One by one, the kids walked to the statue apprehensively.
Seeing the kid with the Orange Grade comprehension, Daneel had somewhy assumed that everyone would at least have Violet Grade Comprehension. This was not the case.
Over half of them simply did not elicit any reaction from the stone. They tried everything they could, with one kid even trying to sleep on the statue hoping that more contact with his body might result in a Comprehension Grade.
All of them were mercilessly shown the door by the blue-robed man. To those who had at least Yellow Grade potential, he was genial and warm. Those who scored below didn't even garner a glance.
One kid whose wave had stopped just shy of Yellow even begged the man, holding his coat tails. He was levitated out of the gate immediately.
Daneel was struck by the harshness of the institution. These were just kids. Wouldn't such a treatment wound their psyches and affect their development?
As he was pondering on the matter, the kid walking toward the statue fell down suddenly as if he had hit an invisible wall.
From the distance, a procession of guards and servants could be seen. It seemed like they had automatically appeared at that location, as the others would have definitely noticed them if they had walked here.
The sound of drums heralded the approach of an orange-haired 12-year old who wore royal robes much more lavish than the ones Daneel had stolen in the Dwarve's Rum. A coat was draped on his shoulders over the golden-green robes with the majestic royal crest shining on it.
He walked as if he owned the land under him, signs of authority already apparent over his young, freckled face.
"My Lord, we could have brought the testing apparatus to your residence. There was no need to trouble yourself with coming.", said the blue-robed man. Daneel noticed that he did not kneel like the rest of the people who had addressed nobility in front of him so far.
"It was no trouble. I just wanted to show these peasants what high talent was. It would give them a goal to work towards and toil harder.", said the kid in an uncharacteristically high-pitched and confident voice.
"My Lord, you were born in the most auspicious time! You could speak at the tender age of 6 months and only at 12, you have mastered the art of visualization! You definitely have legendary talent! I bet 100 Gold Lans that My Lord has the highest comprehension in the whole academy!", said a man in a white robe who had been hidden behind the guards. As he said so, 5 more similarly dressed people appeared form behind, shouting:
"150 Gold Lans on the majesty!"
"200!"
"250!"
"500! There is no way that anyone can match My Lord!"
The last man wore the most extravagant clothes, with a gold and silver trim and diamond buttons.
The kid smirked before walking up to the statue and looking at the scenes for a few seconds.
"That's it? Pff", he said, walking up to the statue and touching it.
The white wave seemed to be the strongest that had appeared so far.It blazed through the first 6 colors before finally slowing down.
Finally, a radiant red shone on the statue, eliciting claps and cheers from the guards and the men who had been in his retinue.
"Top-grade comprehension! Top-grade!"
"My Lord has unlimited potential!"
"Near-legendary potential! Thank you My Lord for letting us witness such a scene!"
The kid turned and smiled at the man who had said the last statement. He then proceeded toward the blue-robed man.
"Congratulations, My Lord. Continue the test!", he said, which made the kid grimace and return. It looked like he had been expecting more compliments.
"How can others have the face to even test themselves in front of My Lord's talents? They would get too discouraged!"
"Its a 1 in 100,000 talent! Of course there's no one who could pass My Lord!"
The kid smirked hearing these comments, choosing to stay and spectate.
The smirking expression somewhy irked Daneel. In the kid, he saw the arrogant prince who had been the reason for getting his father kicked out of the army.
He really wished he could smack him across the face. Of course, this was impossible, physically. Hence, Daneel decided on the next best plan.
Hearing the comments of the men, the kid who had been going to test next had sat back down on the lawn, losing his confidence. No one seemed willing to walk up to test at this moment.
Just as the blue-robed man was going to shout again urging them to go, he saw Daneel stand up and walk towards the statue with a confident stride.
The men who noticed this sneered. "Kid, you have some guts! You think you can beat My Lord? 500 Gold Lans say you can't!", said the man in the extravagant clothes taking out a bag full of jingling coins.
Daneel had had enough of being low-key. In all of his 2 lives, he had stayed under the feet of such men, cowering in fear. Enough was enough.
"You better keep your word," he said, shocking the kid and the men before nonchalantly putting his hand on the statue.
A brilliant white wave cascaded upwards from the base. It seemed as if nothing could stop it as 6 colors were lit up and passed in a moment.
Even the red that the 'lord' had been so proud of was crossed in an instant.
A scintillating Crimson lit up the whole field. The spectators collectively dropped their jaws seeing this legendary color appear in all of its glory.
Only, something strange happened with the wave as it suddenly fell back to the red bar. Although the crimson had appeared only for a second, it stayed in everyone's eyes, as if burned into their brains. This was the effect of a legendary color!
Even the red that it finally settled on shone much more vividly than the former kid's had.
"Pseudo-legendary comprehension! One who has the potential to reach the legendary comprehension level and climb to the peak of all mages! The heavens have blessed my kingdom!", said the blue-robed man who looked like he had just glanced his eyes upon the most precious treasure in the world.
[*DING*
Danger Detected! Host must dodge to the right!]
An enormous ball of fire and lightning hurtled Daneel's way as this urgent voice rang in his head.