บท 34: Sixteen Meters
บรรณาธิการ: Tehrn
Seeing that everyone had devoted their attention to Ma Xiaoru, Wang Tong seized the opportunity, he moved toward the instructor and asked, "Can I start now?"
"Oh, yeah of course."
Wang Tong felt the thread in between his thumb and index finger as he weighed his options and the risks: his options were limited, and he knew that he had to risk everyone's attention to pass the monthly test.
The lead of the thread wafted out of Wang Tong's hand as he wrenched his arm forward. It was the same move used by all the other students. The instructor lay the tip of his marker down on the "Fail" checkbox, waiting for the thread to lose its momentum quickly. It did not. Instead, it glided swiftly and steadily toward the target, just like Ma Xiaoru's thread.
Seven. Eight. Nine. The thread drifted across the classroom, unfaltering.
More students joined the instructor's gaze at the drifting thread. Their mouths opened wide in disbelief as the thread glided passed the twelve-meter line.
Thirteen meters.
Some students held their breath as they watched Wang Tong's performance. One of the students was gesturing to his classmate, who was still watching Ma Xiaoru, to get him to watch Wang Tong. The other classmate replied brusquely, "Why did you poke me?" before he turned his head over his shoulder. His jaw dropped as soon as he looked in the direction his friend had been pointing.
Fifteen meters!
Wang Tong had made it to the same distance as Ma Xiaoru.
The thread didn't show any sign of slowing down until it reached the sixteen-meter line.
"Bravo!" the instructor yelled at the top of his lungs after the thread landed softly on the ground. His face was red from excitement.
Wang Tong's heart dropped when the instructor's yelling attracted the attention of the entire classroom. He quickly moved his soul energy, forcing perspiration to seep out of his skin to decorate the exhausted mask he was fumbling to put on.
Some observant student yelled out, "Sixteen meters, he reached sixteen meters!"
The crowd sizzled with disbelief. "Sixteen meters? That’s impossible!"
"WANG TONG, SIXTEEN METERS!"
The instructor announced as loud as he could. He was eager to share this record breaking result with everyone in the classroom.
"No, please, stop yelling!" Wang Tong shouted in his mind.
"Mr. Lester, are you sure?" the chief examiner asked.
"Why, do you doubt me? Everyone has seen it."
A dozen students nodded their heads. One of them confirmed, "Yea, his thread drifted through all the loops, just like Ma Xiaoru’s did."
Ma Xiaoru was looking at Wang Tong suspiciously. Being an expert butcher was one thing, but this test was an entirely different story. Maneuvering the thread with soul energy seemed simple, but it required an extraordinary degree of control over one's power, an ability that was beyond an ordinary human's capability.
Ma Xiaoru had excelled the test because of the Tactics of the Enchantress and her superior genes. "How did Wang Tong manage to do even better than me?" Ma Xiaoru thought curiously, narrowing her eyelids as she stared at Wang Tong.
Wang Tong wiped his glistening forehead, looking exhausted. "Teacher, I feel dizzy, can I please take a rest?"
"Yea, of course, feel free to do so. You have finished the test anyways," Mr. Lester said kindly as he watched Wang Tong's limp figure. He was pleased that Wang Tong was willing to go above and beyond to achieve the best score.
Wang Tong lumbered toward a seat and lolled down. He exaggerated a raspy breath, trying to make his facade more convincing. He figured that he should be able to pass the monthly test after securing this 100%.
Wang Tong hadn't wanted to reveal his power again, but the circumstances had given him no other options. If he had been confident about the test results of other subjects, he would not need to risk another unnecessary exposure. It would be a shame to be expelled from the school simply because he didn't try as hard as he could in subjects that he knew he would be good at.
"This is for you,” a fragrant, clean handkerchief appeared in front of Wang Tong, “aren't you tired of acting?"
Wang Tong let out an ugly grin, he knew there was no need to hide anything from Ma Xiaoru anymore, she would have already known more than he thought she had. "Life is a stage, and we are all actors, but please forgive me, Xiaoru."
"Whatever. I’m only happy to see that you haven’t lost your mind yet. Don’t take your role too far. We will have much to talk about after all is done." Ma Xiaoru rolled her eyes at Wang Tong as she turned away and set off.
Seeing the handkerchief that was still clenched in Wang Tong's hand, many boys, especially Hu Yangxuan tasted sour jealousy in their mouth. He had never even considered Wang Tong as a competitor in his love affair, but this no-account seemed to have already gotten Ma Xiaoru's attention from right under his nose.
Smelling the fragrance of the handkerchief, Wang Tong felt that the strenuous effort of forcing out the sweat was well worth it. His youth was kind to him to leave him such an unforgettable moment.
Wang Tong was called to the principal's office after the test. The continuous surprises required Samantha's immediate attention.
Wang Tong opened that familiar door that led to the principal's office. For the first time, he paid attention to the details of her office. It was furnished with the most lavish and comfortable furniture and decorated with the most intricate decorations.
He figured that the virtual game must be extremely profitable. "Being rich must be awesome," Wang Tong marveled.
Samantha seemed to have been waiting for Wang Tong as she sat in her chair behind a clean desk.
"Principal, you were looking for me?"
"Yea, grab a seat. I have learned that you have broken another record of the school? Congratulations!"
"Oh… I was just... lucky," Wang Tong tried to look as innocent as he could.
"Ah... why of course. Your luck was truly exceptional. Even your misfortunes on Norton must have been a blessing in disguise.
Anyhow, I have something else here that I need to discuss with you. You see, it is the school's custom to partake in the annual METAL tournaments with other schools. We used to compete with S-Class schools, but right now, we were only able to compete with A-Class schools since we started to experience many difficulties.
What had made the matter worse is the fact that even our current competitor, the A-Class Academy called Bernau has looked down their nose at us. They think that we are not worthy to be their opponent," Samantha said with a painful expression on her face.
Wang Tong felt that something about this conversation seemed to be going against the grain. There was no need to discuss such an important issue with an F-Class student.
He decided to tread carefully. "I get it, principal, and I will work and study harder from now on."
"Fresh blood like you are the future of Ayrlarng; I can't count on any of the senior students. Although Bernau was an A-Class Academy, they are well known for their METAL fighters, I am afraid that we will lose to them again in this year's tournament, and that they will eventually get fed up with our performance and pull the plug. It would be a catastrophe to Ayrlarng should that ever happen."
Wang Tong nodded absently.
"This year, in preparation for the fight, I have personally recruited Ma Xiaoru and Hu Yangxuan, but I still felt like we were missing something, perhaps, a secret weapon that we could hide under our sleeve. Wang Tong, would you be interested in filling that role?"
"Me?" Wang Tong's mouth was wide open, his finger pointing at his nose.
"That's right. I can tell that you have great potential as a METAL fighter and have decided to help you to make the best out of your potential. Are you interested?" Samantha cracked a smile. She had extended the olive branch to Wang Tong. Should Wang Tong agree to join the team, he would be exempt from being expelled.
Samantha was well aware that one cannot govern without the balancing scruples and feelings. She was willing to tip the scale slightly when subtlety was called for.
Wang Tong weighed his options for a while, and shook his head, "I am sorry, principal, I don't think I want to do that. I want to just focus on building a solid foundation in my first year. I must learn to walk before I can run."
Samantha was speechless; her body was frozen in disbelief. No one had ever refused one of her offers.
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