Chapter 595

“Relax, I may not be too good at direct combat, but my skills aren’t weak.”

Leon, who had a somewhat peculiar expression on his face, couldn’t help but smile. He then continued as if no one else was around:

“The first exam is a talent test; I probably can’t help you much with that. But if the second exam involves group battles, I’m confident I can boost your fighting power by a level.

As for the third practical exam, though I’m not great at doing tasks either, I excel at poisoning. If you can give me a bit of time, I’m confident I can take down most people here and directly eliminate ninety percent of your competitors.”

“Hmm…”

Feeling the hostile gazes rapidly directed at him, Leon immediately felt a toothache coming on, realizing this assessment might not go as smoothly as he thought.

Big Sister Stool! Confidence is good, but can we discuss these ‘schemes’ a little more discreetly? As expected, her overly straightforward remarks quickly drew resentment from others.

“Hmph.”

A slightly disdainful chuckle echoed as the horned man standing behind Leon turned around. His two bright blue bull-like eyes scanned the combination of people behind him before he sneered, “I thought the person who dared to say such things would be extraordinary, but it’s just a Level 2 Cleaner? I’m standing right here—come try poisoning me!”

“Hmm?”

Upon hearing the horned man’s words, Armin’s eyes lit up slightly in surprise, then asked excitedly,

“Are you sure?”

“I’m absolutely certain…”

“Silence!”

A sharp voice cut through the overused trivial conflict. An old man with a white beard and a Pisces emblem on his chest stepped out from the Dream River, landing on the ground below in one step.

And with the appearance of the old man, more than four hundred fist-sized colored bubbles surged down from the Dream River, merging like water droplets into a larger hazy dream bubble, which popped and enveloped all the cleaners inside.

“Four hundred nineteen people expected, four hundred nineteen present, no dropouts.”

After carefully looking at Leon, the Pisces Director slowly sat cross-legged in the center of the dream, opened a leather-bound notebook on his knees, and announced to the more than four hundred demons and spirits in front of him,

“I, as the Pisces Director of the Clearing Bureau, officially announce the start of the first phase of this promotion assessment: the basic talent test!”

Following the announcement tinged with phlegm from the old man, the previously blurry massive dream suddenly became clear, transforming into a lecture hall capable of accommodating hundreds of people.

And the more than four hundred cleaners, who were originally standing, simultaneously sat down in unison, placing their arms on the desks in front of them, assuming the posture of diligent students, forced to focus on the central podium.

“This test is simple; you just need to draw.”

The Pisces Director sitting cross-legged on the lectern lightly coughed, pointing backward to the empty podium behind him, then said leisurely,

“Soon, a tree will grow behind me. What you need to do is pick up the paper and pen in front of you and draw what you see. It doesn’t matter whether your drawing is accurate or not…

That’s all the rules for now, begin!”

“…”

Isn’t this supposed to be a talent test? What the heck is testing drawing?

After hearing the question for the first exam, the cleaners looked at each other in confusion, but seeing the Pisces Director closing his eyes at the lectern, clearly unwilling to explain further, they could only obediently start drawing… except Leon.

…

Holding the standard-issue hand-painted ticket, Leon waited idly on his chair for half a day. Listening to the scratching sounds of other cleaners furiously writing around him, looking at the still-empty podium behind the Pisces Director where not even a single tree hair had grown, Leon started feeling uneasy.

There’s nothing here, what am I supposed to draw?

When everyone else was busy drawing, the person who did nothing naturally stood out. The “candidates” on either side of Leon soon noticed his abnormality.

“Hmph.”

Glancing sideways at Leon’s blank answer sheet, the muscular horned man couldn’t help but sneer, then turned back without even bothering to mock him, bending over the desk and using fingers thicker than carrots to hold the feather pen, starting to paint his own B-tree.

What if… I check what he’s drawing? Feeling a bit panicked, Leon couldn’t help but lean over and peeked at the horned man’s answer sheet.

I’m not cheating, nor am I planning to copy his answers. I just want to reference the ‘format’ of the answers. At least scribble something like a branch. After all, even writing a single “answer” is better than submitting a blank sheet, right?

Unfortunately, when Leon glanced at the horned man’s answer sheet with the intention of not submitting a blank sheet, he didn’t see a tree but rather a tree head…

Or more bluntly speaking, what the horned man painted wasn’t so much a tree as it was a monstrous ant with four sheep hooves and dozens of bull horns.

Even worse, when the grotesque ugly ant noticed Leon’s shocked gaze, it actually lifted its head from the paper and glared angrily at Leon.

Wait… What the hell is this thing?

Realizing at a glance that there was no way he could copy this answer, Leon could only sit up properly and return to his seat stiffly.

Looks like I’ll have to draw blindly! Might as well work harder in the next two rounds! However, just as Leon gritted his teeth and prepared to give up, his right leg was suddenly kicked lightly. Then, a test paper already partially filled out appeared in his peripheral vision.

This is…

When Leon surprisingly turned his head and received an encouraging look from Armin, he couldn’t help but feel warmth in his heart, thinking Big Sister Stool seemed much more refined.

Thank you, Senior Armin! I’ll definitely thank you properly once we’re back… Hmm…

Looking at the test paper entirely painted brown-yellow, with a spiral-shaped pile of trees emitting the distinctive smell of humus, Leon’s surprised expression dimmed instantly.

“Cough!”

At this moment, a hoarse dry cough came from the podium. The Pisces Director, still with his eyes closed, suddenly moved his neck, then blandly reminded everyone,

“Now adding a rule: You’d better draw what you see. If you have ulterior motives and draw things you haven’t seen on the paper, I’ll shatter your consciousness and permanently expel you from this assessment… Alright, continue drawing.”

“…”

Alright, even drawing poop isn’t allowed now.

Understanding that this rule was aimed at someone, Leon sighed helplessly, declined Senior Armin’s kindness, and sat quietly in his seat, observing his nose and focusing on waiting for the exam to end.

However, in a place Leon couldn’t see, a pair of black-and-white eyes confusingly stared at his blank answer sheet through the huge bubble dream. As for the Pisces Director on the podium, still with his eyes closed, he scribbled a series of large and small question marks on the leather-bound notebook with his feather pen.

Level 3 – Virgo Subdivision – Food God – Leon Lane Preliminary Exam: No bodily abnormalities, full mental stability, Score: 100 First Exam: No specific strengths, no clear developmental tendencies, no matching eligible Star Palaces, no affinity limits… Score: 0? 100?

(End of Chapter)