Ariel’s view (discussing her plan for handling the exceptionally large number of people signing up for the Hero contest)
Sam:
“Written tests? You do realize most people can’t read and write, right?”
Ariel:
“Yeah, I just needed a way to quickly cut down on the number of people in this contest. Plus, maybe I can learn a little about what people think, and their personalities from this.”
Sam:
“You certainly do need the help learning common sense.”
Ariel:
“I can’t be expected to understand what common sense is! I’ve never lived as an ordinary person in this world. Heck, I barely understand the currency here.”
Sam:
“Yeah, that’s why I’ve been handling the money for you. Anything in particular you’re looking for in choosing a hero?”
Ariel:
“Well, I’d like someone kind and caring. I think it’s also important that they have an open mind. This hero’s journey is probably not going to be the same as the ones in the past.”
Sam:
“Because of your involvement?”
Ariel:
“Fenix is clearly setting me up. She thinks I’ll be entertaining, so there’s no way I can believe this will be simple or boring. There must be something odd destined to happen, or she wouldn’t be so interested in me going.”
---
A certain test taker’s view
With a written test as the first hurdle for this contest, maybe father is right about it being time for a noble hero. Hmmm… this is some really high quality paper. This pen is also really amazing, containing its own ink.
“Question 1: What is your name?”
Well, that’s hardly even a question.
“Question 2: Why do you want to be a Hero?”
I guess I can just write that I want to protect people and defeat the demon king, right? That’s a proper hero response.
“Question 3: Why must the demon king be defeated?”
She didn’t capitalize demon king, yet she capitalized Hero. Well, the obvious answer is to protect the kingdom.
“Question 4: Who are the strongest in the land?”
Fenix obviously, followed by the spirits and the King.
“Question 5: What is your greatest desire?”
… This is the last question. It feels different from the others somehow. The first question is just for record keeping. The second and third are directly related to the hero’s quest. The fourth question is general knowledge. This last question is directly about the one answering it.
Normally, I’d just write something generically heroic, like wanting to protect my loved ones. I’m concerned that it might influence how I’m treated though. After all, if she were to reward the hero at the end of the quest, it’d make sense for her to keep the answer to this question in mind when doing so. Additionally, I don’t want to write a lie that would be easily found out during travel together. Claiming to have loved ones when I don’t would be easily seen through with just a few questions.
I’ll have to think about this one more.
---
Ariel’s view
After reading the answers from the written tests, I picked out enough people from it to fill 8 teams of 5 (40 people), ‘cause I didn’t want to deal with full sized soccer teams. I then gave them all stat boosting patches to help the less fit compete with those who’ve had more experience and training... this might’ve been a mistake.
With everyone around the bottom of rank 3 in overall power, their capabilities are going well beyond what I’d normally expect from a human. After the ball got kicked way outside the field a few times, I added a special barrier to make the game easier to play, and reduce down time (no more chasing after it). It only blocks the ball, but now the ball will bounce off an invisible wall when it goes too high, or reaches the edge of the field. This really isn’t soccer/football anymore.
I’ve seen goalies take shots at the other goal; the ball flies so fast and with such force that players have been knocked down by it. I’ve seen a goal scored because the goalie got pushed into the goal by the ball they caught. If that were a normal ball, it would’ve been destroyed long ago.
Ariel’s view
After reading the answers from the written tests, I picked out enough people from it to fill 8 teams of 5 (40 people), ‘cause I didn’t want to deal with full sized soccer teams. I then gave them all stat boosting patches to help the less fit compete with those who’ve had more experience and training... this might’ve been a mistake.
With everyone around the bottom of rank 3 in overall power, their capabilities are going well beyond what I’d normally expect from a human. After the ball got kicked way outside the field a few times, I added a special barrier to make the game easier to play, and reduce down time (no more chasing after it). It only blocks the ball, but now the ball will bounce off an invisible wall when it goes too high, or reaches the edge of the field. This really isn’t soccer/football anymore.
I’ve seen goalies take shots at the other goal; the ball flies so fast and with such force that players have been knocked down by it. I’ve seen a goal scored because the goalie got pushed into the goal by the ball they caught. If that were a normal ball, it would’ve been destroyed long ago.
