Building Interstellar Empire With Universal Synthesis

Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Selection Test

The grand testing chamber of the Zenith Empire was vast and completely silent. The first candidate stepped firmly onto the obsidian platform.

His name was Faelan. He was a highly seasoned captain who had served in the Elven Warrior Division since the very beginning of their conquests.

​Neo leaned forward on his elevated throne. "Let us begin the evaluation, Captain Faelan. I will test your raw strength."

Buzz!

​Without moving from his seat, Neo released a tiny fraction of his terrifying cosmic force.

The gravity in the room instantly increased a thousandfold.

The reinforced marble floor beneath Faelan cracked under the sudden pressure. The elven captain gritted his teeth, summoned his innate mana, and forced himself to remain standing upright.

After a long minute of agonizing physical resistance, Neo nodded and withdrew the crushing aura.

​"You have a very solid foundation Captain Faelan. I give you an eight out of ten."

​Noir stepped forward next. Her eyes gleamed with dark amusement.

"Captain, strength is entirely useless without the courage to wield it against impossible odds. Look directly into my eyes, Captain."

​Faelan obeyed, and his vision was instantly plunged into a terrifying illusion. He found himself standing completely alone before the gaping maw of the Colossal Black Dragon.

He screamed in fear out loud but drew his blade anyway, pointing his weapon directly at the primordial beast before the dark vision faded away.

"Haaah!" He collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.

​Noir smiled gently. "Hum, You drew your sword against an impossible cosmic god. Eight out of ten for courage."

​Zestia glided toward the panting elf, placing a glowing hand on his forehead.

"I shall test willpower by flooding your mind with every secret desire you have ever suppressed. Limitless wealth, absolute freedom, and the imperial crown itself."

​"Uh, really?! Ahhh!" Faelan trembled violently on the floor.

Sweat poured down his face as phantom whispers promised him the universe.

He had to bite his own lip until it bled, because of the mental torture.

At last.

​"I only serve the Zenith Emperor!" Faelan shouted, violently breaking the hypnotic trance.

​Zestia pulled her hand away, looking thoroughly impressed.

"Excellent mental restraint. I give nine out of ten for willpower."

​Elena then stepped up, her optical sensors glowing. She projected a complex holographic map of a starving, rebellious planet.

"Captain Faelan. Suppose you have 50 thousand troops and a rapidly collapsing planetary economy. Your agriculture sector is also burning. How will you stabilize this specific world within one single week?"

​Faelan studied the glowing data streams carefully.

"I would immediately execute the rebel leaders and seize their hoarded wealth to import offworld rations. Then, I would conscript the remaining rioters into forced labor camps to rebuild the damaged farms, using our military engineers to accelerate the harvesting process."

​Elena processed his tactical answer with cold robotic efficiency.

"Your solution is brutal but statistically viable. I give you 8 out of 10 for intelligence."

​Finally, Dr. Clark approached with a glowing silver crystal resting on a velvet cushion.

"Place your hand upon the truth stone, Captain. Do you harbor any hidden resentment toward Emperor Neo or the Zenith Empire?"

​Faelan placed his palm firmly on the warm crystal.

"None. The Emperor gave my race ultimate glory and purpose. My life belongs entirely to him."

​The crystal immediately glowed a brilliant, pure blue, indicating absolute honesty.

​Dr. Clark noted, saying:

"Flawless devotion. Ten out of ten for loyalty."

​Neo observed the final tallies floating in the air.

"Forty three points out of fifty. Its a highly impressive result. Congratulations, Faelan. You are hereby appointed as the first World King of the Zenith Empire."

--

The next candidate was Grokkar.

He was a towering Vanguard Behemoth covered in thick battle scars.

Upon arriving, he slammed his heavy fists together.

​Neo then unleashed a portion of his aura.

But Grokkar did not even flinch.

His massive muscles bulged, shattering the floor beneath his boots, but he remained standing tall.

Neo smiled in approval and gave him a nine out of ten.

​Noir cast her abyssal illusion, and instead of drawing a weapon against the Colossal Black Dragon, Grokkar launched himself forward, attempting to punch the primordial beast directly in the face.

Noir laughed loudly, awarding him a perfect ten for his courage.

​Zestia found less success. When she tempted his mind with endless peace and luxury, Grokkar grew confused and violently angry. He rejected the peace completely, demanding endless war and bloodshed instead.

Zestia gave him a meager four out of ten for willpower, noting his dangerous lack of self control.

​Elena projected her holographic crisis map. "How do you stabilize a collapsing agricultural economy, Grokkar?"

​The behemoth grunted deeply. "I will kill the farmers who refuse to work. Then I will eat them. The rest will farm much faster out of fear."

​Elena flatly awarded him a 2 for intelligence.

​However, when Dr. Clark presented the truth stone, it glowed a blinding, flawless blue.

Grokkar worshipped Neo as a literal living god. With a perfect ten in loyalty, Neo appointed him to rule over a highly hostile, monster infested border world where brutal strength was the only required law.

​The third candidate was Lidia.

She was swift and calculating Archer from the Archery division.

​She failed Neo’s gravity test almost instantly, collapsing to her knees and earning only a three.

During Noir’s courage test, she logically chose to hide from the dragon rather than fight, securing a practical but unimpressive five.

​But Lidia shined brilliantly in the mental trials. She flawlessly deflected every single temptation Zestia offered, earning a perfect ten.

When Elena presented her with a complex economic rebellion scenario, Lyra outlined a terrifyingly precise plan to manipulate the planetary stock market, bankrupt the rebel leaders, and force them into indentured servitude without spilling a single drop of blood.

Elena immediately gave her a 10.

​Dr. Clark held out the truth stone, asking: "Do you harbor any hidden resentment toward Emperor Neo?"

​In response, Lidia placed her pale hand on the crystal.

"I hold no resentment. I am loyal eternally because betraying the Emperor is a mathematically suicidal endeavor."

After hearing her, Neo smiked from his throne.

The selection process was going in the correct way.

He would make sure he had loyal kings by his side, so that they don’t run away at the slightest threat.

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