15 Avoiding the scrutiny

"I'm sorry, but I don't think it would be wise of me to do so."

The reaction of this female teacher alone was enough of a proof for me that I should keep this insane ability of mine under wraps of total secrecy. While I wish for it to turn out to be just a bad premonition, I could tell that what I wanted to see in this world and what the basic laws of sociology dictated would give two starkly different results when asked for how does this world and society works.

A naive idiot might believe that by showcasing this kind of ability, he would be praised to the heavens, groomed and cherished. But I already saw the darkness deep in the eyes of the same female that was now demanding me to show the insides of the cup. Maybe a normal person would miss it, but the years that I spent in the organisation forced me to interact with all sorts of people. Some of them were pretty open with their thoughts, some of them went through so much shit in their life that they learned their lesson and learned to hide the truth about themselves, their vulnerability from the outside world.

And this is exactly the feeling that this woman gave me. That meant, there were more chances that she would put me in chains and work me to death rather than find my abilities usefull and groom me seeing the future potential in me!

"And why that might be the case?"

As the situation developed, more and more eyes turned towards us, making it a bit harder to keep refusing the teacher. After all, in the current situation, she had all the power she needed to force me into doing almost anything. That was the real difference between our social status within this sect. And that meant, I could only do something fairly desperate.

Gulp.

As soon as the idea appeared in my head, I didn't dare my body to show any hints of preparing for its execution, opting to instantly get to work instead. This lack of hesitation was most likely the sole reason why I managed to raise the cup to my mouth before the teacher could react!

"Wha…"

Only when the liquid that was formerly in the cup started to flow into my throat, did the female teacher managed to come up with any reaction, yet she was too slow to prevent me from emptying the small container that I held in my hand. Only once the last drop moisturised the inner walls of my neck did I dare to put the metal cup away and raise my eyes on the teacher.

"So, I guess depending on whether I will lose my consciousness now the results of the exam will be given?"

With how great the changes happening to the liquid were, I couldn't tell whether this purification circle of mine didn't change the liquid from poison… To a poison that was far more potent! I could only hope that if my desperation were to prove disastrous, some herbalist or apothecary from this shared guild would still be able to save my life!

But as the two of us waited along with many, many eyes keeping watch on the ongoing events… Nothing really happened to me!

*Detecting ingestion of vital fluid*

*Vital fluid energy converted into system energy*

*Awarding two skill points*

In the end, it was the system of mine that reacted first. Thinking about this, this kind of solution was quite rational. After all, there was no way that the sect would invest huge amounts in something that was basically going to waste just so they could find new potential alchemist or apothecaries. I could even tell that the only reason I received any skill points lied in how much I managed to purify this liquid before actually consuming it!

"Barkel!"

After yet another while, the female teacher of mine finally managed to collect her thoughts and find some axis of actions that she could operate on.

"Yes? What happened, dear junior?"

A mere moment after the female called, a distinctively looking old man appeared on the scene, slowly marching through the hall. Whenever he placed another step, people were moving aside, some even going as far as to pick up the stools where they were attempting to pass the exam just to make the road for the old man easier!

"This is… a new member of our sect. He just joined it today, yet he managed to slip out of my hands and… I think he actually managed to pass the exam. To put you up to speed, he drank his potion… And is still standing!"

Pointing out the obvious, the female teacher squinted her eyes as she looked at me. It was clear that she wasn't happy with how I refused to show the content of the cup, yet it seemed like for now, she was unable to do anything about it.

"Teacher… I don't want to be disrespectful, but weren't we about to check other workshops as well? While I do not mean to say that I'm not interested in joining this guild given how it seems that I passed the exam, I think it would be better if I had the whole picture of the jobs that I could take within the sect before deciding which path I would pursue. As for the results, I might be missing some important point, but can't we just pick up the results later on? After all, if I were to suddenly pass out as we would be walking towards another guild…"

For now, the most important point was to leave this place. From how the old man took the cup from my hands and stared intently into the content that was too thick to flow down towards my throat when I was drinking it, I could tell that he was actually someone who might have a shot at realising what I did even before any real amount of the liquid inside the cup!

"Eh… Yeah, that might be a good idea. Barkel, can I leave it in your hands?"

Pointing at the metal cup that I used to purify my potion, my teacher looked at her senior with a weird look on her face.

"Sure, there is no need to hurry Garra. You can come back tomorrow and I will tell you what I found out… unless this young man here is willing to repeat what he did just a moment ago. Wouldn't that be far easier than trying to learn something from the few drops that remained glued to the bottom of the cup?"