Adam's Simulator

30 seconds later, the compatibility results were finally displayed on the alphus' main screen, projecting figures that seemed to extinguish all energy in the room.

Compatibility:

Dagger handling: 3

Swordsmanship: 9

An icy silence fell. These numbers were ridiculously low, so low as to seem almost an insult.

Even the least gifted students had achieved compatibilities above 20. For a person to post such results was unheard of and, above all, ridiculous.

Then, slowly, the silence was broken by muffled murmurs, and finally by ill-contained giggles.

"This is a joke, isn't it?" tossed in a boy with blond hair.

"Even a kid with no training would have better results!"

"I think he'd have been better off not waking up at all." added a girl, her tone contemptuous.

Adam, at the center of it all and still in the machine, felt his throat knot.

He looked down at his dull, lifeless dagger, now a perfect symbol of his mediocrity.

The director himself looked troubled. He frowned and turned to one of the technicians.

 "Are you sure there's nothing wrong with these results?"

The technician shook his head, visibly uncomfortable.

"The results are correct."

The manager sighed deeply, turning again to Adam, who had just stepped out of the machine in spite of himself.

He couldn't hide there forever.

There was pity in the director's gaze, but also a hint of frustration.

"Adam... I'm afraid these results mean that your future as a martial artist will be extremely limited. Perhaps you could consider a different path."

These words struck Adam like a blade plunged into his body.

All his dreams, all his aspirations to become a respected warrior in this promising new life, seemed to crumble in an instant.

But just as he was about to step down from the podium, something stopped him.

An almost imperceptible inner voice urged him not to give up. His fingers closed instinctively on his dagger.

"Wait," he said, his voice weak but firm.

By now, Adan was standing at center stage in front of a full amphitheater.

He swept his gaze over the entire amphitheater with vigor.

He hadn't raised his voice, yet it echoed throughout the crowded room.

The director raised an eyebrow in surprise.

But Adam felt he had to do this.

"Wait until you see me in the future."

"Maybe my compatibility is low... but that doesn't mean I can't learn. Maybe this test doesn't measure everything. Either way, I'll find one method or another to reach the top of this world!"

His initially hesitant voice gradually became firmer and full of conviction.

A burst of laughter erupted among the students.

"Find another way? With a 3 and a 9? Good luck, boy!"

"Really what can he accomplish with such weak talent and compatibility?"

"It's better for him to stay with Mom and Dad, he'll be safer!"

But this time, Adam totally ignored his classmates' mockery.

He gritted his teeth and stared at the crowd in front of him.

"Even if I have to work ten times harder than everyone else, I'll do it."

"I'll become a powerful martial artist, far stronger than any of you here could ever imagine."

The teachers watching from behind the principal didn't know how to react, but simply looked at each other.

For his part, the principal watched the scene, his eyebrows furrowed.

In the crowd, the mockery continued.

"Ah, that's it, this guy's gone completely mad."

"He doesn't belong on a battlefield, he belongs in a psychiatric hospital."

Never mind the numbers. Never mind the laughter. However weak he was, he was going to prove he belonged here.

"You all laugh, but remember this moment. Remember this day when you laughed at me."

"Because one day, I'll surpass you all."

"It doesn't matter if my compatibility is a 3 or a 9."

"It doesn't matter if my dagger is dull and blunt."

"I'll forge my own path, and when I do, it won't be these numbers that define me, but what I've become."

He took a step forward, clutching his dagger in his hand, as if this simple, insignificant object could concentrate all his determination.

"You there, with your compatibilities of 30 or more. You think you can take anything for granted just because that test gave you a number."

"But I'll tell you: it's not a number that determines what you're worth, it's your will. And my will... is unbreakable."

A heavy silence settled over the room. For a moment, the mocking had died down, as if the students and instructors didn't know how to react to this wildly audacious statement.

Then, the laughter of one student broke the silence, followed by that of another, until the entire room was filled with mocking laughter.

"You'll pass us? With a 3 in dagger handling?" scoffed one boy.

"Maybe you'll stand at the top of a circus or comedy stage with a statement like that!"

A girl rolled her eyes.

"Willpower? Unbreakable? Are you serious? You're in a world where only numbers count, poor thing!"

Even some of the instructors exchanged amused or skeptical glances.

"There's often only a thin line between genius and madness."

"Which side will you be on, young man?"

The principal's murmurs were heard by no one.

For his part, Adam remained motionless, his expression unchanged. He hadn't waited for anyone to believe him.

He'd said those words to himself, so that he'd never give up.

His fists trembled slightly, but not from shame this time. It was excitement, a strength he'd never felt before.

He had a new chance at life, and in such a fantastic world at that. This chance, whatever his talents and compatibility, he would do anything to seize it and become stronger.

Stronger so that even if he had cancer in this life too, he wouldn't die of it.

Adam stepped down from the podium to persistent laughter, skeptical glances from the teachers and curious eyes from the principal.

But in his heart, he felt an ember ignite.

Never mind the mockery. Never mind the numbers. He'd made a promise today, and he intended to keep it.