The Flawed Test

Chapter 3

     I wasn't even wandering around the Academy for an hour when a message was played over the intercom. "Could all students and staff involved with the Neuropsy testing procedure please come to the Neuropsy assessment chamber? Thank you." Click. Fortunately, I had a map of the school that the guidance counselor had gotten me. I knew it was around the east side of the school on the second floor. Unfortunately, I was on the west side on the first floor. 

     I eventually wandered myself to the second floor, and then guessed which side was east. I got into the room that was crowded with other Neuropsionsists. The room was absolutely packed, like students were sardines and the testing chamber was a sardine can. Everyone seemed to know everyone else, so it was really awkward for me, not knowing anyone in the crowd. 

     "Hey! Listen up everybody! Now, I know that most of you have been through this testing procedure once, or many more times, but there are some new students among us that have not taken it yet. Plus, for those of you who are bored and complaining about the test, it should be very easy for you. Now, could people with a last name starting with 'A' come forward please?" A teacher said in front of us all.

...

    "Could we now have the first half of the students who have a last name starting with 'R' please?" The teacher asked. I nervously waded through the crowd of students in the testing chamber. Then, as I was midway to the front of the chamber, a thought surfaced. What if I can't beat the hologram? I mean, it was a likely outcome, I wasn't the most powerful Neuropsionist in the world. I was a measly level two, which hadn't even had his power awakened. I didn't even know what my power was. So I was royally screwed. They opened the battle room, the other side of the testing chamber, and I walked in. There was a raised platform in the middle with a hologram on it, looking exactly like me. I looked over to the left to find a menu for the hologram. My shaky hand slowly pressed the start button and I braced for impact.

     "Whoo boy. Here goes nothin'" I said, as the holigram started to attack. It automatically charged up some kind of aura on it's fist and punched me in the abdomen. I went flying and slammed against the wall. Ouch. I concentrated on the power that I felt after the test. I tried to turn that inkling of a thought into a massive power. Once I had summoned my power, I knew exactly what it was called. 

     "Helical Bullets." I said aloud, barely knowing the words before I uttered them. I absorbed the light from the searchlights on the wall and shot them straight at the hologram. They took the form of bullets and an entire spray was shot out at the hologram. That would've been great news if any of them had actually hit the hologram. Then I remembered, even though I was a measly level two, that still meant my power could take two forms. But that also meant I was going to have to make up that other form very quickly because the hologram had detached it from the bullets that had hit it, and was now coming after me again. 

     "Helical Phalanx." I said, a bit louder than last time, and again, not knowing what I was saying. The words were just suddenly coming from my head out of nowhere. I don't know how I knew what to say, I just did. As I said it, I made the spotlights on the sides of the battle room flicker from the amount of light I was taking from them. I put together the image in my head. A full body shield made entirely of condensed light. I charged the hologram and shunted him into the wall. Unfortunately, as soon as I slammed him into the wall, the shield disintegrated and I had to back off. And as soon as last time, the mirror version of me had already regenerated its health and was charging me again. It actually pinned me to the wall this time and was charging up his hand for a hit straight to my face. I summoned all the anger and embarrassment of having my face blown off in front of everybody in my class. I summoned my anger into one last bullet attack. Except that's not what I said.

     "Helical Blade." I said, as a golden, condensed light katana materialized in my hand, which I swung upwards across hologram me's chest. He was flung to the other side of the room and my katana de-materialized. I collected my anger once again into one, final, finishing blow. 

     "Helical Pillar." I said, and a giant sunbeam crashed down from the sky burning through the roof. (And, in hindsight, causing a lot of property damage.) It vaporized the hologram and I was notified that I had passed the test. Then I blacked out.