The night of the second day passed; the third morning sun arrived. Hundreds of acolytes were entering the pillar once more and Julian arrived along with the crowd. He made his way toward Emery and raised his hand to wave. He was about to speak but when he saw how Emery was fully immersed, Julian refrained from disturbing Emery and followed Darius into another room where the rest of the acolytes who had passed the initial test were training.
The moment Julian left, Emery opened his eyes. Emery had felt the presence of the new arrivees so his concentration was broken. He searched his surroundings trying to find a familiar face and there were only a few people left whom he could recognize from last night. Most of them were new youths and he could tell they were new because they were given the opportunity to enter the hall behind the stone gate where the stone of origin was stored. So, these people must be acolytes who also had multiple affinities.
Emery knew he was at his limit. The mental exhaustion of staying still in his dark mind where the large black rock swallowing him was taxing not only to his mind but to his body as well even more so if you consider how weak his constitution was. He closed his eyes and focused once more, pushing himself to the absolute limit, but the large black rock no longer appeared. He tried again and again but it was just complete darkness with him in the middle. He couldn't focus anymore.
What felt like a moment for Emery, however, was actually an hour had already passed. He looked around and no longer saw anyone from his group. All that was left were new faces who had just joined today. He was the only one who hadn't succeeded in mastering the basic earth spirit cultivation technique.
He was half-expecting for this to be the case though but he had to at least try. Nothing would be earned if he didn't push himself for he had a spirit aptitude rank b plus four affinities, which made it more difficult the other elements according to Minerva.
Emery summoned his status from his palm.
[Emery Ambrose, 15 years old]
[Battle power: 5]
[Spirit power: 22]
Since the increase of two points in total, including the one from the other day, his spirit power hadn't increased despite spending the whole night. Emery sighed from disappointment as it felt like the time he had spent was fruitless. The more he forced himself to understand the meaning of the words 'Calm thy mind, be one with the earth. Steadfast thy heart, unmoved, unshaken' the less he understood.
Emery was still trying to think about those words when the training in the next room was over and Darius realized Emery had still not finished comprehending the manual.
Felicia says to Darius "That kid still not done with comprehending the basic stage?"
"Apparently that kid has a spirit aptitude rank b?"
"Rank b! Its been a long time since we received acolyte with aptitude b. Was there a mistake? "
"That shouldn't be the case, the election is directly monitored by the grand magus."
Darius swiped the bracelet on his wrist and looked up Emery's information. "The battle power and spirit power are very low. Four affinities but indeed is true. It's a shame his aptitude is so lacking that he'll experience a lot of obstacles."
Felicia nodded and glanced at Emery. "Yes, if he were in another magus academy, rank b with four affinities would be like a gift sent from the gods. It is unfortunate though that ours is the highest magus academy in the galaxy. He'll not succeed on the seventh day."
"Felicia, we have overseen hundreds of thousands of acolytes. You should know by now that spirit aptitude isn't everything, I find this child admirable." Darius walked up to Emery and said, "Kid, don't forget that your body is a vessel where the energy of the universe flows. It won't help if you push yourself to the point of exhaustion. Go back and rest."
"I understand. Thank you for the advice," said Emery as he tried to stand up before falling down because his legs had become numb from sitting cross-legged so long that it felt like hundreds of needles were stabbing it at the same time.
Julian, who also had just gotten out of the other training, ran over to Emery and helped.
"I appreciate it, Julian," weakly said Emery.
The two walked away and went through the portal and that was when they saw Klea, Thrax and Chumo waiting for Julian and Emery. When Klea had heard about Emery not returning the night from Julian, she had wanted to go to the institute of stone and pick him up. But Julian had convinced her not to do that, so Klea had restrained herself from picking up Emery.
Emery had stayed up all night without food and rest, he needed to eat and sleep. Klea had heard from Julian about Emery's obstacle, Klea forced everyone to accompany her to dinner in the dining room with the sky building.
"Emery, don't worry, we still have four days. You can do it," said Julian.
"Yes, Emery. You can do it," encouraged Klea.
Even though Thrax and Chumo didn't talk much, they were there at the dining table together. Emery could see their gesture and made his spirit recover.
As they were chatting away, five youths approached their table. It didn't take long for Emery's group to identify who these people were. Their arrogant faces, noses up in the air, they were acolytes who had come from Kalios, a magus world.
"Tch! I heard he's the only one in this prestigious magus academy's history who couldn't finish the basics in three days. Hahaha, it's not surprising results for a lowly acolyte from a lower class world."
"He's more like a monkey, an acolyte monkey with a rank b! Hahaha!"
"The thought of this primitive, lower class world chosen as an acolyte in this academy. Even my pet is more deserving of being elected in this place than him."