Alpha Instinct

Leo stared at the card.

____________________________

Profile Stats / Guild House Membership Card

Name: Leonard

Surname: Winston

Rank: Iron

◇Strength: 4

◇Agility: 6

◇Cognition: 5

◇Constitution: 5

◇Mentality: 6

Characteristic: ×Divergent×

-Unable to track battle traces-

-Affinity synthesis ×error× detected-

____________________________

Leo stared at the results sheet, utterly bewildered. Nothing made sense; it contradicted everything Silica had told him. He wordlessly extended the card towards her, his eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and desperation, expressing a clear plea for an explanation.

"What the...?" Leo exclaimed, taking the card.

Silica's usual composure faltered for the first time. "Don't pin this on me. I am just as perplexed as you are."

"Are you sure?" Leo was devastated and spoke in an almost inaudible voice.

"Until now, I have never witnessed anything like it. Your readings are comparable to a Neumond child of six. Right now, you're barely any stronger than a baseline human. In all my six years working with the Guild, I've never seen anything like it." She didn't believe the facts.

"But... is it absolutely correct?" Leo stammered, his voice trembling slightly.

"Absolutely, sir. I checked it three times myself," she asserted, though a hint of uncertainty lingered in her voice.

"So... what now?" he asked, a note of despair creeping into his voice.

"It's plain and simple: As you are now, you're screwed. There's nothing you can do about it with these stats." She offered a dismissive shrug.

Leo felt his legs weaken, and he leaned against the wall for support. His carefully constructed plans, his dreams of vengeance, all crumbled to dust. A common soldier? That was the last thing he'd imagined. He hadn't even made it to the rank of a low officer.

He swallowed hard, trying to regain control. He remembered his mother's words, "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." He forced a bittersweet smile, but the sadness in his eyes was undeniable.

For a moment, he questioned why he kept going, trying, and even living. Then, the promise to his mother resurfaced in his mind—the desperate need to be worthy of surviving Besen when so many others, including his own parents, hadn't.

"Mr. Leo, perhaps I can help you..." Silica said softly, her condescending tone replaced by something akin to genuine concern, unexpectedly touched by his plight.

"Yes?" he asked, a flicker of hope appearing in his eyes.

"The Guild House gives new Neumonds a Starter Kit as a gift for their adventures; it's not much, but it helps those who are starting out."

"And what exactly is a starter kit?" He asked, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

"A weapon of your choice, a backpack, and camping tools," she replied.

"Yeah, this will help me a lot," he said, looking at her with a deadpan expression, "with making a barbecue in my yard." He gritted his teeth. "How do you expect me to face the world if I'm a loser?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to help." Her voice softened again. She shrank back but continued. "There's one more thing, Mr. Leo."

"You're not telling me this comes with a clown suit, right?" Leo muttered through clenched teeth, his attempt at humor falling flat.

"Mr. Leo, I'm serious. Please. You could take the growth potential assessment. It is not much, but it could provide a ray of hope," she said earnestly. She nibbled on her lower lip.

"Or it might be the final straw," he remarked. "But maybe... maybe having absolutely nothing to lose is the driving force I need." A wry smile tugged at his lips as he sighed, a spark of defiance flickering in his eyes.

"Great! Let's do it, Mr. Leo!" Silica's face lit up at his agreement, a genuine smile replacing her earlier formality.

They exited the admissions testing room and walked a short distance to another chamber. This one felt different, more scientific. It was slightly larger, containing a steampunk treadmill alongside a peculiar magical contraption with numerous tubes connected to a central sphere and a mask dangling nearby.

"That's… definitely weird…" Leo muttered, his eyes fixated on the strange machine as an uneasiness festered within

Silica explained, "This machine measures your metabolism, but the mages at the tower have discovered that it can also gauge your growth potential using mana signatures."

Humbra's philosophy defined two forms of cause and effect in Neumond assessments: potentiality and actuality. One determined where someone could potentially end up, while the other measured their current level of development.

"Right… but what do I have to do?" Leo asked, his apprehension growing.

"Simply put on the breathing mask and walk on the treadmill for five minutes," Silica replied with a reassuring smile. She gestured towards the equipment.

Leo remained hesitant, his gaze darting between the strange machine and Silica's expectant face. But with no other options available, he resigned himself to the process.

He climbed onto the treadmill and secured the mask over his face. The long tubes hissed softly as they connected to the strange device. He took off at a fast pace, his heart pounding in his chest. Silica pressed a lever, causing a series of glowing runes to appear around the machine, bathing the room in ethereal light.

"Rest assured, Mr. Leo," Silica said. "This test is strictly confidential. Revealing the results is forbidden. It's for your eyes only. I won't even glance at them. I'll hand you the results directly, sealed and untampered."

Unable to voice his growing apprehension, Leo simply raised his shoulders in a silent "Why?"

She didn't need to explain. The answer was obvious. Imagine if others knew the full extent of your capabilities—envy, predatory investments, strategic manipulation, injustice, and even targeted harassment could follow. Such information was dangerous in the wrong hands.

After five agonizing minutes had elapsed, Leo gradually decreased his pace until the machine whirred to a stop. He took off the mask, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

Silica reached into the machine and pulled out a small, folded slip of paper, its edges slightly singed from the process. She passed it to Leo, her hand lingering for a moment as if she were reluctant to part with it.

"Here's your result. As you can see, it's folded, so I honestly can't see it," she said, her usual nonchalance faltering slightly.

Leo took the paper with trembling hands and unfolded it to read:

Growth Potential: ⛤

"Holy sh—! Cough, cough!" Leo blurted out a genuine curse, then began coughing, his breath catching in his throat as he stared at the unbelievable pentagram.