The old man looked up, gazing at Sylvia, his eyes filled with sympathy and worry.
"This… Take your hand away, child. Let's see what happens the second time." He said though he already knew nothing was going to change the second time around.
Sylvia nodded and removed her hand.
She waited for a good minute, before placing her hand again, but unfortunately, the same thing repeated one more time.
Several hues flashed on and off and at the end, the small ball settled into a rich creamy white color.
Cadmus Akhekh was completely left speechless. In the entire history of their clan, no one had ever tested with such an affinity.
Sylvia was not dumb. She saw what was going on and understood that something wasn't right.
"What does this mean, grandfather?" She asked in her formal tone that she usually used with him.
Cadmus Akhekh shook his head. "It's alright, pumpkin. This might have to do something with your irregular body condition."
"Don't worry about this result just yet."
Sylvia nodded.
"I understand, but I would still like to know what this result means?" She asked, pointing to the solid white ball in front of them.
The ball had changed back and forth into an array of numerous colors before settling down on the pure milky white color.
This didn't happen just once or twice but several times continuously. So they couldn't really chalk this up to some sort of anomaly.
Judging from the old man's reaction, Sylvia could tell that white was bad, but she probed him further to see exactly just how bad it was.
Cadmus sighed. He could see that the young girl was quite stubborn and wouldn't let this go that easily.
He took her hand which was still on the crystal and held it gently before saying. "Pumpkin, white means you have a very bad affinity. Almost no affinity at all."
Huh? Sylvia's eyes widened as she opened and closed her mouth wordlessly.
It was not that she was disappointed, rather she was surprised to observe something like this.
"But… But… I have performed chore magic before?" She muttered in confusion, unable to understand this result.
Cadmus sighed again. "Yes, pumpkin. That's what I mean. You will be able to do chore magic but anything above that…" He shook his head.
Sylvia still looked as if she was unwilling to believe it, so he explained further.
"People who are completely oblivious to mana do not elicit any response from the affinity crystal."
"Those who have the least possible affinity test with the milky white color, dear."
"To form a mana core or cast any significant magic spell, one needs at least a black affinity."
His words were like sharp knives that cut through the illusion and brought her worst nightmare to reality.
Sylvia stood still, completely frozen for a moment before finally nodding.
Her pained expression made the old man's worry lines deepen.
He had never expected this to happen. Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought her here.
"Don't worry child. There are many ways to strengthen your body. I only mentioned forming beast core because it was the most common method."
"There are all sorts of treasures to make your body and soul stronger."
"No matter what it takes, this grandpa will help you shift completely if that is what you want."
Cadmus sighed. All he could do was console her. What else could he do?
He was not even sure that the girl was actually paying attention to his words. She seemed to be engrossed in her own thoughts.
So he decided to give her some time and silently walked her back to her quarters.
He only spoke to her when they reached the chamber doors. "Join me for dinner later, child?" Cadmus patted her and asked.
Sylvia nodded, but she looked like she had a question to ask, so the old man waited for her patiently.
"Grandfather… " She spoke, her voice calm as ever. "I am still not able to shift completely into a beast. Is there anything I can do?"
Hmmm… Cadmus paused, looking at the girl for a minute.
All he saw in her was determination and stubbornness. Such a devastating result didn't seem to affect her in the least.
He felt bad for her but at the same time, he was also proud of her. Someone else might have been devastated getting such bad news.
"Yes, you can pumpkin. I will tell Mrs. Gruger to instruct you on physical training. You can use this method to slowly strengthen your body."
"In the meantime, this grandpa will hunt for some treasures for you. They can strengthen your body and in no time you will be able to shift completely."
"Mana and magic is one thing, but physical strength is different. You can still be a strong and proud beast. Don't worry, alright?"
Sylvia bowed and nodded. "Thank you, grandfather."
The old man smiled and then prepared to leave, when he suddenly stopped, turning back to look at her.
"I was there last night when that brat Roman was harassing you." He hesitantly spoke. "It seems to me that you are still holding some things from the past."
"You need to let go, pumpkin."
"Whatever it is that is holding you back, leave it be."
"You need to completely give yourself the freedom to do whatever you want, even rampage if needed."
"We Draconians are strong, proud, and egotistical beasts. You need to let your beast roam proud and free. Maybe that might help you shift fully."
Sylvia nodded. These were the same words she had heard yesterday also. Roman had told her the same things.
He had asked her to let go of everything that was holding her back, everything that she is trying her very best to keep buried within her.
Sylvia sighed. Could she really let go? Maybe she could, but did she really want to…?
She watched the old man's back disappearing into the corridors and closed the chamber doors behind her.
She felt a sting of tears in her eyes but she pushed them back forcefully. "I will not falter now."
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