As soon as the four youths sat down, an attendant came inside the tent with his tablet. With a press of a button, a crystal descended from the top of the tent and flashed a projection of his tablet.
“Welcome, participants to the written test. You will all be given the same test. The test will contain twenty questions. Answer all questions as you can. Given fifty five minutes to answer the test. No standing from your desks. No speaking. A rotational crystal will be watching you take the test. Caught cheating and points will be deducted from your scores based on the times caught. Your timer starts now.”
Aston tapped the screen of the tablet in front of him. It lit up with a soft hum, displaying a white screen that shifted into the test interface, A large “Start” button blinked in the center. He pressed it.
—
Question 1
List the core differences between the Selyrian and Daeric interpretations of spiritual lattice frameworks in low-affinity spirit beast tamers.
—
Aston stared at the screen.
He blinked.
What?
He continually read books during his free time in preparation of today’s test, but he hadn’t read about the Selyrian and Daeric interpretations of spiritual lattice frameworks.
He shook off the chill crawling up his spine and moved to the next one.
—
Question 2
Identify three known countermeasures against a Triform Shadow Wyrm’s mirage field during dusk combat conditions.”
—
His brows furrowed.
This wasn’t a test. This was an academic ambush.
He glanced up. The crystal was hovering around the room, starting from the front, then to the left, to the back, then to the right, and back at the front.
He returned to the screen.
—
Question 3
If a temporal fold interferes with a beast’ soul anchor, what restoration protocol must be initiated before dissolution begins?”
—
Temporal fold? He didn’t know if this was an academic test or a graduate thesis trial.
He clenched his jaw and pressed forward.
—
Question 4
Under the Miman-Fleuger Classification chart, which would one classify the following spirit beast: a humanoid-cyberse beast that was once connected to a network of information that attained its spirituality on the onset of Spirit Energy Explosion.
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—
Miman-Fleuger? There was such a chart?
Aston blinked and had an idea. He asked Nova.
Hey, Nova…
He dictated the question and sent the query to Nova, to which it responded…
[Cannot find Miman-Fleuger Classification Chart in the database. Browsing the internet… Couldn’t find data. Requesting the host to update databanks. This may be new knowledge and not published yet.]
What? This is the first time Nova could not answer a question!
He gritted his teeth and proceeded with the questions.
Aston’s eyes darted from the screen to the ticking timer, his hands moving mechanically as he clicked through the questions, each more bizarre than the last. His grip tightened on the stylus, mind filled with confusion. He hadn't even heard most of these terms, let alone had a chance to learn about them.
—
Question 11
Identify the four primary weaknesses of a Corrosive Mist Drake’s aura in a high-pressure combat scenario.
—
He rubbed his temples. This was beyond knowledge.
He glanced up, briefly scanning the room. Rowan was tugging at his hair and the other participants were just as lost. Some were staring at their tablets in disbelief, while others were frantically scribbling down anything that came into mind, hoping for a miracle.
—
Question 12
Cite three examples of failed pacts between elite-tier spirit tamers and rogue-class spirit beasts, and explain the ethical debates surrounding them.
—
Ethical debates? I’m thirteen! What kind of test is this?!
His thoughts felt like they were scattering in every direction. The more he read, the more questions filled in his head.
Then, his gaze inadvertently landed on one of the four youths. They sat apart from the rest, seemingly calm and unbothered. Their eyes never strayed from their screen.
How can they be so confident? Do they know these questions?
Aston shifted uncomfortably. He continually pressed the ‘next’ button until he reached the final question.
—
Question 20
What is the likely chance of survival when you approach an unknown, high-risk mission in a crimson fog region with no direct communication to base, limited food, and uncertain spirit behavior? Assume you are the scout leader.
—
Aston asked Nova and just replied:
[Unknown other parameters like the spirit beasts, the number of people, the current location, and many more to determine the likelihood of survival.]
Aston leaned back slightly, breath shallow. His hands trembled just faintly, not from fear but from disbelief.
Aston looked back at the questions, and at the clock. There were 37 minutes left.
This isn’t just difficult, this is deliberately out of reach! Who in their right minds designed this test?! It’s like they made all the questions up!
Then a flash of understanding shot through his eyes.
Deliberate… Made up questions…
He replayed the attendant’s exact words in his head.
“Answer all questions as you can. Given fifty-five minutes to answer the test. No standing from your desks. No speaking. A rotation crystal will be watching you take the test. Caught cheating and points will be deducted from your scores based on the times caught.”
That was it. If caught cheating, then a deduction. No mention of automatic failure. No mention of disqualification.
And then it clicked.
This wasn’t a written knowledge test. It was a scouting test.
Scouting wasn’t about memorizing ancient accords or citing obscure beast psychology. It was about information gathering, adapting under pressure, reading your environment, and knowing what to observe.
His gaze snapped to the four youths who had come in late.
They lazily clicked next, as if they had answered all the questions. Once they reach the last question, they go back to the first. As if waiting to be cheated on…
They weren’t just confident. They weren’t just calm. They were… suspicious, as if the scouting division had… planted them.
