"That's a positive mindset." The woman's icy and authoritative voice cut through the room's silence. "But don't let it make you arrogant," she warned Erik, her gaze piercing. "You may have breezed through this section, but the next challenges, particularly the puzzle test, will be more difficult."
Erik simply shrugged, unfazed by her words. He had confidence in his abilities, knowing that he was well-equipped to deal with the challenges that lay ahead thanks to the biological supercomputer; besides, with Hais's brain crystal power, he doubted there was something he couldn't understand. "I'm not worried," he replied, a calm smile playing on his lips.
The woman snorted with a smirk on her face as she leaned back in her chair. "We'll see how you fare. Don't say I didn't warn you," she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Head to room D8 for the next test. Bye," she said as Erik turned to walk away. Her gaze followed him until he vanished from view. "Ah! Kids these days…"
A large room in the bustling guild headquarters was the activity hub. A massive holographic scoreboard dominated the space in the center, casting a vibrant array of flickering lights across the room.
In a seemingly never-ending cycle, real-time updates displayed test participants' names, scores, and ranks. People gathered at the cafeteria near the scoreboard, eating and drinking while watching the results unfold.
Guild members of various ranks filled the room, their gaze fixed on the hypnotic data display. Bursts of laughter, curse words, and animated discussions broke up their whispered conversations.
The room fell silent as a new name appeared on the leaderboard: Erik Kay. His outstanding Combat and Knowledge Assessments results drew notice and raised eyebrows. In the crowd, murmurs of intrigue, skepticism, and curiosity spread like wildfire.
"Who's this, Erik Kay? Never heard of him before," a grizzled veteran with a robotic arm muttered, squinting at the holographic display.
"Must be some whiz kid; look at those scores," another replied, a young woman with a sharp glint in her eyes.
"Did you see that?" a shocked man with a set of goggles resting on his forehead turned to his companion, an older woman with hair silver as the moonlight. "A perfect score on the Knowledge Assessment. About ores, too, no less. Who in their right mind knows that much about ores?"
"Well, you'd be surprised, Cal. Ores are a big deal, especially for us folk who needs weapons made from them," the silver-haired woman replied, cocking an eyebrow.
Cal snorted, still not convinced. "Sure, Agnes, but we're talking about a kid here. How could he have had the time to learn about ores?"
"But it's not just about experience, Cal," The woman intervened. "You can learn much from books and data chips if you're motivated enough."
A third voice, a young man with sandy hair and a smug grin, chimed in. "Sounds like a nerd if you ask me. He probably spent his whole life with his nose stuck in a book. Can't imagine he'll fare well in the real world."
"You underestimate the power of knowledge, Remy," Agnes countered, her eyes still on the screen. "Besides, didn't he get remarkably high scores even in the combat test? He isn't a simple nerd."
"Still, a perfect score on the ores is unheard of," Cal grumbled, shaking his head in disbelief. "I've been with this Guild for years and can barely tell iron from copper."
Remy laughed boisterously, "That's because you've got rocks in your head, Cal."
Ignoring the jibe, Cal continued, "But you have to admit, Agnes, this Erik Kay is quite the good lad."
"Indeed, he is." Agnes nodded, her gaze fixed on the moving scoreboard. "It's not just the scores. It's the speed. He completed the Knowledge Assessment in record time."
"That doesn't mean anything if he can't handle the field," Remy said again, folding his arms over his chest. "Brains don't mean much when you're staring down the barrel of a blaster."
"Young one," Agnes said in a stern voice, turning to Remy, "knowledge and wisdom can be far more powerful than any blaster. They're not separate; they work together. You can't have strength without knowledge, nor can you have knowledge without strength."
The old miner's wisdom surprised Remy, who frowned. He nodded as if he had taken Agnes' words to heart.
Erik's name was now on everyone's lips, and his enigmatic persona piqued curiosity as he excelled in the Novice rank trials. Speculations arose, casting doubt on his origins and debating his potential. All eyes were on him, waiting to see if he would become the prodigy his scores suggested.
***
Erik stepped into a sleek room that seemed to hum with energy. The walls were smooth and made of a high-tech alloy that glistened with a metallic sheen when illuminated by the pulsating holographic lights that were suspended above.
A streamlined chest took up space in the exact middle of the room. Its surface was illuminated with neon buttons, levers, and symbols.
The enormous holographic display that took up an entire wall in the room was responsible for the explosion of color that could be seen throughout the space.
In addition to the enormous display, there was also a holographic projector that housed a data scroll library.
As Erik got closer, a touchscreen console in the far corner of the room came to life and displayed an image of a letter that had been used and worn for a long time.
The presence of futuristic machinery that buzzed and lights that pulsed in a rhythmic pattern contributed to the atmosphere of intrigue. This was no ordinary room; rather, it was an elaborate setting with the purpose of putting Erik's analytical abilities to the test and stimulating his mind.
Every object in the room was a piece of a complicated puzzle, and it was up to Erik to figure out how to put the puzzle together in order to find the treasure. Erik had no trouble understanding what needed to be done, and as he got ready to unravel the mystery that was in front of him, he felt an exciting rush of adrenaline.
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