A huge black metal plate was lowered from above. All the survivors who participated in the test held their breath and stared with wide eyes.
Seeing the blue lines on the metal plate…
Runes!
They couldn't tell what kind of pattern it was. They didn't know if it was as countless lines woven together or a single simple stroke. It was indecipherable, indefinable.
With the pattern's appearance, it felt like the whole room's temperature had dropped by several degrees.
Some people couldn't help but shivered. But as soon as they averted their eyes, the temperature returned to normal.
Just by looking at the mysterious patterns, they could immediately feel the slight chill around them.
It's… incredible!
As expected from the Shelter. Even the testing process was so high-end! Some people were still amazed. While some, without hesitation, had moved their pencils to draw on the paper.
The moment Yang Wei saw the blue rune, he felt like he was in an icy sky. The sky and Earth were all white.
Snowflakes drifted down and ice crystals condensed inch by inch, turning into a thick armor.
Before he even realized, his hand holding the pencil had already moved, drawing the shape of armor.
His drawing skills were ordinary. At best, his drawing was barely recognizable by others.
But this time, he had no difficulties in drawing the armor. In less than 10 minutes, a majestic armor was drawn onto the paper. It wasn't until he stopped drawing that Yang Wei himself was stunned.
Did he really draw this?
He couldn't believe it. But he suddenly recalled when Chen Haiping said they would understand what they needed to draw once they saw the test questions.
'What I see is the Ice Crystal Armor. But what about the others?'
Little did he know that the Ice Crystal Armor Rune was specially created for this test. Although they could feel the rhyme on the rune, not everyone could fully comprehend the content of the rune. Some people saw an icy and snowy sky in front of their eyes. Some saw snowflakes falling, and some only saw ice crystals condensing.
Only a few people could actually see what the armor looked like. But most of them didn't fully grasp the feeling, even thinking they saw an illusion.
Some people drew snowflakes and icebergs on the papers. Yet others, looking straight at the rune and were confused. They didn't feel anything except cold.
So… what exactly should they draw?
Some people figured out that they were confident with their own drawing and wanted to 'copy' the test questions.
But no matter what, what they drew was far different from the mysterious pattern on the runes.
They were pale, especially when they heard their fellow test participants were all busy drawing and rustling their pencils. But none of them dared to cheat and looked around.
Just what the hell did this test wants to measure?!
...…
Upstairs.
Tang Yu and Kevin observed the participants through the monitoring screen.
Although they couldn't see the content of the drawings, judging from the way they moved their hands and the fluency of the drawing, it was clear which participants had a deep root and strong connection with runes and those without.
…and also the people who couldn't comprehend anything but scribbled vigorously anyway.
Soon, the test participants' papers were collected and sent to Tang Yu and Kevin.
As the only pair of Rune Masters in the territory, naturally, only they could do the judging properly.
To be precise, Kevin was the one who evaluated the drawings while Tang Yu was observing. Kevin's reading speed was breakneck.
He could judge those who qualified and those who weren't just from a single glance.
Most of the participants that passed the test draw snowflakes and ice crystals. But Tang Yu also noticed there were two or three realistic drawings.
It was probably because the special effects revealed by inscribing the runes on the armor and then triggered the rune effects, right? Tang Yu muttered.
He had conducted similar tests before.
It seems that the drawings were not as lifelike as he saw it…
It's an illusion. It must be an illusion!
He had put all of his efforts into studying runes. How could he be beaten by a couple of survivors who barely know anything about runes?
Moreover, Rune Perception was only a small part of Rune Talent. It doesn't represent anything.
After finishing going through all the drawings, the results were somewhat below their expectation.
There were only 34 qualified people.
Kevin was also a bit baffled. "I've already lowered the standard to the point it's touching the bottom. But why only a small portion of people passed? Aside from those two or three people, all the other participants' rune perception was terrible!"
The number of people who passed the test was below their expectations, and there's nothing else they could do about it. Tang Yu could only reluctantly accept the fact. He had already guessed.
Kevin's initial comment about they can screen out 50 people from the current territory might be based on the knowledge he had from his original world.
But the inhabitants of his old world and Earth were a little different. Although he hadn't done thorough research, it wasn't just from physical structures.
In Kevin's original world, Source Power had always existed. Even ordinary people who couldn't awaken could receive nourishment from Source Power.
While on Earth, Tang Yu couldn't feel its existence in the past. Even if it did, the concentration was probably extremely low.
If the concentration was high, some qualified people would naturally awaken, and the world wouldn't be peaceful before the doomsday.
...
The participants who didn't pass the test left with disappointment without exception.
But the good news was that the Municipal Affairs Department Staff informed them that the factory would soon recruit a group of ordinary workers.
And as test participants who passed the first two tests, they were given priority if they wanted to apply for the job.
The rest of the people that failed the third test was overjoyed and applied for the job.
Tang Yu walked down the stairs and appeared in front of the people, smiling. "First of all, congratulations to all of you for passing the test. I'm sure some of you had already guessed what the job is. Yes, it's related to runes, and your daily salary is half a spirit stone. But it's just the basic salary. If you work hard, it's possible that your income would reach dozens of spirit stones in the future."
"Now… any questions?"
Someone hesitantly asked a question, "Leader Tang, may I ask? What exactly is our job? Are we asked to draw the runes? We've tried, but no matter what, the patterns we managed to draw are far different from what was shown on the board."
The others were also curious about this question. They all looked at Leader Tang with eyes full of anticipation. Tang Yu smiled lightly. "Runes aren't that easy to draw. To successfully draw a rune, you must at least become a hunter and have deep knowledge in the art of runes…"
"…But don't fret, compared to the other, you are all already fortunate to have access to Rune Literature. If you have the talent and work hard enough, the Shelter will support you." Tang Yu spoke as he picked up a rune pen and waved it.
In the blink of an eye, a basic sharp rune was formed.
"Let's set a small goal for you guys. If you can draw a primary rune, then a few dozen spirit stones salary will no longer be a mere dream."
His voice reached the ears of the 34 survivors. They were startled when they saw the sharp rune. In their hearts, a fiery spirit burned.