CHAPTER 144: SCREENING

Screening

As it turns out, the inside of the booth was spatially expanded.

Osho didn’t know how it worked, but looking around, the place was quite a bit bigger than it looked from the outside. From being able to accommodate about 10 people, Osho guessed that up to 50 people could fit in now. Moreover, the place had quite a bit of equipment.

It was quite minimalist, with everything there made with the sole intent of accomplishing the task. So computers, measuring devices, large screens, and what looked like multiple Potential Measuring devices.

There were also a few smaller booths with different people in them, and Osho guessed this was where the interviews would happen as, yes, one is meant to do a brief interview to judge their eligibility before the remaining parts of the screening process.

A few people were manning the different equipment, and as soon as the group entered, the woman who led them inside turned to them with a smile.

"Alright. First things first, can you all forward the necessary documents to me? Once we have that sorted out, you guys can be interviewed and do the subsequent processes." She explained, and everyone nodded.

The documents–which were only required in soft copy, thankfully–included their overall results from their final year in school as well as their results from the written examination. Their birth certificates, identification cards, and a bunch of other things.

The five of them nodded, quickly collecting her contact information and sending the required documents.

She took a moment to confirm that everything was in order, then she nodded and directed each of them to a stall.

The group shared glances and nodded subtly as they all went to an individual interviewer who was patiently waiting for them.

As soon as Osho took his seat, the person opposite him, a clean-shaven man who was in his older years, greeted him.

"Good afternoon, lad." He said with an easy, yet professional smile, and Osho reciprocated it.

"Good afternoon." He nodded as he felt the man inspect him briefly before he hummed.

He tapped a watch on his wrist, and several holograms of the various documents Osho sent, and he began sifting through them.

"Before we begin, I have to ask, your scores for both exams are not up to par. So if your beasts aren’t impressive enough, then no matter how you do on this interview, you won’t be allowed admission." He said calmly. Osho resisted the urge to speak about how absurd the scores required were and simply nodded.

"Alright. Then let us begin."

What followed was a 15-minute interview where the man pretty much rapid-fired questions at Osho. He asked him different things, from common knowledge to questions related to what course he wanted to do. His opinions on certain topics with no particular rhyme, and so on.

Osho answered the best he could, making sure to keep his responses concise and understandable. He also ensured his English was as close to flawless as possible, as he learned that the way one responded to these questions mattered a lot.

In his past life, he recalled a few cases where students who wanted to be screened didn’t get admission. Not because their results weren’t good enough, but the manner in which they carried themselves and how they spoke. One case was how a guy who mispronounced his words or mumbled his answers didn’t make it, despite getting well over the required marks.

Anyway, the man seemed to be scoring Osho whenever he answered a question, though, Osho couldn’t see what the marks were about, even when he used his Mana sense.

Eventually, though, Osho answered all the questions, and the man nodded with a smile.

"You’re a sharp lady. I just hope you don’t end up getting disappointed." He said with a small sigh, and Osho just nodded slightly.

Seeing this, he decided not to hold Osho any longer, and Osho couldn’t help but be impressed by the professionalism.

A small part of him had been concerned that they would just dismiss him and his friends due to underestimating them. After all, with how stringent the requirements were, and with how low-ranking their Citadel was,–meaning a lack of people with good potential–there was a chance they wouldn’t even be looked at.

But so far, the people here have been quite professional and have carried out their duties without judgment. This just served to reaffirm Osho’s choice, as it seemed like they didn’t care about where you came from, only if you had the ability to learn under them.

Osho finished his interview around the same time as the others, and once they were finished, the same woman from before met them all.

"Alright. Now I believe you’ve been made aware, but in case you haven’t, the truth is that none of you meet the criteria for entry into our college on the theory front. So if you want to proceed, we can test the potential of your beasts while reviewing any combat footage you may have to test whether you are up to par on that front." She explained, and the group nodded, having already expected this.

"Great. Forward any videos you may have to me and our people will review them. In the meantime, we can measure the potential of your beasts." She said pleasantly, and everyone immediately complied.

[She’s pretty nice.] Osho thought. It went beyond simple professionalism, as she genuinely seemed to enjoy what she was doing. It was something Osho found a little endearing.

They reached the spot where the potential measuring devices were. There were ten of them, and they looked quite a bit more advanced than the one Mrs Jane used during the potential measuring test all those months ago.

The group looked interested, and she clearly noticed as she explained.

"These are state-of-the-art Potential Measuring Devices of the latest generation. They are more precise in that they not only tell of the potential a beast has, but they also tell exactly the sub-rank the beast will have. For instance, it can tell if a beast will have Mid-Expert rank potential, so you will not need to guess." Hearing this the group nodded, impressed.

Potential Measuring devices were quite expensive as many people believed them to be ahead of their time.

Osho genuinely wondered how something that could accurately tell the upper limit of a beast’s potential existed, yet beast evolution was still such an elusive topic for most people. It was an intriguing creation indeed.

"Alright. Just summon your beasts and set them on the platforms for each device." She said, and the group nodded.

Unlike the small one Mrs Jane used back then, these ones were quite a bit bigger.

It had a tall frame that was almost as tall as Osho himself, and it was half a meter thick, with different dials and buttons.

At its base was a metal platform 1.5 meters in diameter where the beasts would stay, and around the platform were small crystals that currently appeared clear, but they would shine with a specific color when the potential of a beast was measured.

Osho lingered before summoning Gale, and the others followed suit as they summoned their beasts.

As soon as they did, Osho noted a trace of surprise flash across the woman’s face, and not just at the appearances of each beast.

"Oh? You’ve all reached the Apprentice rank?" She asked, her voice sounding genuinely impressed as she took in the looks of each beast.

"Yeah. We did it some time ago." Ellie said with a thumbs up.

"Hm, well that’s promising. Alright, then, lead them onto the platforms." She said, and everyone followed suit.

’We are so quiet.’ Osho noted vaguely. Since they entered this booth, none of them had spoken a word unless they were directly addressed. Something Osho found to be especially surprising with Ellie and Sam as they were the ones who tended to talk a lot.

Anyway, as soon as the beasts hopped on the platforms, they all whirred to life as the different dials activated and started to move.

At the same time, Osho noted that some of the people who were reviewing the footage of their beasts and their fights let out exclamations.

This seemed to catch the attention of the woman as she turned to them curiously.

As soon as she did, the crystals on the Potential Measuring Devices came to life, each of them showing off a specific colour.

4 of them gave off gold light while the last one was purely black.

The main frames of each machine then showed a result.

Peak-Grandmaster

Peak-Grandmaster

Peak-Grandmaster

Peak-Grandmaster

Peak-Legendary

The group all shared looks, with Kurt looking like he was about to let out a laugh of pure avarice. If that made any sense.

The woman hummed, slightly hesitating on whether she should go and see what had her colleagues so worked up. But she shook her head.

’Let me handle this fir–’ She turned and froze, her entire body freezing as she took in the different measuring devices and the results they displayed.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, her shock apparent.

Then she focused on the one with black light and her face paled.

"I-I’ll need to make a call!" She practically squeaked as she was just shy of running away.