[3:30 pm, Physical exam hall]

Oliver was awoken from his nap by the buzzing sound coming from one of the speakers.

"Thank you for waiting, children... Our little problem has been cleared up, so our test will begin shortly. Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the wait...." Instructor Kiel said through the speakers.

Oliver rubbed his eyes, before stretching a bit. He was annoyed that it took 2 hours for their "technical issues" to be fixed, but as long as he got to be an investigator, he'd wait however long it would take. That being said, he still didn't know why he was so enthusiastic about it, considering the mostly cowardly life he had lived. Maybe he'd just figure it along the way. At least he hoped that'd work.

As the recruits waited for the gates to open, they all had the same expressions on their faces. Of course there were ones who were still groggy from just waking up, but everyone else shared the same passion in their eyes. A passion that screamed, "I will win". The gates opened, and after a countdown, courtesy of the F.A.T.E staff, the test commenced. The recruits all scrambled to complete the obstacle course as fast as possible. They shoved, pushed, pulled, anything to get them an advantage over the others. Oliver was no different, although he did make sure to apologize if he ever pushed them too hard. But to Oliver, the most important part of this section of the physical exam is to conserve as much energy as possible so he could tackle "that". Playing dirty was necessary for his plan... At least that's what he told himself. But unbeknownst to Oliver, he was being watched. Like a wolf hiding in the shadows, watching its prey hop about in the glade, Katherine observed every movement Oliver made. She wanted to understand what kind of man Oliver was, because to her, the most dangerous person here was him. The look in Oliver's eyes, the way he carried himself, it was all disgustingly fake. But yet it was so very interesting. Like a cuckoo bird invading a nest. It looks the same as any other bird, but in reality it is a fake trying to reap the rewards of its deceit. In other words, a parasite that doesn't belong. However, to see how far a cuckoo bird can stay in the nest before it gets caught, well, wasn't that more interesting than just taking it out? That's what Katherine believed. She wanted to see how far Oliver could go until his facade broke, until everyone could see the fraud he really was. Yes, because Katherine hated liars.

As Oliver made his way over the monkey bars, he made it to the first true obstacle of the course, the rock climbing test. This was the "thing" that Oliver has saved up all his stamina for, but he didn't expect it would be this intimidating. A thirty feet, narrow wall with soft padding and various staff members at bottom to catch anyone who had fallen.

"I remember the instructor talking about this while we were waiting. Apparently there are three "boss" obstacles in this course, and the rock climbing test is one of them. It isn't hard because of any special tricks... It's hard because of the limited amount of handles there are..." Oliver thought to himself, making a few more inferences before tackling the beast.

Compared to the other recruits, Oliver wasn't extraordinarily gifted with strength. Even as a child, he would have to rely on his sister's freakish strength to open things for him. So to make up for the gap in strength, Oliver had to use his brain and creativity. The only "special" talent he had. The only thing that separated him from all the other recruits.

Oliver looked up as the recruits climbed the wall. Those who weren't physically gifted, fell as expected, leaving only the strong left standing.

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"I know it's a physical test... But this is just cruel." Oliver thought to himself as he continued to watch the others.

Olivia, who had already made it to the top, looked down at Oliver in confusion. She couldn't understand his reasoning for standing around doing nothing, so she only felt pity for him .

"Why the hell is he just standing there? Don't tell me he's scared... Maybe I should help" Olivia thought to herself.

Before Olivia could act on it, she felt someone purposely bump into her. The amount of force he used caused Olivia to fall down, even scraping her knee a little. She looked up to see who had pushed her, noticing him running away, as if he didn't just try to sabotage her. As she took a closer look at him, she realised he was the same person that yelled at her back in the waiting room. Her pride wouldn't let her ignore this, even if her brother was in trouble, this was more important. She got up and began chasing after him.

"You better run! Cause when I catch you, you're dead meat!" Olivia shouted, sounding almost insane.

Oliver heard her insane shouting from the ground level, and quickly inferred the situation.

"Geez, she really can't let things go huh... Well whatever, I'd be better if she didn't see me fail... Cause in all honesty, I'm not entirely sure this will work!" Oliver thought to himself as he began running towards the wall. He jumped as high as he could then grabbed the first handle he could reach.

"Got it! Now then... The hard part" Oliver said to himself before pulling himself up. He grabbed the next handle, placing his feet on the handle below him. He took a deep breath before looking up. He had a solid 15 more feet ahead of him, he was starting to feel the pressure. But all the requirements were met for his victory. You see, Oliver had purposefully waited for the last moment to start climbing to avoid any people blocking his climb up. If he wanted to make a mad dash, any obstacle in his way would spell failure. So this was the only chance he had, and he would take it.

"All this time, I've been trying my best to conserve stamina on the other obstacles just for this... I hope... No; I know this will work!" Oliver thought to himself as he got ready. Using all his conserved stamina in one short burst. He climbed, and climbed, and climbed like it was the last thing he'd do. He was dripping with sweat; and his hands were starting to hurt, but his goal was so close.

"I just need to grab the last-" he slipped. The sweat from his palm caused him to slip... His own bodily functions were his downfall. As he felt the weight of his body falling down, sadness overcame him. He put in all that effort just to fail at the last moment. Wasn't that just pathetic?

"Oops, gotcha" a familiar voice said. They grabbed his arm, stopping his fall. Oliver looked up to see it was Katherine. He smiled, and began laughing out of relief. Katherine saw his relief, causing her to smile as well.

"What if I let go?" Katherine asked, still smiling.

Oliver's face turned into that of horror.

"E- excuse me..?" Oliver asked, laughing awkwardly to hide his fear. He could feel Katherine's hold becoming looser, and looser, she really meant it.

"What would happen if I let go, and let you fall? There's only half an hour left on the obstacle course, and you lack the energy to continue...." Katherine said, the smile on her face never waning for a second. At this point, Oliver knew he was at her mercy. His future as an investigator was in the hands of another. He felt worthless.

"Please.... Please, I really want to be an Investigator!" Oliver said, shouting with his entire heart and soul. The passion in those words struck Katherine's curiosity. She pulled him up and made a "guilty" expression.

"Sorry that was just a cruel prank on my part, I didn't mean to scare you or anything" Katherine said, clasping her hands together.

Oliver was still in shock from the experience, all he could do was stare at her.

"Oh you know... I'd love to stay and watch you stare at me, but there's only 30 minutes left so.... See ya" Katherine said, running away as if she didn't just traumatize Oliver.

Oliver held his face for a moment before remembering the amount of time he had left.

"Nope, get a hold of yourself. You can question her later... You have an exam to pass..." Oliver said, as he began running towards the next section.

Once she was far enough from Oliver, Katherine took a second to compose herself. She laid her back on a nearby wall as she continued to smile. A smile that hadn't disappeared since her interaction with Oliver. A joy born from a sense of curiosity and the embarrassment of being proven wrong.

"You really are interesting, Oliver Rand... I was wrong for thinking you were a cuckoo... It'

s clear to me now... You're a crow"