Chapter 29: The first lesson
The group of Espers Hill had selected for Kellen were waiting near the door for them. They took up the space that was covered in mats, and all stood there nervously. They were staring at the trio warily, and Kellen wasn't sure if it was because he was flanked by two lieutenants or if they had seen him run the obstacle course. If it was the latter, he couldn't help them. They'd just have to come to terms with the fact that some Guides weren't soft and gentle all the time. It wasn't the first time Kellen would have received these kinds of looks, so he knew how to deal with it. Ignore them.
"Thank you for coming." Kellen said to them as he came to a stop in front of them. Casper came to a stop next to him while Gunther found a chair and sat down a short distance away, giving the appearance of leisure. Kellen knew, as did the Espers before him, that the man could move quickly. If they'd watched them run the obstacle course, they knew that. They also knew Kellen could move even quicker. "I appreciate you being so willing to help me. I have a somewhat awkward request. Could I ask you to move into a line from lowest Class to highest Class?" The Espers shuffled around without complaint and Kellen smiled. They all had stoic faces on now, as if they were about to go into a gate. "I'm going to try to take as little of your time as possible. I've recently had a change in my Class, which I feel some of you may know. Because of that, I need some help testing out the level of my new powers, and their depth. We'll only be doing basic guiding, even when I ask for you help again in the future. Lieutenant Casper will be keeping track of the level of guiding I've done by measuring you before and after I've guided you. I'll only be doing a quick guiding session, about 5 minutes each. You are free to leave once he's told you so." Kellen felt he had said all of the important things, and after sharing a few, quick words with Casper about how they were to go about this, they set to work.
Kellen started at the lower Classes, before working his way up. Gunther, since he was bored, offered to be in charge of the timer while Casper was busy with managing all the data and checking the Espers. Kellen kept moving down the line. It was a surprisingly painless process that went by faster then he thought it would. Casper didn't tell Kellen any of the results until after all the Espers had been used and also had left. He hmmed over the charts in front of him, and Kellen wondered briefly if he had missed Casper bringing the electronic data pad in his anger earlier. Gunther moved from the seat he had taken and joined the two of them.
"We should speak about the results in my office." He murmured, his eyes still scanning all the information. Kellen nodded and began gathering his things from the cubbies, leaving the Guide to mutter to himself as he changed back into his uniform. Gunther followed after him, also changing back into his Esper uniform and also showed Kellen where he could drop off the gym outfit he had picked up. The guild supplied them to everyone, and kept fresh clothes in every gym. They even washed and laundered them every day. Kellen appreciated the man's help.
They joined Casper near the front door, who seemed to have his head out of the clouds now that he'd had second to go over everything on his own. Nodding at the two beside him, he led them to the Guiding Division. Kellen could feel everyone's gaze on him, and he did his best to keep his features flat. Casper only stopped briefly at the desk before his office to let his assistant know not to bother or interrupt them unless it was an emergency. The young, fresh faced man ducked his head, his eyes following the three powerful people into the office before the door closed behind them. Gunther settled onto one of the couches quickly, relaxing, while Casper spread out his findings on his desk. Kellen followed him, standing beside him as he looked over all the data he had collected. He hadn't been sure that Casper would have been this thorough, but he was pleased to find out he had been right about him. That, and he also knew the Captain wasn't someone who'd hire incompetent people.
"So, looking over everything and averaging things out, right now your guiding efficency has gone up by 50% for those C at the Class or lower level, and slowly decreased the more you've gone up. Since we have no S Classes in the building right now who aren't the Captain, we can't be sure, but with A Class Espers you've raised as well. Averaging it out, overall you have increased by 30% compared to your previous scores. I feel like those scores are older, so take this with a grain of salt." Kellen whistled.
"They made me do a test again when I arrived at Guiding Center B, so they're only about six maybe seven months old." Kellen informed the Guide, and Casper's eyes sharpened.
"Really? I could have sworn..." He went over his data pad, and Kellen watched as he pulled up Kellen's Guide file. He checked that what Kellen said was correct before sighing. "Well, shit Kellen. That's incredible. Especially since these tests are with Espers you aren't compatible with." Both of the Guides stared at the data in front of them, a little stunned. Gunther, however, had a blank look on his face.
"What do all those fancy numbers mean, Cas?" He asked and Casper fixed his glasses.