Making his way up the same series of events unfolded as with Ruby, the man handed Jake the measuring device, and the number once more shocked the spirit even more so than Ruby had. The weird expression that Ruby saw appeared again causing Jake to feel weirded out.
Jake had gotten a 1300. While he was not sure what was so good about the number, he did know that Ruby had gotten a number close to his, 1000, and the man reacted in a similar manner.
The veil blocking the vision of everyone from seeing what was happening inside was lifted and Jake made his way back over to the group telling them what happened, off to the side Ruby was pouting a bit that he beat her but it was probably for the better as the spirit gave her a weird feeling.
Next up was Adam, who scored 980, the worst score so far. Still earning some kind words from the old spirit, he was not selected, even though his score was great. According to the spirit, Ruby and Jake had already scored higher and were, therefore, the best candidates so far. Technically Ruby was not even one now and only Jake was, meaning if Ela came up and scored higher she would be the new chosen.
Ela went up next and she was the biggest shock of all which, to be honest, was not surprising to those who knew her, Ela was extremely talented and diligent. If she did not have a higher score Ruby and Damien would differently feel something was weird.
Looking at her score Ela smiled inwardly, “1500” This was not because she was happy at the thought of being selected by the spirit but because her potential was high meaning she could go much further in life. Damien had told her a while ago about some of his powers including that he was immortal in the sense that he does not age.
Hearing this she had been worried, dying of old age while your partner lived on was something Ela did not want to experience had the roles been switched. So she was not going to let Damien live through that no matter the cost.
Of course, the reaction the spirit had to her was even more insane, so much so it was to the point As Jake made his way forward, the same series of events unfolded as with Ruby. The man handed Jake the measuring device, and the number that appeared shocked him even more than Ruby's had. A strange expression emerged again, which made Jake feel uneasy.
Jake received a score of 1300. Although he wasn't sure what made that number significant, he did know that Ruby had scored close to his with 1000, and the man reacted similarly to her score.
The veil that had obscured everyone's view of the inner happenings was lifted, and Jake returned to the group to share his experience. Off to the side, Ruby was pouting a bit because he had beaten her. Nevertheless, she recognized that it was probably for the best, as the spirit had given her a strange feeling.
Next up was Adam, who scored 980, the lowest score so far. Despite receiving some encouraging words from the old spirit, he was not selected, even though his score was respectable. According to the spirit, Ruby and Jake had already scored higher and were therefore the best candidates. Technically, Ruby wasn't even a candidate yet; only Jake was. This meant that if Ela scored higher, she would become the new chosen one.
When Ela stepped up, she turned out to be the biggest surprise of all, which wasn't shocking to those who knew her. Ela was extremely talented and diligent. If she hadn't scored the highest, Ruby and Damien would have sensed something was off.
As she looked at her score, Ela smiled inwardly. "1500." This wasn’t just a victory for her; it signified her high potential and the possibility of achieving much more in life. Damien had previously told her about some of his powers, including the fact that he was immortal in the sense that he did not age.
Making her way back down she quickly told Damien and others what she had gotten and how the spirit had acted, hearing her words Damien raised his guard by multiple levels. Based on his abilities, race, and other factors like having a blessing he had a feeling he was going to score the highest.
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Walking up to the man he once again created the veil blocking everyone’s vision from the inside before swiftly handing Damien the device not even bothering to explain, the look in his eyes resembled what he imagined was an insane person looking at their most beloved object.
“What does this do? And why do you raise the veil around those taking this test?” Damien asked showing a curious expression but inwardly he wanted to fish for the man’s reason for his weird actions.
Snapping out of the crazed look the old spirit seemed to realize his mistake and raised his hand and coughed into it with an awkward look. “Sorry about that, I have been here a long time, and finding so many people with insane potential made me act in a way I shouldn’t.”\
“To answer your question the device measures your potential the higher the number the better and of course the lower the number the worse. As for your second question, I imagine you would not want everyone to know what your potential is, and if you think it's not a big deal let me go ahead and tell you while in this world it might not happen as much on other’s especially worlds already long introduced to the system having insane potential like your friend’s had is enough for people to want to kill you.”
Damien listened to the man’s words and while he certainly did not trust him, that did not mean his words were untrue. Especially what he had just told Damien, stuff like the ruling class of the world would not allow someone other than their own to rise above them in strength. As if they did it the person in question might become a problem and raise issues with the ruling class.
Finishing his thought Damien thanked the old spirit for reminding him of this and then imbued the measuring device with his mana, immediately the number shot up with insane speed through the hundreds.
100, 500, 800, 1200 the number kept going up and eventually started to slow down before finally coming to a stop. Looking at the number he had earned Damien’s expression steeled, once he showed this to the spirit he would have to brace himself in case the old man tried something.
Turning the device around and showing it to the man Damien glanced up and looked at his expression but surprisingly no signs of craziness could be seen the old spirit looked completely calm contrary to what the others told him.
Still, he did not lower his guard and waited for the old spirit to speak.
Inside the old man’s head one word repeated over and over again, ‘Two thousand, two thousand, he scored the higher than the founder.” After an insane amount of time, the spirit finally snapped out of it and once again realized he made another mistake. “Sorry once again, the score you just displayed… it’s higher than even the founder’s was hence the reason for my shock and disbelief.” the old spirit explained, an ashamed look on his face.
Regardless though you have scored the highest hence you shall be the one chosen, now follow me I will take you to the rewards.
“One second,” Said Damien, quickly making his way over to Ela and telling her what had just happened she should be ready to leave if she saw his signal. Nodding her head with a serious expression she watched as Damien made his way back to the old spirit before following him deeper into the temple.
After walking in silence for a while the old spirit spoke up out of nowhere and said, “Damien let me ask you something, do you believe you can reach the top? Do you think you have what it takes to become the strongest in the multiverse to become a being so far above anyone else that even doing something like creating a world with the snap of your fingers is easy?”
Surprised by the sudden question Damien fell into deep thought, ‘Do I have what it takes? While I would love to think so if we are being realistic the amount of people that have reached such strength is probably astronomically low…’ Continuing his thought he stayed quiet for the rest of their walk before they finally arrived at a new room.
“We’ve arrived,” said the old spirit looking around the room before refocusing his attention on Damien. “So boy what is the answer to my question?”
Ignoring the old man for a second he glanced around the room, it appeared to be some type of royal chamber, and at the center sat a massive chair exuding an air of power and respect. As for the surroundings they were grand as well, with massive pillars reaching to the center of the temple, pitch black armor standing in front of each one.
Behind the throne, Damien could see a massive vault-like door with a weird almost runic-looking word carved similar to the language on the walls of the temple but not completely the same.
Looking back at the spirit Damien took a deep breath and focused himself with closed eyes, opening them his gaze now had a look of seriousness, as if the answer he was about to give the old man was a life and death situation.
“To answer your question, yes I believe I have the potential to reach the top, but saying I can do so as a promise or something of the sort is just naive. Anything could happen while I am becoming stronger and all it takes is something stronger than myself to appear before me and then there will be nothing I can do.”
“So yes, I am confident in my potential and myself to reach the top.”
Taking his words in the old spirit seemed to have fallen into deep contemplation for a few moments before looking back at Damien with a serious look that slowly morphed into a satisfied smile.
“Good”