"What is 'using a skill'?" Nava raised his hand high and shouted, his face serious.
Everyone in the hall turned to look at Nava, before laughter and gossip erupted.
"Do people still not know what a skill is these days? How dare someone so stupid apply to be a player? So presumptuous!"
"I think he probably just wants to ask how to use a skill. He's not one of our students, just a low-level player hoping to try his luck in The Oneness."
"Hmph… Just trying to be a laborer player, why would he waste time asking about using skills?"
Nawa's reason for asking wasn't that he didn't know what a skill was, but to dispel any doubts about whether using his skills would violate the test rules.
Nawa's psychic power was telekinesis, a power most people understood only to control objects, not to be used as an offensive or defensive skill.
This worried Nava that he might be breaking the rules and could even be disqualified.
"Being a player is also an option."
"I'm really sorry, I forgot that there are other people in this room who aren't students of the Asashi Academy. In that case, let me explain in more detail. A skill is using your preferred psychic power to enhance your combat abilities.
This could be in terms of speed, agility, accuracy, destructive power, or any other aspect. As long as you don't use any items or artifacts, it's not against the rules. I'll demonstrate."
The female officer walked to the strength testing arena where the power testing targets were located. She raised her palm, and suddenly a type of energy, similar to a blue aura, flowed from her body.
In a fraction of a second, it enveloped her palm, making it look like a powerful and sharp blade.
"What everyone is seeing now is the Blade skill, a C-level attack enhancement skill using psychic power, Biocontrol—the psychic power that can control cells within the body. The effect of this skill is..."
"Stimulating the cells in the body to release aura and controlling it to concentrate in one place to enhance the power of something."
"My attack power stat is around 350. Now let's see how much damage it will inflict when I use the Blade skill to enhance it."
As soon as she finished speaking, the female officer lunged towards the test target and slammed her palm, enveloped in blue aura, forcefully against it.
"Bang!" A loud sound echoed as the blue aura-enveloped palm struck the target.
For a moment, everyone thought the power meter would break in two, but that wasn't the case. After the attack, the machine remained intact; it only vibrated slightly.
The number displayed on the machine soared to 1,298.
"Alright, everyone, you can see now. When I use the Blade skill to enhance it, the destructive power increases fourfold. If I use it on a weapon, the destructive power will multiply even more.
Even a professional-level monster with high defense will be no match." "Even a Rank D player like me can inflict damage on it," the female officer explained, turning to look at Nawa with a sympathetic expression.
"As a fellow player, I want to warn you that The Oneness is far more dangerous than you can imagine. If you lack sufficient skill, you may ultimately lose your life. Anyone who is unsure of their abilities should reconsider. Starting a little later might be a better option."
The officer spoke, looking at Nawa with a pleading expression. She hoped her advice would make Nawa change his mind about becoming a player.
After all, she was the one who gave him the right to take the test, and he was just one step away from entering The Oneness. If Nawa were to die there, it would partly be because of her, and she felt a special responsibility towards him.
Nawa nodded, agreeing with what the female officer said. When he was in the Himmapan Forest, he faced many strong and dangerous monsters. Without luck, he would have died. But that didn't mean he had changed his mind.
Immediately after the exam supervisor finished speaking, a great commotion erupted among the students from the Asashi Academy. From what I can gather, they're debating which skills to use in the test.
Each of them wants the title that the association will bestow. The various privileges are one thing, but the main reason the students from Asashi want the title so much is that it will attract the attention of prestigious guilds.
This will increase their chances of joining major guilds, which means fame, money, and significant support.
In The Oneness, there are no police officers, no justice system, or any laws to protect players. Players need a source of power to protect themselves, and guilds are that source.
The relationship between players and guilds is like a symbiotic relationship; they depend on each other.
Players need the support of strong guilds, and conversely, strong players are the power of the guilds. If a player has no guild or joins a weak guild, their path to becoming a player will be difficult.
As for Nawa, he's not very interested in joining a guild. He just wants to earn money and buy medicine for his father. Even so, he wants the title because it will give him many discounts. Seeing the prices of items sold to players makes Nawa even more eager to get this title.
Nawa watched the students from Asashi Academy take their tests one by one. Each student excelled in different skills, including those that increased speed, defense, and accuracy. The test stages varied, but the most popular was the attack power test.
The testing equipment used by The One Association was a superior model to the Playfloorclash equipment Nawa had seen, which only measured physical attack power.
This Association's machine could measure heat, cold, and various debuff abilities. Its AI system processed the data and displayed the results as numbers.
Many students used skills similar to those of the test supervisors. Some generated heat or cold from their palms. While not as powerful as the female supervisors, many scored over 200, earning the title of "students to watch."
However, no one had yet scored over 500 to earn the title of "new genius."
While Nawa was deep in thought, a sudden murmur arose. Natee was walking towards the testing area. He was a top student from Asashi Academy in this year and had the highest average physical stats among all those taking the test today.
He was the one everyone expected to win the title of "New Genius," but the skill test couldn't rely solely on financial support.
It required both talent and rigorous training to make the skills powerful and effective. Therefore, only truly exceptional individuals could earn the title of New Genius.
Natee stopped in front of the testing device, clenching both fists and slightly crouching down, assuming a fighting stance. Soon, a resounding roar emanated from Natee, and a red aura erupted from his body like a boiling kettle.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
"Is that the Berserker skill?" one student exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Yes, yes! That fiery red aura...that's definitely the Berserker skill. I've seen it in videos of high-ranked players. It greatly increases the user's power in all aspects – attack power, speed, defense."
"Impossible! This is a B-rank skill! Even some high-ranked players can't master it!"
"How did he do that? He's only a second-year student! It's unbelievable!"
Natee's body moved like a shooting star as he sprinted towards the test target.
"Bang!"A loud sound echoed as Natee's fist struck the target.
The speed of his movement combined with the power of his punch caused the reading on the measuring device to skyrocket to 989. Given his base stat of 225, this meant Natee scored over 700 points, far surpassing other students from the Asashi Academy.
Over the past five years, tens of thousands of people have taken the test in Thailand, but only a few dozen have earned the title of "New Genius." Natee's success caused a sensation throughout the testing area. But the surprises didn't end there, as the other Four Heavenly Kings also scored over 500 points.
Somchai, one of Natee's large-bodied friends, used his High Defense skill... His C-rank Defense Enhancement skill allowed him to score over 500 points on the defense test. Mai, the big-eyed girl, scored nearly 700 points on the speed test.
The last girl, whom Nawa felt strangely familiar with, was named Ploy. She was the only one who used her Body Restoration skill on the test, scoring 725 points.
Although not as high as Natee's, she still scored over 700. This marked the first time in Asashi Academy history that four students received the title of "New Genius" in the same year.
After the tests of these four, the others were largely unremarkable. Many waited for the tests to finish so they could begin player training. After a while, it was Nawa's turn to test his final test.