Proficiency Test V

Alec continued raking in ninth and tenth star problems by the batch until he suddenly clicked and realized that he ran out of them.

Alec's expression fell a little at that – his smile dimming when he realized that the page was empty. He sadly continued back down to the eight star questions.

Edward's lips twitched when he saw the abject sadness that Alecris was projecting as he finally ran out of questions that they'd put into the system. Even his smile had taken a tinge of sorrow and dejection.

He was still feeling completely blown away.

Edward checked the remaining time left. There was still a bit more than an hour, which was plenty of time.

He silently contacted the head of the institution. He was the only array grandmaster that was willing to remain attached to the institute instead of just receiving recognition and placing his roots elsewhere. He didn't say much, just silently directed him to look at the master proficiency test results so far.

-

Currently in a room located in the institution's underground VIP room where a middle-aged looking man was kneeling on the floor, the figure was painstakingly drawing out line after line, rune after rune. The array was almost complete when a series of urgent pings jolted the man out of his delicate concentrated state.

His finger just barely twitched, but there was an undeniable kink in the previously smooth line.

The man's face darkened instantly, his temper surging.

"Just who was it!" Quinn O'Brien, the sole array grandmaster of the institute, angrily pulled out the screen that was currently still going off non-stop into his hands, discarding the ruined array at the side.

Anyhow, it was already ruined with how that single misdrawn stroke had blemished the otherwise perfect array. If this urgent message wasn't worth his time, Quinn wasn't going to let them off, regardless of who it was!

Shoving the glasses that had slid off his nose right back up with an anger that wasn't abating at all, the message showed that it was the young and outstanding Edward Little that had sent him a message, but he was still angry from his ruined array.

Quinn frowned as he checked the date and time. It wasn't like he'd lost track of time, so why was Edward contacting him? Right now, the second phase of the master's proficiency exam should still be taking place.

The man shouldn't be sending him anything at all right now, and Edward wasn't the kind of person who would frivolously send messages when he was supposed to be working either.

Quinn's glasses glinted under the light, but his face was unreadable besides the anger that lingered in his gaze. Just what was it this time? He seriously never got a single day of rest since he'd become the head of institution! Was just one day without anything going wrong too much to ask?

If he'd known it would be like this, well – alright, fine. He would've still announced that he'd become a grandmaster, but he would have declined the position!

Had he known just how much damn paperwork was involved in this life… There was barely any time for him to continue experimenting on arrays, for goodness' sake!

Reading the contents of the message, the head of institution huffily strode out of the room that had previously been in lockdown mode.

Accessing the terminal that allowed him to connect to the system, Quinn quickly pulled up the score card of the various array master candidates.

Then, his glasses almost slipped off his nose as his eyes widened in disbelief. Since Quinn had the utmost confidence in the security of their systems, it didn't even occur to him that someone might have tampered with it.

How could it be?

The problems that he himself hadn't been able to solve were laid out in front of him like a veritable buffet.

His eyes flitted from array to array.

Magnifying, then returning it to the normal size, Quinn's attention was instantly enraptured as the refreshing ways of solving the problems were laid out before him.

That's right, that's right… he could have solved it this way. Why didn't he think of that?!

The longer he looked, the more he found that shocked him. Marvellous! This person's style and thinking was different from the normal style that most array master's favoured and used widely.

The way that this master thought was so different from the usual – the way he worked the problems were delicately but intricately linked – so much so that Quinn didn't think that he himself would be able to solve without dedicating a long time of study.

Who was it?

He didn't think that he would have missed the rising of such a star in their world, so perhaps it was someone on the outskirts of society, or secreted away in a clan or sect?

Quinn was so enthralled that he lost track of the time that was slipping through his fingers, similar to when he got to work hands-on with his arrays.

The screen blanked out when Quinn didn't touch it for a period of time, causing Quinn's eyes to widen as he felt the vibrations that the mini screen he was holding alerted him. Checking the time, he cursed.

He'd lost track of time even though the vibrations were this strong. Luckily it wasn't too late yet, or he was sure that Istella would come and yell at him later for making them lose face.

The thoughts about the elusive array master that had stayed hidden this time constantly filtered into his brain.

Making his way up to the floor where the candidates were to present their work to a panel of judges, Quinn slammed the door open, startling the inhabitants in the room.

Edward was already seated, looking as cold and indifferent as usual. The grey-haired man gave him a nod to acknowledge his existence, getting a nod in return.

On his right sat Istella Kane, an array master that had just hit the age of a hundred this year. She still looked like she was in her mid-thirties.

There was a blank spot which was reserved for Quinn, followed by Oscar Vane, a long-time array master and the deputy head of the institute, his long-time friend.

"Istella. Oscar."

"Quinn."

Taking his seat, Quinn leaned over slightly to Edward. "Did you tell Istella and Oscar?"

"No," Edward said simply.

Quinn nodded in satisfaction, leaning back, but Istella and Oscar's attention had been caught hearing his 'whisper'.

"Tell us what?" Istella questioned, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing. Don't eavesdrop, woman! You're as noisy as always!"

"Please! If you didn't want us to eavesdrop, then you should have kept your 'whisper' a real whisper!" Istella said, rolling her eyes.

Oscar caught Quinn's eye, raising an eyebrow.

Quinn shrugged. "You'll see. I wonder if you can tell who it is. Edward, don't give us any hints."

Edward grunted. "I'm sure you're in for a surprise," he said, a smirk pulling at his lips.

The three eyed Edward's sudden expression with surprise. They never thought that the man would hint of enjoyment at something other than arrays. The young man had always been so stern and stalwart that he never had much social interaction, which meant that his social skills were woefully lacking.

Quinn laced his fingers together under his chin, anticipating alight and burning bright. He couldn't wait to see the mind behind this genius.

"Send the first one in."