Orio watched the exams nervously as he watched the boy pace easily through each and every one.
He tapped a button on his desk. "What do you mean, the test results aren't out yet? They're electronic, right? No, I'm the head researcher! I made the exam myself! What do you mean, I sound suspicious? Dammit!!"
He pulled out his holo. Dialing a certain ten digit number, he added a 29-digit access code when prompted.
"Hey, long time no see."
"…Need something?"
"Haha, yes, no, maybe so? I think I just got scammed by a kid. It's all his credit, but… Could you stop by in the next hour? I just want to make sure he's the real deal."
"…I'll be there shortly."
Orio sighed to himself. If this kid was real… Maybe she'd finally get her chance.
Ten seconds later, a whirl of pink petals caught his attention.
"Hey, bigshot, you made it."
"Enough. Show me."
Orio sighed. "A month ago I made a bet. The kid showed up with no family ties and an unbefore-seen contract mark."
"First I made a deal with him, to see his Contract Mark in return for one of our research station's child beasts."
"He showed great interest in the Creation Master profession, and walked through all the subfloors, not just the ones with our beasts. After seeing his mindset, I offered to increase the bet and told him that if he passed the tier 1 Creation Master test wirh full marks, I'd give him an [Archaic] rank beast from my collection."
"Not only did he finish the test, he passed it. I don't have his grade yet, but I know that he's passed the Creation Master Tests Tier 1-5, all of the Bestiary Exams, and all tiers of the Herbarium Exams as well."
"He's currently on the Tier 6 exam for the Evolution Token Exams, and plans to complete the Skill Knowledge Exams, and all levels of the National and Foreign History Exams."
"The thing is, if he passes all of the exams, I also promised him… That thing we won back then."
"So, now you see why I called you."
"Old friend." She arched her shoulder and placed her hand on his desk. "You want me to take him in as a disciple."
"…Yes," Orio strained his voice, "but I know you made a promise to yourself. I just think he's worth it."
"…I'll check him out. But you should know my criteria for a disciple from heart: Three soul stars, no previous discipleships, and a good heart. Without finding such a disciple, my options are limited."
"He may just surprise you. Do you remember the Tyrant Empress' recent break in?"
"He didn't take it, did he?"
"Nope, he traded a contraband absolution ticket for it."
"...…"
"...…"
"..."
"I'll take a look and see if he's cheating."
"That's my girl!"
Orio got a frosty stare.
Il Ji was taking question after question, when suddenly, he heard the door behind him open. Looking around, he didn't see anyone, so he used [Telepathy] to scout out the research lab.
"Huh. Guess it's nothing."
The door once again closed on its own.
'Well, might as well get back to ACING THIS, BA-BAE!'
A single lotus petal drifted down to the floor in the hallway.
'MONSTER! Where did he get the second soul star? And how could he *possibly* have that? And *two* to be precise?'
'And if Mia didn't get the skill [Hypnotic Telepathic Disappearance] last Tuesday, he would have known of my presence! Just who is this kid?!?!'
Orio sat back in his chair as another whirl of pink petals drifted to his floor.
"So, what do you think?"
"Everything's been done through his own ability. Not only can I tell you that he'll easily pass the tests, he'll also most likely ace them all as long as he had the required practice materials."
"You didn't give him all of the practice materials, did you?"
She studied his face.
"Yes, of course you did."
"What can I say? He's a prodigy, right? He walked in with a [Legend] bloodline beast."
She held her first and second fingers to her nose. "Did you at least run a background check?"
Orio smiled back at her.
She pursed her lips. "Of course. I'll run one for you. Old bastard."
"Thank you, my little cheeky grasshopper."
She tapped a few strokes on her personal holo. "Name: Il Ji. He runs a business in the Midas Shopping Strip called the Lucky Beast Supply Shop. His parents orphaned him and his sister, leaving them the shop and some money."
"Luckily, he had the foresight to make the shop self-sustainable, but it came at the cost for little improvement. As he is, he makes virtuallly no money."
"He recently came into contact with Sebastian Law, a reformed rich kid who broke his habits in high school. Interesting. It appears he has already applied for a team in the Chrono Cup."
"Hmmm. While he finishes taking your most beloved possessions, I'm going to meet some people to evaluate his character."
"Why, do you not trust him?"
"…If he reaches our level and decides to tear this country apart, none of us could stop him."
"...."