Everyone present began congratulating them. Noble families, elders, and even many commoners were praising the two new geniuses.
But strangely, Kim and Henry themselves looked stunned. It was as if they still couldn't believe the result.
For a moment they simply stood there, staring at the artifact.
After some time, they seemed to wake up from their daze.
Yet their reactions were different.
Henry looked almost troubled, as if he hadn't wanted such attention, while Kim appeared quite satisfied.
Soon the two of them walked toward me.
Kim grinned and said cheekily, "Did you see that? We have Indigo talent. So be nice to me, and maybe I'll give you some advice if you ever need it."
Henry coughed lightly.
"Don't listen to her," he said. "She's always like this… a spoiled brat."
Kim immediately glared at him.
"Hey! Who are you calling a spoiled brat, you ugly mug? Even my maids look better than you!"
The two of them started arguing like siblings.
I watched them in confusion.
Even after discovering they possessed Indigo-level talent, their behavior toward me hadn't changed at all.
Maybe getting to know these two isn't such a bad idea, I thought with a quiet laugh.
Then I suddenly paused.
Wait… I'm seriously thinking about making friends with children.
A grown man like me… even if I was now trapped in the body of a child.
My spirit was still that of an adult.
While I was lost in thought, the elders called out the names of the remaining candidates—me and the last boy.
We stepped forward and began walking toward the artifact.
"Good luck," both Henry and Kim said to me.
"Thank you," I replied.
When I reached the platform, I picked up the small knife placed on the table.
I had never been very brave when it came to things like this. Even when I was a teenager in my previous life, I used to feel nervous around needles.
So from the beginning I had been mentally preparing myself to cut my wrist without hesitation. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of such a massive crowd.
Even the commoner children earlier hadn't hesitated.
Taking a deep breath, I pressed the blade lightly against my wrist and made a small cut. Blood slowly began to flow.
I let a few drops fall into the artifact.
The crystal began to glow once again.
But this time, the light was far dimmer.
Even the crowd seemed disappointed.
Many had expected great things from the only participant of the Valton family in this ceremony. Unfortunately, their hopes had not been fulfilled.
I looked toward the crystal to see the result.
Both the other boy and I had received Yellow-level talent.
Above average… but nothing extraordinary.
Surprisingly, I wasn't as disappointed as I thought I would be.
Instead, I found myself thinking about the future.
If I had possessed extremely high talent, life would have been easier. With some effort, I could have risen quickly and gained enough strength to protect myself.
But life rarely goes according to plan.
It's fine, I told myself.
I'll just work harder than everyone else.
One day, I'll reach a level where everyone will respect me.
From the beginning, I had never desired the position of family patriarch or any kind of political power.
I had only wanted to live peacefully and enjoy this second life.
But perhaps fate had other plans.
Then I turned my attention to the milky liquid to see my affinity.
Before I could understand it myself, one of the elders spoke loudly.
"The young master of the Valton family has awakened a rare Earth-element sub-affinity: Wood. And the boy named Stain has awakened Lightning affinity."
A respected elder sitting among the noble families then stood up and spoke.
"Although Aron and Stain possess only above-average talent, their affinities are quite valuable."
"Wood affinity may not be the strongest for direct combat, but it has many other important applications."
"Lightning affinity, on the other hand, is extremely useful for speed-based techniques."
He paused before continuing.
"They should not be discouraged by their talent ranking. Many geniuses have died before reaching their full potential because they relied too much on talent and did not work hard enough."
"In contrast, many individuals with lesser talent have surpassed them through sheer dedication."
The crowd nodded in agreement with the elder's wise words.
But honestly, I wasn't too bothered by the result anyway.
I'll show them, I thought quietly.
Even with less talent, I'll rise to the top.
And now that I had decided to befriend Henry and Kim, I would have to work even harder just to keep up with them.
The two of them soon walked over to me.
At first they tried to console me, but when they saw that I wasn't particularly upset, they relaxed and began talking about other things.
Soon they started discussing their future training.
Henry turned out to be rather lazy. He disliked doing things that bored him.
Kim, on the other hand, was the complete opposite—energetic, ambitious, and a little bossy. She also hated taking orders, though her family often forced her to.
Kim suddenly said excitedly,
"Now that it's confirmed—we have Indigo talent, for heaven's sake! Our parents will definitely send us to train with the teacher."
I looked at them in confusion.
"Wait… your parents already chose a teacher for you? Even before your talents were revealed?"
Kim shook her head.
"It's not exactly like that," she explained. "We don't know how, but that teacher somehow knew we had high potential. He just didn't know what level our talents would be."
"Now that it's confirmed we have Indigo talent, our parents will surely ask him to take us as disciples."
Hearing that made me feel slightly depressed.
For a moment, I had thought that I might finally make real friends—something I had never truly experienced in either of my two lifetimes.
I chuckled bitterly at the thought.
What was I even expecting?
They were true geniuses.
Our region probably didn't have the resources necessary to help talents like them reach their full potential. It was only natural that they would leave with their mysterious teacher—likely someone from the Central Continent.
After all, predicting someone's talent before awakening was impossible in this continent… at least as far as I knew.
"Well," I said finally, "take care, Henry. Kim."
They smiled and said their goodbyes as well.
Henry patted my shoulder.
"Hey Aron, work hard and get stronger. Maybe someday we'll fight side by side."
"Sure," I replied with a grin. "But don't rely only on your talent. If you get lazy, I might surpass both of you at lightning speed."
The three of us laughed.
We talked for a little while longer before finally going our separate ways.
I walked back to my mother. She smiled warmly and congratulated me on completing my awakening ceremony.
Together, we began walking toward home.
As I looked up at the sky, a small smile appeared on my face.
Well…
Looks like from today onward, it's time to start grinding.
"Hehe."