Chapter 140: We’re Not Fairies, Are We?

"Wow, this kid really does have some brain left in him," Ernest muttered. "I thought he was just an empty box. There was no pressure at all on his face. He approached everything objectively. In contrast, the way he acts and his impulsive mouth overshadow the fact that he’s actually smart and surprisingly good at things like this."

Elinox just listened and didn’t reply. The lady beside them, on the other hand, was gobsmacked by Zishan’s performance throughout the examination process. When she looked at his scores on the piece of slab in her hand, she was even more shocked than she had already been.

"He only missed four points out of a hundred!" the lady exclaimed, her eyes still wide. "In the history of this branch—no, actually, in the entire history of the Thousand Echoes Guild, this was the first time someone scored like this. What is a genius doing in this backwater area of the region?!"

Ernest glanced at her. "Backwater?"

The lady froze for a second before realizing who was standing beside her. "I-I meant compared to the main branch, Sir."

"Sure," he replied dismissively.

Her face stiffened.

Elinox looked at Ernest for a moment before turning her attention back toward the darkened glass. Inside the Echo Room, the forest had already disappeared completely.

The door opened soon after, and Zishan finally walked out. Ernest and the others were already waiting for him outside, yet none of them said anything at first.

Instead, they were all looking at him strangely. Even the employee had that expression.

Zishan slowed down. ’Damn it! Did I fail?! I must have missed some important details! Damn!!!’

He had been confident when he gave his report, but the way everyone was staring at him made that confidence disappear as if somebody had slapped it out of him.

"What are you doing there, kid? Just gonna stand there and not look at your scores?" Ernest finally said as Ollie ran toward Zishan and hugged his thigh.

Zishan looked down at him, then lifted the little boy and placed him on his shoulders just like before.

"Congrats, Big Brotherrr!" Ollie suddenly said, pulling his hair again.

Zishan stopped. He had already started walking toward the lady holding his score slab when Ollie’s words registered in his head.

"What do you mean congrats?" he asked.

"You passed the test, kid, with flying colors at that," Ernest said.

Zishan stared at him before his expression twisted. "Then, why would you look at me like that?!"

"..."

He sighed heavily and adjusted Ollie’s legs around his shoulders. "Tell me honestly, you probably thought I wouldn’t pass the exam, right?"

Ernest gave him a long look.

Zishan narrowed his eyes. "See? That silence already answered everything."

"I haven’t even said anything yet."

"Exactly."

"Congratulations, Sir Zishan. You passed the examination with flying colors. Come see your scores!" the lady employee greeted him as she approached him, saving Ernest from having to continue the argument. She held the score slab out toward him. "Here it is."

Zishan took it with one hand while keeping the other around Ollie’s leg.

Several lines of glowing text were already displayed across its surface.

He blinked. "It was the Echo Room that scored me? Not some examiners or something?"

"Yes. The Echo Room records everything that happens during the examination, including what you inspect, what conclusions you make, the order in which you make them, and your final report. It produces the initial evaluation and score once the test ends. The examiners only review the result afterward, especially if there were violations or questionable judgment."

Zishan looked down at the explanations beneath each category. "Its automated justifications for the scores actually sound better than AI."

"AI?" Ernest’s one brow raised.

"Nothing, nothing."

Elinox looked at him strangely.

Zishan ignored both of them and focused on the slab.

Observation: 29/30

Identified nearly all significant physical evidence. One major clue required a later re-examination of the scene.

Reasoning: 28/30

Reached the correct reconstruction. Several early assumptions lacked sufficient support but were discarded once contradictory evidence was found.

Judgment: 19/20

Separated established events from uncertain details and avoided forcing a complete sequence where evidence was insufficient.

Integrity: 20/20

Clearly distinguished evidence, inference, and speculation. Refused to present an unsupported motive or exact sequence as fact.

TOTAL SCORE: 96/100

Zishan read the numbers again. ’Damn...’

"That’s actually impressive..." he said. "I know I’m smart, but this is still mind-blowing."

A familiar screen appeared in front of him.

[Host’s ego has inflated after a single examination.]

Zishan was about to smile when the System was being harsh on him again.

[The System advises Host not to gloss over the numerous occasions in which Host’s brain capacity has been questionable.]

’Fuck you.’

The screen remained there for a while. Zishan stared at it for a second before remembering something far more important.

’Wait.’ His eyes narrowed. ’You didn’t even give me a quest. Look, I passed with flying colors; I would’ve earned another set of rewards!’

The System offered no response.

’Oi.’

No response came.

Zishan’s expression darkened. ’You give me quests for some of the stupidest things and suddenly disappear when I actually do something impressive?’

"Then, let’s go have the crest of the Guild tattooed on your skin," Ernest suddenly said.

Zishan’s argument with the System vanished from his mind.

"I get tattoos?" He looked down at his arms. "That’s fricking cool for some reason."

"Yes, you’ll get one," Ernest said, staring at the kid with a weird expression again.

"What?"

Ernest shook his head and started walking. "Let’s go."

Zishan watched him for a moment before following with Ollie still sitting happily on his shoulders.

They returned to the long counter near the front portion of the Guild hall, though the employee led them toward a smaller circular platform built into the floor behind one end of it.

There was no needle, no ink of some sort, or any type of tattooing tools. Instead, another employee brought out a shallow silver container filled with fine powder that was shimmering.

Zishan looked at the powder, then at Ernest. "What do you do with that?"

"It’ll be used for the Crest Imprinting process," Ernest said, and when he saw the confused look on the kid, he continued, "It’ll be showered on you as part of the process."

’We’re not fairies, are we? Why so flashy?’

Looking at his twitching face again, Ernest emphasized, "It’s part of the Crest Imprinting."