Rosalind Rhodes’s face stiffened.
Cillian Forrest paid her no mind, glancing at the group of people who now sat back down, having wanted to leave but not daring to. His gaze hardened slightly.
The atmosphere in the observation room dropped instantly. Rosalind Rhodes bit her lip. Seeing that no one would speak up for her, she had no choice but to swallow her humiliation and take two steps back.
Resentment seethed within her. ’I’m an S+ Healer-class! How dare they treat me like this!’
Cillian Forrest was completely unconcerned with her feelings, simply sitting there in silence and watching the tests proceed.
For a while, no one else in the observation room spoke. It was completely silent.
A moment later, Cillian Forrest rose from his seat and walked to the window, watching the tests below.
"How many people are left?"
A voice rang out in the observation room. When the others realized it was Cillian Forrest who had spoken, one of them quickly replied, "Not many. There are only two people left."
The first group was comprised of higher-Level individuals, so there naturally weren’t as many of them. Well over half had finished their tests before Cillian Forrest had even arrived; Rosalind Rhodes had been one of the last.
As he spoke, the last two people began their tests.
Cillian Forrest watched the two people below. Neither was the familiar face he was looking for. His brow furrowed slightly.
Just then, the door swung open. As everyone watched, Ethan Cross approached the Marshal, leaned in, and whispered something to him.
The Marshal’s expression froze for a second. Then he stood, turned, and headed for the door.
"We’re leaving."
Ethan Cross gave a nod to the others in the room. He looked momentarily surprised to see Rosalind Rhodes but quickly averted his gaze, turning to follow Cillian Forrest out of the observation room.
They left everyone else to stare at each other in confusion.
The remaining people were left in a state of utter confusion.
’What in the world was going on?’
’What did Major General Cross say for the Marshal to just up and leave? What’s going on?’
Once they were outside, Ethan Cross followed behind Cillian Forrest and said, "Marshal, I handled things poorly. Miss Wexler is being tested in the second group."
’He had known about the tests from the start; he’d just forgotten that the groups were assigned based on the Level of one’s initial spiritual power awakening.’
’He had subconsciously assumed that with Miss Wexler’s abilities, she would surely be in the first group. He never imagined it would lead to this embarrassing mistake.’
’He had rushed to report to the Marshal the moment he found out.’
’The thought of his foolish mistake made him wish he could go back in time and knock some sense into his past self.’
’The Marshal had intended to see Miss Wexler the moment he finished his duties, and now his carelessness had ruined the opportunity.’
Cillian Forrest didn’t comment on it. It wasn’t just Ethan Cross—he hadn’t realized the issue either.
"Has the second group finished testing?"
Ethan Cross immediately replied, "No, they’re only halfway through. Miss Wexler hasn’t started her test yet."
The second group generally consisted of lower-Level individuals, meaning there were more of them than in the first group. Naturally, the testing process was slower.
Hearing this, Cillian Forrest said nothing more and boarded the flyer.
「Meanwhile, in Group Two.」
Compared to the first group, the staff here were of a lower rank, and the whole testing process was fairly standard.
Although Healer-class individuals were precious, the Levels here were generally low. Every year, people fought tooth and nail to get assigned to test the High Rank Healers in the first group, so Group Two naturally didn’t receive as much attention.
Unlike the first group, which had many important figures attending in person, this location was rarely visited.
But that was fine by them. With no one watching over their shoulders, it was actually easier to get their work done.
The tests were proceeding in an orderly fashion when suddenly, someone ran up in a panic.
"Chief, some... someone’s... here!" he managed to say, breathless from the sprint.
The Chief Examiner glanced at him with disdain. "So someone’s here. What are you so panicked about?"
’It’s not like anyone important would ever come here.’
"No, the person who’s here is..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the door was pushed open from the outside.
The Chief Examiner was stunned when he saw the newcomer. ’Major General Cross.’
He recognized Ethan Cross. A long time ago, the major general had been responsible for the security of the Healer-class candidates during the testing period.
Ever since his transfer to the Marshal’s First Legion, he no longer took on external assignments; he was almost always at the Marshal’s side.
’What’s he doing here?’
As the Chief Examiner was puzzling over this, Ethan Cross stepped aside, revealing a tall, imposing figure behind him.
The Chief Examiner’s mind went completely blank. He shot up from his seat. "Marshal!"
Just then, the man beside him quietly finished his interrupted sentence: "...the one who’s here is the Marshal."
The Chief Examiner shot him a glare. ’Why didn’t you say so sooner!’
The other man’s expression seemed to reply, ’You’re the one who told me not to panic.’
After shooting him one last glare, the Chief Examiner quickly turned his attention back to Cillian Forrest and hurried over. "Marshal, what brings you here?"
His mind raced. Under normal circumstances, no one ever came here.
’So why would the Marshal show up today?!’
’Could there be a problem with one of the candidates in his group?’
The Chief Examiner ran through countless possibilities in his head, only to hear Cillian Forrest say, "It’s nothing to worry about. I’m just here to watch. You may continue."
The Chief Examiner was baffled.
Though bewildered, he could see that the Marshal’s visit truly didn’t seem to be because of some problem on their end. He could only suppress his questions and instruct his subordinates to resume the tests.
Compared to the first group, this place was much more subdued. The absence of fawning and flattery was more to Cillian Forrest’s taste.
’He’d never personally observed one of The Empire’s official testing sessions. This was a good chance to watch while he waited for Sophie Wexler.’
The layout of the two testing sites was largely the same. Here, too, the observation room was on an upper floor, with a window looking down on the scene below.
The tests proceeded, one candidate after another. Cillian Forrest methodically reviewed the data on the display panels.
Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure.
It was Sophie Wexler.
The Chief Examiner noticed the shift in Cillian Forrest’s gaze and was surprised. He leaned over to the staffer next to him and asked, "Who is that?"
The staffer checked the candidate’s information and replied in a low voice, "Her name is Sophie Wexler."
’Sophie Wexler?’
’Her initial spiritual power awakening was only F-level...’ He glanced at Cillian Forrest’s focused expression, confused. ’Is there some issue with her?’
’Why would the Marshal be interested in an F-level Healer-class?’
Ethan Cross spotted Sophie Wexler as well. He turned to Cillian Forrest. "Marshal, that’s Miss Wexler."
Cillian replied, "Mm." ’I see her.’
He then rose and walked to the window to get a better look at the woman below.
’It’s only been a few days since I last saw her. Has she lost weight?’
Cillian Forrest’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Down below, Sophie Wexler was oblivious to all of this. Following the examiner’s instructions, she stepped into the testing pod.
Compared to the test on Karath, this one was clearly far more rigorous. Sophie Wexler concentrated, doing her best to unleash her spiritual power.
The examiner had just been following standard procedure, but when he glanced up and saw the data skyrocketing, he was left completely dumbfounded.
And he wasn’t the only one. Upstairs, the Chief Examiner was just as stunned.
The Chief Examiner stared at the data in utter disbelief.