"Just stay calm, most Cadets can't even enter the room on their first assessment. But occasionally, stronger carnivores make it through, usually the dragons." Kotetsu senpai explained to me as we walked down yet another featureless corridor. "When I first took mine, my senpai mentor was waiting in the hallway, just to watch me fail." He shrugged, then waved his right hand in greeting to a beagle who was approaching us. "To show my faith in you, I'll be waiting up in the stands. But if you find yourself lost, unsure of where you are, or can't remember anything, just stand still. I'll come and find you." Kotetsu senpai pressed something into my hand before walking off toward the beagle.

I glanced down at what he'd given me. It was a card, with instructions that mainly told me to stay calm, avoid panicking, and wait in place.

"...So this is the last one? I heard the masters say this was a 'surprise find.'" The beagle gave me a quick look before continuing the conversation with my senior.

"Oh, really?" Kotetsu senpai tilted his head and tapped his chin a few times with his finger. "I haven't heard anything about that."

"Master Sunflare is still up in the stands, so there must be a reason." The beagle gestured toward the other end of the corridor with a few quick pushes of his right hand. "I suspect the avoidance circle was set up by him. Not a single freshman has passed this year, and even a few second-years got caught by it."

Kotetsu senpai tilted his head the other way and glanced back at me.

"Richter, how long did it take you to complete your assessment?" he asked curiously.

"About... just under a minute?" I wasn't entirely sure of the exact time, but that should be roughly accurate.

"Faster than average, but not by much." He tapped his chin again, his gaze shifting as if deep in thought. "What kind of effect did you trigger?"

"Uh... what do you mean?" I didn't remember Qana ever explaining something like that, nor had it been mentioned that night.

"Adamantine..." Kotetsu senpai gestured in the air. "You know, the silver metal orb. Did you make it float, change shape, change color, shatter, glow, heat up, or vibrate?"

"Oh, my 'recruitment test' wasn't that." I suppressed the urge to scratch my ear.

My response made them exchange glances, with Kotetsu senpai looking even more intrigued.

"Then what was your recruitment test?" he asked, while the beagle beside him gave me a similarly curious look.

"Master Takahashi said it was a strength test, where I had to hold out for a minute without being pushed out of the ring." My answer prompted another exchanged glance, and the beagle's wide-open mouth showed his surprise.

"Wait," Kotetsu senpai turned back to me, asking, "So why did you finish 'just under a minute'?"

Before I could come up with an explanation that didn't sound too strange, the beagle jumped up, tail fully erect.

"Yes, Master!" I hadn't realized droopy-eared dogs could raise their ears like that. "I'll have them start immediately!"

The beagle swiftly made a series of hand signals to Kotetsu senpai, who simply spread his hands and gestured for me to continue forward.

"Stay calm, no pressure," he reminded me again before heading in another direction.

The beagle urged me forward once more, pointing to a door at the end of the corridor.

Following the latest directive, I walked over without hesitation. The door looked quite ordinary, with an old, weathered feel to it, and the dense, oxidized gray metal was evenly spread across the surface. After standing there for a moment, I realized it wasn't an automatic sliding door. I chuckled, reached out, pushed it open, and stepped into the space beyond.

I immediately recognized the black, solid material of the floor and walls. Even though I knew what it was made of, I still had no idea if it had an official name. As always, the light source was unclear, but it evenly illuminated every corner. However, the structure above my head was transparent, and I could see people sitting all around. I assumed the material had soundproofing properties, as I couldn't hear anything. The stands rose in height the farther back they went, structured like a typical stage or theater.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The crowd was sparse, and I tried to spot Kotetsu senpai among them, but to no avail. However... Master Sunflare's towering figure was unmistakable, standing out without any effort. He sat alone, maintaining a noticeable distance from those around him. Even though we were far apart, I could still see those golden-red eyes staring intently at me, filled with an anticipation for something interesting to happen. His reptilian, spindle-shaped pupils were... striking.

There was nothing else in the room, so I walked to a small, square platform at the center, where twelve adamantine orbs were placed.

No instructions.

I glanced up at the people in the stands, but no one made a move or seemed like they intended to give me any hints.

Alright, I guess solving this on my own is part of the assessment? Or maybe they want to see how I approach problems, to gauge what kind of person I am.

I expanded my consciousness and sent out a probing pulse.

As I analyzed the feedback, I noticed a stir in the stands--people were beginning to whisper to each other.

After all, I had already used a shockwave on Master Takahashi. Pretending that Qana hadn't trained me by now would be pointless.

As expected, the room was fully shielded by adamantine. And beneath the square platform, there was some kind of mechanical design--probably a pressure-sensitive panel or something.

I stepped onto it, and as my weight shifted the platform slightly downward, twelve cylindrical pillars rose from the ground, arranged in a circular pattern around me. Each pillar had a spherical indentation on its surface. No, upon closer inspection, some of them weren't spherical but were square or kite-shaped.

This probably wasn't a very complex puzzle--just a test of control and sensory ability.

I expanded my consciousness and took control of the twelve metal orbs, making them float. I then reshaped a few and carefully placed them into their corresponding indentations.

The cylinders sank back into the ground in unison, and another square platform rose in front of me, with a transparent cube placed atop it. It seemed to be a precise one-meter cubed.

I ignored the commotion in the stands and focused on the transparent cube--it was... interesting.

Trusting my instincts, I gently placed my hand on the surface of the cube. It was insulated, with excellent light transmittance and very low surface friction. If not for the solid structure beneath my touch, I might've thought I was hallucinating and seeing something that didn't exist.

Neither the cube nor the room reacted to my touch, so I boldly enveloped the cube with my consciousness and sent out a probing wave.

The cube's intricate structure responded, resonating along the latticework and transmitting the most minute details.

The cleverly arranged molecules allowed any impact to be dispersed throughout the entire cube, and the recoil force helped preserve the cube's original shape, preventing excessive deformation. I probed deeper, beyond the physical layer of the space, reading the memories imprinted on the molecular level.

Impact after impact. Analysis and recording, handled by transparent circuits at the center of the cube, visible only at specific wavelengths.

I think I understand what this is.

I looked up again and noticed that during the time I'd been analyzing the cube, the stands had filled with people--except for the empty circle around Master Sunflare.

The red-brown scales on his body reflected light from some source, creating a vivid red metallic sheen, like plasma surging. His golden-red eyes were burning with interest, almost to the point of boiling over. With such a direct stare, it felt like his gaze would burn a hole right through me.

Blocking out all the distracting noise, I lowered my head and refocused on the task at hand.

The transparent cube was designed to withstand high-intensity impacts, analyze them, and record the data. So, it was likely a tool used to assess the strength of Cadets.

But... what exactly is strength?

From the memories of the cube, most of the time, it endured shockwaves. Occasionally, there were instances of students reinforcing their bodies or using adamantine weapons to strike the cube.

Was strength just the ability to muster willpower?

I shook my head, deciding to set aside my hesitation for now.

What did Qana say--make sure everyone knows I'll become the most powerful psychic in history, right?

I suppose choosing how to display strength was also a declaration to everyone about what kind of person I was. Even though I didn't want my first impression to be that of someone who relied on brute force, if I wanted a fresh start, then it would only be logical to adopt a completely new approach.

I tentatively pulled one of the adamantine orbs back into my hand, confirming that the platform beneath the transparent cube wouldn't retract because of it. Then, I gathered all the adamantine together, shaping it into a rough form of a sword.

Since I created this tool using my own abilities, it shouldn't lead to inaccurate assessments, right?

I shot a quick glance at Master Sunflare and could tell he was smiling.

Taking a deep breath, I retracted my domain and began channeling my will into the mass of adamantine shaped like a bastard sword.

A sharp, shrill noise pierced the air, so harsh that I nearly lost my grip on the hilt as the vibrations threatened to disintegrate the adamantine itself. It was clear that this chunk of adamantine, which only had the appearance of a sword. The difference in the power it could contain compared to a genuine adamantine weapon was vast. But at the very least, my existence circle accepted it, successfully enveloping the bastard sword-shaped chunk of metal.

I was pouring so much energy into keeping the adamantine from exploding that it almost surpassed the power I was trying to channel into it. Abandoning the idea of releasing a slash in the Snow stance, I raised the blade above my head, taking the stance of the Ice shove technique, the tip pointed skyward, and swung down with all my might at the transparent cube.

By maintaining constant control over the domain layered around the surface of the adamantine, I slowed the speed of sound, and the air it sliced through wailed past my ears like an eerie, distorted cry.

Is this some kind of Doppler effect?

The next moment, the resistance from the sound barrier almost wrenched the weapon from my hands. I snapped out of my wandering thoughts and refocused. Clenching my teeth, I summoned even greater strength, forcing--no, commanding reality itself to bend to my will.

As I continued to ramp up the output, the blade broke through something, and then, unstoppable, it crashed down onto the transparent cube.

I heard no sound, but I saw the solid, clear structure collapse like gelatin under the force of my strike. The deformation exceeded the crystal's limits, causing countless hairline cracks to spread, like electricity racing across a neural web. As the structure disintegrated, something about the cube's properties changed. From the countless shattered fragments, I saw my reflection staring back at me--a white-furred, blue-eyed wolf.

I wondered what the others might be seeing.

And then the world exploded, utterly obliterated.