Take Me Away, Dark Lord!

”Are they shiny marbles? Can I play with them?”

”They are not toys, Seraphina,” Kaelus said, though his tone was fond. He looked back at his commanders. ”Very well. Conduct your test. But if one of those orbs shatters and cuts her, I will have all three of you scrubbing the stables with your toothbrushes for a month.”

”Understood!” the three knights chorused, instantly sweating at the threat.

Lucas stepped fully into the carriage, dropping to one knee so the box was perfectly level with Seraphina.

Gallahan and Boris crowded in behind him, their massive shoulders wedged against the doorframe, their eyes wide with anticipation.

”Now, My Lady,” Gallahan said, his voice dropping into the soothing, exaggerated tone one uses to explain complex matters to a toddler. ”These are magical stones. They are like... special mirrors. But instead of showing your face, they show what kind of special power is hiding inside your tummy.”

Seraphina blinked.

’Inside my tummy? Sir Gally, I am a twenty-something artist reincarnated into a child’s body, not an idiot. I know what a mana resonance test is. I’ve read fifty light novels with this exact plot device.’

Outwardly, she simply tilted her head, her dark hair shifting over her shoulders. ”Special power? Like the brave puppy with the tooth-sword?”

”Exactly!” Lucas beamed, completely unaware he was being subtly mocked.

He pointed to the pale golden orb. ”This one is the Sunstone. If you touch it, and it glows like a candle, it means you have Holy Power. You could be a Saintess! You could heal people’s ouchies with a touch.”

Seraphina looked at the golden stone.

Internally, a small wave of anxiety washed over her.

She wasn’t a Saintess.

She knew that.

She was a cynic.

She was a survivor who had deliberately chosen to hide under the cape of a warlord rather than save the world.

Furthermore, she could see ghosts.

In every story she had ever read, seeing the dead was the antithesis of holy power.

It was the domain of the dark, the creepy, the forbidden.

If she touched these stones, would she out herself as a heretic?

Would the golden stone violently reject her?

She sneaked a glance at Kaelus.

The Duke was watching her intently, his violet eyes unreadable.

But he had sworn a blood oath to protect her.

He had branded her with the crest of the Bastion.

He wouldn’t let the Church take her, even if she was a heretic.

Taking a deep breath, Seraphina reached out her small, pale hand.

She placed her palm directly on top of the golden Sunstone.

The carriage held its collective breath. Lucas leaned in so far that his nose almost touched the box.

Nothing happened.

For five agonizing seconds, the stone remained a dull, pale yellow. Then, very slowly, a microscopic, pathetic little spark of golden light flickered in the center of the orb, no brighter than a dying firefly, before fizzling out completely.

”Oh,” Gallahan said, his shoulders visibly slumping in profound disappointment. His dreams of a Saintess Seraphina evaporated instantly. ”Well... that is a very... very small holy affinity. Barely enough to cure a papercut.”

”Ha!” Sir Lucas crowed triumphantly, elbowing his comrade. ”I told you! She’s a fighter, not a healer! Try the next one, My Lady! The clear one! The Star-glass!”

Seraphina pulled her hand back, secretly relieved that she wasn’t a beacon of holy light.

She didn’t want the pressure of saving the world.

She moved her hand over to the perfectly transparent sphere.

”This one is for Arcane Magic,” Boris grunted helpfully. ”Fire, ice, lightning. The fun stuff.”

Seraphina placed her hand on the Star-glass.

Immediately, the clear crystal began to swirl with a soft, milky blue light.

It grew steadily, illuminating the dark interior of the carriage with a gentle, sapphire glow.

It was a beautiful, calming light, strong enough to read by in the dark.

”Aha!” Lucas cheered, pumping his fist. ”I knew it! A solid Arcane affinity! It’s not Archmage level, but it is comfortably in the upper-middle tier! She could easily become an elite Magic Swordsman with proper training!”

Kaelus nodded slightly. An upper-middle-tier arcane core was respectable.

It meant she would have the capacity to defend herself, to wield enchanted weapons, and to perhaps master a few defensive spells.

It was practical and useful.

Seraphina smiled, pleased with the result.

The upper-middle tier was perfect.

It wasn’t weak enough to be bullied, but it wasn’t strong enough to be dragged into the center of a continent-spanning political war.

It was the perfect, comfortable middle ground for a shrimp who just wanted a quiet life.

”Well done, Mushroom,” Kaelus said softly, reaching out to pat her head. ”A very practical affinity.”

”She is brilliant!” Boris agreed, handing her the peeled apple as a reward. ”An alchemist for sure!”

Seraphina took a bite of the apple, kicking her legs happily.

She looked down at the box.

There was still one stone left.

The pitch-black one.

”What about that one?” she asked, pointing her half-eaten apple at the Void-pearl. ”The dark marble?”

The three knights looked at the black stone, then looked at each other.

”Ah, that is the Void-pearl,” Lucas explained, his voice losing its excited edge and turning entirely instructional. ”It tests for the Dark attribute. But you don’t need to touch that one, My Lady. Nobody touches that one anymore.”

”Why not?” Seraphina asked, her curiosity genuinely piqued.

”Because Dark Mages are incredibly, impossibly rare,” Gallahan said, his tone turning reverent. ”There hasn’t been a strong reaction from a Void-pearl in the Empire in over fifty years. Dark Magic is the most precious power in the world. It is the only thing that absorbs excess mana and keeps the holy energy from burning the land. A true Dark Mage is treated like royalty by the Emperor himself.”

Seraphina froze mid-chew.

Her adult mind rapidly processed the lore drop she had just received.

’Wait. Hold on. Pause the narrative,’ Seraphina thought, her eyes widening in shock.