Chapter 51 Collaborative Assessment

Gazing at the azure sphere of light in her palm, the young girl felt a slight sense of surprise, yet she accepted it nonetheless.

During the selection and sensing process just moments before, she had lacked the time to inspect each of the hundreds of light spheres one by one, ultimately relying on a certain intuition—or perhaps simply a random twist of fate—to choose this particular orb.

Firstly, the rhythm and sensation it conveyed felt relatively comforting to her; secondly, its color was the bright azure blue she so adored.

However, when the light sphere shattered to reveal the transcendent creature resting within, Hixia could not help feeling somewhat taken aback.

Before her lay a small snake with a rounded head and blue scales. It was roughly the length of a young girl's forearm, its body covered in shimmering blue and white scales.

In the past, Hixia certainly would have leaped back in fright, as snakes were undeniably somewhat intimidating creatures. Yet, having spent an extended period in Bertis’s jungle chamber, she had grown accustomed and adapted to them; besides, the creature before her was entirely non-venomous.

She hoped it wouldn't be too foolish. Remembering the clumsy and disobedient creatures dwelling in Bertis's glass jungle, Hixia felt a faint pang of a headache.

She extended her hand toward the small blue-and-white snake. It flicked its forked tongue to test the girl’s fingertips before slowly winding its way upward, allowing Hixia to cup it in her hand and lift it. Upon closer inspection, the creature possessed a rounded head devoid of venom glands, and under careful scrutiny, it actually possessed a certain charm.

"Please follow me, Student Hixia." A member attired in a white uniform guided the young girl, leading her toward the side of the grand hall.

"My, that girl actually picked up a snake."

"What I want to know is why on earth they put snakes among the prepared transcendent creatures."

"What kind of snake is that? It actually looks quite pretty."

As she stepped into the cavernous hall, the murmurs from behind gradually subsided. Hixia arrived at the side of the main hall to register her identity and her companion.

Having completed the paperwork, Hixia exited through a side door of the Starry Sky Hall. According to the academy staff member she had spoken with moments earlier, secondary examinees who had acquired a "companion" were granted a full hour to familiarize themselves and bond with their partner.

"These are provisions for this little fellow. You can use them to grow familiar with it and conduct some basic training."

Upon stepping out of the hall, a small paper袋 and a folded sheet of paper were handed to Hixia.

"Thank you." Taking the bag labeled as snacks for serpentine creatures, the young girl unfolded the paper.

The beginning section outlined precautions for interacting with a "companion," followed by a row of pre-set commands, such as "follow," "attack," "defend," "stop," and "dodge."

Every transcendent creature possessed its own unique abilities; whether one could bring them to fruition depended entirely on their mutual "bond" (and skill).

Clutching the bag of snacks, Hixia made her way toward a nearby garden and sat down upon a swing. Only then did she examine the small snake coiled around her forearm in detail.

Indigo Serpent Variant
Status: Healthy (Growing Stage)
Class: Primal Sequence 2 - Flash-Scaled Serpent (Exalted Copper Grade)
Talents:
[Antivenom Serum] (Exalted): Grants a degree of resistance against various toxins, with heightened resistance against snake venom.
[Solar Serpent] (Exalted): Under sunlight, various abilities receive a moderate enhancement.
Abilities:
[Flash Scales] (Superior): Scales emit a blinding glare capable of dazzling the eyes of many creatures and inflicting deterrence.
[Thermal Body] (Superior): Capable of elevating the temperature of the scales on its body surface, causing any creature wrapped in its constricting coils to perish from hyperthermia. (This temperature is insufficient to cause actual burning.)
Skills: [Constriction Lv.3] [Deterrence Lv.2] [Sunbathing Lv.2]
Evaluation: A low-tier yet rare subspecies of the Forest King Serpent, possessing a body coloration closer to the bright blue of the sky. It is rumored that upon advancing to a high tier, it even gains the ability to traverse the skies.

Quite a sunny snake indeed, standing in utter contrast to others of its kind, the young girl thought as she sensed the rhythm of the serpent and cross-referenced the data with information queried from the StarNet to analyze the statistics above.

Tapping the little fellow's head gently with her finger, Hixia closed her eyes, slowly perceiving its emotions and consciousness.

Since advancing to the Withered Sequence 3 - Spirit-Listening Whisperer, her previous perceptual abilities had not only undergone a massive enhancement, but many of her flaws had also been rectified. By integrating her Diva talent into the process, she had acquired the ability to listen to the emotions and simple inner thoughts of other creatures.

Although she could not achieve full mind-reading, distinguishing lies, sensing moods, and feeling emotions had all become effortless. She could even perceive the rhythm of the other party's transcendent core and analyze the abilities and imprints carved within it.

"This little fellow is still a bit shy around strangers."

The young girl slowly opened her eyes, gazed at the raised serpent head glancing about its surroundings, and stroked it gently before producing a small piece of food and placing it before the snake's head.

The brown morsel of meat was brushed by the forked tongue, then taken into the mouth and slowly swallowed down.

After consuming a few pieces, the little fellow coiled its body up, seemingly wishing to take a brief nap.

Bearing in mind the data indicating this was a sun-loving Solar Serpent, Hixia shifted it to her left wrist so that it could bask in the sunlight.

Carefully sensing the breathing and blood flow of the small snake, a wondrous sensation slowly arose within Hixia's heart. This was the first time she had so clearly perceived the activities of another living form, akin to listening to the musical score of life—though not grandiose, it was profoundly real.

After a long while, the small snake awakened, raising its head to look around as if searching for the presence that had drawn near in its dream, until its gaze met those pale blue eyes. Girl and snake simply stared at one another.

As if an electrical circuit had been connected, Hixia was able to briefly experience everything the little snake was feeling: the warmth of the sun shining upon its scales, the softness of the fabric of her clothes, the body temperature of the young girl before it, and the pupils and face gazing back at her...

This state lasted for merely a few seconds before ending, leaving Hixia to recall and contemplate it with a sense of wonder.

Perhaps this was the true essence of the Diva talent: soul resonance, true empathy in the literal sense, thereby bridging the barriers between minds.

Time slipped quietly away. In the warm garden, the swing occasionally drifted upward and fell back down, stirring long strands of hair and the hem of a dress.

The one-hour familiarity and rest period drew to a close.

Upon receiving the notification on her personal terminal, Hixia led the indigo serpent out of the garden and headed toward the examination site. The location of the first checkpoint had already been transmitted to her.

This was an open patch of grass, temporarily converted into a secondary examination ground. Various obstacles were arrayed across it: streams requiring traversal, wooden stumps to leap across, tunnels to crawl through, and spinning windmill blades to dodge.

"The evaluation for the first checkpoint is quite simple; you merely need to traverse it alongside your companion. During this time, you may only use verbal commands and communication; you cannot directly carry your 'companion' across. How you keep your 'companion' following you and cooperate to open the checkpoint mechanisms depends entirely on the rapport and connection between you."

Having finished the introduction, the student council officer cleared the passage behind him and instructed the secondary examinees to enter one by one.

"A very simple procedure, well within my expectations," some students began discussing among themselves. Everyone had anticipated this; it was likely just the beginning of a warmup.

However, was it truly so simple? Shortly after the very first student entered the arena, they encountered a severe test.

"Little Black, hurry!" The first student to acquire a companion rushed through the various obstacles alongside a wolf cub.

Things went smoothly at first, but when they reached an event requiring continuous dodging and leaping, the student concentrated entirely on crossing. When he finally reached a safety zone and looked back, his wolf cub had long since fallen into the water and drifted far away.

Although he did not know what consequences failing to cross together with the "companion" would entail, since the overarching theme was "bond," such an occurrence was surely unacceptable.

The student had no choice but to leap into the water, swim toward his companion to fish it out, and then start over from the very beginning point.

With this demonstration as a warning, the subsequent students grew considerably more cautious, constantly ensuring their companions were keeping pace.

As for the later stages, students waiting at the front could no longer see what lay ahead; they would simply have to experience it for themselves upon entering.

Soon enough, it was Hixia's turn.

"Is that a snake? It might be somewhat difficult for you," the staff member noted while registering her.

"Why is that?" Hixia asked curiously.

"Among these animals, mammals possess the highest intelligence and are the easiest to tame and obey commands, so it makes things much simpler."

"Still, you needn't be overly discouraged. Compared to ordinary creatures, transcendent creatures possess vastly superior intelligence, so all hope is not lost." After offering a few words of comfort, he allowed Hixia to enter the arena.

The adventure trial had begun.

First came the flat grassy field. Hixia walked half a step ahead, guiding the little fellow at her side to follow her movements.

Unlike those students shouting names and barking orders, Hixia uttered almost no commands along the way. Girl and snake moved forward in silence, crossing the grass, leaping over horizontal steps, and stepping upon wooden pilings over the water to evade fan blades.

It didn't seem so difficult after all. The young girl lightly leaped down from a platform, and the indigo serpent slid down along the railing, landing softly at her side.

Reaching the final stage, a mesh screen separated their paths. Hixia's side was flat and straightforward, while the animal companion's side was far more complex and rugged. Generally speaking, it required the examinee to continuously command and communicate to guide their "companion" away from wrong directions and around obstacles in order to pass.

Here is where the difficulty began to ramp up. Within the hour, some students had learned to command these animals using pre-set orders, but quite a few students still failed to achieve this, standing helplessly on the spot, shouting constant commands while their "companions" remained bewildered and hesitant.

"Still lacking in patience." High up in the spectator stands, several senior students looked down over the scene below.

"Indeed. Many people are unaccustomed to coexisting with a dissimilar companion. When the other party fails to rapidly comprehend their commands, they grow irritable and angry. But fundamentally, that is merely impotent rage."

"True experts are capable of understanding these disparities, nonchalantly finding ways to bridge the gap, and bringing those around them along."

"And these are relatively easy animals to tame and get along with. If it were a human, there'd be even less hope."

Below, Hixia effortlessly navigated her "companion" past various obstacles. Benefiting from her own innate talent, she rarely spoke; at times, a simple gesture with her finger was enough for the small snake to comprehend her general intent, allowing them to pass with ease.

"Mm, that is indeed the correct direction. Pull that lever down."

Standing before a sealed stone door, Hixia signaled the small snake in the distance to pull a prominent lever mechanism. Instantly, the stone door rose, and the finish line of the first checkpoint was reached.

"Congratulations, Student Hixia~" the staff inside welcomed her, instructing Hixia to proceed with registration and paperwork.

Following the brief warmup checkpoint, one-fifth of the students were eliminated, and the true evaluation was gradually commencing.

"Second checkpoint: Defeat the Phantom Rats."

As the words fell, two gigantic grayish-white rats were released into the arena below. The students were barred from entering the fray and had to rely entirely on verbal commands to make their "companions" fight two-on-one and achieve victory.

The battle commenced.

Inside the arena, the indigo wolf cub bared its teeth, locked in a tense mutual probing match with its two opponents.

In terms of pure strength, a Primal Sequence 2 - Phantom Rat (Standard Copper) was certainly no match for these meticulously nurtured "companions." However, facing a two-to-one numerical disadvantage, the true test lay in how one utilized wisdom and communication to lead their "companion" to triumph.

"Run!" The student near the front issued his first command.

Having grown familiar with one another through the previous preparations and the first checkpoint, the relationship between human and beast was already quite strong. Upon receiving the command, the wolf cub broke into an immediate run. At that, the two Phantom Rats hesitated; yet, having starved for too long, they could not resist letting their prey escape, and likewise bolted into action.

Gray fur bristled as the two Phantom Rats in the field suddenly swelled to several times their size, lunging directly toward the running wolf cub.

This was the Phantom Rat's ability: utilizing illusions to bewilder and terrify opponents, instilling fear while facilitating their own assault.

Although the student watching from above knew these were merely illusions, the wolf cub below understood no such thing. In its eyes, these were two colossal, insurmountable monsters. Uttering a whimper, it fled in panic toward a corner, even crashing headfirst into the wall.

"Idiot!"

Watching the wolf cub below scrambling blindly, the student above was beside himself with frustration. After all, creatures like Phantom Rats posed very little real threat; once their illusions were seen through, they were no different from oversized common rats.

"Wuu-wuu—" The wolf cub below did not understand, its four limbs scratching frantically at the grass as it scurried in terror, even attempting to squeeze into the entrance tunnel where they had first entered.

Seeing its backside facing outward while its paws dug desperately at the earth, the student above could not help but cover his face in profound embarrassment.

Perhaps out of sheer despair, or perhaps simply reaching his breaking point, he roared out once more.

"Fool! Turn around and bite them! Haven't you noticed how light their footsteps sound when they run? They're fakes!"

Though he had blurted out the truth, these animal "companions" had not undergone such complex linguistic training beforehand and only comprehended simple commands. Yet, the dissatisfaction and anger carried within his roar finally prompted a slight reaction from the wolf cub. It turned around, fearful and aggrieved, its fur standing on end as it stared at the two approaching "giant" rats.

Faced with the baring of teeth from the wolf cub, the two Phantom Rats hesitated as well, failing to charge immediately. Thus, the two sides fell into a standoff once more.

Following a bout of roaring and snarling, seeing that the two giant rats had not charged, the wolf cub regained a modicum of confidence. When the student above shouted "Attack" for the seventh time, it finally lunged forward.

Amidst a flurry of flying fur and screeches, the close-quarters tearing immediately caused the illusions to dissipate. The reality revealed upon their disappearance filled the wolf cub with boundless confidence; with a final flurry of biting and clawing, it slew the two Phantom Rats right there in the arena.

"Oconnor, pass!" The staff member outside the arena blew a whistle, marking the appearance of the very first student to clear the second checkpoint.