We walked across the hallway and the corridor that's connecting the Grade School Building and the High School Building. Good thing that there are little to no students roaming around, so they didn't see this congregation of professor and one young student
As we passed by the connecting corridor, there are a variety of flowering plants on one side and a field of grass on both sides. On the opposite side is a perpendicular corridor with canteen tables where round chairs are forged together with the table
Beyond that corridor is the canteen. We passed the canteen tables and entered the High School Building
Unfortunately, this is still not our destination and we passed through the hallway that leads to the other side of the building. We passed by the High School Library and the AVR Room, or Audio Visual Room
As we passed to the other side, we entered into one of my favorite places in the school
On the far left side is a grotto with Mary's statue inside. On the left and right side of the exit or entrance to the High School Building are two large Narra and Acacia trees. They are surrounded by an expanse of grassy field and plants and they are elevated from the main walkway
This walkway is connected to the main entrance and back entrance of the school. The walkway is wide enough for vehicles to drive through and enter and exit on both sides
Next to the Narra tree is an unused well. It almost just serves is purpose as a decoration, but rumors say that it's functional about 20 years ago, according to our teachers
In front of the Narra tree, on the left side of the grotto is a flat open space with a field of grass. At the edge of the field is a small concrete platform with a flagpole on it
'I kinda miss this place... Brings me so many memories and nostalgia'
This place is special for me for different reasons. As I studied here in grade school, I transferred school when I graduated, but came back at last year of high school
The reason I transferred back is because my parents cannot afford to fund my tuition fees. The reason being is that my mother was greedy for money
She buys everything she wants and my father suffered because of it, leading him to a heat stroke because of stress as he's forced to work in an extreme hot environment
That's one other reason why I hate my mother
That school that I studied from was also prestigious. Although, I didn't get too high remarks in this school in grade school, that school recognized and acknowledged my academic capabilities
I learned most on that school compared to this school and that's how I became a genius over the course of the years, before the transition of Mystical Age and four years after that
However, when I transferred back in this school, I was then recognized by my smartness. I had my first girlfriend and we hung out the most in this garden and trees
'That was a fun time, but it was bound to end'
We lasted for two years, but we eventually broke up. The reason? My mother once again
She forced me to study at another prestiguous school. That costed my relationship since our schedules didn't match and we grew distant
I was able to hold on and stay strong, but she wasn't able to
Her reason is that I loved her too much and she couldn't take it anymore when I can't show her the same amount of love because our schedules are conflicting
I mean, I don't blame her. It's in the past. I have my eternal love now and I will find her
Anyways, as we walked along the elevated garden and passed the two big trees, Mr. Winston started a conversation with me
"Philip..."
"..."
"What do you think about the world?"
"..."
I narrowed my eyes and slightly turned my head and eyes in suspicion
"Important..."
"Important?"
Mr. Winston widened his eyes in interest from my answer
"..."
I held back myself in speaking too much since I know a lot about Earth for me to say that it's important
After all, Mr. Winston asking this kind of question is suspicious enough for me. I also have never met this person in my previous life, no matter how hard I try to remember
"It's where we live after all. We must take good care of it, or else everyone will suffer when the world cries in pain from global warming, climate change, and such"
In the end, I answered how an environmental activist would answer
"Ah, I see... I suppose you're right about that"
"..."
"How about society?"
"Society?"
"Oh, is that too much to ask to a second grader? I'm sorry"
"No, it's okay, I'll answer..."
I forgot to be a respectful child and began to talk to Mr. Wilson without manners
"Society is very bad. It's a hive mind. They either believe in one thing or the other. At the same time, they judge certain criteria as right and just or bad and evil based on their beliefs and education. That's why individuals are forced to change and adapt according to the society's judgement, no matter the positive or negative implementation of that subject"
"..."
"However, society is not just one thing, it is multiple societies in the world. One believes in one thing, another believes at the other. Eventually, they will clash and a war between societies would occur, mentally and emotionally, and at time, physically at extreme situations. At the end, one will emerge victorious and all societies will have no choice to accept the belief or law that they have been fighting for or againts"
"I see..."
Mr. Winston's mouth twitched and the teachers and professors that overheard our conversation behind us were flabbergasted from my words and insight, like they couldn't believe a second grader were able to speak these words
"Do you think societies are important?"
"Very! They are a key part to the evolution of the human race and the way they think. They forge our civilization and our rules and laws for the generations to come"
"Hm... What do you think about the human race then??"
At this point, I became very suspicious that my eyebrows furrowed and I feel irritated and troubled
"Human race? In comparison to whom? Animals? Plants?"
"..."
Mr. Winston didn't reply and kept quiet. I also kept quiet since this is a favorable situation to me
With his question, I became certain. He's trying to probe for my capabilities and knowledge
'Whether for his own personal interest or a government or mystical order, I don't know the answer to that'
I tried to read his body language and it seems that he's careful and cautious
『 Body Language Reading (Lv.0) proficiency increased to 20% 』
The teachers and professors behind us felt the tension, but they still followed with confident strides
~~~
Few minutes has passed, we arrived at the Senior High School Building, well what it's supposed to be
In this year, there is no senior high school in this country until 9 years later. This building is used as extra classroom or laboratories for grade school and high school students
Surprisingly, this building has an elevator
We approached the elevator and entered in batches. The teachers and professors went in first and the elevator took five trips until it was me and Mr. Winston's turn
All elevators has an indicator when the cabin has reached a specific floor. I looked at the indicator on the side and it says that the cabin is going up
However, my hearing is picking up something different
The elevator says that the cabin reached 5th floor, but I didn't hear any footsteps at the 5th floor. The building is open at the middle after all and anyone could hear people on the top floor from the bottom floor
On the third batch of the elevator, I closed my eyes and enhanced my hearing
*Ding*
I opened my eyes and I was certain
The elevator wasn't going up. It was going down to a basement
『 Sound Sorter (Lv.1) proficiency increased to 80% 』
"A basement?"
Never in my history of studying in this school in my previous life have I ever heard that they have a basement. Almost all schools never had basements because there was no reason to
"..."
Mr. Winston didn't respond to my observation
When the elevator door opened and we entered, Mr. Winston started pushing what seems to be random sequence of numbers. Since there are only five floors of this building, the buttons are only limited to five, excluding the open and close doors, as well as the green phone button and emergency button
Of course, with my eyes, I was able to watch him press the numbers and I have memorized the sequence
『 You have earned the aptitude for Observation (Lv.1) 』
Then, after he inputted a secret code, he pulled out a key from his pocket and and inserted it in a key fob, under the buttons, where the electric panel should be located
It was then that the elevator started to move. Instead of upwards, downwards from the vertigo that I felt
"You're quite perceptive..."
Mr. Winston commented before I closed my eyes to concentrate on something
If this is a secret basement that only the higher ups of the school knows, then there was something bigger going on in this small place than I expected
I wanted to know how deep this basement would go and it's not just an ordinary basement like those in mall parking spots
If this would've been revealed to the public, it will cause an uproar and the society would question the funds used by the school or the rights of building a basement under their noses without them knowing how big it could be
'Wait... Is this why he asked me about society earlier??'
Anyways, I quickly enhanced my senses and activated 『 Supreme Sense of Measurement 』
From being at rest, we accelerated at a rate of 2.34 m/s² and achieved a constant velocity of 3.14 m/s
At this point, I only needed to count the time until we arrive at the bottom
~~~
'372 seconds...'
*Ding*
The elevator rang and alerted us of our arrival at the destination. This is contrary to my expectations because the teachers and professors from before were fast and didn't take the elevator ten minutes to come down and up for four times
That would've meant that I had to wait for 40 minutes if that was the case
But it looks like the teachers and professor came down earlier above us
'Distance is equal to speed multiplied by time... 3.14 m/s times 372 seconds... 1,168.08 meters underground... or 1.168 km or 725.811 miles...'
I frowned. We are more than a kilometer underground and that's a massive gap from the surface
That's approximately 31.96 times deeper than the deepest underground parking garage of the Sydney Opera House in Australia
That's also low balling it since I didn't account for the acceleration and deceleration of the elevator
『 Supreme Sense of Measurement (Lv.9) proficiency increased to 55% 』
So, it's safe to say that we are 1.2 km deep underground. Also, that elevator was slow as fuck compared to other elevators in the world
We could've arrived here in less than 3 minutes if the elevator was travelling at 5 m/s
'Are they accounting for my physique since I'm a child?'
No, thinking more about it, we are a kilometer underground. The heat and pressure under here would be immense
They were probably stabilizing our internal pressure so that we won't get sick when we arrive
After all, as soon as the elevator door opened, I was met by a cool breeze and I don't feel any overbearing pressure by being deep underground
As my eyes adjusted from the bright light, I was met with a clean and proper lobby. The lobby is big and it can almost accommodate at least 50 or 100 people at the same time
There are plants surrounded by benches at the center. There are vending machines to the side and a water drinking fountain. At the corner, there are industrial air-conditioning units that makes this place cool
This place looks like a corporation building andthe design is very well thought out
'How have I never been here before?'
On the left side and right side are hallways that splits into forks and perpendicular hallways. There are some doors on each hallway and I don't know where those lead to
"Follow me"
Mr. Winston urged me to follow and we turned to the right hallway
The complex basement is not devoid of life at all. As there are plants, there are also people
Some of them are attendants of small stalls for food and drinks. Some look like researchers with their lab gown on. Some even look like tourists or ordinary civilians that came to sightsee and roam around
"What is this place?"
I asked Mr. Winston
"Oh? You don't know?"
He answered not with a smug, but in way as if he was disappointed
"This place is the CoReLaTe... Complex Research Lambda Terminal. It is one of the many terminals across the world"
Now I'm confused. My face contorted into extreme confusion
"Why are you telling this to me and is this safe to show from an outsider?"
"Hm? Because you asked? Also, you're not an outsider though?"
"What??"
"..."
Mr. Winston didn't speak anymore until we arrived at our destination. It was a 10 minute walk
'Complex research... Lambda terminal... They didn't just throw around words so that they could create the world CoReLaTe, did they??'
I'm one hundred percent certain. This facility or complex never existed in my previous life. Unless it was destroyed even before I could be able to find out about it
There was even no records of this place nor any other terminal that Mr. Winston spoke of
Mr. Winston opened the ordinary looking iron door and we both entered
There was a single chair and table at the middle of the room. It was entirely wooden with metal hinges
The wall behind the chair is painted in rainbow colors vertically. The colors are not monochrome, but it's blending against each other as a smooth continuous transition
The wall on the left of the chair is a wall painted with the first Inkblot test in psychology, the Rorschach Test. It is painted in a pattern
I still see a hand on that inkblot till this day. It's as if it's reaching towards me
On the other hand, I remember that this specific inkblot looks exactly like an Elder God that I once fought in my previous life. Seeing that inkblot is giving me the creeps
The wall in front of the chair is a giant open cabinet bolted on the wall and divided in squares. The cabinet is 50 by 5 squares in dimension and each square has a notebook displayed inside
Meanwhile, the right side of the chair, towards our side where the door is, several pedestals are located
On the pedestals, there are several items that are displayed, such as a beaker, a calculator, a ruler, a compass, some kind of ball, a basketball, and much more. There's even a real gun with an ammo box next to it
At the corners of the room, there are CCTV cameras that's aiming at the table
Looka like this is so that whoever is evaluating me would be able to watch me take the test
"You would take your test here"
Mr. Winston spoke
"You may sit down on the chair"
I sat down on the chair
"On that cabinet, there are 250 tests in total. The test varries from subjects and many more general knowledge tests, such as medical, psychological, and many more. You'll be able to know once you start. There is even the SAT test and various admission tests in the most prestigious schools in the world"
"Okay"
"Also, since you were confident of taking the tests so that you could immediately graduate, we have called several prominent figures and personalities to watch over your test since this situation is extremely rare and we needed to watch over it"
'Prominent figures?? Who??'
"So, watch your attitude and behavior. They might not like whatever you might do"
"I understand..."
"Alright, you have 5 hours to finish the test. The test will begin once I leave the room"
Without a second breath, Mr. Winston immediately left the room and left me behind. The door locked as if I was shut-in in an airlock container
The test finally started and I know what to do since this is not a normal test, but a trap that is full of tests
~~~
Winston entered another room and he fixed his tie as he walked forward
"Winston! This better be worth my time!"
"Who is that child anyway? Why are we gathered like this?? Is he special in some kind of way?!"
"Oh come on, you don't even know the answer to that, bitch?! Of course we're here to judge the authenticity of his genius"
"Haaa?!! You want to die?!"
"Even then, it's quite odd for a second grader to speak that way, let alone challenge the courses to be able to immediately graduate?"
"This is a very rare and it has never happened before, especially since he's this young"
"Hey! All of you. If that boy is not what he seems, I will kill him on the spot!"
"You're going to kill a child?? What about his parents or the government?"
"I don't care!"
"Everyone shut up!! Winston! Explain to us in more detail at what's happening"
A group of prominent beings shrouded in mysterious shadows were siting on individual seats in an auditorium style room
A lot of them are present themselves, while others are projected on monitors across the room
While some our loud, rowdy, noisy, and rude, a lot of them are silent
In front of them is a large monitor that displays Philip's testing room. There is one big monitor and eight other small monitors under
This means that the four cameras were only auxiliary and the main camera is displaying the entirety of Philip and it's following him, almost like a drone. In addition to that, there are four more hidden cameras from each wall
Winston lifted his fist and put it on his mouth as he cleared his throat
"Ehem... I'll start... This boy is Philip Ibasco, seven years old, and grade 2 student of--"
"Fucker!! Skip that introduction! We already know everything! Tell us why this boy is special!"
Some muscular man threw the clipboard containing the documents and Winston caught it swiftly
"Ehem... Philip Ibasco. Four days ago, he has been observed by the surveillance team as showing signs of sudden change in behavior and attitude. He escaped from his house and started jogging"
"..."
Some of the faces of the figures contorted in ridicule
"Over the course of that four days, he has been practicing some kind of breathing technique and a peculiar sword practice. It has also been observed that as days passed, his speed and stamina increased exponentially"
Winston pressed a button on his remote control and showed a graph of Philip's growth on the monitor
"This is incredibly abnormal for a child of his age and status... Earlier today, it has also been recorded that he beat his mother down and knocked her unconscious..."
"Ha?! That brat!"
"Nice!"
Some are angry at Philip's actions while others are amused
"Earlier today at the morning, he showed strange behavior as he approached students that he has never met before and asked bizzare question"
Winston pressed a button
[Do you know what is a Singularity?]
[Single Point]
[Gravity]
"It was also absorbed that he flipped off his finger at the sky for some reason and he snapped his left fingers for a strange reason also. In addition to that, he showed strange actions when he approached a girl named Erica Berin. It's as if he was doing mime or magic. Perhaps he is seeing something we couldn't"
"Hmmm... That is indeed very peculiar"
Everyone agreed from someone's remark
"Haha! Seems like this is not a waste of time after all!"
"What do you think about this, Winston?"
"Him getting high scores on this last minute preparation tests is one thing... But if he showed signs of peculiar movement and behavior akin to the mysterious ones, we have to keep him to this facility and study him"
*Gasp*
Everyone gasped and murmured their own conclusi
ons and speculations
"You mean, this boy is one of those rumored cultivators or a mystical being heard in urban myths??"
"There is a chance to believe that"
"I see... Then, this boy is our ticket to open the world of cultivators or mysticism to us nornal people!"
"I'm excited!"
"Even if he showed no results, this is worth watching!"
"C'mon Winston! Let's see what he's doing now!"