Chapter 42: Strength Test (2)
Rohan was half expecting to be hooked up to some machines and have the AI monitor every slight movement of his body.
So he was happily surprised when he saw this simple looking machine pop out of the floor.
"Perform a series of ten punches and kicks against the padded areas to ascertain your average strength value." The AI stated.
Obliging, Rohan aimed for the centre of the red pad and thrust his arm forward with all his might.
BANG!
He knew no punching or kicking techniques whatsoever, so he simply relied on his body’s natural strength to produce the results.
Rohan repeated the same thing another 9 times, before moving on to his kicks.
Only once he completed the full cycle, did the AI finally produce his results.
"Strength test concluded: Average body strength score is 9.78."
Rohan was pleasantly surprised by his result. Despite having only nourished his genome with Origin Energy for 7 days, his basic body strength was approaching the limits of what an Awakened with no gene could produce!
’So absorbing an Elite tier gene essentially boosted my strength near to what the peak is for an awakened without one.’ Of course, Rohan knew that the reason his result was so high was because of his Firestone Skin.
’But that’s my result without even activating it! Time to test out my real result.’
Rohan asked the room’s AI for a reset of the results then activated his Firestone Skin for the second time ever, summoning his Horned Rabbit Spear afterwards.
He planned to go all out for this next test!
"Begin!"
He struck out at the testing machine, this time with infinitely more ferocity behind the strikes.
Every hit that landed produced a dull thud that reverberated throughout the testing room, only dampened thanks to the excellent sound proofing.
"Strength test 2 concluded: Average body strength score is 31.2."
Rohan felt nothing but shock when his new result came out. Something like this was almost unthinkable for the Rohan of the past. What had to be noted was that his Firestone Skin wasn’t even a strength based gene either, but a defensive one! So this increased level of strength was just an added bonus!
’Though my spear also had to account for it’s contribution too.’
At full power, after just a week in the Origin Realm, he was able to match peak Normal Tier Awakened who’d been cultivating their strength for years.
Though in real combat, the difference might be more broad. The opponent would have to try twice as hard to take on Rohan due to his insane defence, while Rohan wouldn’t have that worry.
Such a result was likely unheard of from F rank Awakened in the small city he lived in!
Insulus, the city he currently resided in and live in his whole life, was barely comparable to a Tier 2 or 3 city in the Origin Realm. It was built in the ruins of the European subcontinent years after the cataclysm when things finally started to settle down.
Most Awakened who could produce results like Rohan’s would have moved on to bigger cities with more opportunities by now.
’Perhaps I should do the same sometime soon.’ Rohan thought to himself.
He exited the testing room a few minutes later, satisfied with the results he achieved.
***
In the testing hall of the Awakened Association, Marcus stood bored while looking through the various different choices of video to rent.
His mood had been sour ever since his encounter with Rohan earlier, so wanted to vent some steam by coming to the Testing hall to see the results of his improvements during his last entry of the Origin Realm.
Unfortunately, he barely made any progress, which just worked to dampen his mood even more.
Hence why he chose to head over to the terminal at the entrance of the testing hall to rent a video.
This was the main reason why so many people chose to hide their identity when going to the Awakened Association to test their strength.
The flipside of being able to use their facilities without even having to produce any identity, was that a recording of your test would be kept and stored afterwards for any interesting parties to pay a fee to view afterwards.
’I’m still stuck at 19.9. I can’t break past that threshold of twenty!’
Marcus flipped through the lists of videos, not finding anything that interested him, so he simply chose to filter it by most recent results.
By which time something finally caught his eye.
’Huh!? This person achieved a result of 31.2! They must be a big shot approaching the Elite tier. This is definitely the one I’ll choose!’
Marcus paid the fee on the spot.
However the short video that followed left him speechless. The figure inside wore a ski mask and other unremarkable looking clothes, which was normal for big shots like him choosing the Testing hall.
But what shocked Marcus the most was the difference between the figure’s first result and second result.
’They are definitely an Elite tier big shot! One that hasn’t been cultivating for long either, seeing how he only achieved a result of 9.72 without activating his abilities... what the hell is a person like this doing in Insulus of all places?’
Marcus tried to zoom in so that he could get a better look at the figure’s face, but had no luck in that regard.
The ski mask performed an excellent job of blocking him from doing that.
All he knew was that they were a male from their body figure. ’Ahh whatever, forget that. I can earn my fee back from this!’
He downloaded the recording to his own personal terminal, then uploaded it onto the forums under the title ’Mysterious Big Shot in Insulus City!’ and charged a small fee for anyone to view it.
’That should earn my fee back for both my test and the video in no time.’ Marcus was pleased that he made the choice to view this video, likely being the first person to do so with how recent it was.
’It’s my ability to spot opportunities like this that sets me apart from weaklings like that Rohan... Just you wait, the next time I encounter you, you’ll regret threatening me!’