Two teachers sat inside the room waiting. When the door opened they both perked up and greeted Kaden who entered.
It seemed they were quite bored, overseeing test after test with mediocre performances. Kaden's presence excited them. Those children of the prestigious families were known to have good results.
"Tap your com here and we will begin the test." The middle-aged man who sat on the left spoke.
Once again he tapped his com device against a scanner. This was done so the results could be automatically uploaded to his profile in the Academy's database. The reason the teachers were there was to ensure that the result was legitimate. While bribery was unlikely, two teachers were still present to minimize the risk that one of them would accept a bribe.
"You have two tries. I assume you know how the machine works so begin whenever you're ready." The older man on the right looked on with anticipation.
Kaden nodded to show he understood and walked over to the force test machine. Unlike the one they had at home, this one wasn't attached to any wall. It was portable and stood in the middle of the room. It also had a screen on top that would display the result.
Over the years Kaden had gotten very used to this form of testing. Burcham was rigorous with his training and wanted to make sure he was constantly improving. Therefore he was still being tested every month, even though the results wouldn't be too different between each test. It was a good way to make sure he wasn't stagnating.
By now he'd done this so much it was like second nature. In a practiced manner he positioned himself in front of the plate. He tensed his body, drew in his breath and unleashed all the force in his body within an instant.
The plate jolted as it was struck and the number hit 1000 and kept going until it finally stopped at 1238 kg.
Both of the instructors who had been excited just sat there frozen in silence. It was by far the highest result they had seen all day.
The old man cleared his throat, "You have another try."
Kaden stretched his shoulder before once again standing in front of the machine. With quick motions he unleashed another punch.
By the sound of it, both of the instructors already knew that it was at least as powerful as his first one.
This time the display stopped at 1240 kg, exceeding his previous result by two kg. Kaden nodded, satisfied with his own performance. It was hard to unleash all of your force so it was expected to see a bit of variance in results. At home he had only managed to hit 1239 kg, so seeing 1240 he knew it was the best he could do right now.
The middle-aged man was no longer frozen. Instead his eyes were gleaming with excitement.
"Astonishing, truly astonishing. I don't think I've ever seen talent like yours before. When did you turn seven?" Kids had to turn seven years old before they could go to an academy. Naturally the closer to seven Kaden was, the more potential he had in the eyes of the middle-aged man.
"Last month." Kaden enjoyed the praise. He truly liked standing out.
"And so young too, truly remarkable. What other tests are you planning to take?" The middle-aged man had overseen these tests for a few years, but this was the first time he had found himself being so impressed by one of the students.
"I'm only taking this one."
"Huh? You're not taking any other tests?" The old man was the one who spoke instead. To him it was baffling. Usually all the children from prestigious families would take multiple tests. Ranking was even more important to those families who had to keep up their social status.
Kaden shook his head in response. It was annoying. Everyone kept bringing this up. First the attendant who had registered him and now this old man who wanted to nag.
"It's fine. Kids should be ambitious. Strength is the most important. It's good to see someone who understands this. I did think the students had been a bit too lacking these past few years." The middle aged man spoke up on Kaden's behalf.
These words elicited a sneer from the old man, "You shouldn't just disregard all other matters. Thinking you can overcome every problem with just strength is both idiotic and arrogant. Knowledge and education are just as important."
"Yeah yeah." The middle aged man waved him off, "He's here to receive an education isn't he?"
The old man couldn't find a response to that.
"Anyway. We shouldn't waste too much time here. Your results have already been uploaded. Since you don't have any other tests you should just go home and come back tomorrow for the entrance ceremony." Seeing the old man keep quiet, the middle aged man tried to seize the chance and send Kaden off before the old man began lecturing.
"Hmph. I strongly suggest you reconsider taking up a few extra subjects. Arrogance won't do you much good." The old man began reprimanding.
This old man reminded Kaden way too much of Burcham. Whenever the tutors voiced their complaints he would also break out into lecture mode and spout this nonsense. Burcham had also insisted he put in a bit more effort and take up some of the harder courses.
"Yes yes. You're just wasting time now. We still have a lot of other tests to oversee. I want to go home as soon as possible too." The man gave Kaden a wink and stood up from his seat to hurry Kaden out the door.
The man almost pushed him out, but it worked out as the old man watched in silence as he left.
Like that Kaden had finished everything he had to do. Classes would be assigned tomorrow when all the tests were finished. It was an easy first day of school.