Chapter 8: Tests
The first floor was also huge. After leaving the flight of stairs, one would be exposed to a huge lobby. There were rows of chairs in a neat position in the lobby. People of all stature, and all sorts of outfits could be seen. Some talked, some remained silent and some were unusually nervous.
The nervous ones are the little boys and girls. Well, not really little, most of their age ranged from 14 to 16.
Because of their fidgeting and nervousness they seems little- is what Black Nevan maliciously thought.
Nervousness is probably the last thing Black Nevan would feel- is what White Nevan thought.
Even if Black Nevan is seen shaking in an unfavorable situation, the shaking would probably be from excitement not fear- is what Nevan thought.
Nevan noticed the young man who had coughed earlier dramatically, was sitting on a chair with legs crossed, his posture was very relaxed as if he was sightseeing.
'Maybe he is a sadist. Seeing all these nervous kids, he is having fun' Black Nevan guessed.
'No, he is probably really strong and has gone through a similar process.' White Nevan defended the young man.
Nevan agreed with White Nevan. That guy was really strong- from his previous experience, so naturally a mere selection exam wouldn't get into his nerves.
Beside the young man, there was the young boy who wanted to pick a fight with the receptionist. Unlike his earlier expression of being impatient and rash, he was now very much calm and composed. He was rather handsome.
'It seems it's almost a custom for rich guys to be handsome.' Black Nevan said grumpily at the unequal justice of the world. It wasn't that he was complaining about his own appearance. In fact Black Nevan was definitely more handsome than that boy. But most other poor people, like Nevan, are only average or bad looking.
'It's not like that, aren't you good looking too?' White Nevan tried to pacify.
'Says the most beautiful male species!' both Black Nevan and Nevan screamed inside their minds.
Nevan noticed each student had a white token in their hand and some holographic screens could be seen originating from those tokens. The tokens were probably needed for the admission. So he looked around and saw another information desk. There was only one information desk here this time. Probably demi-human wanderers are tested in other floors.
He walked to the receptionist.
"Hello, how may I help you?" a sweet and crispy voice sounded from the other side.
'Heavenly!' All 3 Nevans' thoughts had a unique synchronization. Truthfully, her voice wasn't heavenly like the 3 Nevans had exaggerated. It was indeed sweet and pleasant sounding. It's just that the earlier receptionist who was on her period (it is unknown if she was really on her period) had made their expectation of receptionists become lower, which now resulted in a normal receptionist becoming 'heavenly'.
Nevan looked at the receptionist. She looked beautiful, young, and energetic. She had a bright smile on her face as she greeted him.
'Plus 100 points for best appearance.' Black Nevan added. Nevan agreed while White Nevan who rarely accepted this point system of Black Nevan also nodded. All these conversations between Nevans took place inside of Nevan's mind. No one could pry into their conversation. No one.
Nevan smiled at her and asked, "I am here to become a wanderer."
"I see. Do you have any specific academy that you want to target?"
"No. I just want to get into the best academy I can."
"Sure. Here, take this." The conversation between the two of them was simple and efficient, making Nevan like this receptionist.
She handed him a black token. Nevan was a little confused. "Excuse me, but can I ask you a question?"
"Very much so, I am obliged to help you." She flashed him a smile.
'Plus 1000 points' Black Nevan did not forget to give points for this behavior of hers. As expected she is an ideal receptionist. That period girl would have started having a fist fight if Nevan wanted to ask any question.
"I saw students holding white tokens. Why are you giving me black ones?"
"Oh that. White tokens are for students who have a specified academy they want to join in. There are two types of tests in the admission agency. One is a specific test and another is combined. With white token, students can give a specific test that was designed by that particular academy they choose."
"But doesn't that instead create a problem? Wouldn't all people want to take the test of top academies to try?"
"What do you think? Do you want to try for the St. Aron Academy?"
"The number one academy? No thanks. I know my limits."
"Exactly. People who come to Arcmania are not stupid. They know what they can do and not. Besides, if some fool turns out to be here, there's a penalty if the person fails by a large margin."
"I see. The system is 'foolproof' huh?"
"I guess it's indeed 'foolproof'. Haha" the girl laughed. It was a charming sight to behold. A wise man used to say, 'Great scenes and great arts must be appreciated.' And so the three Nevans respectfully followed this wise saying and appreciated the great scene in front of them.
"Please sit for a while. You will be called when it's your turn."
"Ok, good bye."
"Yes, thank you and I hope you get into a good academy."
'I hope too', Nevan gave her a smile of nervousness and sat down at an empty seat.
He fiddled with the black token and noticed a small button there. He pressed it and soon a holographic screen of one square meter appeared.
There were only a bunch of paragraphs written on the screen. He looked at the title. Combined Test.
'So this is a description of the combined test.' Nevan thought. Nevan then read all the details inside very carefully. He couldn't be negligent. And Black Nevan and White Nevan both concentrated firmly on this.
Nevan finished reading it for the umpteenth time when his token flashed. The screen vanished and he saw his token blinking continuously. He looked around and realized that the people he had seen before including that boy and young man could not be seen. He guessed they were probably done with the tests.
Nevan understood that it was time for his tests. Nevan stood up, his throat a little dry and sweat started appearing in his hands.
'Take a deep breath' White Nevan's voice rang in his mind. Nevan took a deep breath.
It's finally going to happen. Like many other poor children, his fate was finally going to be fixed today by joining an academy.
"Please proceed to room number 0121." a robotic voice sounded from the token.
It took five minute to walk to room 0121. It was the 21st room of the first floor and there were still many more rooms along the corridor. He guessed that it would take 20 minutes to walk from one end of the building to another. This really was a massive structure in Arcmania.
This five minutes though, to Nevan was like five hours. His black clothes were totally drenched by his own sweat.
"Nevan, don't worry, we will help you. We can get into a good academy for sure." White Nevan tried to ease him down.
"Yeah, Nevan don't make a big fuss, let's go and bust those tests up." Black Nevan's confident tone also helped.
Nevan calmed a little. A little grateful to these two inseparable entities. He was a really normal person, just an ordinary human being.
But these two entities, who had been with him since he existed, helped him a lot. Though they made a lot of trouble for him, in the end they still helped him.
With their help, he would get into an academy, that's for sure. But he wondered if he could get into good ones. If he couldn't then all would be for naught. He would disappoint them, disappoint the old man and disappoint the other more talented children in the orphanage.
Thinking all this, Nevan made up his mind. No matter what, even if his life was going to become hell by endless amounts of studying, he was going to persevere and be sure to not disappoint anyone.
A very typical resolve that all students would make when entering an academy. With great hope, with huge burden and with endless expectation. Some could hold this resolve till the end, some could not. Those who could, would achieve greatness but those who could not, would be forgotten.
He took another huge breath and pushed the door, entering the playground of fate.
