Simon did not need Researcher Mahan to perform tests on his body and neither did he need the Researcher to know why his potential was the same as his current affinity.
’When I devoured Thorgan, I took a portion of his shadow affinity. It was only a small portion, but it ended up giving me a C grade shadow affinity.’
’I thought my affinity potential would be S grade or at least A grade since I got it from Thorgan, but I can see that I was wrong.’
’When I devour an individual with my current skill proficiency, I’m taking what that individual currently possesses, not his or her potential.’
’So, assuming I devour an individual with a B grade lightning affinity and I’m able to get all their lightning affinity, I would have a B grade lightning affinity.’
’The individual might have a potential of S grade, but I won’t. My potential would be capped at B grade.’
’But what if I devour another individual with a higher grade affinity? Would my affinity grade increase?’
Simon frowned as he reached this point in his train of thoughts.
He stood at the center of his classmates with his arms folded, completely ignoring their stares and whispers.
’If I devour somebody with an A grade affinity, will my affinity become A grade or will it increase to the B grade?’
’What if I devour somebody with a S grade affinity like Sunless? How much would my affinity grade increase to? B? A? Or would it reach S grade?’
Simon indifferently glanced at Sunless, and as usual, she noticed his stare.
She tilted her head slightly, and Simon looked away with an indifferent gaze.
’If I want to get a S grade affinity for the shadow element through Devour, how would I achieve that? Would I have to devour numerous individuals with S grade shadow affinity? Or would devouring numerous individuals with lower graded affinities eventually increase my affinity to S grade?’
’Hmm... Quantity or quality... I’ll need to run some tests. But...’
’Sigh.’
’I can’t use devour or even practice with the Chaos Sword and Chaos Wraps anytime I want when I’m in the clan. It’s too dangerous.’
’From what I read, it’s until reaches their third year as an Initiate, or one becomes an Archfiend and successfully passes numerous tests given to him or her, or one uses their merits to request for advancement to become a Shadow Blade.’
’I’m still far away from any one of them, so I need to work hard.’
Simon released a soft sigh, then he turned and walked to the nearest wall, surprising those who were watching him.
They thought he was going to do something, but the only thing he did was to lean on the wall and close his eyes.
A few snickered at him, some scoffed in disgust, and those mocked him. Only a few ignored him.
But Simon didn’t care.
He just wanted to rest and relax his mind since he had seen everything he needed to see.
Jorra and Merath had stepped forward and tested their shadow affinity potential, but just like the first boy, they had zero affinity for the shadow element.
Researcher Mahan and Instructor Valdin were not surprised by this because such a result was very common.
Not everybody could have the potential to gain an affinity for the shadow element, and those who did, were valued by the clan.
However, what surprised and baffled Researcher Mahan was that Jorra and Merath did not scream in pain.
The only sign that showed that both individuals had zero compatibility with the shadow element was that their veins turned black and their bodies shook after getting injected with Formula X.
’First it was Sunless and Broken Halo, now it’s Dusk and Dawn? Why is this class made up of anomalies?’
This was the thought that went through Researcher Mahan’s mind as he watched both Jorra and Merath endure the pain of Formula X without screaming in pain.
Simon took note of this, and his wariness toward the duo increased.
Anybody his age that could handle such a pain was not normal and was even dangerous in Simon’s eyes.
Time went on, and the number of Initiates who were to test their potential reduced.
Simon was half-asleep at this point, but he was still very much alert of his surroundings through his senses and also Shadow Sense.
Even in his current state, his mind was recovering its energy because he was not thinking of anything.
However, three minutes later, there was a loud gasp and his classmates began to speak loudly.
Simon slowly opened his eyes a little, and six seconds later, he closed them back and went back to half-asleep state.
What had happened?
One of his classmates had an A grade shadow affinity.
There were few who had potentials to attain a B grade shadow affinity, but the emergence of another Initiate having an A grade shadow affinity was very shocking to Simon’s classmates.
But it did not end there.
Some minutes later, another one of his classmates had an A grade shadow affinity, and Researcher Mahan and Instructor Valdin were in full disbelief.
Those with A grade affinities were very rare and treasured by any organization, even if the element was a basic element.
But now... Two A grade affinities and one S grade affinity appeared in a single year?
Was the demon realm favouring them?
How was this possible?
Both Instructor Valdin and Researcher Mahan already knew the number of Initiates who had shadow affinity, but the grade of their affinity was not known because no other organization could accurately know the grade of one’s shadow affinity.
’Good. Good. Good. Very good. The clan is about to reach new heights with these kids. Two A grade shadow affinity and one S grade shadow affinity.’
’The expectation for this year is very high. No wonder the academy head stressed out the importance of teaching them properly.’
’And there’s still one more kid who has a royal bloodline and a shadow affinity. What if he has a S grade shadow affinity also?’
’I can’t believe I’m this excited. But where’s that kid? How can the first place candidate be late on the first day?’
Instructor Valdin frowned heavily behind his mask, and for he fist time since he thought of Thorgan, his guts told him that something was wrong.