The murmur of conversation stopped instantly as everyone began turning toward the opening doors on the far side of the hall.
The girl glanced at the display, then looked back at Logan. "Looks like it’s time to go. Don’t get eliminated too quickly in the second round."
Logan frowned, watching her walk away towards the slowly opening doors.
Edric stepped up beside Logan as the crowd began moving.
"What was that about?" he muttered, having heard the conversation between Logan and the girl.
Logan sighed. "Honestly? I have no idea. And I think that’s becoming a theme."
Silas stepped beside them with a broad smile.
"The envoy mentioned something promising," he said, grinning.
"What is it?" Edric asked, interested.
"They’re hoping to establish future relations with the company," Silas said, proud. "He mentioned meeting after the assessment to discuss a potential partnership."
"He said what?" Edric asked, wide-eyed.
"Why?" Logan added, confused.
"Apparently, they’re looking to expand their network in the U.S., and we’re one of the most prominent players here," Silas explained. "They were also very impressed with your temperament as a leader at such a young age, Logan."
Edric and Silas both turned to Logan, who furrowed his brows in confusion.
’Did I do something so impressive?’ he asked himself. ’Something doesn’t make sense here.’
"Weren’t you uncomfortable around them too?" Logan asked Silas.
"Talking to them is strange, yes." Silas nodded. "But this will do wonders for the company. Our competitors will hesitate in making any direct approaches against us in the future."
Logan nodded, silence falling as he contemplated.
"Last call," a mechanical voice suddenly sounded. "All examinees go to the examination grounds."
"What are you waiting on?" Edric asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Go now."
Logan didn’t wait any longer and walked swiftly towards the examination grounds.
As he passed through the wooden doors, they began closing behind him.
"Examinee 1-10," the mechanical voice called out. "Enter examination rooms 1-10 for your affinity assessment."
Looking around him, Logan counted around 200 teenagers in the room.
His attention was quickly grabbed by a massive holographic screen floating in the middle of the room.
’Is that some kind of leaderboard?’ he wondered, curious.
Hearing clicking sounds, Logan turned towards ten rooms as their smaller wooden doors slowly opened.
He watched as a few teenagers entered the rooms, the doors slowly shutting behind them.
"Test commencing," a mechanical voice announced once again.
"Hello Logan," he heard a voice behind him.
Turning around, Logan found Grant standing there, his arm around a petite brunette.
"Hey Grant," Logan greeted him, smiling.
Earlier, Logan had told him not to be overly polite since they were the same age.
’I can’t stand being called Mr. Mercer every time,’ Logan thought, glancing at Grant. ’Besides, he seems like a great guy.’
"Who is this lady?" Logan asked, smiling as he looked at the girl in Grant’s arms.
"Mr. Mercer," the girl greeted, bowing slightly. "I’m Layla Garcia from the Garcia family, Grant’s fiancée."
"Just call me Logan," Logan said, turning to Grant, who was smiling. "You really are one lucky person."
Grant smiled broadly, giving a nod.
"What’s your examination number?" Grant asked Logan, curious.
"I’m number 117," Logan said after pulling up his hologram. "What about both of you?"
"Number 43 and number 44," Grant answered, smiling.
Logan, Grant, and Layla kept talking, mentioning their past and training.
"I have an S-rank metal affinity," Grant proclaimed proudly to Logan. "I’ve been working with metal since I was able to walk. Let’s just say, it didn’t come as a surprise."
"I have an A-rank Sound affinity," Layla said quietly.
"Sound?" Logan looked surprised. "That’s really rare."
"I myself am an S-rank fire affinity," Logan said, smiling. He wasn’t planning on telling anyone about his SSS-rank affinity unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Didn’t expect anything less," Grant said, trying to pat Logan on his back while laughing.
Logan instinctively stepped aside, shooting Grant a puzzled look.
"Sorry," Grant scratched his head. "I do that sometimes."
"No, no," Logan quickly said. "I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all."
"Examinees 40 to 50," a mechanical voice rang out. "Enter examination rooms."
Logan glanced at the scoreboard, which still hadn’t displayed any information.
’Maybe it isn’t for this after all,’ Logan thought, nodding.
Scanning through the room, he saw the veiled girl standing alone in the corner of the room.Logan shook his head, quickly turning away.
’Let’s not attract that kind of misery right now,’ he thought.
After Grant and Layla left the room, they explained to Logan that it was just a machine with an S-rank hunter to guide them.
’So it isn’t anything actually special,’ Logan thought, smiling.
Time passed by with Logan talking to Grant and Layla. Eventually, other people who’d introduced themselves earlier joined the conversation.
The topics and the way everyone spoke got a lot more formal, taking the fun out of it for Logan.
’This is too many people,’ he thought, glancing at the group of around 20 people standing around him. ’Half of them are just here to suck up to me or to show off their father’s company.’
Finally, Logan heard his number being called by the mechanical voice.
"I’ll have to go now," Logan said, quickly excusing himself with a forced smile.
As Logan made his way over to examination room 7, he could feel many eyes lock on him.
Logan entered and spotted a tall, blond woman with glasses behind a large machine.
"Take a seat," the woman said indifferently, gesturing to the chair within the machine.
"Alright," Logan nodded, not bothering with formalities.
Sitting down, the machine started making soft buzzing noises. Logan felt thin threads of energy push through his body and swirl around his core.
"What is this?" the woman asked, sounding confused.
Logan raised an eyebrow. "What’s wrong?"
The machine emitted a sharp beep, and its screen lit up in gold.
Her eyes widened.
"SSS-rank..." she whispered, straightening up.
She cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses. "Apologies, Mr. Mercer. You may proceed to the second phase. Congratulations."
Logan stood up slowly. "Thanks," he said simply, noting the change in her tone.
’I guess that’s one way to get even a prestigious S-rank to respect me,’ he mused, walking through the door.