Mixed Blessing System

Hearing the voice of that examiner, Lothur just smiled and followed his directions.

"This exam will test your mental qualities so we can see if you have the minimum to do special missions of the Cultivation House. Normally our members don't do missions like this, but it's not unusual for problems to develop in the middle of something that should be simple." The examiner began to explain.

"Sometimes these problems can't be solved by people with low mental qualities, which means they might even die if something like that develops." This uniformed man began to make preparations in a small room while speaking to Lothur.

"Since the Cultivation House cherishes a certain standard, we don't like our members dying from being unable to solve inconveniences. So, we require this test."

"Oh? That sounds pretty strict. You don't blame whoever posted the mission for unexpected problems arising during it?" Lothur asked as he saw a room surrounded by glass, starting to become transparent.

The examiner replied. "Unexpected problems are not always the fault of the one who posts the mission. Sometimes shit happens."

"But when we have evidence that the one who posted the mission tried to manipulate us, of course, we act. But in general, that's not the case with missions that fail, so we have that policy."

"I see..."

That man then indicated with one of his hands in the direction of that square room surrounded by glass walls. "Enter that area and wait. You will pass that exam if you can hold that place for five minutes without losing consciousness."

"Oh? Sounds simple..." Lothur muttered as he followed that man's lead, quickly entering that room and standing in the middle.

The examiner's voice then reached Lothur once again. "We will begin the test in another 20 seconds."

"Hmmm." Lothur was silent as he watched everything with his visual ability, anticipating what this test was all about.

He did not know how mental tests were done, so he naturally had a lot of curiosity for this moment.

'Will I have to understand something? Maybe unravel some kind of special puzzle?'

Unfortunately for Lothur, he was bound to be disappointed.

The mental test of this institution did not constitute something like the one he was in doubt about but a simulation. However, this simulation would only work for people with some mental attributes. Above that value, such a thing would have no effect!

'How will this fellow perform? He looks like a mortal on the outside, but he passed the combat test...' The examiner looked with interest at that room as a gray fog began forming there.

As Lothur disappeared into the grayish mist of that place, the examiner gave the last commands to the formations behind that special room.

'I wonder what kind of illusion he will see...'

This test did that. It created illusions in which the cultivators had to endure their fears, nightmares, and other problems that depended greatly on mentality.

Cultivators with low willpower usually tremble in the face of danger, become impassive in unexpected situations, and fear the mystery of something new. And all this considerably increased the chances that a mission would fail or even an entire group would die.

That is why this special room tested someone's fears and the mental resilience expected of that person in a tense and out-of-control situation.

However, if the one under test were much stronger than the limits of the exam, all he would see would be the fog inside that room, like what Lothur was seeing at this very moment.

'Hmmm? Isn't he going to start the test?' Lothur tried to look in the direction where the man from before should be.

Unfortunately, with that grayish curtain of gases in the surroundings, he could only see an extremely illuminated place with no boundaries.

Besides that, he felt a slightly strange sensation in the back of his neck and eyes, as if something was trying to influence him. But this was not strong and was less bothering than a pinch.

On the other hand, as he tried to see the 'truth' with his eyes, Lothur noticed that some of his powers were not working.

'I can't see through this gas... Is there something blocking my visual ability?' He looked up and down, unable to see anything relevant.

...

After five minutes, the examiner turned off the formations over the special room Lothur was in as he looked over there with a curious expression.

'Let's see how you turned out...' He imagined Lothur would be at least exhausted, perhaps with pissed trousers.

But when the gases in the surroundings disappeared, all this examiner saw was a calm young man standing in the same position as before.

"Uh? Have we already finished the exam? What does this test do? I saw absolutely nothing." Lothur commented to that individual.

He had thought it might take a while for such an examination to begin, but to his surprise, it was all over in a blink of an eye.

"You didn't feel anything?" That man opened the door from where Lothur was standing as his expression of shock grew. "How can that be? Even people at the peak of the 1st stage should at least see part of the illusion."

"Illusion?" Lothur tilted his head to the right, more or less understanding what this test was like. 'So, my mental strength protected me from the illusion, and I didn't see anything?'

"Sigh..."

'That was a little disappointing.' So, he thought to himself, but since that was the case, he could settle his affairs in this place right away and go on to his next goal.

"I passed the test, right? What do I do now? Do I need to pass somewhere or wait to start doing the missions?" He asked as he came face to face with that shocked examiner.

That guy stood watching Lothur strangely for a few seconds but then shook his head and said. "No matter how you did it, there is no way this test could have failed, or you could have cheated. So, yes, you passed."

"Now you can start doing the Cultivation House missions." He said as he handed Lothur an ID.

"Uh? Already? I thought there was a deadline for that." He commented in surprise.

The examiner explained. "Yes, ordinary people may have to wait up to a week to have their acceptance into the Cultivation House confirmed. But people with Green talent, or higher, who pass all the tests, are accepted immediately."

"We will still make some inquiries about you and keep an eye on your missions for a period of six months. But you can already start enjoying the advantages of membership."

"Oh?" Lothur smiled beneath his mask, "The Cultivation House works differently."

"Hmm, well, welcome to the Cultivation House, and good luck on your journey with us." That man greeted him just before Lothur departed from that place and headed toward the Patchwork House.

'Let me see if I can already do business with the Becker family and Jacob's father...' Lothur quickly moved on to his destination.

...