[Alright, Mr. Smith—this is your final test before you demonstrate your special ability.]

Adam found himself inside another massive spherical chamber, this one lined with hundreds of small holes dotting the curved walls like a metallic honeycomb. Unlike the previous tests, the technician wasn't beside him, and instead was only speaking to him through the intercom.

[Like the Agility test, this one is also pretty straightforward.] The technician's voice echoed around the sphere. [You'll see three types of projectiles coming at you. Red ball—catch it. Yellow cube—block it. Orange disc—dodge it. Do you understand, Mr. Smith?]

Adam nodded.

[We need you to say it for documentation purposes.]

"Yes." Adam nodded again, scanning the holes around him. Anywhere he turned his head, there were holes. The floor even had cutouts, suggesting projectiles could emerge from below.

[The projectiles start slow, then speed up. Phase two, they all turn black—same rules apply, but you'll need to identify them by shape, their pattern, and the way they feel in the air.]

…You're fucked, Adam.

Adam's breathing grew heavier. His chest rose and fell as he centered himself in the sphere.

[Are you ready, Mr. Smith?]

"Yes."

[Alright. Three... two... one…]

A loud siren erupted.

The first projectile shot from a hole to his left—a red blur. Adam dove sideways, rolling across the floor.

You stupid piece of shit. That was a red ball, Adam. Shut up. What are you going at yourself for? Still pissed about the Agility test? Should've placed those five points to Agility if you were going to be such a hussy, Adam. You—here comes another one!

The second projectile launched from above—an orange disc spinning through the air. Adam raised both hands, blocking it with his forearms.

What are you doing?! You saw it was orange, and you saw it was a disc! Dodge it!

The third came straight at his chest—a yellow cube. Adam slapped it away with his palm.

Yes!

Adam nodded to himself, feeling slightly more confident… then a disc smacked him in the back of the head.

Behind the observation window, the doctors watched with neutral expressions. Adam's agility performance made them snap back to their reality and jobs, and they were now back to observing Adam with their tablets ready.

"Subject is struggling with pattern recognition… but he is reacting."

Another cube shot toward Adam. This time, he blocked it correctly again. Unfortunately for him, the rate of fire soon increased—projectiles now launching below one second.

Adam spun in circles, trying to track multiple trajectories. A ball bounced off his shoulder. A cube struck his ribs. He managed to dodge one disc, only to catch another in the stomach.

And then… the projectiles all turned black, indistinguishable in the dim lighting. Adam squinted, trying to make out shapes, but they moved too fast.

He stopped trying.

Adam closed his eyes and let them all hit him. Ball, cube, disc—they pelted his body from every angle. But something shifted. With his eyes shut, he began to feel the air currents, the subtle differences in how each projectile displaced the atmosphere around it.

The balls had a smooth whoosh. The cubes created a sharper sound. The discs whistled faintly as they spun.

He… could actually hear the difference.

He could hear them—a barrage of projectiles from every hole in the sphere. Adam stood motionless in the center.

And soon, the test was over.

…And everything hit him.

He opened his eyes, staring at all the projectiles scattered at his feet. His face remained completely blank, only shifting as he sighed and subtly shook his head.

He then summoned his Status Window, staring at the five free status points he still had from defeating Bjorn. It took all of him to try and prevent himself from allocating everything to Perception…

…but it was also nice to know where he stood without them.

…And he didn't stand at all.

It's… time to think where else to put the points. Oh, you think so?

[Good job, Adam. You can step out of the machine.]

Adam - Perception…

…Low F.

***

"Bwahahahahaha!"

In France, Clementine had completely lost it.

"Did you see that?!" She smacked Sylvie's arm repeatedly, gin sloshing from her bottle. "He closed his eyes! He just stood there and let everything hit him! Did he think he's some kind of ninja?!"

"Clementine, stop hitting me." Sylvie rubbed her arm. "And you're the one who trained him."

"I didn't train him to do that!" Clementine waved her off, cackling. "That was pure Adam! Beautiful, stupid Adam!"

"Well… he is a walking tank," Sylvie said quietly, remembering their fight in the Game. "He does react to danger, but only after it's already happened."

Clementine nodded vigorously. "Exactly! He's probably the only person in the world who could just... stand there and take it like that. It's insane!"

While the two sisters nodded to themselves in agreement, viewers around the world were losing their minds.

One viewer, in particular, was destroying everything around her.

"Me estas fucking jodiendo, right?! Right?!" Carmen, the Berserk Fairy, hurled a chair across her guild's common room. The furniture exploded against the wall, breaking it completely as well as a part of the room.

"Jefe, calm down!" Her guild members scrambled backward as she grabbed a table next.

"Calm down?!" She lifted the heavy oak table over her head. "People are clowning on me because of this pendejo's performance! He just stood there! Stood there! What is he doing?! Huh?! He is doing this on purpose!"

The table sailed across the room, completely obliterating the entire wall.

"El Jefe, please—"

"He is making me look like an idiot!" She punched a hole through another wall, her crimson wings flaring. "Oh, he knows. This puto knows exactly what he is doing. It's me. He's doing this to get at me."

Three guild members rushed forward, grabbing her arms while trying their best to avoid her wings.

"Let us go get some air—"

"Get off me!" Carmen threw them aside effortlessly, one even disappearing into the next room. "I'm going to America! I'm going to find that motherfucking midget cabron. Ugh! And to think I want to invite him to my guild?!"

"Jefe, you can't just—"

"Aaah!" She stormed toward the exit, leaving destruction in her wake. "Nobody makes Carmen look like a fool and gets away with it! Aaagh!"

"El Jefe, no… your visa's expired."

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