John raised an eyebrow, surprised to hear this verbal trial, one that could potentially be his doom, asked open ended questions like this. He had expected the questions to be questions with only one correct answer, but this question was an opinion based one.
'Maybe the test is to see if you are compatible with becoming an assassin,' John thought, then frowned. 'Even if I figure out the correct answers, this chair's formation Qi has already fully invaded my body. I'm not sure what it looks for, but the figure before me was quite certain that it would detect truths and lies with absolute certainty, and that lying is akin to failure. If that's the case, then I can only answer truthfully, and hope it's acceptable. If not, and I fail…well then, it seems like I'll be fighting my way out of here.'
"Power," John answered without hesitation after making up his mind.
To him, power was everything. Power was the ability to protect himself, and also those he cared about. With enough power, he could return to his homeworld and kill the Asura, freeing the world from that terrible creature's grasp. The Asura had more power than him, and thus had forced him to flee to this new world to escape its grasp. His lack of power had caused this, and had also caused those nearby to sacrifice themselves to keep him alive.
With power, he could explore this universe, and could find out the truth about his real parents. To him, power was everything.
"Power?" the figure said. "Elaborate. Power can mean many things."
"Strength. Might. I want to stand at the pinnacle of the martial world," John said firmly, clearly explaining his meanings.
The featureless figure remained silent for a while.
"Your answer is truthful, and acceptable."
…
"Hoh, good answer," the Guildmaster mused after hearing John's answer. The Prime Shadow nodded his head with satisfaction as well.
"It is a very good answer indeed," the Prime Shadow agreed. "Only with power can one control their fate, and the fate of those around them. An assassin should always seek power, as power is the only certain way to achieve their goals."
"I've seen the list of acceptable answers, and they are quite reasonable," the Guildmaster said, "but found it to be quite narrow at the same time. Of those who made it to this trial, how many perished to this question?"
"Out of all the trials, this question was the safest statistically," the Prime Shadow said, thinking back to the answers he had heard in the past. "Only three failed to answer this question correctly. If I recall, one coveted world domination, one coveted women to the point of salaciousness and ignoring the wills of the women he coveted, and the third coveted murder. That one was the most surprising. The youth only wanted to kill, regardless of if the target deserved it or not. All he wanted to do was wantonly slaughter to his heart's desire."
The Prime Shadow shook his head while sighing.
"That last one was a pity," he said softly. "That boy was one of the most talented youths I had ever seen, and also had the true killing heart of an assassin. Unfortunately, that killing heart was just a bit too intense, and allowing one like that to grow in this world would have led to a calamity."
"What was your answer?" the Prime Shadow asked, a curious look on his face. "I can't recall it."
The Guildmaster's face turned slightly red from embarrassment, as if he were recalling an embarrassing memory.
"You already know the answer, you old fart," the Guildmaster grumbled. "You're just trying to get me to say it out loud again."
"No, I really can't remember," the Prime Shadow shrugged, a thoughtful look on his face. "Remind this old man, your master, of your answer."
The Guildmaster sighed, face still slightly red.
ƥandasnovel·ƈom "L..love," he said softly, barely audible.
"What was that? I couldn't hear you?" the Prime Shadow said, a mischievous smile appearing on his elderly face. "You need to speak up for this old man to hear you."
"Love!" the Guildmaster blurted out loudly, face red with embarrassment. "Now let's move on. I was a young, impressionable youth back then. I'm not the same man anymore."
The Prime Shadow smiled with satisfaction, then returned his gaze to the formation hologram.
"What ever happened to that girl? The one who was your most important thing in the world to the point that you answered love?" the Prime Shadow asked.
"She rejected me," the Guildmaster said, grumbling.
"A shame," the Prime Shadow replied, shaking his head. "It's her loss, I suppose."
…
"Next question," the marbled figure said monotonously, clearly a form of artifact spirit. spoke. "Have you ever killed another human?"
"Yes," John replied, answering instantly. There was no use in trying to hide that truth.
"How many?" the figure asked.
"More than I can recall," but thousands, or tens of thousands," John said, answering truthfully. Between his rampages in the Bloodfiend Sect, the Jade Dragon Emperor trial realm, and everything in between, the number of people he had killed was beyond his counting.
"Did you regret any of those killings?" the figure asked. "Were any undeserving of their death?"
"No," John replied firmly. "I don't regret a single one. As for undeserving, some didn't deserve death per se, but their actions left me no choice but to kill them."
Those who had been killed by him were either part of the Forbidden Alliance, who cultivated taboo arts which harmed innocents, or targeted him or those around him. As far as he was concerned, each and every single one was deserving of death. Some of them weren't inherently evil, like the assassins who had targeted him on the Yuan Continent, but they had targeted him nonetheless. It was either killed or be killed in those situations, and the choice in that situation was easy to make.
…
In the room deep beneath the Guild, the Prime Shadow nodded with satisfaction upon hearing John's answer.
"That answer is acceptable," the Prime Shadow said, nodding his head with satisfaction. "One must be firm and committed whenever they take a life, and only those who are just in their killings, and have done so with a clear conscience, are worthy of being my successor."
…
The figure remained silent for a short while, as if waiting for something.
"Your answer is truthful, and acceptable," it finally said. "Third question. If you were to find yourself in a situation where you and someone you cared about were in danger, and only one of you could escape alive, would you choose to live, or sacrifice yourself so that the other may live?"
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