Chapter 28: Luke

Standing on the rooftop of a building was a person gazing at the sunset. The man wore all black clothes and had a dark, ominous aura around him. It's none other than Shadow. Instead of scolding Luna, he came up here to think over how he could continue his plans.

His plan of sculpting Luna into a powerful fire elementalist at school has hit a roadblock. While he wanted her to be stronger, having a special element would catch quite a bit of attention and he couldn't bear for her to be in danger, just like he was.

It is still clearly in his memory the day he lost everything just because of his element.

Ten years ago, he was once a cheerful boy with many friends. Luke was what his friends called him. They were all the same, those who did not have parents, those who were abandoned. Even so, they still enjoy a lively and happy going life thanks to the headmaster of the orphanage.

The headmaster was an old man in eighties and was a rich businessman who retired. After his sons and daughters left the house and all got married, he built this orphanage with his wealth. Despite having all the money to live well, his mind wasn't at ease. It was his last wish to provide children who couldn't live comfortably, who didn't have a home, a place that they could call home for a short period.

As if his orphanage children were his own, he looked after them. He provided meals for them, taught them manners and how to take care of themselves, how to be a kind and gentle person. He supported them in education. In order to keep them from suffering from being returned to him, he modeled them to become children with great personalities. The old man was also strict and made them go to sleep and awaken on time rather than being lazy bums.

Luke was one of the children of his orphanage.

Luke and his three friends, who were all almost ten, went to the school one day to take a test. With the headmaster's car, they arrived at the location. All of them called the headmaster 'Grandfather' and he liked it a lot.

The school was built in an enormous space. They realize that attending an elementalist school means a more stable future than other kids attending traditional schools. Eventually, they reached the door leading into a large room. There were a lot of kids in it, and they were all lined up.

Near the door were a desk and a chair. It was occupied by a woman wearing a white dress and long red hair curled in a braid. She held a pen and stacks of papers. The headmaster approached the woman, followed by Luke and three of his friends.

Although the woman smiled at them, she looked tired. They all noticed that she had dark circles under her eyes when they got near.

"May I ask for your names?"

She spoke to them.

Their names were given to her by the headmaster. All of them lacked last names, and the woman understood what that meant. From her desk, she pulls out a drawer containing wooden tags. They had numbers on them. She told the old man which number belongs to whom, and they should line up according to their numbers. Even though the old man knows what they must do since he visits almost every year, he listens carefully to the woman as she speaks.

While listening, he wondered whether she was a new teacher here.

Once the woman completed her words, the old man grabbed the tags and went to line up the boys. The room they were in was big enough to call it a hall. Even so, there were a lot of children and parents following them.

They couldn't even see what the test looked like by tip toeing due to the long line. They were at the very end of the line but soon more people came in. There's a clear path which seems to be the exit to be used after the test and there were many people with sad expressions coming out from it rather than the happy ones.

After some time, they arrived near the front and were able to view where the test took place. In a large space, nine sphere-shaped stones were stacked on short cylindrical pillars. Two men stood at the entrance near them. Before allowing a child to pass when their number is called, they checked their number tags.

At the place of the test, there was also a long table with paper stacks on top. Behind the long table, five men and one woman sat on chairs. The numbers were called out by them.

"Number 69!" one of the men called out.

Luke and the boys could see the back of a boy wearing a white shirt and pants going into the testing area. He appears to be about the same height as them.

He bows to those nearby the table as a sign of respect. An older man seated at the left edge slowly nodded his head. He was pleased with how the boy behaved.

Walking towards a stone, he closed his eyes as he touched it. It seemed he was focused on doing it. However, nothing happened. As he tried each one, the third came to his attention. He again touched the stone in front of him with his hand. Moments later, his hair moved as if it was blown by some wind, which is impossible since there was no wind that came from the outside; he had to have done it himself. It was his touch that caused the reaction.

"Finally!" The man at the left edge of the table shouted in excitement. He immediately got up and walked over to the boy.

After talking with the boy for a while, he returned to the table. He wrote something on his paper then another number was called.

"Number 70!"

Luke and his friends saw the number 69 boy walking out of the exit happily with a woman who seemed to be his mother. They ask the old man filled with curiosity in their eyes in unison "What just happened?"

Upon hearing their question, the old man smiled and replied, "He passed, boys."

"So he's an elementalist?" they continued and asked.

A nod of confirmation came back from the old man.