22 Tes (1/2)
Wu started calling out a list of names.
”Li, Dong. Shao, Fu. Rot, Pjeter. Du, Yijun. Minniti, Romeo. Xun, Rong…”
He continued down the list until he reached ten names. I noticed that the majority of the names sounded similar to Chinese, with a few exceptions.
The kids stood in a haphazard queue at the bottom of the steps.
”Li, Dong.”
Li Dong walked up the steps and stood there, confused.
”Go on. Put your hands on the testing crystal,” Wu impatiently instructed.
Li Dong walked up to the crystal and tentatively placed his hands on it. It started glowing, and he yelled out in shock, then collapsed after a few seconds.
Many different coloured orbs formed inside the crystal. The largest one was gold, but not by much. The orbs quickly faded, and the crystal went back to normal.
Chairman Liu called out a few words,
”Qi force 43, affinity 22%. Fail.”
Guards filed into the main hall, and the first one walked up to the stage. He picked up the kid, then marched out.
Davide leant closer to me and whispered,
”I didn't know it made you pass out…”
”Yeah…” I responded absent-mindedly.
I was more interested in the results. The orbs seemed to represent affinities, and gold must be the affinity they were looking for. I started getting excited, wondering what my result would be.
”Shao Fu!”
He crept up the stairs and reached out to the crystal, seemingly a bit scared after Li Dong had passed out.
”Qi force 71, affinity 12%. Fail.” Another guard dragged him out.
”Rot, Pjeter!”
”Qi force 58, affinity 40%. Fail.”
”Du, Yijun!
”Qi force 82, affinity 60%. Pass!”
Du Yijun was carried through a door on the right, and an excited hum built in the crowd.
Wu called out the next name, and chairman Liu continued.
The list kept droning on, fail after fail, only about one in ten kids passing. The same coloured orbs kept cropping up: gold, green, orange, blue, and yellow.
”Yao, Daiyu!”
”Qi force, 162! Affinity, 92%! Pass!”
A gasp of awe spread among the crowd, as Yao Daiyu crumpled to the floor without a sound. Her long black hair pooled over her dress and onto the floor.
She was picked up by a guard and her hair looked like a waterfall.
A sharp elbow dug into my side. I turned to see Davide, eyes wide.
”Did you see that! I thought only we were gonna get scholarships.”
”Yeah… but there's gotta be a few more right?”
Davide snorted and let out a little giggle.
”Big bro, are you nuts?”
I shook my head and looked back to the platform.
”Zhou, Yon. Tang, Ah. Schwarz, Oscar…”
My heart skipped a beat, and I pushed my way through the crowd to get to the front. Why was I so nervous? It was just a test!
”Good luck big bro!”
Davide's tiny voice somehow reached my ears and calmed me down. I had a few seconds in the queue to think.
Father said I should use a fifth to a quarter of my qi, and I wanted to play it safe. The criteria were higher this year, and I wanted that scholarship, whatever it was.
I let out 200 drops, adding it to the qi already in my body.
”Schwarz, Oscar!”
Climbing up the steps, I ignored Wu's angry gaze, and walked straight to the chairman.
”Still ignoring orders? Put your hands on the crystal Schwarz!” Wu ordered.
Chairman Liu waved his hand, and Wu looked away with an irritated click of his tongue.