Chapter 280: Failure?
Around ten seconds passed since Darcel, Aniela and Masami started their Magic test. Their Magic Crystals still only shimmered in a dimly lit red glow, and Siren Blade still looked as unimpressed as ever.
At that moment, Siren Blade believed nothing impressive would come out of these masked youths. It was only par for the course, after all.
Siren Blade was fully aware that their Magical Systems differs heavily from cultivation. No matter how talented a mere cultivator may be, they should never be able to cross over that high Magical boundary to become Mages.
However, right at this time, an unfathomable change was occurring within Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's soul's space and dantian.
In both places, a sudden swirl of Magical Power started to develop. This Magical Power didn't come from an outside source, but rather it leaked out of Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's bodies!
And when their Magical Power began swirling around, it started to take the shape of a vague, phantom image. The phantom image started to quickly form itself, morphing into a small, gray color Magical Core!
And as the phantom Magical Core appeared to form, Darcel, Aniela and Masami could feel the Magical Power running through their bodies become violently intense.
Their Spirit Senses overflowed with an entirely new sensation.
This wasn't Qi energy or their bloodline powers. This was pure Magical Energy! And for the briefest of moments, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami genuinely felt like they could grasp Magical Energy.
Within their Spirit Sense, they only felt the faintest trace of resistance, meaning their comprehension of Magical Power is already seemingly high.
Then, after only a couple of seconds of this process, a massive change began to occur within the Magical Crystals.
The once dimly red glow started to flash through various colors in a blink of an eye.
"Wha-what? No...this?!"
Siren Blade's calm facade finally dropped. His eyes practically popped out of his skull as he intently stared at the trio's Magical Crystal.
It didn't matter if it was Darcel, Aniela, or Masami; their Magical Crystals were all rapidly illuminating in a variety of brilliant colors.
As his mind reeled in utter horror from their results, one thought struck into Siren Blade's head.
"R-r-rainbow talent?!" Siren Blade couldn't contain his utter bewilderment, accidentally blurting out his first thoughts.
Even if Siren Blade wanted to believe these results were fabricated, it was impossible for the Magical Crystals to be wrong.
These specific Magical Crystals were crafted by highly powerful Mages who are equal to the strongest cultivators in their Province. And unless Darcel, Aniela, and Masami were stronger than those Mages, it was impossible to gain a fake result.
All this means that somehow, this masked trio has slumbering, dormant Magical Prowess that is equal to the strongest of Mages in their entire Prvonice, no, continent!
The Rainbow color radiating from the Magical Crystals tells just how pure their dormant Magical Powers are.
Typically, for even natural-born Mages, the highest color they can achieve is purple Spirit Color. Purple Spirit Color would indicate that Mage would have the talent to become Spirit Mages in the far future.
Comparing this to Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's results, their talent would be equal to Royal Mages or even Emperor Mages.
Royal Mages would be the equivalent of Emperor Origin cultivating experts. While Emperor Mages are the equivalent to Great Emperor Origin Realm powerhouses. To hold that kind of power would only be an unfathomable legend on their continent, one that was never seen before.
This is why Siren Blade's reaction wasn't over-exaggerated at all.
And just when Siren Blade was about to come down from his shock to properly process their results, another striking change happened right then.
The beautifully rainbow glow shimmering from the Magical Crystals had suddenly dispersed without any warning.
At the same time, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami awoke from their trace as the Magical Power overflowed their bodies and Spirit Sense had disappeared. And within their soul's space and dantian, their phantom Magical Core was only half completed.
When Darcel, Aniela, and Masami came back to reality, they curiously stared at their Magical Crystals.
Because their Magical Powers were suddenly caught off, the trio believed the Magical Crystals simply ran out of energy. Although they did have a slightly bad feeling that something could've potentially messed up, the trio quickly pushed it down.
After all, if it was a complete failure, then they wouldn't have felt Magical Power at all, right?
"Fuu~. So? How did we do?"
Masami released a slight breath and turned over to Siren Blade, asking her question first. She, Darcel, and Aniela were quite eager to hear how well they did.
However, Siren Blade's following words were like an ocean of freezing cold water getting dumped onto their heads.
"You all failed. If you had passed, the Magical Crystals would stay indefinitely ignited until you took your hands off from it."
Siren Blade's expression and tone were utterly indifferent. There wasn't any hint of his previous surprise crossing on his face.
Darcel, Aniela, and Masami couldn't immediately respond at first. Their bodies completely stilted as their minds reeled in disbelief.
They actually failed?
How could they...no...that was utterly impossible!
At the same time, a tremendous rush of disbelief rocketed to the surface of Aniela and Masami's mind like an erupting volcanic.
"That's not right!" Both Aniela and Masami simultaneously shouted.
Aniela was the first to continue the train of disbelief as she firmly said, "We and you clearly saw these crystals shimmer with color. And we also precisely sensed Magical Power in full detail. So how could this possibly mean we failed?"
"Yea! Don't tell me this is your bullshit prejudice against cultivators?" Masami was far more abrasive in her words, quickly falling back into her more aggressive reaction style.
Aniela and Masami's intense reactions weren't shared at all with Darcel. He was the only one calm in this situation after pushing past his initial shock.
This was mainly due to the fact that Siren Blade's eyes was still boring an intent hole into them despite his expression being indifferent.
Before anything violent could happen, Darcel firmly clamped down on Aniela and Masami's shoulders. Almost immediately, both girls calmed down under Darcel's warm touch. Though, they still kept up their intense glares.
Then, in a calm tone, Darcel said, "We may have failed, but you have more to say, right?"
"Tch..." Siren Blade audibly clicked his teeth. His expression finally changed as their previous results flashed in his mind.
Siren Blade was genuinely reluctant to say this, but after a few silent, tense moments, he finally said, "I don't ever do this for any cultivator or even Mages normally. But...while you may have failed, I cannot deny that you three have immense Magic potential dormant inside you. You all have the potential to become the strongest of Mages in our Province."
Immediately, the previous dissatisfied feelings swirling inside Darcel, Aniela, and Masami cleared up. They intently focused on Siren Blade's words, and Masami asked,
"Just what do you want to exactly say, huh?"
Instead of responding, Siren Blade dug into his pocket, and a faint purple glow sparkled from within it. A moment after, he took out a map and tossed it towards Darcel.
As Darcel caught the map, Siren Blade began to explain to the trio, "Follow the direction on this map, and it will lead you to the Frozen Prison Domain. Once there, use whatever Magical finding item you can get your hands on to find an item called the Royal Mage Orb. This Orb will cause your slumbering Magical Powers to fully awaken."
"Slumbering Magical Powers? Since you're so sure we have this, how come we can't awaken it here? Furthermore, just how are we supposed to find the Orb? We don't know what it looks like or what items to get that can potentially scout out pure Magical treasures."
Aniela raised numerous questions almost immediately. If they were to go off purely from such little information, she worried they could fall into some life-threatening danger from exploring this new area.
In response to her multiple questions, Siren Blade calmly shook his head and told the trio, "The process to awaken one's slumbering Magic Powers is far more complex than you can ever realize. Unfortunately, our organization has nothing of the sort to achieve this. As for the Orb, it will be in pure rainbow color, and all you need to do is touch it to activate it. Also, there should be several shops inside our city that have magical finding treasures. Now then, I gave you a path; it's up to you whether or not you would go there."
Aniela and Masami scrunched their faces in displeasure over such a bare-bones answer. But before either of them could start anything, Darcel spoke first, calmly asking,
"Can you at least tell us about the potential danger we could face at that domain?"
"Hmm...I personally haven't been there in years. And very rarely would a situation like this occur. But, from what I can the beasts and other creatures there won't get aggressive unless you willingly provoke them. So as long you find an accurate magic treasure finder and keep your head down, you won't encounter much danger."
"Tsk, so helpful..." Masami muttered under her breath while Aniela scrunched up brows even further.
Darcel still retained his calm stature and said, "I see. We will take some time to plan this out and take our leave now."
With a shrug of his shoulders, Siren Blade wordlessly turned around, opened the door, and walked out of the room.
Before he could walk out, Darcel felt two tugs on both of his sleeves.
"Hey, are you sure this is a good idea?" Masami cautiously asked first.
"Yea...that guy, he seems pretty unreliable for us." Aniela perfectly followed up next.
Both girls didn't think they are being paranoid. They just didn't have a good gut feeling at all about Siren Blade; his reactions seemed too mysterious.
Darcel first looked down at the map and several ideas already formed in his mind. He then told the girls after only a moment of silence, "Well, we have no other options but this, right? Besides, we will properly discuss once we get back to the room."
"Haaah, alright then." Aniela and Masami lightly sighed.
Darcel turned his attention back forward, and the trio quickly left the room.