Melvin continued to trail the steps of Principal Edrin as they traversed deeper into the hall.
Initially, from an external view, one could immediately say that the deeper they went, the darker it became, but they would be wrong.
The deeper they went, the brighter and more illuminated the hall looked. Plus, it wasn't just a hall; it had several sectional rooms flanking its sides, with rounded stone pillars demarcating them from the aisle.
He understood that the part where he had appeared after exiting the Silver Spire through the Spatial Tear was a different part of the building they were in. Perhaps a gallery section of the hall.
As he thought, he suddenly remembered the counters that looked like game pooling machines.
'Oh, what was that? I forgot to ask this man,' he mused and studied the principal for a bit. 'He won't entertain questions now, will he?'
At the end, he made up his mind not to ask the principal any questions, not until they left this gargantuan building at least. Then, his stomach growled, and he hastened his steps until he walked side by side with the principal.
"Uhm, don't you think I will need some nutritious refreshments before whatever interview you have prepared for me?"
The principal looked down at the boy, and his lips widened into a sly smile.
"What? I lived in that cursed testament of a thing for a complete five days without proper nutrition," Melvin complained, hoping the principal would see reason with him. "It's not like I'm overly interested in food, you know."
'Crap. That last part was unnecessary, really,' he thought before the principal's deep, yet calm voice interrupted.
"It has been prepared," he said simply and changed the direction of his movement to the right.
"Good then."
***
Soon, Melvin found himself in a small office, sitting across from three administrative workers. But first, he treated himself to the plate of dish that had been served upon entering the office.
Although, before venturing into the Silver Spire, he got the chance to taste better food than what he usually had as a loner. Yet, this particular meal he was currently having was not only juicy, but his vision suddenly was full of stars.
He had to hold back an exhilarated moan to avoid embarrassing himself in the midst of these onlookers.
'This is the difference between food served to staff and that served to teenage Climbers.'
Normally, he wouldn't have felt comfortable eating in such a situation.
But who cared? As far as within the next few minutes, they left him to concentrate on the food until he decimated the contents of the whole plate.
With a satiated look, Melvin glared at the familiar face of the man flanking the other two workers on the left, hoping the man understood that he was demanding another serving. But as he expected, the man didn't pay attention to his want.
It was time for his scheduled interview to begin.
***
The session had begun in earnest.
Melvin had already taken note of the sitting formation of the admins and what their role in the interview was.
To the right was seated the artist, available to put into pictorial representation any details provided by their candidate. In the middle was the main interviewer, a female, who bombarded him with different kinds of questions, and then, to the left, was the observer—the stoic and broad frame of Principal Edrin.
"Master Melvin? Can you tell us your first experience upon entering the trial zone?" came the friendly voice of the interviewer.
The boy sat upright and began to narrate his experience to the best of his ability.
"Scratch my glorious entrance into the main trial ground," he said, illustrating with a horizontal slash of his hand. "The main trial ground was called the Opening Bastion. It was a big hall, you know."
Only the interviewer scribbled something on the paper document before her.
"It was divided into two primary sections: an upper hall and a submerged lower chamber. I hate to say this, but I was tossed from the upper hall like a free-fall object used to test gravity. Just that, there was an absence of natural air."
"I see," the female interviewer said. "Sorry about that."
"It's fine, really. I was tossed into the lower chamber, where I met this wonderful but ugly abomination."
The artist sprang into action immediately. It was time for him to exercise his ability on the paper before him, with the drawing materials waiting by the side.
Melvin gladly described the Sea Slug King to the best of his ability and even went ahead to tell them about how well he fought this wonderful creature, looking glorified as his narration flowed smoothly from his mouth.
By now, he was able to clearly make his listeners understand what he had to pass through all in the name of trial. Consequently, pity was laced through the faces of the admin, then a frown on their faces.
Noticing the frowns on their faces, Melvin commented immediately.
"What? Am I a unique subject? Glad to know," then he glanced at Principal Edrin. "You see the reason sufficient…"
He didn't complete what he wanted to say before he got interrupted.
"I'm glad you were able to survive. And, unscathed at that with just this sleek jacket of yours. You must have been prepared beforehand."
"Prepared beforehand?" Melvin sat forward and looked in the observer's direction. "Do tell them."
The principal only smiled, maintaining his indifferent composure.
"Even I didn't survive without scars," Melvin continued, then reviewed his skin with a look of confusion. "Oh, yes. My scars healed, disappearing completely after encountering a certain altar."
Then, his listeners paid attention as he told them how he arrived at the altar and various other things that took place thereafter. However, from all he said, he didn't seem to mention what was of interest to the listeners.
"Master Melvin, you didn't receive rewards? Like Soul Signatures and all that?"
"That…" Melvin scratched his head in thought.
"I know Soul Signatures are rare during such experiences, but didn't you receive any?"
'Wow, they are rarely awarded,' he thought, already getting ready to deny receiving one.
"He certainly did."
Melvin looked in the direction the voice had come from. Oh, that's right. The principal had seen him after his apparition; hence, he was left with no choice but to tell them.
"About Soul Signatures? Indeed, I received gear—a slime suit and a long silver whip."
"Any special abilities?"
"Nothing, I'm quite certain of."
After this section of the interview, silence settled amidst the four beings present in the small office.
On the other hand, Melvin didn't seem to be interested in letting them know more about his dangerous expedition in the Silver Spire. For all he knew, he had told them the important things that should be beneficial to their research and, more to that, their unsure hypothesis or whatsoever.
But as it turned out, his interviewers weren't done interrogating him.
He would rather not give up more information about the Soul Signatures, the slumbering god he had encountered, and, more to that, his affinity and its ability. Yet, he also knew he had to tell them something as long as they asked.
As someone who had lived through a similar kind of experience in his former life, he knew he had to be cautious with the information he provided.
For them, they might tell that this information was used to provide resources for them, as long as they would be trained and prepared for what was coming.
The truth is that Melvin had limited time before the crimson moon appeared; hence, he didn't expect to receive intense training. He wasn't even planning to be involved in one. He planned to prepare himself, and solely.
He shot the principal a stolen glance.
'Plus, not all administrative workers are to be trusted anyway.'
"Master Melvin, would you mind telling us about your affinity?"
"Of course, I'd mind. Not a big deal. It was tied to something about having a certain kind of control of the present, past, and future."
"Hmm. Are you saying you are affined to time?"
"You can say that. However, I'd add that I'm limited to complete control, plus I can't even do anything about the past. The past is a dormant feature in that sense."
"I see. No innate abilities? Or more importantly, an Origin?"
Melvin smiled.
"Before venturing into the Spire, I learned that receiving an Origin is nothing that had ever happened. Is it possible an unlucky carrier like me would awaken one?"
"There is indeed a special case who awakened one," the principal suggested.
"I see," Melvin nodded and reclined in his seat and muttered. "A lucky soul."
"That's alright. I guess this session is over. You can always reach out to us if you have new information to relay."
"Certainly."
Thereafter, Melvin was guided by a different staff out of the building. That was when he realized they had been in the circular dome all this while.
So, it was never an illusion anyway.
Not long after, Melvin was led to the western section of the academy, where he was guided to his room.
Exhausted upon entering his room, he didn't take in details and slumped on the comfy bed.
Within minutes, the young boy was already fast asleep.