The examination was simple.
No needles were involved.
Lea only had to stand still inside a machine that looked like it came out of a sci-fi movie.
"The test scan is done. Would you like to take a rest before we officially start?"
She was a bit startled when she suddenly heard Daniella through the speaker installed inside the machine.
"I'm still good, let's continue," Lea responded.
There were a few seconds of silence before Daniella spoke again, "Before we begin, I'd like to confirm once again that you have given us permission to examine your body, specifically the mana particles inside you while you access your Awakener status. Is that right?"
"Yes." Lea gave her verbal consent, then asked to confirm: "I just have to say the keyword phrase?"
"That's right. When the machine lights up, you can say the keyword phrase."
"Okay, ready any time."
Another round of silence while Lea kept reminding herself not to move, not even to sway her head to the music playing in her head.
The machine made a soft whirring sound as it lit up from the top and gradually moved to the bottom.
"System, status check," Lea recited the keyword phrase on cue.
The now familiar hologram screen appeared.
The mission quest window was also attached to her Awakener status screen but she ignored it.
Since this was supposed to be her first time seeing her Awakener status, Lea acted interested and made a show of reading them with her eyes (cause its no visible to others).
When she was done looking through her Awakener status, the scan was almost done. And when it did, Lea waited patiently inside the machine until she was told she could step out.
Contrary to what she thought, Daniella spoke through the speaker that they would like to do a second scan just to be sure, which Lea was okay with.
"Miss Lea, you don't have to say the keyword phrase this time."
The second was taking longer to complete than the first scan, and the last song she listened to was playing on loop in her head that it was taking all her willpower not to wiggle her toes or tap her fingers.
"The scan is complete. You can step out now, Miss Lea."
The song on loop stopped too.
Lea stepped out of the machine with Bella's help and sat on a chair prepared just for her.
"Do you feel uncomfortable in any way?"
"I feel fine."
Lea shook her head.
.
.
.
Daniella and Iyanos looked at the monitor showing the two results of Lea's full body scan side by side for comparison.
"There's no difference between the first and second scan," Iyanos concluded.
"Pull up the result from Miss Lea's assessment, see if the amount of mana particles remained the same or if there's been any change," said Daniella.
As if he already expected it, in one swift tap with his tablet pen, a third image popped up on the monitor.
"Iyanos, did you mistakenly bring up two of the same image?"
Daniella questioned him with a dubious gaze.
"No, ma'am," Iyanos denied and pointed his tablet pen to the monitor. "The left image is the result of the first scan and the right image is from the assessment. The two images may look similar but I assure you with my academic credibility, they were taken separately."
Daniella stared at the two images more intently, even told Iyanos to zoom in for a better look. Ultimately, they found no minor difference between the two images.
The probability of the machine being tampered with was very unlikely as such action would sound an alarm the second an external interference was detected.
"What do you think about this?" Daniella asked for his thoughts.
"At a glance, there doesn't seem to be any noticeable difference."
Daniella nodded, agreeing with him.
"But look here, this is the point when Miss Lea accessed her Awakener status but the mana particles are strangely stable when usually there is a slight fluctuation," Iyanos shared his insight.
Now that it was mentioned, Daniella could see it. She was more focused on the amount of mana particles that she overlooked other factors.
"For a more precise answer, I'd need some time to study the results and compare the data with other cases to determine whether this kind of result only occurs with people who were formerly diagnosed with Hibernation Syndrome."
Before the conversation between the two turned into a serious scientific/medical discussion, Bella came up to Daniella and spoke quietly into her ear, "Ma'am, the other guest is on their way up."
Upon hearing that, Daniella glanced at Lea who was fiddling with her cane with a bored look.
She walked towards Lea and said, "Miss Lea, I have to step out to deal with something."
Lea nodded her head, showing her understanding.
"Iyanos will briefly inform you of the result of the full body scan and after that, Bella will take you back to your parents."
When his name was called, Iyanos eagerly stepped forward with a pen and notebook ready.
Daniella held back from sighing at his attitude and only told him not to scare her with too many questions.
Before leaving the examination room, Daniella whispered to Bella, "Wait ten minutes after I leave."
.
.
.
"…that concludes my initial thoughts on the matter. Do you follow so far?"
"Umm…"
Lea did listen to the handsome professor's explanation. As for whether she could follow, that's a different matter. Towards the end, he started to talk a bit faster like he was on a roll about something.
'The professor just reminded me why I'm not a science student.'
By the way, Lea referred to him as a handsome professor rather than by his name mostly because he looked like one, with glasses to boost the visual effect.
"We should go back to your parents now, Miss Lea," Bella intervened.
"Okay."
Lea inwardly sighs in relief at Bella's perfect timing.
They left the examination room and walked back the same way they came.
'So, to sum it up, compared to the average Awakener, there are a lot more mana particles inside of me and they find that… puzzling? Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing… I don't know.'
"-ea, Miss Lea?"
"Yes, what?"
"Are you really alright?" Bella asked, looking visibly concerned.
"Sorry, I'm just distracted."
Bella didn't look convinced even though Lea was being honest and decided, "Let's stop by the lounge, it's much closer."
Just like that, the female association employee rerouted their path to the lounge instead of going back to the private meeting room where her parents were currently waiting.
Once Lea was seated in the lounge, Bella took two bottles from the snack bar and placed them on the coffee table in front of Lea.
"Please wait here. I'll get your parents."
Bella lightly jogged away before Lea could say anything.
Suddenly finding herself alone and without a phone to distract herself, Lea didn't know what to do so she opened the bottle of fruit juice and drank small sips.
She counted to a hundred for the fourth time, but there was no sight of Bella or her parents.
'Maybe Bella got sidetracked with work stuff. Should I just go back on my own? I remember the way.'
Lea gave it another minute before deciding.
A minute later, there was still no sight of people, as if the hall was deserted or something.
So, rather than staying in the lounge any longer, Lea decided to go back on her own. Just as she was leaving, her enhanced eyesight finally caught someone coming from the other end of the lounge.
'No way is that…'
Before her brain completely processed whether or not the person she was seeing was an illusion made out of her mental fatigue because the day just felt too long with everything that had been going on since this morning, her feet moved on their own.
In her rushed state, the sudden movement caused her legs to stumble.
As her face was about to hit the floor, in the blink of an eye, someone caught her.
Lea gasped.
"Are you hurt, miss?"
Only when she heard the all too familiar voice speaking very closely to her ear did she recover from her shock. And when she slowly lifted her head, she saw her brother's face right in front of her.