The Assessment

Naomi led us up one of the staircases behind the reception desk. We walked across a balcony overlooking the lobby. From up there, the interiors of the shrine looked even grander.

On the way, she asked us if I was sure that I wanted a Blessed Beast servant to join my party, which reminded me that I have not seen a single one of them in the lobby, or I would think. Since most of the people were wearing helmets, I couldn't exactly tell.

I asked her if there is anything wrong with it, she said that Blessed Beasts are very rarely adept in combat since they never have the chance to train to be anything other than servants.

I told her Lohikaarmi was different, and she chuckled.

We now arrived at a door among a row of them on the third floor. Everything is open to the lobby. A railing guards us from falling off, but we can see well over the entire entrance hall.

Naomi opens the door and invites us inside. The smell of old books is intense. It's a small room with bookshelves as walls. In the very center is a pedestal with an adorned crystal bowl of water on top.

Naomi closes the door and walks to the other side of the pedestal.

"What is this assessment?" I ask.

"It's to test your divinity levels, affinities, and any blessing you might have," she explains.

"And our ranks will be dependent on that?"

"That's correct."

"What about our combat abilities?"

"That is not as important. A crusader who can channel the power of the Goddess is much stronger than one who can channel the power of brute force."

"Right, so… what do we do?"

Naomi reaches under the pedestal and opens a drawer. She takes out an ornate little dagger with a razor-sharp blade.

"You will need to drop your blood into the water, and the reaction will determine your results," she says.

"What do you mean by the reaction?"

"The water will turn green. Its saturation will be dictated by your divinity levels. Each of the five gemstones on the bowl represents one of the most common miracle affinities: heat, water, ice, wind, and lightning. The bowl itself will change color if you have any traces of blessings," Naomi explains.

Some wizardry here, damn. Also, why do I feel like heat and ice should be one affinity? Isn't ice just the lack of heat? Oh well, if everything is up to that little girl to decide, logic was probably never within consideration.

Faye has an affinity for healing, and Melanie had that weird kinetic thing. I am guessing those don't fall under the five most common ones.

"Alright," I say.

Naomi hands me the blade, and I take it.

"Just a slit?" I ask.

"Yes. I can heal your wound immediately after."

"Okay."

Time to see what kind of miracles I can perform. I don't have very high expectations, none at all in fact, since the last time I checked, God wasn't there when I was born.

I raise my hand above the bowl and press the blade into my fingertip. A drop of blood drips down and sends ripples through the bowl. A mist of red scatters below the surface.

Ten seconds pass, and absolutely nothing happens.

"Odd," Naomi says with a frown, "It seems that you have no divinity levels at all."

"Is that odd?"

"Yes. Even elves should have a little bit. I guess you are just very unlucky. I am sorry, that would mean your rank is D-, and climbing the ranks will be fairly difficult for you."

"Right, and how would I climb the ranks?"

"By completing missions."

"So it doesn't really matter what my divinity level is. As long as I can do that, I should be fine, right?" I ask.

"Indeed, but without the ability to pray will make your journey more difficult."

"Okay."

I am fine with that. My pulse pistol probably beats any form of prayer.

"Now the Blessed Beast may go next," Naomi says and heals my finger. The cut disappears.

I give the dagger to Lohikaarmi, and she steps up to the pedestal.

Naomi puts her hand above the bowl and performs a miracle to purify the water inside. I wonder what affinity that would fall under. Biochemical engineering?

Lohikaarmi drops her blood, and just like mine, there is no reaction at all.

Naomi once again frowns in confusion. "This is strange. Blessed beasts should have rather high divinity levels."

Right as she says that, the bowl faintly glows red.

"What's that about?" I ask.

Naomi becomes even more confused. "It's… I have never seen this color before. Blessed Beasts usually glow blue…."

Yeah, that makes sense, Lohikaarmi is quite literally a blessed beast in that she is a beast with a blessing.

"Perhaps there's something special about her blessing?" I ask.

"Maybe… But regardless, I will have to give you D- as well."

Lohikaarmi nods.

This is not looking good for our average.

"Now it's the elf's turn," Naomi says and does another round of clean-up.

Lohikaarmi gives the dagger to Faye, and she drops a drop of her blood into the bowl.

Immediately after the droplet hits the water, the liquid begins to change. A deep shade of green rises up from the bottom, and all five of the crystals begin glowing brightly. The bowl itself also starts to emit white light, drowning out the lanterns in the room.

"Whoa," Faye says and takes a step back.

"This is…" Naomi stares with a dumbfounded look at the bowl.

"W-Who are you?" She lifts her head to Faye and asks.

"Me? I'm Faye van Alventyr."

"How are you…" Naomi looks back at the bowl, "I have never seen this white glow, either. Do you perhaps… have a blessing?"

"Oh, I don't think so," Faye says, "My mother did, and my father was a human archbishop, maybe that's why."

"That does explain somewhat, but your divinity and affinities are… incredible."

"He-he…." Faye blushes.

Wow, who would have thought that Faye was actually the luckiest one of us all here? Or… if Astra were to do this test, I wonder what would happen. Would the bowl explode?

"So, what rank would she be in?" I ask.

"The highest obtainable from the assessment, for sure," Naomi says.

"Which is…"

"A. The half-elf is in rank A."

"That would make our party rank…"

Naomi does some mental math with her fingers.

"C, I believe."

We have dragged Faye down quite a bit.

Naomi turns around to the bookshelf and pulls out a stack of paper.

"Now I need you guys to fill out some information, and then you will be registered crusaders," she says.

"Great."

"You are the strangest bunch I have ever seen. A human and Blessed Beast with no divinity level whatsoever, and an elf with one so high she could probably be accepted into the High Court if she were a human," Naomi says.

I actually have to be thankful that Astra isn't here, or else we might have exceeded the maximum level of suspicion one could raise.