After her prayer and her encounter with the entity of Thallerion, Xurien immediately boarded a floating Uranoscopus bound for the Celestial Gene Academy. It was piloted by a man with goggles on his forehead. Xurien was amused by the bubbles the Uranoscopus created; it glided through the air, its fin-like wings flapping with a faint hum, occasionally letting out a low moan like a whale. Xurien paid 500 astral coins as she disembarked at the stable located on the creature's back. She flicked a large bubble, roughly the size of an infant's head, watching the vibrant, mottled colors of the scales that adorned the Uranoscopus's soft appendages and fins.
In the distance, Xurien caught sight of the academy, its buildings circular with massive glass windows. Upon entering the gate, the clamor of examinees clad in blue uniforms filled her ears. In front of the academy stood a circular stage. A tall, upright professor with straight, black hair stepped forward. She raised her hand, and vein-like patterns crawled across her skin, gathering purple energy into an astral microphone. Her gaze toward the examinees was cold, her voice weary yet firm.
"Attention, examinees!" she began. "I regret to inform you that there has been a change this year. In the past, students were allowed to enroll even with low Celestial Gene capacity. Listen closely! Many of the warriors who came before you are now dead."
The examinees gasped, eyes wide.
"Therefore, the administration has decreed that no student may become a hunter if their Celestial Gene capacity is below 60%."
"You also cannot become warriors if the weapons you forge do not reach at least high-grade quality. If all you can forge is a garden hoe, you might as well turn back and till the soil!" The examinees stared at their trembling palms, faces turning pale as they swallowed hard.
"Do not mistake this for cruelty. If your result is below 60%, it does not mean you are weak. The administration simply wants to keep you safe from peril. Thus, the facilities for Will-forgers, laborers, and farmers are open. Now, fall into line and proceed to the scan."
A heavy silence draped over the academy; every student was anxious about the path that lay ahead. Xurien watched as students stared in disbelief at the results of their genetic scans.
"No! This isn't fair! Is it really necessary to have such a high capacity?" an examinee hissed. "I can fight and kill monsters! I don't believe my gene capacity is only 41—this is just a system trick! How can you say I'm disqualified!? Have you seen what I can do? I shattered a massive log with a single swing of my sword. This is impossible!" Lightning crackled on his hand but failed to manifest.
"My apologies, we are only following the new mandate from the ministers of Thallerion," the assistant replied. "You must exceed 60% Celestial Gene capacity. Please return next year."
"Please, rescan me! The system must have read it wrong. I was strong yesterday! How could my capacity drop to 41?" Xurien watched the student's outburst, her heart aching. Guards eventually dragged him away as he began to cause a scene. "No! No! Please!" he wailed.
I have two celestial genes flowing through me, so that should be an advantage, Xurien thought. If my capacity turns out low... I'll have no choice but to turn a deaf ear to Davina's noise. If I end up as a Will-forger, Davina will think I'm too dim-witted to be anything but the lowest profession in Thallerion. But that doesn't mean Will-forgers are devoid of potential.
"Next!"
She stepped into a square pavilion and placed her hand on the glowing blue screen.
[Identifying Stellar ID: 00054796418899]
[Xurien Wrez Hetitze, Confirmed.]
[Initializing the genetic blueprint... complete!]
Name: Xurien Wrez Hetitze
Age: 22
Constellar Affinity: Orion, Crux
Shape-shifting ability: 0%
Healing ability: 90%
Hunting ability: 35%
Weapon ability: 10%
Tool ability: 50%
Strength ability: normal
Magic ability: Divine healing
Personal Assets:
Mined $ORN: 10,000 Hunting points (1 ORN = 0.029 AC) (290 AC)
Mined $CRX: 55,856 Faith & healing points (1 CRX = 0.24 AC) (13,405.44 astral coins)
Total currency: 13,695.44 astral coins
Transaction Feed:
*10,000 AC from Davina Hebronor (1 hr ago)
Wait, why was I paid so early? I thought it wasn't until Sunday? It was only Friday. Hmm, I wonder why... Regardless... that mid-tier cross staff sold in Cypriox costs 8,500 astral coins. If I can buy it, I can use it for healing and to ward off evil spirits. The remaining astral coins will cover my rent, she whispered, biting her lip in anticipation of the final scan result.
[Scan complete!]
Capacity: 61% (average)
"What? 61? Only sixty-one percent?" she murmured. "Even with two stellar affinities, my capacity is still average? Why is that? Sigh... oh well, the important thing is I'm 1% over the limit."
"Congratulations, Xurien. You are qualified. However, I must be direct: you must prove to the panelists that you will not use religious or divine healing during the actual healing test. You are also prohibited from using prayers, incantations, or any rituals performed by religious healers."
Xurien's heart raced, and she turned pale. "Does that mean I have to heal the patient manually?"
"I understand. Because you have Cyprioxian blood, the Crux entity flows within you. But you are in Thallerion now. You must prove to everyone that you can heal the patient using 'Tool ability'." The assistant studied Xurien's face with a grave expression, though his tone remained kind. "But Miss Xurien, you may defer this and focus on religious healing back in Cypriox."
"No." Xurien squared her shoulders in refusal. "I don't want to. I am a citizen of Thallerion too, so I will try. I know it's difficult, but I will show them I belong here." The assistant offered a faint smile. Xurien could hear three professors snickering in the distance.
"If that is your choice, so be it. But do not push yourself too hard. There is still time to train. Now, many are still waiting. Proceed to your assigned examination room."
"I understand. Thank you." Xurien walked away, wrapped in a heavy feeling of belittlement. She overheard the professors' conversation, their eyes sharp with judgment. When will those three leave me alone? I haven't done anything wrong, but their constant staring is irritating, she muttered.
Room 012: Neural Exam
She arrived at Room 012, where she could hear the hiss of energy like birds chirping impatiently. She saw the examinees' hands glowing; they were warming up, manipulating celestial energy as they awaited the exam. She felt diminished, staring at her own palms. Just before her fear could consume her, a vibrant voice called out from the crowd.
"Xurien! Over here! I saved a seat for you." It was a girl with glasses and green eyes, waving energetically.
"Gaeia." Xurien felt relieved to see her friend. "Why did you leave me?" she pouted, hurrying over to sit. "I thought we were going together? I looked for you at the cathedral, but you were gone."
"There was no one at the cathedral, and I wasn't about to start a conversation with a cross, was I? Just kidding. Everyone went on the mission with the Prince of Thallerion. I thought you would have joined to earn some astral coins, especially since I know you're planning to buy a divine staff, right?" Gaeia teased.
"Are you mocking me? You know my hunting ability is low. You know, I'm starting to doubt you... are you really my friend, or do you just want to feed me to the biopunks?" Xurien retorted.
"Hey, calm down! Can't you take a joke?" Gaeia laughed. "Wait, why the long face? You look like you've just come from a healing camp filled with dying patients. Smile a little!" Instead of feeling lighter, Xurien felt even heavier.
"It's nothing. My day has just been a mess. I feel like bad luck is stalking me today. But at least one incredible thing happened earlier."
"Really?" Gaeia leaned in, her warm breath hitting Xurien's cheek. "Come on, share it with me! Maybe I can catch some of your good luck." She smiled. "We still have the exam, though. Hurry!"
"Stop it, Gaeia, you're acting like a child." Gaeia's forehead creased; her jaw dropped, and her expression chilled. "Wait, do you know of any books about the legend of Orion?"
"Legend? Xurien, are you eating properly?" Gaeia asked with concern. "We have an exam! If I were you, I'd stop reading epic lore about entities. I'm certain that won't be on the test."
"Gaeia, it's just that... something happened earlier... I saw Martheuw Ceréun."
"Martheuw? Ceréun? Your boyfriend?" Gaeia froze and straightened her posture.
"No! Of course not!"
Gaeia's cheeks flushed red, and she shook Xurien. "Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend until now? Is he the problem? Did he hurt you?"
"Gaeia, stop it! Get a grip! He is not my boyfriend."
An ethereal hologram of a crown-shaped logo flickered onto the blackboard. The room fell silent as the Crown-System activated, displaying the face of Head Minister Gaverdric Hetitze.
"Good morning, everyone. I am Gaverdric Hetitze, Head Minister of Thallerion. You are likely wondering why the examination system has changed." Xurien observed his thick clothing and his hair as white as frost, noticing the wrinkle crossing the scar on his forehead.
Xurien's lips twisted into a bitter sneer as she stared at Gaverdric. So, this is my uncle's doing. Because of this new system, the below-average students are truly doomed. Her mind raced as she listened to his speech.
"The academy simply wishes to ensure that only high-quality students proceed. Do not mourn those who failed the screening."
"It is regrettable that they will not join you for this examination. But that does not mean they are weak. Our goal is to ensure they train more rigorously. They should not lose hope; the Will-smith facilities are open to them. In fact, we encourage low-average students to apply for work there."
"Listen, examinees: today you will prove your intellect and skill, but your fate rests on your talent and your ability to manipulate celestial gene to forge a weapon. This year, however, no two students may forge the same weapon. Thallerion aims for you to be creators of your own design. Good luck with your exam." The light flickered and vanished.
Before Xurien appeared a blue screen with a two-hour countdown ticking at the top. There was no paper or pen; she had to answer via mental interaction. She glanced at Gaeia to gauge her reaction, but saw nothing unusual. She looked around at the others, and they were all the same—silently scrolling through the air with expressions Xurien couldn't see. Does this mean it's a Neural exam? Two hundred questions?
[CROWN-SYSTEM // COGNITIVE MATRIX INITIALIZATION]
SEC-ID: 00054796418899
MODULE: MACRO-DEFENSE ARCHITECTURE & BIO-POLITICAL ECONOMICS
WARNING: Mental interaction latency exceeding 1.8 seconds will register as an automatic structural forfeit.
[NEURAL OVERLAY PROMPT #001]
Question 1: Deduce the primary systemic imperative underpinning the Betelgeuse Ministry's mandate regarding the public liquidation, fractional tokenization, and capital-market integration of the $ORN (Orion Hunting Affinity) genetic asset class.
a. To synthetically expand the state's external defensive perimeter by facilitating the acquisition of outsourced combat proficiencies for unawakened, biologically deficient civilian populations, thereby mitigating the systemic risk of localized biopunk incursions through micro-asset distribution.
b. To extract high-yield venture liquidity from global corporate conglomerates, directly converting speculative investments into militarized containment infrastructure to offset the staggering asset-attrition rates and material depreciation sustained within active biological quarantine zones.
c. To rigidly preserve the structural purity and sovereign monopoly of the baseline Orion genetic pedigree, substituting erratic organic awakening with an artificial, state-monitored economic bridge for populations whose baseline Celestial Gene Capacity falls below the mandatory 60% combat threshold.
Even from the first question, I can feel the energy pressing into my brain, Xurien thought. That must be why they don't allow students with low capacity levels. Xurien answered the questions steadily. But when she reached question 120, an hour later, an examinee suddenly collapsed. His eyes rolled back, showing only the whites. The other students were horrified and paused in their work. A proctor arrived immediately. "Continue the exam!" the proctor commanded calmly.
Is that the effect? If you can't handle the exam, is that what happens? Xurien's eyes darted to the fallen boy, and she swallowed a bitter lump in her throat. Wait, is that him? The wealthy classmate of ours?
Medics rushed in, and the proctor checked the student's neck, which was webbed with purple veins, before making an announcement. "Listen. This student used celestial boosters to pass the genetic screening earlier. But this examination is not made for impostors and the weak. If any of you used a high dosage of celestial boosters, stand up now if you wish to live." Four examinees stood up trembling, their eyes dark with exhaustion. "The use of boosters is considered cheating. Get out!"
The students knelt and wept, begging for mercy. "Professor, forgive us! We were afraid our capacity wouldn't be high enough, so we accepted the offer from Jarven."
The professor's eyes remained icy and unforgiving. "There is nothing I can do; you have been banned by the Crown-System," the professor sighed. "Leave!"
Xurien listened to their pleas and tried to refocus on her questions. I never imagined such things would happen during the examination, she whispered to herself.