Year 2044
Month 4
City of Rebirth:
This Damn family. No, can it even be called a family? Only one sister tries to mediate between everyone as for everyone else? Mortal enemies.
I guess that’s just how we are raised.
“Now then, child. In front of you is a simple test. Use the scale before you to verify the weight of the box. You have 2 minutes.”
A hologram appeared on the wall:
2.00
1.59
1.58
The child stared at the scale with his ocean blue eyes, then up at the glass in front of him, hiding the test givers, separating them from the child who was within this nearly pure white room, save the silver scale before him.
Seriously, who the heck sets up a white mirror?
“Begin boy do not disappoint your father.” the voice rang out again.
The child sighed and looked at the scale and weights in front of him.
There was a classic balance scale: one side currently held a white metal box. On the table nearby were six distinct metal cubes labeled 1kg, 2kg, 3kg, 5kg, 10kg, and 20kg.
Hmm, ok, let’s see.
Alright… three weights max. Let me see how heavy 20 feels. Then I’ll feel the box.
He glanced at the metal box again. His hands moving to the cube labeled 20kg one moment, then the metal box the next.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
…it's lighter than 20.
The child then felt the weight of the 5kg.
Heavier than 5. Could be 13? 1 + 2 + 10 would do it.
So that's probably the solution. Only one way to find out. I guess I'll make sure to keep in mind how the weights feel in my hand.
The child took a step forward, his small fingers grabbing hold of the 10kg weight. Then the 2kg.
He began placing them on the other side of the scale.
Until he had the 1kg in his hand. His eyes watched the scale as his hands keeping track of the weights as he felt them. The scale was almost perfect; any other weight would be too heavy now. Yet the 1kg felt off. He then moved his hand to grab the 5kg and noticed the 5 kg was lighter.
The child took a step forward, his small fingers grabbing hold of the 10kg weight. Then the 2kg.
They reversed the weights.
He thought to himself, annoyed. Dante was about to set the 5kg on the scale, but then stopped himself.
You know what? Screw this. It's test after test, I'm tired of these. I know my siblings said the tests stop after I'm 13, but this is annoying. I don't want to do these anymore. I just want to be a normal kid.
Then he added the 1 kg-labeled weight instead, while placing the real 1kg that was labeled 5kg back down on the table.
The timer stopped:
1.00
The child looked up at the glass with a defiant stare and a satisfied grin.
"Interesting," the voice said emotionlessly.
"Very well. For your next test we will have you fighting after twenty-four hours. Since you failed, stay in this room without food or water as punishment. If you win the fight, you may eat again. If not, then you will go hungry another twenty-four hours."
Damn it!
On the other side of the glass stood a well-groomed man in a fancy suit.
"He is smart. He has passed every test given to him faster than his siblings at the same age. None of them were able to do it when they were ten years old. What's more, he did it with minimal effort," a woman wearing a lab coat said to the groomed man.
"The test was too simple. He solved harder ones," the groomed man said.
"This is true. However, this was his first physical problem-solving test. The others were on paper," the woman said.
"And each of those children are disappointments," the groomed man added.
"You truly are the father of the year, Sir Mercier," the woman responded.
"At the very least, Dante seems somewhat promising. Perhaps he will prove himself deserving of the Mercier name more than my other children. Enough about that—how is the Hades facility?" the groomed man asked.
"Sir, it's prepared. However, are you sure that…"
The man raised a hand to hush the woman and walked to the door, exiting the room wordlessly. The only sound remaining was the closing of the door.
