To be fair, even Theo was at a loss when Elder Wei said that.

Because in truth, none of what he had been doing felt like an actual ability. Hearing that he was supposedly manifesting some kind of difficult-to-discover support-type ability only made him feel like a fraud.

Earlier, before he became whatever this hollow version of himself was, he had actually been excited. The Elder had mentioned something about him having a rather useful ability. And it wasn’t just Elder Wei. The others had said similar things, that his affinity would help a lot in the path he wanted to pursue.

And since his teachers weren’t ones to joke about aptitude and results, his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

Wouldn’t that mean he’d be able to get stronger and contribute more?

Ideally, yes!

So of course, who wouldn’t be excited?

Therefore, when he was asked to sit down to learn a bit more about what he could do, he didn’t hesitate and simply followed along.

However, that was only the beginning of a grueling journey he hadn’t exactly expected.

Because who would have thought it would reach a point where he could no longer remember what had happened earlier?

At times, it felt like he should be grateful just for remembering his own name and identity.

Soon enough, he couldn’t even tell how long he had been at it, or whether his legs were still capable of standing after sitting for so long.

And yet, embarrassingly enough, the only thing he had to show for it was the ability to tell the minute differences between each jar.

Confusing?

Well, he thought so, too.

As a Siren, he had naturally assumed that identifying his bloodline ability would be much easier. It should have been straightforward. After all, it was quite literally something that flowed in his veins.

And while it hadn’t been as obvious before because of the lack of natural water sources, since meeting Luca, he’d been more aware of being able to sense water as naturally as breathing.

Being called toward it and being intrinsically sensitive to spiritual energy were things he’d discovered were largely due to his Siren lineage.

So forgive him for daring to imagine that he might discover even more about himself after today’s once-in-a-lifetime event.

But what do you know?

It was the Nox family members—who confirmed they had no Siren blood in them—who were able to wield water in impressive ways!

Killian Nox was calling forth tidal waves.

Kyle Nox was manifesting a water blade that seemingly obeyed his every command.

And last but not least, Minister Kordell Nox had somehow produced the most adorable water construct they had ever seen. Of course, not that the rest of them had really seen another to even compare, but that wasn’t the point. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Because even now, the adorable one was already being referred to as a sprite!

Now, not to say they had figured out what the little bubble bouncing on top of the Minister’s head was actually doing, but even if all it did was hop in place, that was still leagues better than a Siren who was facing jars like some litmus paper test!

Uh-huh.

One could say his "ability" and exercise was something akin to using a litmus paper strip...

Only in his case, he was the litmus paper.

Not that he was dipping his hand in and testing for pH, but he was using his spiritual tendrils as instructed in what felt like a game of "spot the difference."

"Tell me the difference between each jar."

The cadet remembered hearing this for the first time and being excited—until he realized each jar was the same.

Or at least, he thought they were.

But of course, they weren’t the same. Correction: they weren’t exactly the same.

__

In time, the young pharmacist realized there were extremely small differences. Really small ones that made it feel like he was nitpicking on spiritual water of all things.

Absurd, right?

Moreover, yes, he knew that in medicine, even the slightest variation could result in something entirely different.

But this didn’t seem quite the same when it came to spiritual water—especially when it was practically an elixir in any form, as long as one wasn’t completely careless when using it.

Just as he feared, the jars in front of him all contained spiritual water. But upon closer inspection, some had different concentrations, while others had additional substances mixed in.

And how exactly did he get to this conclusion?

Ah, simple.

By sheer repetition.

Elder Wei refused to let up until he had identified the exact differences with certainty. If it looked like he was making a calculated guess at any point, then it was a no-go. It didn’t matter how long it took; all that mattered was getting it exactly right.

Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem. Theo had never been the type to dwell on complaints, especially as someone who was just generally grateful for any opportunity.

However, this time, it felt different.

Because wasn’t this something that the likes of D-29 and advanced analyzers could already do?

Now, Theo, wanting to understand better, actually dared to ask that, only to end up hearing that for his ability to work properly, he needed to do this without relying on machines—doing it until it became second nature.

"..."

"..."

But because he was a hard-working young adult who had dreams he wanted to realize and people he wanted to support, Theo buckled up and did as he was told.

Well, at least until he ended up panting after being told to separate the contents of those jars like some human-part Siren centrifuge.

"!!!"

Safe to say, he was speechless.

Taking out such a minuscule amount of sap that’d been mixed in, despite it being generally hydrophobic, was going to be difficult when it’d clearly been mixed in there with a lot of assistance.

Just how was he supposed to do that?

He’d been momentarily skeptical until the Elder showed him how it was done.

"..."

It was a case of deception!

Looking all too easy when clearly it’d been anything but that when he himself tried it!

Latching onto the most subtle differences and feeling for every impurity had truly worked wonders for him, but it also drained a lot of spiritual energy, which definitely surprised the young lad.

Still, he managed.

He separated them.

And just when he thought he could at least take a moment to appreciate what he had done—

"Good," Elder Wei said. "Now put them back together in the exact same configuration."

"...?"

If anyone said he did not want to froth at the mouth, they would be lying.

Theo had always been relatively calm. Gentle. Patient.

But at that moment, something inside him snapped.

T-this!

He had just spent all that time separating them, carefully, painstakingly, without even getting the chance to admire his work.

And now—

He had to mix it all back together?

What kind of new torture technique was this?

And more importantly—

Just how was this an actual ability?!

Still, with trembling hands, he tried.

He followed the instructions as best as he could, attempting to replicate the original mixture.

Then Elder Wei spoke again.

"You have your spiritual energy for this very reason."

"...Why are you simply using it to stir like a madman? If you only wanted to do that, then you should’ve gotten a stirrer, no?"

"...!"

Dizzy. Theo definitely felt dizzy upon hearing that.

And if the others understood what he was going through, then maybe they would ’have understood why he looked like he was about to cry!

Moreover, if this could be done with just spiritual ability, then wouldn’t this be something everyone could do?

In that case, how could this be a bloodline ability?