Michael's mind was still focused on the young staff member, Harry, and what he said about Soul Power and Soultraits when Michael was called over to his next test.
Since he met the basic requirements, Michael was led to the other side of the gym where his physical capabilities were tested.
His reflexes were tested, along with his burst speed, top speed, strength, flexibility, perception, and much more.
His score was adjusted according to his age, precisely the number of months and days that had passed since he entered the Origin Expanse for the first time. Michael was a Tier-1 Lord with high enhancements from several Artifacts.
Compared to his counterparts, who had entered the Origin Expanse a month, or a few months ago, his physical standards were much higher. Most of them had yet to advance to Tier-1, and bind Tier-1 Artifacts to their War Rune. They were simply not on par with him.
Peak Tier-0 Lords and Adventurers were as fast, strong, and perceptive as the most exceptional unawakened athletes of mankind. If that sounded unimpressive, it had to be known that Peak Tier-0 Awakened didn't have to train to achieve what unawakened athletes worked tirelessly for decades, by spending their whole energy and money to invest in their bodies by training, dieting, and using special nutrition solutions.
Yet, most of those exceptional athletes were only good at one or two things. A wrestler would hardly be able to contend with the fastest sprinter, after all.
On the other hand, even a chubby Peak Tier-0 Awakened would be able to win against the fastest sprinter and overpower the wrestler with their raw strength and speed.
Then again, Tier-1 Awakened were on a different level. Breaking through the barrier separating Tier-0 Awakened from the next Tier meant that their limit reached new heights. No Unawakened Human could compete with a Tier-1 Adventurer, or Lord, not just with their physical body at least.
Tier-1 Existences were on a level where the limits of a human's mortal body couldn't compete against their strengths.
Of course, shooting a laser gun at a Tier-1 Awakened would cause lethal damage, and kill them.
Michael had broken the limits of his mortal body already. Adding the enhancement of the Artifacts bound to him, his Agility was on par with a Mid Tier-1 Awakened. Even some Tier-1 Monsters wouldn't be able to catch up to him if he were to run away from them.
Meanwhile, his overall physical standards were close to Low-Mid Tier-1 Awakened. His reflexes were the strongest thanks to Tigerfang and the Siltang Bow's enhancement focusing on his perception. His Eagle Eyes' passive strengthening of his eyesight couldn't be ignored either. It played a huge role in increasing his score during the assessment.
Once he was done with the physical tests, Michael was led to the knowledge exam.
He couldn't even take a short break or find the time to change his sweaty clothes. The staff member led him straight to a small room with a single chair and table.
"Sit down and pay attention to your surroundings. The next test will start soon!" The young staff member instructed before he left the room.
He closed the door on his way out, leaving Michael in a dimly lit room.
'Is that what they want? Exhaust the applicants, throw them in a small room and then … do what?'
Michael was a little confused. His gaze surveyed the room to see if something was odd, but there wasn't anything.
Only after a minute or two of utter silence did a holographic screen materialize in front of him.
It was a long bluish screen showing dozens of questions that had to be answered. There was even a countdown showing how much remaining time Michael had left to answer.
[58M:30S left]
'Was the holographic screen designated to only appear after 90 seconds, or did it appear after I was silent for a certain amount of time?' Michael wondered.
The aptitude assessment seemed to test far more characteristics of their applicants than it seemed at first glance. That was interesting, but even more reason to stay vigilant, and observe his surroundings thoroughly.
Michael wasn't afraid of the knowledge exam. Whenever he had some spare time, Michael studied the material Alice had sent him before diligently. Despite that, Michael studied less than what he wanted to since he had always been busy.
That was also why he was fortunate enough to be an Awakened whose brain had also been refined through his War Rune. He had always been a fast reader and pretty decent at memorizing content, and that was further improved through the War Rune's refinement.
He completed the knowledge exam and was notified that he could start the next test immediately. It was also held in the small, dimly lit room.
Several pictures of landscapes appeared on the walls of the small room. Long descriptions of the landscapes were written down below. The descriptions were detailed and mentioned all kinds of monsters, foreign races, and their location.
Some landscapes were in the Origin Expanse while others had been found on large, occupied planets.
Michael spent the next ten minutes intently reading and memorizing everything he could and as if on cue the landscapes and walls of texts disappeared.
Simultaneously, a new message popped up on the holographic screen.
[Please write down everything you can remember]
'As expected. A test to figure out how the applicant's mind works and if he can memorize the most crucial information of several places, or if the applicant will spew out jumbled nonsense.'
Michael had expected such a test to be a part of the aptitude assessment. The Saphirelake Military Academy was a place to nourish Warriors and prepare for war, after all. It was not a place to nourish philosophers and pacifists.
Michael began writing and noted down everything he could remember. Once he was done another set of pictures and walls of texts appeared in front of him. However, this time, the pictures and the walls of texts were different.
The walls of texts were written in other languages, including the Old Tongue of the Third Epoch, the Origin Language, and the languages of foreign races. The pictures showed beings of a few races and certain memorials that provided enough hints about the content of the texts.
Michael couldn't understand most foreign languages because he had only been focusing on the Origin Language – as it was the only, and the most important language to learn for future Awakened. However, he could use the pictures and his knowledge of foreign races to write down everything important about these races, including their habits, characteristics, weaknesses, and crucial points to remember when fighting them.
He was a little bit worried about the last test because he was not certain if he would score high enough to pass it.
Fortunately, he did not dwell much on the outcome.
A staff member entered the room once he finished, and he led Michael to the second floor where many applicants were waiting in large open spaces.
"You can eat something in the cafeteria over there," The staff member said, pointing at a large door with the sign [Food Monsters] written on it.
After that, the staff member moved to another position and showed Michael the bathroom, the showers, and where he could request a combat suit for later.
"The final assessment will start at 4 pm. Good luck," The young man gave a brief overview of the place to Michael and left.
Michael checked the time and noticed that he had only an hour left to shower and eat something.
However, that was more than enough time before the final assessment would start.
