Chapter 136 - Third And Fourth Tests

Although they had been waiting for four hours, there were a lot of people who could easily wait for another four hours. But what the old man did at that moment was a huge psychological blow. And this blow had caused the resistance of many to be broken. The number of people sitting on the floor and putting an end to this aimless wait was growing at a great pace.

Three more hours passed, and the waiting time reached a total of seven hours. The sun was beginning to prepare to leave its place in the sky for the moon. At that moment, the old man also opened his long-closed eyes and yawned: "Ahh... Sleeping is a really good thing." After the old man spoke, his expression froze for a moment.

Surprised and embarrassed, he tried to gather himself quickly: "I'm really sorry. I know that I shouldn't give such things to old age and use this reason to find a way out. But I really did it out of my control. Cough, cough..." The old man suddenly coughed as he tried to speak quickly.

This time, blood trickled down the corner of his mouth as he coughed. It was evident that he could not speak even at a fast pace. How could such a person become a librarian? The only thing someone this old could do in the library was sit down and tell which book was where using the Profound Saving Sphere in front of him. Other than that, anything he would do would unnecessarily tire himself and the other person.

After the old man recovered himself, he apologized again with a sad expression. After asking them to wait a little longer, he closed his eyes again. Waiting can be quite brutal torture at times. Those who did not move at all from the beginning felt it in their bones with each passing second.

Another hour passed and the waiting time totaled eight hours. Just then, the old man opened his eyes and looked happily towards the crowd, most of whom were sitting.

"Thank you all for waiting so long. Finally, I remembered how to do the third test: "The old man took a deep breath. The moment he took a breath, everyone thought that the cruel waiting was finally over and began to listen carefully to the old man to see if the third test was the waiting test or not.

"The third test I'm going to do..." The old man paused slightly and let everyone's attention peak:

"The third test was actually a test of patience. By this time, all those who had been waiting without moving or making a sound had passed the test. Those who sit on the ground, make noises, or sit and stare at those who make noise are all eliminated."

After the old man's explanation, those who had been waiting for eight hours without moving or making a sound were finally relieved and filled with joy that they had passed the test. On the other hand, those sitting on the ground, making noise, or looking at someone else before were not happy with this decision at all.

One of the youths sitting on the ground spoke angrily: "Senior Solomon! I don't want to give you a hard time too much because you're old, but you're being unfair to us! After the first reproachful person, you said that if we were bored, we could sit down without disturbing others. Have you forgotten this? Or are you pretending to forget again?"

The old man shook his head gently: "Young man, I'm sorry, but there is a point where you are wrong. I know perfectly well what I said. I may be old, but I am not senile enough to forget the words I said today to precious young people like you who will be the lights that will illuminate people's paths in the future. Yes, I told that young man that he could sit down. However, when I said this, I did not say 'If you're tired of standing, you can sit down without disturbing others.' As you can see, I remember what I said. However, I did not use a plural suffix while saying these and just addressed him. This was because he had already been eliminated for making noise and moving. If you sensed the situation and realized that it was you who was at fault, I will explain, with your permission, the purpose of me doing this test."

The old man was silent for a moment, staring at the young man's ugly expression that looked like a pig's ass. Then, making sure he understood the situation, the old man explained: "Patience is a great virtue. This virtue is often very useful to people and gives them many benefits. People who are impatient and give up early will always regret what they lost in the future. On the other hand, people who are patient and achieve good things for themselves and those around them are always happy and peaceful."

"The benefits of being patient are not limited to this. For example, in a one-on-one fight, being impatient and performing an inappropriate attack will make even a normally won battle lose while being patient and making the right move at the right time can win a losing battle. This virtue is one that is hard-earned and highly valued. It's really gratifying, especially when young people like you have such a valuable virtue. I'm sorry again for making you tired. Of course, thank you for your patience and waiting. There are only two tests left. The fourth test is decently easy, while the fifth test will be the most difficult of all the tests. If you're ready, I'll explain the test after I check how many people are left."

After the old man's sage and praised the speech, having already identified those who had passed the third test, the twenty youths who had come with the old man quickly came to the old man and reported the results.

The old man nodded his approval and waited for the eliminated ones to leave. When all the eliminated people left, he then said: "Hmm... It was really beyond my expectation to have such shining jewels among you. The fact that so many people are here is more than enough to prove that in the future the empire will develop incomparably more than it does now. The number of people who remained after the second test was three thousand two hundred and forty-eight. At the moment, this number has decreased to four hundred and twenty. I think that this number will remain constant in the current test. Because I don't want to believe that bright young people like you would get knocked out in such an easy test."

The old man coughed once, and then took a deep breath: "There will be a time limit in the fourth test. You have only ten minutes to pass this test. However, you have nothing to fear. Because all you have to do to pass the test is to form a team of up to eight people with those around you before this time expires. Your 10 minute period has now begun."

After these words, everyone remained in their place, stunned at first. Even if the old man called this test the easiest test, no one expected something so easy to happen. And underneath that, there were many who were looking for a different meaning. After all, it was really hard to believe that this old man, who reveals great meaning in even the simplest things, would be able to take such an easy and simple test. He also gave me exactly ten minutes for such an easy test. That's why the young people were hesitant to take action quickly and form a team.

Of course, there were also people who talked to team up with those around them without hesitation. One of those people was also Asil. When Asil started the test, he had looked around and tried to team up with the few people he talked to. Of course, some of the people he talked to didn't want to accept an offer from someone they didn't know right away and even asked what he would give them to team up with him. However, he still managed to team up with two people, and after a few minutes, the team that Asil was in became five people, with a two-man team stuck with them.

Ten minutes passed, and even though there were those who teamed up with someone during that time, they were in the minority. Most of the young people there did not even form a team with a single person and waited for the time to end alone.

After the time was up, the old man looked at the youngsters and said: "Please let those who team up with someone gather to the right, and those who are single to the left." After the old man spoke, he waited for the young men to gather where they had said.

When they were all in place, he announced the result: "All persons on the right passed the fourth test, while all persons on the left were eliminated. Those who are eliminated can return home. And don't worry, I just forgot to tell the previous ones who were eliminated. However, the rule of not taking the test the following year was valid only for the second test. Even if you are eliminated now, you can try your luck again next year. Of course, the school will issue a statement after all the tests to inform those who were eliminated in the third test and were not aware of it.. If anyone is worried about that, there's no need to worry."