Not Much To Be Done

Where is that needle so that everyone can hear it falling on the ground when you need it? That was how silent the testing area became when Almin's result appeared on the monitor for everyone to see. They all looked at that number, feeling like they were seeing some kind of ghost. Of course, that silence didn't last long.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT! 99%! Is that even possible?!" Sure enough, the first one called out. It was Jumanhi, who still stayed in there just to watch out of curiosity.

"Impossible!" He was followed by Saimon straight away. He quickly ran to the worker responsible and complained. "What the hell are you doing? Can't you see the test is broken?! Fix this shit already!"

Normally, the manager of that test would have demanded Saimon leave straight away after hearing such a thing. In the academy, your status does not matter when it comes to those who work there. The academy requires absolute respect from all its employees. That's why Saimon only made fun of other students and never said anything even to the lowest worker in the academy since he joined.

However, the manager there was also shocked about the result, so he quickly ordered the others. "Do it again. There has to be a mistake."

Alvin also saw that and immediately understood. He wasn't feeling that good by mistake. Linfel truly merged with his Magic Energy and soul perfectly. Still, to reach a 99% value was beyond his wildest dreams. 'This is bad...' He whispered to Linfel on the back of his hand. 'Linfel, tune it down! It is too high!'

Linfel, who was concentrating on the merging, finally woke up. 'What? Too high?' He looked at the monitor, and his soul almost froze. 'What the hell?! 99%?! Hahaha! See?! Now they won't make fun of you. Am I not great? Let's see what that Saimon whatever will say now! Behold! The Wisp Power!' Linfel felt great about himself. After all, his wisp race had always been considered the worst of the worst. Now, however, he achieved an amazing result for himself and Alvin. How could he not be happy?

"Alvin Brunes," the testers spoke to him. "Do it again. There must be a mistake in the evaluation."

Alvin quickly nodded as he whispered to Linfel again in a hurry. 'Your ass! Are you crazy?! If you continue with 99%, the academy's higher-ups will definitely come out to investigate you! Are you sure you would be able to hide that you are a wisp then?'

'Ah!' Linfel immediately understood. 'That... that wouldn't be very good. Right, right. Let me see... Now that I matched your soul waves' frequency, creating an unbalance is kind of hard. I will try to tune it down to a point where I can keep it constant.'

'Anything but 99%, please,' Alvin begged.

Soon, Alvin felt that strange feeling in his soul. It was the same one as when he connected with Linfel for the first time back in his home. However, compared to the first time, it was almost imperceptible now. 'Can you do better?' Alvin asked, already noticing the puzzled expression on the workers and the onlookers for how long he was taking to do it again.

'This is the limit of what I can do while keeping a constant flow. If I try to go worse than this, our compatibility will be all over the place, and the result will change nonstop. That will be even worse than a fixed number,' Linfel explained, helpless.

Without another choice, Alvin could only go ahead with the circulation of magic energy through his merging with Linfel. The Diagram under him shined and seemed to be using a lot more energy than before. From the looks of it, the workers and the manager made a few changes to the diagram before restarting the test.

-Alvin Brunes: Compatibility, 71%-

"It's still 71%?!" Saimon almost coughed out blood before complaining. "See, the diagram is definitely broken! First, it was 99%! Now it is 71%! What is wrong with this piece of shit of yours?"

The manager finally lost his patience and glared at Saimon. "If you try to offend me or my subordinates one more time, see if I don't have you expelled from the academy."

Saimon immediately closed his mouth. Indeed, he knew very well that the manager had this power, and with all the cameras around, he definitely would have the proof to incriminate Saimon. "I'm sorry, sir. I've lost my composure." He knew better to calm down at that point.

"Hmph!" The manager snorted but didn't pursue the issue. In the end, Saimon's family was indeed quite influential outside, so it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble even if his family had no power in the academy.

Besides, he was also concerned the diagram might have some trouble, so he required Alvin to repeat the test.

Alvin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 71% was still a monumental result, something you pretty much didn't see even with much older and higher-level magus students who were near graduation. Let's not forget graduation happens at the age of 25. Well, at the very least, the result now wasn't 99%.

'Alvin,' Linfel spoke. 'This is the best I can do to tune down our connection while keep a stable flow of our soul waves.'

Alvin sighed and could only accept that. If Linfel was truly a Familiar, he would be over the moon, but because he wasn't, that only made him more concerned. Nonetheless, he repeated the test.

-Alvin Brunes: Compatibility, 71%-

"Again!" The manager asked.

-Alvin Brunes: Compatibility, 71%-

"Again!" The manager continued, trying to make sure.

-Alvin Brunes: Compatibility, 71%-

After trying it another ten times and checking the diagram thoroughly, the workers were now certain. The first result was definitely some mistake. Such mistakes were very rare, but they weren't unheard of. Alvin just happened to get a ridiculous number when it happened.

Of course, 71% was absolute madness, although the manager and his subordinates were certain that number was definitely right. "There is no mistake now. Alvin Brunes, you have got yourself a great Familiar. I can only imagine how much effort you two put into reaching this compatibility level, so well done. I'll add a commendation to the board later."

Alvin and Linfel disconnected while both bitterly smiled at each other. There wasn't much to be done there.