Bab 211: Testing (II)
"What?!" James cried out in disbelief. "A-are you seeing that?" He excitedly spoke out loud, and the others around him chatted in disbelief.
A small fire slowly erupted, burning away the paper. It reminded Kiyro of a lighter that sparked a small flame by putting the paper near it. It didn't take long before the fire started to grow bigger but eventually was snuffed out because there was no more paper to burn.
"Holy cow!" James was jumping up and down from where he was sitting. "Elemental Control is real! I knew it!"
Kiyro felt a bit uncomfortable being next to him. Most people gave him a strange stare, but some were slowly starting to agree.
More and more people were called out to take the test. But, unfortunately, only some could do something extraordinary like Xerxes. They were people who could visualize a place with pictures, guess numbers, and were sensitive to surroundings; some did not show much progress.
"Kiyro Koga." Angel's voice spoke out from the speaker.
With steady steps, he got up. He felt uncomfortable staying in the same room as a psychopathic killer. The thought of being examined by him made him shiver. He entered the room where Angel was waiting.
The moment he entered, he felt a wash of cold air hit him. His breath let out a puff of hot air that could be seen in front of him. A sudden strange feeling of being watched could be felt inside the room. With a glance, he scanned the room. He noticed that the window was tinted, making it impossible for him to see outside.
What stood in the corner of the room was a human silhouette that he could barely make out. A blurry figure seemed to fade in and out between the lights; whatever it was, it gave him a very creepy and uncomfortable feeling. He quickly took his eyes away from the shadow and instead rested on Angel.
"Well, Mr. Koga." Angel tapped the paper he had in front of him and laid it down. "I was expecting you."
"Isn't that a given, sir?" Kiyro spoke his mind way too soon. He felt himself blunder before he could catch himself.
Angel's lips curled up, and he examined Kiyro with interest. "Yes, that's true. Why don't you take a seat."
Kiyro walked over and sat on the chair. Again, he felt an uncomfortable stare from both Angel and the shadow. It was a nagging feeling of being watched that he was very familiar with. But, honestly, he was holding himself back from unconsciously moving his head toward the shadow.
"It seems you're quite nervous. Is there something wrong?" Angel slowly searches for Kyros' movement.
"Yes. I'm not sure what to expect."
"Well, you don't have to be so nervous. I mean, there's nothing bad that would be going on."
Angel chuckled.
"I dearly hope not." Kiyro dryly coughed. His instinct was screaming to run away. Monster on
both sides, he felt cornered. Taking a deep breath, he tried his best to calm his nerves.
"Well then, the first test is a system. Please guess the number that I have in my hand." Angel had a deck of cards in front of him; he picked up one card and took a quick glimpse. "Relax and open up your senses. Being too stiff won't get you the result you need."
Kiyro slowly nodded. He closed his eyes and tried his best to calm his turmoil. Counting his breath, he eventually started to reel in his running emotions and focused. Rough silent breathing could be heard from Angel and the light buzzing of the air conditioner turning on.
Clearing his mind, he patiently waited. Finally, his instincts guided him through the steps telling
him to quiet his mind, even though the two dangers were in front of him. Even still, he knew that if he didn't do anything rash, the two wouldn't react. This gave him temporary relief but did not give him a full sense of security.
"What would this little brat be showing us today?" A clear dark voice cut through his ears. It was almost like a whisper but still loud enough for him to hear every word. He knew this was not telepathy but actual voices coming from the shadow behind him.
Kiyro couldn't help but go rigid. Then, finally, he opened his eyes and noticed that Angel did not seem to hear the voice and instead was waiting for his answer.
"Why play these stupid childish games? These are nothing compared to what I can do." The shadow said with a grumble. "It's 9 Spades! For crying out loud. Hurry up and answer, brat!"
"9 Spades," Kiyro spoke out loud.
Angel was silent for a moment. "Good. Next." He pulled out another card.
"Why is that brat so slow? It should only take a second to answer such a question. 3 Hearts. Come on. This is too easy."
"3 Hearts."
Angel nodded and pulled out another card.
"2 clubs with an x mark on the bottom club." Low rumbling laughter could be heard from the shadow that made Kiyro's hair stand on edge.
"2 clubs with an x mark on the bottom club."
Angel's eyes went wide when he heard Kyros answer. He looked towards Kiyro.
"Did I get it wrong?" Kiyro slowly asked. He felt uncomfortable with the silence.
"No. You got it right, even the small detail nobody mentioned so far."
Kiyro furrowed his eyebrows and rubbed his fingers. He was curious to know if answering everything was a good idea. The thought of being too extraordinary was not something he wanted to be right now; escaping from this place was more of a priority.
Angel placed down the card and picked up another one.
"This brat's not bad." The shadow spoke. "Let's see if he'll continually guess them right."
Kiyro waited for the shadow to say more, but instead, there was only silence. He waited for another minute and shook his head, telling Angel he did not know. Angel tapped his finger on the desk, placed the card down, and pulled another one.
Once again, he waited, and only silence followed after. For the next three times, Kiyro shook his head. He did not want to stand out too much simultaneously; the shadow did not speak a single word. The advantage that he had was gone.
"Ah, come on!" The shadow spoke out in frustration. "It's seven spades, for crying out loud."
With a steady breath, Kiyro waited a bit longer. Angel tapped his hands, waiting for him to say something; when he was about to put it down, he spoke. "Seven of Spades."
Angel stopped placing it down for a moment; then, he placed it down. He chose another card.
"Come on, let's get this over with." The shadow impatiently stated. "I can guess it perfectly without even picking up the cards. Jack of heart. The next is Queen of Spades. Ten hearts. One of the hearts. Four of the clovers. King of Clover. Nine of Hearts. Six of the clovers. Three diamonds. One of the Diamonds. Queen of Diamonds. Seven of Spades. This is why humans are so weak." The shadow arrogantly stated with disgust.
"Jack of Hearts."
Angel picked up the next card.
"Queen of Spades."
Kiyro spaced out the length of their answering, so he wouldn't be too fast like the shadow that spoke.
"Ten of Hearts."
"One of the Hearts."
"Four of Clovers."
"King of Clover."
"Nine of Hearts."
"Six of Clovers."
"Three of Diamonds."
"One of Diamonds."
"Queen of Diamonds."
"Not too bad for a human, but it's a bit strange. Why is it that he was able to guess one of my incorrect answers? The Queen of Diamonds was Seven of Hearts. Is he listening to me?"
Alarmed, Kiyro shook his head at the next card, stating that he did not know. He felt his heart jump into his throat, making it difficult to speak. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't for fear of being found out.
"Hmmm….Maybe I was overthinking it."
"Well. You did quite well." Angel finished jotting down his notes. "You have successfully answered sixteen out of twenty. For a first-timer, that is not too bad."
What exactly would we need to use this for? Isn't there a better and faster way of obtaining information than this guessing game? Although, you seem like a logical man, the chances of getting the right answer that's not fabricated by a what-if situation is lower than directly getting Intel for oneself. This just seems a bit useless if you ask me."
"That is quite true," Angel spoke as he crossed his hands. "Though they are times when it could be useful."
"You need to give me an example. I mean, do you believe it would help?"
Angel tapped his fingers twice on the table and folded his hands. "I believe so. For people who control such information, it would be vital in infiltrating or obtaining information that one normally wouldn't receive."
"That sounds like a double edge sword."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone