absolute silence settled in the instructors'' lounge as they watched with disbelief and doubt in their eyes.

what alexander did was almost outright impossible. there were no clues as to how to pass the mirror duel. it was a once-in-a-chance draw that a student would pick through that trial. once over-comed, they were rewarded by sending the passing student straight to the floor before the final one.

since the trial was designed to show the student their weakness in mind and in heart, trying to win through brute force was not possible.

once again, alex proved to be in a different league compared to the others, and this made the instructors see him in a new light. read latest stories on empire

"horvey, your kid alex, i don''t think he''s normal."

an instructor muttered in a daze, still unable to believe his eyes.

"agreed. no sane human would do something like killing themselves. to do that would require a person to have absolute faith in their intelligence.

"even i am not sure i can do that."

naturally, the instructors knew the way to pass that trial. just like alex explained, the clone was actually a reflection of themselves that pushed them to see their own shortcomings or at least what the system gathered so far.

there was no way in that simulation where a student came on top by defeating the reflection in a fight.

the only way out was to see through the words of the reflection and accept those shortcomings. it was only then that the clone would step back and give them a passing grade.

should the student fail within a certain time limit, the reflection could go ahead to kill them, instantly eliminating them from the competition.

in fact, all the other students who drew this duel failed miserably as they all tried to kill their reflection. in their cases, they couldn''t accept the truth about themselves and continued to push the clone until it finally ended their ranting.

there was no need for the students to kill themselves to pass that trial. even the instructors didn''t know one could do that.

to kill yourself when you absolutely believed the reality you were in was real? they could only swallow in nervousness.

"...."

instructor horvey remained silent as he had no word to give his colleagues and they understood that. they were that much shaken by the madness alex showed.

"at least, we know the kind of person he is now. strong in body and in spirit; a will so strong it defies logic and reality."

suddenly, his communicator vibrated and was mildly surprised by the caller.

"mason, i didn''t expect you''ll call me anytime soon. what is this call about?"

hunter zol went straight to the point without wasting any time. if it were an emergency the empire needed his help with, the communique? would come through his ai system.

[what... no how are you doing or anything like that? you should learn some curtesy, man. it will look good on your resume]

mason chuckled and then shook his head at his own joke.

"if you have nothing to say, then i''m ending the call."

he advised and was actually going to follow through.

[wait, wait! damn it! you don''t have to be such a pain in the ass!]

but then seeing the aloof look on hunter zol''s face, mason understood he meant business.

[fine. you''re no fun...

[i''ve been keeping an eye on the boy named alexander and i have to say, he''s really interesting. would it be possible to meet him? i know he''s under your protection, that''s why i''m asking.]

hunter zol narrowed his eyes hearing mason''s plea. naturally, he had no right to stop anyone from meeting alex, however, the fact that he was on the radar of beings like mason meant trouble for him.

''he''s definitely watching the event right now.''

and if he was, so were others.

"of course, but i''d have to be present as well."

he gave his input on the matter. there was no way he was leaving the boy alone and although he knew mason for a long time, not all is as it seems.

[alright, man. thanks. cause i''m almost there.]

mason dropped a bomb with a charming smile just like that and for a moment, zol had a perplexed look on his face, not sure if he heard right.

"what...?"