Chapter 6 The Aptitude Test (III)

When he put down the pen, Carl seemed to have lost all his strength. The soldiers beside him pushed him away and drove him out of the area.

The crowd of onlookers would point fingers at those who failed the aptitude test, either sympathetically or sneeringly. But overall, they felt it was a pity.

After all, Rum Town was a small town. A few more War Spirit warriors would be of great help to its residents.

Those who failed the test sneered scathingly at Carl.

"Humph, I knew that the guy from the orphanage would not have the aptitude of War Spirit!"

"Sure thing. That guy always wants to push himself forward and stand out from the others. But now, he still ended up as a common soldier and has to report for duty in the army like us!"

"But three orphans went in, right? Is he the only one who failed?"

"Really? I heard that only those who passed the test could stay in that room and those who failed it would be driven out immediately."

"It seems so. But in my opinion, the one named Carl is not as smart as the other two. Seriously, how could orphans possibly have the aptitude of War Spirit warriors?"

There were always those who hated to see others achieve what they could not.

If you made it, they would be jealous of your success. But if you failed, they would sneer at you. However, what they failed to realize was that while mocking a person, they were actually laughing at their own incompetence.

Carl's heart twisted painfully when he heard those scathing remarks. Fortunately, at this moment, Silas, who had been waiting outside for a long time, came up to him.

"Hey, let's go. It doesn't matter!" He patted Carl's shoulder kindly, took his hand and walked out of the crowd, with him.

Carl followed him in a daze. As they passed through the crowd, he heard many more barbed remarks.

At this time, Silas's large, firm grasp was a great comfort to him. Carl felt the warmth from his rough hand and was deeply moved.

Apart from the dean, Silas was the only one who treated them well in the orphanage. For the orphans, Silas had been like a father because he cared a lot for them.

After a long time, Carl and Silas finally left the bustling area of Rum Town Square and came to a much quieter street.

Looking at Silas's tall figure from the back, Carl found him that he was little hunched. He sighed softly and suddenly said, "Silas, I'll go back by myself."

Hearing this, Silas stopped, looked back at him and asked, "Are you sure you're fine now?"

Carl said yes and looked back at the square, which was still very lively. Although he was unwilling to give up, he felt helpless and had no other options, so he replied, "You still need to bring Arthur and Sofia back when they come out later. Don't worry about me. I grew up in Rum Town, so I'm quite familiar with the way back to the orphanage."

Silas sighed to himself. He looked at Carl with mixed emotions and finally, he loosened his grip on Carl's hand.

Carl gazed at Silas's distant receding figure and slowly clenched his fists. After a while, he turned around and continued to walk toward the orphanage.

Before long, he reached the street where the orphanage was located. To his surprise, all the other children were standing on the street and facing the direction where Carl came from.

As soon as the group of children saw Carl, they immediately came over to welcome him.

"Why are you here?" Carl looked at the group of children beside him in surprise and asked in confusion. Usually, they would be playing on their hill of garbage at this time.

"Brother Carl, Brother Carl! Did you pass the test? Will you become a War Spirit warrior?" A younger child asked.

Carl wondered how they knew that. Then, Joel, who was beside him, whispered, "The dean told us that the three of you would be taking the aptitude test today."

Only then did Carl learn how they all knew about this matter. He smiled bitterly and said to the younger brothers and sisters around him, "I failed, so I can only serve in the army. But Arthur and Sofia succeeded. Let's celebrate for them later!"

Hearing about Carl's failure in the test, everyone let out a cry of disappointment. However, when they heard that both Arthur and Sofia had succeeded, they cheered in unison.

Although the children in this orphanage were from different families and had different backgrounds, the family affection between them had long surpassed that of ordinary families.

At this moment, all of them were sincerely happy for Arthur and Sofia and some considerate children, who noticed the unwillingness and disappointment in Carl's tone, kept comforting him.

"Brother Carl, don't worry. If I get to serve in the army, I'd like to be one of your followers!"

"Right! Big brother, wherever you are, we will be with you!"

Their words touched Carl deeply. He felt like crying, but he looked up and tried to hold off his tears.

"What nonsense are you talking about?! You guys should become War Spirit warriors in the future!" Carl said, pretending to be angry.

Then he rubbed the heads of the little ones and ordered, "Alright. You all stay here and wait for Arthur and Sofia. I'm going to take a nap in my room!"

The group of little guys nodded obediently and moved out of his way. Carl walked quickly into the courtyard and suddenly sensed that someone was looking at him. When he raised his head, he saw that the dean was gazing at him from the window the office.

Carl shook his head and smiled bitterly. Alone, he returned to his room. However, he did not notice that the dean looked satisfied as if Carl's failure had actually met his expectations.

As soon as he entered the room, Carl roared hysterically and lay on the bed, feeling utterly depressed. After having some wild thoughts for a few moments, he slowly fell asleep.

After some time, Carl was suddenly woken up by a commotion outside the window. He went to the window and looked down. As he had expected, Arthur and Sofia were back!

Since Arthur and Sofia passed the aptitude test of War Spirit warriors, their lives would change—they would have utterly different lives from that of orphans. Nevertheless, no one was jealous, for they loved each other and sincerely wished a better future for each other. Upstairs, Carl could hear the blessings from the happy crowd.

Carl stood by the window and watched Arthur and Sofia below, his fists clenched, as he battled with his complicated feelings.