It had been a few days since Ian and Dave signed the contract. Ian was working in the kitchen making some of his ramen since that's the only thing Dave allows him to cook.
Dave wanted Ian to know how difficult it was to serve people in the restaurant. Before Dave taught Ian how to cook any other recipe, or how to properly use the equipment, he wanted him to practice dealing with customers. Any ramen order that comes in will be handled and served by Ian.
On this day, Ian had his busiest day yet. It was the weekend and by now the word had spread that Zoey's had a new menu item made by Ian. Everyone in town wanted to try Ian's ramen so during the lunch rush many people came in to order it.
Ian was flooded with a bunch of orders. No one would order anything else which allowed Dave to take a break and enjoy the show. Zoey was still taking the orders but Ian had to bring them out.
For three hours, Ian had to work non-stop to get orders out. After everyone had gone, Ian was left feeling really tired. The restaurant was completely empty after the lunch rush.
Ian was taking a nice break after the events of 11 to 2. The kitchen was a mess from all the cooking that was done. Zoey and Dave were washing all the pots and dishes that were left, while Ian sat down with a large glass of lemonade.
A few minutes later, the front door of the restaurant opened. Ian looked up to see who it was. To his surprise, Liam walked in wearing what appeared to be rags.
His hair was a bigger mess than before, and a beard was now shown on his face. He looked like he hadn't eaten in a while. The bags under his eyes could also be seen from a distance.
Ian stood up to greet Liam, but when he was about to shake his hand, Liam's stomach growled. Liam pretended that nothing happened and just shook Ian's hand.
"It's been a while, Liam, how have you been?" Ian also tried to pretend that he heard nothing.
"I'm fine but I lost track of time. I became so focused on my work that I didn't notice how hungry and filthy I became. I have only been surviving on coffee and muffins." Liam explained his situation.
"So I take it that you're here for some ramen, right?" Ian asked
"Indeed, I was told by the person who delivers my coffee that you started working with Dave, and that you are serving a new dish made by you." Liam got excited thinking about the ramen.
Ian showed Liam to his table and went to the kitchen to prepare the food. Ian hadn't eaten yet so he chose to make some for himself as well. It didn't take long for Ian to make the food since he was only making two bowls of ramen.
Ian finished making the food in a few minutes and brought it to Liam's table. Ian decided to sit at the same table so he could eat and chat with Liam.
Ian took his time eating but Liam ate his food quickly. When he took his first bite, Liam seemed to have lost control and began to devour his bowl of food. It took him a few minutes to finish his food.
Ian took his time to eat his food but he was left speechless by how fast Liam ate.
When Liam finished eating his food he moved his bowl to the side and turned to Ian to say, "That was beyond what I expected. It was good."
Liam took a moment to appreciate the food he ate before continuing, "I forgot to mention earlier that I didn't just come here for the food. I also wanted to talk to you about something."
Ian raised an eyebrow at Liam but kept eating his food.
"I wanted to talk about the item that would help you with controlling your power," Liam said.
Ian hearing this, paused eating for a moment. He put down his fork and paid attention to what Liam had to say.
Liam went on to explain that he needs to know what Ian's power score is before he can make the item for him. Ian agreed to take the test so Liam can have the info. The two of them agreed to meet the following day to do the test since Ian has that day off from work.
The next day Ian made his way to Liam's workshop to take the test. Liam wanted to get the results as soon as possible so they were going to do it at his workshop.
Ian told his family that he was going to go help Liam and asked Emmett and Ellie if they wanted to come. Emmett did want to join Ian but Kevin got to him first. And Ellie was going to go out with her friends so Ian was left alone.
At the workshop, Liam had everything set up for Ian's test. Ian was only going to take the passive version of the test since the active test could only be taken at the test hall.
When Ian arrived Liam said, "You're going to need to take two tests. The first is to gauge your base strength. The second is to gauge your full strength."
Liam also explained that he needed both scores to properly set the item. If the item was set on a weak setting then Ian would still burn through his energy, but if it was set on a strong setting then Ian wouldn't be able to use his power. Ian understood Liam's reasoning for the two tests so he didn't ask any questions.
Liam took out the testing orb that he brought from the testing hall and placed it in front of Ian. The rune on its surface was different from all the others before. Liam told Ian that this rune would measure his max base strength. He wouldn't have to activate his power, all he has to do is place his hand on the rune. Ian did as he was told and placed his hand on top of the rune.
As soon as he did this the rune began to glow. Inside the orb, the light that came from the rune flowed into the center of it. It took a few seconds before the light started to take its shape.
Both Ian and Liam watched the light carefully, waiting to see what the number would be. The next moment both of them were left astonished by the number. In the center of the orb, the number 63 was shown.
Liam found this hard to believe. No one had ever had a score this high without having to activate their power. The simple fact that Ian had a score this high for his max base power means that he could compete with most copper ranks without even using his power.
Ian, now seeing the number, knew that this was the reason why he was able to fight and kill all of the creatures he had hunted. However, Ian's next thought was about how he had managed to get this high of a score. He knew that he had not gotten that many points from creatures before leveling up.
The two of them were trying to figure out if the results were real or if the orb had made a mistake. Ian retook the test a couple of times afterward and the results were the same. Every time he redid the test the orb showed the number 63.
The two of them decided to just accept the results and move on. Liam had to make some changes to the design now that he knew what the base score was. Ian had to take another moment to try and figure out how he had managed to get a high score like that.
After Liam had changed the design on some blueprints, he told Ian that he needed the next score now. Ian stopped muttering to himself and once again redirected his attention to the orb.
Liam went up to the orb and turned it over to another rune. This time it was the one that Ellie had used when she took her test. Liam backed away again so Ian could take the test again.
Ian was a bit worried about taking the next test. He asked Liam about how long he would have to keep his power activated. Liam told him that he would need to keep it activated for about ten seconds. Ian had only managed to keep his power active for seven seconds at most so this was going to be difficult for him.
He readied himself to begin the next test and waited for Liam to give the signal. Liam was reorganizing his desk after changing a few things on some blueprints, then he gave Ian a thumbs up to start the test.
As soon as Ian saw this he placed his hand on the orb to activate his power. When he did this, it felt like a floodgate opened and a large amount of energy flowed out. His entire body was filling with energy, his veins started to bulge, and his muscle grew bigger.
Just like when Ellie took the test, Ian's energy went into the orb. The energy looked like pale sand as it entered the orb. The sand moved very slowly as the orb scanned the energy.
It had only been three or four seconds since Ian started the test and sweat was already beginning to cover his entire body. Time felt as if it was slowing down for Ian. Though it had only been a few seconds in real-time, for Ian it felt like a few minutes had passed.
Liam paid close attention to the orb to make sure he wrote the correct results. In the orb, the sand had started to take the shape of a number.
It had been eight seconds by now and Ian looked like he couldn't last any longer. He was getting ready to let go of the orb and deactivate his power. However, Liam told him to hold on for just a bit longer so the orb can absorb enough energy to process.
Ian kept his power active for a bit longer, but he had started to cough up blood. His nose had also begun to bleed. He was on the verge of collapsing but he held on for those two more seconds.
Once the time passed, Ian fell to the floor. Liam rushed over to pick him up while keeping an eye on the orb. It was still processing the energy but a number was starting to show.
Liam looked at the number and what he saw left him speechless.