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Chapter 17
After dozens of reloads and retakes, I figured out every question and every answer, then returned to Point 1.
It was the moment when I had told the kids to wait a little. Then I shook my head like I was sick of everything.
The written exam consisted of political, economic, and social issues, followed by evaluations of crisis-response ability.
Someone might say, “With an adult’s mind, how hard could a test taken by 7- to 15-year-olds be?”
But that would be a big misunderstanding.
Didn’t I already say it? The Talent Development Institute gathers all the brightest geniuses in the Empire.
These were problems originally meant for people like that to solve.
But I’m not a genius. I’m just a normal person born with a ridiculously cheating ability.
Honestly, besides having lived a little longer than the others, I could confidently say my brain wasn’t particularly smart.
…It was only because everything was multiple choice that I could easily figure out the answers through save-reload. If it had been subjective, I would’ve been in real trouble.
Sighing, I heard Raspi ask with a confused face,
“You said you were going to gather information… Why are you suddenly saying it was difficult?”
I shrugged casually and replied playfully,
“Well, since you said you really wanted to take the test, I’ll let you.”
“Huh? But you just said we needed to steal the answers…”
“Oh, that. I thought about it, and I don’t think we need to anymore.”
Because I’d already solved everything.
“From now on, I’ll tell you all the answers I ‘foresaw,’ so memorize everything and fill them in exactly in that order on the test sheet.”
I smirked.
The answer key is practically in front of you; no way you can’t memorize it, right?
Right?
✦ ✦ ✦
“Tania, please proceed to Testing Hall 1.”
I stood from the waiting area and glanced back at Raspi.
We had already taken the written exam first, where we only needed to mark the memorized numbers.
If our scores were identical, it would look suspicious, so I adjusted the answers: Raspi would barely pass, while Rosemary would score high.
That meant Raspi absolutely had to do well in the ability ranking and crisis-management tests.
“Raspi, you still remember everything I told you, right?”
He looked at me with a face full of anxiety.
“To be honest, I still don’t know if my sister and I can really pass something like this.”
“Don’t worry. Even if you mess up completely because you’re nervous, it’s fine. Just relax.”
“…Thank you for saying that.”
And I meant it. Even if they failed, I could always reset the timeline.
Though honestly, there was no way those siblings would fail.
“Alright, I’m going.”
When I opened the door to the testing hall, the three proctors evaluating ability ranks all turned to look at me.
Papiope’s Talent Institute is open 365 days a year.
Which means the people evaluating me weren’t here doing this full-time — they’d been dragged over from other duties.
They probably weren’t thrilled to see me. Which is exactly why making a good impression right now was important.
Smiling brightly, I met each of their eyes.
As I stopped in front of them, the one on the far left spoke.
“You marked on the application that you’re an awakened ability user. But you left the ability type field blank?”
“Yes. I thought it would be better to say it directly.”
If I wrote “Precognition,” their expectations would shoot through the roof from the beginning.
It’s always better to drop a bomb when they aren’t expecting it.
The proctor asked flatly, like a machine,
“What kind of ability is it?”
“Well, I can glimpse the near future. I can see the far future too, but only faintly and with low probability.”
For a moment, the air froze.
The stern-faced proctors — who looked like nothing could shake them — shot up from their seats, bombarding me with questions.
“My goodness! You mean the ‘precognition’ ability that lets you see fixed points in the future?!”
“A precognitive ability user? This is unprecedented!”
“Tania, you’re not a refugee noble from another country, are you?”
“If not, then you’ll become an incredible asset to Papiope. A precognitive ability!”
I lifted one corner of my mouth leisurely.
Right. Everyone I’d met so far reacted way too calmly.
This was how people should react.
The proctors, who had gotten overly excited hearing about my ability, eventually calmed themselves.
“No, no. First, we need to verify how far your ability actually reaches.”
“Right. Precognition is indeed powerful, but its usefulness depends entirely on its range and accuracy.”
To explain something I’d been putting off so I wouldn’t bore you…
Abilities are shared among people who have the same type.
Meaning?
Simply put, the more people with the same ability, the weaker it becomes.
Like whether you eat one whole pie alone, or share one pie with several people.
Of course, the base size of the pie differs depending on the ability to begin with…
But one thing is certain: the fewer people who share the same ability, the stronger it is.
The problem is that abilities are hereditary.
So noble families strictly limited offspring and closely managed bloodlines so their powers wouldn’t weaken.
It became such a huge social issue that nobles were monopolizing rare abilities.
That’s why they suspected me of being a noble refugee from another country.
Because in our country — the Ragras Empire — there are no known families with precognition.
The examiner, perhaps embarrassed by his earlier reaction, cleared his throat and asked,
“Ahem. Tania, how far into the future can you see?”
“At most within a month. I could see far beyond that… but I usually don’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I pay for the future with my lifespan. Seeing farther drastically shortens it.”
“Ah…”
They sighed in sympathy.
There are ability users whose powers come with severe side effects.
Of course, I didn’t actually have any side effects. I was lying.
After all, the furthest future I know is only about 12 years ahead…
So I needed a good excuse when asked about anything beyond that.
“And the farther the future, the more variables exist. The tiniest change can alter everything.”
That’s why the term ‘butterfly effect’ exists.
Hearing that far-off futures are unreliable, the proctors’ expressions grew faintly disappointed.
But I still hadn’t played my strongest card.
“However… natural disasters like earthquakes or floods would count as fixed futures, right?”
“…!”
They exchanged shocked glances. Clearly they hadn’t considered that.
Naturally so.
When people hear “precognition,” the first thing they think about is usually how to make a fortune.
“I understand what you’re implying. Despite your age, your grasp of your ability is quite impressive.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed politely, and they looked extremely pleased.
“So we can assume your accuracy increases the closer the event is?”
“Yes. Anything within 10 seconds, I can predict perfectly. And it barely costs any lifespan.”
“Then how can you prove you truly have precognition?”
“Oh, I’ve never lost at rock-paper-scissors. Care to challenge me?”
There isn’t a simpler, clearer way to prove it.
“Rock-paper-scissors…?”
“Haha, very interesting. Alright, let’s try!”
They looked baffled at first, then quickly remembered I was a child, and readily agreed.
I couldn’t help but grin devilishly, eager to let them taste bitter defeat.
