NOVPUB
Chapter 48: Esper Ability Testing 1
Within the administrative building, the duo were quickly received by a waiting clerk who handled the registrations after being directed towards this area. Kaizer and Rina were both seated side by side across a desk in which the clerk in question asked their details, then registered them within the system one by one.
Their IDs were also required, which both provided easily for scanning, which was attached to their file. After that came the usual photoshoot of the bust of the applicants so that their image would also be added to the folder, allowing for their student ID to be printed.
While this was done, the clerk then led them to the important part, which was to test their esper abilities. As part of the basic inquiry, they had already shared their esper powers with the clerk, with Kaizer stating his to be Telekinesis and Telesthesia.
He naturally was not going to share information about his Telepathic ability as that would cross some bottom lines, and his Telesthesia could cover for his telepathy in most cases, especially in combat.
As for Rina, she simply stated that she had the power to manipulate death energy and did not add anything about resurrection or instant death, as those were abilities only Anir could bring out at the moment anyway.
"You will have to go to the Testing Center, which is near this building, just a few blocks to the right." The male clerk who was called Jason prompted them as he gave them a letter each.
Kaizer nodded and made the letters float to their hands as he got up, flicking a finger to lift the lazy Rina into the air once more as he levitated after him. Jason looked at this with a hint of envy in his eyes, as he—and many of the normal personnel in the academy minus the teachers—were non-espers.
Kaizer came out with Rina and saw that Lisa and Hector were chatting outside the car while waiting for them. Rina immediately ’swam’ over to their luggage and found that it looked the same as before, turning to glance at Kaizer.
Kaizer simply sent her into the car with a casual nod, showing the letters to Hector and Lisa.
"Alright, testing time huh? I remember when I was tested, I caused a small commotion back then," Hector stated as he got back into the car along with Kaizer and Lisa.
"Huh? Sleazy guy, what’s your power anyway? And you too, Ms. Cowgirl?" Rina asked with interest.
Hector’s face fell due to the title given him but he was magnanimous.
"My esper ability is the B-ranked Aquakinesis," Hector stated proudly. no𝚟𝚙u𝚋.c𝚘m
"Just B rank?" Rina retorted innocently, causing Hector to grab his chest in pain.
Lisa chuckled in enjoyment. "I got the B rank Aerokinesis. Manipulating elements is pretty common among espers and about 80% have some form of elemental manipulation in the academy. It’s the easiest to teach and train."
"Also, don’t look down on B rank, apart from the few A-rankers who enter the Special Echelon, even from the First to the Fifth Echelon are B-ranked talents. The rest of the forty-five echelons are populated with C-rank, D-rank, E-rank, and F-rank posers," Hector said with a dissatisfied sniff.
Hector turned to glance at Rina. "Looking at you two, you might have B-ranked abilities at the lowest with a slight chance to be A rank. That’s just my assumption given what I’ve seen so far."
"How is the grading done? What is the criteria?" Kaizer asked, remembering Barnes, Lyle, and Leo who were graded at D and C rank.
"It’s mainly three aspects. Your power’s utility, its current output, and its maximum cap," Hector answered casually.
"And who can they test that?" Rina inquired curiously.
Hector smiled slightly. "Well, you’re about to find out since we’re here. Everyone off!"
He tapped the side of the car as Lisa came into the park before the testing center, which looked like a stadium with a dome, the building itself painted a mixture of white and blue. The group disembarked and saw that the venue was busier than the administrative building, with countless students coming and going.
Hector led them inside, Lisa opting to stay in the car because she couldn’t bear to part with it so easily. On their way in, Hector greeted many students who seemed interested by the flashy duo of Kaizer and Rina, with more eyes on Rina than Kaizer.
"Whoa Hector, who is the beauty you’ve got here? Is she a new student?" A few handsome fellows came over with bright eyes.
Hector chuckled. "That’s right and she is a feisty one. Do not try and make contact, ’cause you will get burned HARD."
Whether these fellows were enticed by this or felt themselves confident, they did try to approach Rina after speaking to Hector, to which the young woman did not even glance their way, too lazy to respond.
Kaizer simply flicked a finger and pushed them all back a few steps, causing their expressions to change slightly. Hector shrugged with a mocking smile at the fellows, making it clear that he warned them but it was their fault for not listening.
Of course, it wasn’t only guys as some girls also came to greet Hector and asked about Kaizer with similarly bright eyes, but Rina’s menacing behavior when they got close caused many to smile awkwardly and leave.
Soon, they reached the reception area of the building where Kaizer and Rina gave their letters to the aides here, who processed them into the system. Then, they were given a tag to head to testing rooms 34 and 35 to have their abilities tested.
Hector took them inside and brought them along two long hallways with doors on either side that were labeled with ’testing room 1’ and so on. The doors were quite technologically advanced and even had a red/green sign that showed whether it was occupied or unoccupied.
"Why are there so many people here?" Rina asked with puzzlement.
"Well, part of our being here is to form connections and strengthen our esper community, but another part is to become stronger, right? So after you’ve made progress, you’d naturally want to test how much you’ve improved compared to when you last checked, so the testing center is always busy," Hector explained casually.
Hector nodded to the doors for testing rooms 34 and 35. "Alright, you guys go in and don’t take too long."
Kaizer was assigned room 34 so he calmly nodded to Rina and walked in, while Rina gave him an encouraging fist shake before similarly walking into her own chamber.
Once inside, the lights brightened, revealing a large open area with pure white walls and a few monitors and displays on the side, as well as a pedestal with a terminal in the center.
"Applicant Kaizer Lunin, please step up to the terminal and press your right hand on the scanner," a female voice with a pleasant tone spoke, being one that was clearly AI-generated.
Kaizer immediately did so, seeing the scanner take in his palm’s details and upload it to the database for verification before giving him his next set of instructions.
"Applicant Kaizer, you have listed your Esper Ability as Telekinesis and Telesthesia. Your first set of tests will be based on your Telekinesis."
A dummy appeared opposite Kaizer, making his eyebrows rise since he could not tell its presence with telepathy due to its lack of a mind.
"Please strike the dummy with the maximum telekinetic force you can muster."
Kaizer complied and gathered the totality of his power that had been honed over a week’s training, pushing outwards in the form of a telekinetic blast.
BANG!!
A cannon-shaped force acted upon the air and blasted the dummy into pieces, not even allowing it to fly back. Kaizer furrowed his brows lightly as the great exertion depleted his mental stamina by about 20% in one go.
"Calculating... Done. Your estimated telekinetic force at maximum output is 3.4 million newtons, or the equivalent of a high-speed train or a heavy articulated truck moving at full speed."
Even Kaizer had to admit that was quite fearsome. Based on telekinetic power alone, he could likely blast a tank flying or peel the skin off a living person in one go, marking him as a serious threat... and this wasn’t even his limit!
Another dummy manifested, but this one was in a fighting stance.
"Applicant Kaizer, please defend against the attacks of the dummy using only your telekinetic ability. Its base power output will be set at a million newtons per strike."
Before Kaizer could even assent, the dummy moved rather quickly and struck at Kaizer. He managed to put up a psychic barrier, but his expression shifted slightly when the barrier directly trembled greatly under the strike of the dummy.
It then threw another punch a second later, then another right after in the next second. It seemed to pace its punches per the second, and this was enough to allow the applicant some breathing space.
But a million newtons of force was like being hit with a speeding car on the highway... twice over!
Even Kaizer could not take more than 4 punches of that before his barrier shattered.
