The final test took place in a windowless room, which Elyon noticed was adorned with various golden talismans.
"Go on in, it's simple," Captain Kappa reassured, noting Elyon's unease.
Pushing open the door, they found inside a pale, handsome man of considerable height, donned in a long robe embroidered with various runes.
"Here for the mental strength test?" the man asked without lifting his head, his hands busy with something that resembled dolls.
"Isn't it about faith?" Elyon queried.
"Faith is essentially a measure of mental strength. The only difference lies in aligning you with either order or evil."
The man's words sounded almost heretical – he would likely have been burned at the stake in some church for such talk.
"Over there, just place your right hand on it," the man motioned towards a clear pillar that appeared to be made of crystal.
I'm a staunch skeptic of all things supernatural; I bet touching it will show nothing. Is no reaction indicative of atheism or insanity?
Elyon tentatively placed his hand on the crystal column, and nothing happened.
"Sir, what's going on?" Elyon inquired.
"Oh, I forgot to mention – this antique takes some time to warm up, and they won't approve a new one," the man continued to play with his dolls.
Elyon kept his hand there, and after a moment, the column began to warm. It felt like it was drawing magic from his body, and the column started to light up, shifting from transparency to emitting a bright white glow, the intensity akin to a smartphone's screen.
But the draining feeling persisted, and the brightness of the column now matched that of a 30-watt LED bulb, outshining the room's gaslight.
"Interesting, that's about your limit, isn't it?" the pale man observed Elyon with a newfound interest.
Elyon felt the pull of magic from his hand cease and nodded in confirmation.
"My name is Spencer, a vampire, or a spiritual being in your human terms, though among my kind, I'd be called a vampire count. If it weren't for the absence of the Winter God's holy emblem in the column, I'd think his avatar had descended upon you. Ha, just kidding. Though you lack a holy emblem and aren't as strong as a god's favored, your mental strength is impressive," Spencer revealed with a hint of amusement.
A vampire? The man before Elyon certainly fit the mythical description.
"Mr. Spencer, how would you rate my mental strength?"
"For a first-time awakening, by human classification – from lowest to highest – it goes: Awakened, Transcendent, Ability User, Super Ability User, Spiritual Being, Saint, Demigod, and higher tiers. Your mental strength is already comparable to a Super Ability User. If you continue to develop your special abilities with enough mental power, you'll be considered strong within your rank."
Am I that strong? Elyon thought. The bright white light must signify a follower of the Winter God, likely influenced by the pendant on his chest.
"Respectable Count Spencer, may I ask what god's favored means?" Elyon inquired, now genuinely interested, seeing Spencer busily documenting the test results.
"Wait a moment, ha ha, it's rare to find a prospect of your caliber. This means my sentence will be reduced by three months. God's favored? They are a group both envied and pitied. Every god's favored is directly blessed by a true god, awakening to transcendent powers at birth. Historically, all god's favored reach at least demigod status, if not higher. But with great power and prospects comes zealous devotion; some even believe god's favored are merely vessels for gods' descent," Spencer said, his voice growing softer towards the end.
"And your imprisonment?"
"Nothing much, just a little trouble that landed me in the Special Actions Division's employ. They sentenced me to thirty years. I'm provided blood, meat, and wine on time, so aside from the lack of freedom, it hardly feels like prison. Still, it bothers me, otherwise, I would have fled long ago if I could take down that old monster down at the bottom. They promised to reduce my sentence if I identify a promising new recruit. Someone as exceptional as you is good for at least three months off, maybe even six, ha ha ha."
The vampire seemed quite pleased, almost giddy with excitement.
"Respected Count Spencer, is there anything else I need to test?"
"Besides enhanced strength and speed in your limbs, did any other parts of your body gain extra abilities?"
"My eyes, I think. It seems I can see high-speed movements and objects slow down. Do I need to demonstrate? Can I skip it? I feel like there are side effects after using it," Elyon asked.
"Today's my lucky day, so I'll write you up without a demonstration. Based on your description, it's probably a C-rank Eagle's Eye – not very powerful, but combined with proficient shooting skills, it can be quite effective. What's the side effect? Although many people have this eye ability, the consequences vary due to different faiths."
Elyon recalled being told about the cost of using abilities, but his fainting was likely due to blood loss or the orb's influence. Claiming no cost would risk dissection. Considering Pearce's power of hypnosis and the price of drowsiness, and the old man's strength test and his skeletal appearance, Elyon's eye ability's cost must be a negative effect on his vision. But after finally breaking free from nearsightedness on this planet, he couldn't admit to that as a cost – they might just give him prescription glasses and render him half-blind again.
After a moment, Elyon said, "Last time I used my eyes, they became sensitive to bright light."
"That's easy to fix. I have a special pair of tint-changing glasses for you," Spencer replied, rummaging through his filing cabinet, displacing a horde of wooden, porcelain, and metal carved dolls dressed in miniature outfits, including some cross-dressed male dolls. The vampire's eccentric taste gave Elyon pause, but he resolved to accept the gift politely, not wishing to offend a spiritual being.
"Found it," Spencer said as he produced an elegant ivory box and extracted a vintage pair of round glasses with lenses seemingly made of yellow crystal, shimmering with a golden sheen, and gold-plated frames.
"Take these. In this dim light, they're almost transparent but will turn yellow and eventually red and finally dark as the brightness increases, filtering out strong light."
Accepting the glasses and the box, Elyon asked, "Respected Count Spencer, how much should I pay you?"