InterGalaxia (On Hold)

IV

Tian Anjing slipped behind the black curtain, the light spilling in from the room cut off when the curtain fell back into place. It was so dark that he thought he was being transported again but he didn't feel any shifting that would suggest so. The darkness only lasted a second before blue will 'o wisps started appearing, lighting up a short pathway towards a raised platform. He followed the blue lights as they led him up a slope of stairs and onto a circular stage, dimly lit with a floating crystal sphere in the dead centre.

 It floated down until it was resting against his shoulders, wherever it touched left a vague electric shock, causing the hair on his arms to stand. The crystal ball gently rolled down the length of his arm and into his hand, making him clutch the palm-size ball in order not to drop it. A soft glow resonated within the ball and blink five times, the colours changing from azure blue, to green, purple, red and finally an ice blue. The lights were all of the same strength but the ice blue light was particularly strong. He felt a searing pain in his hand and he almost threw the ball in shock. The pain disappeared shortly after. Just as the ball was rolling up his arm, it seemed to pause for a second before pushing down its weight, confusing Tian Anjing. The sudden weight made his arm buckle and while he was struggling to keep it straight, the ball used the momentum of the falling and straightening arm to launch itself onto his other arm and into his hand. It spun in circles three times before settling down, glowing two more times before flashing white and brown lights, the same intensity as the other lights except for the white light which glowed as brightly as the ice blue light. Another wave of pain came on this hand as well. Finally satisfied, the ball rolled up his arm and floated above his head once more. Tian Anjing paused and waited for a moment, seeing nothing happened, he followed the will 'o wisps back to the curtain.

 The sudden exposure to the light in the room was too blinding, so he lifted a hand over his eyes, tears blinking in the corners. The lecturer turned towards him and beckoned him to come hither. He glided towards her figure and stood before her. "So, how many glows, what colours and which were brighter on a scale of 1-10" she questioned with a large rectangular device in her hand. "On my right hand, 5 glows. Azure blue, green, purple, red and ice blue. The first four were a 6 out of 10 but the last one was a 9 out of 10. On my left hand, 2 glows. White and brown. The brown was a 6 out of 10 but the white was a 9 out of 10" he responded. The lecturer raised a confused brow. "What do you mean, on this hand and on that hand?". Tian Anjing explained what happened while some of the other people started making their way down towards the lecturer, Tian Anjing's seatmate was included. The lecturer gave him a thorough once over with her eyes before telling him to go to his seat and practice some more with his spirit force. He practiced for at least 2 hours before a loud throat clearing caught everyone's attention.

 "Alright, everyone's contacted their spirit force and also had the crystal ball test. It's best I now explain what the point of that test was" the lecturer stated before snapping her fingers. A large semi-transparent screen appeared out of nowhere, a diagram with multiple coloured spheres was enlarged on the screen so everyone could see it. The screen started to break like ice and flew around the room, the shards landed on everyone's desk before reforming into smaller versions of the screen.

 "The diagram in front of you shows the system of magic abilities. This test is done so that when you enter magic or cultivation base worlds, you don't avoid making a fuss among the inhabitants in the world by having to be tested for your elemental or cultivation base powers. Make no mistake, as World Travellers who harness spirit energy, you are absolutely able to be a powerhouse within these worlds". The lecturer paused before narrowing her eyes. "I guess I don't need to point out the significance of prudence and how arrogance will be your downfall. Don't underestimate these worlds' inhabitants because just as you are guaranteed to be powerful, some of them will be just as powerful, you just have an advantage which makes these powerhouses from these worlds even more terrifying as they got their power from hard work" the lecturer strictly cut off their noses before they could grow anymore. Tian Anjing imperceptibly nodded his head, being overconfident is your downfall, he knew first hand when he died by his lover's hands. 

"These elements also point out what you're proficient in and what're you're not. If you're proficient in fire-based attacks, you won't be proficient in water-based attacks. However, there are some elements that compliment each other such as wood, earth, water, and light elements as they are under the Major elemental category of Life. And on the opposite end, fire, lightning, ice, void, and darkness are under the Major elemental category of Destruction. Usually, if you have affinities with elements from the Life category, you can't have affinities with elements from the Destruction category, however, there are some exceptions but it's not common. Most people have 3-4 elements they can use proficiently but there are certain types of people who have a great affinity with spirit energy itself and because of that, have an affinity to a lot of different elements, even some in opposite categories. You could call them Nature's Beloved Children, they hold some serious dogshit luck" the lecturer mocked, swinging a quick glance in Tian Anjing's general direction.

 "This information is important to know as, if you tried to cultivate in elements you have no affinity in, your spirit force could be forced to work in reverse and damage your soul. It's like putting petrol in a diesel car, you'll damage it" she finally snapped her fingers the diagram on the screens changed into two different drop down menus, much like a computer option. One menu was "Life Elemental Category" and the other was "Destruction Elemental Category". Under each pull-down menu, there was an in-depth analysis of each element, it's advantages and disadvantages, most common uses, what elements it's weak against and suggestions for cultivation and magic systems to practice.  Looks like I have water, ice, wood, earth, fire, lightning and light elements.

"Next, I'll teach you how to connect and communicate with your Systems" the lecturer snapped her fingers and the screens shattered once again.