I Can Read People's Comments

Chapter 79 Trials

[Chapter 78 Comment]

[Xinhuan: What can contributions point buy or trade for? Do they have value outside of the academy?]

[Hunter_Keenan_2132: Did you extract secrets about the man's ability of emotional control during the interrogation since you said emotional control would be the most over powered order in your original world?]

…

After all the students entered the room, Theo took a moment to check the comment first. He said, "The contribution points are more flexible, except for money. Victoria has a range of influence in this world, and I believe she is also quite influential in other worlds as well."

"The reward is guaranteed by her, and it can be exchanged for a lot of things. For example, you can ask her to find a certain thing, investigate a matter, or even ask her some restricted questions. Of course, these contribution points are closely related to the academy, so unless one is prominent enough to earn them, it's going to be hard to get a lot of them."

"In other words, it's like Victoria is scheming for you to enter and wants you to achieve a certain point if you want to get her help. So, I think it's quite useful to the point where it's a bit more valuable than mere money."

Then, Theo checked on the second comment. "I don't know who you are talking about. If you're talking about that middle-aged man I interrogated, then nope. Even that person doesn't have the influence of a lot of emotion. In fact, the power of emotion he holds is extremely weak."

"I don't know if we have similar knowledge about mythologies, but let's see, is there actually a God of Emotion? The answer is yes and no. Yes, there are gods that control emotions, but no, they don't control 'all' emotions. They only control a certain emotion because it's the only way to reach a certain peak of control."

"As for that man, his demons only allow him to control emotions, although the control is extremely weak. He can influence normal people or even fighters, but if one has gotten used to it or severed their emotions, it's impossible. Even I didn't feel anything."

"Still, emotion is the most powerful thing, according to my vision. For example, if I can manipulate one's emotions, I can simply make them so depressed that they end up committing suicide. Even if you have severed your emotion, it can bring back that emotion and cause people to go crazy. Other than undead, robots, or things without consciousness, emotions could influence every single one of them… or might even control them."

"What I have been doing is simply trying to manipulate their emotions. No matter how you claim that you are a logical person, you are still a living being that is connected to emotion. By controlling it, I can still force you to do things you don't want to do."

After answering the comments, Theo moved to the entrance of the room and saw all the students gathering in the center. "Are all of you ready?"

"Yes, Sir." They answered while nodding their heads.

"I'm going to give every single one of you a challenge according to your current strength. Just know that it's hard to defeat it, but not impossible. During the next month, you're going to face this challenge, and the one who manages to get a passing mark will receive a special reward from me."

They all looked excited, so Theo waved his hand, closing the door.

The room turned completely dark as they wondered what they should do.

Once they blink, they suddenly get transported to another place.

"Hmm?" Serena widened her eyes in surprise. Within a single blink of an eye, the darkness turned into a jungle. The sunlight was illuminating the area, but when she looked around, she couldn't see anyone else. "Everyone? Can you hear me?"

Serena didn't get an answer. She felt a bit weird, considering everything was just an illusion. However, the humidity, the slightly wet ground smell, and the lush greenery caused her to doubt that this was just a simple illusion.

Since Theo had asked them to bring their equipment, Serena took out a few tubes from her small bag hanging on her waist.

"Is this a trial where I have to fight?" Serena furrowed her eyebrows. Her tubes contained a lot of things, from a sweet perfume that could enhance one's physical ability to a mixture of essence that would cause a huge spark once exposed to the air.

Sssskkkk!

Sssskkkk!

A series of sounds echoed, alerting her. It felt like the bushes around her were moving, but there were some sounds coming from above.

She looked around, ready to throw her tubes.

But the more she searched, the more she panicked, as there was nothing around her. Additionally, she could hear a series of footsteps jumping over the branches.

No matter how hard she tried to find it, there was nothing.

"Kh…" Serena gritted her teeth, becoming even more anxious.

*Creak!*

All of a sudden, she heard a cracking sound coming from behind. It must be something stepping on the branch, she thought.

Hence, Serena turned around and threw her tube. "It's there!"

However, there was nothing behind her other than the broken branch. The tube had fallen to the ground and shattered, causing a huge spark that flared up at nearby trees.

"It's not the—" Serena panicked, wondering where that 'thing' went. Unfortunately, she couldn't finish her words as a sharp pain jolted her brain. The pain was like a needle poking her skin; it wasn't much, but it was still quite painful.

She couldn't help but look down, finding a knife stabbing her from behind.

"What?!" Serena gasped. Her entire body went limp as she suddenly fell to the ground. Before dying, she tried to turn her head around, wanting to know who just killed her.

It turned out there was a goblin with a bloody dagger behind her. The goblin was so fast that it could sneak up on her without her being able to follow its movement.

"Why go—" Serena didn't know why Theo would put a goblin since it was a famous monster even in her world. But before she could finish her words, an arrow pierced her forehead. The momentum caused her head to rise, finding four more goblins on top of the tree. Two of them had a bow, while the other two had a shield and a javelin.

"Aaaahhh!" Serena suddenly woke up and found out that her body was actually lying on the floor. She was holding her chest to check the wound, but it was nowhere to be seen, showing that it was only an illusion.

The room had a dim light as Theo stood in front of her. "You have powerful abilities in your hands, but you can't wield them completely yet because of one fatal mistake. If people target you, you won't be able to protect yourself. Your combat ability is too weak, so I want you to defeat all of them. That is your trial. If you don't wish to take the trial, then say it now."

Just like her, the other students also received their own trials.

…

In another illusion stood tall a ruined ten-story building.

A lonely girl was sitting in the dining room. In front of her was a birthday cake. The room had no lights on. Only a small candle from the birthday cake dimly lit the room.

The girl was clapping her hands while singing cheerfully, "Happy birthday to you… Happy birthday to you…"

However, that cheerful tone was gradually replaced by a sob.

"Hiks… Happy birthday…" The girl began to stop clapping as her hands started to shake. The coldness of the room was just something that the girl could ignore, but the coldness in her heart couldn't help but make her cry. She was trying hard to hold back her tears. "…to you…"

The girl gently blew out the candle. The little light showed what was happening in her heart. The little hope that she had was extinguished.

"…Maya. You're now 12 years old. You have grown up and shouldn't cry anymore…" The tears flowed down her cheeks. Even with tears covering her face, she still said, "You have to live on and carry everyone's will."

Inside that room, there were three corpses leaning on each other. The first corpse looked like a middle-aged man. He had a gentle face, but because of the rotten part, he looked like he had fallen into madness.

On his side was a woman of a similar age. Her entire body had become rotten to the point where she almost couldn't be recognized anymore. On the other side was a young boy. His body was dried up, as if everything from it had been sucked away.

All of them had actually turned into zombies. And there was one thing that was similar to all of them.

There was a hole in their forehead. It looked like multiple bullet holes that had joined together.

And a gun was lying between them and the girl, who was still crying. Yes, they were Maya and her family.

At twelve years old, she had to kill her family members with her own hands because they had turned into zombies.

It might be due to the emotional shock that Maya gradually opened her eyes. Tears were flowing out of her eyes as she had a hard time looking in this darkness.

"I'm sorry for doing this to you. However, this is the only thing I can do. You like the school and your friends so much because it is only in this place that you find liveliness, but I don't want you to make the same mistake as me… I don't want you to run away." Theo sighed. "If you don't want this trial, then I can change it for you…"

This trial was based on each student's weaknesses. Serena was lacking in combat ability, Maya had a big knot in her heart, Avalon struggled with his straightforward path, Lancelot fought against his trauma, and so on.

They were going to challenge this trial for a month.