Chapter 5

"His ability... He, he doesn't have one!"

"What?! Then why are we testing his combat abilities?"

"Are you stupid?! If he heard he has no ability, he'll get discouraged and-."

Hwan-U rubs his face as he sighs.

"That's the whole point I brought him here! Jeong, I'm trying to save the poor kid's life! He doesn't understand what he's getting into."

Eun-Jeong stood with her mouth open and index finger pointing up.

"I may have miscalculated your intention... Then again, what can you expect when bringing in bearers for last-minute tests!"

"I said I was sorry!! I even got coaxed into two months of lunch for you!"

Eun-Jeong walks past Hwan-U giggling slightly; as she reaches the door, she turns to him and smiles.

"No, take backs."

Eun-Jeong says as she walks out of the room and towards the testing room's booth door.

As Hwan-U follows, Eun-Jeong begins setting up combat tests from the booths controls.

"If he has no ability, why are we still setting up combat tests?"

"It's rare for a scar bearer to wield no ability yet have a weapon."

"Speaking of weapon, his severity, what rank is it?"

"Aren't you a member of the bearer association? Shouldn't you know that answer already, Hwan-U?"

"Why I may be a member of the association, it doesn't mean I fond myself of remembering such information."

"Fascinating; You're even dumber than I thought!"

Eun-Jeong begins tapping away at the keyboard, opening up a severity chart that holds the rankings that contain the user's weapons rankings.

"Do you remember what I said when I examined him?"

"Dagger user, right?"

Hwan-U began scratching his head anxiously.

"That's correct; he's a dagger user, which already places him in the weakest severity... But also due to him not having an ability. He could be considered the weakest scar bearer ever."

Hwan-U examined Si-Woo from the booth as he stood waiting for instructions.

"He wants to save his sister."

Eun-Jeong turns to look at Hwan-U with stiffness.

"Crimson slumber?"

"Yeah, she's only got four years left... She's all he has left. I'm sure someone like you would understand where he's coming from."

"I do; I understand it completely."

Eun-Jeong pressed a blue button that held the words combat room speakers and continued to speak to Si-Woo.

"Si-Woo, I will begin a series of tests for you. All of which will test the differences between your attributes and your skills in combat. Si-Woo, are you ready!"

Si-Woo nods as he stands ready for the tests.

"The first test will test your agility, which means I'll be testing your react timing and movement speed."

At the press of another button, humanoid droids appeared, each colored differently from one other.

"Each droid is a different color which represents their attribute. The red ones are strength; the green ones are vitality ones; the blue ones are our agility users. Which means they'll be active for this test. More so, the purple ones will be there to test your intellect. So far, we've only linked our intellect stat to potential magic use. But we've only seen a handful of people that can use magic. So you won't have to worry about those."

"Bring the tests on! I'm ready whenever you are, Eun-Jeong!"

"Eager one, aren't you... Well, let's get to it then! The first test will commence now!"

Suddenly the blue droids began moving. At first, it started up motions until a swoosh of wind was the last thing Si-Woo heard before realizing he had sidestepped the droid's furious attack. Its blue robotic arm stretched out in front of Si-Woo's eyes. Without warning, it swiped at his head, and once again, Si-Woo's body bent backward, allowing it to sweep over him.

"His reactions are incredible; he can dodge pretty well when he's not entirely pissing himself."

Hwan-U chuckled at his joke while Eun-Jeong continued observing.

Si-Woo spun in the air as he jumped back; now, two agility droids were on him, making it even more challenging than one alone.

As they charged him from different angles, Si-Woo began to worry.

Wind jolted from different areas as he felt trapped in the droid's pincer attack. As they prevented him from moving, they delivered opposing roundhouse kicks and instantly dropped Si-Woo to the ground ending the first test immediately.

"Si-Woo, are you okay? Can you still hear my voice?"

Si-Woo didn't respond to Eun-Jeong; instead, he stood, wobbly and foolishly. Without a word of his well-being.

"Continue the tests. I'm not finished!"

Hwan-U walked up to the microphone and looked down on Si-Woo.

"If we continue, you're condition will worsen. We can't be liable for your death Si-Woo."

Si-Woo looks up at Hwan-U and Eun-Jeong with fire in his eyes.

"Hwan-U, you of all people know I don't let tiny wounds stop me."

Hwan-U released the blue button and looked at Eun-Jeong.

"Are you sure about this, Hwan? If he dies in there, we're responsible."

"You haven't truly seen what he can do. He has something I know he does; I saw it with my own eyes."

"Wait, like an ability? You mean to tell me you saw him use an ability and not tell me when I specifically told you I didn't see one inside him?!"

"I don't think it was an ability; usually, our eyes glow when we use our powers. But his eyes didn't; they were calm, they were...Powerless."

From within the combat room, Si-Woo shouted as his heated self continued waiting for the test to begin.

"Si-Woo, the next test will be with your combat skills. Use whatever you have to survive; if you don't...You may as well call yourself a dead man."

"Bring it..."

Without thinking, Si-Woo reached for his elbow and pulled out his dagger. Simultaneously, the red droids attacked altogether, each targeting him from different angles; as the droid aimed for his back, Si-Woo turned and held his dagger diagonally, guarding against the incoming attack. The power overwhelms him and sends him flying into the air as it connects. While in the air, the blue droids become active and leap into the air. They aim to bring him back down for the rest of the test. As they reach him, they deliver another attack, revving a powered punch that launches him downwards to the ground. His dagger bounced out of his hand, sliding across the floor away from him. As he lays on the ground, the red droids jump at the opportunity to attack.

With their arms pulled back, they go for a sledgehammer attack.

"Eun-Jeong, stop the test now! You'll truly kill him if you don't end it now!"

"I want to see it! I want to see this ability you spoke of!"

"Are you out of your mind! We're only testing his attributes. He isn't strong enough to continue fighting, so stop this now!"

"Hwan-U, why don't you have faith in Si-Woo?"

"That's not the point! I just-."

"Watch and see who he truly is. Like you and me, people change for better or for worse. That kid you saved all those years ago isn't the same anymore. Because he's pushed through hell and rose through many experiences, good and bad, he's the same as everyone else; he's fighting for something and refuses to back down even if death becomes a bitter truth."

As Eun-Jeong stared into Hwan-U's eyes, Hwan-U caught a glimpse of something happening and instantly led her attention towards Si-Woo.

"Is it happening, Hwan-U!?!"

"Yes, he's recreating it."

Si-Woo reached up at the incoming attack from the red droids, and instantly his dagger came flying into his hand once again. As it reached him, his grasp closed, and in a fluid motion, Si-Woo jumped it into the ground beside him and used it to pull himself out of harm's way. He tossed himself to his feet as the red droid's fists clashed with the ground.

"Did he just recall his dagger to his hand?!"

Eun-Jeong was in shock, seeing Si-Woo's ability firsthand even when she saw nothing connected to his Scar bearers tree. It turned out he had something all along.

"Can he do anything else?"

"I don't know, I've only seen him use that ability once, but now that's the second time."

Si-Woo stood holding his dagger in his right hand, crouched as he was ready to take off towards the incoming red droid. While the other two stood back, Si-Woo charged forth, his speed seemingly increased. As he ran faster than before, he hopped into the air with his dagger pulled back before coming into contact with the red droid and instantly slashing diagonally—his blade dings off the droid's body. Leaving his wide open, but with no other option, Si-Woo throws his dagger behind the droid and reaches the ground as he looks up, the droid's fist inches away from his face.

Si-Woo takes a nasty blow to the face and launches back, blood leaking from his nose. But his reaction was all the same as he reached for his dagger. It came flying for his hand but lodged in the back of the droid's head, taking it out entirely before landing on the ground. Si-Woo lays still on the ground as the combat test ends.

"Si-Woo, the test is now over; now, all that's left is the vitality test. However, in your current condition, that test will provide inadequate information; for now, why don't you rest and continue it tomorrow."

As Eun-Jeong releases the blue button, she falls back into her roller chair and writes down more notes.

"What are you writing, Jeong?"

"Theories, ideas, and potential reasons why I couldn't see his ability with mine."

"Is it bothering you that much?"

"Yeah, immensely, I've never witnessed such a thing. I know the vast majority of abilities are still unknown yet. This whole ordeal is unexpected; it's as if his Scar Bearer Tree is forcibly locked by something."