Not only was the mutation pill exceedingly difficult to find, but it was also by no means cheap. The very fact that the military offered them these pills for free, simply to ensure they were on equal footing in the assessment, was considered a blessing—a blessing that should have been accepted with four arms if possible.
Yet, right before their very eyes, someone was casually asking if the denial of the pill was even a possibility. In the students' eyes, Fai could only be seen as foolish.
"Why would he even ask such a question? Don't tell me he plans on refusing the pill!" a student whispered quietly within the crowd.
"Don't be silly, no one in their right mind would do that," another teenager whispered from the side.
"If he does, not only will his chances of losing the assessment be high, but he will easily become a primary target during the assessment."
"You're right, I don't think anyone would want to risk that," another chimed in. "Considering the others are mostly mutants, it would be impossible to pass this assessment without being one. We truly are lucky the military offered us the chance to become one."
"Then why do you suppose he's asking the question?" the girl with curly black hair and pink eyes interjected. "It's not like you can walk back from the process.
Once it has been done, it's done; there's no going back. If you asked me, I'd say he doesn't want the pill and must have a reason for that." the girl defended .
A little while ago during the question session, she had heard him ask if it was possible to possess two mutant abilities. Perhaps the Earth Mutant ability wasn't what he desired.
Even though becoming a mutant was challenging, people still preferred certain abilities over others.
Rather than being a mutant with an ability he didn't like, he might prefer to wait a little longer and acquire the mutant ability he truly wanted. This was her line of thinking.
Meanwhile, Janet couldn't help but wonder what this young teenager was truly up to.
'First, you asked if there's a catch behind the free pills,' she mused internally. ' Now you're asking if you'd be in trouble for refusing the pills. Just what are you up to, kid? Could it be you've discovered that this is simply a way to recruit more men into the military without even needing to reach out to them, or could it be something else?' Janet wondered.
Looking at the teenager in front of her, she didn't know why, but his actions and reactions to certain scenarios were entirely different from other kids his age.
While other kids were content with a given situation, he wasn't.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be impolite, or to refuse such a wonderful offer," Fai explained, his voice calm. "It's just that, due to the fact that our choice of mutant ability pills is limited, and mutation is a process that can only be carried out once in a lifetime, I'd rather wait for a time when I could acquire the mutation pill of my choice."
Fai had thought it over meticulously.
Although consuming the pills would grant him additional stat points to his Strength attribute, it was not a risk worth taking.
For one, the pill, other than increasing his Strength stats, did nothing more.
This meant he would still appear as a normal human in the eyes of others, and their machines designed for mutant detection wouldn't work on him.
That means they would see him as a special case, a human unable to undergo mutation.
He might even become a lab rat
The imagination of many bad and dangerous scenarios filled his head.
Although the reason he gave wasn't the real reason, he felt like it was the best possible explanation he could devise.
"No, the use of the pills is not obligatory, and of course, you have the choice to use it or not,"
Janet affirmed, doing her best to to remove any doubts in the student's mind, slowly encouraging him to take the pills.
"You are only given the pills to increase your chances of making it through the assessment. Remember what I said before: even if you use the pills, you will pay nothing in return."
Janet continued, "So, bother not, young one; you would not be in trouble if you don't use it. But I prefer you keep the pill with you. Who knows, perhaps a situation will arise during the assessment, and you will need it to get yourself out of trouble."
She explained further
'I don't know who he is, but he just made me want to know more about him,' Janet thought, looking at Fai, her curiosity about the kid having reached unprecedented levels.
'Let's just hope he makes it through the assessment.'
"Thank you, thank you very much," Fai said, giving a slight bow.
"This is perfect!" Fai thought. "With this situation, I can even consume the pills and if they ask i could say I lost it during the assessment . It's not like they'll have a way to know I'm lying. I think the heavens are on my side today!"
Initially, the plan was to return the pill. Although consuming the pills would give him an advantage, it would come at a cost. He would not be able to use his mutant ability, and it would only yield suspicions since everyone would see him consume it.
Sometimes, just even thinking about it made Fai's imagination run wild with scenarios of him being used as a lab rat. Meanwhile, giving back the pill could solve the problem.
There was also the fact that he could keep it and consume it later in secret and simply lie that he lost it. Still, that wouldn't change the fact that it would still raise suspicions.
Fortunately, though, after voicing his complaint, it turned out he could still keep the pill. Even if he didn't consume it now, a situation could arise where he still needed it.
This solved his worries.
With 6 unused stats and 5 stats for his
Strength attribute, Fai was sure of it:
"I'm ready! For this acessment!! "
Fai thought , pure determination radiating from his eyes .