Chapter 4: The Chosen One
Everything so far fell within the expected range: a twenty to forty percent boost in a specific type of magic, an improvement rate in a particular utility path, or a modest five to ten percent increase to one's mana affinity.
That was, until the first of the descendants from the prominent wizard clans stepped forward to receive theirs...
The very first of them was blessed by the Repository with a tear-shaped artifact called Ocean's Essence, which boosted the young aristocratic apprentice's water elemental magic by a staggering 80 percent, harvesting gasps of envy and gazes of respect.
The others of their elite kind received similar boons, though in different elements or forms.
Shockingly, a few commoners also obtained such artifacts.
Three in particular—Elden Fern, Liora Whitemane, and Riven Salazar—received items that made even some of the lesser-blessed aristocrats green with envy.
They were the so-called "diamonds in the rough."
Hal clenched his fists, humbled by the reality that he wasn't one of the chosen.
His former friend, Korren, on the other hand, received something that stood above the average but still fell short of the elite, somewhere between the masses and the prodigies.
The fake certainly had the brightest-looking future among everyone from Poporo Village.
But then came an anomaly...