topic. I choose to publicly display a C-Talent. Just good enough to get my own room if I need it."
"I guess you value your privacy." Anaphiel jested, her lips curving up slightly. "Aren't you afraid of drawing too much attention to yourself? C-Talent students are uncommon. Even here. Though, less than before after the massive recruitment over the past week.
"I thought about it but knowing Asselin he will choose to show off his true rating. Malia and Nardor are B-talents too and Kellam is an A. Ellie's rating is already exposed and as the Lord I can't look too weak. With the offspring prodigies of the six Ruling Houses, a C-Talent should allow me to command some respect without making me a threat that must absolutely be disposed of right away. Since I'm a Lord, I don't need this suite and the perks of a B-Talent since I'll be returning to Last Saint every night. One pied a terre in Tartarus Shade is enough."
"What about us?" Kellam inquired calmly.
"You can go as high profile as you want." Ikaris laughed. "If you want to be found dead in a gutter somewhere without knowing why, that is."
Dwilde shivered. "I'll go for C too."
"Let's all go for C." Danchun concurred. "But Malia should go for B. This way, we'll have our own headquarters to hang out at the Academy. And anyway with her Bloodline it's impossible for her to hide her potential."
"She's right." Anaphiel approved as she alternately glanced at the crimson eyes and bushy tail sticking out from under the Dhampir's cloak. "Vampire Nobles, Werefoxes, Kitsunes and Fox Daemons capable of taking human form are all incredibly talented. Even if they don't know what hybrid you are, the other Vampires on campus will be able to detect your Blood Energy and if their bloodline is too impure they will also suffer from bloodline supression. It's best for Malia to be upfront about it.
"If we sell the story right that she decided to follow and protect you after you saved her life that should convince most that you are just a lucky little Lord. If you can convince the other Lords that you're a couple that's even better."
Malia blushed to her ears at Anaphiel's suggestion. For once, it wasn't Ellie who was stuttering.
"I-I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"Perfect." Danchun and the others gave her a thumbs up for her performance as a young damsel under the spell of her first crush.
Anaphiel smiled too, even allowing herself a giggle. "It's settled then."
Ikaris thought she was going to lead them back to the registration office to finish the administrative procedure but before that, she stopped him with a stern expression on her face,
"You have the same problem as Malia. But worse. You are a Crawling-Thrall, you have Blood Energy, Death Mana, Black Mana, and who knows what else is not listed in this report. Outside of Vampires, all the descendants of my House will notice your abnormality like a rose blooming in a field of daffodils. You were lucky to only run into Miss Kiwi and Bozig when you arrived. Do you know how to reduce your presence?"
Ikaris was about to answer no but he remembered he had a Stealth Spark that he hadn't used in a while.
[Stealth lvl2: 1.72. Passive Effect: Presence can be consciously increased or decreased to a certain extent]
"I can try." He said hesitantly.
He focused on his own presence to make himself as inconspicuous as he could, and Anaphiel's eyes narrowed slightly in response.
"Not enough."
"Wait, I haven't used my Divine Spark yet." Ikaris glared at her.
Anaphiel felt stumped but she maintained her unruffled demeanor.
"Then use it."
Ikaris cast the spell and this time his presence faded dramatically. To Nardor, Danchun, and Ellie he was virtually invisible, their gaze hardly ever landing on him. Only Kellam and Malia could barely locate him.
"Too strong. You need to look like a regular person, not disappear." Anaphiel shook her head. She pondered for a second, then said, "Your control over your presence isn't good enough yet. Wear this."
She handed him a ring. One more ring.
