The Evaluation at Aegis was one of the last final procedures in a long list of the admission processes before an aspirant is fully acknowledged as a student or cadet.
Well, not quite. Technically, we were already students of the academy which could already have been given off since everyone present in this hall is wearing the same academy uniform.
As long as one succeeds to pass the initial requirements, and screening at the beginning, then they've already been admitted. All that was left was the clearance stage, and the Evaluation that would follow.
The wide hall was packed full with over two hundred students. It was a bit of a pain for me to get through without often going,
"Ah, my bad."
"Oops, sorry pal."
"Groped you behind? I have no idea what your talking abo-"
Of course that last one ended with a slap too swift I barely followed it.
'Ah, now my face stings.' right there at that moment, I made a mental note.
Never look forward to the slap of a blossoming Awakened young lady.
Shuffling through the large crowd, I walked across the wide hall and found an empty standing space available next to a wall. Avoiding the gazes of others, I leaned my back against it and left my arms in my pocket.
Less than a second later, everyone had looked past the small commotion caused while I was moving through the crowd. It was like they didn't seem me worthy of even their attention or their gazes.
Ah.
It was whem I finally fully took in the scene fromy position did I realise something.
This hall...
"Isn't it kind of stuffy in here...?'
...is full crazy oppression.
There was a transient tension that hung suspended in the air over the impending evaluation.
Actually, it was like a clash of different tension. There was an entire storm hurricane of it happening inside the hall.
'Damn, if they keep this us, then even I might end up getting nervous.' I pulled at my tie and murmured inwardly.
Part of the stuffiness in the air was caused over the nervousness that followed the Evaluation. I could see the minute traces of anxiousness and apprehension lining the faces of many present.
Those were the ones who were most worried about their own personal outcome, and exuded at least one-fourth of the tension in the air.
I moved my gaze slightly.
There were also those who were wary and cautious of the competition surrounding them rather than themselves. These belonged to the group of those who were wary of potential 'talents' that were bigger and greater than theirs.
The gazes that convergened on me during my arrival were mostly made up of these numbers. Aegis was a great and competitive institution, and these people were always on edge about someone more talented one-uping them.
These people constituted to about two-fourth of the tension.
And finally ...
I shifted my gaze slightly again, imperceptibly.
There were those who were brimming with so much confidence and arrogance, that it was just overwhelming. These people could easily be spotted from the level of composure and bearing they had.
They weren't nervous of their personal outcome that would follow the Evaluation, neither were they worried of talents much better or greater than them.
They were the best. Wether they meaned to transmit that intentionally or not, their overflowing confidence and composure did that for them.
It flowed out from this individuals like a tidal wave, stirring the weaker hearts and minds of those fretting over one reason or another.
And that in turn, contributed to the ravaging storm of tension and emotions that brewed a hurricane inside the hall.
"Hah..." I sighed.
As for me, I was one of the rare few, or possibly only one, who didn't classify amongst the three main types of people current.
Was I nervous? No.
Was I confident? Not quite either.
It was more like, I wasn't worried, or didn't care too much about the outcome. It was already inevitable.
I was in a grumpy mood that just found all of this a honest pain, although I knew it was necessary. I also more or less knew what to expect from this 'evaluation' from what I heard from Adrianne and Meta already.
As I waited patiently from my spot, various names and students were called and mentioned ahead of me, who nervously, or elegantly walked into the Inner room behind the doors at the end.
I pretended to ignore the tension and exchange of nervous and wary gazes that were flying around between the students in the hall and just stood silently, waiting for my turn which would probably be in a while.
Occasionally, the mentioned students who went into the Inner room would return and ultimately leave the hall. During those frequent moment, most of the gazes and attentions from the others would deeply and intensely converge on their retreating figures, closely observing even their most minute facial expressions or actions to get a hint of their outcome.
And as time passed, the situation only continued to thicken.
All in all, it was a pretty downcast and domineering atmosphere in here. Felt like I could suffocate if I remained any longer than an hour more.
Fortunately,
" Junior Cadet, Victor Bright. Student ID: 688801, please step forward for your evaluation."
I didn't have too wait any longer.
A crisp and stern voice came from outside the doors of the inner room, highlighting my turn.
And once again, all of the gazes present converged towards my sole figure.
'Finally.' I breathed a sigh of relief and exhaustion as I pushed my back off the wall and slowly approached the door.
I shuffled through the partially dwindled number of the crowd. Their gazes were sharp and intense, filled with all sorts of emotion, but I ignored them.
Unlike the last few times, the looks persisted quite a little while longer than before.
But by the time I was close to walking through the wooden door, most of those gazes had already diverted from my figure, casting me with their 'indifference' and aloofness.
Before I was gone into the room, no one else was giving me the time of day any longer...
Or so I thought.
"Hm?"
There was one.
'...What?'
I felt the particular gaze of a single person that stood longer on my back after everyone else had already turned away. I had a pretty high perception and was very sensitive to most things around me so it wasn't hard to notice.
I was curious.
I didn't stop walking, and only indifferently shifted my gaze to the side towards the direction the lingering look came from.
Amongst the crowd, it was a young girl. I couldn't clearly imprint her features in my mind from the distance and the short moment. But she stood out particularly because of what happened next.
She seemed startled and clumsy as she tripped on her own feet the moment I turned to glance at her.
'What the hell?'
That was... actually kind of amusing.
I heard her slight high-pitched yelp and suppressed a small laugh before turning away and continued through the door.
A small passage continued from behind the wooden frames, before me. The lady from before who mentioned my turn then said to me curtly.
"Just continue forward down this path. You can't deviate."
I gave a small nod and did as she said, as the doors closed shut behind my back.
It didn't take even up to a minute before I finally arrived at a wide room at the end.
It seemed like a large open space, with wide walls that were far separated. It had a certain chill and vibe to it, as all the walls, floor, and ceilings were painted pure white that was so pristine and neat, that they seemed to glow.
Scattered around the wide room that was nearly half the size of the hall from before, there were what resembled cubicles, or work stations neatly aligned, and isolated from one another with partitions.
The formed three rows and columns, and I could spot the backs and figures of students undergoing their evaluation inside some of them.
I received some instructions and slowly walked into one of the vacant cubicles.
It really did seem just like an office station, to my complete bafflement. There was a seemingly simple desk set up, and on the other end of it, sat a young woman with neatly styled black hair.
She wore a stainless white shirt and smiled warmly as she gestured for me to take a seat right next to her.
I responded with a silent nod and sat across her from the small desk in-between us. Within that short span, i swept my gaze through whatever I could find on the desk and in the station.
And only one particular gadget really caught my attention.
It was a spherical glass like orb placed at the center of the table, on a small stand that supported the orb. It's surface was unreflective, and was completely see through, giving it a kind of empty feeling.
And of course,
'This is it.'
I knew exactly what that 'device' was.
Just as I had that thought, I heard the soft voice of the lady opposite me and raised my head slightly.
"Now we will begin your talent evaluation."
.
.
[A/N: One bonus Chapter complete.
Reminder;
20 powerstones = an Extra Chapter
10 Golden tickets = an Extra chapter too
So see you next time!]