Kaiden's steps filled the quiet room, all attention focused on him.

Eyes bore into him; some tapped their feet rapidly on the floor, while others crossed their arms.

A few sat casually with legs spread wide and arms outstretched. Only one glared at him with disdain, jaw clenched, then quickly averted his gaze when their eyes met.

It was the odd redhead who had been on the ship. But why was he like this, Kaiden wondered inwardly. He hadn't done anything malicious.

Sure, he'd declined his offer of help, but why react this way?

With a reciprocated scornful look, Kaiden glanced down at the redhead, indicating his seat.

The redhead seemed once more on the verge of losing his temper and was about to stand up, but the person next to him, a woman with red hair aswell, placed her hand on his stomach to prevent him from doing something foolish.

Muttering, the redhead said,

"Why couldn't I trip over him during the test?"

The woman beside him responded in a gentle, even softer voice,

"It's not worth it. Relax for once."

Sulking like a child, he retorted,

"As you wish,"

and turned away from her.

'What peculiar characters,'

Kaiden thought to himself once more.

Be that as it may, there seemed to be several empty seats. In fact, there was at least one space between every person.

Kaiden sat down next to a random person on the right side of the room.

He sat with one leg crossed over the other, like a businessman.

However, he felt a bit dizzy—more precisely, he'd been feeling this way the entire time. He couldn't let it show, though, as he was under constant tension and pressure to fight for survival.

As he leaned on his hand and massaged his temple, his eyes grew heavier and heavier.

The already quiet and tense atmosphere only emphasized this, gradually lulling the exhausted, sweaty Kaiden from half-awake to full sleep.

Pulsating heartbeats followed with rapid eye openings shortly after falling asleep.

'Did I actually fall asleep?'

Looking around, he now saw only about ten people from the original thirty or so.

He asked himself with a touch of fear,

'Have I already been called? I hope not.'

Despite his desperate thoughts, he tried to maintain his poker face.

'What should I do now?'

Shortly after, a standard-sized black door swung open, followed by a feminine voice.

"Marry Angel, your results are ready."

Kaiden, who was wondering who that person was, watched as the silver-haired girl stood up and made her way.

'Marry Angel… I should definitely stay away from her,'

he thought, shivering.

Kaiden's restless legs from the floor refused to stay still. His fingers, too, were now intertwined behind his chair, rubbing against his arms in a slow, deliberate motion.

The door opened once more, and Kaiden's legs moved faster than before.

"Kaiden Lain, your results are ready."

The woman's warm words filled Kaiden's heart with joy.

His less trembling stance while walking and a more relaxed posture made him appear as a completely different person.

'Luckily, I haven't been called during my sleep,'

he said inwardly.

His steps, which still echoed through the room, gradually bid farewell as he left through the door and thus the waiting area.

With his entry, he was immediately informed by the feminine voice that he should proceed to the last door on the left for another test, as his precise strength and current abilities needed further assessment.

****

A seemingly never-ending corridor had Kaiden walking for hundreds of meters.

Eventually, he made it and entered the door, leading to a huge white hall, at least 80 square meters from his estimate.

'But what am I supposed to do here?'

Outside, he saw a barrier that resembled glass, filled with several people who were looking at him.

Loudly through a speaker, he heard an old man say,

"So, that's the 96% kid, Kaiden Lain, interesting. But why did he only get one name tag? Is he lazy or something?"

Responding, Kaiden heard another man mutter,

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Just be quiet, the intercom is already on. Anyway, my apologies. We'd like to assess your ability and your standing through tests."

Kaiden's previously puzzled expression faded as he absorbed the man's explanation. He then asked what exactly he should do.

Once again, the voice of an older man echoed,

"Is he really such a fool?"

The man who had explained the process to Kaiden stood up briefly and threatened to hit the older man.

"Stop talking, he can still hear us. You're the fool here! Anyway, tell us about your ability, what you can do with it, and any other details. As the government reports indicated, you received the serum and chip just a few weeks ago."

The stern, wrinkled expression of the old man faded with this information, as he didn't know that Kaiden had only recently been awakened.

Just as impressed as he was, the other two people, a man and a woman, also seemed impressed.

Through the speakers, softer than the two men, Kaiden heard the woman say that such an achievement was truly admirable.

The man who hadn't said anything yet remarked,

"Could you all please be quiet now? The poor young man probably wants to say something."

Kaiden, unable to really distinguish anyone except the woman, as they were all in black-gray uniforms, began to speak despite the uncomfortable atmosphere.

With his arms twisted behind his back and his gaze slightly lowered, he explained that his ability was molecule manipulation.

At the moment, he could manipulate water, oxygen, cyanide, and flexidur.

The trade-off for this was his memories, as well as the indifferent mass for molecule manipulation. After finishing his sentences, the first man who spoke said,

"Ah, I see. A fascinating ability indeed. It looks promising, despite the several sacrifices. Show us what you can do in your current state. For this, we'll set up a few human representations."

Kaiden was astonished, not that these test objects emerged from the ground into this hall, but that they looked like real humans though they couldn't move themself.

As he approached and touched one of these test objects, he felt how similar it was to a human.

He then demonstrated his water manipulation by condensing it and firing it from his fingertip in the form of a pistol. The stream wasn't particularly strong, but it would be harmful to the eye.

Next was a bundling of wind created through oxygen, which caused the test object to shake slightly.

With no sacrifice yet, he asked if this was sufficient, as he didn't want to lose his memories for no reason.

The looks on the faces of the four people were a mix of astonishment and disappointment.

They deliberated for a short while, leaving Kaiden standing there without an answer for several minutes.

The man began,

"Such an ability is revolutionary, and he can already do such things from the start."

The old man added,

"However, I expected a larger quantity. He can manipulate several things, but currently only in small amounts. Let's be honest, who could take down a cryptid with a water pistol and a gust of air? I do see promise in his future, but not at the moment."

The woman chimed In, saying that she agreed, and he should start in the lower league to gain experience and strength.

The last man said he was also in favor of lowering his placement.

The first man maintained his position, arguing that with cyanide alone, he could easily take out many cryptids. They continued to deliberate and counter each other's points.

Finally, they turned back to Kaiden and spoke into the microphone, which had been switched back on.

"Apologies for the wait, but we needed to discuss something regarding you. After much back and forth, we've decided to place you in the second-to-last unit on the strength scale of the first years, namely Rank 1E.

However, don't feel disheartened, as this performance is actually quite good considering the disadvantage of having awakened only recently.

With this, our assessment of you is now complete, so you may leave the room through the door to your right."

As Kaiden disappeared through the non-original door, the man chuckled lightly and said that an interesting fellow had entered.