Chapter 4: Domain Of Thought

CHAPTER 4: DOMAIN OF THOUGHT

 

 

 

 

 

The heart of man is desperately wicked; who can know it? 

 

Thus… 

 

Not even the devil can decipher a man’s inner thoughts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 ——————————

 

 

 

Stifling, uncomfortable silence pervaded the classroom. 

 

The 25 students maintained perfect decorum as they were observantly watched by their homeroom teacher. 

 

Hurriedly moving their hands and tasking their brains, they inputted as many names as they could remember into their tablets. 

 

Anxiety. Surprise. Confusion. Uncertainty. 

 

Emotions were thick in the hall. 

 

And then— 

 

“Time’s up.” 

 

—Just like clockwork, everyone’s tablets turned off. 

 

Each device had a timer for the test, and as soon as the three minutes were up, they all stopped functioning. 

 

“Don’t worry. All you inputted has been documented.” Mr. Matthias Archibald spoke, his casual smile returning. 

 

Unsurprisingly, a majority of students did not return his expression. 

 

They were all probably thinking about the sudden exercise imposed on them, and how they would fare in it. 

 

Still, among the twenty-five who sat, a few did not seem too fazed. 

 

John was one of them. 

 

“As expected…” He murmured. 

 

The truth was that he had actually realized this would happen ever since he sat in his assigned seat. 

 

Observing one’s surroundings was one of the basics of rational thought. Since he noticed the button on his desk, and inconspicuously found the tablet as he was settling into class, he knew something would happen. 

 

Of course, John couldn’t have predicted the exercise would entail writing down all the names of his fellow classmates.  

 

But, after their homeroom teacher gave his first speech and gave them ten minutes to interact, everything became clear. 

 

‘We’ll probably be given a short period to input all our classmate’s names.’ That was what he thought. 

 

And, everything had played out as he anticipated. 

 

John looked around him and saw the grim faces of his classmates.  

 

‘Some of them could be acting surprised, so I can’t rule out that possibility…’ His eyes narrowed on the girl to his far left. 

 

‘Charlotte doesn’t seem too fazed. Did she expect this too? Or was she paying enough attention to everyone’s introductions that she didn’t have any problem answering the questions?’ 

 

John surmised that it was probably the latter, especially after judging her earlier behavior. 

 

‘She’ll get a perfect score. At least…’ 

 

“Why don’t we see the results of this little exercise?” Mr. Archibald said, bringing out a tablet seemingly out of nowhere. 

 

This time, no one was surprised. 

 

Since they had just taken a Computer Based Exercise, it was well within reason that their results would be marked by the System’s algorithm within moments. 

 

A few looked anxious—not ready to see their scores—but the situation was already out of their control. 

 

>BRRRNNGGG< 

 

Pings echoed from everyone’s devices, causing a momentary surge of noise. After a few seconds, the sounds died down, and the tablets displayed their results. 

 

“You may all check your results. I have them with me here as well.” The Homeroom teacher looked at his tablet, the same as everyone else. 

 

John glanced at his tablet for an instant, and his results were just as he expected. 

 

“A perfect score, eh? It looks like I was right. But, if I’m right, that means…” He glanced in Charlotte’s direction and noticed her disturbed expression. 

 

“… She didn’t get a perfect score.” 

 

 

 

There was a limit to what John knew, so he could only weigh certain things. One of those was the deciding factor in the just concluded test. 

 

 

 

“I’ll be announcing the general results of this exercise.”  

 

The students raised their heads and looked at Mr. Matthias’s youthful face. 

 

He seemed to be enjoying the situation, another sharp contrast to the reaction of most members of the audience. 

 

“Would you look at that? Out of twenty-five of you, only ten students got an average score and above.” 

 

Guilty looks escaped the faces of several students. Beads of sweat could be seen on their skin. 

 

“Out of the ten, only five got over twenty names right.” 

 

Students tilted their faces in a bid to know which among them got such high scores. 

 

“Only three students got at least twenty-three questions right…” 

 

The exercise gave room for twenty-four entries. Accurately naming classmates other than oneself—that was the purpose of the test. 

 

According to their teacher, some students almost got everything right. 

 

“And… only one of you managed to get a perfect score.” 

 

John’s smiling expression did not change. His face remained the same, as though the teacher’s remark had nothing to do with him. 

 

“So, that’s about it. I have to say—” 

 

“Excuse me, sir, may I raise a question?” Someone’s hand sprang up as her voice echoed throughout the classroom. 

 

It was a voice that was familiar to every student. 

 

“Yes, Charlotte Olivia. What is it?” 

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The girl, Charlotte, had a troubled expression that couldn’t be explained. It was as though she was drifting between surprise and suspicion. 

 

“I didn’t get a perfect score… but I am certain I wrote down the names of everyone. Is there a chance that there was an error in the assessment?” 

 

The boy with glasses, seated directly beside her, tilted his lens as he nodded. He too seemed to have his own doubts. 

 

“About that… I can guarantee that there is no error in the assessment. Our Academy is the best. We wouldn’t have such prestige if we overlooked minor problems like this.” 

 

No one could argue with Mr. Matthias’s words, but Charlotte’s dissatisfaction was not quelled. 

 

“Then, which answer did I miss? I’m sure I got everything right!” The fire in the girl’s eyes and the frustration on her face displayed her honesty. 

 

“It is against the school’s policy to reveal the complete breakdown of your exercise to the students. I have a copy here with me, though, and I can clearly see that you got one name wrong.” 

 

Charlotte gritted her teeth. Clearly, she didn’t understand what was going on. Or, perhaps she did… but her honest self did not want to accept it. 

 

‘This is why she’s naïve…’ John’s eyes scanned the girl. 

 

It seemed like she was fighting the only possibility that arose out of the current situation. 

 

‘Someone lied about their name.’  

 

 

 

 

 

Soon after he announced the results and gave another ten-minutes break, Mr. Matthias left the class. 

 

This time, there was no awkward silence or perfect decorum. 

 

Uproars and murmurs escaped the lips of dissatisfied students, and before long they began to speak to one another. 

 

In a way, everyone’s joint misery brought them together. 

 

Charlotte was lost in her thoughts to notice the wave of anarchy that overtook the class. This was a deciding moment for her. 

 

Would she step up once more, or was she going to give in to the despairing situation? 

 

Her choice was already made. 

 

“Everyone, can I get your attention.” Charlotte’s clear voice was dominant among everyone’s noise. 

 

Many people kept quiet, but not everyone. A few people were still engaged in conversation. 

 

“EXCUSE ME, EVERYONE!” This time, she moved to the front of the class and spoke with more vigor. 

 

Charlotte’s charisma accentuated the resolve in her eyes—enough to silence the remaining students who initially ignored her. 

 

“I would like us to cooperate from this point on. While the situation is unexpected, it’s not entirely hopeless. We learned a valuable lesson from this exercise, and that is to pay very close attention to everything happening around us.” 

 

Slight murmurs echoed, but Charlotte shut everything down with her next statement. 

 

“From the results given, there are two major things I have realized.” 

 

No one was averse to getting free Intel, especially from someone as intelligent as Charlotte.  

 

As such, there was no more interference with her speech. 

 

“First, there’s someone who gave a different name in their introduction.” 

 

“Elaborate.” The boy with glasses spoke up, causing Charlotte to pause for a moment. 

 

“I never forget a face, and I also don’t forget names. I made sure to memorize all your names when we gave introductions, so it was a surprise that I got one score less.” 

 

“There could be the possibility that you simply got an answer wrong.” A blond girl sneered.  

 

This caused a surge of giggles from the girls around her. 

 

“I don’t think that’s possible. I’m certain about this, and there’s also no reason for me to lie to everyone here.” 

 

Charlotte wasn’t wrong. 

 

“I was open enough to tell you all what I noticed, and I even called out the teacher on the validity of the test. Everything I have done is for the benefit of everyone here, and it’s disappointing that you would doubt me now.” 

 

A few annoyed glares were sent to the bling girl, causing her to click her tongue and look away. 

 

“Smart move.” John smiled at the whole exchange. 

 

Charlotte’s influence in class was higher, so she was able to command a majority of the class to silence the resistance put up by the blonde. 

 

“Moving on, I think someone intentionally gave a wrong name for their introduction.” 

 

Charlotte’s eyes scoured the classroom. She even glanced at John, but looked away a few seconds after. 

 

The girl was probably looking for a guilty face, but what use would that be? Whoever gave the false introduction must have been a very good liar. 

 

“The second thing I observed is that someone among us got a perfect score. These two points intersect at a conclusion.” 

 

‘Ah…’ John gave another internal assessment as he casually stared at the girl. 

 

“The liar, and the person who got the perfect score… they’re most likely the same person.” 

 

The culprit must have intentionally misled everyone, having the intention of scoring all the points for himself. 

 

“We have a perpetrator among us… and I would like to call that individual out.” 

 

John’s eyes closed and for a moment, he sighed. 

 

Why? 

 

‘… You’re wrong, Charlotte.’ 

 

Once again, John was let down by the conclusion the girl had reached. 

 

Anyone with common sense would have arrived at the same conclusion, yet, for some reason, the young boy was not satisfied with Charlotte’s answer. 

 

‘I got the perfect score, but I didn’t fake my name.’ John’s gaze flickered for a second before settling on Charlotte. 

 

‘There’s someone here who intentionally gave the wrong name. She’s right about that, but the person’s trick didn’t work on me…’ 

 

John simply outsmarted the malefactor, causing him to get a perfect score. 

 

‘The true culprit won’t make himself so conspicuous by getting a perfect score…’ The boy’s thoughts trailed. 

 

And that was why he wasn’t satisfied with Charlotte’s flawed assessment. 

 

She wasn’t bad in analytics. But, compared to John’s standards, she was lacking a lot. 

 

‘You assume too much, Charlotte. While it is impossible to fully decipher the intentions of a person or read their mind…’ 

 

John’s smile widened a bit more. 

 

‘… I can simply influence it.’ 

 

 

 

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