College Examination - 2
"Of course he needs to pass the last test! This isn't the old times where you just have to be good in one aspect; we're looking for well-rounded geniuses!" Joseph replied, his eyes glimmering.
"I remember this test has 3 stages, correct? Unlock them all for this applicant."
"But the other 2 stages are still in testing mode; it's impossible that they wouldn't be harmed physically in the real world if they got severely injured or died in those tests!" said one of the technicians.
"Hmm, is that so? Then doesn't it make it more interesting to see how he'll react? Send a letter of consent to the applicant inside, detailing the risks of the next 2 stages. However, state the rewards of completing the 2 stages as well." Joseph responded calculatingly. He knew that kids nowadays were hot-blooded.
A few minutes after finishing up the wild wolves, Xander received a notification inside the VR.
"Applicant 11111, You have completed the first stage of the Magic test. Would you like to proceed on the next 2 stages? However, as they are experimental and may harm you physically and mentally, please know that completion of these stages would give you a set of rewards."
"The set of rewards would be the following: 3000 School Contribution Points and 10000 Etas for the second stage completed, 5000 School Contribution Points and 100,000 Etas for the final stage completed. At the same time, a recommendation for skipping grades would also be written." These words echoed around him, and a paper manifested in front of him that details the terms, conditions, and rewards.
Xander, upon reading these conditions, hesitated momentarily and weighed the pros and cons of doing such a thing.
Pros. He would be ahead of the people who applied with him, probably cinching the 1st rank. At the same time, he would have school contribution points to use for the sake of internal purchases within the school. At the same time, he could graduate earlier, graduating within 2 years. At the same time, he can showcase his talent to the school, allowing himself to be exposed to more opportunities…
Cons. Issue on privacy. He can only say goodbye to privacy for his identity once the results were out. After all, this last test was standardized per university in the world, except for a select few University which allowed modification in the testing. If he performed too well, his name could be broadcast in the news. Interested parties would most likely mark him as a person of interest, meaning bothersome people would approach him without his consent.
At the same time, the Etas given as a reward was quite low. Not only that, if he takes part in these two other tests, doesn't it mean that his data would be gathered to perfect it, thus he would lose his personal privacy as well? Not only that, the opportunities that the school can give him, does he really need it though?
Xander had a feeling that the reason why the requested for him to undergo the remaining 2 stages is because there might be competition between universities, and he would be used by Grand Hyatt University as some sort of promotional material to attract other talented students.
Xander didn't like that, as the attention it would bring to him was too high for his current identity. He wasn't some stupid freshman who cared about attention and fame. He knew his limits and the benefits of being low-key. At the same time, why should he do the university a favor? They haven't done anything good for them.
After a while, he rejected the request and immediately left the VR, and the pod opened up. Of course, he before he left, he responded to why he declined.
"Are you joking? With that small amount of renumeration to the future troubles it would cause me? Just drop it and just focus on proctoring properly."
After leaving the dumbfounded proctors in the pod area, one of them whose face was twitching badly, he went to the proctor by the entrance of the gymnasium and asked for his results as well as submitting the necessary application forms.
He proceeded to the last test, which tested his knowledge on mathematics, physics and biotechnology, the science focus of Grand Hyatt University. This test was different from the first test Xander took, because the topics were solely these three, and the question format were focused on experiment design as well as concept understanding and applications. He had to complete the test within the time limit of 2 hours.
Within 1 hour, he completed all 3 tests and handed his information to the proctor as dictated. The proctor nodded approvingly and handed him a com-link lens that would show the results in 7 days, and whether he passes or not.
Not caring about anyone, he left the school premises and headed home.
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Inside the campus' Office of Admission.
"I can't believe it, he rejected the offer." said one of the persons in charge of the VR simulation test. His face was still twitching from holding back his laughter towards the kid.
"Either he is an unambitious person who doesn't care about fame and fortune, or a really shrewd one. He knew this would bring attention to him and maybe he didn't like the attention?"
"Hmm, either way, I plan to submit a recommendation for him to enter the advanced track program. What do you guys think?" said one of the men, his face aged.
"Hmph, I don't agree on this; how dare this insignificant person reject my offer?" Joseph replied, obviously disgruntled and held animosity towards Xander.
"Haha! Joseph, you should be more open minded. Do you know the background of his parents?" one of the older men in military attire spoke, his voice dry and sarcastic.
"Oh? General Simmons, it seems you know more of this prodigy's background." one of the old men spoke.
"Hehe, it's not simple, especially his mother's case. First of, his father is working on a research with the funding from 5 different international conglomerates, all focused on physics field. His mother's information, on the other hand, is considered restricted access that even for me, I can only see the partially redacted information, " General Simmons replied, his voice grim.
Everyone couldn't help but gasp quietly. But it seemed that the general wasn't done yet.
"Both their backgrounds are nothing to scoff at; the Cloverfield and the Morningstar clans." Upon saying these words, the room fell into a solemn silence, with a hint of pressure appearing on some of the members' faces.
"In regards to this youngster, a documented magical phenomena occurred when he was born, and for the first 2 years, he had a rapid growth in terms of magical power. It seemed that he could control all the commonly available elements. When he was 4 years old, he was cited as a main co-author by the paper written by Therault. You know who Therault is don't you? The one that postulated the idea of elemental hierarchies? According to the information I got from the government, more than half of the paper was written by that kid." General Simmons paused for a bit, letting the information sink it.
After a few seconds, he continued on.
"When he was aged 5, the researchers wanted to take him to the laboratory to explore more of the kid's potential, but one word from his mother and the case was dropped. Mind you, these were senior researchers who have a higher rank than I do in the scheme of things in the government, yet one word from his mother, the matter was dropped."
"According to my current sources and the hyper-interpolation of the data gleaned by the government, it is estimated that Xander, age 7, is already an Elite-ranked person, roughly around Elite-2. However, if we base it from the performance he just showed in the simulated magic test, his true strength should be above Elite-4."
General Simmons motioned one of the staff to come in, and show the video taken from the VR. It showed the moment Xander attacked for the first time.
He instructed the staff to play the video, frame by frame, in which the other members of the board saw what General Simmons was talking about.
2, 3, 4..., no is it 5? No, it's greater than 5 spells...6, 7 spells maybe?
"Ok, to stop you from guessing, from the analysis done at the data produced by the VR by our technicians, there were 15 elemental signatures represented, and following the new optimizations we have added since the paper by Therault has been accepted as a universal law, out of those 15, 5 are the energy signatures for the 5-elements series; the remaining ones are secondary and tertiary elements derived from the series. Fifteen spells, gentlemen, 15 spells cast within a second."
Everyone was silent, even Joseph who was complaining was completely quiet. General Simmons then looked at Joseph, his look containing a bit of pity, and more of annoyance at his colleague.
"So it's not that simple, Joseph, that he rejected your proposal. He just had a higher view of things. Remember what he said before he left? It's obvious he weighed the pros and cons of doing the other 2 tests." continued Simmons, each revelation striking a drum at the hearts of the board. Even Joseph couldn't help but sweat upon hearing this and realized what might have happened to him.
"Ah!" One of the technicians suddenly exclaimed, causing the silence to be broken.
"Hmm? What is it Clarence?" General Simmons asked.
"The energy signals are quite familiar to me… do you remember the spell, [5-elements foundation]?" he asked the group.
Most of the people showed surprised reactions, as they were quite familiar with this spell model. One could even say it was strongest master-ranked spell, yet at the same time, it can be called the weakest.
If one was gifted with powerful control and imagination, as well as a large reserve of magical energy, facing such a spell would be suicidal. If one of these factors are missing, one can say that this spell is simply a party trick, one that can be used to amuse oneself or for preliminary spell research.
"The energy signals were almost identical, but the intensity and control detected and calculated by the computer was astounding, almost beyond the average-level mythic magicians."
"At the same time, have you not recognized a problem? How is he able to instantly cast without any incantations?" the young man beside Joseph, who had been silent the whole time, spoke out.
"There's only one spell that can do something like that, Ace, which is [Void Wind], but I recall there seems to be no way for this kid to access it. How did he learn it in the first place?" General Simmons replied to Ace, and with it, everyone was silent, the room falling into a sombre atmosphere.
[Void Wind] was considered to be a forbidden spell for anyone below Mythic magicians to use, due to the danger it poses towards its caster, as well as the general harm it can cause in public order.
Generally, those with special permissions or talents below Mythic realm can use it, and even then, they had to tread carefully, using it once or twice in a battle to tip the scales. It isn't available in any magic repository database except within the government's servers.
With his talents being shown, the people in the room were in awe, in fear, and were quite excited to what Xander could bring for their university and for the government.
"... So there are no objections on putting him in the advanced class?" said the old man beside General Simmons.
"....." Everyone was silent, as if tacitly agreeing to it. Joseph had no qualms either.
However, a thought still lingered
…if it was really [Void Wind]…how did this kid get access to it? Could it be he just made his own spell similar to it?
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Upon reaching home, Xander began to digest his experiences and continued to practice his Time and Space magic. His practice simply involved on stretching the limits of his control, while ensuring that everything around the manipulated area is not affected. At the same time, he was also reading more books and newly-released research papers, both public and private, enriching his understanding.
This continued for a few days until the com-link lens glowed and vibrated.
Xander stepped out of the time bubble and tapped at the lens, opening a hologram showing his results.
Applicant Number: 11111
Applicant Name: Xander Cloverfield
Results:
1st Test: Perfect, SS-
2nd Test: Perfect, SSS+
3rd Test: Perfect, SS-
Mean average: Perfect, SS
Remarks: Recommended to the advanced track program.
Rank: 1st in the batch of test takers for the year 2057 nationwide, 2nd place worldwide.
Upon seeing the results, he sent a copy to his parents and went downstairs to eat. He was a bit surprised that he didn't top the 1st place for both nationwide and worldwide college examinations, but this gave him a sense of excitement because it would seem that there were peers of his that can match him.
He reached the table and sat down on his chair, quietly waiting for the food. Although he was already an Elite, meaning he could forgo eating continuously, he still needed to eat at least once a week since his body is developing. Once he reaches Master rank, he could then completely forgo eating, since his body would naturally absorb the elements in the surrounding as sustenance.
In a few minutes, the food was already ready, prepared by the in-house robot chef. He began to eat alone, as he was home alone, since both his parents were working. His father was in the research institute and his mother at the R&D laboratory of the government. According to the hacked feeds and documents he gleaned, they were developing a new biochemical compound to use for warfare. Some of the researcher friends that they introduced before to him were all there as well, engrossed in the data analysis and formulation process.
From what he can deduce based on their documents and visual feed, the biochemical compound seems to have traces of the death element, as well as decay and disease element.