"Ayuki Kazumi, Welcome to the Order's General Admission," the man said in front of her. He had black hair with a short beard and wore formal clothes. "My name is Klein. I'll be your coordinator for this first round. He made a small bow to her and put on a subtle smile. "Please, have a seat." The room was mostly dark but they were sitting in the spotlight in front of a table. Coordinator Klein revealed a card pack in his hand. "On this table, I will put down twenty-one cards." While laying down the first card face up on the table, he kept talking as he continued putting down the remaining cards side by side from left to right. "From all the cards I'll be laying down, I want you to pick three of them. That's all. It doesn't matter why you choose it or how you choose it, as long as you do it." Ayuki stared mesmerized at the cards on the table. After seven cards in a row, he would start a new row below from left to right again. You would see detailed or abstract colored images on the cards related to people, nature, magic, animals or objects. In some way, they felt like tarot cards. The moment that coordinator Klein put down the last card in his hand, Ayuki had already made her decision. She purely based it on how long she would stare at a specific card. "This one, this and this," Ayuki said. The three cards she picked out were the ones that intrigued her the most. The first one was an image of a mouse staring up. It's cute. Klein put his right hand on the first card she picked. "The mouse. You rely heavily on your instincts for survival. You seem to be good at making the right decisions at the right moments. This could help you out a lot, but it can also backfire if you haven't received the proper guidance." Are the cards related to my character traits? Heh, so I'm an intuitive person? I believe I think a lot actually and logically when it comes down to it. Is the 'guidance' he mentioned perhaps my thinking process that helps my instincts to develop? Did I decide to join the Order based on my instincts? It does sound more connected to my Fes ability. The second card was a scale. "The balance," Klein said. "You have a big curiosity to know the truth, to find it no matter the cost, to be right at what you believe and find ways to prove it to other people. Be careful with making your conclusions though; it can severely hurt you once confirmed to be incorrect." Proving my beliefs to others, I'm doing it now, aren't I? I'm trying to prove that I'm innocent or basically harmless by gaining people's trust. Guess I should be mindful of my conclusions. Severely getting hurt is not part of my to-do list. The last card she picked was a little white flower that was almost in bloom. Klein stared a bit longer at this card. "The Nellus. A flower that's known to be insecure and indecisive. It grows at a random speed and appears in all kinds of places, not sure what to do, where to go, and how to survive. Looks like you're confused about yourself or the situation you're in. You're insecure about your future, but also your past. What you decide now within a year or two is of most importance to your well-being, to prevent the insecure future from happening." He's quite on the spot. I'm confused about everything, but I don't think I'm indecisive at least. Perhaps this Nellus flower intrigued me because it's almost in bloom. Just like me being insecure, I'm trying to make the right decisions in the hope that I will blossom from it. Klein now looked at Ayuki. "So how do you feel about these cards? At the moment they represent your current character." Yeah, it's a bit scary how precise they are about me. "They are surprisingly in line with my character. I didn't know the cards were going to be that personally." "All choices people make are related to who they are as a person. Just by looking at one's actions, you can already learn how they feel, think and deal with certain situations. It is my goal to get a better idea who this lady in front of me is. So, Yona Ayuki, if you will, please tell me more about yourself." Hmm, what to say? "For starters, have you heard about the intruder girl?" "I've heard the rumors, yes," he said. Ayuki smiled a little. "Well, she's basically me." There was no real reason to hide it. The Order probably already knows it by now. His eyes widened and remained silent for a bit. "Oh, I didn't see that coming. What a pleasant surprise. So, you're the intruder with the memory loss? That's an interesting combination, isn't it?" "I know! And it sucks!" She didn't care about formalities now; the irritations were restrained for far too long. "People doubt me and keep bugging me too. There's even this HDT group of people requesting my blood from time to time for research purposes and keep asking for more questions even after I have nothing more to add..." She had to say it, release her frustrations. He felt like a psychologist anyway, so it felt okay to share it. "Ah, I can imagine it. I don't think we have any proper methods to deal with such occasions, unfortunately," Klein said. "So, can you tell me why you're aiming to join the Varyion Order Elites then?" "Well, I know the Order has a well-known reputation, and the Order Elites are considered to be even better. Everyone fully trusts them, that's something I need if I want to stay on the Observer's good side." "You want to gain trust, to be trustworthy. Is that your main reason?" I have a feeling that saying 'yes' won't be a good idea. "Hmm, no. My main reason is that I want to survive. In my opinion, the only hope this city has for the future is to go outside and find a solution to stop the Dark nature. The Order Elites are the only ones that do go outside, right?" "When it comes down to missions, yes. So far that we know of." "Then I want to help them to save this city, to save myself with it." "Right, that is a valid reason, but let me give you a piece of advice. It's not enough to let you in the Order Elites." Ayuki was shocked by his reply. She was confident about her resolution until now. Then what is considered enough? "Going outside is in one word: Hell. You'll experience fear, pain, horror, basically despair. To overcome that, you will need something stronger than the hope of stopping it or saving people. Everyone can have that resolution, you need something personal, some reason that only applies to you and not the rest. Otherwise, you'll give up and let someone else do it for you. You need a goal that only Ayuki can do. Yes, to be trustworthy is a personal goal, but you don't need the Order Elites to be trusted by the people. You wouldn't be here if nobody trusted you in the first place. If trustworthiness is your main goal, that is already achieved once you're part of the Order Elites too. It will not help you to overcome the Dark nature's terror." The things he said made perfect sense. I need a better resolution than my current one, a personal one. A goal only I can do... There's must have been another reason why I felt the need to join them. "You don't need an answer right away, but please do see the necessity of a personal goal that will help you in the Order Elites. If you can't find one, then don't join it. That will be my last advice." He exhaled a long breath out his nostrils. "Well, I hope that wasn't discouraging for you. I'm just trying to see how far you have prepared yourself. So, can you tell me about your Fes ability? In the form, you called it predictive enhancement", did you not? Slow down, Klein... I'm not mentally ready yet to answer your question! Ayuki remained quiet for a few seconds longer while taking a deep breath. Let's see...he asked about my Fes ability. "Yes, that's correct. For the last eight days, I've been trying to train and explore the capabilities of my inherited Fes ability. Me and my trainer, Hyu Dedroy, have started calling it predictive enhancement based on a couple of results throughout our training. Sometimes, just sometimes I can accurately guess what a person is going to do just by looking. I would for example, easily be able to dodge an attack, knowing which direction it will go, but there were also moments I tried avoiding an attack that wasn't there. I was convinced an attack would come, but it didn't. Oh, and it's not really a vision that I can see, just a feeling." "I see, something like a premonition. That sounds like an interesting ability. Eight days isn't always enough time to figure out one's Fes ability. For some people, it can take a few months. I'll be looking forward to seeing what your Fes ability can do to have a better understanding of it. The Fes assessment will be held in the fourth round of this admission." Coordinator Klein asked quite a few more questions related to Ayuki, like her current memories, living situation and even her hobby's. It didn't take long before he stopped though. "Okay, that's enough for now. Thank you for your time. I wish you good luck in the next round." "Wait, that's it? Nothing more?" I expected something more difficult or dangerous perhaps. "Yes. The first round isn't meant to be challenging. The next rounds are. This round is purely meant to grasp your character. Also, the cards you picked plays a big role in my assessment of you. Don't forget the advice I gave you too." "I won't. Thank you, Hyu Klein. I've learned a lot more about myself now." Klein opened the door behind him that lead to the next room. It seemed to be an enormous training field. Ayuki recognized a few people. They were participants from the waiting room. "This round is completely different from the first," Klein said. "What you see here are fifteen different challenges managed by fifteen different coordinators. Each challenge has its category. For this round, there's a fixed time before it's over, so make sure you participate in at least three different challenges before it's too late. If you want to do more and can do more, that's your choice. At least choose the ones that you're most confident in doing. Your results will be measured, and it will greatly influence your recommendation. Do you understand what you have to do?" "Yeah. Participate in at least three different challenges, and I get to choose which ones I'll take." "Enjoy." Klein closed the door. That was quick. He didn't explain everything yet. Until what time is it finished? How do I participate in a challenge? Wait, Dedroy did warn me not rely on questions while doing nothing. I need to find things out by myself. Looking at the training field and the other contestants who were already participating in various challenges, Ayuki readied herself and walked towards their direction. She did notice a board in the distance now which did display the remaining time left for this round. Three hours left, three challenges to go.