(MC POV)
I wake up bright and early, at least I think so. It is a beautiful day outside; the sun is shining, and I can hear the birds singing.
'On days like these...wait, no, I'm in another world. How exactly did I forget that?' (Twil)
I fiddle with my system absentmindedly, only to find something interesting in the SOUL menu.
[ SOUL
MAIN TRAIT:
Determination (Current)
SUB TRAIT:
(Choose) ]
'Ooo, I see; I can choose a sub-trait to support the main one. Based on the powers of the soul traits, which would be a good fit for my current situation? I can always swap them, so the decision isn't too pressing as of right now.' (Twil)
'...Thinking about it, the main thing the SOUL traits affected was their inherent magic. Based on my memories, this seems to be a cultivation-type world, so I wonder how it will play into cultivation in general.' (Twil)
I leave my room in my new robes, discarding my torn ones into my inventory. They disappear but don't reappear inside it. 'I guess they don't count as an ITEM or something like that.'
Walking out into the hall, I see the other rooms' doors opening and the other disciples walking out and down the hall. The old man from yesterday did say we'd have another test, so I just followed behind everyone else. Even though I was just following along, the others kept turning their heads to glance at me, which I blatantly noticed. I was in first place on the first test, so it makes sense that others are curious about me. We supposedly have two tests after the first, so hopefully, I can also pass those two. Maybe not first place because I should be more low-key.
We are led into a small circular room with various stone plates on the floor. A different old man is standing in the middle, and once everyone enters the room, the doors behind us close.
"Attention Apprentice Disciples. You have all passed the first test by ascending the minimum required steps. However, not a single one of you should be getting cocky, as we are onto the real test that will designate your future in the sect. Each of you will sit and meditate with a testing marble in your hands. It will test your soul aptitude by displaying a color. The faster it lights up, the stronger your aptitude. If you fail to light up the marble, you will be kicked out of the sect. Depending on the color of your marble, you will be assigned as an inner or outer disciple. I will pass out the marbles now." (Mysterious Old Man #2)
As soon as he had finished speaking, I felt a weight in my hand, and looking down, a clear marble appeared in my hand. Looking up, everyone else seemed to have gotten one, too. Sitting down on one of the stone mats, I think about how to do this. If this were a cultivation novel, I'd have to direct my inner energy towards this marble so that it could detect my strength. But how am I supposed to direct my soul at this thing? Looking up at the others, they are just sitting in the lotus position, and their marbles are softly glowing but not taking on a color yet. Mine, however, is still just clear. Closing my eyes, I open my menu.
{ Twil
STAT:
LV 1
RK 0
EXP: 0
NEXT: 10
HP: 20 / 20
EN: 20 / 20
AT: 10 (0)
DF: 10 (5)
ITEM:
WEAPON: Stick
ARMOR: Sect Robes
GOLD: 0
SOUL:
KILL/MERCY: 0 / 0
TRAIT: DT/ N/A
SKILLS: N/A }
'I suppose I should try and enter battle with it? If you can get into conflict with a dummy, surely a marble can't be all that hard. The only soul I know that can actively attack would be Justice. So let's do that.' (Twil)
Selecting Justice as my new main trait, I try to get into a "battle" with the testing marble. Opening my eyes, I'm in a black-and-white space, and the marble hovers in front of me at about 3 feet away. Holding up my right hand in the shape of a standard finger gun, I will myself to attack it, saying 'bang' out loud. Suddenly, a yellow energy bullet sort of shoots out from the tip of my index finger and hits the marble straight on. Instead of lighting up, it straight up shatters into pieces like glass. The next thing I know, seemingly in the blink of an eye, is that I'm back in the circular room, and everyone is looking at me. I wasn't sitting anymore, and my marble had been turned into a pile of dust on the floor. The mysterious old man is looking with his jaw wide open.
"Oops." (Twil)
The room is silent for a bit, and then the old man quietly leads me out. He tells everyone else to continue. In the hall, he looks at me weirdly.
"How did you do that?" (Mysterious Old Man #2)
"I just hit it with my soul, wasn't that what we were supposed to do?" (Twil)
"No! You were supposed to enter into a meditative state and let the marble scan your soul, not attack it! You shouldn't even be able to do that as an apprentice. That's an outward use that only masters should be able to accomplish! How did you do it?" (Mysterious Old Man #2)
"I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was in a completely black and white room with the marble in front of me, so I blasted it, that's all." (Twil)
"... You can enter your own soul space?! If you had said that sooner, you could have directly gotten in without a test in the first place! Where did you come from, kid?!" (Mysterious Old Man #2) the old man was getting a kind of crazed look on his face.
"I don't know! I just woke up in the forest near here!" (Twil) I say in a panic due to the old man shaking me by my shoulders.
"You came out of the forbidden forest?! How are you alive?!" (Mysterious Old Man #2)
"I DON'T KNOW!!" (Twil) I say, practically screaming.
It was then that a middle-aged man appeared behind the old man, shaking me. I couldn't tell where he came from. He put his hand on the old man's shoulder.
"Asorus, calm down. You are scaring the poor kid." (???) He looks at me with a kind smile.
The old man turns around and bows instantly. "I'm very sorry, Sect Leader." (Asorus)
'What? Is the middle-aged guy the Sect Leader? I was expecting some ancient guy with a Gandalf beard. He looks like some neighbor's sporty uncle.' (Twil)
The mysterious old man, now Asorus, calmed down and looked back at me, but he didn't say anything.
"You're quite talented at such a young age. Do you want to be my disciple?" (Sect Leader) he asks out of nowhere.
Asorus looks shocked at the offer. Suddenly, 10 people rush down the hall towards us.
"SEEEECCCCTTT LEEEAAADERRR WAAIITTT!!!!!" (???'s)
Now, I'm in a crowded hallway with 13 people, including me. From the looks of it, these are the sect's council members, and they all want me to be their disciple.
So much for being low-key.