Chapter 21: The scam
( The day after graduation, country X )
Rocky, Taylor and Adam approached their local Climber's Association headquarters in Country X and excitedly discussed future prospects amongst themselves.
"Man this is a massive scam, no matter how I look at it.
Non-climber families like ours are not allowed to possess more than 1 tower gold coins.
The fees for any good university on floor 0 is at least 5-7,000 TG a semester, so there is no way in hell that you can pay that amount yourself if your parents are not already climbers….." Adam mumbled in annoyance as Taylor picked up from where he left off and continued " and the only place where you can borrow 7000 TG is the Climbers Association, the same place where you test your talent.
However, for lending that money, they make you sign a bond which forces you to provide at least one year of mandatory service to the association and you swear to protect humanity in at least two upcoming raids by serving on the front lines.
So effectively what they do is that they don't let you earn TG, force you into fighting for humanity, and then leech a % of your income until you pay back the principal with a 7% rate of interest"
*Claps*
The three friends sarcastically clapped for the brutal business practices that the climbers association followed as a monopoly, however, they also understood that it was because of these said policies that Earth remained the safe haven that it was.
"What university are you planning for?" Rocky eventually asked the two friends as they waited in line for their turn to be tested.
" I'm going to go for the university of basic elements if my talent is atleast a C.
It has great alumni, a good campus and a great education program, what about you two?" Taylor replied
" I'm more interested in the university for non-combatants.
I want to become like the great forger Kalash, he's paid in millions, he's more respected than guildmaster Karna at times.
He's living the life" Adam said, as he turned towards Rocky, awaiting his answer.
" I'm aiming for the university for nourishment of young talents…. But let's see" Rocky said as both Adam and Taylor instantly cracked up at his choice.
" Hahahaha! The number one ranked university on floor 0, of course you want that one" Taylor said, laughing out loud.
" Brother the fee is around 100,000 gold a semester.
You will drown in debt I'm telling you, D-R-O-W-N" Adam said as he slit his finger across his throat, showing Rocky that he would be a dead man if he made that choice.
"Do you really think you will be ranked A or higher in the talent evaluation? They don't even take in A- you know, the university for nourishment of young talents is a brutal place-" Taylor said, reminding Rocky that even if he ignored the economics of it, he would still be unable to enter the place without sufficient talent.
"Man, their principal is infamously crazy! Even your sister avoided that university although she could have enrolled into it" Adam said as Rocky shrugged his shoulder and smiled nonchalantly.
He did not care what others said, he had already made up his mind that if the university for nourishment of young talents was ready to have him, Rocky was ready to go there, regardless of what others told him.
"Alright, wish me luck boys, looks like I'm up next" Taylor said as the display monitor showed his name and Taylor was asked to enter the talent testing chamber.
Rocky and Adam wished him the best of luck and eagerly waited for his result as they stared at the monitor outside.
—--------
Examinee - Taylor Hudson
Elemental Affinity - Water, Earth.
Close Combat Talent - Below Average.
Suggested Path - Mage.
Overall Grade - C
—--------
The key areas of Taylor's evaluation were displayed on the screen, once he was tested as Rocky and Adam clapped enthusiastically at his result.
C was a pretty good result and Taylor could easily live a great life with such a talent as it seemed like he was suited to become a mage!
—--------
Next Candidate - Adam Wilfred, please enter
—---------
The screen displayed Adam's name next, as Rocky slapped him on the back and gave him some encouragement.
At this moment, Rocky felt even his heart starting to beat louder as he realized that it was him who was going to be tested next.
—--------
Examinee - Adam Wilfred
Elemental Affinity - Fire
Close Combat Talent - Below Average
Suggested Path - Non Combatant / Forger
Overall Grade - C-
—---------
Rocky glanced at the screen and nodded in approval over Adam's grading, as it seemed like both his friends had sufficient talent to pursue the path that they wished for.
—-------
Next Examinee - Rocky Yadav, please enter
—------
The screen displayed, as Rocky took a deep breath and walked into the testing room.
********
/// A/N - Mass release chapter 3/5. ///
Chapter 22: Disbelief
—-------
Next Examinee - Rocky Yadav, please enter
—-------
Rocky entered the room with a soft smile on his face.
He was feeling nervous, but also excited!
Somehow, he did not feel worried about what his talent grade came out to be, as regardless of what it came out to be, Rocky knew that he would persevere and become as strong as he needed to be to save his sister.
As he took a few steps into the room, he could see the test operator looking at him as Rocky offered him a confident smile.
The test operator was impressed, as most candidates who entered had a super nervous expression on their face before grading and confident ones like Rocky were far and few.
The testing room itself was something Rocky had seen countless times in popular movies and TV series, as every child on Earth knew precisely what it looked like.
The room itself was pure gray in color, however, it was gray that leaned more towards a bluish hue rather than a blackish one.
On one end of the room was the test operator, who stood behind a giant counter and controlled the mana stone output sent to the testing area.
Beside him, was a medical official who stood on stand-by as there were several cases of climbers with impure bodies who felt nauseous and vomited after undertaking the test as their bodies could not accept the flow of pure mana.
The testing arena itself was a stage that was created in between several carefully crafted runic patterns.
It was a set-up that cost several million TG to build and was considered to be one of Earth's most valuable assets.
The way the test worked was that the examinee stood in the middle of the runic formation on the white stone in the middle and then he was bombarded with pure stream of mana which flowed throughout one's mana circuit.
The elemental affinity was discovered by the color of mist that came out of one's body during this process and judging by the depth of the mist color one determined as to how strong the elemental affinity was.
The other 63 parameters judged were done so in a more nuanced way and its results were calculated autonomously.
The worst possible outcome for an individual was F- and the best possible outcome was a perfect score with SSS+ rating, however, there was also a hidden criteria that no-one had ever unlocked before, and hence had completely faded from public memory.
As Rocky approached the white centerpiece, he could see the faint off-white text written on it.
'Hail Gemini'
The text read, as Rocky chuckled and stood on the centerpiece.
The pose while having one's talent tested was fixed, one needed to stand straight with their arms straight by their side and a straight looking neck posture.
Rocky, taking the infamous pose, readied himself for the test as once he was in position, the test operator began slowly bombarding him with mana.
Initially, Rocky felt nothing, but a few seconds passed and he felt a tingling sensation starting to pass all over his body.
The tingling sensation while mild at first and spread evenly over his body, slowly began to concentrate on his back as he felt every inch of his back heating up like never before.
Blood Red, Luminous White, Sea Blue, and Forest Green mist formed around his body, signifying perfect affinity for all four talents, as even the operator felt excited by Rocky's potential.
Usually, with the machine output being around 30-40%, the test was completed, however, for Rocky it remained incomplete as the operator slowly increased the output to 50%.
Rocky's breathing became heavier.
He felt like his back was on fire and it really was, as his cotton t shirt that he wore into the test burned away like a sheet of paper, exposing his bare chest.
"ARGHHH"
Rocky screamed in agony as even the operator began to sweat wondering what was wrong as although he was no longer operating the machine, it seemed to be increasing the output all by itself as it increased to 70%.... 80% ….. 90%!
*EMERGENCY SIRENS*
The operator pressed the emergency kill switch, he wished to terminate the operation, however, the kill switch would not work either as the machine seemed to have developed a mind of its own.
*THUD*
Rocky dropped to his knees, fatigue enveloped his body and his mind blanked out as all he could see as he closed his eyes was a symbol that was being carved into his flesh by forces that were beyond his control.
*FSSSSSHHHH*
*TRRRR*
The operator pressed the emergency switch for the water sprinklers to become active as a downpour of water flooded the test arena.
The medic rushed towards Rocky who was panting on the floor, however, as he approached closer to Rocky and got a glimpse of the tattoo on his back, he dropped his medical supply bag and faltered in his step as he dropped down to his knees in disbelief.
" Ha… ha…. Ha…." He took deep breaths pointing towards Rocky's back, before blacking out and passing out unconscious as he could not believe his own eyes.
Output - 100%.
Examinee Talent - SSS.
The operator saw the screen and felt his vision doubling as he rolled his eyes and checked the screen again.
" This can't be true…. This…. This…." He too felt his heart rate shoot out of his chest as he could not believe his eyes as slamming against the test room wall he slid onto the ground below, praising the great lord Gemini.
*BANG*
" What happened! What's going on?"
Soon, other association members rushed into the room as the emergency sirens alarmed everyone. However, the scene that they witnessed after entering the room was something that they would not forget for as long as they lived.
A passed out Rocky, on the test floor, a passed out medic near him, and a test operator in disbelief, all soaked wet amongst some of the most expensive apparatus on Earth.
However, it was a scene that would be recreated in several movies and immortalized forever in the memory of humanity as the birth of the first champion!
---------
/// A/N - Mass release chapter 4/5 ///
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
21 Power
stone 
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