5 Hypocrite

Listening to John Cenny's statement, Kael couldn't help but sense a slight disappointment. He already expected such a result, but hearing it from people directly feels different. With a solemn nod, Kael replied briefly, "Thanks, Inspector."

He feels his body grow older. Besides the damage he suffered from the lasers, he also experiences a mental blow after being appointed as Tier 9.

Seeing his expression, John Cenny knows well what's on his mind, but he's not in a position to comfort him since the test is still ongoing.

Heaving a sigh, John Cenny merely patted his shoulders and said, "Failure at some point in your life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable."

Understanding his meaning, Kael smiled assuredly, "I know inspector, I'm just a bit disappointed in myself." He paused for a moment before staring blankly at the air, "Well, what has passed is past. It's no use for me to dwell any longer on that feeling."

Karen was about to go and ridicule Kael when her vision caught a depressed expression that was displayed over Kael's face. Swallowing the words she is about to say, she keeps her lips tightly shut and just turns her head elsewhere.

Walking to the nearest bench, Kael closed his eyes with the intent of clearing his mind. Although he keeps convincing himself that being an average person is his goal, a tiny part of him deep within his heart is yearning for power. I mean, what kind of person didn't want to have the outstanding ability within his reach? That ambition is surely planted in everyone's heart. Nevertheless, since his nature was lazy in the first place, that ambition gradually got overshadowed and never emerged from then onward.

Only after tasting defeat did he realize that he wasn't strong enough. In fact, all his abilities are proven to be useless.

'Ahahaha, I'm such a hypocrite. Just yesterday, I kept whining about being reluctant to enroll at this academy. And here I am, complaining about getting only Tier 9 and aspiring for more powers.' Kael thought mockingly to himself.

A couple of minutes had gone by, with Kael being immersed in his own world. Suddenly an acute pain rushed toward his head, resulting in him opening his eyes instantly. Scrunching his eyebrows in pain, Kael asked Inspector John courteously, "Sir, may I go to the infirmary?"

Turning his head to Kael, John Cenny asked concernedly after glancing at Kael's pale face, "Are you in pain?"

Pointing at his own head, Kael replied, "Yeah, the pain in my head is killing me, inspector." At that moment, Kael no longer cared for the rest of the test and just wanted to lie down in bed to reduce his headache.

Pondering for a moment, John Cenny turned to Maya and asked her to accompany Kael.

"Me?" Maya pointed at herself while asking in doubt.

"Yes, Aby is currently undergoing the test." John Cenny paused for a second before saying in a whisper, "Karen and Tiana seem at odds with Kael. So, you're the best partner to keep track of him."

"Nah, Inspector, I'm fine on my own." Kael refused his offer as he didn't want to burden Maya.

Remembering Kael's deed earlier, Maya takes a deep breath before agreeing with John's Cenny proposal, "Alright, I'll keep an eye on him, Inspector."

"Eh?" Kael was bewildered by the sudden change in Maya's decision. He initially thought the latter wouldn't agree to escort him after having noticed a hesitation on her face.

"Go, or else your headache will worsen." John Cenny urged before adding, "Don't worry about your badge. I'll send someone over to hand it to you."

"Okay, thanks, Inspector." After saying that, Kael starts to exit the room slowly, followed by Maya.

...

"I never expect that you'll place on Tier 7," Kael said admirably. Although his eyes were closed the entire time during the test period, he can still hear vividly about what's happening. Because of Maya's superb achievement on Destruction Test, Endurance Test, and Agility test, she was crowned as Tier 7 student.

"Ha-ha, I'll be surprised too, if I were you," Maya replied chucklingly.

Kael was about to answer when something wrong clicked in his mind. Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, Kael said, "You sound a bit different."

In his observation, Maya was the type of timid girl who can't even talk back nor tease the opposite gender. However, what she just did now was the polar opposite of her ought to be traits.

"How so?" Maya said nonchalantly as she stared at the road ahead of her.

Shifting his head, Kael stared at her side-angelic face that was on par with any celebrity he saw on television. This time, Kael had time to inspect half of Maya's face thoroughly; she had a delicate face and beautiful obsidian-eyes, a classic beauty in short. The previous timidness no longer shrouded her presence; in fact, her whole being seemed to radiate with confidence at the moment.

At that moment, he noticed that Maya was turning her head toward him. He was about to explain that he wasn't peeping at her when he heard Maya unexpectedly asked stutteringly in a low voice, "W-what are you staring at? Is there something in my face?"

This makes Kael Dumbstruck as he now feels the former Maya is back. What the actual fuck just happened? Suppressing his doubt, Kael shakes his head, "Nothing."

Just then, another headache came flooding his head, causing his steps to trip in unbalance and had to forcefully lean his body against the wall to prevent him from crumbling down to the floor.

Seeing his condition, Maya reaches out in haste to support Kael's body, and says in a panic, "Hang in there, Kael. We almost reached Infirmary."

In Kael's point of view, all he sees is Maya whispers something but cannot fathom what she's trying to say. His vision turned blurry, and buzzing sounds continue to resonate in his ear. On the verge of fainting, he suddenly hears something clicked in his mind before an apathetic-voice starts ringing in his ears, "Assimilation is complete. The host will now begin to regain its memories."