บท 4: CHAPTER-3 : MYSTERIOUS PURPLE CRYSTAL
Everyone entered the test hall which was specially designed for the test purpose.If one enters the institute in every entrance gate similar test hall could be found.Since the test was supposed to be for the outer gate number 2 ,the requirement of the test was relatively low compared to the subsequent tests.
Test hall was so huge inside but on the outside it looked like a tiny room. Everyone was dumbfounded by the ceiling of the room because apparently it was not there at the same time it was there. Ceiling was made as realistic as possible like the sky and at the same time it was so high that no body could guess its actual height. Many thought it must be illusion but no one was sure and there was no one to ask anyway.
Suddenly a hologram was projected at the center from the ceiling and a virtual image was formed which looked like an old man. His body was strong, his eyes were sharp and one can immediately say he was teacher of the institute. If he didn't have a white beard one could have easily thought him as a middle aged man.
He looked at the audience once and seemed like searching for someone ,when his eyes finally met Fin he gave a smile .This action seemed trivial but in everyone's eyes it was earth shattering event. 'Someone actually new the teacher of this mysterious institute!'. The Markel Institute was even more mysterious than the mysterious organization. If one has a favor of a teacher in the institute one could only imagine his future achievement.
Everyone was feeling jealous and envy at the same time except Fin's group. Fin knew ,he hadn't met this person ,so he turned towards his father .His father was confused and was sure he never saw the person, so he shook his head. Fin knew it was not a co-incidence but he eventually chose to forget it since worrying about it won't lead to anything.
Karl's parents who never cared about Fin earlier when they met Eva's father felt regretful .They were sure that everyone would try to make friendship with Fin's father if they tried Fin's father won't feel anything special and in fact he might think it was artificial. They were experiencing an ancient proverb 'regret has no medicine'.
Karl on the other didn't expect Fin to have powerful background and decided to make him friend no matter the cost and he even forgot his attraction for Eva because he knew he couldn't compare with Fin's background.
Not only Karl every student in the hall made a mental note of Fin ,either they should befriend him or shouldn't become his enemy . Many rich family girls who had goal of finding a future male partner was jealous of Eva ,they didn't give up though ,since they were only 8 years old, they thought anything was possible in the future. One such girl was Jessica who had her eyes fixed on Fin like a magnet her thoughts were unknown but she had a creepy smile on her smile.
Whether the old man did that on purpose for Fin or it was unintentional no one knew and no one dared to ask. The old man began "Welcome to the Markel Institute ,I am one of the teacher of the Institute .I am not going to give my name since the passing students will eventually know and the rest don't have the privilege to know my name. Let me introduce you to the test procedure
There will be 3 tests and the final score will be the aggregate of the scores in each test. First test will measure your cognitive capabilities, second one will measure your strength of heart, finally we will evaluate your unique skill .
If one doesn't have any unique skill or talent , candidates need not worry we will give average marks for the 3rd test and if the candidates had decent marks in the first 2 tests ,there will be high chance of clearing the overall test. Parents can stay here and candidates has to enter the door"
Every candidate was nervous and eventually mustered the courage to enter the door which was normal on the outside. Parents patted their children's back and said some encouraging words. They were also nervous but managed to show their best self in front of their children who were facing the most critical test of their life.Once the candidates reach 9 years there was no chance of entering to the institute. This was an iron rule and there was no exception.
When everyone entered each candidate was separated and made to enter a strange place which was unique to their branch. Fin was sent to a strange place surrounded by darkness and a voice entered his mind ."Choose your branch"
Fin found it mysterious and said without any hesitation "Research and Development".
Suddenly space around him started changing and he found himself sitting on a royal chair.He looked around and to his surprise it was a grand hall like in old times. At the centre of the stage sat a powerful man with a crown on his head clearly he was the king .
Fin was one of the member of the court .There were many members in the court who wore different cloths .He could easily figure out some of the member's work. The priests practically wore nothing on their waist up except some beads, Army generals were completely suited up like they were ready for war. He looked at his cloths which was normal like the rest of them and couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do.
He observed everyone and realized they were having a solemn expression. Suddenly King said "Everyone already know ,Dark guild is going to invade our guild in a week .Our army is inferior compared to their numbers and technology. We are unable to form an alliance at this point of time since no one wants to offend the Dark guild. Today's meeting is all about finding some ideas that can possibly save us."
Fin understood that it was a part of the test, his role was to change the fate of the guild via some innovative ideas. He thought for a while and said "Your majesty can you elaborate on the technology at the enemy's hand?"
Everyone was surprised including the King. King said with self mocking smile "Respected scholar according to our intelligence ,enemy has access to strange guns that instantaneously kill us."
Fin understood the situation .He calmly said "Your majesty grant me access to guild treasury and a team of scholars .I will try my best"
King was surprised but didn't negotiate ,gave him the permission. Fin went to the guild storage with the royal guards. Royal guards stood at the entrance of the Treasury and bowed respectfully. Fin understood they didn't have the right to enter . So he entered alone.
He was dumbstruck by the sight inside the treasury. There was all sorts of rare materials he was unheard of. There was also many types of equipment s ,experimental sets. He realized he had to choose wisely and make the best use of those resources to pass the test.
He started searching aimlessly because if one had lot of options no matter who he was he would be overloaded with information and fail to arrive at a decision.
So he closed his eyes and thought something then he started searching for the materials needed for it. He eventually found what he was looking for. He departed the treasury without sparing any glance at the other things. Then he arrived at the guild's lab and found many potential candidates for the team.
He nodded and wrote few questions on the paper and told to a guard to photocopy the test material for each candidate. Candidates were given a quick test consisting of basics of language and some puzzles as Fin was just 8 years old didn't know much about anything .Surprisingly candidates found the test paper hard and their respect for chief scholar increased few notches.
Eventually 10 scholars were selected from the group. Fin's intention was not to test the scholars ,it was to establish his own superiority in the team. If team members understood the gap between the leader and the rest ,team would have few conflicts.This strategy was taught by the scientists who tutored him all those years.
Team members were excited to be part of the chief scholar team .Fin didn't get cocky by this ,he simply told them few tasks . Team members hurriedly went after their tasks. Fin understood that it was impossible to win considering the strength of the light guild he was in. He was not aware of any hi-fi technology .He only hoped to somehow scare the dark guild and escape the calamity.
Fin explained his strategy to King. At first King was reluctant but he knew there was no choice and agreed eventually. Fin with the help of his team members gathered all the materials by the end of the week and was ready. Finally the D-day arrived members of the light guild including the King was tensed up.
Dark guild entered the outer gate of the Light guild with overwhelming numbers .They planned to invade at night so ,set up a camp outside the gate of the light guild. They were relaxed and confident to take care of the light guild but The Dark guild leader suggested to not to underestimate the opponent .
So they waited for the night to utilize their advantage. Dark guild had many ways to be more effective at night ,just like light guild during the day time for example their battle suit was dark and their weapons were all dark in color .So they could utilize the darkness in the night to become undetectable.
As they waited patiently for the day to descend ,many guild members heard strange stories at the outer area from the passerby people. According to them recently strange sounds could be heard from the light guild as the night descends and the entire light guild headquarter would be surrounded by white fog .They said some kind of evil ritual was going on and many people who wanted to investigate the guild never returned.
Dark guild found it strange but quickly forgot about it. They thought it was some kind of trick that the light guild was playing to stop them from invading. Night finally arrived and the Dark guild marched towards the light guild headquarter .They were one km away from the headquarter .As they approached ,they noticed thick white fog blocking their vision .
Many guild members thought they would be going to be ambushed hence ,they quickly formed a battle formation and walked cautiously. As they approached 500 meters from the headquarter ,many guild members realized the ground they were walking was muddy and it was difficult to walk .Horses they brought were finding harder to move.
Suddenly a deep voice came from nowhere "You have finally came ,hahaha ...this will be your grave"
Suddenly few solders in the army collapsed and screamed "Help. Help me". His voice disappeared ,so does his body.Guild members now truly got frightened and started shooting their gun everywhere .There was no sound except their gun and screams from their subordinates.
Guild leader who was on a horse didn't expect the situation to turn out like that. They didn't know where they are headed and their members are continuous going missing .Eventually the entire guild would be annihilated if they stayed .He was in a real dilemma to whether retreat or advance forward.
Suddenly dark shadows emerged in the fog out of nowhere with red eyes.Dark guild members were startled and started fanatically shooting at the dark shadows but eventually they realized that their bullets were passing the shadows like a ghost.
The thought of ghost finally creeped into their mind and they started remembering the stories from the people and finally believed what they heard. Without waiting for the guild leader's order ,they started running like headless chicken ,while screaming "Help".
At the light headquarter Fin was watching all these with the King on top of the watch tower. King was surprised that the calamity was over and got really happy. He was laughing like a maniac forgetting all the manners beside his subordinates. He eventually stopped and looked at Fin with a strange expression .He asked Fin how did he do it
Fin with a smile explained "Your majesty creating the white fog was an easy matter, I have played with this when I was young ,so I knew when the dry ice mixed with the hot water fog will be automatically created. I ordered my team to create as much dry ice they possibly could .I also told them to plant the passerby people to fill doubts in the minds of dark guild members when they camped outside our gate."
The king asked curiously "What about the ghosts?"
Fin chuckled "I have taken a ghost projector from the treasury to scare them .I have also ordered people to create muddy ground with hidden trenches on the way to our castle. In fact no one attacked the dark guild members ,they themselves went inside the trenches filled with spikes".
The king asked a question which was bugging him all that time "What if they had decided to advance despite the ghosts?"
Fin said with a sigh "If they somehow dared to advance I really didn't have any tricks ,fortunately they didn't"Fin was thankful for the training he received when he was young. He had played with all sorts of tricks and toys which helped him to come up with the above plan.
King was satisfied by the result and gave a crystal to Fin and said with gratitude "Thank you".
Fin received the strange purple crystal and surprised that it was resonating with his brain .So he held near his brain but suddenly it vanished .He was dumbfounded ,before he was able to ask ,what was it ,he got transported to the test hall .
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