Capítulo 27: Examination
Chapter 27: Examination
"Relax, I've spoken to the Church envoy. Although he's one of the nine high-ranking deacons of the Nighthawks, I've spoken to him, and he seems friendly enough." Dunn reassured William, who was sitting in a chair waiting for his examination. "He has confessed to me that he is personally interested in you because, like him, you are one of the few Beyonder swordsmen."
It was true that, except for the Feysac Empire, it was quite rare to meet a Beyonder who used a sword as a weapon. This was because it was much more practical to use firearms or, if a Beyonder specialized in melee, more forceful weapons like an axe.
"Has one of the nine high-ranking deacons come in person?" William questioned surprised. These were figures of high relevance within the Church, some of the nine were even High Sequence Beyonders.
"That's right, but don't worry. His name is Crestet Cesimir, and he's a Sequence 5. He's not a demigod yet, so you don't need to be too afraid or reverent of him." Dunn motioned for William to get up and follow him. "His nickname is the 'Goddess's Sword'."
'That's an intimidating name, I didn't know they had these kinds of nicknames. I guess it's a natural thing that comes with fame.' William knew he was about to meet someone with real powers that defied all conceptions he had at the time of what is possible.
They reached the alchemy room where potions were brewed, in the basement. The Captain wished William good luck and left him to continue on his own.
The tables had been pushed aside, and only two chairs remained, one facing the other. In one of them, there was a man in his thirties wearing a black windbreaker and a white shirt seated. He had very short golden hair and very dark green eyes, which created a striking contrast.
"Your Grace." William saluted just as the Captain had told him to do.
Crestet Cesimir smiled. "Hello, William. Please sit here." He pointed to the empty chair in front of him.
William noticed that, next to his leg, Crestet had a fairly large suitcase made of silver. It was a little smaller than the guitar case he kept his sword in, but not by much.
He followed the directions and sat down.
"The first part of this examination is to determine how well you have digested the potion. Is there a problem with this?" The high-ranking member of the Nighthawks explained in a calm voice.
William shook his head. "None at all."
"You seem confident, that's a good sign." The man spoke, but he did not move from his previous position and only looked at William.
He suddenly felt sleepy, as if he had been awake for many hours without sleep. It seemed as if the night had come suddenly, everything went dark, and he only heard some noises in the background.
At the same moment, he heard two different voices.
"Darling, wake up." Debris pushed his consciousness back into the real world.
"Excellent." Crestet Cesimir spoke in a hypnotic voice.
William took a deep breath, realizing the capabilities of the man in front of him. He had put William to sleep just by looking at him, even if Debris woke him up it would already be too late, in case he was in a fight.
Fortunately, the older Nighthawk hadn't noticed anything unusual upon his inspection. He bowed slightly and put his hands on his knees.
"Your digestion of the potion is perfect, you can't go any further. You pass the test." He congratulated him, reassuring William. "However, I still have one more check to make."
He took out a pocket watch and waited three minutes, with the younger of the two not knowing what to do.
"Okay, I'll start singing." William was about to ask what he meant when Crestet began to hum a beautiful tune.
However, this melody soon turned into squeaks and howls. These sounds made William's headache, but nothing more. This was because another voice reverberated in his ears.
"Don't lose sight of the world." Debris's voice acted somehow like an anchor that kept him fixed in his place, he didn't feel any kind of madness in his mind.
He realized that Debris could even help him with this kind of thing, though he felt that he shouldn't be trusted and put Debris at the center of his power. Relying too much on something could become detrimental in the future, he had read enough manga to know that.
He heard a snort from his sword and found it hard to resist letting out a laugh, it would be rare for him to laugh in an exam that was supposed to test his self-control.
Finally, the howling stopped, and the high-ranking deacon looked at him in surprise.
"Your self-control is amazing, no, unheard of." William sat up straight in the chair again. "I could say that it is suspicious, but I haven't detected anything wrong with you. I guess you're lucky to have a strong soul."
At these compliments, William could only laugh nervously.
"Anyway, since you've passed all the tests, now it's time for the question and answers session." His green eyes darkened even more, and no low-sequence Beyonder would dare lie because of the pressure he exuded.
"I'm ready." William nodded and gave her the go-ahead to begin.
"I have been told that you know the Acting Method and that you have explained it to Dunn Smith, is that true?" He received a nod in response. "How did you find out?"
"Along with the formula for the potion I drank, my grandmother left me some notes with things from the Beyonder world that I would need to know. It seems that towards the end of her life she discovered some things related to the Acting Method. I just solved it by knowing that my colleague Klein Moretti had ingested the Seer pathway potion and was working in a divination club." He lied without much trouble. He had already thought of an answer to this question. "I thought it was common knowledge, so I went to talk to the Captain, and it was confirmed in the end."
Crestet Cesimir narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out if he was lying or not.
"Not bad. I guess it won't take long for Klein Moretti to digest his potion either." He then leaned back in the chair again. "Have you mentioned it to your colleagues?"
"At first, I thought it was common knowledge, so I only discussed it with the Captain. But in the end, we agreed that we would reveal it to everyone. After all, we are teammates and any decrease in the risk of losing control is good for all of us." This was an honest answer. He had befriended many of the Tingen Nighthawks. He didn't want to lose anyone just to withhold important information.
Crestet nodded in approval.
"You've only recently joined, but it seems like you've had experience for years." He looked seriously at William. "I must make you swear, however, that you will not reveal the secrets of the Acting Method to anyone else. It involves the secrets of the Church. Only those at the level of an archbishop or a high-ranking deacon have the authority to know this information."
He reached down and opened the suitcase.
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Looks like Webnovel is back on track now, though I'll still be posting on Royal Road and Scribble Hub.
I've already started classes, so instead of three, there's probably only two chapters a week now. This is not because I don't have free time, but what I do have I need to use mainly to relax and rest, I hope you understand.
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