Karlmo, the new apprentice instructor of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest.
Recently, I've had a bit of trouble because of the apprentice who just arrived a month ago; reports about him have piled up all over my desk.
Malin Gaiate.
Not because he's mischievous, but because he's a good student, sensible, obedient, eager to learn—precisely the type of student all instructors favor. And most importantly, he possesses sufficient talent.
That's the problem, he's too exceptional.
He really is too exceptional. In the first week, he completed all the tasks I assigned him every day without any slacking off. While his peers were looking for ways to slack off, he finished each swing with high quality. The heritage of a half-blood granted him not only talent and strength but seemingly also 'stubbornness' and an 'inflexibility' to adapt.
By the second week, when he began training in the Sydney military swordsmanship, the aura of a prodigy appeared over his head—on the third day of learning swordsmanship, he had already swept aside apprentices of his own age. Besides the difference in strength, this child displayed a talent far surpassing his peers in adaptability; even many senior students did not possess the capabilities he showed.
In the third week, when this child faced off against a second-year apprentice for the first time and deflected his opponent's weapon in his first training fight, the Grand Instructor openly praised him with the descriptor 'a natural-born warrior.'
Meanwhile, his ever-growing power made Karlmo and his colleagues realize a fact—that this half-blood had been in the grips of hunger before Lord Gaiate picked him up. So much so that when he had enough food, his strength began to increase rapidly; his power rating of 5 quickly reached 6 by the fourth week, a figure only mature Wild Elves could achieve.
And according to the Spell Formation check, this child was, at most, eleven years old.
Regardless of his human or Frost Giant heritage, this was a perfectly standard child. And the mysterious bloodline that could suppress his Frost Giant heritage... was definitely not a lower existence. According to human knowledge, the more advanced a bloodline, the most obvious characteristic it displays is a longer life and growth cycle.
In other words, this child was blessed with enough talent to dominate his peers of the era.
Although the major Churches have always said that every child is born into this world with talents hoped for by the Deities, everyone knows that being a Transcendent is a gift, being a big eater is also a talent. In other words, from birth, people don't start from the same starting line.
Hard work and diligence can change a person's Fate, but they cannot bridge this gap.
So when a child possesses such high talent, Karlmo feels joy that this child belongs to his Church, but even more so, he shudders at... the persistence and greed for power that this child shows on the path to pursuing strength.
As a half-human hybrid, Karlmo lived for thirty-five years; he saw gifted children lured by Chaos into madness on the road to ruin, and witnessed them willing to pay any price for so-called immortality.
In their eyes, friendship was nothing more than dirt; lovers were no more than dust, and the innocence of an entire city was merely the offerings stained upon their ascent to power.
Back then, Karlmo was still a whelp, his parents died in battle, and he, along with everyone else, became the material that prodigy intended to sacrifice.
If it weren't for the brave squad of Tech Hunters from the Sydney Union happening by that town, the entire land might have fallen.
Therefore, in the fifth week, Karlmo and two Spell Formation teachers had no choice but to remind old Hoffman.
It was time to give this child a character test.
.........
"A character test?" Malin was rather curious.
Interesting. It's just an alternate world in the age of steam, yet they have something like a character test.
Having gone through this period, Malin had also learnt a bit about the stories of this world and knew that character tests often determine a child's future path.
In an era where Chaos runs rampant, only those with hearts of steel have the right to survive.
The fools tempted by Chaos, they have but one path—to die, because even if they become so-called Great Demons or Princes, they are merely wretched beings with twisted minds.
The test was straightforward, several pages of paper, with one question after another, like multiple-choice questions, only without so-called standard answers.
The first question, if a Spirit and a being of different kind appear before you, and you have a firearm that can assuredly kill them, whom would you shoot?
Children are the ones who make decisions; Malin simply chooses A and B, shooting both the Spirit and the being of different kind.
The second question, again a Spirit and a being of different kind, knowing the Spirit is a non-human-eating good Spirit, whom would you shoot?
Do I even need to choose? Of course, I'd choose B and shoot the different kind.
The third question, again a Spirit and a being of different kind, knowing the different kind is a non-human-eating good being, whom would you shoot?
Malin pondered for three minutes on this question and chose D, Other, and on the underline of D he wrote why—on the premise that the mission of the different kind was to destroy everything, he would choose to shoot the bastard who came up with such a question.
The one who set the test must be controlled, better just to kill that guy first.
The fourth question, you see a being of different kind has captured an innocent person and is using them as a shield in front of your firearm, what would you do?
No need to think, Malin immediately chooses A—shoot right away.
Those captured by beings of different kind are practically already dead, and many of different kind can even control those they capture, so it's unforgivable for Malin to risk his own life and the innocents he is protecting out of concern for their life.
The fifth question, the battle is over, and you are very hungry, but there is no food on the battlefield, apart from the corpses of your comrade and the Spirit, and you have no other choice. Under the confirmation that both are non-toxic, whose flesh would you consume?
Do I even need to make a choice? As a Chinese person who has read the prose poem "Man Jiang Hong: An Expression of Feeling", Malin would rather eat the raw Spirit alive than touch the remains of his own comrade.
The sixth question, if you could live forever, what price would you pay.
There are three choices: your own life, everything you have, everything, and one self-filled option.
Malin laughed, there's no such thing as eternal life in this world; even a Transcendent will face death one day. Fear of death isn't horrible, what's horrible is losing one's humanity in order to avoid death.
Choose D, no one lives forever.
The seventh question, and also the last.
If you had the opportunity to resurrect a friend, would you pay everything for it?
Malin fell silent for a moment, but in the end, chose not to.
Just like the sixth question said, no one can live forever.
Nor can anyone live in the past... unable to extricate themselves.