Lima's prestige in not to be trifled with. Their influence and fame throughout the world is so profound that even the cities allow the academy exclusivity to conduct screenings in public places such as the city squares. Academies, institutions, schools, towers. houses, and any other centers of learning can only settle for other places and maybe the city square, albeit for a price.
A crowd gathered early in the morning at Drevon's city square where the annual screening for Lima Academy is conducted. The square was vast with a monument at the middle which resembles a lightbulb. Beautiful brick buildings of medieval architecture surrounded the square while black tents were scattered all around the place as if the city was getting ready for war. Diverse people loitered about, some wore worn out clothes while some wore silk and linen showcasing the difference in their socioeconomic status.
Nobody cared about such things today. Nervous and jittery young men and women from different walks of life all lined up as they carried papers with them as if they were going to their first job fairs. They were some who already finished lining up and proceeded to mind their own business.
Neil was one of them. He was standing under a tree wearing a simple black collared shirt tucked in his beige pants. He carried the quantum sword he got yesterday inside a scabbard attached to the left side of his belt. He already submitted his application and was now waiting for further instructions.
"Attention, all aspirants! We are direct representatives of Lima. To ensure fairness, representatives are assigned to conduct screenings all over the 5 continents. We will be starting the screening in thirty minutes."
A bespectacled slender man wearing a black military uniform with white and orange details stood in an elevated podium. An insignia of black silver was attached to the left part of the chest. The insignia was shaped in what seems to be a compass pointing to the four cardinal directions and an orange roman numeral of number five in the middle. There were others standing behind him wearing the same uniform.
"I will now explain the rules for this year's screening. Due to a significant increase in the number of aspirants year after year, Lima has officially changed their rules to fairly accommodate every participant whilst limiting the possibilities of an influx when the academic year starts."
A commotion occurred at the square. The already nervous applicants were now pale as sheep. Cold sweat trickled down the cheeks of the once were confident applicants. While Neil, let's just say his palm and feet were now dripping with sweat.
"I'm screwed. Should i resort to that? I don't know what to do," Neil mumbled as he looked down the ground in a state of despair.
"Now, we will discuss what has remained the same and what has changed. The screening for racial potential or the Engineering assessment for the Technorats will stay as is. Other races can still be assessed in other cities including Drevon."
Neil looked up and smiled. Looks like his worries melted away.
"The combat assessment will now be removed due to the impracticality and the use of underhanded tricks that defeat the academy's vision and purpose. Instead, we will be using the people of Lux's latest invention called Vessel. It measures the physical statistics and arcane capacity of an individual."
Neil's eyes grew cold as with the air around him. Soon after realizing his own emotions, he smiled once again as if nothing happened.
"I am screwed. No matter. I'm pretty sure that person knows the current changes as well. I guess I'll just go with the flow."
"Applicants must first finish the racial potential screening. It will be divided into two parts, the theory and practical assessments. The vessel assessment will follow suit. Everyone, please line up according to your race. The north part of the square will accommodate the Greybacks, the southern part will accommodate the Thaumaturges, the western part will go to the Warmongers, while the east will be for the Technorats. Aspirants, I wish you all good luck!"
The people immediately scattered and went to their designated areas as the bespectacled man finished speaking. In order for the exams to go smoothly and swiftly, multiple representatives were present during the screening.
Neil went to the eastern part of the square and lined up with the rest of the Technorats. Some young men and women were also lined up in the other parts of the square albeit they were incomparably fewer than the Technorats who saturated the city.
"Alright, we will now be dividing you into clusters due to your numbers. A representative will lead a group to their designated test areas. Please follow suit."
A woman wearing the same uniform as the bespectacled man earlier announced as she went ahead and took a batch of aspirants with her.
Neil's turn came when the third batch was taken. They were lead by the bespectacled man from earlier into a massive black tent among the tens of others out there.
"I guess he'll be the one in charge of us, huh?" Neil thought to himself.
Tables were lined up neatly inside in three columns complete with ten boxes and ten sheets of paper evenly distributed in each column.
"Attention, aspirants. The first part of your screening will be the theoretical which will cover science and its branches. You will be given 30 minutes to finish what you can. It will be followed by the practical engineering assessment which gives you 30 minutes as well. Please do note that if you fail this part of the assessment, you will not be eligible to proceed any further. You may now find your own tables."
Neil sat at the front of the 3rd column and sat down. The air inside the tent was somewhat heavy due to the anxiety floating in the air. Neil wasn't exempted though. He was also feeling nervous in taking this exam. Although he has been homeschooled and has taken various test from his uncle Max before, he still couldn't help himself from getting nervous.
"Now that everyone has found their places, we will begin the screening. Time starts now!"
*Flip
Neil turned the sheet of paper on the table as the others did the same. His face was now rather relaxed yet cold at the same time. The previous thoughts inside his head somewhat disappeared and was replaced with focus and determination.
Neil grabbed his pen and immediately started writing answers. From chemistry to biology to physics to hydraulics to geology to thermodynamics and etcetera. Neil answered each question and solved every problem in high speed.
[What are the four affiliations of Technorats? Explain the role of each group and their focus.]
Neil stopped writing and focused on the last question for the theoretical assessment.
"Hmm? An essay, huh? Sheesh, they're really making my life harder. It would've been great if I they were only answers with predetermined questions though," Neil said to himself.
"Technorats basically have four affiliations. We can easily someone's affiliation depending on the field of focus they are taking. One focuses on inventing new gizmos by incorporating ancient technology gathered from the shelters and the arcane principles of this world; creating an entirely different gizmo inspired by the shelter's gizmos. These are the people of Lux."
"Another group are focused on the replication of ancient gizmos. As they are certain gizmos inside the shelters which have been found and have been seen as something of worth, these people will replicate it. They are also the ones engineering the blueprints found from the shelters. They are called the people of Nyx."
"There's also a different group who focuses more on improvement. As humanity discovered more shelters, different gizmos with different functions emerged. Some engineers discovered the beauty of these gizmos and have focused on innovating the gizmos to make it more fit for Afterveil's inhabitants. These are the people of Vox."
"Lastly, the people of Jax. They're mysterious people who you don't really get to see much of due to them wandering all over the place. And the fact that most of them are dead. They're people focused on exploration, research, and shelter diving. As some gizmos cannot be taken out of the shelter, these people tend to stay there until they get to the crux of their curiosity."
Neil wrote and wrote squeezing every ounce of creativity that he had within himself.
"Pens up! Pass your papers forward. Aspirants in front, please gather your columns' papers."
As Neil was the one in front of his row, he obediently collected the other aspirants' papers and handed them to the representative.
"Thank you very much. Your results will come out after the practical assessment. Everyone, please ready yourselves. For each person is a box filled with tools and the parts that you will be using today. The practical will be simple. We will have assembling, fixing, and tweaking in that order. Please note that any disruption or accidents of the like may result to disqualification," the bespectacled man announced.
"Aspirants, open the boxes on my signal. The second part of the racial potential screening will now commence. Practical assessment, start!"